Everything Is Will.i.am's Fault @9:50 AM
Pop music thing Will.i.am continued his impressive streak of ruining everything last night with his remix of The Who's "My Generation" for www.flo.tv. Yes, it is true, he actually changed the song's words to "Don't wanna die, I wanna get old." READ MORE 13
New Orleans Rap Moguls Now Also Oil and Gas Moguls @10:50 AM
God, the news is bad. Bin Laden is calling for "drastic solutions." (More drastic?!) The Italian mafia has been sinking cargo ships full of radioactive waste in the Mediterranean. Paul Krugman should basically start ending his pieces on the administration's economic policy with "but I just saved a bunch of money on car insurance." But know hope: I think we may have found the answers to all these problems, and more: New Orleans rap kingpins Ronald and Bryan "Baby" Williams Williams, cofounders of Cash Money Records, have started an "environmentally friendly" energy company, Bronald Oil & Gas. READ MORE 7
"Europe is often held up as a cautionary tale, a demonstration that if you try to make the economy less brutal, to take better care of your fellow citizens when they’re down on their luck, you end up killing economic progress. But what European experience actually demonstrates is the opposite: social justice and progress can go hand in hand," writes Paul Krugman in today's Times. It is indeed contrary to the narrative you usually hear concerning Europe, and it reminded me of these recent remarks by Tony Judt: "It would be pleasing—but misleading—to report that social democracy, or something like it, represents the future that we would paint for ourselves in an ideal world. It does not even represent the ideal past. But, among the options available to us in the present, it is better than anything else to hand." (And if you haven't already, do read Judt's essay on living with ALS. Make sure you have time to devote your full attention to it, as it is something you should read completely free from distraction.) @2:35 PM 7
Any time Paul Krugman uses the phrase "I'm feeling optimistic" in his first sentence is cause for celebration. That's what he does in today's op-ed about the climate summit in Copenhagen. (More cause for celebration: free sex for all attending diplomats!) By the end of the piece, he's really eating happy pills. "Let's hope my optimism about Copenhagen is justified. A deal there would save the planet at a price we can easily afford-and it would actually help us in our current economic predicament." Great! But shouldn't that be, "a deal might, maybe, possibly save the planet, if we are very, very lucky, and probably not?" @2:00 PM 2
"All the wise heads will tell us that 8 or 9 percent unemployment – maybe even 10 percent – is the 'new normal', and that only irresponsible people want to do anything about the situation. So what I see is years of terrible job markets, combined with political paralysis."
—Paul Krugman makes me reconsider the wisdom of getting out of bed this morning. Or any morning, for that matter. @2:50 PM 5
How Come No One Is Acting Like The Recession Is Over? @1:15 PM
During a casual conversation with a small group of acquaintances this weekend I heard someone express the opinion that we were somewhere near the middle of a double-dip recession and that there was going to be a "white riot" when the second dip hit. This was more than a little troubling, since it certainly was not the first time I've come across that sentiment. I generally try to remind myself that due to the massive volume of political opinion I read, it's very easy to get caught up in whatever disaster scenarios people are trying to promote for political advantage, but I feel like this kind of fear—with its implicit helplessness and apathy—is becoming far more common. Maybe it's because people forgot what an actual recession is like, or didn't live through one in the first place. Maybe it's because there are no jobs and there seems to be little appetite to increase stimulus or regulation. Maybe it's because we live in an age where paranoia rules the day. READ MORE 39
Harvard Professor: "A Black Guy Told Me It Was Okay" @1:20 PM
Historian Niall Ferguson, under fire for comparing President Obama to Felix the Cat ("not only black… also very, very lucky"), sought the counsel of Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (remember him?) for a ruling on ethnography. Gates' response? READ MORE 5
One Of These Jews Is Not Like The Other @4:20 PM
Miniature Hebraic scriveners Paul Krugman and Thomas Friedman are occasionally confused for one another! Someone make sure David Brooks does not grow any facial hair, or things are going to get farcical. 0
