As a native son of the South, I love New Orleans, I hate what has happened to it since Katrina came ashore and I’m generally ambivalent about the Saints.
But if this is the sort of coverage that we can expect for the next six days, I might as well get it over with and buy a Dallas Clark jersey:
Now, more than four years after Katrina nearly destroyed the city, New Orleans is back. …
“The New Orleans Saints have done more for race relations in this city than anything,” said Bob Hinyub of Gretna, per the AP. “Everybody here is black and gold. Nobody is black and white.”
Post-racial, indeed. I bet James Perry feels really silly right about now.
Either way, let’s get into this thing:
1. The Feminist Texican has an impressive roundup of links about Haiti. (Blackink)
2. James Fallows offers an example of why bipartisanship is a waste of time. (Blackink)
3. Via Obsidian Wings, The Globalist runs through a number of reasons why Haiti and the Dominican Republic share the same island but have vastly different experiences. (Belleisa)
4. Fred Clark at Slacktivist calls for some hardball. (Blackink)
5. With the launch of the unfortunately named iPad, The Economist theorizes that Apple could transform three industries – computing, telecoms and media – with one device. (Blackink)
6. But Analee Newitz at io9 makes an argument for why the iPad is “crap futurism.” (Shani-o)
7. Despite a revival of the District in recent years, a new Washington Post poll shows that Mayor Adrian Fenty is losing significant support among residents. This comment from one black resident seems particularly unfortunate: “We have not had a mayor that has done anything for a lot of our constituency since Marion Barry was in office.” (Blackink)
8. “Why are the lives of African women worthless?” asks Dr. Denis Mukwege who is helping rape victims in The City of Joy, a place meant for women to heal physically, spiritually and emotionally. (Belleisa)
9. “Ninety-seven percent of Mississippians do have public drinking water,” but three percent are praying for rain. (R.A.B.)
10. Also in Mississippi, faculty and alumni of the state’s three historically black universities are grappling with the prospect of a merger that was initially proposed by Gov. Haley Barbour and now by Jackson State President Ronald Mason, Jr. (Blackink)
11. PostBourgie wunderkind Jamelle Bouie makes sense of a new study showing that unemployment still hits young black men the hardest. “Not only are young black men distinctly disadvantaged in the job market, but in the absence of a concerted effort to change the status quo, they will be left behind as the economy moves forward.” (Blackink)
12. M. LeBlanc takes down Ross Douthat’s latest column on how sex education shouldn’t get in the way of ‘values.’ (Shani-o)
13. New York Times public editor Clark Hoyt asks whether reputable news outlets should report on gossipy political bestseller “Game Change” despite its shoddy sourcing. “The bottom-line message: trust us. In the particularly vicious context of presidential campaign politics, where chaos reigns and nearly everyone seems to have a score to settle, this is asking a lot.” (Blackink)
14. Rounding up the Grammys: the awards show had its largest TV audience in six years; The Washington Post has the complete list of winners; Beyonce was the biggest winner of all; The Vulture compares and contrasts the performances; Jezebel has pictures; and Michael Jackson’s kids accepted an award on his behalf. (Blackink)
15. Ben Stein erases all of my Bueller-born goodwill toward him. (Shani-o)
16. Florida Lotto winner Abraham Shakespeare didn’t have long to live the good life. (Blackink)
17. How to love and leave a soldier. (Blackink)
18. Austrian billionaire Richard Lugner has sought and bought the company of B-list starlets for the past 19 years. This year, Lindsay Lohan is his date of choice. I’m sure it will end well. (Blackink)
19. Anthropomorphizing a robot never looked so sad. (Shani-o)
20. Apparently, shoes change the human foot strike and may lead to more running injuries. (Belleisa)
21. I never found People of Wal-Mart to be the least bit funny. Womanist Musings explains it better than I ever could. (Blackink)
22. Sorta related: The Los Angeles Times reports on rising aggression against the overweight. (Belleisa)
23. “Glee” aficionado Alyssa Rosenberg analyzes why “Community” works so well, and declares it the best comedy debut of the 2009-2010 season. She’s right. (Shani-o)
24. An alleged serial killer was once a winner on “The Dating Game” in 1978. Smartly, the bachelorette thought better of going out on the date. (Blackink)
26. The best NBA flameout and recently fired ESPN columnist Paul Shirley could offer Haitians in terms of support was recommending more condom use. If that seems surprisingly insensitive, it’s because you haven’t been paying attention. (Blackink)
27. Noted hoops enthusiast President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden took in the weekend showdown between college powers Georgetown and Duke. Obama even made time to swing by the announcing booth. (Blackink)
28. Behind point guard Jeremy Lin – the very rare Asian-American basketball star – and head coach Tommy Amaker, Harvard is undergoing a hoops renaissance. But as the Big Red proved definitively Saturday, Cornell still reigns supreme among the Ivies. (Blackink)
29. Tim Tebow, a former Heisman Trophy winner and (possibly) the most famous virgin in the nation, and his mother might be lying about whether that was any “choice” involved in his risky birth in The Phillipines. (Blackink)
30. Mental Floss has the definitive history of the Bud Bowl. (Blackink)
As always, the world is yours. Have a happy Monday.
