tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18662297630968921182024-02-19T11:40:07.625-05:00The Bedford HillsianI'm gonna turn this crazy train into a gravy trainthe unbeatable kidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07837510231614022057noreply@blogger.comBlogger421125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1866229763096892118.post-47807892747702431822010-11-07T20:08:00.002-05:002010-11-07T20:11:15.449-05:00Readings: EtiologiesAs Randall Packard and Paul Epstein have written, “The medical research community expected the social scientist to adhere to the dominant behavioral model. Constructed in this way, the question immediately narrowed the range of sociological data relevant for the discussion. It became not: ‘What is the social context within which HIV transmission occurs in Africa’? but rather: ‘What are the patterns of behavior which are placing the Africans at risk of infection?’ While the first construction would have allowed for open-ended discussion of a wide range of social, political and economic conditions that might be affecting health levels in Africa, the latter formulation quickly narrowed discussion to an inquiry into the ‘customs of the natives.’” Not only is this approach to the problem ineffective, as many studies conducted since have shown, it is also unjust, because it leads to laying responsibility for their affliction on people with AIDS themselves, a classic reversal of the order of things that consists in “blaming the victim.”<br /><div style="text-align: right;">- Didier Fassin from <span style="font-style: italic;">When Bodies Remember</span></div>the unbeatable kidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07837510231614022057noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1866229763096892118.post-53024596121570175242010-09-26T18:10:00.003-05:002010-09-26T19:51:12.496-05:00Conspicuous AliensIn my dream, I'm waiting next to my car. I'm waiting because some people that I've never yet want to borrow it. In my dream, it made more sense why I was waiting and how this whole borrowing thing worked - maybe it was some variant of Flexcar of something.<br /><br />A family shows up to pick up the car and I ask them if they don't mind dropping me off nearby. I explain that I would be grateful if they helped me although I could manage either way. They seem congenial enough and agree to take me. We climb into the car, I get in the back seat with the kids and the mother while the father sits in the front - on the passenger side. No one gets in the driver's seat.<br /><br />Then, the car starts driving.<br /><br />I get suspicious. Mainly because the car is diving but no one is in the driver's seat.<br /><br />The father is sitting on the passenger side and smiling contently. The whole family sits calmly while the car drives itself. It takes me a moment to realize why all this is happening but I come to the obvious conclusion fairly quickly. These people are aliens, not humans at all. To test my theory, I say a couple things in alien.<br /><br />In a buzzy insect-like alien language:<br />"What are you doing? That's right, I speak alien and I know you understand me."<br /><br />Now, they start to glance at each other nervously.<br /><br />"Look", I say, "I know you're aliens. That's fine. But don't you realize that when you drive a car someone is actually supposed to drive the car? You can't do it like this, you'll get pulled over. You people are so bad at this. Where did you learn about humans anyway? Seriously, if you get caught it'll be straight to the alien autopsy for the lot of you. I don't even know if I want you to borrow my car now."<br /><br />End of dreamthe unbeatable kidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07837510231614022057noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1866229763096892118.post-43309762440166786712010-09-11T15:03:00.003-05:002010-11-07T20:12:47.221-05:00Readings: Modern ParentsThe first enemy was sugar, then sweets and biscuits, then brands such as Coca Cola, and bigger temptations such as Barbie dolls and the ubiquitous gun: ‘an unceasing struggle between what is regarded as the world of nature and the artificial world of commodity materialism’.* The battles over diet and gender are regarded as efforts to resist commercialism and consumerism, efforts that invariably end first in capitulation and then in the withdrawal that characterises the grandparental generation, who find it easier to allow the child freedom to choose its own style...<br /><br />Parents do not give up without a struggle, within which their concept of biology plays a major role. It is very common for such parents to insist that their infants have an allergy to anything artificial. It is as though the infants’ bodies have antennae attuned to the mothers’ ideology of nature. Infants are said to come out in spots as soon as they ingest any kind of additive or the wrong E-number. If the children do not oblige (with spots) then the parents may claim these additives cause behavioural problems, which is a harder claim to contest.<br /><div style="text-align: right;">- Marilyn Strathern from "Kinship, Law and the Unexpected"<br /></div><br /><br />=====<br />* Miller, Daniel. 1997. How infants grow mothers in North London. Theory, Culture and Society 14: 67 –88.the unbeatable kidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07837510231614022057noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1866229763096892118.post-15219754462535564982010-05-17T23:30:00.002-05:002010-05-19T22:47:59.368-05:00Happy Late Mother's DayConsider this: In American politics today, the “perfect” mother is one who does not work and stays home with her children. Unless she’s poor. Poor women who want to stay home with their children are called lazy, welfare cheats. If you’re poor, you can only be a good mother by working.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: right;">- Lisa Wade in <a href="http://contexts.org/socimages/2010/05/10/beyonce-and-sade-appropriate-the-privileged-white-housewife-conflation/">sociologicalimages</a></div>the unbeatable kidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07837510231614022057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1866229763096892118.post-57560193568243372062010-05-07T20:38:00.003-05:002010-07-21T22:48:04.266-05:00Read a Book<div style="text-align: center;"><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/-NKXNThJ610&hl=en_US&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/-NKXNThJ610&hl=en_US&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="385" width="480"></embed></object><br /></div><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">(via <a href="http://contexts.org/socimages/">sociological images</a>)</span>the unbeatable kidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07837510231614022057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1866229763096892118.post-71833525795539354122010-02-18T18:35:00.000-05:002010-02-18T18:36:45.607-05:00Chomsky on Health Care<div style="text-align: center;"><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/EMV6KK2MNpA&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/EMV6KK2MNpA&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></div><br /><br />(via <a href="http://milkandcookies.com">milkandcookies</a>)the unbeatable kidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07837510231614022057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1866229763096892118.post-45361408933051398132010-02-11T16:52:00.001-05:002010-02-11T16:53:34.882-05:00Heck of a Job, Scott Brown<div style="text-align: center;"><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/xe30YRPwEqU&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/xe30YRPwEqU&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object></div><br /><br />(via <a href="http://therealnews.com/t2/">therealnews</a>)the unbeatable kidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07837510231614022057noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1866229763096892118.post-25171938664684175502010-02-11T11:23:00.000-05:002010-02-11T11:24:32.305-05:00B Roll<div style="text-align: center;"><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/aHun58mz3vI&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/aHun58mz3vI&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="344" width="425"></embed></object></div>the unbeatable kidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07837510231614022057noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1866229763096892118.post-38280410883782116292010-01-22T07:36:00.003-05:002010-01-22T07:44:05.685-05:00Jesus Loves Soft RockThis one should be right up Unbeatable's alley. <br /><br /><br /><object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" width="437" height="333" id="viddler_e6d8fb9d"><param name="movie" value="http://www.viddler.com/player/e6d8fb9d/" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed src="http://www.viddler.com/player/e6d8fb9d/" width="437" height="333" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowScriptAccess="always" allowFullScreen="true" name="viddler_e6d8fb9d"></embed></object><br /><br /><br />via failblog.orgUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1866229763096892118.post-83188579879213414422010-01-05T11:05:00.001-05:002010-01-05T11:07:04.658-05:00Readings: Foreign InvestmentInvestments in emerging markets have done better than investments in the U.S. in the 2000s. China and Japan have continued to buy U.S. debt, not because they are impressed with Silicon Valley's growth potential, but in order to cripple American manufacturing by keeping the dollar artificially high and the yuan and the yen artificially low. Their debt purchases are part of their strategic industrial policies on behalf of their own export-oriented manufacturers, not a vote of confidence in future American economic dynamism.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: right;">- Michael Lind in <a href="http://www.salon.com/news/us_economy/index.html?story=/opinion/feature/2010/01/04/new_economy">The Clintonites Were Wrong</a></div>the unbeatable kidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07837510231614022057noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1866229763096892118.post-19150077753894753442009-12-16T21:55:00.003-05:002009-12-16T22:05:10.398-05:00JerkI apologize in advance but certain actions taken today have forced my hand.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2JoOl5APjIIceR6Xe-u1D9JEF50SXLjg7ovBT1c-Fo771ZmSBkAkqtXPf1_f5IpISC7HSG04YcMeO0j6ZcqkceLqz95sZKnC80C6qW_iHqJs1NyPgwbuYJtJqivSuxGwhu2RIXL8XUgig/s1600-h/Tommy_C.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 316px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2JoOl5APjIIceR6Xe-u1D9JEF50SXLjg7ovBT1c-Fo771ZmSBkAkqtXPf1_f5IpISC7HSG04YcMeO0j6ZcqkceLqz95sZKnC80C6qW_iHqJs1NyPgwbuYJtJqivSuxGwhu2RIXL8XUgig/s400/Tommy_C.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416035695896755106" border="0" /></a>the unbeatable kidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07837510231614022057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1866229763096892118.post-84462424297412684252009-12-11T21:59:00.002-05:002017-02-09T13:06:47.193-05:00War is PeaceDear President Obama,<br />
I hate to break it to you but a non-violent movement could have halted Hitler's armies. A robust German peace movement would have stopped WWII before it started.the unbeatable kidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07837510231614022057noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1866229763096892118.post-83923243086271095392009-12-07T11:33:00.001-05:002009-12-11T22:14:49.082-05:00Where Have all the Fishmongers GoneMy brother keeps talking about how much he misses his days in London when he had a butcher and a fishmonger on his block.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><object height="326" width="446"><param name="movie" value="http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><param name="bgColor" value="#ffffff"> <param name="flashvars" value="vu=http://video.ted.com/talks/dynamic/CarolynSteel_2009G-medium.flv&su=http://images.ted.com/images/ted/tedindex/embed-posters/CarolynSteel-2009G.embed_thumbnail.jpg&vw=432&vh=240&ap=0&ti=650&introDuration=16500&adDuration=4000&postAdDuration=2000&adKeys=talk=carolyn_steel_how_food_shapes_our_cities;year=2009;theme=speaking_at_tedglobal2009;theme=the_power_of_cities;theme=architectural_inspiration;theme=new_on_ted_com;event=TEDGlobal+2009;&preAdTag=tconf.ted/embed;tile=1;sz=512x288;"><embed src="http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf" pluginspace="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" bgcolor="#ffffff" allowfullscreen="true" flashvars="vu=http://video.ted.com/talks/dynamic/CarolynSteel_2009G-medium.flv&su=http://images.ted.com/images/ted/tedindex/embed-posters/CarolynSteel-2009G.embed_thumbnail.jpg&vw=432&vh=240&ap=0&ti=650&introDuration=16500&adDuration=4000&postAdDuration=2000&adKeys=talk=carolyn_steel_how_food_shapes_our_cities;year=2009;theme=speaking_at_tedglobal2009;theme=the_power_of_cities;theme=architectural_inspiration;theme=new_on_ted_com;event=TEDGlobal+2009;" height="326" width="446"></embed></object></div>the unbeatable kidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07837510231614022057noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1866229763096892118.post-71092712913155989302009-11-29T21:38:00.001-05:002009-11-29T21:39:45.436-05:00Christmas DevilSeason's Greetings everyone!<br /><br />This is pretty damn funny.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/7smyIP7TplM&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/7smyIP7TplM&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="344" width="425"></embed></object></div>the unbeatable kidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07837510231614022057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1866229763096892118.post-72422638150283362342009-11-19T19:01:00.002-05:002009-11-19T19:15:58.430-05:00Home Movies Clip of the Day<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyhMlNr8KQk5AgNRfOECf7XimwvMyH-RxvN5Lv7AWKmu8Ow2lB8WsCAY7ihuQ7dSHgRnxEdLyWm6wmhig07hg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /></div><br />Kid Dammit and Recon, this one's for you.the unbeatable kidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07837510231614022057noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1866229763096892118.post-31335159781058303982009-11-19T16:27:00.003-05:002009-11-19T16:33:39.976-05:00Hang It Up and Hang It OutEarlier today, I made the hang up gesture and said "click" to emphasize it.<br /><br />Then, I spent about ten minutes explaining to the 22 year old that I was talking about how I wasn't flashing a gang sign and how, in the old days, we had to literally <span style="font-style: italic;">hang up the phone</span> in order to hang up the phone.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhul8aoyh4m6UpHxGuX_uqR1Yq9HGdjQMvzMgwn6p3rDHqlTqX1kSbDBT2IBxyW8CbhkkqE_dKDSC1eVvc283pQpsGUotOSRyKiiZ-Ut43sOIaGKxix4BNpW2Z83wX7ZyI8l3EmWxXklckT/s1600/switchboard.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 245px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhul8aoyh4m6UpHxGuX_uqR1Yq9HGdjQMvzMgwn6p3rDHqlTqX1kSbDBT2IBxyW8CbhkkqE_dKDSC1eVvc283pQpsGUotOSRyKiiZ-Ut43sOIaGKxix4BNpW2Z83wX7ZyI8l3EmWxXklckT/s400/switchboard.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5405930533588286434" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">(photo via <a href="http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/index.cfm">nypl</a>)</span>the unbeatable kidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07837510231614022057noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1866229763096892118.post-2189765635212504292009-11-18T11:54:00.002-05:002009-11-18T12:00:35.685-05:00Bicycle as Doomsday Machine<p>In fact millions of pedestrians, standing at crosswalks, have experienced real terror, exposed as they now are to the mercy and moderation of bicycle riders, people whose lawlessness and viciousness are a matter of record...</p> Not only are bicycles dangerous, they are as antiquated a form of transportation as the rickshaw. In no advanced city on earth will you find civilized people cycling to work. The urban cyclist is generally a crank, either profoundly antisocial or hopelessly narcissistic and following the strenuous life in hopes of achieving immortality or a legendary sex life.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: right;">- Emmett Tyrrell Jr. in the Indianapolis Star <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKGK7ECNmV02vcTXkXOGEYLFYCFJushZJI2qZNA6xbxPlHyCaUt7N1Y80V1N-WuHzF7IrExjp08ZJaTW4rRF3FttHTPh368nD1ROxvQ4woCsbIBdaygWwoue2Om3UXxoJsGW0xJnOxkBI_/s1600/Bike_editorial_1980.png">Op Ed</a> circa 1980<br /></div><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">(via <a href="http://www.salon.com/technology/how_the_world_works/">Andrew Leonard</a> via <a href="http://www.copenhagenize.com/">Copenhagenize</a>)</span>the unbeatable kidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07837510231614022057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1866229763096892118.post-2593085834367609612009-11-12T23:05:00.002-05:002009-11-12T23:56:15.592-05:00Race Words and NationalitiesI caught <a href="http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=1888">a really neat post</a> over at language log today. Turns out, the term "darkies" is not offensive to South African blacks. They often use it to refer to themselves and are not offended by it. Well, when some South African blacks started using "darkies" on twitter things got a little messy and feeling were hurt. Kinda cool how this global interweb is allowing us to learn about each other while we insult each other.<br /><br />Anyway, in <a href="http://thebedfordhillsian.blogspot.com/2009/08/black-middle-class.html">an earlier post</a>, I featured a video about the black middle class. These things interest me. The stereotype of what it means to be black can easily be broken by recognizing that being black can mean so many different things.<br /><br />Where I live in DC, there are a lot of east African immigrants - many 1st generation from Ethiopian, Somalia and Kenya. Their English is fine but accented and they all speak languages that I don't recognize. I am constantly fascinated watching the interactions between these people and the black people who have grown up in DC. There's a strange mix of familiarity and awkwardness through a lot of these interactions like if you met a relative from another country that you've never met before.<br /><br />This is the exact reason that I don't use the term African American. This term really washes over the differences in experience between an Ethiopian immigrant from an upper middle class background whose first language Amharic and an working class American who is black. Most Americans that are "African American" have about as much to do with Africa as I do (which is to say very little). As I understand race in this country, it is not about culture or heritage or genetics it is about the color of your skin and to a much lesser extent the way you talk and the way you dress. I'm pretty sure that race is skin deep. Of course, what you do with your race, how you incorporate it into your identity is much more complex.<br /><br />Think for a minute about Barack Obama. Here's a guy whose mother was a white lady from Kansas and his biological father was a black man from Kenya. He was born in Hawaii and raised in Indonesia by his mother and his step father, an Indonesian man. He went to high school in LA and college in New York City then law school in Boston and a political career in Chicago. Now, why the hell is this guy <span style="font-weight: bold;">African</span> American? Is it because his father, whom he only met once in his life was from Kenya? Yeah. That makes sense.the unbeatable kidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07837510231614022057noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1866229763096892118.post-36968415121409268052009-11-02T22:46:00.000-05:002009-11-02T22:47:15.460-05:00The Universe on a Snowy DayCarl Sagan is my new hero.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/imS6H1JAkGY&rel=0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/imS6H1JAkGY&rel=0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="344" width="425"></embed></object><br /></div>the unbeatable kidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07837510231614022057noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1866229763096892118.post-79798480546815413722009-10-29T23:11:00.003-05:002009-10-29T23:16:03.319-05:00ConsentLeave it to Dan Savage to find this guy:<br />(Warning, this video contains Dan Savage and the types of things that he usually talks about)<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/RpICsV7l6ss&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/RpICsV7l6ss&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object><br /></div><br />This is the best counter to anyone who thinks that homosexuality is a gateway to bestiality - a man who has regular sex with a horse and also happens to be appalled by the thought of being gay.the unbeatable kidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07837510231614022057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1866229763096892118.post-1562308745607060942009-10-15T11:10:00.004-05:002009-10-22T22:12:20.797-05:00Lessons on Hearing QuestionsThe differences between being a Republican and a Democrat in Congress seems to be that fine line between being simple and being stupid. I would say that as a general rule, Republicans misrepresent complex issues by over simplifying while Democrats grasp issues better but fail to communicate or address them properly because of stupidity. <br /><br />Case in point, here is Rep. Alan Greyson (as <a href="http://thebedfordhillsian.blogspot.com/2009/01/tarp-quotes.html">previously seen on this blog</a>) doing his best to catch Federal Reserve General Counsel Scott Alvarez in a gotcha statement (Spoiler! he fails miserably.)<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/mXmNpdYpfnk&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/mXmNpdYpfnk&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object></div><br /><br />Ok. I know that Greyson has become a kind of progressive internet hero for his willingness to ask "tough questions." I will also agree with the broad idea of questioning the role of the Fed and its goals with regard to the US economy. Still, Greyson stumbles over his own incompetence when he first assumes that attorney client privilege has any bearing on Alvarez's role as legal council and then when accuses the Fed of "market manipulation," a term that has <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_manipulation">specific legal implications</a> that Greyson seems to know nothing about. Alvarez is absolutely on the money when he states that questions about market manipulation are over broad. Generalized charges of manipulation are the equivalent to accusing the NIH of causing disease or the Pentagon of murdering people. These charges are so broad that they almost have to be true when applied to such large institutions with broad mandates. What Greyson really should be doing is asking about the effects or outcomes that <b>specific</b> policies are <b>designed</b> to have.<br /><br />In contrast, here's Sen Al Franken asking some pointed questions of Mark de Bernardo regarding the alleged sexual assault of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamie_Leigh_Jones">Jamie Leigh Jones</a>. Is Franken grandstanding? Probably. But, at least he knows what he's doing.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Y6kiZIlMFto&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Y6kiZIlMFto&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object></div><br /><br />UPDATE!<br /><br />Greyson redeems himself in my eyes with this.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/AKz5ZHM8kFM&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/AKz5ZHM8kFM&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></div>the unbeatable kidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07837510231614022057noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1866229763096892118.post-36793462577022703632009-09-23T13:51:00.002-05:002009-09-23T14:02:15.269-05:00What a Four Dollar Haterade Tastes Like<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.theonion.com/content/news/next_tarantino_movie_an_homage_to">Next Tarantino Movie An Homage To Beloved Tarantino Movies Of Director's Youth</a><br /></div><br />I seem to have built up an admittedly accurate reputation as a Tarantino hater. I not exactly sure where it came from but it may have something to do with my proclivity to engage in awkward extended and pseudo-intellectual polemics at the mere mention of the self absorbed director. Unfortunately, I am forced to accept that this tendency is best described as “Tarantinoesque.”<p></p> <!--EndFragment-->the unbeatable kidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07837510231614022057noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1866229763096892118.post-71769191551457682552009-09-14T15:53:00.000-05:002009-09-14T15:54:46.188-05:00Haiku 1the smell of salt on<br />the wind; it longs to be with<br />the sea once againthe unbeatable kidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07837510231614022057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1866229763096892118.post-26625345633289609622009-09-06T09:13:00.003-05:002009-09-06T09:26:10.887-05:00Blame ChinaI always knew that China was responsible for <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/06/world/middleeast/06iraqoil.html">all the trouble Iraq</a>.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEZPEAlT8SxgeLoky4capw8vso06cm2rtmWxaAVil8N6VZp_RoYMkP6lCcQXFjZoCaouKEfPK6m8nCgT_581XXVBUyZKP8n3g3t4a3Fwbp7ifPKvVcLEdL2ydQ5xul5PoT5O-EE2QDE2XZ/s1600-h/ChinaIraq.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEZPEAlT8SxgeLoky4capw8vso06cm2rtmWxaAVil8N6VZp_RoYMkP6lCcQXFjZoCaouKEfPK6m8nCgT_581XXVBUyZKP8n3g3t4a3Fwbp7ifPKvVcLEdL2ydQ5xul5PoT5O-EE2QDE2XZ/s400/ChinaIraq.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378358450077518690" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Seriously, China. Why do you have to be so evil?the unbeatable kidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07837510231614022057noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1866229763096892118.post-54045011820556201992009-08-31T15:54:00.006-05:002009-08-31T22:37:55.784-05:00As the Crow FliesHere's the survey of the day:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf0C1VreauaYU8uL6AprXnDDF162uFsHwjFjynMZEXUafEmYBXcjXC76YQIFvKjiOjtdmqsQ5RPD9-EG-d3EluxixqwH0pVfsHZLlyqsRLi0ReIy5GXg3ZFE9yZYS7jZ588djQwbt7lCmB/s1600-h/SCRocks%3F.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 398px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf0C1VreauaYU8uL6AprXnDDF162uFsHwjFjynMZEXUafEmYBXcjXC76YQIFvKjiOjtdmqsQ5RPD9-EG-d3EluxixqwH0pVfsHZLlyqsRLi0ReIy5GXg3ZFE9yZYS7jZ588djQwbt7lCmB/s400/SCRocks%3F.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376234352651272066" border="0" /></a><br />What do you think of Sheryl Crow?<br /><br />Do you give her the thumbs up, the thumbs down, the thumbs sideways, the no thumbs dues to and industrial accident or inbreeding?<br /><br />Is she a talented singer/songwriter or a pretty face with a guitar? The voice of a generation or a voice like an electric generator? A rock and roll goddess or a tight bodice with a head full of rocks?<br /><br />We here at TBH want your opinion... and by we I mean me. I'm particularly interested in hearing from those of you whom I know are into music.the unbeatable kidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07837510231614022057noreply@blogger.com5