Author: Matthew Clemente

SNL: “Accidental Racist” or Just Racist?

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SNL: “Accidental Racist” or Just Racist?

Country singer Brad Paisley and hip hop artist LL Cool J released a duet titled “Accidental Racist.”  The song clumsily discusses racial prejudice in United States.  Since the single’s release, Paisley and LL have been on a media offensive, defending the allegedly offensive track.   

Last weekend, the duo stopped by Saturday Night Live‘s “Weekend Update.”  

I intended to post a link to the song.  However, it seems that most of the videos on YouTube  have been taken down, will be taken down, or of poor quality.  

My take: the song is bold move, characteristic Paisley’s unconventional lyrics.  While the song certainly seems created a dialogue about race, the song is not very good.  It is a sort of ad hoc mash up musically.  Moreover, the lyrics do not measure up to the gravity issue.  

It reminds me of what I was told in a creative writing class I took in college.  My professor recommended that new writers shouldn’t write about cancer.  She advised that because cancer is such a powerful topic, it is difficult to pull of a story that is fresh and deft.   Having listened to all six plus minutes of “Accidental Racist,” it strikes me as a story about America’s cancer that is neither fresh nor deft.  

 

 

 

Bitcoin: The Virtual Currency Bubble?

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Bitcoin: The Virtual Currency Bubble?

A recent episode of NPR’s Planet Money discussed a new currency, a virtual currency called Bitcoin.  Bitcoin is essentially a currency predicated on a peer-to-peer system (think: the now-defunct Limewire).  The podcast explores some metaphysical economic questions (what is money?). 

Here is Planet Money’s decription of the story: 

Since the start of the year, the Japanese yen has risen by about 12 percent against the dollar. The euro has fallen by about 1 percent.

 

Then there’s bitcoin, a virtual currency that doesn’t even exist in the physical world. In the past few months, the value of bitcoin has risen by more than 1,000 percent — from less than $20 per bitcoin a few months ago to more than $200 today.

 

On today’s show, we ask: Is a skyrocketing value a good thing or a bad thing for bitcoin?

Abolish the Minimum Wage?

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Abolish the Minimum Wage?

That was the proposition being debated on the most recent Intelligence Squared debate.  The debater included James A. Dorn (Cato Institute) and Russell Roberts (Hoover Institution) arguing in favor of the motion and Jared Bernstein (Former Chief Economist to Vice President Joe Biden) and Karen Kornbluh (Former US Ambassador, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development).