Your Tuesday Random-Ass Roundup: The $725 Billion Question.

For at least another day, bigotry prevails and everyone else loses. Matt Yglesias asks, to my mind, the money question:

I’m sort of intrigued by the psychology of members of congress who’re positioning themselves on the wrong side of history here. Does anybody think that in the year 2050 it will be illegal for gay and lesbian individuals to serve openly in the United States military?

I doubt it. But being on the wrong side of history has never been much of a problem for some of the same kinds of people mounting opposition to DADT.

Here’s the weekly roundup, even later than usual:

1. Jan Brewer loves Hispanics. (Monica)

2. In the wake of his opus suggesting President Obama is motivated by anti-colonialism sentiment inherited from his long dead father, Dinesh D’Souza “seems to have homesteaded the intellectual goofiness spot all for himself,” writes Shikha Dalmia of Forbes. (Blackink)

3. Via The Awl, the folks from Next Action Media, my favorite Taiwanese animation studio (what, you don’t have one?), analyze Christine O’Donnell’s win. (Nicole)

3. Speaking of O’Donnell, Think Progress has been covering the old adventures of New Christine. (Blackink)

4. Colbert and Stewart mock events, mock Beck….HAHA! (Naima)

5. For those unemployed and over the age of 50, The New York Times suggests that “many of these older people may simply age out of the labor force before their luck changes.” Mother Jones adds that finding work for older people is even harder for those who are better educated. (Blackink)

6. Some Michiganers want community colleges to offer bachelor’s degrees. Four-year colleges oppose the measure. (Monica)

7. In a bit of an upset, recruiting executives say they prefer big-state schools over elite liberal arts schools when looking for new hires. (Blackink)

8. The FDA held a hearing Monday over whether to approve GM salmon, the first genetically modified animal for food. (Monica)

9. A fantastic series of maps showing the racial and ethnic divides in major U.S. cities. (Blackink)

10. With ANC leadership teetering, talks of redistributing land in South Africa – aka seizing white-owned farm land – are mounting courtesy of ANC youth league. (Naima)

11. If we can revisit the D.C. mayoral primary for a moment: a national teacher’s union spent more than $1 million to unseat Adrian Fenty. (Blackink)

12. Lessons on race … from the South??? (Naima)

13. Media Caffeine has video of “two of the fastest maneuvering birds in the world.” Yes, it’s awesome. (Blackink)

14. Stupid trend piece alert: “Has feminism killed the art of home cooking?” (Nicole)

15. No, the oil in your car probably doesn’t need to be changed every 3,000 miles. (Blackink)

16. The taxonomy of rap names. (Nicole)

17. Looking for a date during National Singles Week? Maybe you can find your soulmate – or something else entirely – on one of these, ahem, interesting dating Web sites. (Blackink)

18. At least 30-35 years too late, the University of Mississippi – Ole Miss, to us Southerners – is finally pulling the plug on its Confederate-themed mascot, Colonel Reb. (Blackink)

19. In a provocative piece (at least, for ESPN.com), Vincent Thomas points out that black people don’t have nearly the disdain for LeBron James that “non-blacks” seem to have in the wake of The Decision. Over at True Hoop, Henry Abbott asks white folks why they so mad at The King. Abbott: “But by the looks of things, his power play — his black power play — was not all that scary to black people. What we have to figure out is why it was so scary to so many others.” (Blackink)

20. Finally, Jon Bois breaks down same-sex relationships, stadium “Kiss Cams” and why we needn’t think of the children. (Blackink)

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.
  • -k-

    Michiganders! Unfortunate, but true.

  • Darth Paul

    9. loved those visuals!

    16. Cute, but that’s NOT taxonomy. It’s like the opposite of it.

    19. Dare I suggest white entitlement is at the heart of this? I’d push it further and suggest it’s an attitude of “ownership”, but I’m not feeling to punchy today.

  • 9. The maps rock…

    15. No, but it’s cheap insurance and YOU can do it yourself and save a boatload of cash. **from the car nerd in the audience**