10tonfunk

exactly like the title says. and while a picture may be worth a 1000 words, i’m not sure that the year end/2010 predictions issue of  Caijing this picture came from is worth the 35 RMB i anted up for it at 7-11 in a weak, under-caffeinated haze.

内容已经在标题说好了。可能按照俗语的说法一张图片值得一千词但是我觉得这张图片来自的财经杂志年底版并不值得35元（在7-11还没喝咖啡特别瞌睡的时候买的）！

** 前句话写的特别差，如果有建议怎么该请告诉我！一直到我的汉语水平进步很多我要用更短更简单的话。

UPDATE – JAN 26: I wrote this a week ago when I still clearly felt sanguine enough about the political situation in America to sort of be able to joke about it. That was then. News today that Obama is freezing domestic spending is giving me a fucking embolism. Read this and sob. I am speechless. Enjoy it while it lasts.

black cats

JAN 14: The world lost another great reason to have sex today — Teddy Pendergrass passed away. Driving home at 3am and hearing “Love TKO” on AM 1290 was always to wish that there was a real secret garden, covered in velour, that one could be inside of. Kind of like the garden of eden but with more mirrorballs, bearskin rugs, fireplaces and hotpants. Another grittier soul stirrer that hurts so good is Howard Tate’s “Get it While You Can” which, in a velour covered nutshell, would be my advice to the current democratic majority.

I’m increasingly frustrated at how far left of most of the people I know I seem to have become politically. It’s not like the people I hang around are remotely right wing — I’d like to think that any teabaggers among the bunch are just dangling their nuts on someone’s face and not doing something disgusting like protesting…whatever the teabaggers are protesting. Yet, perhaps because of my way of expressing my political leanings — banging, shouting, swearing, high blood pressure — people seem to think I’m some kind of loony radical. The former part of the equation may be debatable but I’m definitely not a radical. If anything I would consider myself an old-schoolish Democrat. During the last election, when not blogging like a fucking superstar, I thought about the issues that mattered to me and this is what I came up with. I am, broadly speaking:

- pro choice

- anti death penalty

- anti war

- anti gun

- pro public programs like education and healthcare

- pro workers rights

- pro gay rights

- anti nuzzling the nuts of large corporations

- pro paying attention the constitution and individual freedoms

- pro regulation of corporations and markets

and to my great dismay I found that the current Democratic party stands for very few of these things in any concerted, meaningful way. I do not see myself as driven by some Quaker-ish peacenik ideology. I am a big fan of the practical. Some of the reasons I’m against the death penalty are because it’s expensive as fuck, doesn’t work as a deterrent and we often kill the wrong person. I’m totally willing to talk about the death penalty as a crime fighting tool, but not until we stop executing innocent people or sticking them on death row for decades at a time based on a bunch of bullshit.

I think some of the most powerful reasons for universal healthcare are economic: how can we have an innovation economy when people are afraid to leave their jobs or compete globally when Detroit is paying more for healthcare than steel?

I’m all for discussion of what the fuck we’re doing in the Middle East. If someone can explain to me what victory and success actually mean in Iraq and Afghanistan we’d be off to great start. If we’re really going to crunch the numbers is 3 trillion dollars and 4,000 American lives worth the cost of avoiding “another 9-11”?

We’ve now spent 1 billion dollars for each person that died in 9-11 (although firefighters who responded that day are dying painful deaths due to injuries sustained that day — mostly respiratory related — combined with lack of healthcare). What are your core ideals and does your party stand for them? If centrism is one of them than bully for you, you’re just not getting it right now. If Obama + Co. really want bipartisan bills they should let the Republicans write them because their current efforts sure aren’t working. Maybe they should look inward — ‘what did the Bush White House say to me that encouraged me to enthusiastically support the Patriot Act, invading Iraq, FISA, etc.?’ and utilize that firsthand experience in a constructive manner. The Democratic party is embarrassingly right wing and embarrassingly, I would even say dangerously, lame. Democratic pols, and their constituents, need to evaluate what they want and go for it. This should be a great time for the Democratic Party and for some reason they keep being hung out to dry. We’re supposed to trust them to defend us from nuclear-armed rogue stations when their heathcare efforts were derailed for months by a post on Mrs. Going Rogue’s Facebook page? Obviously I would be right chuffed if the new Dem agenda was right in line with mine but more than that I’d like to see some sort of thought and discussion given to what the Democrats stand for in 2kdime, no matter what it is. I think many people voted for Big O even though he did not actually represent their beliefs and are feeling salty about it now. Lack of clear objectives has gotten us mired down in a lot of messes during the last decade.

Politicians are often concerned with legacy, especially as their time draws to a near — and it certainly look like that may be happening for a number of Dems and certainly the “filibuster proof” Demjority [JAN 26: now past tense]. A lot can be learned from Teddy Pendergrass in this area. Teddy P spent the last few decades of his life in a wheelchair after being paralyzed when the brakes went out on his Rolls Royce (True story. The tranny in the car with him walked away uninjured) and he’s still remembered as an ultimate ladies man able to increase birth rates just by opening his mouth and crooning a few notes. Harry Reid may have been a boxer (I know, seriously) but he don’t know nothing about the Love TKO. Heaven Only Knows the left wing needs a little more cohesion and A Little More Magic or You and I and everyone else clinging to the sinking ship are going to Turn Off the Lights, Close the Door and walk away thinking I Don’t Love You Anymore and The Whole Towns Laughing at Me. Can’t we try Dems? Can’t We Try?

SongOTD: T.R.O.Y./Fuck You Max Baucus Edition

quiet griot: mumbled musing

WHY WON’T THE FUCKING DEMOCRATS LISTEN TO ME AND STOP LOSING/HIRE ME????

AMENDMENT

I listen to a lot of excellent podcasts and stay semi-tuned in to news in America. I’m continually saddened and frustrated by the way in which the debates about extremely important issues are framed in a way that prevents any truly useful discussion from taking place. Just listened to a On Point podcast on the travel embargo that prevents Americans from traveling from Cuba. This is on NPR and is what I suppose a lot of people would think of as a left-leaning show. During the 45 minutes they discussed the embargo, Cuba’s human rights abuses were mentioned well over a dozen times (though not explained in much detail) and used, in different ways by the different speakers, to justify their varying views on the ban. Callers, a United States Senator, a former Havana bureau chief and a guy from Human Rights Watch all mentioned these abuses. Not once were America’s human rights abuses mentioned. We talk loud about how health care needs to be budget neutral but America’s mainstream-ish media ain’t sayin nothing when it comes to questioning the financial benefit, or lack thereof, of our wars in Iraq in Afghanistan, neither which look like they’re ending anytime soon.

In no way am I advocating endless self-flagellating. I don’t hate America and I don’t think China is better — a stance I’m sometimes accused of holding. I’m not talking about war, peace, communism, socialism, capitalism or any kind of characteristics. I merely see no benefit in premising discussions that impact the quality of life and death for millions of people on dangerously shaky foundations. I’d like more people to know the stats on health care I’ve mentioned on here before. I’d like to know more about why France’s health care system, a public-private hybrid, ranks above all the single payer systems. Basically, I’d would prefer that living and dying weren’t affected by a bunch of ignorant, purposefully or not, discussions and policymakers.

A few days ago I looked at a list of top 100 speeches of the decade. MLK Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” was number one but “Why I Am Opposed to the War in Vietnam” was nowhere to be found. It’s sad how little we — people of all countries and all political systems — seem able to learn from our recent pasts.

“Come down and see, Oh Miguel / that we are young and dwell/ in gardens with too many contestants / we are unfinished and live in rooms without enough instructors, Miguel / we are aging and chosen and poorly trained for mass redemption”// Carl Hancock Rux

I’m going to stop weeping self-indulgently into my whole wheat noodles and go listen again to what I consider the most inspiring song I’ve ever heard. I don’t know how to link to it but it’s Curtis Mayfield’s “I Plan to Stay a Believer” (the live version) and it sounds like a plan to me.

“They Reminisce Over You” by Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth

Off the classic “Mecca and the Soul Brother” album, T.R.O.Y. is one of the best hip hop songs ever made. It’s probably one of the best songs ever made. Since much has been written about it, and you only need to listen to the song to know what’s up, I’m not going to go into detail about it. Despite the brags and the boasting, maybe even because of it, hip hop used to, in its own way, be one of the most honest forms of musical expression the world has ever heard,and T.R.O.Y. is honest, raw and true. Go listen to it and you’ll know exactly what I mean.

People are always saying that “T.R.O.Y.” isn’t about a girl, it’s about hip hop. I’ve listened to this song countless times and I’ve never heard it. Common’s “I Used to Love H.E.R.” is obviously about hip hop, as are a scores of other odes to hip hop masquerading as love songs. Sometimes I wish rappers would man up and make a real love song about a woman (or man) instead of these extended metaphors for pot and music.

A popular belief persists, however, that “They Reminisce Over You” is about rap. Popular belief is often wrong — I’ll get into my thoughts on the ‘Twitter revolution’ another time — but there is one instance where popular belief in America is correct, and that’s regarding healthcare. Numerous polls, even those which in which it’s referred to as ‘socialized medicine’ find a majority of the American public supporting a ‘public option’ aka single payer aka public funding of private care (Canada, that decadent socialist territory, has more private physicians, proportionately, than America does). Perhaps Americans realize they enjoy their ‘socialist’ libraries, educations, and police and fire departments. Maybe, despite our mathematic deficiencies, Americans realize something is wrong with this equation: in the last nine years, workers earnings in America have gone up 34%, while in the same period of time, healthcare premiums have increased by 119%. I’ve been listening to Bill Moyers’ amazing May 22nd program on Healthcare Reform, and Democracy Now’s hour long interview with healthcare whistle-blower Wendell Pierce about the tactics he employed as former, “head of corporate communications at CIGNA, one of the nation’s largest health insurance companies.” Mindblowing. Worse than you can even imagine.

Yet, despite overwhelming public support for single payer healthcare, the healthcare companies are winning. The public may not be buying their ad campaign, designed by the winners that brought you the Swiftboat campaign (seriously), but Congress is. Their buying this bullshit with the money the healthcare companies and their proxies are giving them. Democratic Chairman of the Senate Finace Committe Max Baucus receives more money from big healthcare (is there any other kind) than almost any other senator. Two of his former aides are healthcare lobbyists. Meanwhile, single payer advocates aren’t even invited to the hearings — dozens of doctors were arrested for disturbing the hearings. That’s right, doctors willing to go to jail to voice their concern over the piece of shit plan Baucus has proposed via white-paper.

Big O clearly endorsed single payer six years ago as senator, now, his wish for bipartisanship has robbed him of nuts. What about what the people want? Lindsey Graham and Olympia Snow can make dry hump each other all over both sides of ‘the aisle,’ but the millions of Americans being bankrupted by their insurance premiums will be too busy hocking their TV sets for cash to buy medicine and doctors visits for their sick children to be impressed by the warm fuzzy bipartisan moment. If these leaders wanted to affect change they could — the climate has never been so ripe. Instead, they tell us to be patient — we can’t risk disturbing our current system (Obama), they can’t risk spend their political capital on something worth buying (Baucus).

In a civilized society healthcare is a human right. At the very least it’s a civil right. I’m sure plenty of people urged desegregationists not to blow their political wads in the 50s and 60s, and I’m glad they were ignored by enough people in the public and in the capital, that schools were desegregated and, several decades later, a person of color could become president.

There were plenty of people during the run up to abolition who protested that freeing the slaves would disturb the economy and destroy social order. I’m glad those people lost the debate. Aren’t you? Should we have waited until the 70s to try to integrate America? Should we have continued slavery because freedom for the slaves would disrupt the economy and cause a dip in the plantation owner’s earnings?

“Ain’t No Future in Yo Frontin’” by MC Breed & DFC

Breed (RIP, dead at 37 from kidney complications) also did a song called “Gotta Get Mine” with a young MC who later put many minds at ease with the line “there’s a heaven for a G.” I think MC Breed was wrong, there is a future in the fronting of the healthcare executives who are making 250,000 dollars A DAY, as 14,000 Americans A DAY lose their employer provided insurance thanks to the financial crisis. If the writer of the latter line, Tupac, was right and there is a heaven for a G, it’s going to be hard finding him there amidst the clots of healthcare execs and lobbyists busy lighting cigars with flaming hundreds and the get well cards sent to people who died unnecessarily because they couldn’t get healthcare in the wealthiest nation on earth (on the infant mortality rate charts America is 45th, sandwiched between the Faroe Island and Guam).

A word of warning to Baucus and his fuckhead friends and supporters in Congress and the White House: while y’all are ballin in your gangstas paradise, they’re going to reminisce over you. Your name will be uttered in the same breath as James Henry Hammond’s and George Marshall’s. You will be remembered for your well-rewarded efforts to keep a nation enslaved by a system designed to maximize the economic well being of small group of individuals (there is ample evidence that a single payer system would bolster the American economy). You’ll be remembered as lackeys for powerful men and women who considered disease, death and suffering to be a justifiable and profitable industry.

UPDATE: Damjan DeNoble at the excellent Asia Health Care Blog has been kind enough to dignify my ranting by commenting on the piece.