Austin's Deadman Kicks Off ACL Music Festival Weekend

There are a lot of great shows in Austin this week and a lot of great food to eat - like the chicken cone from Hudson's on the Bend. It will change the way you look at festival food forever. What else should you look forward to at Austin City Limits music festival this year? The forecast calls for a few scattered showers, mostly on Saturday, but don't knock it until you've been through 69 days of over 100 degree heat or seen bands play during a dust storm. We'll take a little rain. Besides, Patty Griffin delivered one of the best performances ever in the rain during the second year of the music festival.

Of course, we all know Dave Matthews and Pearl Jam headline. But who are some of the other acts you should see? We recommend Phoenix, Los Amigos Invisibles, Citizen Cope, Devotchka, Raul Malo, Federico Aubele, David Garza, and the Heartless Bastards. You can sample many of them at the ACL Music Festival website.

If you're an ACL veteran, you probably got to town a few days early or have plans to stay a few days after the festival to check out some of the smaller live acts making headlines. Last night, the place to be was Momo's on W. Sixth Street. Deadman, fronted by songwriter extraordinaire Steven Collins, played a stellar set to kick off one of the biggest weeks of live music in the Live Music Capital of the World. With roots rock influences like The Byrds, The Band, Neil Young, The Black Crowes, and Van Morrison, Deadman brought a foot-stomping, spirit-filled blend of gospel, soul, blues, and rock to the stage.

Deadman will also be playing the Twin Creeks C.C. on Friday night and again on Wednesday, Oct. 7 at Momo's with Dan Dyer. Don't leave Austin without checking out one of their shows. Trust me. I've been seeing live music in Austin for over 15 years, and this is one of the best local bands to come along since Storyville.

Below you'll find audio from a Deadman performance recorded at the Saxon Pub earlier this summer. I've also included a link to a DVD that the band will be releasing at the end of this year, featuring the John Lennon inspired single, "We All Need Love." All of their music is available on itunes, and for a short time you can download some of their newer stuff for free at Reverb Nation.

I've talked about America's spiritual drought before. Well, this is music to help cure it. Have a safe weekend and enjoy the live music, fall weather, and friendly Texas hospitality. More ACL Festival updates to follow.

DEADMAN DVD PREVIEW: WE ALL NEED LOVE

Tsunami Animation Shows How Wave Spread

NOAA has put a fascinating timeline together along with some very interesting graphs that chart the wave triggered by the earthquake as it moved across the Pacific and affected coastlines. Apparently, early detection based on warning buoys collected data that helped them alert Samoa and other nearby islands several minutes before the wave hit, possibly saving hundreds of lives. The wave arrived in Pago Pago, American Samoa about 20 minutes after the earthquake. Click on the link below to see the animation:

NOAA Center for Tsunami Research

Tsunami Video Update: I Just Watched My Truck Float Past My Second Story Window

As promised, more tsunami video from the ground in American Samoa. Said the man who taped this while praying: "How am I doing? I just watched my truck float past my second story window!"

The flooding in the Philippines and Vietnam has also been equally devastating. For those who wish to contribute to disaster relief, please visit World Vision or the Red Cross. My thoughts and prayers are with all those who have been affected by this massive earthquake in the Pacific. And good news: the "Survivor" crew is safe. They were apparently taping there (that show's still on?)

Murder Capital of America Seeks Olympics

It's not the kind of publicity the president wants to call attention to during his trip to Copenhagen to lobby the IOC, but this video taken of a 16 year old boy beaten to death in broad daylight on the streets of Chicago last week may be enough to reconsider whether to bring the Olympic Games here. The city might already be overwhelmed with enough problems of its own.

CAUTION: Viewer Discretion Advised

This horrible and heinous crime is the stuff of third world countries, not America. Watching it fills me with outrage and disgust. If it happened in my town, I'd be demanding action tomorrow. I'd want safer streets with neighborhood watch groups, tougher laws against gangs, and more police. I certainly wouldn't be concerned with the Olympics. This should never happen, especially in the middle of the afternoon to a child in America.

The victim, Derrion Albert, an honor student, was simply walking home from school. He did nothing wrong. The city of Chicago failed to meet the minimum standards of serving this community. They failed to make the streets safe for these students in broad daylight. They failed to protect their families from experiencing tragedies like this. They failed our country by allowing such an environment to fester where education is so dangerous that many kids choose to drop out of school.

This was not an isolated incident. It's just one that ended up on video. Last year, 509 murders occurred in Chicago. To put that in perspective, 314 soldiers died in Iraq during the same period. This was number one among all American cities, despite a population half the size of New York or Los Angeles. For teenagers, the city is becoming an especially dangerous place. Eleven teens were murdered this month, and there have already been 50 homicides involving kids under the age of 20 this year. Nearly 500 shootings have occurred involving CPS students (despite Chicago's strict gun laws). And the homicides are often excessively violent. In May, a 15 year old boy was chased, beaten by baseball bats, run over by a car, shot in the head and burned for showing his face in an unfamiliar neighborhood.

Chicago has one of the highest school dropout rates in the country. Only 6 in 100 Chicago Public School students end up earning a bachelor's degree by the age of 25, according to a study published in the Chicago Tribune. These 666 schools enroll 407,000 students. That means only 25,000 students are given a chance to succeed in life. These are shocking statistics from the third largest district in the United States, a district Mayor Daley took control over in 1995 and runs with his appointees, the most recent of which Obama tapped to be his Secretary of Education. If she brings this kind of success to Washington, our country is in big trouble.

Rewarding Chicago with the Olympics is like encouraging a drunk to drink. The city currently faces a budget shortfall of nearly 550 million dollars. The government is rife with corruption. Millions have been wasted on fraud and political kickbacks. Government subsidized housing has failed to meet minimum standards despite huge federal grants. The last thing this city needs is another boondoggle project funneling dollars away from working families and essential services into the hands of political cronies, the same kind that are being implicated and indicted for trying to sell Barack Obama's Illinois Senate seat.

You wouldn't put a tax cheat in charge of the IRS, would you? Oops, Obama did. But you wouldn't appoint a pedophile as czar of school safety? Oops, Obama did that, too. But you wouldn't keep giving ACORN taxpayer money to advise pimps and prostitutes, would you? Okay, to be fair President Obama says he hasn't paid attention because he has to deal with more important issues. Like flying to Copenhagen with Oprah to discuss the 2016 Olympics. Right. Oops.

If Chicago wins their bid for the Olympics, bet on more corrupt behavior and money wasted, with the Daley political machine (in power for 20 years and counting) reaping most of the benefits. Heck, maybe old Obama pal and convicted real estate developer Tony Rezco will see some profit from it, too.

Given the IOC's own history of corruption, this could be a match made in heaven. Kind of like Rod Blagojevich and Tanya Harding getting together. Don't get me wrong. I'd love to have the Olympics in the U.S. again. Just not Chicago. Call this a case of misplaced priorities for the mayor and the president. Fix your city, fix our schools, and fix the economy before you fix the pockets of your friends and cronies. Actually, why don't you stop fixing the pockets of your friends and cronies altogether.

My thoughts and prayers go out to Derrion Albert's family.

UPDATE: By the way, the person who shot this video disgusts me for their casual indifference and failure to lend aid. Watching it again, it's really hard to believe they didn't help.

President Orders More Indoctrination, Please!

You would think in a week where several videos surfaced of public school teachers indoctrinating students with probamaganda, now would be the worst time for the president to propose longer school years and more hours per day spent in public classrooms. After all, you don't want to give those "crazies" who compare you to dictators more fodder. But that's exactly what the president did over the weekend. One can only assume he must have liked what he saw in videos like this:

And this one, all over cable news:

The teachers, of course, claim the kids wrote these songs - and only during the last five minutes of class after their academic work was completed. Really? Seems like a pretty big production to me. Can I give them a pop quiz on their multiplication tables? I don't know many nine year olds who use phrases like "diversity" and "the ground shifted." The second video by itself is a tylenol commercial waiting to happen.

President Bush had No Child Left Behind. This president has No Leftist Child Gets Behind a Conservative. To be fair, the videos were the ideas of the teachers and school districts, not the president. But Obama hasn't spoken out against them or expressed concern that students spend more time learning math and civics and less time learning about him. Shocking, isn't it, given the president mentions himself more times in his speeches than the country he represents?

In fact, if you go back to his campaign last fall, Obama has made a concerted effort to recruit those far too young to cast a ballot. The official Barack Obama website encouraged kids 12 and under to organize and campaign for him by throwing "My Barack" parties, staging mock elections, sending cards designed by Obama's staff to their grandparents pleading for their vote, and even coloring his "O" logo to display on their school bags.

If you don't think it can happen in America, think again. It's happening. I would blow it off if it were just one incident taken out of context, but this is becoming a pattern.

In another case of probamaganda, this worksheet was handed out as a school assignment after the president spoke about health care. Here the teacher presented Obama's claims as unquestionable facts, even though they've been disputed by the Associated Press and the nonpartisan CBO. Proof that it's not the president's speeches being shown in classrooms that cause the controversy, it's how teachers use them to push their own biased agendas.

I know when I was a student, especially in grades 6 through 12, you could usually tell if a teacher was liberal or conservative, but they never went so far as to tell you which candidate they supported. We used to ask our teachers sometimes, and they would always say it was a private matter. In America, they would tell us, we have a secret ballot. Politics was considered off-limits in the classroom until we got older, when the room was split in half and both sides of a controversial issue were discussed with the teacher playing neutral moderator.

That's obviously not the case today. Public schools shouldn't tell our children what political party is better any more than they have a right to tell them what religion is the truest. But when just disagreeing with the president's policies can get you labeled as a racist, is anyone surprised they try?

If you want to make kids smarter, stop teaching progressive fluff like the content in these videos. None of this is going to prepare them for life or teach them skills necessary for a career. President Obama misses the point on how to fix our education system. More hours in failing schools with ineffective teachers will add nothing to a student's ability to learn. It will add nothing to our international rank in math and science. Real education reform, just like health care, should be about quality, not quantity. That includes vouchers, but the president is opposed to them, too.

Sadly, as we are beginning to see, President Obama believes that more government is always the answer. And if you don't agree, just give it time. Maybe you can be indoctrinated.

Hat Tip: Michelle Malkin

Why I'm a Conservative (and You Should Be Too)

I'm a conservative, because I care deeply about the individual. I want every individual in America to succeed. I believe that history has proven that the best path to achieve this is by valuing every life and allowing every individual to pursue their dreams. I believe there is no greater role for government than protecting our God-given rights to Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I believe the Constitution and Bill of Rights are sacred, that these rights should never be infringed upon; not by any institution or corporation or government agent, and certainly not for any program designed for the "social collective good."

"This nation was founded by men of many nations and backgrounds. It was founded on the principle that all men are created equal and that the rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened." Those words were spoken by John F. Kennedy. I know he's a Democrat, and if Democrats were still following his advice, maybe I wouldn't be voting Republican. But they're not. The Democratic Party has been hijacked by extremists and progressives who are intent on forcing the individual to relinquish his liberties for their utopian vision.

I'm a conservative, because I trust people to make their own decisions, even when those decisions are wrong. I trust them, because I know that we learn from our mistakes, that we succeed or fail in the free market based on our merits. Some of the mistakes I've made have been the best learning experiences of my life. A caged bird never learns to fly. Removing difficult decisions from a person's life only induces a spiritual emptiness that, like a narcotic, leaves a society totally dependent and morally bankrupt.

Like all conservatives, I'm for lower taxes. I believe Americans are the best judge of how to spend and save their own money. I trust every American to earn their entire paycheck, to find jobs that meet their needs and to keep every dime for the needs of their families. I think we are overburdened by unnecessary taxes and big government. The economy keeps shrinking while the government expands. I think it's wrong to make Americans spend four, five, or six months out of the year working for the government. The government should work for the people.

I'm a conservative, because I grew up in a small town where I learned government works best when more decisions are made at a local level. I believe tax dollars are spent more efficiently when you know the person allocating them, when you see him or her at your church or in your neighborhood, and when you have access to their office. I believe for government to work for the people, it has to be held accountable by the people.

When the average American's hard-earned money is sent to Washington, it enters a dragon's lair of greedy lobbyists and special interests. There is too much red tape for anyone to be held accountable. These dollars are taken out of the pockets of families trying to budget for cars and vacations, college and doctors visits, and instead put in the hands of political cronies. The money is no longer playing a contributing factor to the US economy, prevented from being spent at local restaurants, mom and pop stores, and small businesses. It has been stolen from the community that created the job that produced it, kept from improving their neighborhoods, roads, and schools. If by some miracle it gets sent back to them, after accounting for fraud and administrative costs, its worth would likely be cut in half. Only a Democrat would call this efficient.

I'm a conservative, because I believe the best way to help people is to make them independent, not more dependent on government. Too often government handouts simply enslave the recipients, robbing them of their self-worth. I believe in volunteering and giving to charity, not waiting for the government to provide charity through various faceless agencies. A garden requires more than sunlight and water to grow. It needs to be tended to, weeds pulled, with a constant gardener to nurture the seeds into fruit. By creating huge bureaucracies to do the social work that we should all be doing in our own communities, we have removed the human element of "love your neighbor", allowing money to replace spiritual growth and hurting American families in the process. I would rather teach a man to fish for life than give him a fish for a day.

I believe that America is the land of opportunity. I believe in supporting entrepreneurs and encouraging the American Dream. I have seen how the success of my business sends ripples throughout the economy, helping create jobs and allowing my vendors to purchase new machinery, spurring growth in other sectors. Like most conservatives, I believe that out-of-control government spending, overreaching bureaucrats, and burdening regulations often prevent businesses from creating these opportunities for many Americans.

Our forefathers didn't come here because America was the land of tranquil servitude; they didn't come here for welfare or union jobs or because America guaranteed success. No, in fact, they risked everything, including their lives, for the chance to start their own enterprises, for the grand adventure of life, to dream bigger dreams for their children and grandchildren. They came here for the promise of freedom, to live free of the constraints and taxes of authoritarian regimes that so often destroy prosperity and happiness.

I believe America stands for freedom. As Ronald Reagan used to say, we are the shining city on the hill. Our freedoms - the right to bear arms, the right to disagree with our leaders, freedom of the press, freedom to worship, freedom to engage in economic activity by starting our own businesses - they are a beacon of hope, an example for all people and nations to follow. We are exceptional not because of our government or any piece of legislation we might pass, but because we, the people, are the government. It's this guiding principle we must always stand for and always fight to protect. When we retreat from voicing our disapproval of hostile regimes around the world, when we compromise our principles to try and please others, when we fail to stand up for American values, we risk letting others move us away from that light and into the darkness.

I'm a conservative, because I believe this is the greatest nation on God's green earth. I believe there's no need to apologize for it. I believe in American Exceptionalism, which our current Democratic president doesn't seem to comprehend. I believe a man's heart is measured by how much he is willing to help others, not how much he is willing to take from others. I believe the wealth of a nation is measured not by how much the government can confiscate from its citizens, but by how much its citizens freely give of their time and goodwill towards a greater purpose and future.

I believe the spirit of a nation is measured by virtue and valor. How true are we to the principles of our democracy, and how willing are we to die for those principles? A nation without faith in liberty, trust in its citizens, and men of such spirit will surely perish, replaced by a truer nation of virtue and valor.

I vote Republican, because the Republican Party represents the best of conservatism, and conservatism represents the best of America's hopes and dreams. The Republican Party still celebrates the spirit and ingenuity that created the airplane and the personal computer, that gave us television, rock n roll, and put a man on the moon. Our system of free enterprise has brought more people out of poverty, including immigrants from all around the world, than any other nation in the history of earth. We've been the most prosperous nation during the most prosperous century of mankind. We may face new challenges, but our story doesn't end here.

Now is not the time to abandon our principles, to limit freedom and restrict growth, to attempt to contain risks and regulate salaries and free markets, to bind ourselves from exploring new horizons for fear of the future. It's still morning in America. We can make the next century even greater than the last if we stay true to the vision of our founders. If we trust the individual. If we encourage our citizens to dream and dare to let our imaginations soar. If we work for each other, and not against one another. If we limit the scope of government for the greater hope of humanity. This is our cause. Not big government or government bailouts. But freedom, liberty, and opportunity for all.

There's a famous bell in Philadelphia with an inscription on it that says, "Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof." That's why I'm a conservative. I want to spread liberty throughout the land. God bless America.

If His Ego Was Any Bigger, He'd be Kanye

When the president called out Kanye West for being a jackass, was his conscience calling out his own ego? One has to wonder after Obama addressed the United Nations yesterday. Let's hope he never does this again, because the president sounded like a boastful child who thought the world started the day he was born. Or at least thought America started to be a real country once he took office.

Oddly enough, the despots and dictators in the room ate it up, because finally here was an American president who spoke their egotistical language. As Paul Mirengoff writes at Powerline:

Conservative commentary on President Obama's U.N. speech has correctly taken note of the extent to which Obama once again has apologized for America. What struck me as new, though, was extent to which he begged his audience to award the U.S. brownie points for his good acts. The one form of supplication follows from the other. Obama isn't just saying that the U.S. has been a bad boy in the past; he's also saying that we're a good boy now:

We know the future will be forged by deeds and not simply words. Speeches alone will not solve our problems -- it will take persistent action. For those who question the character and cause of my nation, I ask you to look at the concrete actions we have taken in just nine months.

Obama then listed a series of decisions that he hoped might placate the assembled thugs, dictators, and hypcrites -- a crowd from which he feels compelled to seek approval on behalf of the United States. Obama noted that he has banned torture, closed Gitmo, moved to end the war in Iraq, moved towards disarmament, attempted to advance the ball on creating a Palestinian state, "re-engaged the United Nations, paid our bills, joined the Human Rights Council."

So here was the president of the United States doing everything but getting down on his hands and knees before the representatives of every wretched regime in the world to plead that the U.S. has turned over a new leaf and, in effect, become harmless.

Obama got on his hands and knees for the rest of the world alright, but I can't describe what he was doing without resorting to colorful language. Let's just say Monica Lewinsky got more out of it.

Top Ten Signs David Letterman is Completely Smitten with Obama

(BASED ON HIS APPEARANCE LAST NIGHT)

10. Held president's hand while asking tough questions, like "How do racists make you feel?"

9. Flossed gap between front teeth right before interview.

8. Avoided subject of president's bowling skills for fear of special olympics faux pas.

7. Switched places with Paul so he could laugh at the president's jokes, nod his head, and exclaim, "Yeah, Barack. Yeah."

6. Allowed president to bring his own teleprompter.

5. Top ten list of the night presented top ten ways to report unpatriotic dissent to White House.

4. Gave the president his pick of Palin pregnant teenage daughter jokes for opening monologue.

3. Never mentioned ACORN, Van Jones, or Inspector General scandals one time.

2. Kept the president on for other guests' segments, with "my apologies to the Jonas Brothers."

1. Pretended he was Oprah.