Archive | Portside

November 29, 2013

Protest at Wal-Mart in Ontario on Black Friday Draws Dozens of Workers

James Barragan Los Angeles Times

Black Friday Wal-Mart protesters, including community members, demanded fair wages and better working conditions. As they reached the front of the store, their chants of "What do we want? Justice!" grew louder.

'I'm on my way to Canaan land'

November 29, 2013

Burt Lancaster stars as the religious huckster Elmer Gantry in the 1960 movie version of Sinclair Lewis' novel. Find more Alt-Xmas music here.

Atheists Don't Have No Songs (Steve Martin)

November 29, 2013

Steve Martin fills a gap in the seasonal hymnal by creating a song for atheists. Musically appropriate, if irreverent. Find more Alt-Xmas music here.

Son House "Preachin' Blues"

November 29, 2013

Son House was a preacher before becoming a seminal figure in the development of blues. Here he creates short, vivid portraits of church-goers. Find more Alt-Xmas music here.

Way Down in the Hole (Tom Waits)

November 29, 2013

Tom Waits performs all the somewhat sardonic verses of Down in the Hole, a song best known from the fragment that serves as the musical signature for the tv series The Wire. Find more Alt-Xmas music here.

November 29, 2013

Friday Nite Videos -- Nov 29, 2013 (Alt-Xmas Music, Part I)

Portside

Way Down in the Hole (Tom Waits). Preachin' Blues (Son House). Stand Up, Stand Up for Judas (Leon Rosselson). Atheists Don't Have No Songs (Steve Martin). I'm on My Way to Canaan Land (Burt Lancaster as Elmer Gantry).

November 28, 2013

Pressure and Passivity on Immigration

Editorial The New York Times

November 28, 2013

Thataway

Mike Luckovich Creators

November 28, 2013

Tidbits - November 28, 2013

Portside

Reader Comments - Black Friday protests; Walmart and retail workers; Congress filibuster; Warren, Sanders - the 2016 elections; healthcare; Detroit; Climate Change; "Hunger Games;" Africa; Iran; Announcements - NC Music Love Army benefit album; New Books - What We Can Learn from the New Deal and JFK - The Cuba Files the untold story of the plot;; Performance-talk and jam - Nueva Canción - New York - Dec 6; PM Press - Holiday Sale and Upcoming Releases!

November 28, 2013

The Changing American Family

Natalie Angier The New York Times

Researchers who study the structure and evolution of the American family express astonishment at how rapidly the family has changed in recent years. Fewer women are becoming mothers, and those who do are having fewer children. Families are becoming more socially egalitarian but, as economic disparities widen, the marital class divide has sharpened. Fewer women are becoming mothers and one big reason is the soaring cost of raising children.