Some things for you to check out

While the work crew is hammering, sawing, and kicking up dust around The Hill, here's some stuff to keep you occupied until things get back to normal:

Thomas Eagleton, former US Senator from Missouri, stalwart liberal, and George McGovern's first choice for his running mate on the 1972 Democratic Presidential ticket, passed away on Sunday. Strannix does a fine job of eulogizing the man at Welcome To The Revolution. In addition to running the best blog in Springfield, Missouri, Strannix is a fellow traveler at Watching Those We Chose.

Our good friend Christie Fermicat clues us in on 83-year-old former Canadian Defense Minister Paul Hellyer's demand that governments throughout the world disclose what they know about space alien technologies in order to solve the energy crisis. Hellyer served under Prime Minister Lester Pearson, still one of Canada's best-respected political figures, and his word carried some weight up there - at least until Hellyer claimed he spotted a UFO in 2005. Head over to Cosmic Cat and show Fermi some love.

Kevin Drum hardly needs my help, but for those of you interested in the labor movement, he's had some good discussion this weekend. Check out Harshing On Unions, Brave New World, and More On Unions.

Of course, there's also music. Ben Harper is a top-notch songwriter, ace guitarist, and a long-time Hill favorite. If "Better Way" didn't make it onto your radio last year, be sure to check out the clip. This song is damn near inspirational.

The classic Edgar Winter instrumental "Frankenstein" has been lodged in my head all weekend - you know how that works. I remember a wild performance of that song from The Midnight Special (or maybe Don Kirshner's Rock Concert - the memory gets a little fuzzy these days). This clip isn't from that performance, but is from around the same time and features the Edgar Winter Group's manic energy. The sharp-eyed among you may notice Rick Derringer on guitar. A co-worker of mine raves about this clip of Derringer's "Easy Action". I've never been crazy about the song, but here Derringer gives a trademark performance on lead guitar that was always the highlight of his live shows.

Mrs. S. and I thank you for your concern and your kind words.