Sundry Sunday

Every Sunday, I sound off on events from the previous week that have come to my attention. It's also a chance for me to throw things at the inter(spider?)web and see what sticks.


The first full week of 2011. And what a week it was. 

First things first: the tragic shooting in Tucson, AZ. I've spent much of the past two days glued to the TV and internet absorbing as much as I can about this terrifying sequence of events. You're all very well-informed people, and it'd be silly for me to reiterate the headlines with which we're all very familiar. But let's address a few important primary points:

1) Jared Lee Loughner was a deeply disturbed individual. If the slaughter of six people, including a minister, a federal judge, and a nine-year-old girl, wasn't enough proof for you, look at his YouTube channel. Full of pseudo-intellectual chatter about the Constitution, these videos depict a man held hostage by his own paranoia and psychosis. We know that he had fallen in and out of trouble with the law on a number of occasions. Former friends of his have described him as "obsessed with 2012 theories." According to a former classmate of Loughner's, "He disrupted class frequently with nonsensical outbursts." He was a man unhinged.
2) Jared Lee Loughner was NOT in any way affiliated with the Tea Party, its ideology, or its proponents. One of the most disturbing shockwaves that resulted after the shooting was the left's flailing attempts to draw a connection between fiery TP rhetoric and these unjustified murders. Oddly reminiscent of the right's initial finger-pointing for the Oklahoma City bombings at "Middle Eastern terrorists," the left-wing talking heads and media sources immediately began to blame anyone and everyone on the right they saw at all responsible. For one thing, it's very clear that Loughner was far too disconnected from reality to actually be heavily influenced by any single political movement. Secondly, for the left to act so "holier-than-thou" about violent rhetoric is absurd. I remember from my early days working as the personal aide to Victoria Wulsin, who opposed Congresswoman Jean Schmidt in two elections, that on breaks we'd often throw darts at a board featuring the Congresswoman's face. This is politics. Everyone demonizes the other side, and often the violent language goes too far. But to blame the Tea Party for this tragedy is an insult to the victims who died that day. I absolutely believe that we need to calm down the violent rhetoric, and strongly believe that, as of recently, the right has been far more guilty than the left. But according to this guy's friends and acquaintances, he was "virulently left-leaning" and listed The Communist Manifesto as one of his favorite books on his YouTube info page.

The whole incident is deeply saddening. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords is widely respected by her colleagues for being a faithful public servant. She also sits in on the Motorcycle Caucus. Enough said. My thoughts and prayers are with her, her family, and the families of the other victims of this senseless, unjustified, and just terrible slaughter.


Ok, on to more positive things. 
In the world of Los Nets, it looks like we're getting closer to a deal for 'Melo. At this point I just want it all to be over. I know I've been an adamant naysayer on this whole deal, and I'm still really reluctant to give up Devin Harris, but I can't wait to seal the envelope on this whole thing. This a team that went through is still very much in a stage of big changes, and maybe a total re-engineering of our offense is the only way to get the ball rolling on a team that needs desperately to pull itself together. I am really excited about the possibilities of a Lopez/Melo/Humph offense. But this team has been in limbo because of the uncertainty revolving around any deal that lands Melo in New Jersey. It's time for us to set something in concrete.

As for hip-hop, a couple days ago saw the first leak of Phil Ade's Friday series. Listen below, download it here. This guy is an underground MC from the DC/Baltimore area that I'm really getting excited about, and is definitely worth a listen.

In the world of hipster rock, I was recently turned onto a local Cincinnati act that is going to be all over Pitchfork in a few months. Walk The Moon is a bunch of kids from the 513, one of whom plays a keytar. Badass. Hit the link above to download their debut album and check out the video below for their lead single. A video featuring choreographed dancers in eighties workout gear and a lot of facepaint. Like I said, a bunch of freaking hipsters. But definitely worth a look.

Hope this week treated you well. Good night, and good luck.