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Yglesias

The Democratization Of Knowledge

By Matthew Yglesias on Jul 10, 2011 at 4:29 pm

Ta-Nehisi Coates is back up at The New York Times with a reminiscence of music fandom before the digitial age:

The march toward universal music extends back to the days of Edison. But I recall, with a perverse fondness, the latter days of the 20th century, when the franchise was still the exclusive property of record pools and radio. Only the Fates could compel your local station to deliver “Fresh Is the Word” or “Sucker DJs.” This was before the lords of FM took to bragging “All hip-hop, all the time,” when, outside of the five boroughs, rap was midnight music for the urban avant-garde.

Kids with substantive allowances could purchase actual records, but the rest of us, trapped in prudent homes, had only Memorex tapes to save our favorite jams from the yawning void beyond the memory of playlists. Who knew how long it would be before we again beheld the splendor of “Cold Gettin’ Dumb”? Even the artists were ethereal. There was no Vibe or XXL to confirm the death of the Human Beat Box or Scott La Rock, or explain why UTFO faded away. Overrun by mystery, you had only divination and hours upon hours of deciphering cover art, hoping to confirm that the great Humpty Hump really was Shock G.

My version of this is simply about the knowledge stovepipes. I remember in the earliest days of my music purchasing life being in love with Dookie being sold on Kerplunk and 1039 / Smoothed Out Slappy Hours and then Rancid’s Let’s Go. The exploration of a genre or a scene was a very intensive process and required specific guidance. For whatever reason, until I was sixteen or so none of my friends had an older sibling so I was basically stuck with what I was told at the record store. Then I made some new friends, some of whom had older brothers, and that changed things again. Somehow nobody at the store had ever made me listen to “Monkey Gone To Heaven”.

The old, painstaking ways of acquiring knowledge definitely had their charms, and now that I’m thirty I claim license to be randomly nostalgic for the 20th century. But there is a tremendous democratizing potential in opening the gates of knowledge to anyone able to get his hands on an internet connection. Somehow it was possible in 1996 for “Pepper” to be a huge hit without this shedding much in the way of mainstream light on the rest of the Butthole Surfers’ extensive career. Now if you’re interested, you’ll know.

Politics

In Midst Of Debt Ceiling Standoff, McConnell Reaffirms That Defeating Obama Is GOP’s ‘Single Most Important’ Goal

By Marie Diamond on Jul 10, 2011 at 3:59 pm

Last October, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell confessed that his “single most important” objective was to make “President Obama to be a one-term president.” In an interview on Fox News Sunday this morning, host Bret Baier asked McConnell if his motivations in the midst of the debt ceiling negotiations are still to defeat Obama. McConnell reaffirmed that it is indeed his “single most important political goal” next year:

BAIER: I received an email with a list of quotes on it. Republican candidates and leaders saying that bad economic numbers help Republican chances in 2012…So how do you respond to those Democratic lines of attack?

MCCONNELL: Well, that is true. That’s my single most important political goal, along with every active Republican in the country. But that’s in 2012. Our biggest goal for this year is to get this country straightened out.

Watch it:

Despite admitting that political victory is his first priority, McConnell tried to clarify that defeating Obama doesn’t take precedence until next year. It’s disconcerting and irresponsible that McConnell thinks pressing national issues should ever take a backseat to defeating Obama.

McConnell also falsely asserted during the interview that, “Nobody is talk about not raising the debt ceiling.” Several prominent Republicans including Michele Bachmann are now saying they will not vote to raise the debt ceiling under any circumstance.

Yglesias

An Idleness Chart

By Matthew Yglesias on Jul 10, 2011 at 2:31 pm

Inspired by Mike Konczal here’s a chart showing the aggregate quantity of hours of work done in the USA versus the size of the working age population. Both are indexed to 2002:

As you can see, the population has a “slow and steady” growth path. Aggregate hours work is more of an up-and-down thing driven by the business cycle, but with an upward trend since the number of working age people rises over time. And now we have this amazing gap. It’s a staggering waste of the most precious resource we have: Human beings and their potential.

Politics

Pawlenty Slams Bachmann’s ‘Non-Existent’ Record Of Accomplishment In Congress

By Marie Diamond on Jul 10, 2011 at 12:30 pm

This morning on NBC’s Meet the Press, GOP presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty (R-MN) dismissed the accomplishments of fellow Minnesotan and GOP contender Michele Bachmann (R). Pawlenty has been criticized for being too reluctant to throw punches at other candidates, but he exhibited less compunction today:

GREGORY: What makes you different than Congresswoman Bachmann?

PAWLENTY: I like Congresswoman Bachmann. I’ve campaigned for her. I respect her. But her record of accomplishment in Congress is non-existent. It’s non-existent. So, we’re not looking for folks who just have a speech capability. We’re looking for people who can lead a large enterprise in a public setting and drive it to conclusion. I’ve done that. She hasn’t.

Watch it:

Pawlenty later elaborated on his comments to the Daily Caller, calling them “self-explanatory.” Pawlenty said Bachmann’s record simply does not compare with his own. “Everybody brings strengths to the table. My strength is I’ve had executive leadership with accomplishments and results as it relates to cutting taxes or reducing spending…as it relates to Congresswoman Bachmann’s record in Congress, the same can’t be said.”

Many have speculated whether there is enough room in the Republican race for two Minnesota politicians. Pawlenty, whose political action committee was embarrassingly still raising money for Bachmann until very recently, has refrained from criticizing her until now.

Pawlenty’s critique comes only days after one of his top aides came under fire for making “sexist” comments about Bachmann. Specifically, Vin Weber said Bachmann would be tough to beat in Iowa in part because she has “sex appeal.”

Pawlnety’s campaign has been floundering after consistently bad poll numbers and expensive ad buys in Iowa have some wondering whether he’ll be the first Republican to withdraw from the race.

Yglesias

The Plight Of The Super-Tall Basketball Player

By Matthew Yglesias on Jul 10, 2011 at 12:29 pm

In general, taller NBA players have longer careers, but as Yao Ming’s retirement reminds us there are limits to this:

However, too much size turns out to be a bad thing. The curve inverts at 6-foot-10; that’s the optimal size for a career length, but at greater heights the injury risk outweighs the benefit of increased height. We see this somewhat with 7-footers, but it’s players of Yao’s size that really drive the point home.

Players who are 7-3 or taller just aren’t destined to have nice, orderly 15-year careers. Despite the size advantage that these players possess, not one of them has managed to have a 1,000-game NBA career. Eaton, at 875, came the closest.

Generally, they have back, knee or ankle problems after a few years, and from there it’s a war against their bodies. Smits and Ilgauskas were able to fight their feet to a draw and make a reasonable go of it; Yao, unfortunately, could not.

I used to love watching Yao play in his prime. Just such an unusual game.

LGBT

Pawlenty: Science ‘In Dispute’ Over Whether Gays ‘Born This Way’

By Zack Ford on Jul 10, 2011 at 11:22 am

This morning on Meet The Press, David Gregory pressed GOP presidential candidate Gov. Tim Pawlenty about his recent remarks that he likes Lady Gaga’s song “Born This Way,” asking if he believes being gay is a choice. Pawlenty responded that he thinks the science is still “in dispute”:

GREGORY: Is being gay a choice?

PAWLENTY: Well, the science in that regard is in dispute. I mean, scientists work on that and try to figure out if it’s behavioral or if it’s partly genetic –

GREGORY: What do you think?

PAWLENTY: Well, I defer to the scientists in that regard.

GREGORY: So you think it’s not a choice? That you are, as Lady Gaga says, you’re born that way.

PAWLENTY: There’s no scientific conclusion that it’s genetic. We don’t know that.

Watch the full clip:

In fact, there is no dispute among health professionals. All major medical professional organizations agree that sexual orientation is not a choice and cannot be changed, from gay to straight or otherwise. The American Psychological Association, the world’s largest association of psychological professionals, describes sexual orientation as “a complex interaction of environmental, cognitive and biological factors.” There is considerable evidence to suggest that biology, “including genetic or inborn hormonal factors,” plays a significant role in a person’s sexuality.

Pawlenty’s comments underscore the reality that promoting ex-gay therapy and the idea that homosexuality can be changed or denied (which it cannot) are at the root of all anti-gay perspectives. The broad consensus of scientists have condemned such notions — and the kinds of discrimination Pawlenty has protected — for decades.

Pawlenty has previously said that “the science is bad” on whether human activity has had any impact on global warming. When it comes to Pawlenty’s unfamiliarity with science, perhaps he was just “born this way.”

Climate Progress

Chicago Tribune Proud to be 75% Accurate on Climate Change

By Joe Romm on Jul 10, 2011 at 11:09 am

http://undsci.berkeley.edu/images/us101/balance.gif

“U.S., Europe worlds apart on climate science coverage,” is a fascinating piece of media analysis by Midwest Energy News.

In a well-sourced analysis, international freelance writer Tom Vandyck explains why “European journalists accuse their American counterparts of maintaining a false balance in their reporting, pretending climate science is still in doubt, and offering politicians cover for inaction.”

Ironically, while Cristi Kempf, the national foreign editor at the Chicago Tribune, tries to defend her paper, she actually makes Vandyckj’s case:

“We don’t have set policy on climate change,” she said. “You have to remember that most European newspapers are papers with point of view, maybe liberal or right wing. Most U.S. papers still do try to retain that objectivity. We will print stories that bring both sides of the view.”“We will print stories about climate change presenting it as fact, and we will print stories about people who say climate change doesn’t exist. It’s very obvious that a lot of people, including members of the U.S. Congress, believe it’s not true.”

… “When people say they are disbelievers of climate change, you have to point out that most of this has been debunked. I would say most of our stories – 75 percent – are overwhelmingly showing that climate change exists. Ice is melting, animals are dying – that kind of thing. And then every once in a while, you get something else.”

In his news room, Joseph Pulitzer displayed the motto, “Accuracy! Terseness! Accuracy!”  At the Tribune, I guess the motto would be “Accuracy! Accuracy! Accuracy!  Something else!”

As TP Green’s Brad Johnson notes, “One might hope that a major newspaper might aim for a higher rate of accuracy on an issue of civilizational importance than three out of four.”

“Objectivity” is not the same thing as repeating falsehoods.   Journalists aren’t supposed to be stenographers.

The whole story is reposted below.

Read more

NEWS FLASH

Pawlenty’s Faulty Reagan History: He Didn’t Use Ground Troops To Overthrow Governments | During an interview with GOP 2012 presidential hopeful Tim Pawlenty on NBC’s Meet the Press this morning, host David Gregory noted that Pawlenty has been attacking President Obama for not taking out Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi and asked if he would send ground troops to do it. “Not necessarily,” Pawlenty said, adding, “You look at what President Reagan did for example to remove the governments in certain areas, you don’t necessarily have to send in ground troops.” Watch it:

In 1983, U.S. troops invaded Grenada to overthrow the pro-communist military government there that came to power in a coup.

Politics

THE FAMiLY LEADER Drops ‘Misconstrued’ Slavery Language From Pledge Following Uproar

By Faiz Shakir on Jul 10, 2011 at 10:37 am

Bob Vander Plaats

THE FAMiLY LEADER’S (the lowercase “i” is meant to represent individual submission) radical “marriage vow” pledge is once again undergoing major revisions. The document’s preamble states: “Slavery had a disastrous impact on African-American families, yet sadly a child born into slavery in 1860 was more likely to be raised by his mother and father in a two-parent household than was an African-American baby born after the election of the USA’s first African-American President.”

That language from the social conservative Iowa-based group elicited furious responses from many African-American bloggers. For instance, Cheryl Contee of Jack and Jill politics wrote, “Given that families were broken up regularly for sales during slavery and that rape by masters was pretty common, this could not be more offensive. I mean, putting aside the statistics on this, which are likely off-base, I could not be more angry. When will Republicans inquire with actual Black people whether or not we’re ok with invoking slavery to score cheap political points? It has to stop.” Similarly, Jenée Desmond-Harris, writing for The Root (a leading online publication that offers African-American perspectives), said it was “disturbing” that the pledge would invoke slavery just “to serve as a cheap emotional hook to promote a conservative agenda.”

Politico reports that the LEADER is now stripping its pledge of the language:

“After careful deliberation and wise insight and input from valued colleagues we deeply respect, we agree that the statement referencing children born into slavery can be misconstrued, and such misconstruction can detract from the core message of the Marriage Vow: that ALL of us must work to strengthen and support families and marriages between one woman and one man,” the group’s officials said in a statement. “We sincerely apologize for any negative feelings this has caused, and have removed the language from the vow.”

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN), who had signed the pledge, is now claiming that she never agreed with the anti-slavery language. Bachmann spokeswoman Alice Stewart told Politico that Bachmann signed only the “vow” portion and not the preamble language.

Former Sen. Rick Santorum has also signed the pledge. He was on CNN this morning, where host Candy Crowley did not ask him about the slavery language. But Crowley did ask about the LEADER’s demand that a candidate “pledge personal fidelity to your own spouse.” Santorum, who played a role in protecting former Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) during his cheating scandal, said he personally has been loyal to his wife. But, Santorum added, he wasn’t comfortable with the language and was “taken aback by it.” Watch it:

Last Friday, the LEADER backed down in the face of criticism over its anti-porn language in the pledge. The group now says its restrictions against “all forms of pornography” should be interpreted narrowly and not be construed as a “nationwide ban.” Republicans have until Aug. 1 to sign the pledge.

Yglesias

Nonprofit Money Making, Golf Edition

By Matthew Yglesias on Jul 10, 2011 at 10:29 am

Golf digest reports:

With a pay package of $5.1 million in 2009, PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem leads our list of the highest-paid golf-association executives. The PGA Tour, a tax-exempt organization, reported revenue of $954.5 million in 2009, according to its latest tax return. Its three tours (PGA, Champions and Nationwide) played 115 tournaments in 2009 and distributed $337.9 million in prize money and raised $109 million for charity.

In 2009, the PGA Tour had six different people earning over $1 million in annual salary.

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