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James passes the torch to Michael and Prince. Circa 1982.

Labels: in the news

In recalling the first Gulf War, this was the argument that convinced me that invading Iraq in 2003 would be a huge mistake. Can you guess the speaker? (No, it's not Nostradamus.)

From April 1991:

I think that the proposition of going to Baghdad is also fallacious. I think if we were going to remove Saddam Hussein we would have had to go all the way to Baghdad, we would have to commit a lot of force because I do not believe he would wait in the Presidential Palace for us to arrive. I think we'd have had to hunt him down. And once we'd done that and we'd gotten rid of Saddam Hussein and his government, then we'd have had to put another government in its place.

What kind of government? Should it be a Sunni government or Shi'i government or a Kurdish government or Ba'athist regime? Or maybe we want to bring in some of the Islamic fundamentalists? How long would we have had to stay in Baghdad to keep that government in place? What would happen to the government once U.S. forces withdrew? How many casualties should the United States accept in that effort to try to create clarity and stability in a situation that is inherently unstable?

I think it is vitally important for a President to know when to use military force. I think it is also very important for him to know when not to commit U.S. military force. And it's my view that the President got it right both times, that it would have been a mistake for us to get bogged down in the quagmire inside Iraq.

"Inherently unstable."

"Quagmire."

Who is this dirty, anti-war hippie? Here's your answer.

Labels: in the news

Sugar Cookie is a band by proxy; none of the musicians on this recording performed in the same room at the same time. Instead, each phase of the recording was transferred between contributors via the internet and US mail.

Album producer Dan Sorensen conceived of a unique way to make music with artists he admired but whose schedules did not allow for a more traditional collaboration. He recorded complete drum arrangements and passed them on to 4 songwriters: Bryan Thomas, Ben Karis, Martha Kronholm, and Troy Pohl. Each writer applied a unique treatment to their respective pieces and returned them to Sorensen. Olivia Nix then provided supporting vocals to both Karis tunes. From there, the tracks were passed on to Bob Buckley to record bass. Finally, Frank Moscowitz, (in addition to his duties as co-producer, engineer, and mixer) provided guitar, vocal, and keyboard tracks to complete each recording.

The result is a surprisingly cohesive record, and a warm representation of the vibrant Albany, NY music scene. Please enjoy.

Learn more at the official site. Stream the full tunes at MySpace. And enjoy. Special thanks to Mr. Sorensen for allowing me to drop some slop on his beats. (And have no fear, DS, we will rock out in person eventually! Thanks for hanging in there with me.)

Labels: music