I have a lot to say today, & cowboy music & cowboy hats seem to be the common thread. I began my new program of rest & relaxation yesterday by going to Hardly Strictly Bluegrass in the park.

Dave Alvin, sporting a nice straw Stetson, played a rockin' set of California-themed songs. At first I just thought, oh how cute, but by the time he rolled seamlessly from the Woody Guthrie classic "Do-Re-Mi" into Deadhead favorite "Promised Land", he had successfully reawakened all my fiercely loving, protective feelings about my home state, & with them both outrage & just plain rage about the imminent disaster California faces. Do I have to spell it out? Get out there on Tuesday & fill your ballot with NOs! NO on the stinking recall, NO on the racist 54, & if you're not a California voter, call your friends & family who are, & bug them till they promise you they'll vote down the anti-democracy extremists who are trying to hijack this state!

Rant concluded.

I love Dave Alvin's voice; it's clean & clear & deep, seems made for country music.