Friday, October 03, 2003
Can the 2% solution save the US? The future of DJ-ing and more Rush, Gavin and Iraq...
William Holstein writes a review of Clinton administration advisor Matthew Miller's new book The 2% Solution in The New York Times. The book talks about how extreme partisanship prevents government from finding solutions to some of the US's more persistent socioeconomic problems. However, the most intriguing part of the review discusses Miller's argument that the US's most pressing problems could be solved by spending just 2 percent more than the government does now as follows :
I should have had more faith. Rush Limbaugh pushed his luck a step too far and was forced to "quit" yesterday for his ridicuclous remarks about Eagles QB Donovan MCNabb on Sunday (ubelievably Slate tries to make a case for Rush being in the right. Bananas!). On top of that now it's being alleged he's also a drug fiend hooked on Oxycontin and other drugs and is facing an investigation. I should have known so should he, karma's a muthaf---er. Smile of the day by far.
From the file labeled "What the F--k?" what the hell was this marching band thinking? Maybe they go to the same high school as the kid in this article as free speech is real free based on these stories (thanks to Shuggie Gray for the t-shirt story lead and Nadine for the marching band story lead).
Or maybe not, as many feared when the Patriot Act was enacted, the government is now using the invasive powers the act granted them in many investigations that are in no way terror-related. As was anticipated by the few real patriots who stood up and tried to stop this flawed piece of legislation from being railroaded through, this act used the 9/11 attacks and the resulting terror hysteria as a smokescreen to slowly chip away at out civil liberties and privacy rights. Why is no-one else scared about this? At least this was front page news in the NY Times on September 28.
More updates on the "Hipublican" pheonomenon as I've now learned conservative hipsters have been labeled. There's been much discussion in hipster circles (of which I am not a part unless you count those who stand on the periphery as impartial, outside observers as part of the "hipsterati"). So it turns out Gavin McInnes is just a provocateur in general which gives me to a whole new lens through which to read Vice magazine now. I just picked up the newest issue today and I guess I'll never take articles like "Cum vs. Moisturizer" (Vice settles the score as which is better for clearing up zits) seriously again. I guess he's been catching a bad one on the NY Times article I mentioned yesterday and has offered several others explanations/apologies for his comments here on Gawker and, as discussed on the antic muse blog, here and here. I think I'm over this topic now but you know where to go now for further updates....
I DJ for fun in my very cool music room (although it's cool to get paid to spin too) and I've collected vinyl for years. I love my collection (2500+ pieces I think though I've never really counted) that has taken me over 20 years to amass but now that I actually do a little DJ-ing at clubs and lounges (email me if you want to hire me by the way), I realize what a huge pain the ass it is to lug 4 or 5 heavy crates of vinyl around esp. by yourself (I guess record boys are for more famous DJ's than me, no homo). Plus I don't even have my own car and have to borrow my good friend Shuggie's old Toyota Celica "Buddy" to get me to my gigs.
It would be great if more spots started to use CD turntables like the Pioneer CDJ-1000's which work just like vinyl turntables and made me look forward to the day when every DJ booth has them so I can stop buying wax and carry a couple small (and light) booklets of CD's instead of my flight cases. (Yeah, I'm not that emotionally attached to the concept of having to support and use wax like some DJ's. Especially after having used the CDJ's.) I've been coveting my own CD turntables since first using the Pioneer jumpoffs but have to say that, when that day comes, I may have to put the CDJ option on pause and consider buying the upcoming Technics pictured here which I just heard about. I have to say I almost came on myself when I saw them. I don't even know how well they work but they look so hot, they have to be blazing! By the way, I'm listening to Cutmaster C's "Keep Talkin" mixtape. This sh!t is ridiculous top to bottom. I guess whatever petty beef he has going with DJ Big Mike has put a real fire in his belly 'cos this is the best mixtape I've heard in a long time (although I have a few other new ones I picked up today to check out so that title may be short-lived). Murder Inc's "G-Unit Killaz" and Busta and Spliff's "Top Billin' 2003" (I'll add links if I can find some) are just two of the many hot jumpoff's on this tape. As they say in the TV ads: "Go cop that, son!"
Oh yeah, the situation only gets worse in Iraq as discussed here on the MSNBC/Newsweek site. I bash Bush pretty much daily now though, believe me, I take no solace in these attacks and loss of life. I only wish, Bush would drop his bloody-minded, divisive, unilateral stance, admit his strategy has been flawed from the jump and bring in the UN or real international coalition to help stabilize the situation there. And by the way, they still haven't found any WMD's....
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Here's the breakout: $80 billion a year to finance health care for those who can't afford it, $30 billion to make teaching in poor schools an attractive career choice, $85 billion to establish a living wage of about $9 an hour; $2 billion for well-financed school vouchers and $3 billion annually to create the campaign finance system, including $500 million for administrative expenses. Mr. Miller then plunks down $10 billion to make preschool universal and $10 billion to repair deteriorated schools. That adds up to $220 billion, or 2 percent of the gross domestic product of roughly $11 trillion for 2004.Holstein discusses Miller follow-on argument that this increase in spending could be offset by spending cuts and tax increases. It's an interesting idea although tax increases are like kryptonite to US taxpayers (As Bush has observed and nimbly exploited with disasterously spectacular results so far in his administration) and his proposal of a 60 cent on the gallon tax on gasoline to reduce our dependence on foreign (read Mid. East) oil is pretty much a non-starter in the US. That being said, the book is well-reviewed and might be put on my "To Read" list if I can ever get through the two year backlog of books on my night stand now.
"For 2 cents on the national dollar, we have a country where everyone has basic health coverage; every full-time worker earns at least $9 an hour; poor children have great teachers in fixed-up schools where they show up ready to learn; and we've created a way for politicians to run for office (if they want to) without special-interest cash," the author says
I should have had more faith. Rush Limbaugh pushed his luck a step too far and was forced to "quit" yesterday for his ridicuclous remarks about Eagles QB Donovan MCNabb on Sunday (ubelievably Slate tries to make a case for Rush being in the right. Bananas!). On top of that now it's being alleged he's also a drug fiend hooked on Oxycontin and other drugs and is facing an investigation. I should have known so should he, karma's a muthaf---er. Smile of the day by far.
From the file labeled "What the F--k?" what the hell was this marching band thinking? Maybe they go to the same high school as the kid in this article as free speech is real free based on these stories (thanks to Shuggie Gray for the t-shirt story lead and Nadine for the marching band story lead).
Or maybe not, as many feared when the Patriot Act was enacted, the government is now using the invasive powers the act granted them in many investigations that are in no way terror-related. As was anticipated by the few real patriots who stood up and tried to stop this flawed piece of legislation from being railroaded through, this act used the 9/11 attacks and the resulting terror hysteria as a smokescreen to slowly chip away at out civil liberties and privacy rights. Why is no-one else scared about this? At least this was front page news in the NY Times on September 28.
More updates on the "Hipublican" pheonomenon as I've now learned conservative hipsters have been labeled. There's been much discussion in hipster circles (of which I am not a part unless you count those who stand on the periphery as impartial, outside observers as part of the "hipsterati"). So it turns out Gavin McInnes is just a provocateur in general which gives me to a whole new lens through which to read Vice magazine now. I just picked up the newest issue today and I guess I'll never take articles like "Cum vs. Moisturizer" (Vice settles the score as which is better for clearing up zits) seriously again. I guess he's been catching a bad one on the NY Times article I mentioned yesterday and has offered several others explanations/apologies for his comments here on Gawker and, as discussed on the antic muse blog, here and here. I think I'm over this topic now but you know where to go now for further updates....
I DJ for fun in my very cool music room (although it's cool to get paid to spin too) and I've collected vinyl for years. I love my collection (2500+ pieces I think though I've never really counted) that has taken me over 20 years to amass but now that I actually do a little DJ-ing at clubs and lounges (email me if you want to hire me by the way), I realize what a huge pain the ass it is to lug 4 or 5 heavy crates of vinyl around esp. by yourself (I guess record boys are for more famous DJ's than me, no homo). Plus I don't even have my own car and have to borrow my good friend Shuggie's old Toyota Celica "Buddy" to get me to my gigs.
It would be great if more spots started to use CD turntables like the Pioneer CDJ-1000's which work just like vinyl turntables and made me look forward to the day when every DJ booth has them so I can stop buying wax and carry a couple small (and light) booklets of CD's instead of my flight cases. (Yeah, I'm not that emotionally attached to the concept of having to support and use wax like some DJ's. Especially after having used the CDJ's.) I've been coveting my own CD turntables since first using the Pioneer jumpoffs but have to say that, when that day comes, I may have to put the CDJ option on pause and consider buying the upcoming Technics pictured here which I just heard about. I have to say I almost came on myself when I saw them. I don't even know how well they work but they look so hot, they have to be blazing! By the way, I'm listening to Cutmaster C's "Keep Talkin" mixtape. This sh!t is ridiculous top to bottom. I guess whatever petty beef he has going with DJ Big Mike has put a real fire in his belly 'cos this is the best mixtape I've heard in a long time (although I have a few other new ones I picked up today to check out so that title may be short-lived). Murder Inc's "G-Unit Killaz" and Busta and Spliff's "Top Billin' 2003" (I'll add links if I can find some) are just two of the many hot jumpoff's on this tape. As they say in the TV ads: "Go cop that, son!"
Oh yeah, the situation only gets worse in Iraq as discussed here on the MSNBC/Newsweek site. I bash Bush pretty much daily now though, believe me, I take no solace in these attacks and loss of life. I only wish, Bush would drop his bloody-minded, divisive, unilateral stance, admit his strategy has been flawed from the jump and bring in the UN or real international coalition to help stabilize the situation there. And by the way, they still haven't found any WMD's....
