Still free to subscribe to this nearly daily newsletter! Greg Mitchell is author of fourteen books and director of five films for PBS since 2022. In a previous life, he was a longtime editor at the legendary Crawdaddy. His latest film “Woody Guthrie and The Ghost of Tom Joad Today” is now streaming everywhere via PBS.
This livestream from Dublin began, at 8:30 ET, we watched via YouTube and you can probably still watch replay at one of links below. Great music and guests Eddie Vedder, Bono, Marketa, and moving speeches and performances by his brothers. Shocking and sad that just three years ago, Glen arranged the music and musicians for Shane MacGowan’s funeral, which closed with Glen leading a memorable “Fairytale of New York.”
another option:
And a song that seems to fit for Glen and today: Busking Van’s “Into the Mystic” with Marketa.
Trump yesterday asked about wife-beating, child-injuring Rep. Max Miller: "I know Max [Miller]. He's a good person. I mean, I always thought he was a very good person. I'm going to let the families figure that out…It's a very sad thing, especially when you know someone so well, to be going through that.”
Meanwhile, Jane Fonda at her Substack:
Do you know that from 2022 to 2024 in the U.S. alone, there were 73 extreme weather events, which cost us an estimated $461.6 billion. Trump calls the climate crisis a hoax. Call it what you want, but please notice what’s happening, please connect the dots. Please understand how what’s happening weather-wise is behind the huge increase in refugees. In many parts of the world already, people cannot grow food, earn a living, escape the epidemics being spread as disease-carrying vectors (mosquitoes, ticks, rodents) move out from their usual habitats. The UN Refugee Agency estimates that more than 250 million people have already been displaced due to climate and that 100 million more will join their ranks by mid-century. We in this country have a responsibility to address their plight instead of treating them like non-humans. Afterall, the U.S. is the largest cause of climate warming.
This existential challenge along with the erosion of our democracy which is also an existential challenge are what most occupy my time and thoughts because I believe we can do something about them if we refuse to accept what’s happening. I am not depressed –scared, yes, but not depressed—because I’m taking action, doing things about it. I hope you will too.
Paul Krugman:
Trump’s second presidency is so pervasively corrupt, abusive and destructive that it will be virtually impossible for anyone who supported him to move on and rehabilitate themselves. Outside of MAGA, who will ever be willing to trust Larry Ellison, Mark Zuckerberg or Jeff Bezos again? Frankly, what political hopeful would be stupid or venal enough to associate with them?
Indeed, I believe and hope that if Democrats regain power, they won’t repeat past mistakes by trying to “move on” from the corruption and scandals of the previous regime. It’s now clear that Biden’s Attorney General, Merrick Garland, enabled Trump’s return to power by slow-walking the investigation of January 6th. Earlier, Barack Obama let Republicans off the hook by not pursuing the lies that led to the Iraq war. Let’s hope that this time the Democrats, once in control of one or both houses of Congress, will quickly initiate investigations, hearings and, where warranted, prosecutions. And it’s unlikely that Trump’s billionaire money men will escape unscathed.
So rather than trying to mollify the Democrats and defuse the coming political reckoning, the billionaire class is opening the money taps, going all out to prevent Democrats from being elected. And why not? For Musk, the Koch Brothers, Ken Griffin, Alex Karp and others hundreds of millions is pocket change, while billion-dollar business interests and, in some cases, possible criminal charges are at stake.
Music Pick
New comment by Richard Thompson yesterday on playing guitar on Nick Drake’s once-obscure debut album and “Time Has Told Me.”
and the classic cut:
From Tunes to Toons
Davies:
Ohman:
Anderson:
Richards:
Brodner:
Photo Finish
From my camera to you: The Statue of Flora (Goddess of Flowers and Spring) in the Jardin du Luxembourg, Paris..
Beautiful service in for Glen Hansard in Dublin. The loving and raucous version of "Forever Young" on Glen's exit from St. Patrick's has to be seen and heard to believe. Thanks for posting, Greg.
Late stage capitalism surrounds us. We must do whatever we can to combat it!