←
→

Saturday Early Morning Long Reads

Posted: January 12, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: Climate Change, crops, Democratic Politics, Domestic Policy, Economic Develpment, Economy, education, Environment, Environmental Protection, Farming, income inequality, legalizaton of drugs, Psychopaths in charge, public education, Republican politics, Republican Tax Fetishists, Second Amendment, the GOP, The Media SUCKS, The Right Wing | Tags: , , |30 Comments

144467100516725819_gh2w8YGN_cGood Morning

My eyes popped open at 5:30 this morning, and I could not go back to sleep. So while checking my RSS feeds I found a few articles from Alternet that you should take a look at. I will just post the link and a small part of the article to tease you…

First this look at a British documentary that spanned decades, The Brutal Truth About How Childhood Determines Your Economic Destiny

“Give me the child until he is seven,” the old Jesuit teachers say, “and I will give you the man.”

Back in 1964, filmmaker Paul Almond set out to test that theory by documenting the lives of a group of seven-year-old British children. Some were born to the manor; others grew up in charity homes. There were tykes from both the countryside and the city. Almond wanted to know if the destiny of the children had already been scripted by the circumstances of their birth — particularly those of class. His film Seven Up! has grown into a series spanning over five decades. Every seven years, like the cycle in some mythological saga, Michael Apted, the assistant on the original project, has returned to these children as they have morphed before our eyes into awkward adolescents, tentative adults, and now, the paunchy survivors of late middle-age.

As bright-eyed children, participants like Jackie Bassett, the product of a working-class neighborhood, or Andrew Brackfield, who attends a posh prep school, are already miles apart in attitude and habits. Tellingly, the children speak very differently about what they see in their future. Those from the higher ranks already know which universities they’ll attend, while Paul Kligarman, who lives at the charity home, asks plaintively, “What’s a university?”

This article is written by Lynn Parramore, and although I have disagreed with her position before…she does an excellent job on laying out the resulting class structures that conservative policies and austerity bring about…you know, the death of upward mobility.

On to another interesting long reads, this time written by Jennifer Holladay:  Why Are 8 Year-Olds Reading Stories That Glorify Rape?

Last spring, my 2nd-grade daughter came home with an extra assignment—a worksheet she hadn’t completed in class for a story called “The Selkie Girl.” She brought the book home, too, and it was one I’d never seen before, a Junior Great Books anthology (Series 3, Book 1), published by the nonprofit Great Books Foundation.

As we settled in, I asked my daughter to tell me about “The Selkie Girl.” Her rendition gave me pause, so I asked her to do her other homework first. She turned to a worksheet, and I cracked the book open.

“The Selkie Girl” is essentially about a magical seal-woman who is kidnapped and raped repeatedly during her long captivity. The man who holds her hostage proclaims early on that “I am in love” and “I want her to be my wife.” When he kidnapped her, “She was crying bitterly, but she followed him.” Later, the narrative tells us, “Because he was gentle and loving, she no longer wept. When their first child was born, he saw her smile.” When her means of escape is discovered, however, she explains quite bluntly to the children she bore: “For I was brought here against my will, 20 years past.”

It’s like the modern-day reality of Jaycee Dugard (who was kidnapped at age 11 in California and held captive with her two children for 18 years), told in folklore for the consumption of young children.

It is disturbing, but as you will read in the article, it goes back to conservative policies…this time the target is in education. I guess you can imagine where the discovery of this story “The Selkie Girl” will lead Holladay as she researches the publisher of the textbook, it is no surprise. Just read it.

On to another alternet post, this time a review of sorts of the latest crap written by Ben Shapiro. Conservatives Are Always Triumphant and Also an Oppressed Minority, According to Notably Stupid New Book

Ben Shapiro makes his living harrumphing over the sins of liberalism, and his new book doesn’t disappoint.

Being a doctrinaire conservative in this day and age requires you to do a lot of cognitive gymnastics.  Luckily, the captain of the right’s gymnastic team is Ben Shapiro, who has been an exceptional contortionist since his YAF days, when he simultaneously boasted of his unfashionable virginity and scolded everyone else about their allegedly unconventional sex lives.  Ben is married now, and presumably has engaged in heterosexual intercourse, but it hasn’t made him any happier or more relaxed, as he makes his living harrumphing over the sins of liberalism.  Hey, just because it’s easy doesn’t mean someone should do it.

Though not himself large, Ben has wrangled, by virtue of being a nuance-impervious loudmouth, the position of editor-at-large at Breitbart.com.  (You may recall that this position was once held by Andrew Breitbart himself, until his heart self-detonated rather than listen to him bellow for one more second.)  This job entails being a sort of all-purpose complainer, a queen bee fat on the jelly of foundation grants, forever sending out drones to gather the sweet nectar of gripe.  Just like that one guy on your Facebook who can’t relate to anything unless it has a  Star Wars reference in it, Ben has cranked out book after book of impotent whining about how liberals are ruining everything with their education and their pornography and their crazy rock and roll and their hair.  A 79-year-old man in the body of a failed attorney, his books (which I only hesitate to call unreadable because even I have better things to do than read them) attract praise from the kind of people who write books exactly like them — that is to say, endless litanies of alleged liberal treachery and evildoing.

When I read this post, it made me laugh…but the thought that more and more dudes (and dudettes) like Shapiro are getting airtime on major news channels made me cringe.

And I will end with this post: Is The American Hemp Renaissance About to Begin?

Kentucky was America’s leading hemp producer in the early 19th  century.  Now, two hundreds year later, after a  historic election for drug policy has led to a shift for marijuana policy reform in America, Kentucky lawmakers are taking steps to revive the crop.  While advocates for hemplegalization say the plant could bring a wealth of  green jobs to Kentucky, deep-rooted drug stigma and conflict with federal law have made t he legislation’s passing unlikely. Nonetheless, two state bills are in the works, while a federal proposal aims to clear the way for state legalization.  Lawmakers suggest the bills could at least open up the conversation about hemp, and clear misconceptions about its use.

Because hemp is increasingly imported from Canada, growing and making  it in the US could save the US money and create green jobs at home. Aside from soy, no other plant has shown the potential to create so many different products — from hemp soap to paper and oil. Moreover, hemp rarely requires pesticides, can be grown in the same fields over several consecutive years, and produces biodegradable plastics and biofuels. Lightweight and dense, hemp-limeis a building material that known to be an efficient insulator leaving behind a minimal carbon footprint.

Which, in light of the current Midwestern drought that is bringing about comparisons to the great Dust Bowl, this long read about a historic plant like hemp was actually hopeful. However, like most of the articles I’ve shared today…seeing the problem and actually fixing it are two different things.  I don’t know, maybe the real issue is staring us right in the face? Conservative policies don’t work, and it is painfully obvious to me that until we move away from these right-wing ideals…none of the solutions to many of our problems will ever get put into action.

Damn…now that is depressing.

Catch y’all later in the comment section, for now my eyelids are getting heavy and maybe I can get a few more hours sleep in before the kids way up.

30 Comments on “Saturday Early Morning Long Reads”

  1. JJ Lopez Minkoff says:
    January 12, 2013 at 6:52 am

    Too late, no going back to sleep for me. LOL But I do hope y’all take the time to read those post. Maybe they are not real…real long, but they sure were long to me at 5:30 am this morning. Ciao!

  2. ecocatwoman says:
    January 12, 2013 at 7:53 am

    jj, I thought the subject of the book sounded familiar. I saw a foreign film many years ago (1994) – The Secret of Roan Inish. Here’s a link about the film: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111112/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1 I remember liking the film, but finding it disturbing.

    And Selkie is the name given to seals who turn into human form by shedding their skin. Here’s info from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selkie

    I did read the article & she certainly raises valid points. I can’t help but think that this book/story, which has since been removed from the author’s daughter’s school, would have been better had it been in a book of Irish myths and legends. Personally, when I was in school I really enjoyed reading the myths from other countries/cultures. Knowing the story dated back to a long ago, simpler time, I think, would have put it in context.

    • JJ Lopez Minkoff says:
      January 12, 2013 at 8:24 am

      I can’t help but think that this book/story, which has since been removed from the author’s daughter’s school, would have been better had it been in a book of Irish myths and legends. Personally, when I was in school I really enjoyed reading the myths from other countries/cultures. Knowing the story dated back to a long ago, simpler time, I think, would have put it in context.

      Yeah, I thought the same thing too…but it looks like there was other stories in the textbook that were similar…regarding not only the depiction of women but also the blonde=pretty theme. Of course, it could all be stories of fairytales but Holladay did not make that clear.

      I am with you on the myths and folklore, even though so many stories and myths have an anti-woman attitude, I really enjoy them. However, I did my thesis on women in Celtic Literature and if you go back to the original sources, you can see how the misogynistic views developed over time…it wasn’t always like that.

  3. JJ Lopez Minkoff says:
    January 12, 2013 at 8:29 am

    Sigh: George P. Bush weighing run in Texas | AccessNorthGa

  4. ecocatwoman says:
    January 12, 2013 at 8:32 am

    NPR had done a story about the British study, a year or so ago. The results aren’t surprising, either to anyone here or those folks who are actually paying attention. I especially liked Parramore’s discussion of America & the decreasing chances of any upward mobility based upon the path we’re on with increasing income inequality. I guess when we’re young and/or we have children we rely on Hope that things will be better as we age or when the kids grow up. Looking back from a senior vantage point, all of history seems to be repeat after repeat after repeat, especially when you look at the global picture.

    If ya’ll missed Jon Stewart’s interview with Stanley McChrystal (not a fan of his due to the cover up of Pat Tillman’s death – http://www.thenation.com/article/mcchrystals-pat-tillman-connection), I highly recommend it. http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-january-8-2013/stanley-mcchrystal

  5. JJ Lopez Minkoff says:
    January 12, 2013 at 8:34 am

    Hey, tonight they are having Whatever happened to baby Jane tonight on TCM: What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
    The character of Victor Buono (Edwin Flagg) reminds me of Ignatius P. Reilly…at least the relationship between him and his mother, Marjorie Bennet (Dehlia Flagg.)

  6. RalphB says:
    January 12, 2013 at 9:21 am

    This guy is genuinely crazy and should not have a gun at his disposal.

    TPM: Just Watch This

    God, this is so good because it’s just so bad.

    You remember James Yeager, the CEO of Tactical Response, who says he was going to “start shooting people” if President Obama signs an executive order on guns. Here’s a video of Yeager doing an interview with a local TV station. He basically starts off kind of trying to walk his statements back. Kinda. But then … remember, he’s just crazy so he just can’t help himself. Soon he’s back to making even more specific threats. And the reporter just keeps giving him more rope. Just watch. You need to watch. Video after the jump …

  7. RalphB says:
    January 12, 2013 at 9:30 am

    The full response to the Death Star petition is pretty cool,

    WH petition response

    The White House has officially responded to the ‘We the People’ petition to commit the US to building a Death Star. Best line: “Why would we spend countless taxpayer dollars on a Death Star with a fundamental flaw that can be exploited by a one-man starship?” Next best: “The Administration does not support blowing up planets,” which may represent a slight shift from the position of the previous administration.

  8. RalphB says:
    January 12, 2013 at 11:51 am

    Adele Stan with a good post on Paul Krugman on Bill Moyers Show.

    Political Animal: Paul Krugman Explains Why He Really Didn’t Want That Treasury Job, Anyway

    In a fascinating and sprawling interview with Bill Moyers, airing this weekend on the PBS show, Moyers & Company, New York Times columnist and Nobel laureate Paul Krugman explained why he didn’t want to be nominated to the post of Treasury secretary, even after 235,000 people signed an online petition urging the president to appoint him, and offers his take on Jack Lew, the president’s nominee

  9. RalphB says:
    January 12, 2013 at 12:39 pm

    Fuck the deficits. People got no jobs, people got no money! h/t Charles Pierce

    Raw Story: ‘Here Comes the Sun’ flashmob cheers Spanish unemployment office

    A flashmob of musicians has cheered up the long queue in a busy Spanish unemployment office by playing the Beatles’ Here Comes the Sun.
    […]
    Spain is enduring an unprecedented economic crisis caused by a property crash and public debt crisis. Unemployment, already at 26%, is expected to grow. Spain lost around 800,000 jobs last year and more than half of under-25s are unemployed. The Spanish government has resorted to severe budget cuts to reduce its deficit but austerity measures have also depressed the economy.

    Oxfam says that previous crises in Latin America and Asia point to serious long-term damage if government austerity measures remain in place. “Poverty and social exclusion may increase drastically,” it says. “By 2022, some 18 million Spaniards, or 38% of the population, could be in poverty.”

  10. dakinikat says:
    January 12, 2013 at 2:39 pm

    Ezra Klein ‏@ezraklein

    Treasury and WH have now ruled out both 14th amendment and platinum coin: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/01/12/treasury-we-wont-mint-a-platinum-coin-to-sidestep-the-debt-ceiling/ …

←
→