You might wonder how a critically acclaimed but relatively unknown singer-songwriter recruited Adele, Pearl Jam and Dolly Parton to cover her songs for a benefit album. But the biggest get on Brandi Carlile’s “Cover Stories,” made up of new renditions of the material on her 2007 album, “The Story,” comes from outside the music world: Barack Obama.The former president doesn’t sing on the album, from which all proceeds will benefit War Child UK, an organization dedicated to supporting children affected by conflict. But he did provide a foreword for the package (out Friday on Legacy Recordings), in which he writes that “Brandi Carlile tells stories that encourage us to see ourselves in one another” and that she “reminds us that, together, we can build for our children a more just, peaceful world.”“The Story” has been a slow-burn tale of success. Its songs have turned up in numerous television shows and commercials, and the title track has become something of a staple on singing competition shows like “The Voice”; this year, a decade after its release, the album was certified gold. (Ms. Carlile is currently on a small tour on which she is playing the album in its entirety, an anniversary celebration she described as “more of a party environment.”)On the phone from her home outside Seattle, Ms. Carlile, 35, said she was unsure why the record had had such staying power — “I’m as confused as you are!” — but had become aware that “people were singing it still, and it wasn’t going away, so it seemed like the biggest thing I had to throw at this.”
All posts by nedhamson
Donald Trump staffers copied classified documents and removed them from secured room | 3CHICSPOLITICO
The only way Trump’s transition team could have thought it was okay to act in such a manner was if they’d gotten the signal from Donald Trump himself that it was all perfectly fine. It’s not even clear from the AP story if these documents were being photocopied so they could be stolen and sold, or if the Trump staffers just thought it was okay to photocopy classified documents and take them home for further reading. This is what Trump’s administration is built on – and it can’t be scapegoated on any particular disgraced former team members.
East Jerusalem hit by wave of home demolitions | +972 Magazine
Israel has significantly stepped up its demolition of homes in the occupied territories, destroying 123 housing units in Jerusalem in 2016 — a record, and more than double its prior yearly average. Israel demolished 66 housing units in East Jerusalem during the first four months of 2017, a pace which, if maintained, would make 2017 a far worse year than the one before.Last year was also the first in which Israel destroyed homes in East Jerusalem neighborhoods cut off by the separation wall, which brings us back to al-Walaja — where, a week ago, construction of the barrier resumed.The demolitions were carried out in the part of al-Walaja that has been annexed to Jerusalem. Despite its annexation, the municipality and the state have never provided even a semblance of services to the village. Yet Israel insists on demolishing buildings constructed without a permit — which itself is a result of the government not approving a master plan for the village.
Source: East Jerusalem hit by wave of home demolitions | +972 Magazine
In Rare Unity, Hospitals, Doctors and Insurers Criticize Health Bill – The New York Times “Pro-Death is now GOP’s trademark!”
The overriding concern — for insurers, many workers and officials throughout the health care systems in many states — is the broad reductions proposed for Medicaid. Even for insurers that have largely abandoned the individual market, like UnitedHealth Group and Aetna, a substantial portion of their business is providing coverage under Medicaid. The same is true for many local nonprofit plans, said Ceci Connolly, the chief executive of the Alliance of Community Health Plans.Employers and others said they were also concerned about the effects on freelancers, who do not have a traditional employer but are self-employed or contract workers in the so-called gig economy.Depending on their income, those workers have shuttled between Medicaid and the individual insurance market under the federal health care law, which offered a greater level of stability, said Nell Abernathy, vice president for research and policy at the Roosevelt Institute, a left-leaning economic research organization.“A huge swath of Americans are in insecure work arrangements,” she said. “This repeals that level of security, which was not perfect, but it was a step in the right direction.”Small businesses, which were sharply divided over the original law, remained mixed in their response to the Republican bill, and there seemed little doubt that some companies would drop coverage in the absence of any penalty. The National Federation of Independent Business, which opposed the Affordable Care Act, said the House legislation was “a crucial first step toward health care reform.”In other people’s view, employees of small businesses would lose out if Medicaid were rolled back or the exchanges became threadbare, because many smaller companies rely on employees’ ability to obtain coverage through the government program or individual market.
vintage everyday: 4 Sisters Take A Picture Together Every Year – See How Time Has Affected Them 40 Years Later
Abortion Is a Fundamentally Democratic Party Issue | Dame Magazine
If we want to truly end the tidal wave of misogynistic restrictions that abortion opponents continue to ride through state legislatures and now, the federal government, we cannot stigmatize that which we’re supposed to be supporting.
Are you a Democrat? Then you need to support safe and legal abortion, not because the party requires uniformity of thought, but because supporting basic human and constitutional rights is a Democratic prerequisite.
Abandon abortion, and we abandon you. {I agree 100%}
Source: Abortion Is a Fundamentally Democratic Party Issue | Dame Magazine
Measles outbreak rages after anti-vaccine groups target vulnerable community | Ars Technica Dr. Death strikes again!
The activists held community meetings and invited Wakefield {Dr. Death} to visit with scared families. Vaccination rates dropped from 92 percent in 2004 to 42 percent in 2014.Wakefield, a former British doctor who now lives in Texas, is considered the founder of the modern anti-vaccination movement. In 2010, around the time he was visiting the Somali community, he was stripped of his British medical license for falsifying a 1998 study he was paid to produce to aid a money-making legal scheme, which ultimately failed. The study falsely alleged that the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine caused autism. The study was retracted, and Wakefield was also found guilty of dozens of other counts of professional misconduct, including abusing autistic children.Despite the shocking misconduct and retraction, the harmful belief that life-saving vaccines cause autism lives on.
Source: Measles outbreak rages after anti-vaccine groups target vulnerable community | Ars Technica
A Revolving Door No More? A Statistical Profile of Mexican Adults Repatriated from the United States | migrationpolicy.org: Truth still counts for the rest of us even if still not for #TraitorTrump
Repeat migration is slowing significantly for Mexican adults removed from the United States. An official survey of Mexican adults removed or voluntarily returned by the U.S. government found an 80 percent drop in the number intending to seek re-entry, from 471,000 in 2005 to 95,000 in 2015. Overall, the share of Mexican returnees saying they intended to return to the United States fell from 95 percent in 2005 to 49 percent in 2015.This stark shift in the decision-making of Mexican returnees represents an important aspect of the changing dynamics of U.S.-Mexico migration—one worth considering as U.S. policymakers contemplate appropriating vast new sums for additional border enforcement.
Brandi Carlile YouTube
2:36 Margo Price – Downpour (From Cover Stories: Brandi Carlile Celebrates The Story) [Audio]by BrandiCarlile
3:53 Late Morning Lullaby (From Cover Stories: Brandi Carlile Celebrates The Story) [Audio]by BrandiCarlile
3:43Losing Heart (From Cover Stories: Brandi Carlile Celebrates The Story) [Audio]by BrandiCarlile
3:45Josephine (From Cover Stories: Brandi Carlile Celebrates The Story) [Audio]by BrandiCarlile
Source: (26) BrandiCarlileVEVO – YouTube
Wow, I am SO angry about the passage of Zombie Trumpcare
Someone you know – a child, a son, a daughter, a cousin, a grandchild, a grandmother, a sister, an uncle or aunt… will die if the the #ProDeathParty, the GOP gets this to #LoserTrump to sign into law!
I am so angry right now.
I have been wanting to get back in the groove of blogging regularly because I miss it, and I’d cleared off this evening with the explicit goal of writing a post. I was all set to write a post about my first-ever DNF, which happened this weekend, when I heard the House Republicans had forced through the legislative monstrosity some like to refer to as Zombie Trumpcare.
And since then, I haven’t been able to think about much else.
There’s so much to be angry about. I don’t even know where to begin! Can we talk about how now, what’s defined as a pre-existing condition means that basically every woman alive is a walking pre-existing condition? If you’ve ever been raped, abused by a partner, suffered post-partum depression, had an eating disorder – surprise! You have a pre-existing condition.
I can’t tell you…
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