November 2008 Acquisitions

Books:
Karen Armstrong, Buddha, 2004.
Kim Cooper, Neutral Milk Hotel's In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, 2005.
P.D. Eastman, Are You My Mother?, 1960.
Matt Dukes Jordan, Weirdo Duluxe: The Wild World of Pop Surrealism & Lowbrow Art, 2005.
Theda Perdue and Michael D. Green, The Cherokee Nation and the Trail of Tears, 2007.
Marlo Thomas & Friends, Free to Be...You and Me, 1974, 2002.
United States Army, Instructions for American Servicemen in France during World War II, 2008.

DVDs:
Christmas on Mars, 2008.
Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains, 1982.
Sid & Nancy, 1986.
What It Is...What It Was!, 2002.

"Something Deep in the DNA"

"But there is another rendition of the story of modern conservatism, one that doesn't begin with Goldwater and doesn't celebrate his libertarian orientation. It is a less heroic story, and one that may go a much longer way toward really explaining the Republican Party's past electoral fortunes and its future."

Neal Gabler in the Los Angeles Times argues that the true father of current conservativism is Joseph McCarthy.

Sails in the Sunset

Paola Totaro in The Sydney Morning Herald reports the death of architect Jørn Utzon, best known for designing the Sydney Opera House.

"Hurry, Hurry My Children"

Michael Shermer and Tim Reiterman (in a 2003 article) in the Los Angeles Times, and Barry Isaacson in the LA Weekly recall the Jonestown suicides, which happened thirty years ago this month.

"It’s Not a Pretty Sight"

"Hoover determined to exploit this interim to salvage his presidency. No sooner had the ballots been counted than he invited Governor Roosevelt to confer with him. The overture gave every appearance of being an exceptionally generous offer to share power with the man who had vanquished him. In fact, it was the first step of a scheme to undo the results of the election. Hoover acted, the historian Frank Freidel later wrote, 'as though he felt it was his duty to save the nation, indeed the world, from the folly of the American voters.'"

William E. Leuchtenburg in The New York Times warns President-Elect Barack Obama about becoming too close to the lame-duck George W. Bush.

Apple Valley

"By driving just a couple of hours from Los Angeles, you can find a getaway that’s close in spirit to New England and provides a lovely chance to escape the city and relax. Most of the apples, pumpkins and other fall produce you’ll find there are available at L.A.’s better farmers markets, but this trip isn’t about grocery shopping; it’s about easy rustic adventure."

In a 2007 Los Angeles Times article, Alex Dueben visits Oak Glen, California.

Strike a Pose

"Her new figures show their years, and are more part of the real world, which gives them psychological weight and empathetic power. We see Sherman as a spouse of a financier or a powerful politician. In some pictures she looks like a southern belle, in others European nobility. In my favorite, an aging, roll-over-Vermeer Girl With a Pearl Earring lady scrutinizes us with patrician detachment. In the background is a magnificent staircase. Her hair and jewelry are perfect, but her makeup is caked and crinkled and stray hairs appear, all of it deliberately placed."

Jerry Saltz in New York reviews the latest Cindy Sherman exhibition at NYC's Metro Pictures gallery.

Destroying the Gateway

"The terrorists who reportedly heaved their weapon-laden bags up the steps of the wharf to begin their assault on the Taj, like their cohorts at a dozen other locations around the city, knew what they were doing. Theirs was an attack on India's financial nerve center and commercial capital, a city emblematic of the country's energetic thrust into the 21st century. By attacking Mumbai, the terrorists hit India's economy, its tourism and its internationalism, and they took advantage of the city's openness to the world. A grand slam."

In the Los Angeles Times, Shashi Tharoor considers this week's terror attacks in India.


"The terrorists’ message was clear: Stay away from Mumbai or you will get killed. Cricket matches with visiting English and Australian teams have been shelved. Japanese and Western companies have closed their Mumbai offices and prohibited their employees from visiting the city. Tour groups are canceling long-planned trips.
"But the best answer to the terrorists is to dream bigger, make even more money, and visit Mumbai more than ever."

As does Suketu Mehta in The New York Times.

And in Slate, Christopher Hitchens expresses solidarity with Indians, and Christopher Beam explains why Bombay changed its name to Mumbai.

Giving Thanks

Karl Jacoby in the Los Angeles Times traces the history of various Thanksgivings.

Kenneth C. Davis in The New York Times discusses the first Europeans looking for religious freedom in America: Huguenots from France.

John Nichols in The Nation revisits Frankin Roosevelt's Thanksgiving messages from the 1930s.

Hulu.com has Saturday Night Live's "Nikey Turkey" with Chris Rock.

And Youtube hosts Eli Roth's fake trailer from Grindhouse.

I (Don't) Care about You

"A few years ago, the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles asked him to speak about his experience leaving the skinhead movement. Before the talk, he found himself chatting with his fellow presenter, Matthew Boger, the manager of operations.
"'I asked Tim how he got out of the skinhead movement and what that was like,' Boger recalls.
"The pair reminisced about West Hollywood back in the '80s.
"'And there was this moment in which I said that I lived on the streets,' Boger says, 'in which I said I hung out on this hamburger stand, and [Zaal] said, "You know, we used to hang out there, but we stopped hanging out there after this one night that was so violent, I think I killed a kid."'
"In a flash they both knew without saying that Boger was that kid."

Dina Temple-Raston of NPR's Day to Day chronicles a suprising reunion.

Scenes from the Exercise Struggle in Santa Monica

"On a recent morning, the area was alive with joggers, some of them pushing strollers, others walking large dogs; a dozen people with demeanors ranging from doleful to boastful trotting up the steps; and at least one trainer pushing his client to move it.
"An extremely fit woman of indeterminate Los Angeles age pulled her Mercedes up to the curb on Adelaide Drive, popped open her trunk, pulled out a five-pound weight and began lifting."

In The New York Times, Jennifer Steinhauer reports the latest controversy roiling Bay City.

"So I Don't Have to Dream Alone"

Youtube hosts Kenneth Anger's seminal 1965 short Kustom Kar Kommandos, featuring "Dream Lover" by the Paris Sisters.

"I'm Not One Of Those 'Love Thy Neighbor' Christians"

"I'm a normal Midwestern housewife. I believe in the basic teachings of the Bible and the church. Divorce is forbidden. A woman is to be an obedient subordinate to the male head of the household. If a man lieth down with another man, they shall be taken out and killed. Things everybody can agree on, like the miracle of glossolalia that occurred during Pentecost, when the Apostles were visited by the Holy Spirit, who took the form of cloven tongues of fire hovering just above their heads. You know, basic common sense stuff."

From The Onion.

Flip the Script

"American fans want Eli Manning, Kobe Bryant and Manny Ramirez. Soccer has responded by offering them David Beckham, Cuauhtemoc Blanco and, most recently, Freddie Ljungberg.
"That's all well and good, but American fans also want Americans, and the home-grown stars are flocking to Europe in ever-growing numbers, Freddy Adu, Brad Guzan and Jozy Altidore being just the latest to depart, with Landon Donovan also seeking the exit."

On the day of the league's championship game, Grahame L. Jones in the Los Angeles Times says that Major League Soccer needs some changes.

The Showman Must Go On

"The 'Follies' was at first a diversion for swells staged in one of the roof garden theaters atop the big Broadway palaces. Drawing on already popular forms—burlesque, vaudeville, the topical revues of Paris—Ziegfeld recombined elements of each to give a racing new pulse to the variety format. The resulting product 'essentialized the musical’s past while creating its future,' Mordden writes. And the impresario’s worship of talent was excelled only by his admiration for beautiful women: Ziegfeld’s obsessive attention to lubricious detail raised the art of scanty dressing to new heights."

In The New York Times, Charles Isherwood reviews Ethan Mordden's Ziegfeld: The Man Who Invented Show Business.

The Turning Point

"Kennedy was not receptive. Long before becoming president, he had spoken out in Congress against the disastrous French experience in Vietnam, citing it as a reason the U.S. should never fight a ground war there. In the summer of 1961, he said he had accepted the conclusion of Gen. Douglas MacArthur, who counseled against a land war in Asia, insisting that even a million American infantry soldiers would not be sufficient to prevail. He would offer military aid and training to Saigon, but he would not authorize the dispatch of ground forces."

Gordon M. Goldstein in the Los Angeles Times contends that John F. Kennedy's death, forty-five years ago today, altered the course of the Vietnam War.

Also, Emma McIntyre compiles articles from The Atlantic on the Kennedys going back to 1954.

L.H.O.O.Q.

"The organizing of this groundbreaking exhibition back then was a major coup for what would become the Norton Simon Museum. The Museum’s challenge to East Coast authority was widely touted, and Hopps went on to organize a series of innovative exhibitions there."

April MacIntyre on Monsters and Critics reports on the Norton Simon Museum's "Marcel Duchamp Redux" exhibit.

Peeling The Onion

"The rise of the parodic industry poses new riddles for media observers: In years to come, will America's faux news prove a more enduring enterprise than the news itself? What might it mean for our nation that joke news could outlast the institutions it ridicules? 'Speaking as a citizen of America, it's a little terrifying that real news is crashing while fake news is growing,' said Chet Clem, the Onion's editorial manager. 'It's scary. You wonder where people are going to get their facts.'"

Wells Tower in The Washington Post investigates America's "leading satirical newspaper."

The Dharma Bums

"So, what exactly do we owe the Beats? Are they an important literary movement that created the template of post-war youth rebellion and modern bohemianism? Or just a bunch of overblown, macho mediocrities with a talent for self-mythologising?"

Cosmo Landesman in The Sunday Times considers the cultural legacy of the Beats.

Twentieth-Century Dreams

"For Peellaert, though, the Rolling Stones were the most louche band of all. He painted them holding court at the Ad Lib club; he recreated the food fight at the launch of their Beggars Banquet album; he portrayed them in Gestapo uniforms surrounded by pre-pubescent girls; and he anticipated Keith Richards's cameo in the film Pirates of the Caribbean–At World's End by 35 years when he depicted the guitarist and Mick Jagger as buccaneers dancing on a coffin. 'Whose coffin is that?' the Stones singer had asked Peellaert pointedly when they met in Germany in 1973. 'I replied: "I don't know, Mick",' recalled Peellaert. 'He knew very well it was supposed to be Brian Jones.'"

Pierre Perrone in The Independent writes an obit for artist Guy Peellaert.

A Change We Can Believe In

"Their resolution read as follows:
"'Whereas the Ludlum School students conducted a mock presidential debate related to the recent presidential elections and whereas the students did a wonderful job of carrying out their tasks and demonstrating their patriotism at an early age and whereas in recognition of their efforts and the victorious feat of Sen. Barack Obama in becoming the first African-American president of the United States, it be resolved that the Hempstead Board of Education proudly renames Ludlum Elementary School as the Barack Obama Elementary School.'"

Matt Jaffe of ABC News reports from Long Island.

Bigger than Rod

"It was in March 1966 that Lennon made his infamous claim.
"'Christianity will go,' he told a reporter from the Evening Standard.
"'It will vanish and shrink We're more popular than Jesus now--I don't know which will go first, rock and roll or Christianity. Jesus was alright, but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It's them twisting it that ruins it for me.'"

Nick Squires in the Telegraph says that the Vatican has forgiven John Lennon.

The Final Days

"Joan Felt said her father was extremely glad. At one point, she shared, Woodward told her dad that he seemed to be doing well at 95, and he replied, 'I'm not 1,000 percent. I'm only 889 percent.'"

Chris Smith of the Press-Democrat reports the reunion of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein with "Deep Throat," W. Mark Felt, in Santa Rosa, California.

Why? Because We Like You

"A series of Mickey Mouse shorts appeared within a matter of months—including Plane Crazy, a short that predated Steamboat Willie in which Mickey plays a rodent Charles Lindbergh. The mouse was a national fad by the end of the year, and it wasn't long before the real genius of Walt Disney kicked in: marketing. Walt quickly started up a line of Mickey merchandise, and within two years the Mickey Mouse Club, a fan club for children, was up and running."

Claire Suddath in Time notes Mickey Mouse's eightieth birthday.

LIFE and Times

"Search millions of photographs from the LIFE photo archive, stretching from the 1750s to today."

Courtesy of Google.

A Bridge to Everywhere

"Mr. Paterson, who signed the bill renaming the bridge over the summer, called the renaming 'a fitting tribute to the man and his legacy.' He added, 'Robert F. Kennedy was a champion of social justice and human rights and his spirit is kept alive by his family’s continued commitment to those causes.'
"Mr. Bloomberg cited Robert Caro, Moses’s biographer, and Jack Newfield, the journalist, and mentioned that Tony Bennett, the singer, helped entertain the gathering when Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia dedicated the Triborough Bridge in 1936."

Sewall Chan in The New York Times reports on New York renaming the Triborough Bridge after Robert F. Kennedy.

Not One of Us

"Of course, opponents could and did denounce these plenipotentiaries as blank, being all things to all people. Disraeli acknowledged this, writing, 'I am new enough on the national political screen that I serve as a blank screen on which people of vastly different political stripe project their own views.' Oh, wait. My bad. That was Barack Obama in The Audacity of Hope. Disraeli's line, according to Kirsch, was, 'I am the blank page between the Old Testament and the New.'''

David Berreby in Slate places Barack Obama in a tradition of "'outsider' leaders."

I Have a Bad Feeling about This

"Momentous or not, there are no current plans for a 'TSWHS' home video release. 'I seriously doubt [it] will see any kind of official release, although I could be proven wrong,' Yankovic mused. Lucas 'could be working on a special edition right now in which Bea Arthur actually shoots Greedo first in the cantina scene.'"

In the Los Angeles Times, Donald Liebenson looks back thirty years to the 1978 broadcast of The Star Wars Holiday Special.

Start Game

Avoid pigs with lipstick and bridges to nowhere as you play Super Obama World.

Web-Side Chats

"'Make no mistake: This is the greatest economic challenge of our times. And while the road ahead will be long, and the work will be hard, I know that we can steer ourselves out of this crisis because here in America we always rise to the moment, no matter how hard. And I am more hopeful than ever that America will rise once again.'"

President-Elect Barack Obama begins his weekly addresses on YouTube.

And he continues on November 22.

Reframe

"None of this justifies the opposition to same-sex marriage. But it does help to explain it. I wish voters had overcome their identity crises and supported gay marriage. But many same-sex marriage advocates have been talking past the people they need to convince: the large, moderate opposition that voted for sex difference, not homophobia. Dropping the oversimplified analogy between racism and homophobia would help same-sex marriage supporters make their case more effectively."

Richard Thompson Ford in Slate offers advice as to how to move forward on gay marriage.

You Dropped a Bomb on Me

"The view was that no-one else would be able covertly to acquire the sensitive pieces and that the radioactive material would dissolve in such a large body of water, making it harmless."

Gordon Corera of BBC News reveals a 1968 crash in Greenland of a nuclear-armed U.S. B52 bomber.

"Donald Fagen Defends Steely Dan To Friends"

"'Look, I understand. It's an acquired taste,' Fagen said after putting his group's 1978 hit 'Deacon Blues' on the bar's jukebox. 'I wasn't that into it at first, either. But when you really listen to the unbelievable production values and the wry, perfectly crafted lyrics—it's just great art, okay? You should definitely give "the Dan" a shot.'"

From The Onion.

Say Hello to My Little Friend

"Piece of art, did he say? The same movie where Al Pacino buries his face in pile-high drifts of coke and emerges looking like a white-nosed coati? The movie with that trashy robo-disco Giorgio Moroder score that already sounds as dated as the theme from 'Love Story' and the tapestry of profanity so dense you can actually watch a two-minute version of 'Scarface' consisting entirely of the word "fuck" and find it every bit as intelligible as the full-length film?
"Oh, sure, have your laugh, says Tucker. '"Scarface" absorbs ridicule and overexposure and just keeps on going.'"

Louis Bayard in Salon reviews Ken Tucker's Scarface Nation: The Ultimate Gangster Movie and How It Changed America.

The Book Review Experience

Margalit Fox and Ben Sisario in The New York Times offer obits for critic John Leonard and drummer Mitch Mitchell.

The Substance of Style

"Obama combines youth and beauty with an innate sense of what to wear. She has worn clothes by several American designers on the campaign trail, but she's mixed them with cheap-chic finds, suggesting she will have a more down-to-earth fashion identity than any recent first lady.
"Not only is Obama's high-low style modern, it's right for right now."

Booth Moore in the Los Angeles Times analyzes Michelle Obama's fashion sense.

But Rebecca Traister in Salon isn't having it.

An Everyman's Library

"And while most of the million sets of the Great Books that finally were sold may have served merely as 'colorful furniture' (in Hutchins's sardonic phrase), Mr. Beam notes that 'thousands of copies, perhaps tens of thousands, were actually read, and had an enormous impact on the lives of the men, women, and children who read them.' Earlier versions of the Great Books concept, less ponderous and expensive, may eventually have reached even more readers."

In The Wall Street Journal, Robert K. Landers reviews Alex Beam's A Great Idea at the Time: The Rise, Fall, and Curious Afterlife of the Great Books (and mentions Dwight Macdonald's 1952 The New Yorker essay "The Book-of-the-Millennium Club").

The Eleventh Hour of the Eleventh Day of the Eleventh Month

"Why this difference? After all, for citizens of all three countries the date marks a shared victory. In the jargon of the time, Nov. 11, 1918, was the day of their soldiers’ triumph over 'Prussian militarism,' the vindication of a 'fight for civilization' and the successful finish of a 'war to end all wars.'"

Alexander Watson in the Los Angeles Times compares American and European views of Armistice Day, the first of which was ninety years ago today.

Farewell to Mama Africa

"Music was a central part of the struggle against apartheid. The South African authorities of the era exercised strict censorship of many forms of expression, while many foreign entertainers discouraged performances in South Africa in an attempt to isolate the white authorities and show their opposition to apartheid.
"From exile she acted as a constant reminder of the events in her homeland as the white authorities struggled to contain or pre-empt unrest among the black majority."

Alan Cowell in The New York Times reports the death of singer Miriam Makeba.

On Her Majesty's Secret Service

"'I mean, Ian liked danger. He liked cars. He liked guns, although he didn't like shooting,' said his niece Lucy Fleming.
"'And he liked girls, and he liked gambling. So, you know, it's all there. Those are Bond ingredients, aren't they?'"

Anthony Mason on CBS News Sunday Morning reflects upon the centenary of Ian Fleming's birth.

Under the Sea

"The earthy colors and environmentally sensitive design underlined renewed efforts to expand exhibit space and boost attendance at the regional attraction, which a decade ago was awash in complaints of overcrowded rooms, lousy food and boring exhibits.
"Not anymore. The aquarium ranks among the most popular in the nation in attendance, pulling in 1.4 million people a year from throughout Southern California."

Louis Sahagun in the Los Angeles Times reports on Long Beach's Aquarium of the Pacific celebrating its tenth anniversary.

The Age of Obama

"I think a turn toward the notion of a common citizenship, of course, Obama has talked about this a great deal. And the common good and economic security for people, not just saying the market will take care of everything. If those are the governing principles and I think you then move to specific policies whether on healthcare or the economy or race relations or immigration or other things. But if you have those governing principles, the society will move in a progressive direction."

On Bill Moyers Journal, Bill Moyers interviews Patricia Williams and Eric Foner about Barack Obama.

And Alan Brinkley in The New Republic considers Obama's effect on rekindling idealism.

Never Forget

"Michelle Obama, the future First Lady, was so upset that she turned to her friend and campaign adviser Valerie Jarrett and said: 'Why would they try to make people hate us?'"

Tim Shipman in the Telegraph reports on the spike in death threats against Barack Obama following Sarah Palin's campaign rallies.

But David Greenberg in Slate audaciously claims that other presidential campaigns have been sleazier than McCain's.

The Terminal Man

"Dubbed 'the Hit Man' by Time magazine in a 1995 cover story chronicling his 'golden touch,' Crichton had more than 100 million copies of his books in print at the time. Indeed, the prolific writer who closely guarded his private life had become a dominant figure in popular culture."

Dennis McLellan in the Los Angeles Times writes an obituary for Michael Crichton.

The Argument

"In the coming months, Americans will watch closely to see how America’s first black president governs on issues of race. His supporters are divided. As a recent Washington Post article noted, some black supporters see Obama’s election as 'advancing the black community,' while some white volunteers are thrilled by the notion of 'post-racial' politics. In liberal academic circles, where Obama has strong multiracial support, the notion of colorblind policies is considered naive, even reactionary. But the Obama crowds in South Carolina memorably chanted 'race doesn’t matter' after his victory there in the Democratic primary."

In The Atlantic, Richard D. Kahlenberg explores what Barack Obama's election could mean for affirmative action.

"This Is the Part of the Job I Hate"

Hulu.com has the greatest Saturday Night Live sketch ever aired: "President Reagan Mastermind," from 1986, starring Phil Hartman.

"One of the Signal Images of the 20th Century"

"The swearing-in began, and Mr. Stoughton, standing on a couch at the back of the plane, pressed the shutter. Nothing happened. He jiggled his camera—jiggled it hard. It came to life.
"He took about 20 shots of the ceremony. He was so close to Jacqueline Kennedy that her bloodstained skirt did not appear in the finished photo. Continuing to shoot, he captured a wrenching image of the Johnsons consoling her, her eyes downcast, dark hair obscuring half her face."

Margalit Fox writes an obit in The New York Times for Cecil Stoughton, chief photographer for the Kennedy White House.

"Nation Finally Shitty Enough To Make Social Progress"

"'Today Americans have grudgingly taken a giant leap forward,' Williams continued. 'And all it took was severe economic downturn, a bloody and unjust war in Iraq, terrorist attacks on lower Manhattan, nearly 2,000 deaths in New Orleans, and more than three centuries of frequently violent racial turmoil.'
"Said Williams, 'The American people should be commended for their long-overdue courage.'"

From The Onion.

What Does It All Mean?

"'It must also be about a new patriotism—about what it means to be a citizen,' said Sandel. 'This is the deepest chord Obama’s campaign evoked. The biggest applause line in his stump speech was the one that said every American will have a chance to go to college provided he or she performs a period of national service—in the military, in the Peace Corps or in the community. Obama’s campaign tapped a dormant civic idealism, a hunger among Americans to serve a cause greater than themselves, a yearning to be citizens again.'"

Thomas L. Friedman in The New York Times talks to political philosopher Michael Sandel about the Obama Adminstration.

Curses! Foiled Again!

"The notion that students are induced to move leftward 'is a fantasy,' said Jeremy D. Mayer, another of the book’s authors. When it comes to shaping a young person’s political views, 'it is really hard to change the mind of anyone over 15,' said Mr. Mayer, who did extensive research on faculty and students."

Patricia Cohen reports in The New York Times on recent studies that conclude that college professors have little political influence over students.

Who Is Barack Obama?

He is President-Elect of the United States of America.

The Late Adopter Endorses...

... Barack Obama for President of the United States.

Toot, Goodbye

"'She was proud of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren and left this world with the knowledge that her impact on all of us was meaningful and enduring,' Mr. Obama said in the statement. 'Our debt to her is beyond measure.'"

Jeff Zeleny in The New York Times reports the death of Barack Obama's grandmother, Madelyn Dunham.

"Supremes Court Upholds Stopping In The Name Of Love In 2-1 Decision"

"This case marks the first challenge against the stopping-in-the-name-of-love doctrine first established more than 40 years ago by the Supremes Court, the nation's highest judicial trio, which presides over the federal government's Motown branch. The Supremes Court has set numerous anti-heartbreak precedents since that time, including the 1964 overturning of Georgia's breaking-up laws in favor of more lenient kissing/making-up statutes, and a 1966 decision that deemed unconstitutional the practice of hurrying love, which was determined to be in direct violation of what the court's mama said."

From The Onion.

Obama-Rama VIII: The Final Frontier

After eighty-eight posts, including all of these, here is the last Barack Obama-related document dump prior to the election:

Greg Mitchell and Dexter Hill in Editor & Publisher note Obama's 240-114 lead over John McCain in newspaper endorsements, including a 65-1 tally in college student newspapers.

Christopher Hitchens in Slate denounces Sarah Palin's views about science. (And he denounces McCain over attacking Rashid Khalidi.)

The editors of The Financial Times endorse Obama.

Hendrik Hertzberg in The New Yorker explains the Republican hysteria over voter-registration irregularities.

Jane Mayer in The New Yorker explores how Sarah Palin became the Repubican Vice-Presidential nominee.

Robert Draper in The New York Times searches for a coherent theme in McCain's campaign.

The Anchorage Daily News endorses Obama.

Laurie Goodstein in The New York Times investigates Palin's Pentacostalism.

Fareed Zakaria endorses Obama in Newsweek.

Radley Balko in Reason traces how government subsidies aided Cindy McCain's fortune.

Stuart Coleman in Salon interviews Obama's sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng.

The editors of The New Republic endorse Obama.

Timothy Noah in Slate asks Alan Brinkley and David Greenberg why a war record no longer necessarily aids presidential candidates.

And E. J. Dionne, Jr., in The New Republic calls Obama "the first truly 21st-century figure in American politics."

"Five Singers in One"

"Sumac's first album for Capitol, 'Voice of the Xtabay,' soared to the top of the LP charts. A handful of other albums followed during the `50s.
"With her exotic beauty, elaborate costumes and singing voice that could imitate the cries of birds and wild animals, the woman who claimed to be a descendant of an ancient Incan emperor offered Eisenhower-era audiences something unique."

Dennis McLellan in the Los Angeles Times writes an obituary for singer Yma Sumac.