Raise Your Voice, Boston : Here Comes Ashcroft

Posted on September 8, 2003 at 2:32 pm | No Comments

As part of his ludicrous publicity tour for the so-called “Patriot Act”, and its proposed sequel, the “Victory Act”, Attorney General John “Big Bro” Ashcroft will be appearing tomorrow at Faneuil Hall. The Boston stop of this farcical ‘roadshow’ (and what a show it is) is particularly ironic, considering that this town is considered by many to be the ‘birthplace’ of the very freedoms that he is attacking.

MoveOn.Org rallies the troops …

“On Tuesday morning, Attorney General John Ashcroft will be speaking in Boston’s historic Faneuil Hall to promote the controversial Patriot Act.

The ACLU of Massachusetts and the Bill of Rights Defense Committee have organized a demonstration to show the broad public sentiment against this threat to our freedoms. They are asking all supportive people to attend with signs.

Faneuil Hall is known as “the cradle of liberty” because of the courage displayed there by American revolutionaries like Samuel Adams. In 1771, he insisted: “The liberties of our country, the freedom of our civil Constitution, are worth defending at all hazards; and it is our duty to defend them against all attacks…. It will bring an everlasting mark of infamy on the present generation, enlightened as it is, if we should suffer them to be wrested from us by violence without a struggle, or to be cheated out of them by the artifices of false and designing men.”

I hope you can join us on Tuesday morning.

WHAT: Demonstration to demand the protection of our basic civil liberties, and counter Attorney General John Ashcroft, speaking in the latest installment of his stealth Patriot Act road show.

WHEN: Tuesday, September 9, 8:00 AM

WHERE: Faneuil Hall, Boston (Directions)

Please let us know you can attend

Ashcroft is currently touring the nation, with a focus on states contested in the presidential election, as part of a public relations campaign to shore up the Patriot Act. The tour comes as increasing numbers of Americans are challenging the Administration’s assault on basic freedoms and as Congress considers numerous bipartisan measures to prohibit implementation of aspects of the Patriot Act.

The Attorney General also seeks to build support for passage of the expansive sequel, dubbed Patriot II, and the VICTORY Act. His speeches will be given before audiences of law enforcement officials and are closed to the public. Even the schedule of the tour is being kept a secret until the last minute. All of this seems designed to prevent Americans from showing their opposition to attacks on civil liberties.

Don’t let the Justice Department’s secrecy prevent the free expression of opposition to the Patriot Act. Sign up now to attend the demonstration countering Ashcroft’s claims.

Thanks for insisting that security is attainable without sacrificing our freedom.

Sincerely,

-Noah T. Winer, MoveOn.org, September 8, 2003″

Go here for more information on the hostile “acts”, and if you’re not in Boston, keep an ear to the ground for future Ashcroft appearances. Tell him exactly where he can stick his ‘patriotic’ plans, and eventually, his career plans as well.

Jen, Jeff, Liam, & Audrey : Two Stylin Siblings & Their Super-Cool Co-Pilots

Posted on September 8, 2003 at 11:40 am | No Comments

If the internet is a high school cafeteria (and it often feels like it is), then this intertwined crew would be sittin’ squarely at the head of the cool kids table…

Liam Lynch – You might know his name from his radio ditty “United States of Whatever”, you may have even have picked up (or *cough* downloaded *cough*) his full length “Fake Songs“, but that’s really the least of what this guy’s got going on. He was responsible for the MTV puppet-fest “Sifl & Olly“, he’s a music video director, a proud tech-geek talent (check out his 111 Productions site and his recent appearance on Tech TV’s The Screen Savers), and a collaborator with random creative cronies like Jack Black, Dave Grohl, and Ringo Starr. Check out his bio, you’ll get the idea. A punk-tech-poet prodigy.

Jennifer Niederst Robbins – Web designer and author extraordinaire, Jen is the creator and virtual mayor of Jenville, her own little online club. She’s been coding html longer than anyone you know, having started when web-design was just a wee thing back in ’93. Her O’Reilly design books are some of the best, and her web-related resume is unsurprisingly lengthy.

Lately she’s been doing design work for author Neil Pollack’s Invasion, and pulling together new video interviews with random rockstars for her cooking site “The Jenville Show” The site is super-spiffy, the interviews are excellent (Jack Black’s “Dorito Burrito” is a standout… yum), so go go go. While you’re winding your way through all things Jennifer, you can sign up for Jenville citizenship, which will score you a neato membership package of Jen-designed goodies (even a picture ID!). So totally worth it.

Oh, and Liam is Jen’s brother; Jen is Liam’s sister. Different coasts, same creative genes. Renaissance relatives, if you will. Doesn’t stop there, though. Jen happens to be married to …

Jeff Robbins – A web programmer and ‘mac guru’, Jeff played for seven years in the band Orbit, and helped start Boston-area label Lunch Records way the hell back in 1989. Orbit’s passing brought the rise of the more-electronicy Well, his latest project with Orbit bassist Linda Bean-Pardee and drummer Robert Brazier. Their debut disc “The New Standard Biscuit” was just released last month, so they’ll no doubt be playing out more n’ more this fall. Keep an eye out.

On the new bidness side, Jeff recently started up SomeMusic, where he’s churning out soundtracks for film, advertising, and other multimedia projects. Witness his online reel for the evidence.

Audrey Roberts – Lastly, but not anywhere near leastly, is Miss Roberts. She completes this quartet by romantic association with Mr. Lynch, and stands on her own as a truly unique and visually inventive sculptor and multimedia artist. Visit Audmatic for a look at her work, and be sure to check out what she’s done in Liam’s studio. Jealous. She finished up her merchandise section last spring, so have a look there, too (because I know you love sluts).

So there you go, now you’re in the know. Visit their various sites, bathe in their creativity, get yourself inspired. Learn about ’em, link ’em, love ’em. Maybe I’ll see ya ’round Jenville, wearin’ a Hypnocat t-shirt, listenin’ to the new Well disc.