I have a suggestion for Speaker Pelosi and the staff of Rep. Charlie Rangel: Sit Rangel down and make him listen to "The Gambler" by Kenny Rogers. In light of his current situation, with thirteen ethics charges looming, Rangel would be well advised to consider some of the options that the "gambler" suggests. And I can tell you now that "hold 'em" should not be one of the options.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Love For the Band Violens
I am sure that I am totally late on this group, but I have to say that I have really come to appreciate the music I've heard from the NYC band Violens. My friend Andrew up in Boston introduced them to me a little while ago by sending me a fan video for the song "Already Over." From there I looked for other videos on YouTube, and liked each song that I heard.
I thought that I would share with the folks who check out this blog some of the music of Violens. Let me know what you think.
I thought that I would share with the folks who check out this blog some of the music of Violens. Let me know what you think.
Interesting Questions on U.S. Immigration, With a Little History Thrown in for Good Measure
I was also going to do a post about the news of the injunction against portions of the Arizona immigration law, but in looking for information, I stopped by Ta-Nehisi Coates' blog over at The Atlantic, and found myself reading a post from guest blogger Sara Mayeux on immigration history, including Ellis Island era immigration (and as is noted in the post, at that time there was an active barring of Chinese immigrants to the U.S.; and check out Angel Island over in the San Francisco area for immigration of many Asian Americans). And I just finished the second installment of that post, looking at how we've come to use the term "illegal alien," and simply "illegal."
Foiled again. I need to step up my game. Enjoy the posts.
Foiled again. I need to step up my game. Enjoy the posts.
On Raising Taxes on the Right People
I was going to write a post about the need to let the Bush era tax cuts come to an end, and to restore the inheritance tax, but I think that I will just direct folks to Robert Creamer's post over at Huffington Post. He said it better than I could have said it, and he broke it down, toward the end of his post, in a way that should make sense to average Americans, and more importantly, average American voters. Take a look.
I Guess BP's Tony Hayward Got His Life Back
There remain a few things that I believe people across the political spectrum can agree upon. I am more than comfortable that disdain for outgoing BP CEO Tony Hayward is one of those things.
Tony "I want my life back" Hayward was a the helm of a company that ignored safety regulations resulting in the deaths of 11 workers on one rig, and the decimation of a portion of the Gulf of Mexico. And instead of losing his job outright, he is simply being moved to a BP venture in Russia, out of the public eye. How is that possible?
People around this country lose their jobs with the quickness for far less. I am sure that Hayward is getting some sort of multi-million dollar settlement, as his contract most likely dictates. There is a total lack of fairness that this man gets his life back to a degree, and the people he leaves behind in the Gulf Region will not.
This is what class warfare looks like in my mind, real class warfare. And it remains mostly an enterprise conducted from the top down. Shame that not enough people pay attention to that reality.
Tony "I want my life back" Hayward was a the helm of a company that ignored safety regulations resulting in the deaths of 11 workers on one rig, and the decimation of a portion of the Gulf of Mexico. And instead of losing his job outright, he is simply being moved to a BP venture in Russia, out of the public eye. How is that possible?
People around this country lose their jobs with the quickness for far less. I am sure that Hayward is getting some sort of multi-million dollar settlement, as his contract most likely dictates. There is a total lack of fairness that this man gets his life back to a degree, and the people he leaves behind in the Gulf Region will not.
This is what class warfare looks like in my mind, real class warfare. And it remains mostly an enterprise conducted from the top down. Shame that not enough people pay attention to that reality.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Catching Up on Secret Bureaucracies and War
One of my goals for this week is the read the Washington Post series on our massive intelligence/national security bureaucracy, and to look through some of the stories related to the WikiLeaks information dump regarding the commission of the Afghan War.
Sometimes Class Really Does Trump Race
Last week, after reading the Wall Street Journal op-ed from Sen. Jim Webb regarding diversity programs and affirmative action, I wrote a post rightly challenging some of his assertions and omissions, but I ended my post saying that I was willing to give his idea a shot. I meant that.
As this conversation regarding race has descended (as usual) into farce, It's clear to me that we will likely never have a reasonable national discussion on race. All sides are too invested in their respective positions to make any substantive headway. If change is to come, then it will have to come from actual and personal interaction and discussions.
Meanwhile, I can now say that I am totally for abandoning race based admissions in higher education, and completely for embracing class based admissions programs. I think that the arguments I've read regarding shifting from race to class have been quite persuasive (here and here, with a h/t to The Daily Dish).
Indeed, when I thought about my own undergraduate experience, I really don't remember too many white guys from working class or poor families, though most of the minorities were from middle class families. I had a white roommate (and still good friend) who was from a working class background (with a prep school education no less), and years later, he talked about some of his insecurities based on class. I also had a high school buddy, who stayed with me my freshman year when he checked out the campus, let me know that a big part of his decision not to come to Hampden-Sydney was because of his concerns about fitting in at a school of primarily upper middle class and wealthy white guys; his family was poor.
It does make sense that we should try to educate as many people who show an aptitude for completing a college degree, regardless of race or ethnicity. It helps this country in the long run. And it is no secret that working class and poor people, regardless of race, often find themselves getting shafted as they try to move ahead.
Class, and not race, is the most pertinent issue of the 21st century, and those from the middle classes down need as much help as they can get. By endorsing and implementing class based affirmative action, I think that we will have an opportunity to tamp down the tiresome racial discussion that gets us nowhere. And it will provide deserving students opportunities that their parents and grandparents could only dream of.
As this conversation regarding race has descended (as usual) into farce, It's clear to me that we will likely never have a reasonable national discussion on race. All sides are too invested in their respective positions to make any substantive headway. If change is to come, then it will have to come from actual and personal interaction and discussions.
Meanwhile, I can now say that I am totally for abandoning race based admissions in higher education, and completely for embracing class based admissions programs. I think that the arguments I've read regarding shifting from race to class have been quite persuasive (here and here, with a h/t to The Daily Dish).
Indeed, when I thought about my own undergraduate experience, I really don't remember too many white guys from working class or poor families, though most of the minorities were from middle class families. I had a white roommate (and still good friend) who was from a working class background (with a prep school education no less), and years later, he talked about some of his insecurities based on class. I also had a high school buddy, who stayed with me my freshman year when he checked out the campus, let me know that a big part of his decision not to come to Hampden-Sydney was because of his concerns about fitting in at a school of primarily upper middle class and wealthy white guys; his family was poor.
It does make sense that we should try to educate as many people who show an aptitude for completing a college degree, regardless of race or ethnicity. It helps this country in the long run. And it is no secret that working class and poor people, regardless of race, often find themselves getting shafted as they try to move ahead.
Class, and not race, is the most pertinent issue of the 21st century, and those from the middle classes down need as much help as they can get. By endorsing and implementing class based affirmative action, I think that we will have an opportunity to tamp down the tiresome racial discussion that gets us nowhere. And it will provide deserving students opportunities that their parents and grandparents could only dream of.
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