I will take tea if "Morning Joe" is all that's available!

Nice take from Salon.Com on Mark Halperin referring to the President as a "dick".  I have never been a huge fan of "Morning Joe" and I am glad to see that I am not the only...

An Honest Assessment of Our Founding

I found that I rather enjoyed this little piece on the Founding Fathers...Much, if not all of it, I already knew (yes, I am a smarty pants),but it was nice to see someone one giving the truth the power instead of all of this nonsense that so often poses as fact (the "Founding Fathers" worked tirelessly to end slavery?  Yeah, right Michele Bachman...what planet do you live on!?!?!?)

LinkedIn Is Not Going To Save The Economy

LinkedIn a $10 billion company?  Really?  This is the kind of shenanigans that should piss investors off...Unless they [LinkedIn] have another method for making money up its sleeve, I don't know where the $10 billion will come from (note:  last yr, they made $243 million...that's a long way from $10 billion!).  Oh yeah, most of the analysts what the most upbeat predictions were also lead underwriters on the recent IPO...I'm sure that's a mere coincidence...*


*Note:  I have no financial interest in LinkedIn Corporation whatsoever nor am I involved in the financial industry.

What's B Been Up To?

Here is a review of B's latest album.  I agree with the reviewer that the first single is a dud.  I have generally had mixed feeling about her---although I don't necessarily consider much of her material memorable or substantive (although she seems to think that it is), I have some of it on my Ipod.  I also think that she could be a little more subtle in the use of her sexuality..."Shaking her Couche for Jesus" is how I refer to her schtick.  Maybe the review is right...Maybe the new disk will showcase a broader range of influence (note to B:  the influences that she mentions---DeBarge, Lionel Ritchie, Teena Marie are from the 80s, not the 90s).  We will shall see...

Leave 'em the F$ck Alone!

This is an interesting note about an Indian tribe outside of Brazil that has had no contact with the "outside" world.  Let's hope that things remain this way...The article cites a few other instances of "uncontacted" tribes who died of disease and otherwise had their subsistence disrupted once the outside world infringed on their existence.  This really irritates the hell out of me, especially the story about the Zo'e tribe where several members perished after contact with missionaries in 1987...What is it that the missionaries what?  These people have made a conscious decision to maintain a certain lifestyle and that choice should be respected.

I Do...Believe that NY's Political Leaders Made the Right Choice

It is now legal for gay couples to wed in NY! 5-10 years ago, I honestly never thought that the topic of gay marriage is something that would that would even by a reality, let alone something that would come to fruition.  I applaud Govenor Cuomo's leadership on this issue and I give credit to NY's leadership for moving forward.  The right of a couple to wed---whether they are same sex or heterosexual is a decision that the respective couple, not the state should determine.  Well done.

The Need for Immigration Reform

After several days of delay, I was finally able to read the piece in the Times by Jose Antonio Vargas- it was pretty moving and pretty scary...I applaud his courgage for deciding to tell his story...

Update 6/25/11
Here is another take on the Vargas situation...Jack Shafer (the Slate writer) and I had a very cogenial back and forth email exchange on the topic...I disagree with his analysis and conclusion, but respect his opinion on the matter.

Something Does Seem Quite Right on The Supreme Court...

Is Clarence Thomas for sale?  I guess you can decide for yourself...since I have always thought of him as a "sell out", I wouldn't be surprised if his vote were for sale to the likes of the American Enterprise Institute!

Two Pols Walk Into A Bar...

Contrasting the real with the imaginary...Ellison is right...not only are we as a country deficient in the obvious (jobs), there is a serious problem with infrastructure (I am thinking of infrastructure in the physical sense)...I thought that some of this was going to be addressed with the Stimulus Plan that was enacted '09...But, that doesn't appear to be the case...No one ever thinks about these things---bridges, tunnels, high speed rail/improved rail line, etc. until there is an catastrophic accident...And, more importantly, no one wants to pay for these things (if one is to believe all of the talk about government spending and the deficit)...The President (and the formerly Democratically controlled Congress) lost the opportunity to do something about this...You can certainly bet the that a Republican Congress is not going to do anything that might provide the President with a competitive advantage going into the '12 race...irrespective of the possible benefits to the country as a whole---And, I certainly doubt that the President will take any substantial risk anyway...So, we are still at square 1...Hopefully, "we" the people will take some action to get our "elected" officials to actually represent public sentiment (as difficult as that it to ascertain).

Brother, Can You Spare a Dime

Some people may consider Matt Taibbi a "muckraker" which has negative connotations to me, I am a fan (what some may perceive as biasis, I consider passion, in his writings)...This is a link to a follow-up article on the fleecing of Jefferson County Alabama by Wall Street (there is also a link to the original article, which I read last year).  I think that generally, when folks talk about the current economic crisis, they reference primarily the housing market, but the problem is (and remains) much bigger than housing...Financial institutions worked their snake-salesman oil pitch (I hope I got the reference right!) on all segments of the market---from the derivatives that were sold to P&G in the mid-to-late 90s to the exotic funding mechanisms sold to public governments, no one was safe!  These guys and gals have been insulated from  more scrutiny because of the wide ranging belief that they are so much smarter than everyone else...I contend that they are quite simply much less ethical than everyone else...I would like to think that the era of them (the bankers) being considered "untouchable" is over, but its not.  It will manifest itself in another incarnation as politicians continue to follow the money trail and sacrifice the collective good for the benefits of political cash, connections and even future "symbolic" employment (i.e., see Judd Gregg, Harold Ford and others) where they trade their the political ties for large paychecks.

Y Are You The Only Ones Who Can Drive?

Let's go women in Saudi Arabia! Drive on!!!!!!  I support religious freedom, but not to the extent that it infringes upon the rights of other individuals...I also have a problem with women being forced to wear the burka, but that's a separate (but, related) issue...One could argue that some women do it as a choice, which raises the question as to how free they are to choose...I could be thinking in an ethnocentric manner, but I see all of this as examples of the subjugation (and objectification) of women...Where they are deprived of individual agency and seen as delicate creatures in need of protecting (instead of being thought of as being able to protect themselves).  This is very reminiscent of Victorian American thinking (not that we have totally eliminated this mindset...)

An Athlete Sticks Foot in Mouth (and Makes Up Facts) in Opposition to Gay Marriage

Morons like this guy should probably learn that their personal opinions are just that...their opinions...Gay marriage is a slide toward anarchy????  Really?  Nevermind growing income inequality, lack of access to healthcare, lack of access to affordable housing and persistent and systemic education inequality...When we people understand that irrespective that marriage is truly an arrangement sanctioned  by the "state" (I don't care what your religious beliefs are).  Homosexual relationships have existed throughout history (I will admit that I am not as up to speed on the history as I would like...but, I have never professed to be a historian nor a sociologist).  I really attribute a large portion of the vehement reaction to gay marriage to ignorance...plan and simple.  Ignorance and fear of the "unfamiliar", not unlike the opposition to interracial marriage, which was the case only a few decades ago.  Also, who decided to label this guy Tyree a "hero"?

I am trying not to react to every bonehead comment (I wouldn't have time to do anything else if I did) on issues that are dear to me, but sometimes...its hard (its like my refusal to indulge in the foolishness of the "field" of Republican contenders, both real and imagined).

Who is Worst---the Creator or the "Actors"?

Yes, this video is ridiculous..., but I also have a question to the "rappers" and the woman who portrayed the stripper---"did it not occur to you that what you were being asked to do was problematic?"  At some point, "we"---African-Americans, woman, gays, whatever, have to take responsiblity for our actions...I refuse to allow some ignorant political video offend who I am as a person...I clearly understand the "people" who think that its ok to put out this type of garbage. 

Book On the Non-Profit Industrial Complex

I picked up this book "The Revolution Will Not Be Funded" which is edited by INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence...Its a collection of essays on what has been called the "non-profit industrial complex".  I have only been reading the past few days, but its interesting, especially for me as I seriously contemplate a move to the non-profit sector...The various contributors (some who contradict one another, as they should) offer insights into the ways in which the non-profit sector (as a result of various reasons) regenerate the many of the social ills it claims to work toward erradicting.  I don't take this a a justification not to engage.  To the contrary.  It simply means (to me) that a different paradigm is necessary.

Who Is Surprised?

The host of a Fox Business News show apologize for language "interpreted" as racist?!?!?!? This sh#t is blatantly racist, no interpretation necessary, but should anyone be surprised?