Pruning Shears

If men were angels, no government would be necessary.

- FEDERALIST No. 51

Hope, but verify.
- Coined by Rick Perlstein, perfected by vastleft

Restore the Rule of Law: “The ACLU is committed to restoring the rule of law. We will fight for the disclosure of the torture files that are still secret. We will advocate for the victims of the Bush administration’s unlawful policies. We will press Congress to appoint a select committee that can investigate the roots of the torture program and recommend legislative changes to ensure that the abuses of the last eight years are not repeated. And we will advocate for the appointment of an independent prosecutor to examine issues of criminal responsibility.”

Read about Broken Government at The Center for Public Integrity

Remember July 9th, 2008

---

Memo to AP: Don’t be stupid.

---

Since 2001 there has been a vast expansion of executive power in the United States government. Our constitution was crafted deliberately to maintain a system of checks and balances on all three branches.  This site was created to promote the growing imbalance as a main issue in the 2008 presidential debates.  It continues that advocacy both for subsequent election cycles and in the marketplace of ideas generally.

Be your own program director. Venture off the beaten path. Live a little.

3hive: Sharing the sharing. Free and legal MP3s from over 600 underground and undiscovered artists — new ones added daily. (RSS)

About.com - Mark Edward Nero: Get the latest headlines from the About.com R & B GuideSite. (RSS)

Amazon MP3 Download - Frequency: Weekly. Get the latest on Amazon MP3 music downloads - new releases, freshly ripped hits, and special deals.

GarageBand.com Folk top tracks (RSS)

GarageBand.com Hip Hop top tracks (RSS)

Gorilla Vs Bear (RSS)

Flawless Hustle: Urban culture blog featuring artist interviews, music reviews, legal music downloads, street art, graffiti and more! (RSS)

HeightFiveSeven: Music, sports, bikinis and linguistics from a crazy L.A. chick (RSS)

Herohill: A music site based in the Great White North, serving both fresh daily content and witty banter, Herohill has quickly become a regular destination for discerning music fans the world over. (RSS)

I Rock Cleveland: A name you can trust. At I Rock Cleveland World Headquarters (a Lakewood apartment) a team of highly trained rock and roll experts (my friends call me Bill) work tirelessly to bring you high quality indie and rock and roll music from Northeast Ohio and beyond. Each song is hand picked and must past a series of rigorous tests (all I really do is listen to and personally enjoy the music) before it reaches your ears. This is all done to ensure a maximum rockin experience. (RSS)

Minnesota Public Radio Song of the Day: Music lovers from 89.3 The Current share songs with you each weekday. (RSS)

Muruch (RSS)

Music For Robots (RSS)

Said the Gramophone: a music weblog (RSS)

Sheena Beaston (RSS)

Stereogum: All the MP3s on Stereogum.com (RSS)

STRIVIN’: Hip hop from the Bay Area and elsewhere (RSS)

The Wheel’s Still In Spin: Focusing on new music releases and reviews of individual albums as original, fictional short stories (RSS)

---

Mourn ya till I join ya

Aminal Sound

Audiofile: Music Blog, Music Articles - Salon.com

Crossfade: The CNET music blog