Your Monday Random-Ass Roundup: Hockey < Health Care

No matter what happened on the ice yesterday, Canada still wins in the long run:

But lest anyone accuse me (or my blogmates, through association) of not being a real American, let me remind you that I’d sooner dine on a puck covered in cheese curds and chase it with a Molson than watch all three periods (it’s three, right?) of a hockey game.

Where I come from, there’s only two seasons: football and spring football. Erm, American football.

Now, for randomness:

1. Jamelle compares the White House’s recently released health care proposal to the Senate’s health care bill, calling them “virtually identical.” (Shani-o)

2. For the millionth time, Kevin Drum explains the problem of adverse selection in the health insurance market. Unfortunately, the people who need to read these articles never do. (Quadmoniker)

3. And any minute now, we should expect a highly predictable conservative “freakout” over health care reform. “They’ve already run off the field, sprayed themselves with champagne and taunted the losing team’s fans. And now the other team is saying the game is still on and they have a good chance to win.” (Blackink)

4. Spencer Ackerman writes an open letter to torture-enthusiast and nepotism-beneficiary Liz Cheney. (Blackink)

5. And while we’re on the subject of torture, Adam Serwer wrote a devastatingly thoughtful piece over at Ta-Nehisi’s spot. If you missed it, please go read it now. We’ll wait. (Blackink)

6. Though the recession is mostly over, The Atlantic predicts the resulting era of high joblessness will likely “warp our politics, our culture, and the character of our society for years to come.” An economist at the Economic Policy Institute says “we’re about to see a big national experiment on stress.” (Blackink)

7. Speaking of joblessness, USA Today took a look at Lincoln, Neb., and Merced, Calif., to see how and why the recession affected their communities so differently. (Blackink)

8. Andrew Sullivan tells us “What the GOP Now Is.” (Belleisa)

9. In Broadsheet, “That Down Syndrome Girl” fires back at Sarah Palin, saying she doesn’t have a sense of humor. Also: “My mother did not carry me around under her arm like a loaf of French bread the way former Governor Palin carries her son Trig around looking for sympathy and votes.” (Belleisa)

10. As the U.S. enters its “lean years,” Thomas Friedman calls on President Obama and the new generation – the so-called “Regeneration” – to revitalize the nation in the 21st century. (slb)

11. At The American Prospect, Gabriel Arana muses on the marginalization of gay conservatives as the party swings further right. (Shani-o)

12. The TSA has finally apologized for asking a four-year-old boy to remove his leg braces at the airport. (Quadmoniker)

13. Utah passes a bill that criminalizes miscarriage. No, not being hyperbolic. (Shani-o)

14. Newsweek investigates why minority students aren’t graduating from college. (Blackink)

15. Also in Newsweek, Raina Kelley argues for affirmative action. (Blackink)

16. At Pandagon, Amanda Marcotte shows us what’s really disturbing about O’Keefe and the ACORN “scandal.” (Quadmoniker)

17. Worried that boys were being too rough with the girls in his class, an Arizona Latin teacher institutes an “old-fashioned” door-holding and chair-pulling policy. Or, in other words, substituting actual human respect with practices that treat women like fragile dolls. (Shani-o)

18. In this beautifully written account of four years in Saudi Arabia, Booker prize-winner Hillary Mantel writes of the day, in 1986, when she and her husband “left Jeddah and rediscovered (Western) freedom.” (Belleisa)

19. When it comes to the daughter of the man who flew his plane into the IRS offices in Austin last week, it appears the apple didn’t fall quite far enough from the tree. (Blackink)

20. Journalists frustrated with the decline of the industry in America can go to . . . Iceland. (Quadmoniker)

21. In consecutive weeks, The Daily Beast listed the 25 most influential journalists on the Right and the Left, respectively. Don’t bother looking for any black people. They aren’t there. (Blackink)

22. Toure wonders why whites don’t pass for blacks, after listing all the horrible things that befell blacks in literature who passed for white. (Shani-o)

23. A few awesome black women in rock. (Shani-o)

24. Jenny Sanford, who really seems to miss the slave labor that comes with living in the Governor’s mansion, is determined to make her husband appear more sympathetic. (Blackink)

25. According to Brett Arends of the Wall Street Journal, spending a lot of money on a wedding could cause untold damage to your future financial health. “The true cost of these things is more than most people realize. If they did the math, they’d probably get married in flip-flops.” (Blackink)

26. Jezebel asks “is the Age of Botox Finally Over?” (Belleisa)

27. At Bitch Ph.D., Delia ventures that Tiger Woods‘ public apology Friday was “a necessary step in repairing his bonds with his Asian identity and upbringing – embodied by his mother, in particular.” (slb)

28. Food to freak out to. (Shani-o)

29. Details asks “Are You Raising a Douchebag?” (Belleisa)

30. And finally, if you were one of the thousands of people unfortunate enough to get sucked into watching the bus beatdown video, here’s a follow-up interview with the man who did all the fighting. It’s very sad and probably NSFW. (Blackink)

Any links, suggestions, complaints, effusive praise should go in the comments section.

Until the next time, USA! USA! USA!

Joel

Joel Anderson —blackink —  writes about sports, politics, crime, courts, and other issues far beyond his competence at BuzzFeed. He has worked at media outlets in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Atlanta and contributed to a number of publications, including The Root and The American Prospect, among many others.