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Singer Billy Joel was flown to a hospital following a car crash on Long Island. He is in stable condition. He was alone in his car and hit a tree.
A news conference will be held in the morning to discuss his condition.
We wish him well.
Update: Joel was released this morning with no comments about his condition. No summonses were issued as a result of the crash and Joel was not given a Breathalyzer test.
Currently, there are two full-time job openings at the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C.:We (TalkLeft) have no further information, so no need to email us rather than going directly to the MPP's website. We can say that we have known and worked on issues with Mr. Kampia for many years and we are very impressed with his dedication and talent.* Director of State Policies, who will develop and manage all of MPP's state-based campaigns, including overseeing all lobbying activities, hiring and managing campaign managers for state ballot initiatives, coordinating public education campaigns, including press strategies, and managing MPP's State Policies Department staff and interns.
* Legislative Analyst, who will monitor marijuana-related legislation in the states, maintain MPP's state Web pages, write and e-mail legislative alerts to MPP members, and assist the Director of State Policies with research and analysis.
Please do not reply to this message with questions, and no phone calls, please. Instead, please go here for complete job descriptions and application guidelines. We are accepting resumes until February 7, and we will interview selected applicants from February 3 to 14. Positions will begin on approximately March 3 (but this is flexible).
Both positions are in our Capitol Hill office in Washington, D.C., which is conveniently located near the Union Station Metro stop on the Red Line. Both positions require exceptional written and oral communication skills, professional appearance, and political/policy experience.
Sincerely,
Rob Kampia
Executive Director
Marijuana Policy Project
Washington, D.C.
According to census statistics, the hispanic population is booming in the U.S.
"In the months following the 2000 census, the number of Latinos who were born in the United States or who immigrated to the country grew at more than twice the rate of African Americans.... In 2001, according to the new figures, that deadlock was even tighter: 37.7 million people identified either as black, or as black and one other race. Thirty-seven million Hispanics were counted."
"It doesn't surprise me," said Hector Flores, president of the League of United Latin American Citizens. "Anybody that travels around . . . can see Latinos everywhere, working everywhere, paying taxes, trying to reach the American dream."
Jane over at Daily Rant Daily Rant just took Wild Monk's "cool test" about her opinions on Iraq and the U.S. Jane, a liberal, came out at 51 which is "center right" and scored a 9 for rationality.
We just went over and took the test. We scored 52, also "center right". We learned that the 0 - 100 scale measures "pro-U.S." attitudes or "anti-U.S. attitudes". So Jane and I are just barely into the "pro-U.S. attitudes" category.
We scored a 10 on rationality, the highest possible score. We haven't figured out what we are rational about. Go take the test, it's short and fun, and maybe one of you can figure out what the "rationality" part means and let us know.
For James Capazzola of Rittenhouse Review, one of the finest writers anywhere, please go read his exquisite tribute to his good friend Richard Silbert, who recently passed away, way too many years too soon.
Via the Hamster, you too can receive between $5.00 and $20.00 as your share of a class action lawsuit over CD pricing pending in the U.S. District Court in Maine. To make it easy to collect your money, you can fill out the claim form online at this website set up specifically for this purpose. It's easy as could be, all you have to do is answer three questions "yes" or "no," and if the answer is "yes" to all three, you get to submit the claim on line. The big one is whether you purchased any CD's from a retail outlet between January, 1995 and December 22, 2000. You don't need receipts or details of your purchases, but you are declaring under penalty of perjury that you did buy one or more CD's during this time period.
So what's the catch? None, other than this:The cash paid by the Defendants, after the payment of attorneys' fees, litigation and Settlement administration costs, shall be distributed to consumers who purchased Music Products. The number of claims filed will determine the actual amount of the individual refund but will not exceed $20.00 per claimant. If the number of claims filed would result in refunds of less than $5.00 per claimant, there will be no cash distribution to individual consumers. Rather, the cash portion of the Settlement shall be distributed to not-for-profit, charitable, governmental or public entities to be used for music-related purposes or programs for the benefit of consumers who purchased Music Products.In plain English? The total amount available for distribution is a net amount, the amount the losers to the lawsuit have to pay, after litigation and administrative costs and attorneys' fees are deducted. They will then divide that number by the total number of claims filed. If the resulting number is less than $5.00, no money is distributed to the claimants. It all goes to charity.
Call us optimists, we went ahead and filed. It took two minutes.
Via Media Whores Online, "Most Americans believe that between 1 and 5 million people live in poverty in the United States when the actual number is nearly 33 million," according to results of the national "Poverty Pulse" survey released this week by the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD).
Free today only (actually you make $50.00) on Amazon, the Motorola V-70, a savings of $350.00, but requires new service activation. (T-Mobile)
Today Only on Amazon
We bought this Motorola V-60i Cell Phone (AT&T) last week for $199.00. You can get it on Amazon today only for $49.00, with new service activation.
Today Only on Amazon
(Found via Gizmodo and Instapundit)
Via Sideshow we learn that Zal Yanovsky, guitarist of the Lovin' Spoonful has died at 58. As this glowing recap of his life proclaims, he "worked [a] lifetime of magic."
In his later life, Zal, who was once known as "the Jewish Ringo Starr" (see the picture in the article and you will know why), lived in Kingston, Canada where he and his wife restored an 1880's livery stable into a very popular restaurant, Chez Piggy, that became widely known both as a gathering place and for its food. The couple were awarded a historic restoration award for their work.
Zal died suddenly of a heart attack on his farm on Dec. 13. He left the Lovin' Spoonful in 1967, and with a large cash settlement, was able to pursue his other dreams. For those of you too young to remember, and we assume that's most of you, their big hit was "Do You Believe In Magic?" If we had to compare the group to another, it would most likely be the Mamas and Papas. The lead singer was John Sebastian, who is still alive, touring and playing jug band music.
Are you stuck for that last minute gift? Check out what the feds have to offer at FirstGov -- Shopping and Auctions.
Our favorite: The DEA Gift Shop. How about this?
We were offline when this guide to Gifts For Sexy Anarchists appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle.
It's for people who are angry about Bush, Aschroft, Cheney (Mr. and Mrs.) and the War in Iraq.
Some of our favorites on the list:Haven't seen a gift you like yet? Try these...."Panties with a nice Christian message. Little Afghani antenna flags. Chocolate handcuffs. Wiccan cookbooks. The American-flag bikini wax" (as in waxed-in-the-shape of).
Via Politics in the Zeros, the story of Chesa Boudin, son of former members of the 60's Weather Underground who are now in prison. Chesa, himself an activist, particularly on the issue of children of the imprisoned, has just been named a Rhodes Scholar from Yale.
"Since his parents' arrests, Boudin has become part of the family of two other former Weathermen, Bill Ayers, now an education professor at the University of Illinois in Chicago, and Bernadine Dohrn, director of the Legal Clinic's Children and Family Justice Center at Northwestern University. "
"Boudin often is invited to speak at conferences, to prison officials and other groups as an advocate for children whose parents are imprisoned. He also is member of Yale Coalition for Peace, helping organize protests against military action in Iraq. He hopes to pursue a career fighting for human rights and social justice issues in developing countries in Latin America."
What a great story and affirmation that we can influence and inspire our children--it really resonated with us. We don't talk about "TalkLeft, Jr." much here as we don't want to interfere with his privacy, but we don't think he'd mind us mentioning that he is interning this year, his senior year at N.Y.U., at the Cardozo Law School Innocence Project, run by Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld, and is in the process of applying to law schools. In high school, he worked for McVeigh's lead attorney Stephen Jones. According to him, it was then he decided the values of the defense side were not just the values of his mother, but his own.
Three months after the McVeigh trial ended, we were asked to write an article for an internet publication, Women of Colorado, and we were given our choice of topics. We chose the death of Princess Diana, which had happened a month earlier. We had been home watching tv the night of her fatal car accident, and when it was confirmed that Princess Diana was dead, it shook us pretty badly--even though we hadn't really been Diana admirers up to that point. We opened the laptop and began writing to try to sort our our feelings, and it was this piece that we chose for publication in Women of Colorado. We called it "Diana, Queen of Hearts," and while it began with our reflection on her contributions to those less fortunate, it ended up being about the contributions the rest of us could make. It began:
"The Princess of Wales died this evening."
"Mostly I remember her contributions and her humanitarianism. She went to Bosnia and Angola to protest land mines. She was photographed shaking hands with an AiIDS patient. She visited sick children around the world. Even after her divorce from Prince Charles, she continued her contributions - to the Red Cross and other charities, particularly those dedicated to helping the sick and the young."
"Outpourings of shock and sympathy were received tonight from heads of state the world over - particularly for her young children. Young and vibrant, the Princess clearly made her mark on the world. She was adored in Great Britain - and she will be eulogized for many years to come. I heard a newscaster say tonight that Princess Diana often said she wanted to be remembered as the "Queen of People’s Hearts." I have no doubt she will be. Will the rest of us be so fortunate?
..."I wonder what made so young a woman realize the gratification she would feel from making contributions to others instead of just being on the receiving end? This is the lesson I hope her untimely passing bestows upon the rest of us."
After some paragraphs discussing our feelings about the contributions that criminal defense lawyers make to society, we talked about bringing our 16 year old son on board as a member of the McVeigh Defense team:
" Every day after school from 3:00 to 5:00, he worked at Stephen Jones's office. I paid him myself, so it did not cost the public any money. He was a clerk, a gofer, a xeroxer, a discovery organizer. He helped with exhibits. He filed pleadings with the Court. He occasionally attended court sessions . He became part of the community of 30 people from Oklahoma, Texas and elsewhere who took a hiatus from their lives to preserve and protect our legal system, by ensuring as best they could that a defendant charged with the largest act of domestic terrorism in the nation's history would receive a fair trial. "
"The result: First, he and I had the closest year we ever had. We fully shared in and discussed the case. More importantly, we came to new levels of understanding of each other, as individuals, not just as mother and son. We related to each other as people - I finally learned to stop treating him like a child and began listening to his opinions. In return, he not only listened to mine, but sought them out, on a variety of topics important to teenagers, not just those related to the case."
"Second, and what I am so supremely proud of, are the values he learned and embraced by working inside our criminal justice system. He is proud of his contribution. He is proud of me. He has become deeply committed to the notion that everyone charged with a crime deserves the best defense possible, regardless of her ability to pay. He has learned that only when the trial is fair, can society trust in the integrity of the jury's verdict. "
"My son has learned compassion. He believes in his heart of hearts that the presumption of innocence lies at the very core of our criminal justice system, and that it must be preserved at all costs. He knows that while there are flaws, America has the best criminal justice system in the world. I believe he will bring these values and lessons with him, to college and beyond."
"I have learned the value of contributions to my own sense of personal well-being, as well as to those persons who directly benefit from them. If I could grant a wish for all of us, especially tonight as I find myself profoundly saddened by the loss of Princess Diana, it would be to be like her - to live our private lives as we wish, but to figure out how we can contribute to those less fortunate among us and then do it, so that we not only help others, but also enrich ourselves and teach our children in the process."
We have to believe that Chesa Boudin's parents are as proud of him as we are of our child--in the end, there is no greater contribution any of us can make as parents than to send our children out into the world to find their own way, and watch as they choose a career of public service, or one dedicated to improving the plight of those less fortunate, be it in medicine, law, politics, education, or any other field. Even law enforcement.
We hope we get to meet Chesa one day.
P.S. Happy Birthday Nic, 22 today.
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