This could be a big deal for Providence — upwards of $2 million in economic impact, and a lot of fun to boot.  Netroots Nation had been looking to host its 2011 conference in Providence, at the Westin and Convention Center.  They deserve a lot of credit for respecting the boycott.  Netroots Nation director Nolan Treadway tells PDD:

Netroots Nation supports union workers because we believe in the rights of workers to organize.  We also recognize that many of the progressive public policies that exist today came about through a strong labor movement.  And we embrace the fact that many progressive policies we hope to be enacted in the future will come about, in part, through a strong labor movement.

We won’t book a hotel in the midst of a labor dispute.  We really need to have a labor agreement between the hotel and its workers in place through summer 2011 in order to book.  We hope that the contract is worked out so we can bring Netroots Nation to a city that shares our progressive values, Providence.

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And his name is George Hutchins.  Just a couple minutes poking around his campaign website for North Carolina’s Fourth District will make it clear that Hutchins is the real deal, not one of those fake conservatives.

And as any REAL conservative knows, the reason that our country is in the economic mess it’s in– and why Democrats have won overwhelming majorities in both chambers in the last two elections, and Obama trounced McCain –is not a result of 8 years of Bush’s radical conservativism: it’s because Bush wasn’t ultra-radical conservative enough.

Which is why Palin should waste not one minute in declaring Hutchins her VP candidate for 2012.  In fact, the best political decision of her life would be to announce him as her pick on Thanksgiving.  And no worries about it being a rushed decision.  After all, looking at his website is about the same amount of vetting McCain did when he chose Palin.

Imagine it, the most coordinated and massive robocall in human history.  Timed to hit at precisely the moment families across the nation are sitting down to Thanksgiving dinner, every house, business, and cell phone in the nation receives a call, and who’s on the phone but Sarah Palin to announce that in exactly 90 seconds, on Fox News of course, she will be making the most important announcement in the 6,000 years of the earth’s history. more »

And in hopes of real summer weather. (Beth — you should feel free to ignore this one, and just check back in next week for my equally-relevant post, about the Stampeders.)

Mungo Jerry thankfully kept the misogyny to a minimum in In The Summertime, maxing out around “If her daddy’s rich, take her out for a meal; if her daddy’s poor, just do what you feel.” Everybody knows the song, but the vid is charming too:

They’re one of those one-hitters that actually played a lot of listen-able stuff, if you like kazoos. I dunno how it came about, but Tim and I got really enamored of them one summer a few years back. (Probably because they’re the most Muppet-like band that’s not actually made of felt.) I think Tim still owns a box set. Lady Rose is another genuinely sweet song, and apparently takes place in a dinghy:

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UPDATE: Sorry, dunno what’s wrong with the plugin.  Just hit up RIFuture.

ORIGINAL: RIFuture posted this. It’s just a really great speech, as he calls out the Federalist Society and “strict constructionist” jokers on a lot of their b.s. — like the notion that they’re non-ideological — in a way that’s rarely done on the national stage.

The extremely funny and intelligent Sarah Vowell, author of The Wordy Shipmates and frequent contributor to This American Life, has gotten herself involved in Rhode Island and Providence Plantations-gate (kind of works). She does this as any self-avowed nerd might by writing a New York Times Op-Ed piece. She seems to be against the name change. Check out the article here. Also, although everyone in Providence probably knows what it means, Sarah goes over the origin of the phrase “What Cheer?”

And glorious:

Session’s out for somewhere between 2 and 28 weeks, so they say…

In celebration of the exciting new Transformers flick coming out tomorrow (or at midnight, if you’re awesome like me) dig this bad ass track and video by Maja.

You can follow my dorky thoughts on the Transformers franchise all week over at Bread and Roses.

Tomorrow, Thursday May 14th, Dan Deacon in all of his glory will be playing a daytime show at RISD Market Square. Deacon is touring with an eighteen piece band for his latest album “Bromst” and will be making a stop in Providence. Wait there’s more! Deacon and his eighteen piece band will be joining with Providence’s own What Cheer? Brigade and they will all be doing Dan Deacon songs! This thirty plus piece sound machine will be winning over hearts and minds starting at 11:30am.

Thursday May 14th, RISD Market Square, 11:30am, FREE.

Tonight at Legend Bicycle they will be having a long awaited grand opening/get together. This is what they have to say about it:

Hi Legend Friends - You are invited to an open house at the new Legend Bicycle Friday May 8th 6-8pm.  We will be celebrating the arrival of the nice weather (finally) and promoting our new Providence Cycling Map from Lay o’the Land Publishing.  Please come by to see the new look and say hello.  We hope to see you then.

Legend Bicycle, 181 Brook St., Providence, 6-8pm, Free

All those indifferent Brown students will be treated to the stylings of Tom Sgouros on Thursday. You’re welcome to join.

Thursday - 7 pm in Barus and Holley 166
* “10 Things You Don’t Know About Rhode Island” by RI Policy Reporter Tom Sgouros.*
Lecture co-sponsored by the Brown Dems, Democracy Matters, and the Student Labor Alliance