Bruce Springsteen’s new single “We Take Care Of Our Own,” off his upcoming CD, Wrecking Ball was released today. 

ABC News notes, “judging from the names of the other tracks listed on the singers website — “This Depression,” “Easy Money,” and “Death to My Hometown” — Springsteen is once again wading in political waters and returning his focus to working-class issues.”

“We Take Care Of Our Own” is a hard hitting rocker, in true Springsteen / E Street Band style. As  longtime readers here know, I am a big Springsteen fan and I have to say this new single simply blew me away musically and lyrically.

Watch the video debut here:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Springsteen’s long-time manager Jon Landau said of Springsteen’s new work, “Bruce has dug down as deep as he can to come up with this vision of modern life. The lyrics tell a story you can’t hear anywhere else and the music is his most innovative in recent years. The writing is some of the best of his career and both veteran fans and those who are new to Bruce will find much to love on ‘Wrecking Ball.’”

Washington Post’s Click Track blog notes, Wrecking Ball is the 17th album of Springsteen’s career:

The social commentary is evident on the lead single: “From Chicago to New Orleans, from the muscle to the bone/From the shotgun shack to the Superdome/There ain’t no help, the cavalry stayed home/There ain’t no one hearing the bugle blowin’,” he sings on the title track. It’s not hard to see a thematic similarity between the song and Springsteen’s work on “Someplace like America,” a recent book by Washington Post photographer Michael Williamson and writer Dale Maharidge to which Springsteen contributed a forward.

You can check out Springsteen’s reflections on “Someplace like America” here.

Springsteen’s new Wrecking Ball CD will be released on March 6. U.S. tour dates have not yet been announced, but it is reported will be a full U.S. tour with the E Street Band in 2012. Rolling Stone has more on Springsteen’s new CD here.

Wrecking Ball track list:
1. “We Take Care of Our Own”
2. “Easy Money”
3. “Shackled and Drawn”
4. “Jack of All Trades”
5. “Death to My Hometown”
6. “This Depression”
7. “Wrecking Ball”
8. “You’ve Got It”
9. “Rocky Ground”
10. “Land of Hope and Dreams”
11. “We Are Alive”

It’s appears that way to me. The timing, the gesture, the sheer passive-aggressiveness of the act, which would fit Obama’s passive-aggressive campaign, couldn’t be simply a habitual gesture. Judge for yourself.

Click here to view the embedded video.

I’ll withhold most of my profane reactions to this classless, deliberate playing to a young audience who have no political history to use as an anchor point for judgment. Barack Obama is an ass. And you can bet Hillary Clinton, in private, will react much, much more strongly. [I hope she keeps Bill away from any cameras for 24 hours, at least, to let him cool off.]

I also hope she demands a public apology and lets him refuse to give her one. He’s played one too many passive-aggressive campaign games.

The Traditional Media won’t ignore this video (the full “looked in her element” video is at Politico and TPM ). It’s red-meat for them.

h/t to vtlover at Mydd.

UPDATE (7.58 pm pst by Pamela Leavey): The Swamp has picked up on this (emphasis mine):

Sen. Barack Obama was on the stump today in Raleigh, N.C., the day after his debate in Philadelphia with Sen. Hillary Clinton. Have a look at his body language when he spoke of the sort of debate it was — a “gotcha” fest — and about Clinton being “in her element.”

“Last night, Sen. Clinton and I had our 21st debate of the year,” Obama said today. “Last night, I think we set a new record, because it took us 45 minutes before we even started talking about a single issue that matters to the American people.

“I don’t blame Washington for this, because that’s just how Washington is,” he said. “They like stirring up controversy. They like playing gotcha games…

.. and I would say Sen. Clinton was in her element.”

And that’s the part of the videotape, courtesy of Fox News, where viewers need to pay some attention to the hand that Obama raised to his face, and the finger with which he scratched it.

And before the “finger” there was the “Snub.”

UPDATE 2 (11.15 pm pst by Pamela Leavey): For the sake of those arguing against the gesture here’s a freeze frame from the CBS video that captures the gesture at a different angle (from what I can see the index finger is bent down in the shot):

UPDATE 3 (11.30 pm pst by Pamela Leavey): From the LA Times Blog Top of the Ticket: Barack Obama makes a one-fingered gesture while speaking of Hillary Clinton

This is one of those political moments that really needs few words.

We’ll no doubt hear much more about this incident in coming days. [...]

The presidential candidate raises his right hand to seemingly scratch his cheek.

He doesn’t use his whole hand though. Just one finger. Briefly. A couple of strokes.

He pauses. He smiles slyly as the crowd begins to mumble and then he tries, somewhat distracted, to continue his remarks, smiling as the buzz spreads through the crowd.

He’ll no doubt deny it later, but that mischievous smile seems to confirm plenty. And the crowd sure sees something.

The infamous Gator, the one eyed, lame cowdog that’s afraid of cattle, in action as she obeys a simply ‘Down’ command. [It's a silent video taken with my digital still camera.]

Click here to view the embedded video.

The rolling over and groveling at my feet was her idea. How did a ‘she’ get named Gator? I have no idea. Sadly, Gator is missing in action at the ranch. She was a fine, if silly-assed, dog.

I’m on fire, right now, as I have a lot on my mind. I’m sure many of you are getting worked up about the same things that are sticking in my craw. Yet, when I try to express myself in a coherent fashion, it comes out on the page looking something like  ”akjf;laghoehtoieWTFgj;akjoijfoidjAHHHH!” Of course, I “know” what it says, but it’s impossible to translate.

I have plenty of time to think of these things, as I go about my daily tasks. I think “oh, how witty that will sound” and then I sit down to write and…I got nothin’!

Maybe I worry too much about censoring myself once I set down to my computer, trying not to offend anyone or at least, not offend them too much, especially with everyone on even higher alert and pointing to offenses more than usual during the current primary/caucus race. I think that I am coming to a point where I say fu…–I mean, “bleep” that (*wink*), I would rather lose friends than not be able to speak my mind. Of course, I will always be respectful when I am in a space (where you may be reading this) that does not belong to me, but I’m thinking it’s time for me to cut to the chase and actually say whatever the he…–I mean, “bleep” is on my mind.

That being said, there is some shi…–I mean, there are some things in today’s round-up that will definitely make you go “wtf?” So, why don’t we start off with a little soft shoe to ease you into it: Gregory Hines & Steve Martin Tap.

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Try dancing around today’s Ten Post Round-Up:

1: If sisters are doing it for themselves, how come movies and television are not representing them properly?…

On-Screen Sex Ratios Add Up to One Big Negative–AlterNet

2: Things not so comfy cozy on the housing front between GWB and the GOP?…

Bush throws GOP Senators under the bus on the bi-partisan housing bill–AMERICAblog

3: Those rebate checks might not arrive in time to do the economy any good, but at least the average Jane and Joe can maybe pay off one more bill before finally hitting the skids…

It’s official now: George W. Bush is today’s Herbert Hoover–Brilliant at Breakfast

4: Milestones and reminders on the road to victory in Iraq: Are we there yet?…

Another anniversary!–Bring It On!

5: They’re gonna git cha, so ya better pay up!…

IRS Hunts Down “Tax Defiers”–The Huffington Post

6: They have all this money, yet, they are still relying on the US for financial help? Excuse me while I beat up my desk with my forehead…

Iraq’s Oil Profits–The J-Walk Blog

7: Just one more thing for the cash-strapped working poor to worry about: Fraudulent rental agreements that leave them out on the streets (after handing their first and last plus security to a complete stranger who disappears into the night)…

Scam Leaves 3 Families Moving Into Same House–NBC10.COM

8: In a “real” free-market system, this makes perfect sense. Everyone is going broke, you gotta be able to make money where you can and if the whole world suddenly is starving, the last thing a hungry fisherman is going to be concerned with is the purple-bellied flying carp and whether or not it’s extinct…

As Prices Rise, Farmers Spurn Conservation–New York Times

9: I miss the old “Dr.” Phil: “You shouldn’t shush a nation when a president decides he’s gonna go to war. If we ever need the First Amendment, we need it then”….

Phil Donohue Stands Up For Free Speech In A Time Of War–News Hounds

10: I’ve said it before, being a friend of GWB and company means never having to say you’re sorry…

Bush Justice in the Department of Just Us–Scatablog

Oh, I definitely need more coffee!

284 días hasta el final de un error…

Peace.

(yes, I suffer from head*desk syndrome)

You say you want a ten post round-up? Oh? Well, I got your round-up, right here.

First, cue music: McCain Girls: Here Comes McCain Again. (Stop laughing! These ladies are very, very serious!).

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Now, cue today’s Ten Post Round-Up:

1: Ummm…I think they missed our stop…

Who’s steering the Iraq bus?–AMERICAblog

2: Be careful with that lipstick, ladies, otherwise you could stun more than that cute guy…

Lip Stick Stun Gun–Bring It On!

3: It would appear that some of our congress critters have their own personal stakes ($$$) invested in Iraq and Afghanistan…

US Lawmakers Invested in Iraq, Afghanistan Wars–CommonDreams.org

4: Sad, but true: We are all “pigeons”…

THE APRIL FOOL IS US–Hypocrisy.com

5: Does making “volunteer service” a requirement to graduate high school, actually defeat the purpose?…

Service or disservice? Student requirement debated–keepMEcurrent.com

6: I have a feeling that GWB, the movie will be just as disastrous as GWB, the president…

Oliver Stone’s “W”–Left of Centrist

7: One MILLION cars of public officials, in California, are immune to fines for traffic violations: no busts by red light cams or parking tickets to pay, a wink and nod when pulled over for speeding…Mus’ be nice…

Petty Tyranny in California–Reason Magazine

8: Whoops!: After being reassured by Cheney of a “long-term presence” in Iraq, soldiers are beginning to seriously consider candidates that want to bring them home, sooner rather than later…

Even After Listening To ‘Rousing’ Cheney Speech, Troops Back Pro-Withdrawal Candidates–Think Progress

9: Finally, an internet-arranged protest that is actually getting noticed!…

Truckers Protest, the Resistance Begins–truthout

10: Definitely NOT the top ten list you want to find your city on…

Nation’s Ten Worst Traffic Nightmares, Fragile Bridges, And Crumbling Dams–Wonkette

And finally, cue the morning cuppa!

285 días hasta el final de un error…

Peace.

(Somebody please cue me some chocolate!)

I admit it, I’ve got “spring fever”.  I’m desperate for the sun to warm away the echoes of snow and freezing rain that are permeating my neck of the woods.  I can see the grass and trees trying to turn green and the flowers are trying to sprout their roots.  I’m not looking forward to the excess of spiders that manifest during this time of year, but I am looking forward to watching hubby’s flower garden grow.

We are doing the big countdown to the LP convention and the day when hubby comes home for RnR.  He tells me that he will hear some big news by Thursday.  I imagine it has something to do with the same announcement that GWB plans to make on that date about deployments being reduced from 15, back to 12 months.  Of course, the fat lady rarely sings on Army matters, so I won’t be cheering about this supposed “news” until the last note is sung and hubby is home for Christmas.

Well, it ain’t singing but it is news: Uncle Jay Explains the News – April 7, 2008. (Wherein Uncle Jay tries to explain rec..um…reces…ahem…recessi…whoo…how bad our economy is).

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Some folks may be singing the blues with today’s Ten Post Round-Up:

1: Will the R-EVOL-UTION begin singing from the rafters for former Georgia Republican congressman and newly minted Libertarian presidential candidate, Bob Barr?…

The Barr Factor–Antiwar.com

2: Florida appears to be singin’ da blues over their abstinence only sex ed policy because the kiddies beliefs about sex have hit a bad note…

Florida Shines Once Again!–BlondeSense

3: For whom does the media sing?…

Your MSM In Action–Crooks and Liars

4: I’m definitely singing and dancing on this news…

Cup of coffee a day can keep Alzheimer’s away, say scientists–The Daily Mail

5: Maybe he was humming the “Armour Hot Dog” jingle and she’d had about enough out of that weenie…

Police: Woman Stabs Husband During Fight Over Hot Dogs For Dinner–local6.com

6: Shall we get together and sing karaoke after we play the “Bush Drinking Game”?…

Bush to speak about Iraq on Thursday–Wiredispatch.com

7: Tin-foil hatters singing a new tune about Sonny Bono’s death?…

Conspiracy Theory of the Day–Reason Magazine

8: I suddenly have an curious urge to sing Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”. Cue the zombies…

Rice for Veep?–Shakesville

9: This guy is definitely singin’ da blues, about now…

Man faces five years in jail after hitting a boy with… a hedgehog–Signs of the Times

10: Global rice shortage: So “unpretty”…

battle rice–skippy the bush kangaroo

Jus’ remember, the excessive blogging may kill you, but at least the truckloads of coffee will keep the gray matter from faltering!

286 días hasta el final de un error…

Peace.

(must.needs.more.caffeine…)

My apologies. My brain appears to be suffering a 404 page error, today. Maybe it’s the lack of caffeine. Maybe I’m suffering from “John McCain Syndrome”. Not good for a lass of my age.

Of course, it could just be that I am still recovering from my usual work-weekend. During the rest of the week, I wake early and bed down early. But, since I work bar hours, and still find myself getting up early to IM with my darling husband in Iraq, my aging body can’t cope with the bedtime disparities (early to rise, late to bed). It’s hard on this morning person. I feel bad for sleeping in when there is so much blogging and housework to be done.

I guess I need a wake-up song: ACE OF BASE – BEAUTIFUL MORNING

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Let this Ten Post Round-Up serve as your wake-up call:

1: Puh-leeze! Taxes are for the little people! Please leave those poor business execs alone to enjoy the fruits of YOUR labor…

“We’re paying executives like successful entrepreneurs, without asking them to take entrepreneurial risks”–AMERICAblog

2: But will anything worthwhile come of this?…

Common Cause calls out McCain on Campaign financing–Crooks and Liars

3: Well, if you can’t afford health care, then maybe you just aren’t supposed to have it…

McCain Health Care: Social Darwinism For All, Especially The Already Haves–Firedoglake

4: The fraud was not the exorcisms, it’s the performing of exorcisms without a license?…

Exorcism Fraud–Friendly Atheist

5: If Ronald McDonald says it’s “cool”, then the kiddies will eat it? Time to start wrapping those PB&J sandwiches in Mickey Ds wrappers!…

McKids And McFood–J-Walk Blog

6: Remember how we used to think folks who screamed about the military coming to kick in their doors, “any day now” wore tin-foil hats? Well, it turns out that now the rest of us might want to get fitted for one, too…

Oh When the Troops / Come Marching In…–Jesus’ General

7: Multiple deployments, stressful? You’re kidding?…

Army Worried by Rising Stress of Return Tours to Iraq -–Minstrel Boy

8: Get your gag-bag ready because you WILL be offended by this: Incest in the news in Australia (this is NOT a joke)…

If You Are Easily Offended…–Perez Hilton

9: “Soylent Green is”…Charlton Heston…

I Guess You Can Have Charlton Heston’s Gun Now–Shakesville

10: Maybe this explains McCain’s rosy outlook on Iraq: His son has served there as a member of the Marine Corps…

The tradition of war: McCain Is Vocal on War, but Silent on Son’s Service–Signs of the Times

Well, I still feel like I am running dangerously low on caffeine and a decaffeinated Dizzy is not really something you want to see, the first thing in the morning. As it is, all the mirrors around here remain concealed until after lunch! In the meantime, it will behoove me to exorcise my mental cobwebs with another morning cuppa!

287 días hasta el final de un error…

Peace.

(must.needs.more.caffeine…)

Being in the Bay Area, I’m a fan of the San Francisco Symphony (season ticket holder for several years) and Metallica (who one of my best friends works for). The fusion of the two in S&M is one of my favorite albums. Don’t worry, I’ll spare everyone the details of Metallica, and the early influence of Cliff Burton, their original bassist who was trained in classical piano, which you can definitely see in the composition of their early music. I digress…

I grew up thinking that “Master of Puppets” was an evil song. In reality, it is song about substance abuse. I wouldn’t call it an anti-drug song per se, but a song warning of its effects. In fact, according to Kirk Hammett, the Master of Puppets album is about “[v]arious forms of manipulation, which can go into entirely a [sic] different subjects which we could talk about for hours.”

In honor of the media trying to manipulate us into loving Barack Obama and hating the <expletive> Hillary Clinton I give you “Master of Puppets”. The song also goes out to Pat Leahy, Chris Dodd and all the other pols who don’t want to give PA, IN, NC, etc. a chance to vote. And to Matt Yglesias who thinks all we need is a good talking to by “credible party leaders”. A tribute to you all:

Click here to view the embedded video.

With my kids getting a little older and not needing 100% constant supervision (including the fact, as we are doing lessons, they can follow me around the house for instruction when I give them homework) and with the limited time I chat with my husband, online, I am finally getting a groove where I find that I can actually accomplish many things of substance and in a short amount of time. I haven’t had that since before the little ones were still in diapers (which is about the same time that I also started my business). So, now, I am actually experiencing boredom. What a relief!

So what do I decide to do on a workday, when I could be resting up for the long night ahead?

Chocolate? Yes, of course.

But, not only that, I decided to post a round-up. I must like you guys, a lot. Besides, according to my site stats, I have one loyal reader, so I don’t want to disappoint him/her.

It’s snowing outside, so it’s possible that I may not even go to work if it get’s nasty. The weather outside and all the dramz in the nooz is putting me in a miserable funk, so I figured I’d offer up something upbeat and funky for your musical intervention, today (btw: Dizzy abso-friggin-lutely LOVES this song): Ce Ce Peniston – Keep On Walkin

Stop a moment and let me walk you through today’s Ten Post Round-Up:

1: Wholesale Lies: The surge is not working as planned…

General William Odom Tells Senate Rapid Withdrawal Is Only Solution–AfterDowningStreet.org

2: Health Compromised: Eating ourselves to death…

Pollan: Nutrition “Science” Has Hijacked Our Meals — and Our Health–AlterNet

3: Worthless Education: President with an MBA failing the USA in the time of financial crisis…

“Mr. Bush has sometimes seemed invisible during the housing and credit crunch”–AMERICAblog

4: Let’s Raise A Toast(er): The Cylons are coming! The Cylons are coming! (PSA: Friday night on Sci-Fi Channel) Consider yourself warned!…

Battlestar Galactica–BuzzFeed

5: Sigh of Relief: We should be glad that GWB made the wrong decision after thinking about it for some time, instead of implementing his deadly decision right away…

David Gregory says Bush showed good judgement for not invading Iraq immediately after 9/11–Crooks and Liars

6: Knock on Wood: Help for homeowners may be on its way…

Foreclosure-Prevention Bill–Free Market News

7: Why Ask Why: Americans have not forgotten about Iraq, the media has just forgotten to report on it…

Myth: Americans Tuned Out Iraq Fact: The Press Tuned Out Iraq–The Huffington Post

8: Talk about “Whack”: Beware of the credit bureau “bait and switch”…

Profiting Off Debt–OurFuture.org

9: Keep on Walkin’: Indeed, in regards to race issues, “the past isn’t dead and buried. In fact, it isn’t even past”…

Exhausting Race, Pt. 1–Pam’s House Blend

10: Cha-ching: “Republicans truly are the party of personal responsibility…unless you’re gay, poor, or a woman”…

Another Reminder–Shakesville

Just remember: Some days you’re the windshield. Some days you’re the bug.

That is all.

290 días hasta el final de un error…

Peace.

(Walk This Way…)

Randi Rhodes has been suspended from Air America for ”making inappropriate statements about prominent figures, including Senator Hillary Clinton” at a recent public event, that were caught on a YouTube video (WARNING: Strong language):

Click here to view the embedded video.

I’ve never been much of a talk radio fan, but I used to enjoy listening to Randi’s show occassionally, until I grew tired of her propensity to attack our own. The misogynistic screed in the video above is astounding, simply astounding.

Quite frankly I think Rhodes should be fired, not suspended. There’s nothing progressive about her in my book — she’s the liberal, female version of Rush Limbaugh on a good day.

H/T to Taylor Marsh. The HuffPo has more and Melissa chimes in on Shakesville.

UPDATE: Geraldine Ferraro, who was one of the targets of Rhodes’ rant said “Rhodes should be fired.”

“What did they do with Don Imus when he went after the young black team who was playing basketball with kind of the same language? Treat them both the same,” Ferraro told FOX News. “She’s coming at me and Hillary in a … sexist way”

Ferraro added that her comments about Obama were blown out of proportion and taken out of context so that the race card could be played, which was apparently effective since she has received a considerable amount of hate mail.

“To incite people with language like this young woman just did on radio is very, very dangerous because … some people take this stuff so seriously that it can affect your security,” she said.

Memeorandum has all the buzz in the sphere.