Greg Mitchell's Blog, page 151

The Other 'Other Woman'

Remember Jill Kelley from the days of the Petraeus "sex" scandal?  The other general who stalked her, and so on? Today at the top of its site the NYT has a profile which paints her as a strong privacy advocacy after the leaks that painted her in a bad or mocking way.

In a lawsuit that is half legal document and half news release, Ms. Kelley seeks damages and a formal apology from the government for revealing her identity after she reported what she assumed was a crime: threatening emails sent by a woman with whom Gen. David H. Petraeus, then director of the C.I.A., was having an affair. The suit, filed in United States District Court for the District of Columbia, is also an attempt by Ms. Kelley to tell her side of a story that she says was distorted and dismissed, leaving her family as collateral damage.

Super Bowl-'Downton Abbey' Conflict Coming!

With Downton Abbey, season four, back, many a household will face the same conflict we witnessed two years ago:  the PBS show coming up against the final quarter of the Super Bowl tonight  (in homes without DVR etc.)  So, once again, here is classic  that found the Downton gang settling down to catch the game: 

'Guns & Ammo' Editor Faced Murder Charges

I wonder if public editor Margaret Sullivan will take a look at this.  You may recall the story a few months back when a longtime Guns & Ammo columnist dared to suggest that maybe a little tightening of gun laws in certain cases was not such a bad idea.  After protests from readers and advertisers he was shit-canned.  Many hailed him for taking some kind of stand, however moderate, and yesterday the NYT caught up with him in a very sympathetic story.

One problem:  the Times quotes more than once a former editor at Guns & Ammo who remains strongly against gun control.  “We are locked in a struggle with powerful forces in this country who will do anything to destroy the Second Amendment,” says Richard Venola.  “The time for ceding some rational points is gone.”   One problem: this same guy was charged with murder not long ago for shooting and killing another fellow (mug shot at left).  He got off twice on hung juries and just recently learned he did not face another trial.

The Times noted this--well down in the story, in merely a brief--parenthetical--line.  It failed to mention the drunken fight part.  Perhaps they downplayed this a bit too much?

No More Waitin' Around to Die

On this date in 1997, Lyle Lovett sang this Townes Van Zandt classic at TVZ's funeral service in Nashville.

Iraq War, The Sequel

Sunday update:  Richard Engel of NBC tweets:  "Both US and #Iran offering to help baghdad fight off al qaeda in western #iraq . If attack on area comes, could be start of s/t big."   John Kerry claims: no boots on the ground, this time. 

Saturday update:   Well, Falluja has fallen to the Al-Qaeda rebels and much of rest of Anbar.  Also key town of Karma (yes, that's the name). One senior police official in Anbar said Saturday that “Falluja is completely under the control of Al Qaeda.”   Helluva job, Bushie.

Thursday: Ready to be depressed--and enraged?  NYT reports on Sunni militants aligned with al-Qaeda starting a serious uprising in Anbar province in Iraq and threatening to take over Ramadi and Fallujah.  You remember those cities--scenes of so much bloodshed in the year's after our trumped up invasion.  In fact, one of three American lives lost in the war expired in "pacifying" Anbar.  What a tragedy, what a waste. 

The violence in Ramadi and Falluja had implications beyond Anbar’s borders, as the Sunni militants fought beneath the same banner as the most hard-line jihadists they have inspired in Syria — the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS.  That fighting, and a deadly bombing in Beirut on Thursday, provided the latest evidence that the Syrian civil war was helping breed bloodshed and sectarian violence around the region, further destabilizing Lebanon and Iraq while fueling a resurgence of radical Islamist fighters.

My book on how Bush, and the media, failed on Iraq, So Wrong for So Long.

Note to David Brooks

One of the biggest potheads ever--for his entire adult life--was a guy named Louis Armstrong--perhaps the most important American artist of the century.   I believe that after he died they found a crate of it in his basement.  For one thing, he was one of the few jazz greats who may have never done heroin.  Here are some of his many testimonials to it and his famous reefer song (in code, as per song title, "Muggles"):

More Everlys, Brother

As we continue to mark the death of Phil Everly, consider this fun fact: He directly inspired Warren Zevon's classic "Werewolves of London."  Sounds implausible unless you know that Warren was Phil's music director before making it big.  Great story.  Well, Phil's hair was always perfect.

Then dig Ray Charles' "Bye-Bye Love" from five decades back.  Below that, home recording of Gram Parsons doing "When Will I Be Loved" (with Chris Hillman?).

Goodbye Hank

Kind of a remarkable 45-minute vid on the funeral of Hank Williams, 61 years ago todau, with an intro by a guy recounting it, then audio broadcast of most of it, including singing of "I Saw the Light."  Below that the songs with much better audio.   And my post on Bob Dylan and Hank.

Phil Everly, R.I.P.

Phil Everly, 74, has passed away, and the world of music has lost one of the great harmonizing vocalists.  Of course, he was one-half of the Everly Brothers.  His death came as the boys revived in the public eye thanks to the new Billy Jo Armstrong/Norah Jones tribute album.  I was a fan from the start (at the age of 10) and remember them well as fixtures on Bandstand and Dick Clark's Saturday night show.  Roy Orbison once told me he regretted giving "Claudette" to the Everly Bros.--named for his wife who would die in cycle crash.

Five early videos here but below here's a less famous favorite, later done by Roy Orbison and Gram & Emmylou and then "When Will I Be Loved" (a Linda Ronstadt staple later).  The favorite of many, live, "Let It Be Me."   Another that Gram and Emmylou did, "Sleepless Nights." And live in 1986 with Mark Knopfler and Chet Atkins.  Ten great covers here from wild  variety of folks.  Warren Zevon on touring with them.  A 42-minute doc here.

Bob and Hank

Elsewhere today I posted audio of Hank Williams' funeral, 61 years ago tomorrow,  in Montgomery, Ala.   I'm reminded that one of my other heroes, Bob Dylan, cited Hank as his chief early influence going back to the very beginning og Bob's career.  Here's a page that collects numerous quotes.  He called him "my first hero."  Also: "I started writing songs after I heard Hank Williams."  And:  "Hank Williams was the first influence, I would think, I guess, for a longer period of time than anybody else." And: "To me, Hank Williams is still the best songwriter."

And on hearing rumors of Hank's death: "Kept my fingers crossed, hoped it wasn't true. But it was true. It was like a great tree had fallen. Hearing about Hank's death caught me squarely on the shoulder. The silence of outer space never seemed so loud."  Bob sang two by Hank in the famous doc, Don't Look Back.   Below that Bob covers Hank's "I Can't Get You Off My Mind."