In the early 80s I saw John Cale perform at the 688 Club in Atlanta. It was just him and his piano performing quiet versions of songs from his solo albums of the late 1970s, but for some reason the crowd was loud, drunken and overwhelming young and male (at the time I wondered if it was Fort McPherson Night or something). After battling the din for an hour or so Cale finally assembled a band from musicians who happened to be there. It was kind of a mess, but showed he aimed to please.
Here are some midday news/views treats that also aim to please:
* CBO makes another downward adjustment of 10-year cost of the Affordable Care Act, by 11% this time.
* At TNR Rebecca Leber notes that Koch and Big Oil aren’t very popular among Iowa Republicans with their ethanol and wind subsidy habits.
* Seems once Rick Scott became governor, employees of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection were banned from using terms like “climate change” and “global warming.” Shoulda just changed the name of the department while he was at it.
* Mark Halperin apparently deeming the Great Email Scandal of 2015 a “game change” moment, no longer thinks HRC likely to become president.
* Summers argues for changes in Trans-Pacific Patnership trade agreement that could, he argues, make it well worth approving.
And in non-political news:
* Total eclipse of the sun occurring on March 20 if you happen to be in parts of Norway or the Faroe Islands.
As we break for lunch, here’s John Cale performing “Fear’s a Man’s Best Friend” in 1975.
