a video.
starring tori amos & her daughter, natashya.
Thursday, July 31, 2014
blackboard jungle.
an ongoing discussion/moment of clarity.
for you consideration...
words.
"...there is widespread belief that black parents don’t value education. The default opinion has become “it’s the parents” — not the governance, the curriculum, the instruction, the policy, nor the lack of resources — that create problems in urban schools. That’s wrong. Everyday actions continuously contradict the idea that low-income black families don’t care about their children’s schooling, with parents battling against limited resources to access better educations than their circumstances would otherwise afford their children.
...When judging black families’ commitment to education, many are confusing will with way. These parents have the will to provide quality schooling for their children, but often, they lack the way: the social capital, the money and the access to elite institutions. There is a difference between valuing an education and having the resources to tap that value.
...Privileged parents hold onto the false notion that their children’s progress comes from thrift, dedication and hard work — not from the money their parents made. Our assumption that “poverty doesn’t matter” and insistence on blaming black families’ perceived disinterest in education for their children’s underachievement simply reflects our negative attitudes towards poor, brown people and deflects our responsibility to address the real root problems of the achievement gap. Our negative attitudes about poor people keep us from providing the best services and schools to low-income families.
This thinking hurts not only children, but entire communities. Low expectations extend beyond the classroom into homes and neighborhoods."
THE WASHINGTON POST: Stop blaming black parents for underachieving kids: Improving black students' learning doesn't "start at home."
for you consideration...
words.
"...there is widespread belief that black parents don’t value education. The default opinion has become “it’s the parents” — not the governance, the curriculum, the instruction, the policy, nor the lack of resources — that create problems in urban schools. That’s wrong. Everyday actions continuously contradict the idea that low-income black families don’t care about their children’s schooling, with parents battling against limited resources to access better educations than their circumstances would otherwise afford their children.
...When judging black families’ commitment to education, many are confusing will with way. These parents have the will to provide quality schooling for their children, but often, they lack the way: the social capital, the money and the access to elite institutions. There is a difference between valuing an education and having the resources to tap that value.
...Privileged parents hold onto the false notion that their children’s progress comes from thrift, dedication and hard work — not from the money their parents made. Our assumption that “poverty doesn’t matter” and insistence on blaming black families’ perceived disinterest in education for their children’s underachievement simply reflects our negative attitudes towards poor, brown people and deflects our responsibility to address the real root problems of the achievement gap. Our negative attitudes about poor people keep us from providing the best services and schools to low-income families.
This thinking hurts not only children, but entire communities. Low expectations extend beyond the classroom into homes and neighborhoods."
THE WASHINGTON POST: Stop blaming black parents for underachieving kids: Improving black students' learning doesn't "start at home."
a moment of clarity.
words.
"Barack Obama is not a tough guy. Everybody rolls him. He’s a wimp, a weak sister; he won’t stand up for himself or his country. Vladimir Putin, a true tough guy, blows planes out of the air, won’t apologize, walks around half-naked. Life, it seems, is like a prison yard, and Obama cowers in a corner. “It would be a hellish thing to live with such timidity. … He’s scared of Vladimir Putin,” one Fox News contributor said about the President. But this kind of thing is not confined to the weirder fringes: Maureen Dowd pointed out a while ago that former fans of Obama “now make derogatory remarks about your manhood,” while the Wall Street Journal ’s editorial page runs a kind of compendium of “weak sister” pieces every morning, urging the President, at one point, to make more “unambiguous threats”—making unambiguous threats evidently being the real man’s method of getting his way.
...We don’t need tough guys. We need wise guys. We’ve tried tough guys, and it always ends in tears. Tough guys you know right away because they’re never scared of a fight. Wise guys you only know in retrospect, when you remember that they quietly walked away from the fight that now has the tough guy in a hospital. Wise women do that, too."
THE NEW YORKER: No More Mr. Tough Guy
"Barack Obama is not a tough guy. Everybody rolls him. He’s a wimp, a weak sister; he won’t stand up for himself or his country. Vladimir Putin, a true tough guy, blows planes out of the air, won’t apologize, walks around half-naked. Life, it seems, is like a prison yard, and Obama cowers in a corner. “It would be a hellish thing to live with such timidity. … He’s scared of Vladimir Putin,” one Fox News contributor said about the President. But this kind of thing is not confined to the weirder fringes: Maureen Dowd pointed out a while ago that former fans of Obama “now make derogatory remarks about your manhood,” while the Wall Street Journal ’s editorial page runs a kind of compendium of “weak sister” pieces every morning, urging the President, at one point, to make more “unambiguous threats”—making unambiguous threats evidently being the real man’s method of getting his way.
...We don’t need tough guys. We need wise guys. We’ve tried tough guys, and it always ends in tears. Tough guys you know right away because they’re never scared of a fight. Wise guys you only know in retrospect, when you remember that they quietly walked away from the fight that now has the tough guy in a hospital. Wise women do that, too."
THE NEW YORKER: No More Mr. Tough Guy
stay with me.
a (sam smith) cover.
starring vin diesel.
STEREOGUM: Watch Vin Diesel Cover Sam Smith’s “Stay With Me”
starring vin diesel.
STEREOGUM: Watch Vin Diesel Cover Sam Smith’s “Stay With Me”
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
rebounder.
a video.
from public access tv.
STEREOGUM: Public Access TV – “Rebounder” Video (Stereogum Premiere)
from public access tv.
STEREOGUM: Public Access TV – “Rebounder” Video (Stereogum Premiere)
how can you really.
a video.
starring foxygen.
STEREOGUM: Foxygen – “How Can You Really” Video + …And Star Power Details
starring foxygen.
STEREOGUM: Foxygen – “How Can You Really” Video + …And Star Power Details
"I Agree with these Statements."
words.
"We don’t hear too many albums like this anymore: Finely observed personal efforts that have been made to sound like a million bucks. There’s nothing remotely indie rock about The Voyager, at least not in the way that term has been traditionally understood. The album sparkles like money, and there’s nothing challenging about any of its musical choices. It’s an album for Sunday morning drives or for playing in the background during brunch. It’s an album your mom might like, at least until that one lyric about the coke and the mushrooms jumps out at her. But all those professionally assembled hooks are used in service of a writer whose throwaway lines can kick you in the gut. None of the glamor we can hear on The Voyager has been enough to protect Lewis from serious unhappiness. She doesn’t make a big part of shattering that glamor around her, but she does it anyway, just by being a human being who knows how to write about sadness and lostness. And in finding a way to render all that lostness in the form of music as sunnily pleasant as this, she’s made a truly great album."
STEREOGUM: Album Of The Week: Jenny Lewis The Voyager
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
all eyez on me.
with a beastie boy, mike d.
ROLLING STONE: Beastie Boys' Mike D: Tupac's Determination to Be Authentic Killed Him
ROLLING STONE: Beastie Boys' Mike D: Tupac's Determination to Be Authentic Killed Him
the sex pistols.
a moment of clarity.
words.
"We need to immediately stop perpetuating the myth that pop stars and athletes and actors are able to completely determine the course of a child's life. The biggest influence in your kid's life is you and your parenting. Perhaps the answer to Creekmur's obnoxious question is that impressionable children shouldn't have access to her music in first place, something Nicki herself has said and that is largely the duty of his or her parents. Nicki Minaj is under no obligation to stray from her artistic vision for herself because you don't know how to monitor your child's internet access or have a conversation about healthy sexuality.
...Now, I say this not just to Chuck Creekmur but to all the men and women who ascribe to the condescending, sexist and dated beliefs of this letter: Maybe if you spent less time policing the actions of grown women, you would have more time to have conversations with your own daughters and sons about how they will choose to navigate, succeed and fight back against a world steeped in patriarchy and capitalism. Nicki Minaj has already got it all figured out. She doesn't need your help."
JEZEBEL: Nicki Minaj Doesn't Need Your Advice or Input
SEE ALSO:
NOISEY: AN OPEN LETTER TO THE DADS OF HIP-HOP: STOP WORRYING ABOUT NICKI MINAJ'S ASS
words.
"We need to immediately stop perpetuating the myth that pop stars and athletes and actors are able to completely determine the course of a child's life. The biggest influence in your kid's life is you and your parenting. Perhaps the answer to Creekmur's obnoxious question is that impressionable children shouldn't have access to her music in first place, something Nicki herself has said and that is largely the duty of his or her parents. Nicki Minaj is under no obligation to stray from her artistic vision for herself because you don't know how to monitor your child's internet access or have a conversation about healthy sexuality.
...Now, I say this not just to Chuck Creekmur but to all the men and women who ascribe to the condescending, sexist and dated beliefs of this letter: Maybe if you spent less time policing the actions of grown women, you would have more time to have conversations with your own daughters and sons about how they will choose to navigate, succeed and fight back against a world steeped in patriarchy and capitalism. Nicki Minaj has already got it all figured out. She doesn't need your help."
JEZEBEL: Nicki Minaj Doesn't Need Your Advice or Input
SEE ALSO:
NOISEY: AN OPEN LETTER TO THE DADS OF HIP-HOP: STOP WORRYING ABOUT NICKI MINAJ'S ASS
morning phase.
with beck & stephen colbert.
PITCHFORK: Beck Plays "Heart Is a Drum" and "Heaven's Ladder", Chats on "Colbert"
PITCHFORK: Beck Plays "Heart Is a Drum" and "Heaven's Ladder", Chats on "Colbert"
candy perfurme girl.
words.
" “Heavy Metal and Reflective.” If I may be so bold, this track is far and away her best since “212,” and it’s not hard to see why. Her distinctive voice and slick lyrics are back on display, rather than ceding the spotlight to some forced-on persona or generic production.
"Heavy Metal and Reflective” feels so much more natural and raw — it’s as if, without the pressures (or shackles, as she saw them) of her label or the distractions of those petty Twitter fights, she’s finally able to return to her real self, Azealia Amanda Banks from the 212. Her lyrics are still smart and reference-heavy, dropping Michael Jackson track titles (“I be ‘P.Y.T.’ / You be ‘Billie Jean'”) and showing her age in the best way: “Buy me Tamagotchi / Sippin’ sake and Moëtses.” She’s even kept a bit of the witchy look and attitude she tested out in “#YUNGRAPUNXEL”: “I be in that 750 head up / With that hex witch.” But my favorite lines harken back to that playful sexual confidence we saw three years ago: “I be with that Betty / With that bubble and them breasts / I be looking very / Jiggle Jello in them dresses.”
...Azealia Banks is still only 23, an age where you’re just starting to settle into yourself and get comfortable with your unique talents and style. It feels like she’s finally found it again. So, to borrow the words of Rolling Stone: “More, please!”
FLAVORWIRE: “Heavy Metal and Reflective”: The Goofy, Sexy, Real Azealia Banks of “212” Returns on Her First Post-Interscope Single
Monday, July 28, 2014
anything goes.
starring tony bennett & lady gaga.
POP ON AND ON: First Listen: Lady Gaga & Tony Bennett - Anything Goes
POP ON AND ON: First Listen: Lady Gaga & Tony Bennett - Anything Goes
Sunday, July 27, 2014
Saturday, July 26, 2014
Friday, July 25, 2014
pull up the people.
words.
for your consideration...
"...Critics complained when the Supreme Court granted companies rights to freedom of speech and religion under the legal fiction that corporations are people. But perhaps this precedent is good news for flesh-and-blood people like you and me (a.k.a. People Classic™).
If companies are claiming the rights and privileges of people, maybe people should start claiming the rights and privileges of corporations. Rights harmonization, in other words, should flow in both directions, since we’re now all indistinguishable, equally protected “persons” — in the court’s eyes, anyway.
... the best perk of being treated like an incorporeal corporation?
Even if you killed someone, stole a house, funded a genocidal regime or terrorize the global economy, you wouldn’t go to jail. At worst, you’d pay a fine. Sure, you could be executed for your crimes — sort of — by having your charter revoked or by being driven to bankruptcy by onerous penalties, but you could always return from the dead with a different name but much of the same DNA. To err is human; to err and bounce back unscathed, you really need to be a company."
THE WASHINGTON POST: Corporations are people. So what if people were corporations?
for your consideration...
"...Critics complained when the Supreme Court granted companies rights to freedom of speech and religion under the legal fiction that corporations are people. But perhaps this precedent is good news for flesh-and-blood people like you and me (a.k.a. People Classic™).
If companies are claiming the rights and privileges of people, maybe people should start claiming the rights and privileges of corporations. Rights harmonization, in other words, should flow in both directions, since we’re now all indistinguishable, equally protected “persons” — in the court’s eyes, anyway.
... the best perk of being treated like an incorporeal corporation?
Even if you killed someone, stole a house, funded a genocidal regime or terrorize the global economy, you wouldn’t go to jail. At worst, you’d pay a fine. Sure, you could be executed for your crimes — sort of — by having your charter revoked or by being driven to bankruptcy by onerous penalties, but you could always return from the dead with a different name but much of the same DNA. To err is human; to err and bounce back unscathed, you really need to be a company."
THE WASHINGTON POST: Corporations are people. So what if people were corporations?
what i got.
words.
for your consideration.
"Jonah Ray: I hate Sublime because they represent every asshole I knew in high school in Hawaii. Nothing better than Sublime could have come out for these white dudes who loved reggae that I went to school with. Every white, blond-haired, piece of shit surfer jock guy, when this came out, they were like, “Oh! Now we have a Nirvana.” And they just ate it up. Everywhere you went, there was a white guy with an acoustic guitar singing Sublime songs; I’m sure one of them was Jack Johnson. And you had to deal with these guys who thought that this band was the band. And I’m not going to judge the way people dress or look, but Sublime looks like the Guy Fieri trio. People who like Sublime are probably people who think that Guy Fieri is badass"
THE A.V. CLUB: Jonah Ray on his intense, burning hatred for Sublime’s “What I Got”
Thursday, July 24, 2014
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
golden girls.
a (liars) remix.
starring devendra banart.
STEREOGUM: Devendra Banhart – “Golden Girls (LIARS Remix)”
EARLIER:
BOUND: The Albums, 2013: 17/Devendra Banhart/Mala
starring devendra banart.
STEREOGUM: Devendra Banhart – “Golden Girls (LIARS Remix)”
EARLIER:
BOUND: The Albums, 2013: 17/Devendra Banhart/Mala
Health. CARE. First. AID.
an ongoing discussion/moment of clarity.
words.
"...the law isn’t done phasing in. It was unrealistic to expect an immaculately functional, well-balanced system at this point in the process, but it is reasonable to expect it to improve in years two and three. Success is contingent on the policy continuing to do what it has done pretty well so far: signing up a lot of people. Next year, the penalties for going without health insurance will come into force, which will help drive up enrollment. Nevertheless, Suderman’s piece is a reminder that the Obama administration has a lot of work left to do to get the system to take — and that Republican state leaders should stop obstructing Obamacare implementation.
...the picture so far is one of a big policy finding its footing and working largely within the boundaries of fair expectation.
Those hoping that the courts will undo the law’s progress would not see the country saved from a doomed social experiment. They would stunt a far-reaching reform just as it is growing up."
THE WASHINGTON POST: Without Obamacare, what would the country really give up?
words.
"...the law isn’t done phasing in. It was unrealistic to expect an immaculately functional, well-balanced system at this point in the process, but it is reasonable to expect it to improve in years two and three. Success is contingent on the policy continuing to do what it has done pretty well so far: signing up a lot of people. Next year, the penalties for going without health insurance will come into force, which will help drive up enrollment. Nevertheless, Suderman’s piece is a reminder that the Obama administration has a lot of work left to do to get the system to take — and that Republican state leaders should stop obstructing Obamacare implementation.
...the picture so far is one of a big policy finding its footing and working largely within the boundaries of fair expectation.
Those hoping that the courts will undo the law’s progress would not see the country saved from a doomed social experiment. They would stunt a far-reaching reform just as it is growing up."
THE WASHINGTON POST: Without Obamacare, what would the country really give up?
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
the newsroom.
a moment of clarity.
words.
"...the plight of the black man in America hasn’t changed as much as we’d like to think. It’s so incredibly disheartening to think that a film made about the racial turmoil of the early 90s is just as relevant today as it was a quarter of a century ago.
Like the fictional death of Radio Raheem, the actual death of Eric Garner is a blatant reminder that in the eyes of the law, black lives are worth a lot less in this country than whites and that black men are still seen as needing to be controlled and killed if necessary—just as they were in antebellum South. If you’re a black man, that harsh reality is the kind of shit that haunts you so much that it almost seems easier to acquiesce and just give up.
...For what it’s worth, we’ve got to keep talking about the Eric Garners and the Ramarley Grahams and the Kenneth Chamberlains of the world in the hope—even if it is a blind hope—that this shit doesn’t happen again."
VICE: Eric Garner and the Plague of Police Brutality Against Black Men
words.
"...the plight of the black man in America hasn’t changed as much as we’d like to think. It’s so incredibly disheartening to think that a film made about the racial turmoil of the early 90s is just as relevant today as it was a quarter of a century ago.
Like the fictional death of Radio Raheem, the actual death of Eric Garner is a blatant reminder that in the eyes of the law, black lives are worth a lot less in this country than whites and that black men are still seen as needing to be controlled and killed if necessary—just as they were in antebellum South. If you’re a black man, that harsh reality is the kind of shit that haunts you so much that it almost seems easier to acquiesce and just give up.
...For what it’s worth, we’ve got to keep talking about the Eric Garners and the Ramarley Grahams and the Kenneth Chamberlains of the world in the hope—even if it is a blind hope—that this shit doesn’t happen again."
VICE: Eric Garner and the Plague of Police Brutality Against Black Men
human cannonball explodes.
starring nick oliveri.
stream here.
SEE ALSO:
PITCHFORK: Ex-Queens of the Stone Age Bassist Nick Oliveri Announces Solo LP
"to the left, to the left!"
a moment of clarity.
words.
"Sometimes African Americans, in communities where I’ve worked, there’s been the notion of “acting white” — which sometimes is overstated, but there’s an element of truth to it, where, okay, if boys are reading too much, then, well, why are you doing that? Or why are you speaking so properly? And the notion that there’s some authentic way of being black, that if you’re going to be black you have to act a certain way and wear a certain kind of clothes, that has to go. Because there are a whole bunch of different ways for African American men to be authentic.
...The insult is as short-sighted as it is ignorant. I told them to be unabashedly black and follow the examples of Langston Hughes and Maya Angelou, Sarah Vaughan and Beyoncé, Michelle Obama and President Obama. And I implored them to be bold, black, beautiful and, most important, American. Too many folks forget that part. They spend so much time fighting for respect as a [fill-in-the-blank] American that they miss the American part altogether. They are part of the larger story of this country, and their success or failure is of great importance to it." But my point is, is that you don’t have to act a certain way to be authentic."
THE WASHINGTON POST: Obama goes there on ‘acting white’
words.
"Sometimes African Americans, in communities where I’ve worked, there’s been the notion of “acting white” — which sometimes is overstated, but there’s an element of truth to it, where, okay, if boys are reading too much, then, well, why are you doing that? Or why are you speaking so properly? And the notion that there’s some authentic way of being black, that if you’re going to be black you have to act a certain way and wear a certain kind of clothes, that has to go. Because there are a whole bunch of different ways for African American men to be authentic.
...The insult is as short-sighted as it is ignorant. I told them to be unabashedly black and follow the examples of Langston Hughes and Maya Angelou, Sarah Vaughan and Beyoncé, Michelle Obama and President Obama. And I implored them to be bold, black, beautiful and, most important, American. Too many folks forget that part. They spend so much time fighting for respect as a [fill-in-the-blank] American that they miss the American part altogether. They are part of the larger story of this country, and their success or failure is of great importance to it." But my point is, is that you don’t have to act a certain way to be authentic."
THE WASHINGTON POST: Obama goes there on ‘acting white’
Monday, July 21, 2014
don't tell our friends about me.
starring blake mills, fiona apple, & jon brion.
PITCHFORK: Fiona Apple and Jon Brion Appear on Blake Mills' "Don't Tell Our Friends About Me"
PITCHFORK: Fiona Apple and Jon Brion Appear on Blake Mills' "Don't Tell Our Friends About Me"
rats.
starring earl sweatshirt & tyler the creator.
THE FADER: Listen to “Rats,” an Unreleased Earl Sweatshirt Track from 2010
THE FADER: Listen to “Rats,” an Unreleased Earl Sweatshirt Track from 2010
Sunday, July 20, 2014
Saturday, July 19, 2014
heart.
words.
"Many people have written this dude off for the past decade because of his artsy bullshit, and coming into the night I wondered if we’d see him project some sheet music while he performed upside down or something, but instead, he was just delivered a badass rock show. Beck was Beck. He wore a Beck hat. He danced a Beck dance. He played a Beck guitar. He wore a Beck shirt. If Beck released his first record today, no one would give a shit. But throughout his career, he’s made himself into something. It’s bizarre because, despite objectively being sort of lame and sort of boring and sort of a Scientologist, he still manages to just be cool as fuck. It’s effortless, yet so perfectly planned. There’s something about his music that’s intangible, something that makes me want to lean back in a bean bag and smoke a joint and kiss a girl and hold someone’s hand and drink a beer and wear a cool shirt and strut down the street and do all of those things again. Like all great artists, Beck has made being Beck the best thing about Beck. And he does it for us."
NOISEY: WE’RE ALL LOSERS, BABY: BECK PLAYED ALL THE HITS AT PITCHFORK MUSIC FESTIVAL
"Many people have written this dude off for the past decade because of his artsy bullshit, and coming into the night I wondered if we’d see him project some sheet music while he performed upside down or something, but instead, he was just delivered a badass rock show. Beck was Beck. He wore a Beck hat. He danced a Beck dance. He played a Beck guitar. He wore a Beck shirt. If Beck released his first record today, no one would give a shit. But throughout his career, he’s made himself into something. It’s bizarre because, despite objectively being sort of lame and sort of boring and sort of a Scientologist, he still manages to just be cool as fuck. It’s effortless, yet so perfectly planned. There’s something about his music that’s intangible, something that makes me want to lean back in a bean bag and smoke a joint and kiss a girl and hold someone’s hand and drink a beer and wear a cool shirt and strut down the street and do all of those things again. Like all great artists, Beck has made being Beck the best thing about Beck. And he does it for us."
NOISEY: WE’RE ALL LOSERS, BABY: BECK PLAYED ALL THE HITS AT PITCHFORK MUSIC FESTIVAL
Friday, July 18, 2014
black jesus.
file under: coming attractions.
FADER: Watch The Trailer For Boondocks Creator Aaron McGruder’s “Black Jesus”
FADER: Watch The Trailer For Boondocks Creator Aaron McGruder’s “Black Jesus”
faith.
words.
"...Violent Buddhist mobs (yes, it sounds oxymoronic) are responsible for a spate of recent attacks against Muslims in Myanmar and Sri Lanka, leaving more than 200 dead and close to 150,000 homeless. The clashes prompted the Dalai Lama to make an urgent appeal to end the bloodshed. “Buddha preaches love and compassion,” he said.
And so do Christianity, Islam and Judaism. The problem is that people of faith often become fanatics of faith. Reason and force are useless against aspiring martyrs.
In the United States, God is on the currency. By brilliant design, though, he is not mentioned in the Constitution. The founders were explicit: This country would never formally align God with one political party, or allow someone to use religion to ignore civil laws. At least that was the intent. In this summer of the violent God, five justices on the Supreme Court seem to feel otherwise."
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Faith-Based Fanatics
"...Violent Buddhist mobs (yes, it sounds oxymoronic) are responsible for a spate of recent attacks against Muslims in Myanmar and Sri Lanka, leaving more than 200 dead and close to 150,000 homeless. The clashes prompted the Dalai Lama to make an urgent appeal to end the bloodshed. “Buddha preaches love and compassion,” he said.
And so do Christianity, Islam and Judaism. The problem is that people of faith often become fanatics of faith. Reason and force are useless against aspiring martyrs.
In the United States, God is on the currency. By brilliant design, though, he is not mentioned in the Constitution. The founders were explicit: This country would never formally align God with one political party, or allow someone to use religion to ignore civil laws. At least that was the intent. In this summer of the violent God, five justices on the Supreme Court seem to feel otherwise."
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Faith-Based Fanatics
Thursday, July 17, 2014
words.
for your consideration...
"...our national conversation shouldn’t focus on the fact that some folks are doing much better than others, but instead should work towards creating the social and economic conditions wherein everyone can better their situation. This means addressing falling employment rates and earnings of less-educated workers, particularly men; fixing our broken, failing schools; creating post-secondary options in addition to the four-year BA that address the needs of 21st century firms; healing broken communities, and returning to a culture that feels comfortable discussing duties and responsibilities; reinvigorating civil society and the local institutions that subtly encourage work and responsibility; and more.
Enough with soaking the top one percent. Let’s focus on the 99..."
THE WASHINGTON POST: Stop worrying about the one percent. Their money can’t help the middle class.
"...our national conversation shouldn’t focus on the fact that some folks are doing much better than others, but instead should work towards creating the social and economic conditions wherein everyone can better their situation. This means addressing falling employment rates and earnings of less-educated workers, particularly men; fixing our broken, failing schools; creating post-secondary options in addition to the four-year BA that address the needs of 21st century firms; healing broken communities, and returning to a culture that feels comfortable discussing duties and responsibilities; reinvigorating civil society and the local institutions that subtly encourage work and responsibility; and more.
Enough with soaking the top one percent. Let’s focus on the 99..."
THE WASHINGTON POST: Stop worrying about the one percent. Their money can’t help the middle class.
one hundred.
words.
for your consideration...
"...there is no one — not now, not ever — who can drop a hot 16 and do what Drake did while hosting the ESPYs, as he owned a room full of superstar athletes by somehow vacillating between witty, funny, clever, mean, charming, self-deprecating, corny, and creepy. And sometimes — i.e.: “Honorable Mention” — he was all of those things at the same time.
...He’s able to do these things because he is legitimately witty, funny, clever, mean, charming, self-deprecating, corny, and creepy. Oh, and self-aware. What I saw on stage and in each of those skits was someone completely aware of who he is and what he can do. He knows he can act. He knows he can sing. He knows that being biracial allows him to do a certain type of racial humor that neither a fully Black nor fully White person can pull off. His Drake vs Blake bit might have been the first time in recorded history a light-skinned Black man did Whiteface to emulate a lighter-skinned Black man. His Pacquiao skit managed to be both extremely funny and extremely racist. And no one was offended by it. Because Drake, even when crooning slightly sexist odes to sidepieces and completely creepy peons to Skylar Diggins, is somehow never offensive. And this is a talent. Perhaps his most important one. It’s what enables him to create songs possessing the perfunctory nihilism and misogyny required of rap stars while also getting invited to host SNL. He’s Tony the Tiger. A shark with Invisalign."
VERY SMART BROTHAS: Drake, The Most Talented Rapper…Ever
for your consideration...
"...there is no one — not now, not ever — who can drop a hot 16 and do what Drake did while hosting the ESPYs, as he owned a room full of superstar athletes by somehow vacillating between witty, funny, clever, mean, charming, self-deprecating, corny, and creepy. And sometimes — i.e.: “Honorable Mention” — he was all of those things at the same time.
...He’s able to do these things because he is legitimately witty, funny, clever, mean, charming, self-deprecating, corny, and creepy. Oh, and self-aware. What I saw on stage and in each of those skits was someone completely aware of who he is and what he can do. He knows he can act. He knows he can sing. He knows that being biracial allows him to do a certain type of racial humor that neither a fully Black nor fully White person can pull off. His Drake vs Blake bit might have been the first time in recorded history a light-skinned Black man did Whiteface to emulate a lighter-skinned Black man. His Pacquiao skit managed to be both extremely funny and extremely racist. And no one was offended by it. Because Drake, even when crooning slightly sexist odes to sidepieces and completely creepy peons to Skylar Diggins, is somehow never offensive. And this is a talent. Perhaps his most important one. It’s what enables him to create songs possessing the perfunctory nihilism and misogyny required of rap stars while also getting invited to host SNL. He’s Tony the Tiger. A shark with Invisalign."
VERY SMART BROTHAS: Drake, The Most Talented Rapper…Ever
queen.
a video.
from perfume genius.
PITCHFORK: Perfume Genius Plays "Alternative Universe Forrest Gump" in "Queen" Video
from perfume genius.
PITCHFORK: Perfume Genius Plays "Alternative Universe Forrest Gump" in "Queen" Video
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
thank you very much.
a secret public access tv show.
starring jack antonoff & his bleachers.
ROLLING STONE: Thank You Very Much: Inside Bleachers' Secret Public-Access TV Show
starring jack antonoff & his bleachers.
ROLLING STONE: Thank You Very Much: Inside Bleachers' Secret Public-Access TV Show
real talk.
an ongoing discussion/moment of clarity.
words.
"To an extent we seldom acknowledge, the two major parties today are the lineal descendants of the forces shaped by the civil-rights movement and those shaped by the “Southern strategy.” Both play out the logical extensions of their points of origin. Holder memorably referred to the U.S. as a “nation of cowards” when it comes to race, but that could be a better state of affairs than the one we now have. It’s far more damning that this is a nation of self-declared racial innocents, blithely detached from its past and their prejudices. Cowards have no choice but to understand their own fearfulness. Innocents recognize no culpability, and thus are blamelessly capable of anything at all."
THE NEW YORKER: Talking Openly About Obama and Race
words.
"To an extent we seldom acknowledge, the two major parties today are the lineal descendants of the forces shaped by the civil-rights movement and those shaped by the “Southern strategy.” Both play out the logical extensions of their points of origin. Holder memorably referred to the U.S. as a “nation of cowards” when it comes to race, but that could be a better state of affairs than the one we now have. It’s far more damning that this is a nation of self-declared racial innocents, blithely detached from its past and their prejudices. Cowards have no choice but to understand their own fearfulness. Innocents recognize no culpability, and thus are blamelessly capable of anything at all."
THE NEW YORKER: Talking Openly About Obama and Race
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
queen.
starring perfume genius.
PITCHFORK: Perfume Genius Announces New Album Too Bright, Shares "Queen", Tours
a moment of clarity.
words.
"How many Americans know how health reform is going? For that matter, how many people in the news media are following the positive developments?
I suspect that the answer to the first question is “Not many,” while the answer to the second is “Possibly even fewer,” for reasons I’ll get to later. And if I’m right, it’s a remarkable thing — an immense policy success is improving the lives of millions of Americans, but it’s largely slipping under the radar.
...as I suggested earlier, people in the media — especially elite pundits — may be the last to hear the good news, simply because they’re in a socioeconomic bracket in which people generally have good coverage.
For the less fortunate, however, the Affordable Care Act has already made a big positive difference. The usual suspects will keep crying failure, but the truth is that health reform is — gasp! — working."
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Obamacare Fails to Fail
"How many Americans know how health reform is going? For that matter, how many people in the news media are following the positive developments?
I suspect that the answer to the first question is “Not many,” while the answer to the second is “Possibly even fewer,” for reasons I’ll get to later. And if I’m right, it’s a remarkable thing — an immense policy success is improving the lives of millions of Americans, but it’s largely slipping under the radar.
...as I suggested earlier, people in the media — especially elite pundits — may be the last to hear the good news, simply because they’re in a socioeconomic bracket in which people generally have good coverage.
For the less fortunate, however, the Affordable Care Act has already made a big positive difference. The usual suspects will keep crying failure, but the truth is that health reform is — gasp! — working."
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Obamacare Fails to Fail
Monday, July 14, 2014
american pie.
a moment of clarity.
with john oliver.
SLATE: Watch John Oliver Explain Income Inequality With a Ridiculous Powerball Lottery
with john oliver.
SLATE: Watch John Oliver Explain Income Inequality With a Ridiculous Powerball Lottery
Friday, July 11, 2014
Thursday, July 10, 2014
fam and foolies.
starring sulaiman & chance the rapper.
FADER: Sulaiman and Chance the Rapper Laugh At Life’s Lows On “Fam and Foolies”
FADER: Sulaiman and Chance the Rapper Laugh At Life’s Lows On “Fam and Foolies”
Wednesday, July 09, 2014
for your consideration.
words.
"Last Monday, President Obama defied Republican threats to file suit against him for his use of executive orders. “If House Republicans are really concerned about me taking too many executive actions,” the president said, “the best solution to that is passing bills. Pass a bill, solve a problem.
Republican obstruction is so extreme that House Speaker John Boehner can’t even get what he wants done, much less what the country needs. House Republicans have blocked countless jobs plans, stonewalled immigration reform, stopped a hike in the minimum wage and prevented emergency unemployment benefits from even getting a vote.
...Republicans want to make an election issue out of Obama’s use of executive actions to overcome their obstruction? The president should double down and raise the stakes. Democrats would win that fight — and they would deserve to win."
THE WASHINGTON POST: Obama should set his sights higher
"Last Monday, President Obama defied Republican threats to file suit against him for his use of executive orders. “If House Republicans are really concerned about me taking too many executive actions,” the president said, “the best solution to that is passing bills. Pass a bill, solve a problem.
Republican obstruction is so extreme that House Speaker John Boehner can’t even get what he wants done, much less what the country needs. House Republicans have blocked countless jobs plans, stonewalled immigration reform, stopped a hike in the minimum wage and prevented emergency unemployment benefits from even getting a vote.
...Republicans want to make an election issue out of Obama’s use of executive actions to overcome their obstruction? The president should double down and raise the stakes. Democrats would win that fight — and they would deserve to win."
THE WASHINGTON POST: Obama should set his sights higher
Tuesday, July 08, 2014
clap your hands say yeah.
with crosby, stills, nash, & "young".
PITCHFORK: Crosby, Stills & Nash Perform Iggy Azalea's "Fancy" on "Fallon" With Jimmy Fallon as "Neil Young"
PITCHFORK: Crosby, Stills & Nash Perform Iggy Azalea's "Fancy" on "Fallon" With Jimmy Fallon as "Neil Young"
Monday, July 07, 2014
Sunday, July 06, 2014
Saturday, July 05, 2014
up with people.
an ongoing discussion/moment of clarity.
words.
"The nation’s fast-food restaurants, which employ many of the country’s low-wage workers, are at the center of the debate over low pay and raising the federal minimum wage — fueled by protests demanding that fast-food chains establish a $15 wage floor. McDonald’s was pilloried last year for a hotline that advised employees how to seek food stamps and public assistance for heating and medical expenses.
...Complaining of low profit margins that generally accompany inexpensive menu items, most fast-food restaurants try to keep wages down — the median hourly wage for fast-food workers nationwide is $8.83, compared with $11.50 at Boloco and $10.70 at Shake Shack.
...When Harry Moorhouse opened his first Moo Cluck Moo restaurant 15 months ago in Dearborn Heights, Mich., its minimum pay was $12 an hour. Since then, it has raised that to $15 and opened a second restaurant in Canton, Mich., with plans to open a third in October and perhaps additional restaurants in Chicago and California next year.
“Our people work really hard, and $15 impacts their lives in a very positive way,” Mr. Moorhouse said. “The whole notion that it’s all kids starting out and they don’t deserve to be paid much, that’s all specious. We’re paying people $15 an hour so they have a living wage, so they really care about you when you come in the store.”"
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Paying Employees to Stay, Not to Go
SEE ALSO:
THINK PROGRESS: Rents Are Rising, But People Aren’t Making Any More Money
words.
"The nation’s fast-food restaurants, which employ many of the country’s low-wage workers, are at the center of the debate over low pay and raising the federal minimum wage — fueled by protests demanding that fast-food chains establish a $15 wage floor. McDonald’s was pilloried last year for a hotline that advised employees how to seek food stamps and public assistance for heating and medical expenses.
...Complaining of low profit margins that generally accompany inexpensive menu items, most fast-food restaurants try to keep wages down — the median hourly wage for fast-food workers nationwide is $8.83, compared with $11.50 at Boloco and $10.70 at Shake Shack.
...When Harry Moorhouse opened his first Moo Cluck Moo restaurant 15 months ago in Dearborn Heights, Mich., its minimum pay was $12 an hour. Since then, it has raised that to $15 and opened a second restaurant in Canton, Mich., with plans to open a third in October and perhaps additional restaurants in Chicago and California next year.
“Our people work really hard, and $15 impacts their lives in a very positive way,” Mr. Moorhouse said. “The whole notion that it’s all kids starting out and they don’t deserve to be paid much, that’s all specious. We’re paying people $15 an hour so they have a living wage, so they really care about you when you come in the store.”"
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Paying Employees to Stay, Not to Go
SEE ALSO:
THINK PROGRESS: Rents Are Rising, But People Aren’t Making Any More Money
Thursday, July 03, 2014
the shout out louds.
a moment of clarity.
words.
"... In the past year, the venture capitalist Tom Perkins and Kenneth Langone, the co-founder of Home Depot, both compared populist attacks on the wealthy to the Nazis’ attacks on the Jews. All three eventually apologized, but the basic sentiment is surprisingly common. Although the Obama years have been boom times for America’s super-rich—recent work by the economists Emmanuel Saez and Thomas Piketty showed that ninety-five per cent of income gains in the first three years of the recovery went to the top one per cent—a lot of them believe that they’re a persecuted minority. As Mark Mizruchi, a sociologist at the University of Michigan and the author of a book called “The Fracturing of the American Corporate Elite,” told me, “These guys think, We’re the job creators, we keep the markets running, and yet the public doesn’t like us. How can that be?” Business leaders were upset at the criticism that followed the financial crisis and, for many of them, it’s an article of faith that people succeed or fail because that’s what they deserve. Schwarzman recently said that Americans “always like to blame somebody other than themselves for a failure.” If you believe that net worth is a reflection of merit, then any attempt to curb inequality looks unfair.
...If today’s corporate kvetchers are more concerned with the state of their egos than with the state of the nation, it’s in part because their own fortunes aren’t tied to those of the nation the way they once were. In the postwar years, American companies depended largely on American consumers. Globalization has changed that—foreign sales account for almost half the revenue of the S&P 500—as has the rise of financial services (where the most important clients are the wealthy and other corporations). The well-being of the American middle class just doesn’t matter as much to companies’ bottom lines. And there’s another change. Early in the past century, there was a true socialist movement in the United States, and in the postwar years the Soviet Union seemed to offer the possibility of a meaningful alternative to capitalism. Small wonder that the tycoons of those days were so eager to channel populist agitation into reform. Today, by contrast, corporate chieftains have little to fear, other than mildly higher taxes and the complaints of people who have read Thomas Piketty. Moguls complain about their feelings because that’s all anyone can really threaten."
THE NEW YORKER: Moaning Moguls
words.
"... In the past year, the venture capitalist Tom Perkins and Kenneth Langone, the co-founder of Home Depot, both compared populist attacks on the wealthy to the Nazis’ attacks on the Jews. All three eventually apologized, but the basic sentiment is surprisingly common. Although the Obama years have been boom times for America’s super-rich—recent work by the economists Emmanuel Saez and Thomas Piketty showed that ninety-five per cent of income gains in the first three years of the recovery went to the top one per cent—a lot of them believe that they’re a persecuted minority. As Mark Mizruchi, a sociologist at the University of Michigan and the author of a book called “The Fracturing of the American Corporate Elite,” told me, “These guys think, We’re the job creators, we keep the markets running, and yet the public doesn’t like us. How can that be?” Business leaders were upset at the criticism that followed the financial crisis and, for many of them, it’s an article of faith that people succeed or fail because that’s what they deserve. Schwarzman recently said that Americans “always like to blame somebody other than themselves for a failure.” If you believe that net worth is a reflection of merit, then any attempt to curb inequality looks unfair.
...If today’s corporate kvetchers are more concerned with the state of their egos than with the state of the nation, it’s in part because their own fortunes aren’t tied to those of the nation the way they once were. In the postwar years, American companies depended largely on American consumers. Globalization has changed that—foreign sales account for almost half the revenue of the S&P 500—as has the rise of financial services (where the most important clients are the wealthy and other corporations). The well-being of the American middle class just doesn’t matter as much to companies’ bottom lines. And there’s another change. Early in the past century, there was a true socialist movement in the United States, and in the postwar years the Soviet Union seemed to offer the possibility of a meaningful alternative to capitalism. Small wonder that the tycoons of those days were so eager to channel populist agitation into reform. Today, by contrast, corporate chieftains have little to fear, other than mildly higher taxes and the complaints of people who have read Thomas Piketty. Moguls complain about their feelings because that’s all anyone can really threaten."
THE NEW YORKER: Moaning Moguls
Wednesday, July 02, 2014
cause = time.
a moment of clarity.
words.
"If it is not the inexorable laws of economics that have led to America’s great divide, what is it? The straightforward answer: our policies and our politics. People get tired of hearing about Scandinavian success stories, but the fact of the matter is that Sweden, Finland and Norway have all succeeded in having about as much or faster growth in per capita incomes than the United States and with far greater equality.
So why has America chosen these inequality-enhancing policies? Part of the answer is that as World War II faded into memory, so too did the solidarity it had engendered. As America triumphed in the Cold War, there didn’t seem to be a viable competitor to our economic model. Without this international competition, we no longer had to show that our system could deliver for most of our citizens.
Ideology and interests combined nefariously. Some drew the wrong lesson from the collapse of the Soviet system. The pendulum swung from much too much government there to much too little here. Corporate interests argued for getting rid of regulations, even when those regulations had done so much to protect and improve our environment, our safety, our health and the economy itself.
...The American political system is overrun by money. Economic inequality translates into political inequality, and political inequality yields increasing economic inequality. In fact, as he recognizes, Mr. Piketty’s argument rests on the ability of wealth-holders to keep their after-tax rate of return high relative to economic growth. How do they do this? By designing the rules of the game to ensure this outcome; that is, through politics.
So corporate welfare increases as we curtail welfare for the poor. Congress maintains subsidies for rich farmers as we cut back on nutritional support for the needy. Drug companies have been given hundreds of billions of dollars as we limit Medicaid benefits. The banks that brought on the global financial crisis got billions while a pittance went to the homeowners and victims of the same banks’ predatory lending practices. This last decision was particularly foolish. There were alternatives to throwing money at the banks and hoping it would circulate through increased lending. We could have helped underwater homeowners and the victims of predatory behavior directly. This would not only have helped the economy, it would have put us on the path to robust recovery.
OUR divisions are deep. Economic and geographic segregation have immunized those at the top from the problems of those down below. Like the kings of yore, they have come to perceive their privileged positions essentially as a natural right. How else to explain the recent comments of the venture capitalist Tom Perkins, who suggested that criticism of the 1 percent was akin to Nazi fascism, or those coming from the private equity titan Stephen A. Schwarzman, who compared asking financiers to pay taxes at the same rate as those who work for a living to Hitler’s invasion of Poland.
Our economy, our democracy and our society have paid for these gross inequities.
...We need not just a new war on poverty but a war to protect the middle class. Solutions to these problems do not have to be newfangled. Far from it. Making markets act like markets would be a good place to start. We must end the rent-seeking society we have gravitated toward, in which the wealthy obtain profits by manipulating the system.
The problem of inequality is not so much a matter of technical economics. It’s really a problem of practical politics. Ensuring that those at the top pay their fair share of taxes — ending the special privileges of speculators, corporations and the rich — is both pragmatic and fair. We are not embracing a politics of envy if we reverse a politics of greed. Inequality is not just about the top marginal tax rate but also about our children’s access to food and the right to justice for all. If we spent more on education, health and infrastructure, we would strengthen our economy, now and in the future. Just because you’ve heard it before doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try it again."
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Inequality is Not Inevitable
words.
"If it is not the inexorable laws of economics that have led to America’s great divide, what is it? The straightforward answer: our policies and our politics. People get tired of hearing about Scandinavian success stories, but the fact of the matter is that Sweden, Finland and Norway have all succeeded in having about as much or faster growth in per capita incomes than the United States and with far greater equality.
So why has America chosen these inequality-enhancing policies? Part of the answer is that as World War II faded into memory, so too did the solidarity it had engendered. As America triumphed in the Cold War, there didn’t seem to be a viable competitor to our economic model. Without this international competition, we no longer had to show that our system could deliver for most of our citizens.
Ideology and interests combined nefariously. Some drew the wrong lesson from the collapse of the Soviet system. The pendulum swung from much too much government there to much too little here. Corporate interests argued for getting rid of regulations, even when those regulations had done so much to protect and improve our environment, our safety, our health and the economy itself.
...The American political system is overrun by money. Economic inequality translates into political inequality, and political inequality yields increasing economic inequality. In fact, as he recognizes, Mr. Piketty’s argument rests on the ability of wealth-holders to keep their after-tax rate of return high relative to economic growth. How do they do this? By designing the rules of the game to ensure this outcome; that is, through politics.
So corporate welfare increases as we curtail welfare for the poor. Congress maintains subsidies for rich farmers as we cut back on nutritional support for the needy. Drug companies have been given hundreds of billions of dollars as we limit Medicaid benefits. The banks that brought on the global financial crisis got billions while a pittance went to the homeowners and victims of the same banks’ predatory lending practices. This last decision was particularly foolish. There were alternatives to throwing money at the banks and hoping it would circulate through increased lending. We could have helped underwater homeowners and the victims of predatory behavior directly. This would not only have helped the economy, it would have put us on the path to robust recovery.
OUR divisions are deep. Economic and geographic segregation have immunized those at the top from the problems of those down below. Like the kings of yore, they have come to perceive their privileged positions essentially as a natural right. How else to explain the recent comments of the venture capitalist Tom Perkins, who suggested that criticism of the 1 percent was akin to Nazi fascism, or those coming from the private equity titan Stephen A. Schwarzman, who compared asking financiers to pay taxes at the same rate as those who work for a living to Hitler’s invasion of Poland.
Our economy, our democracy and our society have paid for these gross inequities.
...We need not just a new war on poverty but a war to protect the middle class. Solutions to these problems do not have to be newfangled. Far from it. Making markets act like markets would be a good place to start. We must end the rent-seeking society we have gravitated toward, in which the wealthy obtain profits by manipulating the system.
The problem of inequality is not so much a matter of technical economics. It’s really a problem of practical politics. Ensuring that those at the top pay their fair share of taxes — ending the special privileges of speculators, corporations and the rich — is both pragmatic and fair. We are not embracing a politics of envy if we reverse a politics of greed. Inequality is not just about the top marginal tax rate but also about our children’s access to food and the right to justice for all. If we spent more on education, health and infrastructure, we would strengthen our economy, now and in the future. Just because you’ve heard it before doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try it again."
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Inequality is Not Inevitable
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