Eric Olsen of Tres Producers eats some meaty caps and sets to investigating the Dead and their enigmatic “Uncle John’s Band.” Predictably, he soon finds himself citing biblical verse and quoting from some 30s tune recorded by the Carolina Buddies. Trickster figures in the guise of birds abound — and there’s even talk of economic cycles and jet propulsion. The only thing missing is a screaming coming across the sky,

Eric Olsen of Tres Producers eats some meaty caps and sets to investigating the Dead and their enigmatic “Uncle John’s Band.” Predictably, he soon finds himself citing biblical verse and quoting from some 30s tune recorded by the Carolina Buddies. Trickster figures in the guise of birds abound — and there’s even talk of economic cycles and jet propulsion. The only thing missing is a screaming coming across the sky,

“Americans are not losing their minds, but they are afraid of using their minds. They are afraid to exercise judgment — afraid of being sued,” observes George Will. And he gives examples: […] The early 20th century playground movement aimed to acquaint children with mild risks. In 1917, a movement leader said: ‘It is reasonably evident that if a boy climbs on a swing frame and falls off, the school

Michael Gebert of Vorpal Blog says he understands why the Bush administration “went to the airwaves to cover their collective butt on the possibility that a terrorist attack will happen again in the United States” (having been “beaten up in the press over what could have been known before September 11th”). Still, he’s not happy with our defense strategy, and lists the things he feels we should be doing: