An Ongoing Discussion/Moment of Clarity.
words.
"“Unexpected illnesses and accidents happen every day, and the resulting medical bills can be disastrous,” warned the Web site of Assurant Health, which sold Patrick his policy. Its policy, Assurant promised, “provides the peace of mind and health care access you need at a price you can afford.”
Except it didn’t. Assurant balked at paying Patrick’s claims. In just four weeks, he had racked up more than $14,000 in bills. “And that was just to figure out what was wrong with him,” wrote Patrick’s younger sister, now my Post colleague. “Actually treating his disease was going to be unimaginably more expensive.”
...Assurant, scouring his medical records for a money-saving out, cited test results from eight months earlier. Bingo! — preexisting condition. No coverage.
Patrick Tumulty is Exhibit A on the need for Obamacare and the importance of putting into context the furor over if-you-like-your-policy-you-can-keep-it-gate.
...yes, this is an infuriating moment in the implementation of Obamacare. But as you steam, stop and think about people like Patrick Tumulty — and where they’d be without it."
THE WASHINGTON POST: Obamacare: Weaving a sturdier safety net
SEE ALSO:
THE WASHINGTON POST: Feeding families made more hungry by Congress
Friday, November 08, 2013
The Keepers.
Featuring Tyler the Creator & Arsenio Hall.
PITCHFORK: Watch Tyler, the Creator on "The Arsenio Hall Show"
PITCHFORK: Watch Tyler, the Creator on "The Arsenio Hall Show"
Thursday, November 07, 2013
"I Agree With These Statements."
words.
"Where punchline rappers can falter is in prioritizing the joke instead of something larger, turning rap into a bastardized version of stand-up comedy. Bronson is not immune to this himself, but on Blue Chips 2 his one-twos (“Shoot eagles on the Jack Nicklaus course/ Porsche with the triple exhaust”) become little dioramas, and eventually over the course of an hour he constructs a mutated version of the world we recognize—this is the escapism not of Rick Ross, but of Pixar. The punchlines can stagger individually, but when the album ends it can take a minute for the mind to readjust itself to reality.
...But more than anything, the song—and concurrently the album that now houses it—is just a whole lot of fun. Bronson, for whatever reason, only seems to hit this note with Party Supplies in his back pocket. But when he does, his music is not only a blast, but undeniably distinctive."
PITCHFORK: REVIEW: Action Bronson / Party Supplies Blue Chips 2
Tuesday, November 05, 2013
Monday, November 04, 2013
Sunday, November 03, 2013
Inside the NBA.
words.
"The economists Roland G. Fryer and Steven D. Levitt famously studied four decades of birth certificates in California. They found that African-American kids from different classes are named differently. Black kids born to lower-income parents are given unique names more often. Based on searches on ancestry.com, I counted black N.B.A. players born in California in the 1970s and 1980s who had unique first names. There were a few, like Torraye Braggs and Etdrick Bohannon. But black N.B.A. players were about half as likely to have a unique name as the average black male.
From 1960 to 1990, nearly half of blacks were born to unmarried parents. I would estimate that during this period roughly twice as many black N.B.A. players were born to married parents as unmarried parents. In other words, for every LeBron James, there was a Michael Jordan, born to a middle-class, two-parent family in Brooklyn, and a Chris Paul, the second son of middle-class parents in Lewisville, N.C., who joined Mr. Paul on an episode of “Family Feud” in 2011.
These results push back against the stereotype of a basketball player driven by an intense desire to escape poverty."
THE NEW YORK TIMES: In the N.B.A., ZIP Code Matters
"The economists Roland G. Fryer and Steven D. Levitt famously studied four decades of birth certificates in California. They found that African-American kids from different classes are named differently. Black kids born to lower-income parents are given unique names more often. Based on searches on ancestry.com, I counted black N.B.A. players born in California in the 1970s and 1980s who had unique first names. There were a few, like Torraye Braggs and Etdrick Bohannon. But black N.B.A. players were about half as likely to have a unique name as the average black male.
From 1960 to 1990, nearly half of blacks were born to unmarried parents. I would estimate that during this period roughly twice as many black N.B.A. players were born to married parents as unmarried parents. In other words, for every LeBron James, there was a Michael Jordan, born to a middle-class, two-parent family in Brooklyn, and a Chris Paul, the second son of middle-class parents in Lewisville, N.C., who joined Mr. Paul on an episode of “Family Feud” in 2011.
These results push back against the stereotype of a basketball player driven by an intense desire to escape poverty."
THE NEW YORK TIMES: In the N.B.A., ZIP Code Matters
Friday, November 01, 2013
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Jealous.
Starring Fredo Santana & Kendrick Lamar.
STEREOGUM: Fredo Santana – “Jealous” (Feat. Kendrick Lamar)
dynamics.
A Moment of Clarity.
words.
"When is the last time you heard a truly big idea coming from the right that could become law and could move this country forward? Don’t worry, I’ll wait. Exactly. Silence.
They are less interested in making laws that get things done than in making laws that prevent people from doing things. They want to halt progress and rewind it a few decades. For them, what used to be is always better than what can be, and that is a fatal logic flaw in a dynamic society.
...Republicans are so consumed with the mistaken notion that they are speaking for the American people that they refuse to recognize the change in the people of America.
So, absent ideas, we are forced to watch the G.O.P. wallow in frustration, and hold back American progress in doing so.
This isn’t about Obamacare, this is about Obama, and the country knows it and is paying for it."
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Grudge Spectacle
words.
"When is the last time you heard a truly big idea coming from the right that could become law and could move this country forward? Don’t worry, I’ll wait. Exactly. Silence.
They are less interested in making laws that get things done than in making laws that prevent people from doing things. They want to halt progress and rewind it a few decades. For them, what used to be is always better than what can be, and that is a fatal logic flaw in a dynamic society.
...Republicans are so consumed with the mistaken notion that they are speaking for the American people that they refuse to recognize the change in the people of America.
So, absent ideas, we are forced to watch the G.O.P. wallow in frustration, and hold back American progress in doing so.
This isn’t about Obamacare, this is about Obama, and the country knows it and is paying for it."
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Grudge Spectacle
Love is Lost.
A video.
Starring David Bowie.
PITCHFORK: Video: David Bowie: "Love Is Lost", Remixed by James Murphy
Starring David Bowie.
PITCHFORK: Video: David Bowie: "Love Is Lost", Remixed by James Murphy
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
saturday love.
WORDS.
"The Yeezus show is long and physically and mentally exhausting, and I wouldn't take out a minute of it. Even from my seat — which was close to the stage but suffered from less-than-ideal sound, I found myself absolutely rapt by everything that transpired on that mountain and the hydraulic Pride Rock that extended from it into the floor of Staples Center. Most of the people seated around me felt differently; as the hours wore on the seats neighboring mine slowly vacated, couple by couple, until I had the whole row to myself (save for the seats the college boys behind me had propped their feet up on for their fourth-quarter naps). Like the album that is its namesake, the show was relentless and abrasive, yet somehow lush in its severity."
GRANTLAND: The Teaches of Yeezus: Kanye West's Los Angeles Concert
"The Yeezus show is long and physically and mentally exhausting, and I wouldn't take out a minute of it. Even from my seat — which was close to the stage but suffered from less-than-ideal sound, I found myself absolutely rapt by everything that transpired on that mountain and the hydraulic Pride Rock that extended from it into the floor of Staples Center. Most of the people seated around me felt differently; as the hours wore on the seats neighboring mine slowly vacated, couple by couple, until I had the whole row to myself (save for the seats the college boys behind me had propped their feet up on for their fourth-quarter naps). Like the album that is its namesake, the show was relentless and abrasive, yet somehow lush in its severity."
GRANTLAND: The Teaches of Yeezus: Kanye West's Los Angeles Concert
PRACTICE.
Starring Action Bronson.
PITCHFORK: Action Bronson Announces Blue Chips 2 With Party Supplies, Shares "Practice"
Monday, October 28, 2013
Saturday, October 26, 2013
Friday, October 25, 2013
Do You.
Sam Smith.
Do I Wanna Know?
A (Arctic Monkeys) cover.
STEREOGUM: Sam Smith – “Do I Wanna Know?” (Arctic Monkeys Cover)
Do I Wanna Know?
A (Arctic Monkeys) cover.
STEREOGUM: Sam Smith – “Do I Wanna Know?” (Arctic Monkeys Cover)
A Moment of Clarity.
WORDS.
"...Republicans who believe that their only political task is to reflect — to exactly mirror — public distrust for government have drawn the wrong lesson. Those who ride such purely negative populism to power will merely become newer objects of public disdain. Americans do not want public officials who share their contempt for government; they want public officials who no longer justify it.
The alternative to grandiosity and incompetence is not to do nothing. It is to achieve policy goals in ways that are practical, incremental and effective. Americans have not ceased looking for responses to routine educational failure or persistent economic stagnation — or to the problems of an expensive, inequitable health-care system. These are public challenges, in which government plays an inescapable role. A successful political party will provide a superior conception of that role.
...Most of the energy in the Republican Party today, at least in Washington, is expended on opposition, not on reform. And the travails of Obamacare have only fed that purely negative energy. Yet Republicans require an approach more sophisticated than pointing and laughing. The cultivation of contempt is the calling of the blogger. A public official has other tasks."
THE WASHINGTON POST: GOP: Stop being so negative
SEE ALSO:
THE NEW YORK TIMES: In Search of Republican Grown-Ups
Impregnable Question.
A video.
From Dirty Projectors.
EARLIER:
"BANDZ A MAKE HER DANCE!": The Albums, 2012: 01/Dirty Projectors/Swing Lo Magellan
From Dirty Projectors.
EARLIER:
"BANDZ A MAKE HER DANCE!": The Albums, 2012: 01/Dirty Projectors/Swing Lo Magellan
Thursday, October 24, 2013
The Killers.
words.
"The government shutdown and debt ceiling crisis inflicted a toll on the American economy, but that cost is only a fraction of the total damage that the federal government has been causing to the American economy.
Without exaggeration, the single biggest impediment to a stronger economic recovery has been the years of dysfunction in Washington and the policies that have emerged.
...far more harm has been done to the economy since early 2010 by terrible decisions as to how the government spends and the effect on both business and consumers of the uncertainty that stems from making policy crisis by crisis.
...It’s time that policy makers recognize the damage they are doing to the economy with their short-term thinking and imprudent fiscal decisions."
THE NEW YORK TIMES: The Biggest Economy Killer: Our Government
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
______ problems.
A Moment of Clarity.
words.
"...when Republicans argue that the Web site’s initial failure means we shouldn’t go forward with extending affordable coverage to the uninsured, it’s like saying that the other high-profile tech failure this month — of the Web-based Common Application used by hundreds of colleges — means we should tell this year’s high school seniors to put off college. I mean, if that nonprofit can’t get the application technology right, what other reasonable choice is there?
...As my daughter and her friends might say, “Chill, people.” Let’s see how the next few months go. There’s something sad and misguided about talented right-wing wonks devoting immense energy to criticism, yet seeming unable to spare a brain cell for actual public problem-solving. Even a conservative mind is a terrible thing to waste."
THE WASHINGTON POST: GOP crocodile tears on Obamacare
SEE ALSO:
THE NEW YORK TIMES: How to Fix the Glitches
words.
"...when Republicans argue that the Web site’s initial failure means we shouldn’t go forward with extending affordable coverage to the uninsured, it’s like saying that the other high-profile tech failure this month — of the Web-based Common Application used by hundreds of colleges — means we should tell this year’s high school seniors to put off college. I mean, if that nonprofit can’t get the application technology right, what other reasonable choice is there?
...As my daughter and her friends might say, “Chill, people.” Let’s see how the next few months go. There’s something sad and misguided about talented right-wing wonks devoting immense energy to criticism, yet seeming unable to spare a brain cell for actual public problem-solving. Even a conservative mind is a terrible thing to waste."
THE WASHINGTON POST: GOP crocodile tears on Obamacare
SEE ALSO:
THE NEW YORK TIMES: How to Fix the Glitches
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
HOME.
With (Drake and) Holy Ghost!
PITCHFORK: Watch/Listen: Holy Ghost! Cover Drake's "Hold On, We're Going Home"
PITCHFORK: Watch/Listen: Holy Ghost! Cover Drake's "Hold On, We're Going Home"
Downward Dog.
words.
For Your Consideration.
"How is it that the Department of Health and Human Services launched the president’s signature domestic program with a computer system that could not handle the anticipated load? We share Mr. Obama’s frustrations with efforts by House Republicans and GOP governors to sabotage Obamacare. But the computer snafu was self-inflicted incompetence.
Mr. Obama said Monday that “the number of people who’ve visited the site has been overwhelming,” with about 20 million site visits to date. Why is that so overwhelming? Commercial computer systems such as Google and Facebook manage to handle billions of visitors every month. The U.S. government runs supercomputers for national defense applications that are among the highest-performing in the world. Mr. Obama’s administration seems to have behaved as if this project were not a priority."
THE WASHINGTON POST: A prescription for fixing Obamacare glitches
SEE ALSO:
THE NEW YORKER: Why Obamacare Will Work (on Its Own Terms)
Monday, October 21, 2013
The Crisis Team.
An Ongoing Discussion.
words.
"...What took place was a political crisis, not an economic one. When faced with a true economic crisis in 2008 — the worst since the Great Depression — our economy proved its resilience. Since then, the American people have painstakingly fought their way back from the brink. Now businesses are hiring, our economy is growing, and we have cut our deficits in half. Throughout this period, the United States once again became a source of strength for the global economy.
But we are not where we want to be. Growth is not strong enough, and job creation needs to accelerate. And one of the fundamental reasons our economy is not firing on all cylinders is Washington. Our economy has been poised to make serious strides over the last few years, but self-inflicted political wounds have gotten in the way time after time.
...It is time to put an end to governing by crisis and focus on accelerating economic growth and job creation. If we are open to what we can achieve together rather than simply setting our sights on our divisions, there is a lot we can do to support America’s workers and businesses. This is what the American people expect from their leaders in Washington."
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Lessons From a Crisis
words.
"...What took place was a political crisis, not an economic one. When faced with a true economic crisis in 2008 — the worst since the Great Depression — our economy proved its resilience. Since then, the American people have painstakingly fought their way back from the brink. Now businesses are hiring, our economy is growing, and we have cut our deficits in half. Throughout this period, the United States once again became a source of strength for the global economy.
But we are not where we want to be. Growth is not strong enough, and job creation needs to accelerate. And one of the fundamental reasons our economy is not firing on all cylinders is Washington. Our economy has been poised to make serious strides over the last few years, but self-inflicted political wounds have gotten in the way time after time.
...It is time to put an end to governing by crisis and focus on accelerating economic growth and job creation. If we are open to what we can achieve together rather than simply setting our sights on our divisions, there is a lot we can do to support America’s workers and businesses. This is what the American people expect from their leaders in Washington."
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Lessons From a Crisis
NEVER SURRENDER.
A video.
From DJ Khaled.
And Akon.
And Anthony Hamiton.
And Jadakiss.
And John Legend.
And Meek Mill.
And Scarface.
From DJ Khaled.
And Akon.
And Anthony Hamiton.
And Jadakiss.
And John Legend.
And Meek Mill.
And Scarface.
Friday, October 18, 2013
"AMERICA!"
"F**K YEAH!"
THE WASHINGTON POST: Now, lead from the front
SEE ALSO:
THE NEW YORK TIMES: The Damage Done
Thursday, October 17, 2013
A Moment of Clarity.
words.
"The crisis has been resolved, but this respite is temporary. We are bound to have more standoffs and brinkmanship in the months and years ahead. To understand why, you must recognize that, for the tea party, the stakes could not be higher. The movement is animated and energized by a fear that soon America will be beyond rescue.
...For many conservatives, the “rot” to be excoriated is not about economics and health care but about culture. A persistent theme of conservative intellectuals and commentators — in print and on Fox News — is the cultural decay of the country. But compared with almost any period in U.S. history, we live in bourgeois times, in a culture that values family, religion, work and, above all, business. Young people today aspire to become Mark Zuckerberg. They quote the aphorisms of Warren Buffett and read the Twitter feed of Bill Gates. Even after the worst recession since the Great Depression, there are no obvious radicals, anarchists, Black Panthers or other revolutionary movements — save the tea party.
...The era of crises could end, but only when this group of conservatives makes its peace with today’s America. They are misty-eyed in their devotion to a distant republic of myth and memory yet passionate in their dislike of the messy, multiracial, quasi-capitalist democracy that has been around for half a century — a fifth of our country’s history. At some point, will they come to recognize that you cannot love America in theory and hate it in fact?"
THE WASHINGTON POST: Conservatism needs to lighten up
SEE ALSO:
THE WASHINGTON POST: A lesson for moderates in the shutdown denouement
THE NEW YORK TIMES: A Teachable Moment
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
"WHAT'S IT GONNA BE?"
A Moment of Clarity.
words.
"Here’s the question we should be asking ourselves right now: What next?
Even if the immediate crises — the partial shutdown and the looming debt default — are resolved, we will still be living in a dangerous political moment. The danger in question is because of the recent emergence of a political philosophy — and I mean that in the loosest sense — which threatens to unravel our joint commitment to a common democratic enterprise.
...it is not the shutdown itself that threatens the unraveling of our being jointly committed in this way. The government has shut down before and survived. Nor is the breakdown in normal legislative negotiations — because one side has, as it were, left the dance floor. It has to do with the fact that it is no longer common knowledge among the citizens of this country — left, right and center — that most everyone is willing to act together as a single political society. The real damage is caused by the idea that that our current democratic form of government should be shuttered. For that raises the question of whether it should be around at all. And once people begin to wonder whether the government is something that other citizens are taking seriously — even if they aren’t — the idea that we are all in this together can vanish.
...In the end, that’s the real danger we are now facing. Not just the shutdown, but the rise of the shutdown strategy. By unraveling the threads of our joint commitment to shared governance, it raises the chances those threads will be rewoven into something else: something deeply, and tragically, undemocratic."
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Democracy After the Shutdown
words.
"Here’s the question we should be asking ourselves right now: What next?
Even if the immediate crises — the partial shutdown and the looming debt default — are resolved, we will still be living in a dangerous political moment. The danger in question is because of the recent emergence of a political philosophy — and I mean that in the loosest sense — which threatens to unravel our joint commitment to a common democratic enterprise.
...it is not the shutdown itself that threatens the unraveling of our being jointly committed in this way. The government has shut down before and survived. Nor is the breakdown in normal legislative negotiations — because one side has, as it were, left the dance floor. It has to do with the fact that it is no longer common knowledge among the citizens of this country — left, right and center — that most everyone is willing to act together as a single political society. The real damage is caused by the idea that that our current democratic form of government should be shuttered. For that raises the question of whether it should be around at all. And once people begin to wonder whether the government is something that other citizens are taking seriously — even if they aren’t — the idea that we are all in this together can vanish.
...In the end, that’s the real danger we are now facing. Not just the shutdown, but the rise of the shutdown strategy. By unraveling the threads of our joint commitment to shared governance, it raises the chances those threads will be rewoven into something else: something deeply, and tragically, undemocratic."
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Democracy After the Shutdown
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