It has been no secret that Ann Coulter is a longtime Grateful Dead fan. Now there is more in this Jambase interview:

But whatever their myriad interests, clothing choices, and interest in illicit drugs, true Deadheads are what liberals claim to be but aren’t: unique, free-thinking, open, kind, and interested in different ideas.

Yep, kind of like what AC’s ilk can’t even claim to be.
Natalie Davis has posted an excellent riff on the interview which closes with:

…be open to hearing all views Listen to what everyone says — even the person you find most reprehensible probably has an interest or two in common with you. If both sides are on equal footing, that is great news: It opens possibilities for friendship or at least civil acquaintance, for building bridges, for establishing some sort of understanding — or, perhaps, for ultimately changing minds. I can’t imagine that the latter outcome is possible when dealing with the supposed She-Devil of the Right Wing, but who knows?

I suspect all you head’s know right, left, anarchic, socialist, communist, libertarian, and, well, you name it….listening to the music play.

Both the interview and Natalie’s post are well worth your time.

Rest In Peace: Vince Welnick, February 21, 1951-June 2, 2006!
Dead Net (Click through and very slow right now- 22:48 EDT):

Our Grateful Dead prayer for the repose of his spirit:

May the four winds blow him safely home.

IUpdate: never understood the rift between Vince and the rest of the band after Jerry passed. Clearly, it created a lot of unhappiness on Vince’s part and for a pretty raw and direct take on the impact on Vince.
Update: Scott and Vince
Update (6/10): Kim and Vince
Update (6/8): From Hunter….read the rest:

But people demand answers. Failing answers they go away. Please don’t do that. Just don’t expect golf balls from a walnut tree. All I can offer is perspective; a limited one at that. Answers are a different matter.
I may personally believe the only answer is to continue creating one’s art while being careful not to live beyond one’s means, physically or psychically. Sure. But that’s not what people twant o know. What they want to know is: who’s to blame? Not the music. If the music were to blame they wouldn’t be asking the question in the first place. Play the recordings. I put as many clues there as I could. In a way, they are one long letter to the Grateful Dead. The tensions involved created art. I think that art lives. Go there for answers.

If it is toilets that help me pick up the posting pace, well, so be it.
This just generates way too many unwanted images:

The long, strange trip continues for Jerry Garcia’s toilet. Police say the Grateful Dead leader’s commode was stolen recently from a driveway along with three other toilets and a bidet, The Press Democrat newspaper reported Saturday.
Garcia’s salmon-colored toilet was the subject of a legal battle before it was finally moved to Sonoma, to await shipment to a Canadian casino.
It’s unclear if the toilet was swiped by a wayward Deadhead or a thief remodeling a bathroom. Police have no suspects or leads.
Henry Koltys bought Garcia’s Marin County home for $1.39 million in 1997 and removed the toilet and other items he planned to sell to raise money for a charity.

Rick L, over on the GDHour mailing list, says:

Of anything ever owned by Garcia I might like to have, this would, ahem, rank near the, ahem, bottom.

Yep!

David Gans is serving up the 20th Anniversary KPFA Grateful Dead Marathon today. It’ll run until 1:00 AM PST. Listen at KPFA or nugs.net.
David is providing an updated playlist and at the moment he is early in the first set of 1/30/78, Uptown Theater, Chicago IL. and will be playing the complete show.
Go listen, enjoy the music and support KPFA.

Update: Quote of the day: Bob Weir, 1-30-78, – “We’d all appreciate it if the security folks would do their job with a little less zeal!”