• Country, and Republicans, First

    It was Day 2 of the Republican National Convention and The Rake was seated proudly in the "minor local media" section. With CityPages at our side, God as our witness and no actual view of the stage, the event was underway. It was quickly apparent that, in solidarity with the folks displaced by Hurricane Gustav,…

  • Mayhem at Mickey's Diner

    Let me start off by saying, I’m not a particularly political person. I care, don’t get me wrong, but I just prefer to do what I do best, staying in the pretty bubble of art, music and what-have-you. I am an A+E Editor, after all, not a political commentator! I rarely watch TV, but when…

  • Protest Music for the New Millenium

    (Todd Smith already wrote this article) On stage, Steve Earle led the crowd in a sing-a-long of "Steve’s Hammer (for Pete)" – a song that picks up on that parenthetical Pete (Seeger)’s "If I Had a Hammer," from 1949. "I’m gonna say a line, and you’re gonna repeat it back to me," Earle said. "And…

  • Politics Lite: Inside the Xcel

    After popping into PetSmart for a new dog tag and Home Depot for some new levelers, I head right next door to the Doubletree Park Place in St. Louis Park. How convenient! My plan is to catch a ride to the Xcel Energy Center with whatever delegation happens to be staying there. It turns out…

  • Why Party Like a Rock Star When You Can Party Like a Delegate?

    Not yet near the doors of the Minneapolis Convention Center Sunday night and I am already handed Republican swag, in the form of a DVD. This DVD "as seen on CNN and FOX News" depicts on its cover the iconic image of a radical Islam toddler wielding a rifle. I politely put it in my…

  • There's More Than One Bristol

    So, one of my fellow bloggers called my keen political insights "garbage" and asked me to go back to writing about cars. I will gladly fulfill your wish. In fact, how about if I write about both? I will even perfume my words to make sure the wind that passes when I write about politics…