A variety of links to articles/interviews on current topics that may, or may not, be of interest.

When Rick Perry heard that Newt Gingrich compared his failing to be on the Virginia ballot to the attack on Pearl Harbor, Perry just shrugged and said “Aw, Newt should leave the Germans out of this.” The truly hilarious thing about Gingrich screwing up his petition for the ballot is that it is his current [...]

Joan Baez – Diamonds And Rust

One of my least favorite media criticism dodges revolves around the idea that, though TV and newspaper pundits are powerful opinion leaders with massive megaphones through which they can amplify any point of view they choose, they are simultaneously powerless to resist the tastes of the public and must slavishly follow the directions of their reader and viewer masters.

The New Hampshire House is expected to vote as soon as the first week of January, 2012 on HB437, a bill to repeal the state’s freedom to marry law. 63% of New Hampshire voters oppose repealing marriage equality.

It seems if you’re planning to become King, you have to update your expected Queen. Same with Presidents.

On holidays, Movie Night can be a surprise, and tonight is no exception. Santa gave us a huge present, and some relief for me too, since I hadn’t been able to find a guest available for the night after Christmas, until John Roecker guerrilla-released his dark romance, They’re All Out Without You, on Vimeo. The 30 minute feature, based on characters from Green Day’s punk rock opera album, American Idiot, delves into sex, death, love and angst, showcases the director’s narrative skills, knowledge of film and his actors’ talents.

Occupy Supply is making a difference.

Occupy Erie has faced 7 devastating raids but refuses to quit, thanks in-part to the tireless support of the Firedoglake community. Our liaison Mark H. wrote in a post last week how important support from OccupySupply has been. If they won’t give up, we won’t give up on them. Can you help?

It does not seem to occur to Ms. Rice that one of the most important functions of a National Security Adviser is to think through the consequences of proposed national actions. Aside from asking whether what your boss and his militarist advisers are planning is justified, the job requires you warn against measures that would destroy peoples, rulers, governments, . . . You’d at least get your principals to recognize that the Pottery Barn rules applies: you break it, you can’t fix it, you own it.

FDL has updated the Occupy Supply working list of encampments across the country. We count 67 occupations as of 12/26/2011, up from 63 on December 22. If you think an encampment should be included on the list, please send a photo or video taken within the last week showing the tents, or a link to a recent media report on the tent encampment, to members AT firedoglake DOT com.