I can't bring myself to push the play button. Someone tell me if this is as bad as I fear.

To restore order to the universe, Radiohead performing "Paranoid Android", on Later with Jools Holland:

And Weezer from long, long ago, performing "Suzanne":

I'm not making the claim the Prairie Home Companion host Garrison Keillor is the coolest guy around, but his blog post about why he's not boycotting Arizona (his show broadcasts from Flagstaff on June 4) is an interesting read:

Suddenly one night last week there was a tidal wave of emails urging us to cancel the June 4 broadcast in Flagstaff in line with a boycott of Arizona —— I hadn't been aware of any boycott, but evidently there is one —— by people opposed to the new state law authorizing state troopers to stop the cars of people who appear to be Mexican and asking to see their papers.

The suddenness of the onslaught of mail (from people who were "shocked" or "horrified" or "outraged" by the idea of "A Prairie Home Companion" going to Flagstaff) suggested an organized campaign and many of the letters seemed to have been copied from a form. None of them tried to argue that our cancellation would actually affect real people in some positive way; mostly they were just plain angry righteous letters.

I questioned our decision to do a show in Flagstaff months ago, the day after Congresswoman Giffords was shot in the parking lot in Tucson and I spoke to our friends in public radio in Flagstaff and, while they completely understood my concern, they argued that Flagstaff is a hotbed of moderation, a college town, a very different place. Cancellation of the show would hurt the Flagstaff station financially. It would be a slap in the face. And I think that now is no time for public radio to retreat in the face of extremism. And the Flagstaff station is a loyal friend. So we're going to go.

The law in question strikes me as reminiscent of the old East Germany, but at the moment it is making its way through the courts and isn't affecting anybody.

I did plenty of boycotts back in the day ——- boycotted green grapes, non-union-made clothing, refused to buy a Volkswagen because it was after all a car sponsored by Hitler ——- and I don't mind people urging me to boycott whatever they think needs boycotting, but the bullying tone of the mail we got last week is something I resent deep in my Midwestern soul.

Instead of boycotting Flagstaff, I am going to protest California's inhumane overcrowding of prisons ——- 140,000 inmates in prisons designed to hold 80,000 ——- by boycotting California wines. (I don't drink, but it's the gesture that counts.) I am going to punish Wisconsin for its denial of collective bargaining for teachers by boycotting Harley Davidson. No hog for me. I am going to teach the Japanese a lesson about nuclear power plant safety by avoiding sushi. And show the French how I feel about sexual assault of hotel employees by refusing escargots. Call me a wild-eyed idealist but those are my positions and I am sticking to them. You can make your own decisions. But if I run into a guy on a Harley eating an escargot sushi while drinking a Napa Chardonnay, I am going to give him what for.

Hank Stephenson of the Nogales International has a story for you: Three Nogales businessmen go to a state border security committee to ask for the committee to recommend to the federal government that more customs employees are hired to decrease the wait time at the Nogales port of entry. This wouldn't cost Arizona a cent, and in fact, the current situation is likely to cost Arizona money. Since the Nogales entries have the second-longest wait time in the country, companies using the port have threatened to move to Texas to increase their productivity. Outside of even commerce, legal visitors to Arizona spend millions of dollars in Arizona each year, so encouraging them to come in instead of stalling them at the border for hours might be a good idea. So, what would you guess the representatives of a state strapped for cash would do in this situation?

Although he’s been advocating for the federal government to increase Border Patrol and the National Guard on the border for years, the Republican co-chairman of the committee, State Sen. Al Melvin of Tucson, said he wouldn’t so much as sign on to a resolution (essentially a post card to Congress) showing his support for increased staffing at the ports.

The problem could be solved by moving the railroad tracks to the outside of town and using double-stacked trains to relieve traffic on the ports, Melvin said. Besides, the problem should be solved by the private sector, not the federal government.

“I don’t think we need more government employees, I think we need more private sector employees,” Melvin said after the committee meeting.

When asked how private sector could take over the ports, Melvin couldn’t elaborate. When a reporter pointed out that border security is a federal responsibility, he said the feds haven’t done it.

[Nogales International]

Last week, in discussing Treme and one-season wonder Terriers, I mentioned how both have excellent main title sequences. I love opening credits, and posting them kicked off a bi-annual binge on my part, where I re-watch all my favorite openings. I figured I'd share them after the jump.

Sarah Palin has confirmed that she's one of Arizona's newest residents:

Despite its rustic flair, there is nothing ordinary about Ms. Palin’s new neighborhood, one of the most elite in the Phoenix area and a place that some refer to derisively as “Snobsdale.”

“Scottsdale is a unique combination of cowboy country, open spaces, sophistication, snobbery, resorts, arts, golf, spring training and plastic surgery,” said Jason Rose, a public relations executive who works here.

Its downtown is lined with art galleries and fashionable restaurants, and Scottsdale hosts an Arabian horse show and antique car auction every year. It calls itself “the West’s most Western town,” albeit one with far more Mercedes sedans than mustangs.

The New York Times also reports that she's going on a buscapade!

Sarah Palin will begin a bus tour of the East Coast on Memorial Day weekend, the latest and most significant evidence that the former governor of Alaska is still seriously considering a run for the Republican presidential nomination this year.

Ms. Palin will begin the series of high-profile public events in the Washington area, starting with the annual Rolling Thunder motorcycle rally and continuing on through the Northeast, according to a statement on her Web site.

Slate's John Dickerson sizes up a Palin-Romney fight for the GOP nomination:

Whatever Mitt Romney had on his plate for Memorial Day, he'd better make room. If we assume—for the purposes of page views—that Palin is getting into the race, the Republican contest immediately becomes one between Palin and Romney, with other candidates circling for a way to break into the conversation. A recent Gallup poll shows Romney (17 percent) and Palin (15 percent) essentially in a tie among Republican voters. The third-place candidate, Ron Paul, has only 10 percent support.

The polls are not terribly meaningful at this point, of course. Name recognition has a lot to do with these numbers, so it's not surprising Palin and Romney are at the top. What may be more meaningful in assessing the Romney vs. Palin matchup is the polling about the characteristics of the two candidates' supporters. Romney comes out ahead. Palin has more intense followers, but she also has more intense detractors, and for the last few months her momentum has been going in the wrong direction in her party.

In late April, Gallup asked Republican voters which candidate they would definitely not vote for. Palin was chosen by 37 percent. Only 26 percent said that about Romney. Among all voters, the gap is even more vast. Some 65 percent of registered voters say they would not vote for Palin; only 45 percent say they would never vote for Romney. (Obama's number is 46.)

We wrote about Wavelab owner Craig Schumacher and his battle with cancer on the blog before, but as he enters another round of chemo, he's having a rough go of it and according to an email newsletter that went out yesterday, he could use the community's support:

Hello...

Thank you, everyone, for your response to the Craig vs Cancer ChipIn campaign. Your generosity has been overwhelming and I know that Craig and Karen are sincerely touched by your support.
The purpose of this email is to update the list on Craig's condition and to let you know of an additional fundraising campaign.

FIRST, THE UPDATE:

Craig completed his first round of chemotherapy a few weeks ago. it was pretty difficult, but he got thru it. Last week he started the next round of treatment... a combination of radiation and chemotherapy. This round is significantly more invasive and involves radiation treatments every day for six weeks. Since the treatment is directed at his throat, he was warned that eventually he would have trouble eating and would need a feeding tube. Today was that day. Unfortunately, afterward Craig passed out, hitting his head on the way to the floor. As I write this, he is having significant difficulty maintaining consciousness, so he is being admitted to the hospital.
At this point, they really need all of your good thoughts, prayers, and positive energy. If you are on Facebook, please visit the link given in the right column of this email and let Craig and Karen know that you're thinking about them. If you prefer, you may also send Craig a personal message.

FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN:

(Many of you are already on the TapeOp Ezine list and may already have this information, so please forgive the duplication.)

A month or so ago I got an email from Geoff Daking. He and several manufacturers had discussed what they could do to help, put their heads together with the TapeOp staff, and came up with an Ebay auction to raise funds to help Craig get thru the cancer. The auction features products contributed from AnaMod, Daking Audio, Little Labs, Curtis Mathewson, Pendulum Audio and TransAudio Group.... very cool stuff!

The auction begins around 7pm tonight (5/26)... I'm not sure what time zone that's in, but please keep checking.
Dave Middleton at TapeOp co-ordinated the technical issues and set up this handy link, which will re-direct you to the EBay page at which all the products will be available once the auction goes live.
http://www.craigvscancer.com

Big huge major thanks to everyone involved in making such a generous donation and setting up this auction.

And thanks to everyone who has contributed to this ChipIn campaign.

Friends of Craig Schumacher & Karen Lustig
Susan Bauer Lee & Tim Lee

State Sen. Al Melvin, who represents the Catalina Foothills and Oro Valley in the Arizona Legislature, remains opposed a change in state law that would allow out-of-work Arizonans to receive extended unemployment benefits from the federal government, even though it would not cost the state a dime.

Hank Stephenson, a reporter for the Nogales International and contributor to TW, caught up Melvin this week during while the Republican lawmakers was attending a special committee hearing on border issues.

Melvin, who has said in the past that extending unemployment benefits discourages people from looking for work, is taking his lead from European nations.

“When this came up in Europe they found that as the time decrease, people brushed off their resumes and went back to work quicker than if it was just an open-ended time,” Melvin said.

He added that there are plenty of jobs to be had in Arizona, despite an April unemployment rate of nearly 9 percent.

“I’m not a help wanted department here, but I’m hearing from many private sector companies (that there are jobs out there),” Melvin said. “Here in Arizona, like Texas, I believe we’re on a rebound to have jobs who seek gainful employment.”

When a Tucson television reporter asked Melvin about the contention by Arizona Democrats and Republican Jan Brewer that the extension of benefits won’t cost the state anything because it would be paid for with federal dollars, Melvin got so excited that he knocked the mic right off his shirt.

"This is stealing from unborn generations,” Melvin said. “This is what is called generational theft and we’re not going to be a part of it. And where is the money coming from? It’s coming China, is where it’s coming from. So we’re taking money from China to provide unemployment benefits, and it's money that we just don’t have."

Asked what he would say to people whose benefits are about to run out, Melvin replied:

“How long have they been on that already?”

As The Range reported earlier this week, lawmakers would have to act by the end of next week to receive the federal dollars.

Who knows whether Sarah Palin is running for Senate, president, Paradise Valley school board, or nothing at all, but since it seems like we'll be sharing a state with the former governor and she's going to still be in the public eye, it might be helpful to have your bingo card (from Vanity Fair) and a marker ready as Palin fever sweeps the news networks again.

Having voted for huge Medicare cuts, Republicans are now holding them hostage to lifting the debt ceiling. Talking Points Memo reports:

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) says substantial Medicare cuts must be part of a spending and deficit cut package to get his support to raise the debt limit.

In a Capitol briefing with reporters Friday, McConnell declared affirmatively that unspecified Medicare cuts are on the table in bipartisan debt limit negotiations, led by Vice President Joe Biden, and he expects they'll be part of the final deal. But in response to a question from TPM, he went further than he has in the past in laying down a marker on that issue. Medicare cuts must be part of that deal to get his support, he says — even if negotiators manage to find trillions of dollars in savings elsewhere, even if his other priorities are met.

"To get my vote, for me, it's going to take short term [cuts, via spending caps]... Both medium and long-term, entitlements.," McConnell said. "Medicare will be part of the solution."

To clarify, I asked "[I]f [the Biden group] comes up with big cuts, trillions of dollars worth of cuts, but without substantially addressing Medicare, it won't get your vote?"

"Correct," McConnell said.

Sen. Harry Reid's office responds:

Republicans are holding the United States' credit hostage to ram through their plan to end Medicare. They are now saying they won't accept any plan to reduce the deficit unless it also cuts Medicare. Voters have resoundingly rejected this ideological agenda. Republicans should drop it and move on.

It strikes me as very odd that when Democrats actually did cut an incredibly wasteful Medicare program in order to insure more low-income Americans, Republicans fiercely resisted it and hammered them throughout the 2010 campaign for it. Now the GOP is insisting on deeper cuts in order to pay for tax cuts?

[Talking Points Memo]

Sad news from Miss Tiggy Winkles Toys:

As many of you have observed the toy store has struggled in this challenging economy. Despite all hope a full recovery has not come. We have fought with all of our creativity and bravado for Mrs. Tiggy Winkles Toys. However we have come to the end of this road. The Tiggys realize that everything, even truly wonderful good things, have a beginning and an end. We don’t want to close our doors but we must. Rather than spending time spelling out the missteps and things that worked against us we would like to focus on the positive. We love you Tucson, especially when you wear a big red nose and ride around on a unicycle. You allowed us the space to be silly and different. We sprinkled you with fairy dust and sang out loud with you and when our town was windy we flew kites with you! There have been many memorable sword fights, tea parties, fairy festivals and toy invention workshops. Thank you so very much! Ours is a very special community and even as the Tiggy staff fold into new places in this town and go off on new individual adventures our time with you, as your ambassadors of silly, will be a badge of honor we wear.

We will be closing our doors in two weeks but we plan to appear at the Harry and the Potters Concert on June 11th at Hotel Congress and also at The Loft Cinema’s Children’s Film Festival for our final bow. If we could say just one thing it would be this, have fun! We have had so much fun and it has truly been an honor and privilege to get to laugh and dance and sing and occasionally make flatulent sounds with you.
We will have a closing sale starting today through the coming weeks. Bring a smile.

This is with all of our deepest Tiggy affection.
The Staff of Mrs. Tiggy Winkles Toys

[Miss Tiggy Winkles Bloggy Bloggy!]