Friday, November 21, 2008

Why Pirates are NOT Funny


One of the running conversations I've been having at work involves the reemergence of Piracy off the coast of Somalia. These pirates have hijacked a number of ships, including a Saudi tanker with over $100 million of oil on it. The recent cultural obsession with Pirates has caused many in the media to joke about these guys. The truth is, while I'll admit I chuckled when I first heard about the Somali Pirates maybe a month or so ago, the more I've read about them, the less funny it becomes. The shipping industry is now avoiding the Somali coast, and the Gulf of Aden, in order to avoid engaging the Pirates. As I'm sure most of you are no doubt aware, Somalia is a desperately impoverished nation. As the helpful video in the Yglesias post I linked to above points out, the food aid that comes into Somalia, does so largely from the sea. These selfish Pirates could jeopardize the livelyhood of hundreds of thousands of people. This is no laughing matter. Some form of action really needs to be considered, I hope the international community concurs.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Honey Ryder - Numb



I'm trying to figure out if I like this song. It's certainly catchy, and the band name is a clear reference to Honey Rider from Dr. No. Both of these things work in their favor. Frankly, I just have an illogical fear that all these female fronted hard rock bands are Christian rock bands. I mean Evanescence, Flyleaf, and Paramore all turned out to be Christian. Why is that? In all honesty, I'm not really sure why I was ever into Evanescence, because on further inspection, they totally sucked. Anyways, it's kind of a cool video, and she's very attractive in a refreshing sort of way. Here's their MySpace page. They remind me of late 90's alt-rock, and that's a very good thing. I've frequently said that I can't wait until the 90's become the new 80's, because I still haven't gotten over the previous decade. I will be the guy at the party that actually knows all the songs! Matt Yglesias has written frequently about the coming 90's rock renaissance and how awesome it's going to be (I'm to lazy/busy with work to look for a link, but he has mentioned it).

Monday, November 17, 2008

Spitzer on the Economy

In Sunday's Washington Post, former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer has an excellent rundown of the current economic crisis (brought to my attention via Noam Scheiber at the Plank). Spitzer also details a helpful framework that would correct many of the root causes that led to the current situation. I think my favorite passage from Spitzer's piece, is this disarming explanation of government's role in free markets:
Those who truly understand economics, as did Adam Smith, do not preach an absence of government participation. A market doesn't exist in a vacuum. Rather, a market is a product of laws, rules and enforcement. It needs transparency, capital requirements and fidelity to fiduciary duty. The alternative, as we are seeing, is anarchy.
It's unfortunate that Eliot Spitzer's personal problems have prevented him from taking an active role in correcting our current economic ills. However, it is good to see that his ideas are receiving a platform, if only for a day, at the Post.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Dan Savage on Prop 8



(Via Andrew Sullivan)

While Tuesday, November 4 was certainly a day of celebration for many a cause, one of the black marks on that day was the passage of Proposition 8 in California. It's passage marked the end (hopefully, temporarily) of legalized same-sex marraige. It has since been revealed that the Mormons provided much of the funding for the campaign in support of Proposition 8. Consequently, over the past week there have been numerous protests outside of Mormon churches across the country. Many in the Mormon church, and the Christian Right in general, see this as a violation of their rights. I don't have the time nor the energy to lay out why that is complete bullshit, so in short, cry me a fucking river. One of the benefits of Proposition 8's passage however, has been the emergence of Dan Savage. Savage is not only incredibly funny and extraoridnarily intelligent, but he's a passionate advocate for LGBT issues. He's certainly made a fan and supporter (though I've always favored same-sex marraige) out of me!

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Why Bush is Still Dangerous



Last night, Rachel Maddow touched on an issue that has been extremely underreported. I assume that she was informed by this great article by Matthew Blake in the Washington Independent. Watch the clip and read the article, because this is important stuff that could have devastating consequences.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Good Crazy



(Note: Poor Picture Quality)

The more material of Ta-Nehisi Coates I read, the more I kick myself for not having discovered him in a more timely fashion. In yesterday's Post, Coates has a lovely essay referencing the Rev. Joseph Lowery's introduction of Barack Obama at an event in Selma, Alabama in March of 2007. Rev. Lowery speaks of the difference between "good crazy" and "bad crazy." He likens the good craziness of Barack Obama's historic run for the presidency with that of Harriet Tubman's efforts on the Underground Railroad.

Coates' piece is particularly interesting because it documents his journey from an Obama skeptic, to one embracing the promise of the nation's first African-American president. As a white American, while I am certainly thrilled with Obama's victory, I don't think it's possible for me to entirely realize the historic nature of his ascendancy into our nation's highest office. Only black eyes and ears can fully realize what this election really means. Ta-Nehisi Coates' essay is the closest I've come to fully experiencing the joy of Obama's victory. Please take 5 minutes and read this moving piece. After that, do yourself a favor and become a regular reader of Coates' blog.