"Al Qaeda in TGIFriday's has Claimed Responsibility"

Well, if you're looking to strike a serious blow at the heart of Israel in America -- attack an early bird salad bar.

CNNi: Al Qaeda Group Contemplated Poisoning Food at U.S. Restaurants/12.22.10

Listening Post

The list of the 25 Best Singles of 2010 begins tomorrow and, for the record, this was a tough one to cut. At the very least, it would've been #26 had there been a #26. From the album that sounds like Satan's cheerleading squad on meth -- and featuring the greatest homemade video pretty much ever -- here's Sleigh Bells, with Tell 'Em.

Quote of the Day

"Saying slavery was the cause of secession isn't politically correct; it's correct correct."

-- Larry Wilmore of The Daily Show, on South Carolina and the Sons of the Confederacy's upcoming celebration of the 150th Anniversary of the state's secession from the union, which predictably attempts to whitewash (no pun intended) the very reason the South chose to secede in the first place

Listening Post

Continuing with the songs that just barely missed making the Top 25 Singles of 2010 -- the list begins on Thursday, by the way -- here's an L.A. band formed in part by the lovely Shannyn Sossamon. She directed this video, which is as predictably lush and dreamy as the track itself.

From Warpaint -- here's Undertow.

Holy Shit

Depressing.

And not the least bit surprising.

The Huffington Post: 40 Percent of Americans Still Believe in Creationism/12.20.10

Listening Post

It's almost time to begin counting down the Top 25 Singles of 2010 -- so with that in mind, over the next couple of days I'll post the songs that were just barely edged out of the list. This is one of them: a really devastating little track from Christina Perri that treads well-worn territory but does it exceptionally well.

Here's Jar of Hearts.

Radio Free America

I started out in radio and it would be an understatement to say that the medium still holds a hell of a place in my heart; I feel that it has a certain unmistakable authority, even given the advances in technology throughout the years. Put simply, there's something about the power of the human voice that's unlike anything else.

With that in mind, the passing of the Local Community Radio Act -- particularly when taking into account the inescapable Orwellian megaphone that talk radio has morphed into via the syndication of every right-wing demagogue with a microphone and a thesaurus of incendiary rhetoric -- is welcome news indeed.

Independent voices will likely never flourish through institutions like, say, Air America -- but get enough little guys out there making themselves heard and who knows what can happen.

The Huffington Post: The Little Bill that Could/12.19.10