Today’s Great American Protest, Explained
Posted on July 20, 2013 in Political Cartoons
Yeah, man. That down vote will really get the libertarian to change his evil ways.
Does Art Help The Economy?
Posted on July 20, 2013 in Articles
The Article: Does Art Help The Economy? by Kyle Thetford in The Atlantic.
The Text: An unexpected upshot in the wake of Britain’s latest spending review was the fate of the culture budget — it avoided a pummeling. What might be considered an easy target in a time of austerity emerged relatively unscathed, with only a 5 percent decrease in funding from £472 million to £451 million.
The arts world had already been hit by a 30 percent cut meted out in the 2010 budget and had been waiting to find out whether they might be granted a reprieve at this latest round of belt-tightening.
This time, advocates for arts funding breathed a collective sigh of relief, with the budget reduction described as a “best-case scenario” — they had been bracing for much larger cuts.
Education And Student Loan Debt = The End Of Disaster Capitalism
Posted on July 19, 2013 in Videos
Henry Rollins: “[Students] basically did that exercise where you fall backwards and you workmates catch you. They jumped out of the 40th floor window with that student loan and America went that looks like that hurt. Suck it up Caroline. Get a job. Don’t be a leech.”
Lupe Fiasco On The Zimmerman Verdict
Posted on July 19, 2013 in Quotes
The Zimmerman verdict was a hard pill for many to swallow, especially as many have found themselves unable to distinguish between what the law requires for conviction and their own beliefs. In light of this, Lupe Fiasco offers an apt point about achieving true justice. And no, it doesn’t involve status updates.
Why Liberals Don’t Get Texas
Posted on July 19, 2013 in Articles
The Article: Liberals Don’t Understand Texas by Abby Johnston in Salon.
The Text: I am an eighth-generation Texan, and if my accent doesn’t give me away, that is the first fact I will volunteer about myself in conversation. Name me another state where eight generations win you immediate legitimacy. But I’m also liberal. And this makes me no less proud of my home state.
Let me explain. You’d be hard-pressed to find a state with more pride, unsurprising for a territory that was once a sovereign nation. Texas is diverse and sprawling, born of many different backgrounds and melded together with its own swagger. Our bouffant-haired culture and hospitality have seen many portrayals in the media, but it’s hard to describe our peculiarly accented je ne sais quoi to someone who doesn’t understand why Texas Monthly needs a barbecue editor or hasn’t seen the landscape change from forest, to desert, to mountains in a day’s drive.
I’ve since adopted Austin as my home, seeking refuge in the liberal oasis and protected by its bubble of progressive ideology. Left-leaning politics are not an anomaly in Texas’ capital city, but the six weeks of debates that led to the passage of restrictive abortion legislation were a painful reminder of the ideology that lay outside of Austin’s city limits. Gov. Rick Perry called two special sessions to ram through the controversial bill, which will all but guarantee the closure of 42 abortion clinics, leaving only five designated as ambulatory service centers to accommodate a state larger than France.
