Friday, April 30, 2010

LEGALIZE IT!



Words.

"Opponents of comprehensive immigration reform argue that legalization rewards bad behavior. They contend that illegal immigration is a crime that merits punishment and expulsion, not amnesty. The logic is that if we respond with tough enforcement, illegal immigrants will finally get that they aren't welcome here and go back to their home countries. This kind of reasoning is what's behind laws like the one recently passed in Arizona, which requires law enforcement personnel to determine whenever possible the immigration status of suspected illegal immigrants.

But immigrants aren't going home. We know this from experience. Despite high-profile raids, beefed-up border enforcement and the worst economy since the Depression, the size of the illegal immigrant population has declined by only a small fraction. At this pace, the time it would take to realize the pipe dream of removing illegal immigrants through forced and voluntary deportations could be measured in light-years.

Given that immigrants are here to stay, it is in everyone's interest for them to assimilate — to learn English, embrace U.S. social and civic customs and become part of the economic fabric. And if that is the goal, we need to have immigration reform that goes beyond fences, high-tech surveillance, more Border Patrol officers and a guest worker program. We need a path to legalization for those who have built lives here.

...According to the study, U.S.-born Mexican Americans whose fathers came illegally but later obtained legal permanent residency were 25% less likely to drop out of high school, 70% more likely to graduate from college, 13% more likely to prefer English at home, and their earnings were 30% higher than those whose fathers were illegal at the time of the survey.

...As Congress drags its feet on immigration reform, illegal immigrants continue to put down roots and the ranks of children who suffer the penalties of their parents illegal status swells. According to a recent Pew Hispanic Center report, almost half of all illegal immigrant households are couples with children, and the overwhelming majority of the children — 73% — are U.S. citizens. The number of U.S.-born children with at least one illegal immigrant parent grew to 4 million in 2008 from 2.7 million in 2003, a 48% increase. Another 1.5 million children with at least one illegal immigrant parent are themselves illegal.

Withholding legalization imposes slow social and economic death on illegal immigrants and their children. Failure to implement comprehensive immigration reform leaves thousands of people who consider the United States their home in the shadows. It also deprives us of the opportunity to develop a better-trained workforce and to realize all the benefits, both social and economic, that a fully assimilated immigrant population can contribute. Legalization is the most crucial component of what Americans need and what they deserve: comprehensive immigration reform."

  • LOS ANGELES TIMES: Legalization must be part of immigration reform
  • Life life, life life! LIFE LIFE! LIFE LIFE!

    Pitchfork.tv presents...

    This Is Jim Jones

    YOU BETTER WORK!

    New flava in ya ear!

    Christina Aguilera.

    Not Myself Tonight.

    Wednesday, April 28, 2010

    A Moment of Clarity.



  • THE SMOKING SECTION: An Open Letter to Kanye West
  • QUESTION!

    What the fuck is a "Zoosk Girl"?...

    New flava in ya ear!

    Flo Rida.

    T-Pain.

    Zoosk Girl.

    Burnin' Up.

    Thursday, April 28th, 2010. Sometime between 6 and 7 AM. A workout and AMTV on my television screen.

    "Who are these 30 year olds w/the 18 year old haircuts and Jonas Bros. Rhythm section and vocals? Developing... #MTV"

    2 minutes later. Video ends.

    "Honor Society. Over You. Remind me to post that video for the masses to dissect later... #MTV"

    New flava in ya ear!

    Honor Society.

    Over You.

    For Your Consideration...

    Monday, April 26, 2010

    Nobody's Daughter.



  • Stream Here.
  • GUESS WHO.


    ...I'm saying.

    Words.

    "If Arizona's Republican legislators weren't so dumb, they'd be dangerous. Or maybe they're dangerous because they're dumb.

    Either way, once they stop celebrating the passage of what should be dubbed the "We really, really, really don't like illegal aliens" bill , they're going to have to figure out how law enforcement is supposed to identify the culprits.

    ...Did you catch the part about "reasonable suspicion"? How is a cop going to know by sight who is or isn't legal? What about a person will elicit suspicion?

    Opponents of the measure argue that the open-ended nature of "reasonable suspicion" will lead to widespread racial profiling of all Latinos. They're probably overstating their case. Something tells me someone who looks like, say, blond Mexican pop singer Paulina Rubio won't be stopped.

    The truth is that Mexicans are hard to racially profile. Five hundred years of racial mixture has given many Mexican families a decidedly kaleidoscopic racial quality. To wit: Not everyone with Mexican ancestry shares the same skin color.

    The law's proponents say that it's not about race anyway, it's about legality, but that isn't entirely true either. Presumably, certain physiognomic features will stand out. And presumably so will class signifiers and certain ethno-cultural accoutrements.

    We can safely assume that most illegal immigrants in Arizona are of humble origins, right? So, should the police "reasonably suspect" people with darker faces? What about fair-skinned Mexicans? Are work boots or jeans a dead giveaway? Would someone draw more suspicion driving a truck or an Audi? Do those "Yo heart Jalisco" bumpers scream "illegal alien"?

    And what about accents? Is there a marked difference between the accents of a legal and an illegal immigrant? Should a legal immigrant refrain from blasting ranchera music from his Toyota for fear of being "reasonably suspicious"? It's easy to imagine this law creating a climate in which both foreign- and native-born legal residents try to avoid being targeted by suppressing any outward signs of ethnicity.

    ...I'm not saying the new law won't help catch and deport some illegal immigrants. But at the very least, the "reasonable suspicion" clause suggests that the process will be hit or miss, and that plenty of legal residents could be wrongly suspectedand generally harassed. Proponents might say that that's a reasonable risk to run, but I'm pretty certain that most of them won't be subjected to the indignities of having their right to be in this country questioned..."

  • LOS ANGELES TIMES: Look, it's an illegal, right?
  • "Freedom".

    New flava in ya ear!

    M.I.A.

    Born Free.

    Friday, April 23, 2010

    Schizophonic.


    "Will the real John McCain please stand up!"

    Words.

    "There goes Senator John McCain, battling mightily for re-election in Arizona, buzzing off into the desert heat to another rally, another news conference, another television sound bite. Wait, you forgot your principles!

    ...During the 2008 presidential campaign, Mr. McCain did his share of contortions to win over a right-wing base that never trusted him. Now he is fighting for survival against a radio host endorsed by border vigilantes.

    But this pandering is tragic for a man who was one of the architects of the humane, comprehensive approach to immigration he has now disowned — threatening a filibuster to prevent its even coming to a vote..."

  • THE NEW YORK TIMES: Come Back, John McCain
  • This. Is. THE REMIX!



    This album? This album right here? Man. (Falsetto) "DIGGING IT!" No bold statements, no overbearing push to be heard, it...just...is. Press play, lean back, and coast. Press play, lean back, and get lost in that 90's like ambience, for this is a groove, a groove that brings to mind the music and vibes of Everything but the Girl, Groove Armada, and Tricky, just to name a few, while also staying current, pulsating with that same ready for the floor uptempo, midtempo, give ya a tempo ugrency of current acts like !!!, and James Murphy and his LCD Soundsystem. And, of course, the Junior Boys, who lent a hand with the creation of this album, and who have now gifted us with this, a remix, for Caribou's 1st single and track off of Swim, Odessa. Check it out.

  • PITCHFORK: Junior Boys Remix Caribou
  • Get Born.



    A "New flava in ya ear!" Production.

  • PITCHFORK: New M.I.A.: "Born Free"
  • Thursday, April 22, 2010

    Kids.

    New flava in MY ear!

    Chiddy Bang.


    Opposite of Adults.

    Wednesday, April 21, 2010

    Ease on down the Road.



    Words. For Your Consideration...

    "The president got health care reform passed, and it may turn out to be his single most important foreign policy achievement.

    ...Have no illusions, the rest of the world was watching our health care debate very closely, waiting to see who would be the strong horse — Obama or his Democratic and Republican health care opponents? At every turn in the debate, America’s enemies and rivals were gauging what the outcome might mean for their own ability to push around an untested U.S. president.

    It remains to be seen whether, in the long run, America will be made physically healthier by the bill’s passage. But, in the short run, Obama definitely was made geopolitically healthier..."

  • THE NEW YORK TIMES: Everybody Loves a Winner
  • Dance! Dance! REVOLUTION!

    New flava in ya ear!

    The xx.

    Islands.

    "Holla at ya boy!"

    New flava in ya ear!

    Chris Brown feat. Tyga.

    Holla @ Me.

    Love. Sex. MAGIC.

    New flava in ya ear!

    Ciara feat. Ludacris.

    Ride.

    Tuesday, April 20, 2010

    AMERICA.


    "Where did our love go?"

    Words.

    "Trust might as well be a four-letter word. American public opinion seems to have become an unguided Weapon of Mass Suspicion, and it's not hard to understand why. But those who would exploit distrust, dissatisfaction and anger for political gain had better worry about collateral damage.

    The overhyped Tea Party phenomenon is more about symbolism and screaming than anything else. A "movement" that encompasses gun nuts, tax protesters, devotees of the gold standard, Sarah Palin, insurance company lobbyists, "constitutionalists" who have not read the Constitution, Medicare recipients who oppose government-run health care, crazy "birthers" who claim President Obama was born in another country, a contingent of outright racists (come on, people, let's be real) and a bunch of fat-cat professional politicians pretending to be "outsiders" is not a coherent intellectual or political force.

    ...But even people who wouldn't be caught dead at a Tea Party rally have lost trust in powerful institutions that are supposed to be working in the public's interest -- with considerable reason. Just look at the headlines.

    ...a new Pew Research Center poll showing that the public's trust in the federal government has plummeted. Just 22 percent of Americans say they can trust the government all or most of the time, Pew found. Only 19 percent of respondents say they are "basically content" with the government, while 56 percent are "frustrated" and another 21 percent describe themselves as "angry."

    According to the Pew survey, Americans have negative views of many large institutions -- banks and financial firms, Congress, large corporations, the national news media, federal agencies, the entertainment industry, labor unions. The nation still has a positive view of colleges and universities, churches, small businesses and technology companies.

    ...Republicans have been actively encouraging this groundswell of distrust on the theory that it's bad for incumbents, meaning Democrats. Indeed, the approval rating for the Democratic Party has plunged to 38 percent. The problem is that approval of the Republican Party has also fallen -- to 37 percent.

    The moral here, for giddy GOP strategists, is the one about people who live in glass houses."

  • THE WASHINGTON POST: A national deficit of trust
  • Girls Gone Wild.

    New flava in ya ear!

    LCD Soundsystem.

    Drunk Girls.

    Friday, April 16, 2010

    A Different World.

    A Moment of Clarity.



    Words.

    "For low-income applicants to U.S. colleges, April remains the cruelest month. By early April, almost all admission decisions are known. Colleges shift from screening applications to wooing admitted students. Affluent students can attend "pre-frosh" events and enjoy being courted.

    Most low-income applicants, however, spend April trying to figure out whether they can afford to pursue their dreams.

    ...Our country needs a better system.

    For low-income families, particularly those whose students will be the first generation to attend college or who are not native English speakers, understanding whether they can afford to send a child to college can be the hardest part of the admission process.

    The federal government has helped in some ways. In 2009, the number of students who submitted the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) jumped almost 21 percent. The newly simplified FAFSA and the FAFSA4caster, which gives an early estimate of likely federal funding, assist all low-income applicants, especially first-generation-to-college students. The student loan overhaul that President Obama recently signed will make it easier for parents to borrow federal funds and for future graduates to repay student loans. The legislation included a slight boost in the number and size of Pell grants, which are based on need, but that won't transform the financial aid landscape.

    ...As a matter of fairness, colleges should make sure their practices at this time of year encourage -- not discourage -- the enrollment of first-generation-to-college students. Colleges should also recognize that students' difficult experiences with the financial aid office affect how many admitted students decide to attend.

    Colleges that accept the common application should take the lead in simplifying next year's delivery of financial aid information by using a common offer form. If they agreed to enclose such a form with each admission decision, or at the latest by April 15, low-income students would have at least two weeks in which to review and compare offers, refer questions and clarifying information to the same aid official, confirm their final choice, and submit their enrollment deposit by May 1. Low-income students would have more time to enjoy good news in April, and -- most important -- better tools to make an informed college choice."

  • THE WASHINGTON POST: Simplifying the college aid maze
  • Business Time.



    "Our work is never over!"

  • PITCHFORK: Chromeo Return With Business Casual
  • SHIMMY SHIMMY YA!

    I'm in LOVE with this song right here. Y'all don't even know...

    Spoon.

    With Deerhunter's Bradford Cox on Guitar.

    Who Makes Your Money?



  • PITCHFORK: Bradford Cox Joins Spoon on "Kimmel"
  • Thursday, April 15, 2010

    The Supremes.



    Words. For Your Consideration...

    "At last count, there were about 200 law schools in the United States accredited by the American Bar Association, but apparently only two of them — Harvard and Yale — can be a path to serving on the highest court in the land.

    It was surprising enough to see that with the retirement of Justice John Paul Stevens, the Supreme Court will not have a single Protestant among its black-robed elite. But equally jaw-dropping was the fact that without Stevens, every member of the court has attended Harvard or Yale law school.

    Well-a Boola, Boo, Boola, and Fair Harvard Holds Sway and all that, but enough with the Ivy Curtain. This club needs some air, or at least a breeze from another campus.

    ...Perhaps it’s time for one more bit of entitled diversity: a seat reserved for somebody who didn’t go to Harvard or Yale.

    ...President Obama, Harvard Law, class of ‘91, “wants somebody who has a sense of what real life is like in America,” said Senator Patrick Leahy last week. Real life, hmm? Name somebody outside of the Axis of Ivy, someone who didn’t learn to chant, “That’s all right, that’s O.K., you’re gonna work for us someday,” while losing to a state school in hockey.

    ...There is no guarantee, of course, that picking someone from another law school will change the troubling direction of a corporatist court. But new voices, schooled by professors, from locales where life isn’t always a bubble of fellow geniuses, is the kind of rejuvenation this Ivy alumni association needs..."

  • THE NEW YORK TIMES: OPINIONATOR: Supreme Club
  • Crime & Punishment.



    Words. For Your Consideration...

    "Watching Attorney General Eric Holder struggle on Wednesday to answer senators’ questions about the detention and trial of terrorism suspects made us nostalgic for the old days — back in 2009 — when the United States was making progress toward cleaning up the mess President George W. Bush made with his detention policies.

    The Pentagon was working on closing the prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. The flawed military tribunals were improved, at least a little. And the Justice Department announced that the accused mastermind of 9/11, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, would be tried in federal court.

    All of that has stopped — because of Republican fear-mongering, administration blundering and Democratic not-in-my-backyardism. And unless President Obama grabs hold, things could get far worse..."

  • THE NEW YORK TIMES: The K.S.M. Files
  • American Promise.


    Working. Day & Night.

    Words.

    "We are beginning to learn that the Obama presidency will be an era of substantial but deferred accomplishments -- perhaps always to be accompanied by a sense of continuing crisis. His vaunted "cool" allows him to wait without impatience and to endure without visible despair. It asks the same of his constituents.

    ...This is the characteristic pattern, we can begin to see, of Obama's great initiatives. It is repeated in health care and in economic policymaking, and -- it seems safe to speculate -- it is likely to be followed in education, energy, the environment and fiscal policy as well.

    ...It is likely that if and when Congress responds to other challenges Obama has given it -- to restructure financial regulation; to rationalize energy, education and environmental policies; and to slow the ruinous growth of entitlement programs -- the pattern will be the same: incremental steps leading to possible future breakthroughs.

    For a nation whose culture has produced a psychology demanding instant gratification, this politics of deferred satisfaction is something not easily learned. In his political career, Obama has been a perfect embodiment of an impatient generation. He rocketed through his few years in Springfield to capture a Senate seat from Illinois, then quickly became impatient with the Senate's ways and set his cap for the presidency.

    But somewhere, he has learned the virtues of patience when it comes to governing.

    ...a president who is not driven by a compulsion to provide instant gratification for his constituents must also cultivate adult patience in them. My bet would be that Obama has that capacity."

  • THE WASHINGTON POST: Obama and the challenge of slow change
  • Chitty Chitty BANG BANG!

    T.I.

    Fuck a Mixtape.

    A Trailer.

    Wednesday, April 14, 2010

    WHO'S Bad?!



    Words. For Your Consideration...

    "...former House speaker Newt Gingrich called Obama "the most radical president in American history" and urged his partisan audience to stop Obama's "secular, socialist machine."

    ...the terms "radical," "socialist" and even "totalitarian" are bandied about frequently by Obama opponents, including congressional and other GOP leaders.

    To one outside the partisan and ideological wars, charges of radicalism, socialism, retreat and surrender are, frankly, bizarre.

    ...Looking at the range of Obama domestic and foreign policies, and his agency and diplomatic appointments, my conclusion is clear: This president is a mainstream, pragmatic moderate, operating in the center of American politics; center-left, perhaps, but not left of center. The most radical president in American history? Does Newt Gingrich, a PhD in history, really believe that [expletive]?"

  • THE WASHINGTON POST: Obama: A pragmatic moderate faces the 'socialist' smear
  • This is happening!



  • Stream here.
  • Coming Attractions.

    Janelle Monae.

    The ArchAndroid.

    A Trailer.

    Tuesday, April 13, 2010

    For Your Consideration.



    In stores June 29th!

  • PITCHFORK: Scissor Sisters Prep Night Work
  • This is how we do it.

    Yes it is Incubus. You don't even know...

    Now if you visit this blog often, you know that old school jams are more often than not posted under the "Old School Funk for the True Funk Soldiers" headline. But sometimes old school joints are so good, so well put together, so classic to a brotha, [see Montell Jordan's This is how we do it] that all I can do is marvel at their goodness as they boldly play on and show us how's it done. This jam, presented below, is one such example.


    A long, long, time ago, you didn't have to have cable to catch a video. All you had to do was stay up late on a Friday or Saturday night and NBC/FOX/KDOC, or maybe even KCAL 9 (what it do Los Angelinos!) would have a late night music video show for the stoners, the loners, the burnouts, and teens like me not yet of age with a simple kind of life and no plans. One such Saturday my siblings and I were up late in our room refusing to close our eyes, flipping through channels post Showtime at the Apollo, desperate to be entertained. Finally we landed on something. Much to their dismay, it was a rock block. But then this one song came on. By this band. It was hard. It was fast. It was loud. But it wasn't menacing, DEMANDED we pay attention to it and at that present moment, was quite fresh. Who is this band? Wait it out. Wait it out. What is this song? Wait it out. Wait it out. -See this is the old days (aka The 90's) where you ALWAYS got the artist name/song title/music video director/AND record company credits at the end of the video.- Wait it out. Wait it out. Wait it out. The End. Incubus. Pardon Me. Okay. We see you Incubus. And from that moment forward I was sold. I ran out and copped the album from which Pardon Me was spawned, Make Yourself, with a quickness, and quickly fell in love with the band's kinetic energy, over abundance of talent, and, or course, lead singer Brandon Boyd's voice, a voice that took many an Incubus song to new heights, a voice that I often tried to go to toe to toe with, as I often do with my favorite artists, singing along, along for the ride, getting lost in the sound...as I plan to do sometime today, when I press play on this classic from my favorite songs of all time list, stuck in my head, holding my attention, like that first time I came across this band that late Saturday night way back when...in 1999.

    Incubus.

    Drive.

    Monday, April 12, 2010

    Justice League.

    Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy



    Words.

    "Justice John Paul Stevens, who announced his retirement Friday, will not be remembered as the champion of a distinctive theory of the U.S. Constitution or as the author of a number of notable landmark rulings. But in almost 35 years on the Supreme Court, the former antitrust lawyer from Chicago epitomized an approach to judging that always serves the court well: dispassionate, deliberative, but also determined to adapt to changes in the life of the nation. In choosing a successor, President Obama is under no obligation to clone Stevens; but he should insist that his nominee share these qualities.

    ...Whether Stevens moved left or the court on which he sat moved right, it's undeniable (and unsurprising) that a careful but intellectually curious justice would evolve over three and a half decades. That suggests to us that in choosing Stevens' replacement, Obama should focus on enduring intellectual traits rather than on whether a nominee possesses views that would augur well for the administration's priorities..."

  • LOS ANGELES TIMES: Supreme Court needs another mind like John Paul Stevens'
  • "BREATHE IN, BREATHE OUT!"

    You can deal with this...



    Or you can deal with that..

  • PITCHFORK: Hot Chip Cover Shakira's "She Wolf"
  • For Your Consideration.



  • PITCHFORK: Listen: Two More New LCD Soundsystem Songs
  • "Common. On his B-Boy."

    Drake.

    Over.

    Sunday, April 11, 2010

    Coming Attractions.

    For Your Consideration...

    Rihanna.

    "The Last Girl on Earth Tour".

    Behind the Scenes.

    Friday, April 09, 2010

    Oh Word?

    FILE UNDER: Coming Attractions

    Thursday, April 08, 2010

    "L to the O, V to the E, K to the I, N to the G!"

    New flava in ya ear!

    The Dream
    .

    Love King.

    Wednesday, April 07, 2010

    PARTY TIME!

    EXCELLENT!

    New flava in ya ear!

    Andrew W.K.

    I'm a Vagabond.


    Sense & Sensibility.

    Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

    House of Cards.

    Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

    Tuesday, April 06, 2010