electric yellow's got me by the brain banana

Patient Safety and Quality: For-profit dialysis chains have higher mortality rates than non-profit dialysis chain. From Research Activities, 12/2011

2011-12-06T22:53:00.000-06:00

Research Activities, December 2011: Patient Safety and Quality: For-profit dialysis chains have higher mortality rates than non-profit dialysis chain

To learn more about Nephrotic Syndrome, FSGS, and Minimal Change Disease, as well as link with patients, families, friends and caregivers for support and inspiration, visit Nephspace and contact the NephCure Foundation for other research, education, and advocacy opportunities.

The following is an excerpt from the December 2011 Newsletter for Patient Safety and Quality from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. For the original newsletter, and to receive email updates, please click here or cut and paste the following link in your browser: http://www.ahrq.gov/research/dec11/1211RA11.htm

"Concerns have been raised about the quality of care being delivered to end-stage renal dialysis (ESRD) patients, given that most large dialysis providers are for profit (FP) entities. Of the five largest dialysis chains, the lowest mortality risk was found among patients treated at a nonprofit (NP) chain, according to Yi Zhang, Ph.D., and colleagues at the Medical Technology and Practice Patterns Institute in Bethesda, MD. Compared with the nonprofit chain, mortality risk was 19 percent higher at one FP chain and 24 percent higher at a second FP chain. Overall, patients from FP facilities, regardless of chain status, had a 13 percent higher risk of mortality than NP facilities.

Most U.S. patients with ESRD receive hemodialysis treatment three times a week from Medicare-certified dialysis facilities. Since 1991, the number of chain-owned dialysis facilities has grown more than 11-fold. Today, roughly 85 percent of the FP and nearly one-third of the NP facilities are operated by large corporations. Some contend that lower resource use in the delivery of dialysis by FP facilities compromises the health outcomes of dialysis patients. A number of earlier studies have suggested that factors related to practice patterns, such as dialysis dose, vascular access, and injectable drugs (including epoetin therapy, vitamin D, and iron) can influence patient outcomes.

This study evaluated and compared the use of all three major injectable drugs among dialysis facilities. The findings suggest that patients from the NP chain who used the least amount of injectable drugs had the best survival. If all other chains were to follow the resource use of the NP chain, costs of injectable drugs might be reduced without compromising patient outcomes, with the caveat that the provider will not excessively lower doses. The study included 3,601 free-standing dialysis facilities and 34,914 Medicare patients with ESRD during 2004. The study was supported in part by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (HS18697).

See "The effect of dialysis chains on mortality among patients receiving hemodialysis," by Dr. Zhang, Dennis J. Cotter, M.S.E., and Mae Thamer, Ph.D., in the June 2011 HSR: Health Services Research 46(3), pp.747-767.

Zach Wahls Speaks About Family

2011-12-01T13:04:00.000-06:00

NephCure Walk Baton Rouge, LA - Event Information

2011-11-01T10:55:00.000-05:00

NephCure Walk Baton Rouge, LA - Event Information

The Road to the Carter 4 Mixtape - download here free

2011-04-26T10:18:00.001-05:00

Download Mixtape | Free Mixtapes Provided by DatPiff.com

Download the Road to the Carter 4 Mixtape - Lil' Wayne. The hype is rype - sick mixtape.

NephCure Ambassador Dawn Evans Featured in USA Today

2011-01-19T16:06:00.002-06:00

Having trouble viewing this email? Click here

NephCure Ambassador Dawn Evans

featured in USA Today!

Read about the great work Dawn is doing to help NephCure in her fight against the kidney diseases FSGS and Nephrotic Syndrome.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW ARTICLE

You can help us maximize the impact by:

Purchasing a copy of the paper
Posting a comment and clicking "recommend" on the online version, thanking Dawn and NephCure
Sharing it on your social networks (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn) and ask friends and family to read it
Forwarding it via email to your network of friends - patients, nephrologists, EVERYONE! Ask them to do the same.
Sending it to Oprah - Click Here.

Suggested copy - "Oprah, Dawn Evans is such an inspiration. Please click on this article to learn more about how she is inspiring everyone as she battles the incurable kidney disease FSGS." Note: you will have to copy and paste link into the field.

Thanks!

The NephCure Foundation

About Us

The NephCure Foundation

15 Waterloo Ave

Berwyn, Pennsylvania 19312

1 (866) NephCure

www.nephcure.org

Forward email

Cheap Textbooks!

2011-01-18T12:22:00.000-06:00

I'm a law student, and textbooks can cost over $1,000 a semester. Because of Textbooks.com, I got mine for under $250 this semester. Easy and safe. Click the link below.

http://textbooks.tellapal.com/a/clk/ljl1s

Alec Baldwin blogs on Huffington Post? Who knew? Well, here they are!

2010-12-06T15:22:00.002-06:00

So, apparently, Huffington Post doesn't suck as bad as Arianna Huffington would make it if she ran the news-aggregate site on her own. She is smart enough to let Alec Baldwin blog for her! A link to all his blog posts follow.

Alec Baldwin

I've only read the first one so far, which is how I discovered the entries. He writes that if they are going to prosecute the WikiLeaks dude, Julian Assange, and they should if he did, in fact, endanger American lives (free speech is free speech, but everyone is answerable for actual damage they cause while exercising that right; particularly if people are physically harmed); then they must prosecute Dick Cheney and his cabal of devil-worshiping go-to-war-to-win-an-election dick-heads. To quote good ol' Pete Schweddy, he says Assange should be brought to justice, but

"Only one condition. You hold formal hearings on the Valerie Plame scandal. And you put that Low-Down-Gutless-Excuse-For-A-Vice-President Dick Cheney and that crypto-fascist maniac Richard Armitage on trial. Same as Julian Assange."

So, what do you think? Do we bring Cheney and Assange in and prosecute them for war crimes?

US embassy cables: American citizen's amazing 'escape' from Iran | World news | guardian.co.uk

2010-12-04T19:23:00.000-06:00

US embassy cables: American citizen's amazing 'escape' from Iran | World news | guardian.co.uk

Wednesday, 11 February 2009, 13:03
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 ANKARA 000226
SIPDIS
Note - PII information removed from original message.
SENSITIVE
LONDON FOR GAYLE
BERLIN FOR PAETZOLD
ASHGABAT FOR INGBORN
BAKU FOR MCCRENSKY
BAGHDAD FOR BUZBEE
DUBAI FOR IRPO
EO 12958 DECL: 06/02/2019
TAGS CASC, PGOV, PHUM, PINS, PREL, SCUL, SNAR, SOCI, IR,
TU, IQ
SUBJECT: ELDERLY AMERICAN SMUGGLED OUT OF IRAN
Classified By: DCM;DOUG SILLIMAN FOR REASONS 1.4(B,D)

Summary
Refused permission to return home to the US after visiting relatives in Tehran, Hossein Ghanbarzadeh Vahedi, aged 75, undertook a daring secret trek over the mountains to Turkey and turned up in Ankara asking for help. Key passage highlighted in yellow.

Read related article
1. (C) Summary: American citizen Hossein Ghanbarzadeh Vahedi appeared in the Ankara Consular section around noon on January 9, 2009. Mr. Vahedi, age 75, told Conoff he had paid smugglers $7500 to take him across the Iranian/Turkish border after having been held against his will in Iran for seven months. Although suffering some aches and pains, he appeared to be in good health after a harrowing three-day journey from Tehran to Ankara that included a 14-hour mountain climb on horseback in freezing temperatures. Embassy staff provided immediate consular assistance and worked with Turkish authorities to prevent his deportation back to Iran. Consular officers escorted Vahedi to the Ankara airport where he departed on January 13. End summary.

----------

Background

----------

2. (SBU) On January, 7, Embassy Bern alerted posts in the region that American citizen Hossein Ghanbarzadeh Vahedi, DPOB xx/xx/1933 was trying to escape from Iran and could possibly surface in Iraq. Vahedi, a dentist from Los Angeles, instead appeared at the Ankara Consular Section around noon on January 9, 2009. Although visibly shaken,Vahedi said he had no major physical problems, but he did break down a few times when explaining his ordeal. He told Conoff that he had enough medication and declined local medical attention preferring to wait until he was back in the United States.

3. (SBU) Vahedi has been a resident, then citizen of the United States since the Islamic Revolution in 1979. Aside from this trip, he has only returned to Iran once about ten years ago and did not encounter any problems on that visit. At his wife's urging to visit his parents' gravesite in Iran, he traveled to Tehran in early May 2008 where he spent four weeks with family and friends without incident. However, after clearing customs at Tehran airport on June 6, he heard his name called on the public address system with instructions to report to a separate office. At this office, GOI authorities confiscated his passport and told him he would not be leaving Iran. When Vahedi pressed as to the reason, he was dismissed with instructions to follow-up at the Islamic Revolution Court.

------------------------

Seven-Month House Arrest

------------------------

4. (SBU) Thus began a seven-month ordeal in which Vahedi appeared almost daily at the court to request that his passport be returned. During this de facto house arrest, Vahedi did contact Elizabeth Bucher, the Deputy Head of the Foreign Interest Section at the Embassy of Switzerland in Tehran. He reported that Ms. Bucher was very kind and helped him get his heart medications, but was unable to help him depart the country. He lived with friends and relatives staying only a few days with each to avoid them being implicated in his problems.

5. (SBU) Vahedi believed his passport was confiscated for two reasons, the first being simple extortion. It was made clear to him informally by the authorities at the court that if he paid a $150,000 fine the process would move more quickly. Secondly, he was told by GOI officials that he should use his influence to pressure his American citizen sons to terminate one of their business ventures. Vahedi's sons are the owners of Concertino Productions, a Los Angeles-based entertainment company that promotes, among other things, the popular Persian pop singers Kamran and Hooman. In addition to American performances, the duet has performed in Dubai and other middle-eastern venues. According to Vahedi, while the singers are simply Persian pop singers, they have gotten crowds riled up with occasional anti-regime rhetoric. Also included in these performances are female dancers whose costumes would not raise an eyebrow in most countries, but are perceived as immoral by the conservative elements inside Iran.

6. (SBU) Vahedi did not trust that paying the fine would expedite the return of his passport unless he also convinced his sons to cancel the next Dubai performance of Kamran and Hooman. Vahedi spoke of a third party who was pulling the strings within the Iranian government, particularly in regard to his son' business. He repeatedly told the officials of the Islamic Revolution Court that his children had lived in America all of their lives and as such he exerted no control over their strong, typically American independent behavior.

---------------

No Empty Spoons

---------------

7. (C) Vahedi spoke bitterly about his former country, especially its lack of a fair judicial system and widespread corruption. He told Conoff that all government employees receive free sugar, rice, and cooking oil to ensure their loyalty to the regime. He also said anyone with any authority lives by the "why should I put an empty spoon into my mouth" philosophy. Vahedi reported that regime spies were omnipresent including taxi drivers, hotel clerks, and restaurant workers. He also said it was common knowledge that all new Iranian-made cars had a "Khamenei tax" in the amount of $3100 that was earmarked for a fund for South Lebanon, Egypt, and Syria. At his daily appearances at the court, he came to know the intimate details of the lives of many of the other visitors, some of whom told Vahedi they had no idea where their loved ones were, or if they were even alive. Vahedi also helped one woman whose drug-addicted husband was incarcerated by paying her rent for the months he was there. Vahedi reported seeing Iranian citizens watch helplessly as their family members were hauled off in shackles without any official charges levied against them.

-----------------------

Picking the Best Option

-----------------------

8. (C) Vahedi realized that this situation was not going to change and alluded to people who knew of his situation from his daily appearances at the court approaching him with departure options. Vahedi said he studied the four most common illegally used routes out of Iran. The first was crossing as a stowaway on a merchant ship across the Persian Gulf into the UAE. Vahedi dismissed this plan because he thought the heavy shipping traffic was too dangerous and they risked being boarded by the Iranian Navy who were patrolling the area. The second option was overland through Baluchistan but Vahedi could not obtain enough facts about the execution of that plan to seriously consider that route. The third choice was to enter Iraq heading to Karbala and try to make contact with a member of the American military stationed there. Vahedi seriously considered this option, but feared being discovered by the Iraqis before he could make contact with an American soldier. XXXXXXXXXXXX

9. (SBU) In spite of temperatures hovering around zero degrees Fahrenheit, Vahedi chose the early part of January because it coincided with the Shia commemoration of Ashura and he thought it likely the police would be more preoccupied. In the weeks prior to his departure, this 75-year old man trained for strength and altitude by climbing in the hills north of Tehran. To protect his family and friends from retribution by the GOI after his absence was noted, he spoke to none of them of his escape plans. On January 7 Vahedi boarded a bus XXXXXXXXXXXX

-----------------

Over the Mountain

-----------------

10. (C) The two escorts were paid $5000 at the beginning of the journey and the three set out as soon as it was dark. For all his planning, Vahedi did not have clothing appropriate for the weather and had a very difficult time with the cold. At one point XXXXXXXXXXXX, the escorts had to physically hug him to keep him warm. As an inexperienced rider hours into the climb Vahedi lost his concentration and fell off the horse tumbling into the woods. He told Conoff that at this point, he really believed he was going to die by freezing to death on a mountainside. However, his only partially-paid escorts came to his aid and put him back on the horse. Although he had thought he would be able to walk part way, the altitude proved too much for him and his only choice was to remain on the horse. Vahedi said that he believes they were following known dug smuggling routes, evidenced by the way the horse knew exactly which way to turn. Vahedi said the horse often led the escorts, even going off the normal path in what seemed to be the wrong direction. Knowing that he escorts could also be trying to smuggle drugs on this trip, he covertly went through the one pack they had thrown on the horse and said he found nothing.

11. (SBU) Once over the Turkish border they were met on schedule by a man Vahedi described as about 25 years old. During the handover, Vahedi paid out another $2500 but was unsure how the three escorts split that payment. The Turkish escort then brought Vahedi into a home where he was fed and given time to rest and warm up. In the early evening he was driven to and waited there at the bus station for the 0200 bus to Ankara. Vahedi said he maintained a very low profile and did not talk to anyone during the 10-hour bus trip. He arrived at the Consular section around noon on Friday, January 9.

--------------------

Deportation Conflict

--------------------

12. (C) As Vahedi had entered Turkey illegally, Conoff worked with GOT officials to ensure his deportation back to America. Initially the Chief of the Foreigner's police within the Ministry of Interior in Ankara told Conoff that because "we knew Vahedi was coming" he intended to deport him back to Iran. Post is aware that Iranian and Iraqi citizens have been deported back to those countries in a fairly brutal manner. According to UNHCR some have been taken by bus in the middle of the night to the southern Turkish border and released. Police have then allegedly shot into the air forcing the deportees to run across the border into Iraq or Iran with no food or water to sustain them.

(13) (C) Post contacted Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials, who subsequently exerted pressure on the Ministry of Interior to allow this 75-year old American citizen to be deported back to the United States. Consular staff assured his security during the four days it took to work through the departure arrangements and accompanied him through the police and court proceedings and finally onward to the airport. Vahedi told Conoff he had never done anything illegal in his life and that he was ashamed to be seen in policy custody. Vahedi departed Turkey at 4:00 p.m. on January 13.

-------

Comment

-------

14. (C) The problems Vahedi faced as a result of entering Turkey illegally highlights the tough stand this government takes on illegal entry. This is particularly true with Iranian and Iraqi nationals, even those who may also carry American citizenship. Ensuring Vahedi's return to the United States, vice deportation to Iran required the intervention of the embassy's front office.

Note:
Because every media outlet around is printing copies of these cables, I am assuming there are no copyright infringement problems with printing this. If there are, my bad. This was originally published in the Guardian, an outstanding paper in the UK. I believe the only info included in this post is the actual government cable, and the US government refuses to hold copyrights, unlike other countries. So, I should be fine. If There is a problem, please e-mail me privately, and I will take whatever action is appropriate, under US copyright law. Thanks.

2010-12-03T06:38:00.000-06:00

Check out music from School Of Business SOB

2010-11-20T18:06:00.002-06:00

My boy Cass manages these guys. Sick New Orleans hip-hop. Not what you'd expect, better.

Exclusive - Jay-Z Extended Interview - The Daily Show with Jon Stewart - 11/17/10 - Video Clip | Comedy Central

2010-11-18T17:49:00.000-06:00

Exclusive - Jay-Z Extended Interview - The Daily Show with Jon Stewart - 11/17/10 - Video Clip | Comedy Central

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Exclusive - Jay-Z Extended Interview

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show Full Episodes

Political Humor

Rally to Restore Sanity

From MoveOn - PROTECT YOUR HOME!

2010-11-17T12:32:00.001-06:00

This was an alarming email from MoveOn.org. Homeowners, check the tool out...

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "James Rucker, ColorOfChange.org" <info@colorofchange.org>
Date: Nov 17, 2010 11:43 AM
Subject: Our homes
To: "Jon B" <nolajlb@gmail.com>

Mortgage lenders are recklessly foreclosing on homes. Some are even breaking the law.

Help protect your home, or your friends' and family's, with this simple tool:

Dear Jon,

The big banks are at it again. First they targeted minority communities with subprime loans and other predatory lending schemes, helping to make Black Americans and Latinos 70% more likely than Whites to be in foreclosure.¹

Now we're learning that the very same banks and mortgage lenders have been foreclosing on homes around the nation without verifying that they have the right to do so.²

The stories are horrifying: in Ohio, a bank foreclosed on a man after insisting for months that it didn't hold his loan and refusing to accept his payments.³ In Florida, Bank of America tried to take a house away from a man who never even had a mortgage.⁴ The more we learn, the worse it gets.

If you're a homeowner, one possible way to protect yourself from the banks' bad behavior is to demand your note and make them prove they own your mortgage. A new online tool makes it easy. Check it out and please share this information with your friends and family. It could help to save your home or that of someone you love:

http://www.wheresthenote.com/colorofchange

The banks have been trying to write off their failure to properly verify ownership as a mere technicality. But it's much more serious than that, and Attorneys General in all 50 states have banded together to investigate the illegal foreclosures, and several elected leaders have called for criminal charges to be filed against the banks.^5,6

You would think that it would be easy to produce the documents needed for the banks to verify ownership. But during the real estate boom, banks cut corners with paperwork in order to make as many loans as possible, and then sold the loans to other lenders in complicated financial maneuvers designed to maximize the banks' profits.

Now it has come to light that banks have been paying "foreclosure mills" to take homes away as quickly as possible, before homeowners even realize that anything might be amiss. And it appears that these foreclosure mills are operating without actually following the law -- foreclosing without the proper legal documentation.⁷ In some cases, notaries responsible for verifying the documents aren't even reading them.⁸ And in other cases, the documents are just being fabricated -- made up to cover the banks' tracks.⁹ This is foreclosure fraud. It's not legal, and it's not right.

Given their role in creating the foreclosure crisis through predatory practices and deception, banks should be doing what they can to avoid foreclosures and keep people in their homes. This could be done by lowering interest rates, or better yet -- reducing the principal to reflect the crash in housing prices. Foreclosures are only further devastating communities already hard hit by record unemployment.

But the banks seem uninterested. It appears that they would rather commit mortgage fraud to protect their bottom line. That's why it's up to us to make sure that they're following the law to the letter. And if enough of us do so, we'll help to create a new financial environment where banks are held more accountable to homeowners and the legal system. If you have a mortgage, protect yourself and your family by demanding your note, and please share this information with your friends and family. It takes just a moment:

http://www.wheresthenote.com/colorofchange

Thanks and Peace,

-- James, Gabriel, William, Dani, Natasha, and the rest of the ColorOfChange.org team
November 17th, 2010

Help support our work. ColorOfChange.org is powered by YOU — your energy and dollars. We take no money from lobbyists or large corporations that don't share our values, and our tiny staff ensures your contributions go a long way. You can contribute here:

https://secure.colorofchange.org/contribute/

References:

1. "Minorities hit harder by foreclosure crisis," Washington Post, 6-19-2010
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/549?akid=1713.1272799.utqAvV&t=7

2. "Foreclosure Fraud: It's Worse Than You Think," CNBC, 10-12-2010
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/550?akid=1713.1272799.utqAvV&t=9

3. "Mortgage foreclosure uproar sweeps up Northeast Ohioans," The Plain Dealer, 10-17-2010
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/551?akid=1713.1272799.utqAvV&t=11

4. "Lauderdale man's home sold out from under him in foreclosure mistake," The Sun Sentinel, 9-23-2010
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/552?akid=1713.1272799.utqAvV&t=13

5. See Reference 2

6. "States to Probe Mortgage Mess," Wall Street Journal, 10-11-2010
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/553?akid=1713.1272799.utqAvV&t=15

7. See Reference 2

8. "Foreclosure Furor Rises; Many Call for a Freeze," New York Times, 10-5-2010
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/554?akid=1713.1272799.utqAvV&t=17

9. "4ClosureFraud Posts Lender Processing Services Mortgage Document Fabrication Price Sheet," naked capitalism, 10-3-2010
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/555?akid=1713.1272799.utqAvV&t=19

--
You can unsubscribe from this mailing list at any time.

Jon Stewart: The Most Trusted Name In Fake News Rallies to restore SANITY. Download the NPR interview Here.

2010-10-11T12:42:00.001-05:00

Jon Stewart recorded an interview in front of an live audience last week. Check out the story on NPR.org

In an NPR interview at the World's Third-Most-Sacred Jewish Site, the 92nd Street Y in New York City, the comedian and host of the Daily Show discusses his Rally to Restore Sanity, being held on the National Mall on October 30 (as well as Steven Colbert's "rival" Rally to Keep Fear Alive. He also delves into Delaware Republican Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell, his remarkable similarities to Glenn Beck, and why his rally will be just like "Woodstock, but with the nudity and drugs replaced by respectful disagreement."

Download the mp3 of the interview HERE:
Download John Stewart's interview with Terry Gross, (mp3) in its entirety HERE!

David Vitter's Forgotten Crimes

2010-09-29T16:08:00.000-05:00

David Vitter's Forgotten Crimes

Senator David Vitter knowingly employs a Criminal who abuses and imprison women, bangs hookers, and runs his campaigns on his "family values." Vote him out in November!

Saints Sign Karney, 46, after Hartley's missed field goal attempt Sunday

2010-09-29T12:27:00.004-05:00

So, the Saints took some action. It is too bad for Hartley, however he is staying on the active roster. Karney has a long and productive history with the Saints. If Hartley doesn't step it up soon, and a 46-year-old can consistently hit the FGs, Hartley may be another story of a football star who burned bright and fell fast and hard.
Hartley did, however, kick the game winning goal securing the Saints Superbowl spot over Minnesota, and then had an unprecedented kicking game against the Colts, securing the Saint's victory 31-17. Hartley became the first kicker to hit three field goals over 40 yards in a Superbowl, and so far this year has hit 4 of 7 field-goal attempts. That missed 29-yard attempt at the Dome this past Sunday, however, may prove to be the albatross around the kicker's neck he doesn't shake. Let's hope that is not the case.

Check out the story on Bloomberg:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-09-29/saints-sign-46-year-old-kicker-john-carney-after-hartley-miss-in-overtime.html

A Stellar “Superjam” - My memories and the Offbeat Archive...

2010-09-21T12:51:00.000-05:00

The New Years Dilemma & A Stellar “Superjam” :: offBeat :: Louisiana and New Orleans Online Music Resource

A few months after moving to New Orleans, I had my first true funky experience, at what I believe was the 6th Superfly Superjam, at the Howlin' Wolf. I just had no idea... An old friend, Scotty, who lived across the hall from me in the freshman dorm - Sharp Hall - at Tulane, convinced me to go, and I've been searching in vain for funk OR jazz that good ever since. If I were to point to one moment that made me a "lifer" in New Orleans (I'm in Baton Rouge now, but I'm gonna make it back soon - stupid law school) it was eleven years ago, around 1:45am, December 4th, watching Porter and Medeski go at it, smilin' and trying to one-up each other, while I was watching from the balcony dumb-founded and drooling (from the music and the strong drinks). Oh, Superfly, why spend the summers in Tennessee, when you could be throwing sick parties back home? I found the description on the old OffBeat archives...
"The people at Superfly Productions have put together an outstanding aggregation of talent for December 4th at the Howlin’ Wolf: John Medeski (keys), John Scofield (guitar), George Porter, Jr. (bass), Zigaboo Modeliste (drums), and a horn section featuring Roger Lewis (baritone sax) and Gregory Davis (trumpet) of the Dirty Dozen and Clarence Johnson (tenor sax). The idea to combine the original Meters rhythm section (Porter, Modeliste) with two masters of jazz fusion (Medeski, Scofield) and a killer New Orleans hon section is brilliant to say the least. Adding to the excitement, this is the first, and possibly only time they will perform as a group.

The show is the sixth installment of the popular “Superjam” series. These are essentially well-promoted all-star jam sessions which, even if all the players on stage aren’t coming out of the jazz idiom (and usually at least a few do), thrive on the kind of spontaneous interaction and virtuosity associated with jazz. The dramatic success of these shows (people are still talking about the sold-out ‘99 Jazz Fest “Superjam,” which also featured Medeski) is ample proof that live music audiences remain hungry for the most essential element in jazz, improvisation."

PostScript by Jon - that was definitely the only time they have ever played. If anyone out there has a recording of this show... well I'd be willing to do some pretty extreme things to get a hold of it.

Also Posted on WWOZ's facebook page, a response to "Magical Crescent City Moments."

Key Religious Groups Either Oppose Or Won't Weigh In On 'Ground Zero Mosque' - From TPM

2010-08-17T19:32:00.001-05:00

Links on "Talking Points Memo" | Facebook

I posted this comment to a story about how the media has blown the issue of the Muslim community center being built two blocks from Ground Zero WAY out of proportion. Check the discussion out on facebook, and be informed.

Remember how the earliest colonies, the original European inhabitants of the Americas, fled Europe because they could not practice their religions openly. The Puritans, the Quakers (thank you, Will Penn) all driven out by the majorities - the Catholics and the Church of England. Congress shall make no law respecting religion, and all shall have complete religious freedom in the Unites States because of this heritage. Our country is great because people can believe whatever they want, openly and without fear. I'm not a Muslim, but the groups and individuals who are fighting this mosque are trying to infringe on all of our personal freedoms. Many of these same people claim to be 'strict constructionists.' How can they sleep at night?

LA Bishops To Jindal: Uh, No, You Can't Bring Guns Into Our Churches | TPM LiveWire

2010-07-20T22:49:00.001-05:00

So, who is the biggest reactionary who is out of touch with the majority of the American (and the world) population? Choices:
1) The Catholic Church
2) The Louisiana Legislature
3) Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal
4) or comment with your own response.

See the official discussion here:
LA Bishops To Jindal: Uh, No, You Can't Bring Guns Into Our Churches | TPM LiveWire

The Little Oily Mermaid

2010-07-17T15:08:00.002-05:00

Tar balls reach Lake Pontchartrain | NOLA.com

2010-07-06T16:28:00.001-05:00

Tar balls reach Lake Pontchartrain | NOLA.com

I can't really comment on this. I'm all the way in Baton Rouge. But I hope I can, because of the gravity of the situation, re-print the picture associated with the article here... Thank you Nola.com and Times-Pic, for your outstanding reporting on this travesty, the greatest environmental disaster (hopefully) in our lifetime.

phish & jay-Z - 99 problems & big pimpin' 2004-06-18

2010-07-05T12:47:00.001-05:00

Why I remain proud of Pennsylvania! Shirking the Constitution may be shiek, but it's still wrong.

2010-07-04T19:28:00.001-05:00

Media Law Prof Blog: Federal Judge Strikes Down Pennsylvania Business Naming Law

Tonights Phish Show! Live Broadcast from UStream

2010-06-30T20:31:00.002-05:00

Live Broadcast by Ustream.TV

Recap-O-Rama - Futurama is Returning! Catch up here.

2010-06-17T20:58:00.002-05:00

Futurama

Thurs, June 24 10pm / 9c

Recap-O-Rama: 5 Seasons in 7 Minutes

www.comedycentral.com

Futurama New Episodes

Ugly Americans

The Ultimate Guide to Internet Law: 100 Guides and Resources for Future Lawyers | OEDb

2010-05-31T17:00:00.000-05:00

The Ultimate Guide to Internet Law: 100 Guides and Resources for Future Lawyers | OEDb

A list from two years ago, but still a good list.