1. The Last Lecture - Well this afternoon I taught my last class in the Cambodian public school system. The highlight of the day—when one of my students asked me if she could have my deodorant so she could remember my smell. Creepy or flattering? You tell me…
2. Assume the Worst – Over the last two years, I’ve been really lucky in terms of my health. I actually think I was sick more times in New York City than I have been in Cambodia. That being said I’m really looking forward to the day when a headache doesn’t cause me to freak out about malaria and dengue fever, and stomach problems don’t require looking in the toilet for worms.
3. Slow News Day – Dance moves this good could only come from one place. You got it… Montclair, New Jersey baby!
Enjoy this now, because I’ll probably have to take it down in the next 24 hours.
4. @CooperKnowlton - In an attempt to stay one step ahead of my mom who joined Facebook this week, I finally got around to joining Twitter. You can follow me @CooperKnowlton. No underwear shots, I promise…
5. Herman Cain Train – A lot of the blogs I read have been talking about how well Herman Cain is polling right now (some polls in Iowa have him as high as second or third) considering his low name recognition. I couldn’t figure out the appeal, until I watched the Herman Cain Train music video. If you haven’t seen it watch it now…
6. The Prey Sundek Carbon Footprint – A few days ago the International Energy Agency released new data showing that carbon dioxide emissions have shot way up in 2010. Apparently about three-quarters of the rise come from developing countries. While most of those emissions are coming from places like China and India, I couldn’t help but think about what I’ve seen in Prey Sundek Village over the last two years. Obviously I have no hard numbers, but if you just consider the number of new houses, new cars, and new electronics that have arrived during this time, it’s obvious that the carbon footprint of this community has shot through the roof.
We might be able to cut our emissions in the west, but how do you stop the rest of the world from taking their piece of the pie?
7. Hypocrisy – I thought the people of New Jersey were supposed to be tightening their belts? I thought the government spent too much money? I thought he was running for President? I guess not.
Taking the state helicopter to your son’s baseball game has gotta be one of the dumbest things a “fiscally conservative” politician could do. I know Christie said he’s going to pay the state back, but we haven’t heard the end of this story.
8. Lower Taxes than Under Reagan – Why couldn’t Obama have come up with this talking point a year ago during the debate over the Bush tax cuts? (Think Progress) It’s brilliant….
President Obama met with the House Republicans today at the White House to discuss ways to move forward on negotiations regarding the nation’s debt ceiling and the budget. During the discussion, talk evidently turned to taxes, and when Obama noted that taxes today are lower than they were under President Reagan, the GOP, according to The Hill, “engaged in a lot of eye-rolling.”
That House Republicans find this preposterous is symptomatic of the hold Reagan mythology has over them. After all, for seven of Reagan’s eight years in office, the top tax rate was higher than the current 35 percent. In six of those years, it was 50 percent more. And every year that Regan was in office, the bottom tax bracket was higher than the current ten percent.
For a family of four, the “average income tax rate under Reagan in 1983 was 11.06 percent.Under Clinton in 1992, it was 9.18 percent. And under Obama in 2010, it was 4.68 percent.” During Reagan’s time, income tax revenue ranged from 7.8 to 9.4 percent GDP. Last year, it was 6.2 percent and is not projected to climb back to 9 percent until 2016. In fact, in 2009, Americans paid their lowest taxes in 60 years.
Republicans are very fond of saying that the U.S. has “a spending problem, not a revenue problem.” But the truth is that revenue has plunged due to the recession and to continued misguided tax cuts, and revenue needs to be raised to eventually bring the budget into balance. And Reagan knew that taxes were an important part of the budget equation. After all, he “raised taxes in seven of his eight years in office,” including four times in just two years.
9. Best Ballparks – At the FiveThirtyEight blog, Nate Silver ranks the best ballparks in baseball according to fan ratings. Isn’t it pathetic that neither the Yankees nor Mets new stadiums are near the top? What a waste of money.
10. I’m Not a Racist But… – And finally, from the website I’m Not a Racist But… comes proof that anytime someone begins a statement that way, a racist comment is inevitably on its way. Here are a few perfect examples…
“John Edwards, the former Democratic senator from North Carolina and nominee for vice president in 2004, was once one of his party’s most promising young stars. But on Friday he found himself in a stunning fall from grace–in a courtroom in North Carolina, being read his rights. ” NYT 6.4.11
Well I had to set up my own Twitter account to look for you but for some reason could not find you! So now I’ve got Facebook and Twitter! Imagine that. All those friends out there just waiting to be discovered. There ought to be a law.
Miss you Cooper. Counting the days now.
xo
ps/Yay for Coors Field and Montclair dance moves.
So we all three LOVED “Midnight in Paris.” See if you can find it. We think you will too!
XO