Also Also

Nascent White Racialists Target Harvey Murders

And here I thought the worst part of the media attention over the murders of Bryan Harvey and his family in their homes on New Year's Day, was the news-channel hype and Court-TV speculation on whodunit.  I think the last thing Richmonders want to see is MSNBC going Holloway on the case.

Since the arrests, worse has apparently happened. After 10 days of positive but relatively quiet commentary on my Harvey lyrical retrospective, the increased traffic from the murder story began to ebb...until this morning, when it spiked again. And there were several new comments, from (apparently) different people. Where were they coming from?

Here. Are we expected to believe that in an effort to save himself, he tried to appease them by disavowing his heritage via House of Freaks music?

We will never know to what extent, if any, the "hate Whitey" attitude prevailing in the media fueled the rage of the killers, but we do know that Bryan Harvey's evocation of White racial guilt in one of his songs -- "White Folks' Blood" -- didn't help him or his wife or children when the animals got out their knives.
[  http://tinyurl.com/ex4ej ]

That tinyurl comes right back to Also Also. The premise appears to be that if the killers weren't drawn to their spree by media egging on their hatred, certainly their victims' revulsion towards Jim Crow and Klan activities was unproductive when facing the supposed backlash.

But the killers had to be on a race-based spree in the first place for this entire scenario to be even remotely relevant, and no evidence of that yet exists. This wasn't a serial killing, in which the suspect selects his victims with a purpose, usually in some kind of pattern. This was a spree, in which crime is essentially the goal and victims tend to come to it by virtue of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

But what makes this line of racial pursuit truly ridiculous are the other people allegedly killed by the suspects: Ashley Baskerville, her mother Mary Baskerville Tucker, and her stepfather Purcyell Tucker. They are, to steal the style, Black. So uh, you racialists--is this Black Guilt? Was the Hate Whitey media pushing them to kill three black people during the same spree? Did the color of their skin help them?

At this point the Vanguardians will simply point to the scattershot selection of statistics cited in their article, designed to create a eugenically-based theory of crime: black folks are just more violent. They can't help it, but they also take special unconscious pleasure in offing white people they come across in the midst of reflexively killing their own friends and families. Yeah, gotcha.

Sorry to bring up this whole little trip back to the 1930s, but this kind of absurd, paranoic and desperate attempt to make everything about the evils of miscegenation and integration is something that needs to be repeatedly exposed for the ignorant hatred that it is. One of the more laughable ironies is that for all the complaining that blacks and the media have to make everything about race, for these nuts it's literally true: no matter what, it all goes back to today's impurity of the races. Which always made me wonder--if it's black blood that's bad, doesn't mixing dilute it? So the answer is to so thoroughly mix it that nobody's got enough to make them violent, right? Yeah, I thought not.

To close, this kind of supremacist ranting always reminds me of Homer Stokes, the "Concerned Citizen" candidate in the Coen brothers movie O Brother, Where Art Thou?:

Homer Stokes is convinced not only that the Boys are black, but also that their fans' enthusiastic reception is based on ignorance of this fact. He hurries to shut down this "miscegenated" performance, and an-nounces,  "These boys is not white!" The crowd starts rumbling at this disruption, but he, confident of his "constitchency," blathers on.

 Gratifyingly, Stokes' fear that racial intermixing will rock the racist social order turns out to be well-founded: his constitchency literally rides him out of the hall on a rail to insure that the band finishes their song.

Let the band play on!

Oh, last thing. Lest you believe that some nationwide force of haters were targeting this story and my site, check out the "join up" page:

National Vanguard is being organized under the direction of members of the National Alliance Executive Committee and prominent National Alliance leaders, and we expect that our Board of Directors will be announced soon. Kevin Alfred Strom is acting as trustee for the Board and membership at this time.
National Vanguard
Post Office Box 5145
Charlottesville VA 22905

"being organized..."

--TJ

 

Kitz in the Mix? Nope

Well, so much for that prediction. In his inimitable "I'm pretty sure I won't, but maybe I will, although now that I think about it I'm not" way, John Kitzhaber backed away from the political podium and redevoted himself to his public passion--fixing health care:

[H]ealth – not health care, but health – is the first rung on the ladder of opportunity; it is the cornerstone of a democratic society; allowing people to fully participate, to be productive, and to take advantage of the opportunities of upward mobility that lie at the heart of the American Dream.

Yet today those opportunities are being stifled for millions of Americans and hundreds of thousands of Oregonians who cannot afford the cost of needed medical care, living in constant fear -- one illness away from personal bankruptcy. Health care is the fastest growing cost for both families and businesses, eroding wages and posing a significant barrier to economic growth.

It is also compromising our ability to invest in other social priorities -- further undermining our system of public education which offers the best hope for success and meaningful civic engagement for the fastest-growing portions of the American population.

The cost of health care is also the major driver behind our national debt – the dark legacy we leave to our children. While Congress is preoccupied with the $5 trillion Social Security gap, Medicare – when the baby boom generation retires -- represents over $65 trillion in unfunded entitlements. And this staggering debt is being financed by China and other countries still willing to purchase U.S. securities. We are literally handing our financial future over to our major international competitors, putting at risk the independence and self determination which lie at the heart of our national identity.

I certainly would have supported his bid, and figured that someone who repeatedly flirts with the political limelight like he does, would eventually find himself back in the ring. But listening to what he says, I feel much better that he's NOT running--he's the real deal:

There is no question but that running as a candidate for Governor –as well as holding the office itself – offers a powerful forum in which to advance this cause. Indeed, the media interest in -- and coverage of -- the health care issue has increased dramatically over the past few weeks alone. And we seem to have quite a few representatives from the media assembled here this morning.

On the other hand, our politics today have become largely transactional – “lower my taxes and I will vote for you;” “give me prescription drug coverage and I will vote for you.” And it works the other way around as well – “vote for me and I will cut your taxes;” “vote for me and I will fund schools first.” The problem is that these transactions are all about “me” – and have nothing to do with “us.” They are all about what I can get, not what I can give. They neither foster a sense of the larger public interest; nor do they do advance the common good.

And the fact is that we cannot solve the crisis in our health care system – or in our school system or in our economy or our environment – through this kind of transactional politics because they erode any sense of common purpose and foster the belief that if we can just elect a new governor; a different legislature or a different congress – all our problems will be taken care of. And that is simply not true.

These problems – and especially the crisis in our health care system – cannot be solved without taking some risks, which means they will not be solved by relying solely on a political process which is set up to reward people who play it safe – who ask at every decision point “which transaction offers the safest path to retain my position?”

That means that if we want anything to happen we are going to have to make it happen ourselves. It means that the responsibility to find a sustainable solution does not, in fact, belong to someone else. It belongs to us – to you and me and to people in communities throughout this state and nation. We are not powerless here and should not be without hope. We are limited only by the scope of our imagination and by the depth of our commitment to one another.

Clearly this man's head is screwed on far too well, and is far too focused on one issue, to waste him on the political process. I'm shaking my head now, wondering why on earth I wanted him to be sullied by another run. His energies are far better directed to his passion and expertise, and the Archimedes Movement is bound to be worthy of the name under his leadership.

But I'm going to hang onto the phrase "transactional politics," because it perfectly encapsulates the entire pay-for-play system we suffer under now. The shallow view of Abramoffukah is that politicians have put themselves up for sale and lobbyists are pounding on the doors to buy, like parents at Toys R Us waiting for them to open on Black Friday. But Kitz is right--it goes beyond that, to the way that politicians succor favor from ordinary voters by promising tax breaks or special projects in their neighborhood, and the way that voters expect a specific tangible benefit from their vote as opposed to solid but generic leadership.

So Ted gets an easier  shot at another term, and while he's clearly breathing a sigh of relief [reg may be reqd], hopefully he took a minute to think about Kitzhaber's reasoning and will ask himself how he can disengage from transactional politics and--essentially--make himself too good for his job. We can only hope.

--TJ

Kitz in the Mix? Announcement Tomorrow

The waiting, definitely the hardest part, appears nearly over. Tomorrow morning at 11AM, speaking from a health clinic in Old Town's "charity alley," former governor John Kitzhaber will let us know whether he plans on taking the job again:

       Kitzhaber is keeping his decision under wraps for now, but the location of his news conference could be telling - it's a health clinic for low-income people on Burnside Street.

       The former emergency room physician has said in recent weeks that being governor again might help him "jump start" a renewed debate over transforming the nation's health care system to make medical care more affordable and accessible for all Oregonians.

       However, Kitzhaber also has been promoting a sweeping health care reform proposal for the state that could wind up on the November ballot, an effort that wouldn't require him to run against Gov. Ted Kulongoski - a fellow Democrat - in the May primary election.

For those of you scoring at home, that's two "he will" paragraphs, followed by one "he won't." The O's brief hitter on the subject tonight has no "he will" lines, but does quote the man himself saying it would be tough to both run for office and manage a health care ballot initiative. On the other hand, if you're governor you get to make initiatives anytime you want. On the other other hand, the plan he's got in mind is one big political minefield that even a Democratic statehouse might be loathe to touch. But what's the best part about the two stories? They're written by the same guy!

I suppose it's only proper to offer a prediction, and that prediction is that I think he's in. Contrary to Cain's assertion in the KATU piece, I think appearing at a low-income health clinic could presage either kind of answer. He could say "these are the kind of people who are being ignored by our state government, and that's why I'm running," or he could say "I tried once to get things done, and most of the time I spent swatting away crappy bills from the Republicans. This is where things get done, and this is where I can do the most good, which is why I'm not running." However, I think the natural tendency if you're not running is not to make too much of a deal out of the announcement--especially for someone who apparently doesn't need his ego stroked (although more on that in a moment). You might have your family around you and appear somewhere more ceremonial or casual. If you are looking for political symbology from your venue, you're trying to project an active agenda (and thus would be running for office to achieve it).

In any case he's certainly drawn the decision out longer than many people (cough--Vicki Walker!--cough) might like, and the party is basically treading water until they have a scenario. Kitzhaber has visited just about anyone who might care, and they all say the same thing: we won't say who we'd endorse (because we don't want to be up the creek with Ted if Kitz says no), but we can't help but shuffle our feet in the dirt and smile shyly when Kitz talks to us. We think he's real purty.

When the SEIU, the teachers, the environmentalists and the tribes are winking and nudging like Eric Idle, batting their eyes as you talk about giving the native Oregonian animals and plants full health care and a growing wage--and you go seeking that out--that's got to suggest some kind of ego. He is so smooth and earnest and well balanced that he doesn't project the typical politician's love of his own voice, second only to the voices of others talking glowingly about him. But here's a guy who left on top of his game in order to get away from the life, and now he's a hair's breadth from getting back into it, like some cowboy Corleone. Underneath that craggy exterior is someone who likes to be in the middle of things, thinking he can fix them. That kind of guy doesn't hold a press conference to say No.

So I won't announce my endorsement at this time, but if he happens to run I'll vote for him.

--TJ

Alito's Problem: He's a Dick

Disclaimers out of the way: yes, that's a childish way to cheapen the process of filling a seat on the United States Supreme Court. Certainly as a sitting judge and by all accounts a learned jurist, Samuel Alito commands respect for his legal expertise. Reducing the arguments against Alito into a schoolyard attack is an unfair way to avoid lodging substantive, compelling arguments against his confirmation.

But as Joe Biden pointed out for Chris Matthews tonight, confirmation hearings are nearing pure uselessness, as far as compelling substantive commentary on the law goes. The GOP likes to blame Ginsburg's artful but grandmotherly stern dismissal of questions for the avoidant way nominees conduct themselves; the Democrats point at Robert Bork, who ironically came up in the hearings as a role model for Alito. And for Alito to give such high praise to Bork as a nominee--forcing him to backtrack when one of Bork's comments contradicted what Alito tried to represent as his own view--let's just say talking about how great Bob Bork is, wasn't on the suggested topiclist at Alito's murder boards before the hearings.

Matthews forced Biden to admit that the Senate could not escape blame for what they'd created: a nominee who tells the honest truth has no shot; the artfully dodging candidate gets a lot of clucked tongues and wagged fingers, but he gets the robe. And that's what Alito's trying to do, giving rather bizarre restatements of the question as his answer, instead of actually coming anywhere close to answering it.

Which brings me to Alito's problem so far in this hearing: he's not especially good at the dance steps required of him. Ginsburg, Bork, Roberts, Alito--they all have the chops. They wouldn't be there otherwise. But primarily, to succeed in the hearing you have to feed the Senator sawdust and make him think he's eating Krispy Kreme.

Roberts was entirely inscrutable, appearing courtly, reasoned and totally at ease with his answers and in fact his entire judicial philosophy. When a lot of progressives and liberal advocacy groups saw Roberts make the rounds of Senate offices after his nomination, I think they knew he was in unless they found a body. He was charming, deferential, properly awed but quietly confident. The White House knew that in the public arena of the hearing, Roberts would kill like Pryor on Sunset Strip.

Clearly, by the time they got to picking Alito, the inner circle was scrambling for something that would pass, and couldn't let style considerations take prominence. As a result, we get someone who seems to have a faint smirk 90% of the time and talks, quite frankly as I said, like a dick. It came to me gradually, but by lunchtime today I was convinced that this guy had a real presentational problem. The same evasions and hedges about stare decisis and emanations of penumbras that Roberts brushed away with genial ease, became potential beads of sweat on Alito's wide pate. It was like watching George Costanza testify.

Not having internet access for big chunks of the day, it took a while to see that I wasn't the only one who thought so. First Lyn at Evergreen Politics puts it a little more nicely:

I graduated from the University of Washington in 1970 two years ahead of Sam Alito's graduation from Princeton.  What really tipped me to the guy, besides his non-verbals, was what he said was when he talked about the people I hung out with in college and afterwards. He said he went 12 miles down the road from where he'd grown up and this is what he saw:

It was a time of turmoil at colleges and universities. And I saw some very smart people and very privileged people behaving irresponsibly. And I couldn't help making a contrast between some of the worst of what I saw on the campus and the good sense and the decency of the people back in my own community.

Well, I was on campus during that time and I was amongst those people he distains who were "behaving irresponsibly" according to Alito.  I certainly was not priviledged, putting myself through school instead.  I'm not proud of every single thing I did during those years but I learned so much and I began to see how important it was to understand what was going on for people different from me and I learned to stand up for ideas.  I learned about how important it was for me to see myself as an independent woman.  I listened to black people talk, sometimes with great dignity, sometimes great anger about their lives.  I marched against the war.  I helped shut down the University for a few days (or was it weeks, I can't remember) because we thought people should know we didn't think it could be 'life as usual'.

I was going to say "and then later, Digby has much the same sentiment," but it turns out not to have been later at all...it was at exactly the same time, last night at 7:20pm.  Digby's ear turned up at the very same section of Alito's speech, and frames it quite correctly, I think--the guy's simply insecure about and resentful of the baby boomers who thought he was square as a kid:

This is the same guy who wanted to keep women out of Princeton. Presumably, they wouldn't have "felt comfortable" there. But that's not what made that statement so revealing. It's this notion of smart and privileged people "behaving irresponsibly."

I think it's fairly certain that he's not talking about branding frat boys' asses or getting drunk and stealing Christmas Trees. He's talking about anti-war protestors, feminists etc. And like so many campus conservatives of that era, he sounds like he's still carrying around a boatload of resentment toward them.

Roberts apparently came out of all that unscathed. Confident in his own abilities and social prowess, he didn't appear to have this puny, pinched view of liberalism as a threat to decency and morality. (He may have it, but it didn't show --- or he was smart enough to hide it in his hearings.) Alito is one of those other guys.

Now, if Dick Cheney can make a full career out of being a cranky, evil looking doomsayer with the charm of laundry soap, Sam Alito can certainly make it to SCOTUS with his surly angst. But it's something to consider as the country takes next week to think about who they saw in the hearings...and then calls in the verdict to their Senator's office. If he loses enough public mojo to embolden a fillibuster or--God forbid--turn a moderate Republican or two, it won't be because he let the cops strip search a 10-year-0ld. It will because he acted like a dick.

--TJ

Also Also Wins a Niewy!

I've neglected to mention this since they were released, so we're belatedly proud to announce that Also Also has been given a David Niewert Award by the Northwest Progressive Institute, for excellence in political coverage of Washington state issues by a non-WA blog. We're just as proud to share the award with Preemptive Karma, who worked closely with me on stories about the electoral challenge to Gov. Gregoire. Here's what Andrew had to say about it:

One of the major political events in the region this year - perhaps the biggest political event of the year - was the Washington State Republican Party's attempt to unseat Gov. Christine Gregoire by challenging the outcome of the 2004 gubernatorial election. The GOP's legal challenge was accompanied by a public relations firestorm that sought to paint Gregoire and the state's Democrats as cheaters who had stuffed ballot boxes and committed fraud in order to win the election. Washington State's progressive bloggers fought back against such mistruths, but they had help from two outstanding peers from Oregon - Carla of Preemptive Karma and T.J. of Also Also. Over a period of several months, Carla and T.J. worked tirelessly to help debunk the misinformation that was being spread by the Republicans' media campaign, exposing the truth about military ballots, voting tabulation, and other issues. Additionally, Also Also provided excellent analysis of the trial that took place at the end of the election challenge. Washingtonian progressives owe these two Oregonians their sincere thanks for a job well done.

Aw, shucks. Tweren't nuthin'!

I'd like to point you towards the comprehensive archive of WA Gov stories by Also Also--but I haven't made one. They're scattered primarily in the "Politics Horserace" section of the archives, but some entries--particularly the ones where I lampoon SoundPolitics' Stefan Sharkansky--may be elsewhere. Happily, NPI has taken care of that as well--many of the best entries are located in their coverage guide at NWPortal.

I went a little nuts and tried to liveblog the trial via internet feed from o you can read the results from the links listed, May 24th to June 6. Other highlights include two lengthy pieces on the initial hearings for the trial, here and then again here. But what I suppose won the award for PK and us was the two part "Fisking Sharkansky" series, begun here and then completed a couple days later here. Those articles pointed out the fact that while King County's tabulations were certainly subject to error, so too were those of every county--and King's results weren't substantively worse by comparison.

It's quite an honor to receive the award, especially since:

1) We don't live in Washington
2) We just got started as a blog a month after the whole election challenge brouhaha began
3) we've let our bribes to NPI lapse

It's also quite gratifying to carry the name of the author of Orcinus, a blog we greatly respect and enjoy. I hope he doesn't mind that I've shortened the name of the award in "Grammy"-type fashion; I'm going to call them The Niewys.

So we're blessed and thankful to have been recognized with PK, and in fact Also Also will be bringing you more of that award-winning collaboration in 2006. Stay tuned, and make sure you check out the other recognized blogs who got a Niewy this year. They are worth the perusal.

--TJ

Kathleen Parker, Stagger Me, Gets Abramoff Mostly Right

Before I knew who Ann Coulter was, there was Kathleen Parker. Thumbing through the stridently conservative editorial pages of the Richmond Times-Dispatch in my 20s and 30s, I found a wide range of hysteriots and hectorizers were allowed to run rampant over the bi-page spread, supplemented of course by a chorus of Amen Corner letters to the editor--or often as not taking the T-D to task for being too liberal. Early on when Parker began to appear, it was mostly still a boy's club, boys who'd been getting senior discounts at the megaplex for years. So her placement in the halls of Talking Point Central was notable for its singularity, although she tried (and still tries) to act like one of the boys.

Parker is nowhere near as ascerbic, unfunny, vicious, wildly uninformed or just plain classless as Coulter. She is, however, a good faith member of the tra-la-la brigade--those conservative writers who divide their time between assailing "intellectual elites," and dismissing complaints from life's losers as good riddance to bad rubbish, never seeming to notice their intellectual elitism. She has a chirpy, consciously Southern belle arrogance that perhaps rankles only me personally. And she is generally happy to run with whatever line is playing in the subconscious message running underneath the New Age music, put into iPods by the White House for media distribution.

Which is what makes her weekend column on Abramoffukah all the more surprising. No matter how she tries to couch it, to wish with furrowed brow and balled up fist that she could do it, she can't avoid the fact that Jack's Fallout is going to swing deep and sharp into Republican flesh:

The strategy seems to be that by widely distributing “blame” across party lines, everyone’s equally duped and, therefore, equally not-to-be-blamed. Dumb ol’ Republicans; dumb ol’ Democrats.

The only problem is, it won’t wash, and it’s bad strategy if Republicans want to maintain a drop of credibility as the ethical party. While true that some Democrats did accept money from Abramoff — and some will get burned — it is more true that this is a Republican problem.

Political Reality No. 1: The party in power gets corrupted. 

Political Reality No. 2: Indicted incumbents don’t get re-elected. 

Besides, exactly how does one rationalize a golfing trip to Scotland, as Rep. Robert W. Ney (R-Ohio) enjoyed, compliments of Abramoff? Nobody expects politicians to sleep in Motel 8s or dine at Wendy’s while conducting the nation’s business, but golfing in Scotland doesn’t quite pass the “straight-face” test.

Meanwhile, there’s a critical difference between “directly” and “indirectly.” What “indirectly” means is that many Democrats have accepted funds from the Florida-based law-lobbying firm Greenberg Traurig, to which Abramoff once belonged. He “left” the firm when Abramoff’s questionable practices with Indian tribes were first reported.

Note again for the record (and not for the last time), that Parker does manage to slip the "Democrats got money from Abramoff" line in there, something that should cause you to slap the taste out of the mouth of anyone who tells it to you...such as Howard Dean did today to Wolf Blitzer. Listen to the heavy sigh Mr. Bojangles gives when he can't run with the storyline he's been handed, and abruptly ends the interview. Priceless. But damned if Howard didn't stop the diahhrea!

So she's not going gently into that good reality, trying lamely as she does to blame Democrats for the culture that bred Abramoff's success, waving Johnny Huang's huang around as if it were some kind of rational comparison. And oh how Republican columnists love to talk about being the party of corruption reform, and how this is so bad because it's just not expected of the GOP! But she does get the political ramifications, something many of her colleagues appear not yet to grasp, and is warning her fellows to ignore them at their peril:

What’s clear is that however the Republican Party tries to spin it, this is a huge deal, and it’s primarily a huge Republican deal. It’s also becoming increasingly clear that the ripple effects of Abramoff’s corruption could alter the political landscape come the midterm elections and possibly far into the future.

As one Democratic insider said to me in December just before the Abramoff plea story broke: “For Democrats, it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.”

--TJ

Band of Brothers: The 2006 Fightin' Dems

This came up while I was still in Virginia on holiday, so perhaps the whole 'sphere was atwitter about it and I am now presenting thoroughly old news. Via DonkeyRising (and apparently onto Kos thereafter), ThinkProgress notes the birth of the guild/support group/PAC known as Band of Brothers: a roster of veteran Democrats, particularly Iraq veterans, running for federal office across the country. (TP follows up on the story here). 

This is extraordinarily smart use of money for this cycle, IMO. I think it's worthwhile to consider the cautioning counsel that simply being a veteran is not a winning strategy--"John Kerry, reporting for duty"--but as indicated on their website, the plan is a broader one of support and coalition of message:

We aim to bring middle class and lower income Americans back into the decision making process by promoting candidates that may not otherwise be heard.

Band of Brothers 2006 is premised on the basic idea that all Americans should be given the same opportunities to succeed. We support policies that promote American Values:

• Basic health care coverage for all Americans
• Expanded education opportunity
• Responsible use of our Military
• A foreign policy that promotes US leadership with NATO, the UN, and our allies in the war on terror
• Overhaul, reform, and simplify the tax system

The Band of Brothers 2006 campaign will focus on exposing neo-conservative agendas and policies that are in conflict with great American traditions.

• Values and Patriotism – Clarity on which values are to be honored and which values are under siege.
• Corporate Responsibility – Reinforce the sensibilities of the middle class while illustrating how neo-conservative agendas encourage corruption and greed in big corporations.
• Exposing Bush – Put the spotlight on policies that benefit the 1%, on Republican base strategy, payoffs, and cronyism.
• Foreign Policy – Not contesting the need to fight the war on terror, but illustrating that the Bush foreign policy makes it more difficult and costly.
• The Economy – Serious discussion on low income growth, increasing inequality, rising health care cost, cuts in public services, and a deepening middle class squeeze.

There is obviously a concentration on the politics of war, but it's one that's sorely needed. Current Democratic members of Congress have been loathe to speak up firmly about the failures in Iraq and how to go about fixing them, because when they do they get the Murtha Treatment--and it does take a strong constitution (little c and big C) to withstand the attacks. Why is Murtha able to withstand it? Because he's got the credibility, and in general so should the other veteran candidates. They've been there, they understand the reality on the ground, and likely have a feel for what does and doesn't work.

The coalition also recognizes, however, that just being "a veteran" doesn't make you a savvy politician, and aims to help the candidates learn the ropes of campaigning--phone banking, town halls, message development. And of course each candidate has his (or her) own set of values and priorities, and is running in a different district or state with its own priorities as well. The job is to help tailor individual campaigns within an overarching theme: experience and achievement-based ideals.

In this context, the veterans are a good match for the "accomplishment Democrats" like Warner in VA and Schweitzer in OR, who are able to run on the theory that government CAN work if it's run well. This is where the important focus on the "Republican culture of corruption" can be applied in a positive manner to distinguish Democrats: corruption and favors are the ultimate enemies of properly working government. The Republicans don't believe in government, they themselves admit, and thus neglect the hard work that must go into it for it to be run successfully. Corruption is a short-circuiting of the process, a tool for the cravenly disengaged.

The war is a prime example of the triumph of style over substance. Republicans have won elections on the basis of appearing tough, rather than achieving goals based on proper preparation and smart use of resources. Hurricane Katrina went a long way towards exposing the fallacy that we don't need a functioning government, and reminded us that we need competence from our public servants. Few professions are as well-regarded for developing competence and integrity as the military, so putting soldiers to work on fixing government is a natural fit.

The Band of Brothers (there are women; the term "brother" is generic) is seeking to raise $10 million for the 2006 elections; I think it's an entirely worthy cause. If you happen to have one of them running in your area, check them out and do what you can to support their efforts. Here's the full roster, currently (why not? Bandwidth is cheap these days):

AZ-03: Herb Paine

Herb Paine is president of Paine Consulting Services, a leading enterprise specializing in business strategy, organization development, and turnaround management for a diverse range of public, private, and nonprofit sector clients. […] He received his Master’s degree from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in 1970, specializing in American Foreign Policy, Soviet Affairs, and International Economics. Following his service in the U.S. Army, he embarked on a career devoted to human services, social justice, and community problem-solving, spending thirteen years with the United Way. Prior to establishing his consulting practice in 1989, Herb was Executive Director of United Way of California and the leading legislative advocate for the nonprofit sector in California.

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AZ-08: Jeff Latas

Jeff Latas arrived in Arizona in 1978 to attend first Pima College and then the University of Arizona, where he graduated with a degree in Aerospace Engineering. After a career as a fighter pilot in the United States Air Force, and after earning a Master’s degree in Public Administration, Jeff chose to settle in his beloved southern Arizona for good. A lifelong environmentalist and patriot, Jeff is ready to serve southeastern Arizonans as their representative in Congress.

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CA-04: Charles Brown

From his web site: “Born in Iowa, I grew up in small farm towns, doing farm work and absorbing strong mid-Western values. I received a Congressional Appointment to the U. S. Air Force Academy and graduated in 1972. As a rescue helicopter pilot based in Thailand at the end of the Vietnam War, I participated in the evacuation of Phnom Penh, and the Mayaguez incident. I was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for actions in the Mayaquez incident. […] I earned a Masters Degree in Aviation Management from Embry Riddle University, hold a California teaching credential and am a certified Red Cross instructor.”

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CA-11: Steve Filson

Steve Filson joined the Navy in 1970 and became an Aircraft Carrier Jet pilot. He served his country faithfully and diligently for more than 20 years before retiring from the Navy in 1994. During his service, Filson served aboard the aircraft carriers USS Hancock and USS Ranger, and then continued his military career in the Naval Reserves at Alameda, California.

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CA-46: Jim Brandt

Jim served as a Naval aviator in the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War. As an officer (rank of captain), he was responsible for both aircraft and personnel under the most stressful of circumstances. The competition to become a Naval aviator is intense; only the best are awarded wings. His experience in the Marine Corps gave him a global vision with a lasting appreciation for the importance of making the right decisions and understanding diplomacy.

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CA-48: John Graham

During 1970-74 Graham served as an officer in U.S. Navy Underwater Demolition Team Eleven in Coronado, CA and the Philippines. From 1974-79 he served in the U.S. Navy Reserves with UDT/Seal Team 119, also based in Coronado. He is currently a Professor at the Paul Merage School of Business at the University of California, Irvine (UCI).

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CA-52: Karen Otter

Karen was born and raised in San Diego, California. After graduating from high school, Karen enlisted in the United States Army and served as a Pershing Missile Crewman. Assigned to Army units in Oklahoma and Germany, Karen found remarkable the dedication to service of her fellow soldiers. The discipline and training of the Army engrained in Karen a superior work ethic and responsibility to service. After leaving the military, Karen worked in increasingly responsible areas of administration and management. She obtained certification as a Community Association Manager. She has extensive experience in management of entities of a governmental nature where budgets are essential and rules and regulations are enacted and enforced.

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CO-05: Jay Fawcett

At seventeen, Jay joined the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs as a Cadet with the class of 1977. Upon graduation he went to Navigator training and was selected as a Weapon Systems Officer in the F4 Phantom, serving in fighter squadrons in Korea and Spain. He became Air Liaison Officer for the First Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division, and was deployed into military action in the first Gulf War. Major Fawcett was awarded a Bronze Star for his actions in Desert Shield and the initial helicopter assault into Iraq during Desert Storm.

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CO-06: Bill Winter

From his web site: “I’ve been asked to take on, and I have accepted, the challenge of running for Congress against Tom Tancredo in Congressional District 6. I did not make this decision lightly and I’m not in this to win moral victories. I have a total of ten years of service with the Marine Corps and the Navy, and in good Marine Corps tradition, I’m in it to win it and I believe we can! […] I want to serve — the way I served as a 17 year old in the Marine Corps. I want to give CD6 back to the people.”

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GA-01: Jim Nelson

Jim Nelson lives in Savannah with his wife, Marty. They married 33 years ago in Augusta, GA while Nelson served as an Airborne Infantry Officer during the Vietnam War at Fort Gordon. He also spent more than a decade in the Army Reserve and National Guard. […] Nelson works as a United Methodist pastor in Savannah and has been serving churches in South Georgia for more than 10 years. […] Prior to entering ministry, Nelson worked in the corporate world for companies such as IBM, Lockheed, GE, and Apollo Computers. He’s also owned a successful business, Signatures Unlimited Fundraising Consultants. A long-time community activist, Nelson has been a leader of local groups such as S.A.F.E. Shelter and the Savannah Mediation Center.

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IL-06: Tammy Duckworth

L. Tammy Duckworth of Hoffman Estates has built her life and career upon serving her country, her community and those in need around the world. She is a dedicated, tireless leader and an inspirational example of what can be achieved through hard work, determination, compassion for others and a positive outlook. Having recently recovered from serious injuries sustained while serving on active duty in Iraq, Tammy’s next goal – in addition to flying helicopters again for the Illinois Army National Guard – is to fight for the interests of the people of Illinois’ Sixth District in the United States Congress.

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IL-14: John Laesch

Driven by his desire to serve his country, John enlisted in the United States Navy in 1995. In 1996, Laesch graduated at the top of his class as an Intelligence Analyst for the United States Navy and was transferred to the Middle East for the next three years. While stationed in Bahrain, Laesch analyzed terrorist organizations and foreign political and military structures. Before being medically evacuated from the Middle East and honorably discharged, John meritoriously rose 5 ranks within 3 short years. He received numerous citations for his outstanding service to our nation. Following his service in the Navy, Mr. Laesch attended Illinois State University where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree with a major in History and minors in Political Science and Communications.

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IN-04: Rick Cornstuble

Rick is a Navy veteran of the Viet Nam War, earning the Viet Nam Service Medal with one campaign star. He also served on the secondary recovery ship for the Moon Landing in 1969. After returning from duty, he graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a degree in Social Studies Education.

For more than 30 years, Rick Cornstuble has dedicated his life to fighting for Indiana’s public schools as a field director for the Indiana State Teachers Association (ISTA). He now seeks to bring that same commitment and energy as an advocate for the people in Indiana’s Fourth Congressional District.

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KY-02: Mike Weaver

Growing up on values he has summed up as “Family, Faith, and Farm Work,” Weaver joined the U.S. Navy at the age of 17. He served on a Destroyer Escort for three and a half years as an electronics technician. After marrying his wife, he spent four years in the Army, including a tour in Korea. Weaver has already given Kentucky much to be proud of, but as a Member of Congress would give even more.

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MD-03: Mishonda Baldwin

Ms. Baldwin’s life is demonstrative of using obstacles as stepping stones to reach her goals. She was one of the first African American woman ROTC Battalion Commanders. She was the first woman elected twice to serve as the chairperson of a national community service organization. In addition, as one of the youngest owners of a national franchise, Ms. Baldwin has a tremendous understanding for small business needs. Her experience led to her service of providing advice and assistance to emerging growth companies as a mentor for the University of Maryland Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship. She has effectively restored breaches, brought hope to the hopeless, encouraged individuals who have given up, and reached out to individuals who others had thrown away. Ms. Baldwin hopes to continue making history by becoming the first African American woman elected to the United States House of Representatives in the state of Maryland.

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MD-06: Andrew Duck

Duck’s distinguished military career has found him as a Platoon Leader of the Joint STARS Platoon in Bosnia, Chief of a Counter-Intelligence Operations Cell, a Commander, and later an Intelligence Liaison Officer and Intelligence Staff Officer in Iraq. Duck is a native of Maryland, one of seventeen children, and has ample business and community experience supplementing his military background.

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MN-01: Tim Walz

Command Sergeant Major Walz retired from the 1-125th Field Artillery Battalion in the spring of 2005 after 24 years in the Army National Guard. After he was named the Outstanding Young Nebraskan by the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce for his service in the education, military, and small business communities, Walz served overseas with his battalion in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

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NC-08: Tim Dunn

Colonel Tim Dunn has served in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves since 1994. He recently returned from Iraq and his posting with the Regime Crimes Liaison Office, where he helped build the case against Saddam Hussein.  In 1995, Dunn established his own law firm, which concentrates in criminal and military law. The mission in Iraq will need expertise and experience to see it through to the best possible conclusion, and Tim Dunn can bring a strong dose of both to the “People’s House.”

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NH-01: Pete Duffy

Pete Duffy is a citizen-soldier, community activist, small businessman and a father. His commitment to country is exemplified by his more than 30 years of military experience as a Judge Advocate General officer in the active Army, the Army Reserves and the New Hampshire National Guard, where he recently retired with the rank of Colonel.

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NH-01: Peter Sullivan

State Representative Peter M. Sullivan is serving his third term as a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives, representing Manchester’s downtown, millyard and center city neighborhoods. He serves as a member of the Criminal Justice Committee, and previously served on the House State-Federal Relations & Veterans Affairs Committee.

In 2003, Peter Sullivan was featured in 100 To Watch: The Next Generation of Leadership, a publication profiling the top one hundred rising stars in the Democratic Party nationwide. Sullivan joined such notable Democratic leaders as Sen. Barack Obama, Sen. Ken Salazar and Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz in receiving this prestigious honor.

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NJ-03: Rich Sexton

Rich Sexton has been a leader dedicated to public service his entire life. Born and raised in New Jersey, he left home at the age of 18 for the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. He graduated from Annapolis and was commissioned an Ensign in the United States Navy. He was then stationed onboard an aircraft carrier, the U.S.S. Enterprise, at the time the largest warship in the world. […] Rich and his family are grateful for the freedom and opportunity they have enjoyed in America and while he aims to provide the people of New Jersey’s Third Congressional District with better representation more in tune with working class families and mainstream America, Rich is also running for Congress to help protect and preserve our freedom and to help extend to all Americans the opportunities that he and his family have enjoyed.

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NY-29: Eric Massa

After graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland, Massa was commissioned as a Naval Officer and went on to spend a total of 24 years on active duty. He served in Desert Storm, and later as Special Assistant to General Wes Clark, in Panama and then when he became Supreme Allied Commander of NATO forces. Massa left a position on the staff of the House Armed Services Committee, where he spoke his mind on behalf of the troops, to join the presidential campaign of his former boss Wesley Clark.

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OH-18: Joe Sulzer

Joe Sulzer is an Army veteran who volunteered to serve during the Vietnam War from August 1967 to August 1968. He was in Saigon during the Tet Offensive. He has since come back to serve on the city council and later as mayor in Chillicothe, Ohio, as well as a serving as a state representative. He is now taking on the scandal-plagued Republican Bob Ney in his heavily Republican district.

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PA-07: Bryan Lentz

In Iraq, Lentz commanded a civil affairs unit responsible for reconstruction in Mosul, following unique and extensive experience in international reconstruction projects with MFO and NATO peacekeeping missions in the Sinai Peninsula and Bosnia. A decorated veteran, he has received the War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal and the Bronze Star amongst other commendations.

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PA-08: Patrick Murphy

Murphy is a young attorney who served in Iraq and was awarded the Bronze Star in February 2004. In Iraq, Captain Murphy advised on offensive operations, initiated reconstruction efforts within the justice system, trained the new Iraqi Civil Defense Corps on the rules of engagement and was instrumental in the prosecution of Sheik Moyad, a radical lieutenant of Muqtada Sadr. At a time when even journalists are having trouble getting the real facts about the war in Iraq, Murphy’s knowledge is invaluable.

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PA-10: Chris Carney

A Lieutenant Commander in the United States Naval Reserve, Chris has received several medals honoring his service in multiple tours overseas. He was activated for operations Enduring Freedom and Noble Eagle. From late 2003 to August 2004, Chris served as the Special Advisor to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations, focusing on the integration of intelligence in the effort to destroy international terrorist networks. In the last year, Chris served as a Special Consultant on Terrorism and Intelligence Issues to the Deputy Secretary of Defense.

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PA-17: Phil Avillo

Phil Avillo knows the American Dream well. He has lived it. His mother and father, a bus mechanic who never finished high school, dreamed their son would go to college. Phil more than fulfilled his parents’ dreams. He earned a Ph.D. and, as a York College professor, has inspired thousands of college students to pursue their own American Dream.That dream, and America’s middle class, is now in jeopardy. So, as he did when he joined the Marines, and as he has done throughout his life, Phil is heeding the call to serve and to lead.

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PA-18: Tom Kovach

Tom is “proud to be one of the millions of Americans who has served this country and its defense. I enlisted in the Navy and was trained as a nuclear machinest mate. Most of my career was spent on USS Nimitz minding the tea kettle. That experience, training, and confidence led me to become a fighting Democrat in Pennsylvania’s 18th District as I will take that seat away from the do-nothing, rubber stamp of Tim Murphy next November.”

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SC-03: Lee Ballenger

The son of a Southern Baptist minister and a native of Greenwood, Lee Ballenger spent six years in the U.S. Navy as a missile fire control technician and was awarded the Navy Expeditionary Medal for service during U.S. operations in the Iran-Iraq War and the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for his role during operations in the Persian Gulf. He also earned the Navy Achievement Medal for saving a fellow shipmate’s life in that conflict. As a veteran, he understands what it is to serve on the front lines on behalf of our country.

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TN-03: Terry Stulce

Terry Stulce is a life-long resident of Ooltewah and can trace his ancestry back 5 generations in Hamilton County. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Magna Cum Laude from U.T.K. in 1967 and earned a Master of Science in Social Work in 1974. He served two tours of combat duty in Vietnam, one as a Combat Platoon Leader in the 101st Airborne Division (December, 1967 to September, 1968) and one as a Senior Advisor to the 69th and 79th Border Ranger Battalions (November, 1970 to November 1971). In addition to the Combat Infantryman’s Badge, he earned the Bronze Star with “V” device for Valor and the Bronze star for Meritorious Services in Ground Combat.

Bio

TX-03: Dan Dodd

Dan Dodd is a dedicated father, husband of 36 years and career Air Force Officer with an extensive family military background. Character and effective leadership are the hallmarks of his military, business and personal life. Dan is a moderate Democrat, running for Congress in 2006 to fill the leadership and accountability vacuum that threatens America’s welfare and security.

He will work for Texans to return fiscal responsibility to the federal budget, high standards to education, protect equal rights and economic opportunity for all Americans - to achieve transparent government, bipartisan leadership and enhanced national security for our great nation.

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TX-06: David Harris

Harris enlisted in the Army in 1992 and served in the infantry, receiving his commission as an Infantry Officer after attending Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, GA in 1994. He was mobilized for Operation Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom and was deployed to Iraq in February, 2003, spending the next 14 months there as a Logistics Officer where he received a Bronze Star. He is now an Assistant Professor of Military Science and Training Officer for the Department of Military Science at the University of Texas at Arlington, and is taking on “Smoky” Joe Barton.

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TX-07: David Murff

David Murff’s devotion to achievement and uncompromising ethics have served him well throughout his personal and professional career. As a single child, he was surrounded by familial role models that instilled in him the virtues of sacrifice, dedication, and service. As a young man, David became the third generation to serve his country through military service. While stationed at Fort Hood, TX, great ethical leaders, who not only supported the ideals of his family, but lived them daily, inspired in David the confidence, creativity, and committment he continues to exude throughout his life today.

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TX-10: Ted Ankrum

From his website: “I was Special Assistant to the only Astronaut to ever be Head of NASA; Deputy Chief of Facilities Engineering and Chief of Environmental Compliance at NASA; a Diplomat in Australia; and held other Senior Executive positions at EPA, the Department of Energy, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. I went from Seaman Recruit to Navy Captain in 15 years of active duty and 15 years of Reserve service. I served four tours in Vietnam, where I was wounded and received medals for valor. I have a BS Degree in Electrical Engineering from a Navy scholarship to the U. of Colorado and an MBA from the GI Bill at Loyola. My wife, Ann, and I live in Cypress, Harris County; and two of our four children also live in Congressional District Ten.”

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TX-21: John Courage

John Courage’s name embodies what Texans in District 21 are looking for in their next congressman - the courage to insist that their mainstream values, and not just Tom DeLay’s, be represented in Washington; the courage to stand with ordinary Texas families and small businesses against the corporate special interests; the courage to rekindle that faith they once had in government to be a force for positive change in their daily lives.

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VA-02: David Ashe

When the September 11th attacks occurred, David was visiting his family in Virginia Beach. 48 hours after the attacks, David rented a car and made his way to Manhattan. He entered the perimeter with a group of police officers and spent several days at GroundZero searching for survivors with the rest of the “bucket brigades.” Two weeks later, David was recalled to active duty. Upon return to active duty, David was assigned as deputy legal counsel to the commanding general of all west coast Marine forces with geographic responsibility for the Middle East. For most of 2002, David was part of Operation Enduring Freedom deployed to Kuwait as sole-legal counsel to the commanding general of a special-purpose coalition task force, working with Czechs, Germans and Kuwaitis. […] In March 2003, David was deployed again. Within a few weeks, he was attached to an infantry battalion assigned to the Al Muthanna region of Iraq. David was the sole coalition legal representative assigned to restore the judicial system in an area which covered approximately 1/9 of Iraq.

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VA-05: Al Weed

Al spent over forty-two years as an enlisted man, rising to the rank of Command Sergeant Major (CSM), which he had held for over twenty years when he retired in 2002. He was in the service continuously from 1959 to 2002, except for a 6-month gap following his honorable discharge from the Army after his tour in Vietnam ended in July of 1966. For most of his career he served in Army and Joint Special Operations, serving as the senior non-commissioned officer at every level from A-Detachment to Special Operations Command.

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--TJ

Bryan Harvey and the New South Gothic

Yesterday, while giving you some personal thoughts about my loose connection to the Harvey family and what they meant to so many people, I tossed in a reference to "New South Gothic," the subgenre that some critics have used to label the House of Freaks' music. For those of you who are unfamiliar with his music (or perhaps know him only from Gutterball or other side projects), I wanted to provide some more links to their discography--especially a great site that gives liner notes by Bryan for many of the songs in their catalog--and also a photo gallery of shots by Oz Geier, but also to flesh out and explain what I think the NSG label means, and how it applies to House of Freaks and particularly Bryan's lyrics.

First of all, I confess that I've modified the more generic phrase "Southern Gothic," first to distinguish it from the literary reference to mid-century works by authors like Faulkner and O'Connor, and secondly to emphasize the ambivalence that "old"  southerners more generally may have lacked towards their heritage and mythology. There is a duality to the new presentation, to include the changing mores of the South since WWII that traditional Southern Gothic writers probably couldn't have perceived. JD Wilkes of Th' Legendary Shack Shakers tries to spell it out:

"It's different than Gothic. It's Flannery O'Connor and Harper Lee and Faulkner and all that. It's sort of the dark, seamy underbelly of the South, but there's a mystical quality too. It's not like the Jerry Springer, nasty, dysfunctional South that the media likes to paint the picture of. This is more of a Gothic, grandiose version of the grotesqueness of the South. It's all the cross-cultural dynamics of race and class and religion and all those things that cause trouble, but the beauty they reveal in art and life. So it's very much based in reality, whereas Gothic literature is a medieval fantasy. Southern Gothic is the reality around us down here in these parts. It's like the sideshow and the circus and all that. It's entertaining but there's something sick about it at the same time. It's where we're from, so it's what comes natural. We're trying to tell big stories, trying to portray something bigger than ourselves and more epic than ourselves."

Perhaps the most famous or well-heard example of NSG would be Fables of the Reconstruction, REM's third album. Songs like Driver 8, Can't Get There from Here, Wendell Gee and Good Advices share a sense of place and a storytelling lyricism divorced from typical boy-meets-girl pop pap. There are other examples:  Cat Power is often cited by other bands as a NSG influence, explained here by Verbena frontman Scott Bondy:

"She's from a storytelling tradition," he said. "There's just serious darkness, like, if you're brought up in the '40s or '50s in the South, your dad could go to work at the mill or on the farm and come home losing an arm. Those kind of stakes — there's just something so much more respectable about that way of life. I don't know, there's like a sense of honor, or whatever, like in a David Lynchian kind of way. There's also like a really large underside of the iceberg — the darkness of it."

Exploring that darkness in his songs, Bondy has created a timeless rock sound, a sound that he believes has a universal appeal. He said he turns to like-minded artists — such as Lynch, the Coen Brothers and the White Stripes — for inspiration. "Anything...that paints a portrait of [the] America that doesn't exist anymore...," he said. "It's almost like those things are timeless. They're telling stories that you don't know when they're set.

So that should give you a reasonable idea of what I'm talking about when I refer to House of Freaks as part of the New South Gothic. Probably the best unified example of the style in their catalog is the 2nd album, Tantilla. Themes of race, religion, hard labor and family abound, tied together by a spare but mostly thundering arrangement by producer John Leckie. (In the liner notes I linked to, Harvey declares the production result a disappointment, but as someone who grew to love the album without the benefit of that knowledge, I'm unswayed in keeping it as my favorite of theirs).

The two tracks that I think best express the duality in NSG themes are White Folks' Blood and Family Tree. Harvey is explicit about the dark side of the Southern legacy:

I was really getting into that suthern thang around this time. Being in L.A. made me acutely aware that I was from the south. My southern accent became even more pronounced. I was really trying to dig into all those things that make a person from the south what he is...you know, the lost cause, racial guilt and that sort of stuff. I think these lyrics are pretty good. I was particularly disturbed by an old photo from the 30's of a dead black man who had been lynched. He was tied to a tree, with his hands tied behind his back and had been tortured with a blow torch. I still can't get images like these out of my head. It makes me hate humanity sometimes, and confirms my feelings that we live in a godless world.

Here are the lyrics:

What mysteries flow through these white folks' blood?
What secrets do they hide within?
What sickbed words pass across their lips?
And what passions lie beneath their skin?
Are their fortunes made in their pool halls?
And their lives played out like children's games?
Under the summer sun with a knife and a gun
A festered wound never heals
On the back porch, in the pawn shops

Dusting off their fathers' guns
Words like worms crawl through their brains
Sermons fly from the preacher's mouth
But the auction block still remains
Gagged and tied to a tree trunk
After a fox hunt chase with dogs and chains
In a field of white in the broad daylight
The earth is black, black with blood
They were friends and they were brothers

Life goes on across the railroad tracks
A flood of tears has come and gone
Autumn comes, white folks settle down
And the preacher quotes from Luke and John
And there is peace and plenty in the country
And the way we are, we will remain
The world keeps spinning round and around
Just keep spinning around and around and around
Everything is still the same

Life goes on like before, on the streets, on the porches
In our homes, in our towns, what we see all around us.
Life goes on like before, while we sit by the doorway
All around, all our lives, all we do, no surprises

The irony of course is a white person hypothesizing on what exists inside the heads of white people, to behave as they do in the lyrics. That detachment persists for much of the song, suddenly shifting with the line that continues to give me chills each time I hear it: "and the way we are, we will remain." For anyone who has lived in Richmond at least, that line should ring harshly true. What HL Mencken once called a "happy dullness of intellect" seems to pervade Richmond--the sense that things are as they are, that tradition and familiarity trump progress and change, and that another 40 years of the same sounds pretty good, all in all. "All we do, no surprises." The shift from third- to first-person in midsong exemplifies the approach to NSG sentiment: the past is the past, and no one feels personally responsible for its horrors--but the baggage has made it for the train trip to the present, and here Harvey is keenly aware that they are his bags to pick up.

In Family Tree, however, there emerges a softer side--a sentimentality for the comfort of the very same familiarity and tradition that's viewed with suspicion in White Folks' Blood. As primarily expressed by Bryan, this more gentle view comes out in strong themes of ancestry and family connectedness. Sun Gone Down, another track from Tantilla, is obliquely about the death of Harvey's father, but in Family Tree the connections are explicit:

A wind is rising outside
the houses are trembling
the trees are shivering

out in the fields where we walked
the roots that support us
have built a fortress

well they grow with the breeze like a family tree
whose seeds were planted here
well they rise up tall in my memory
they do

Who were they, where are they now?
Just faces and photographs
letters and lithographs
drunkards and fathers they were
preachers and soldiers
upon their shoulders

well we grow with the breeze with a family tree
whose seeds were planted here
well they rise up tall in my memory
they do

their houses are crumbling
the wells dried up long ago
water stops flowing
this tree will always grow

the wind is rising outside
the branches are swaying
children are playing
between the earth and the sky
between we're the pages
they live through the ages

             well they grow with the breeze like a family tree
             whose seeds were planted here
             well they rise up tall in my memory
             they do...they grow with the family tree

Apart from admitting there might be a drunkard or two sitting in the Harvey family tree, there is a strong benevolence towards the past in this lyric. Note that as with White Folks' Blood, the view backwards is relatively detached-- a look through old letters and pictures, crumbling houses and dried up wells. But here, rather than being cowed by the sense of continuity and linkage, it's a source of strength and food for the future.

Clearly, these are not themes you'd find on a Britney Spears record, which is perhaps why House of Freaks never had more than one weak hit single. But that sophistication of thought and personal transparency that Bryan lent to his songs are much of why House of Freaks is still well regarded critically, and why a suprising cadre of Freak followers still exist today, coming out of the woodwork to offer tributes and express sorrow at the passing of an unknown legend (as Neil Young might say).

--TJ

Bryan Harvey, Family Slain in Richmond

[I originally started this entry by detailing the coverage of this case, which has spread about the blogosphere and crime "enthusiasts" alike the last two days, but I lost a fair bit of work and had to restart...]

Here is the original Richmond Times Dispatch story from yesterday. The mean facts are that Bryan Harvey, 49, his wife Kathryn, 39, and his daughters Stella (9) and Ruby (4) were all bound and killed and their house in South Richmond set afire on New Year's Day. If you follow the sidebar trail from today's story on the evening vigil for the Harveys, you can find a string of stories on how active and important they were to the Richmond community, and how many people seemed to know and love them.

But rather than reiterate those stories  as I originally intended, I will tell you why I'm mentioning this sad but regional story (that's not even the region where I live anymore).  I lived in Richmond for 10 years during the 90s, and while I was not friends with the Harveys, I did know Bryan to an extent and was very familiar with his work. My son and his daughter are the same age, and were slated to attend the same school in the same class had we not moved the prior spring. My wife knew Kathryn in about the same fashion, through her store World of Mirth and as someone of mutual friends. We had other friends who knew them well, who had played with Bryan or worked with Kathryn, or who live just two blocks from the home in which they were slain, coming home on New Year's to find their neighborhood taped off.  So we were a part of the wide web of people whose lives had been favorably touched by the Harveys, and tonight Mrs. Joe and I feel a real sense of personal loss despite our mostly tangential acquaintance with them.

As you would discover if you read the sidebar articles at the T-D, they were simply sweet people,  and that would make their murders tragic enough. But their presence left singularly tangible, wonderful legacies that one can so rarely qualify. Bryan's band House of Freaks (with percussionist Johnny Hott) was my favorite Richmond band ever and among the best live shows I've seen in my lifetime. I own nearly everything they put out, including some vinyl. I played them and pimped them in my various radio gigs in Williamsburg and Richmond, and played them for friends to convert them.

As a Yankee transplant, Harvey's eminently Southern lyrics were a fascination to me, and they rang true (as this Southerner accords in his review of the HoF catalog). Some called it the New South Gothic, a rock style steeped in Southern cultural mythology that sometimes mocked the myths, sometimes lionized and sought comfort in them. I sympathized with that conflict of interest between modern sensibility, and the peaceful traditions that supported the imperfect ways of the past. There was also a tribal, almost Native American element to much of the earlier music, and as a percussionist I couldn't help but be drawn to a two-piece, guitar and drums band. They always made so much more sound than larger outfits, as if guided by the hand of Phil Spector. But it was Bryan's lyrical tapestry that drew me back again and again. With a hopeful modesty that has been proven unnecessary, he eulogized himself on Cakewalk with the song "Remember Me Well":

When I lay down my head
bound for heaven or hell
after all's said and done
please remember me well

You can dance on my grave
you can ring out the bells
you can drink to my health
but remember me well

Never fear, Bryan and Kathryn.

Update 1/4, 230p--
Welcome to those of you from sites where my sad nostalgia has been linked. I'm flattered that people from different sources were moved enough by my remembrances to cite them in their own writing. In turn, if you haven't come from one of those sites, let me direct you to them:

Blue Merle offers a rundown on who is following the story around the blogosphere, and shares the hunger for information and answers that many of us seem to be harboring.

Buttermilk and Molasses' John Sarvay (someone who I'm pretty sure I've met before, and who was heavily involved in the indie publishing scene while I lived there) notes the curious attachment to the Harveys among people who only vaguely knew them, such as myself.

Aliza Sherman knew Bryan perhaps better than many of us, given her admission of a near-romance that they shared long ago, and offers some touching thoughts about his gentle nature.  She also has a good set of links to news and blog articles about the murders.

F.T. Rea's SLANTblog also carries us back to the 80's, when Grace Street's music scene was king, and hints at Bryan's trepidations about doing what The Man wanted in order to become famous. He also reports on the vigil held last night at the Unitarian Church.

Steve Huff's Dark Side speculates at length on possible motives and implications, but cautions against getting carried away with what you read as 'truth' on the Net.

Don Harrison, former Catharsis writer (another of the indie publishing people, and someone who reviewed my old Richmond band Hassan Chop!) shares his remembrances of Bryan that go way back, and the sycophantic fandom it seems many of us had for him and House of Freaks--that we all tried to hide so we could have a normal, non-embarassing conversation with him.

Finally, if you knew the Harveys a lot, a little, or even not at all, there is a page up to memorialize the family and update people on the events to come celebrating their lives.

 

--TJ

John Dean's Nixon-Bush parallel

[Welcome back and Happy New Year to everyone. 2005 saw the first shades of limit to Bush's untrammelled power and control of the discourse; I see further retrenchment in his vision in 2006 and that's certainly a good thing. We'll have a good time talking about it, nonetheless.]

I'm not sure I have a real solid handle on former White House Counsel John Dean, particularly the latter-day version. Obviously when he became a member of the Nixon mafia, he was no liberal. He was the enabler, perhaps to 60's Cali Republican dweezils like Nixon's group what Hunter Thompson's lawyer was to him: a guy who would take the illegal and try to explain it as fully legal on his boss' behalf. Perhaps more fitting than Dr. Gonzo would be the real Gonzo--current AG Alberto Gonzales, who has a fairly long history of making George Bush's judicially tinged decisions much easier when reframed as legal.

So that was Dean then, intimately involved in the game of hoarding executive power and then explaining why it was all OK to do so--in fact, necessary...and damn you for impeding the safety of the country! Starting to sound familiar? It is to Dean, too:

No one questions the ends here. No one doubts another terror attack is coming; it is only a question of when. No one questions the preeminent importance of detecting and preventing such an attack.

 

What is at issue here, instead, is Bush's means of achieving his ends: his decision not only to bypass Congress, but to violate the law it had already established in this area.

 

Congress is Republican-controlled. Polling shows that a large majority of Americans are willing to give up their civil liberties to prevent another terror attack. The USA Patriot Act passed with overwhelming support. So why didn't the President simply ask Congress for the authority he thought he needed?

 

The answer seems to be, quite simply, that Vice President Dick Cheney has never recovered from being President Ford's chief of staff when Congress placed checks on the presidency. And Cheney wanted to make the point that he thought it was within a president's power to ignore Congress' laws relating to the exercise of executive power. Bush has gone along with all such Cheney plans.

 

No president before Bush has taken as aggressive a posture -- the position that his powers as commander-in-chief, under Article II of the Constitution, license any action he may take in the name of national security - although Richard Nixon, my former boss, took a similar position.

Dean describes the argument Nixon tried about Presidents having the ability to break the law for national security reasons, citing Abe Lincoln's declaration that preserving the Union may require drastic measures. But as Dean recalls noted interviewer David Frost pointing out, the hippies and liberals weren't exactly seceding from the Union.

I suppose somewhere on the continuum between Civil War and braless, unshaven women in tie dyes dancing like dervishes to adlibbed guitar jams, is the true line of urgency represented by a domestic terror threat. But do you really have to ask whether the incipient crumbling of a new and fragile nation is comparable to a devastating but limited outside strike on the only superpower of the planet? Are they similarly pervasive and immediate threats? I don't think so.

In any case, you can't bullshit a former (I assume) bullshitter, and Dean--not having bought Nixon's--rejects Bush's rationale as well:

Bush has given one legal explanation for his actions which borders on the laughable: He claims that implicit in Congress' authorization of his use of force against the Taliban in Afghanistan, following the 9/11 attack, was an exemption from FISA.

 

No sane member of Congress believes that the Authorization of Military Force provided such an authorization. No first year law student would mistakenly make such a claim. It is not merely a stretch; it is ludicrous.

 

But the core of Bush's defense is to rely on the very argument made by Nixon: that the president is merely exercising his "commander-in-chief" power under Article II of the Constitution. This, too, is a dubious argument. Its author, John Yoo, is a bright, but inexperienced and highly partisan young professor at Boalt Law School, who has been in and out of government service.

 

To see the holes and fallacies in Yoo's work - embodied in a recently published book -- one need only consult the analysis of Georgetown University School of Law professor David Cole in the New York Review of Books. Cole has been plowing this field of the law for many years, and digs much deeper than Yoo.

 

Since I find Professor Yoo's legal thinking bordering on fantasy, I was delighted that Professor Cole closed his real-world analysis on a very realistic note: "Michael Ignatieff has written that 'it is the very nature of a democracy that it not only does, but should, fight with one hand tied behind its back. It is also in the nature of democracy that it prevails against its enemies precisely because it does.' Yoo persuaded the Bush administration to untie its hand and abandon the constraints of the rule of law. Perhaps that is why we are not prevailing."

A powerful critique, although certainly just one of many. But the quick refrain from the administration and sycophantic Congresspeople that this is just liberal sniping, will wear out soon. Dean has the luxury of telling the Bushites: don't say I didn't warn you.

--TJ