A Note to Our Readers

Hey --
Happy Mother's Day.

We're off to . . . sleep? We wish.

We're beginning to feel like Meg Tilly in The Two Jakes, asking Jack Nicholson if it ever gets better? How about just done sooner?

This edition, we offer the following reposts (and thank everyone for permission):

Music Spotlight: Kat's Korner on Pink's I'm Not Dead
NYT Criticque via C.I.
Blog Spotlight: Kat on Rolling Stone, Guns & Butter and more
Humor Spotlight: Wally on Hillary's faves
Humor Spotlight: Betty on Thomas Friedman's visit to the Russian Embassy
Empresas de telecomunicaciones ayudaron a la NSA a espiar a millones de ciudadanos estadounidenses
Music Spotlight: Kat's Korner on Josh Ritter's The Animal Years
Blog Spotlight: Mike discusses tax breaks and Barry Bonds
Music Spotlight: Kat on Pearl Jam
Blog Spotlight: Rebecca on Alphonso Jackson of HUD
Blog Spotlight: Rebecca on the head liar at HUD
Blog Spotlight: Cedric wonders if we close Guantanamo, where will we put Bully Boy?
Music Spotlight: Kat on The Millennium Collection of Richie Havens
Mother's Day Spotlight: Trina's Kitchen

We also offer new content:

"Editorial: Could it be true? Rove indicted?" -- really, can it be true?

"TV Review: When it's time to go -- That 70s Show" Ava and C.I.'s latest. They say right now that they have no idea what they wrote. But they say fans of the show should watch the finale this week, the series ender. You've been given your heads up.

"Who exactly are the outlaws?" is an essay pulling together a number of threads to ask those calm, self-satisified, Sunny Side of the Street types, exactly why aren't you frightened to death?

"2 Books, many minutes " -- write enough e-mails demanding that it return and you get your wish. We've limited the amount to two books in an attempt to make it more manageble.

"About that 'fan mail'" -- what got noticed by most non-regular readers? You can probably guess. Ty wants it noted that he's African-American. That's a point he meant to bring up in this, that e-mailers complaining that issues of race are noted assume that everyone involved in this edition is White. C.I. and Ava want it noted that people can have whatever opinion they wish and express themselves however they want. "Just don't expect us to read any of it," Ava adds.

"Professional Slime Mike McCurry stabs Milano in the back" -- Dems like McCurry think play it forward, like life, is not a beach. In their efforts to get their way through distortion, they aren't above sliming someone who did her part for the Party. Note, they'll court the anti-choice crazies, but they'll happily smear someone whose given of her time.

"Laura Flanders spoke with Cindy Sheehan on Saturday's Radio Nation With Laura Flanders" -- you shouldn't have missed Laura and, hopefully, you didn't. This is us focusing on our favorite segment from last night and, remember, it airs again tonight. (C.I. adds, "Tonight in the Eastern time zone. Adjust time for your own areas.")

"Mark Danner discusses impeachment with Larry Bensky today on KPFA's Sunday Salon" is a quick note noting Pacifica and Sunday Salon.

We had plans for other features, when time ran out, so did the plans.

The following worked on the features in this edition (except TV commentary which was done solely by Ava and C.I.):

The Third Estate Sunday Review's Dona, Jess, Ty, Ava and Jim;
Rebecca of Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude;
Betty of Thomas Friedman Is a Great Man;
C.I. of The Common Ills and The Third Estate Sunday Review;
Kat of Kat's Korner (of The Common Ills);
Cedric of Cedric's Big Mix;
Mike of Mikey Likes It!;
Elaine of Like Maria Said Paz;
and Wally of The Daily Jot.

We thank everyone for their help and that includes Dallas for hunting down links.

We checked the spam folder in our e-mail account in the midst of writing this edition. ____ had written and as a result, we killed a piece that we had completed (our first completed for this edition in fact). We noted that today was a day of peace and while we disagree with the person's take, we'd kill the piece we'd planned in honor of that day.

We're a bunch of smart asses so when we pull a sincere move it may be confusing, but if ___ is reading this (no reason ___ should be), that was a sincere e-mail (look at the contents and you'll see the feature isn't up).

On this day, if there's something you can pull (not your beliefs, just possibly a criticism, perhaps, that you'd already made so on this day of peace, you can avoid not to air it again), pull it. If you're lucky enough to have a mother who is alive, take a moment to appreciate that and, most of all, appreciate her while you figure out what a day of peace means to you and for you.

Peace will come, according to plan (as Melanie sang and wrote). "With a velvet hill in the small of my back . . ."

-- Jim, Dona, Ty, Jess, Ava and C.I.