Restoration Calls: Restoration Calls: "I’m more scared of being underemployed than unemployed." -
I graduate college three weeks from today. Honestly, student loans are not even close to on my mind. I’m two grand in debt. I’m lucky.
I double majored in Anthropology and Literature, and I would do it again. In Literature I practiced writing, critical thought, articulating criticism,…
“The email messages indicate that the filmmakers were allowed an unprecedented visit to a classified facility, so secret that its name is redacted in the released email. If this facility is so secret that the name cannot even be seen by the public, then why in the world would the Obama Administration allow filmmakers to tour it?” —
Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y.
The congressman believes a planned movie on the Osama bin Laden raid was a creating a “potentially dangerous collaboration” between Hollywood and the CIA and Defense Department.
(Source: nationaljournal.com)
SAD. Today marks the one-year anniversary of the devastating tornado that hit Joplin, MO and killed 161 people. On Monday, President Obama was in Joplin where he delivered a speech to the Joplin High School graduating class of 2012. “The road has been hard and the day has been long, but we march, and we march together,” said Obama. “And you’re leading the way. Because you’re from Joplin.”
(Via AP)
You asked for more charts!
Is Congress getting dumber, or just more plainspoken?
Congress now speaks at almost a full grade level lower than it did just seven years ago, with the most conservative members of Congress speaking on average at the lowest grade level, according to a new Sunlight Foundation analysis of the Congressional Record using Capitol Words.
Of course, what some might interpret as a dumbing down of Congress, others will see as more effective communications. And lawmakers of both parties still speak over the heads of the average American, who reads at between at 8th and 9th grade level.
Today’s Congress collectively speaks at a 10.6 grade level, down from 11.5 in 2005.
(via ilovecharts)
Hey, Millennials (AKA 95% of the people on Tumblr) is this you? -BdM
Who are the Millennials? Aside from being born in the 1980s and 1990s, they comprise a generation that continues to elude a neat definition. With the popularity of HBO’s Girls, in which Lena Dunham’s character thinks she’s the voice of this new generation (“Or at least a voice. Of a generation.”), Millennials have come under renewed focus in the media, among the literati, and in the boardrooms of marketers trying to pinpoint what this demographic wants.
A few ways Millennials are being described:
1. They’re spendthrifts…
Studies show that Millennials are more likely than their elders to spend big, “especially on new technologies,” says Julie Halpert at The Fiscal Times. These studies say Millennials are addicted to instant gratification, and view new gadgets as needs, not wants. Millennials are also “the fastest-growing demographic of those who purchase luxury goods,” says Rachel Krause at The Frisky.2. …And they’re broke
A new survey shows that 25 percent of Millennials “reported not having enough money to cover their basic needs,” a much higher percentage than older generations, says Corilyn Shropshire at Business Insider. Millennials have been hit hard by the recession, and are weighed down by ever-growing mountains of student debt. “The lack of financial savvy among Millennials could have a trickle-down effect with detrimental consequences for society,” says Hadley Malcom at USA Today.3. They’re natural entrepreneurs
Call it “Generation Sell” — Millennials are less inclined to join a commune or a movement, and would rather start a small business, says William Deresiewicz at The New York Times. Brought up in the “heroic age of dot-com entrepreneurship” that defined the 1990s, and distrustful of “large organizations, including government,” the Millennial views small business as “the idealized social form of our time.”4. They’re socialists
Looks like the “right-wing cries of ‘socialist takeover!’ may be based in more than paranoia,” says Nona Willis Aronowitz at Good. Polls show that 49 percent of Millennials “view socialism in a favorable light,” compared with 43 percent who view it unfavorably. Millennials are also the generation of Occupy Wall Street, the anti-corporate movement, and “it’s not hard to figure out why our generation isn’t so gung-ho about capitalism — it has disappointed and, in some cases, straight-up failed us.”Narcissistic, broke, and 6 other ways to describe the Millennial generation
(Source: theweek.com)
“It’s up to Romney’s team to make a pick that doesn’t harm the ticket, conveys gravitas, and steers clear of too much controversy. Given those factors, the short list is narrowing dramatically. ”
Celebrating 43 years in the National Journal mailroom. We’ll miss Walter’s friendly smile when he retires on Friday.
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Today TED was subject to a story so misleading it would be funny… except it successfully launched an aggressive online campaign against us.
The National Journal alleged we had censored a talk because we considered the issue of inequality “too hot to handle.” The story ignited a firestorm of outrage on Reddit, Huffington Post and elsewhere. We were accused of being cowards. We were in the pay of our corporate partners. We were the despicable puppets of the Republican party.
Here’s what actually happened.
At TED this year, an attendee pitched a 3-minute audience talk on inequality. The talk tapped into a really important and timely issue. But it framed the issue in a way that was explicitly partisan. And it included a number of arguments that were unconvincing, even to those of us who supported his overall stance. The audience at TED who heard it live (and who are often accused of being overly enthusiastic about left-leaning ideas) gave it, on average, mediocre ratings.
” —In which TED responds to National Journal’s latest Restoration Calls piece. Do you agree?
Read the full speech that TED said was too controversial to post concerning income inequality.
Read the email sent to Seattle venture capitalist Nick Hanauer from TED curator Chris Anderson on why his speech would not be shown.
(via restorationcalls)
(via restorationcalls)
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Will you put off marriage because of student debt? Have you told your significant other how in debt you are yet? -BdM
(via kiplinger)
