Does anyone deserve such a paycheck?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/the-786-million-question-does-steve-schwarzman--or-anyone--deserve-to-make-that-much/2019/01/04/ea9f9e9c-0df1-11e9-84fc-d58c33d6c8c7_story.html?utm_term=.ac7ec6010ba3

 

Nice column from Steven Pearlstein.

 

“Markets … are social constructs, and the idea that they generate a distribution of income based on a purely objective measure of individual economic contribution is a fiction, nothing more than free-market ideology. When it comes to the distribution of income, there is no “pure” market. Any distribution is, by its nature, “political,” reflecting changing social norms and the distribution of political power.

 

“[If] we, as a society, decide that we find the current distribution of income unacceptable — if it offends our moral intuitions that a single financier earns as much in a year as 15,000 elementary school teachers — then it violates no great moral or economic principle to alter that distribution.”

It’s time to be the grown-ups

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/will-ocasio-cortez-form-the-freedom-caucus-of-the-left/2019/01/04/9eb1a040-1060-11e9-8938-5898adc28fa2_story.html?utm_term=.91e1d572d534

 

From Dana Milbank: “A disastrous presidency has given progressives an extraordinary opportunity — if they don’t blow it by fighting among themselves.”

Rise of custom babies sets off ethics alarms

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/from-sex-selection-to-surrogates-american-ivf-clinics-provide-services-outlawed-elsewhere/2018/12/29/0b596668-03c0-11e9-9122-82e98f91ee6f_story.html?utm_term=.c82f83551216

 

It can be somewhat surprising (and sometimes alarming) to find out what’s been happening in science when you haven’t been paying attention …

 

“[A fertility specialist in Encino] continued offering tests for gender and eye color … at his California clinic and in Mexico. Over the years, as his clientele grew, gender screening was quietly adopted by IVF clinics across the nation as a standard service.

 

“A survey published in March in the Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics found that nearly 73 percent of U.S. fertility clinics offer gender selection. Of those, nearly 84 percent offer it to couples who do not have fertility problems but are considering [in vitro fertilization] solely to control the pregnancy’s outcome.”

A liberal’s response to nationalism

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/there-is-much-to-fear-about-nationalism-but-liberals-need-to-address-it-the-right-way/2018/12/30/2c6e8f24-0ab7-11e9-88e3-989a3e456820_story.html?utm_term=.ed9c414d95a6

 

Nice column by E.J. Dionne Jr. to start off the new year.

#200 Over & Done – Ryan Shaw (2007)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0QTR5dNTr0

 

Yes, this 3-year blog project, which I originally thought I would both start and end in 2016, is finally Over And Done. (No, it’s not a coincidence I saved this song for the end.) I’ve said plenty about Ryan Shaw elsewhere, so I won’t repeat it here. Suffice it to say that, if there really are parallel universes, this song was almost certainly a big hit in at least 90% of them.

 

Stay tuned – I plan to start my next musical effort next month, and (somewhat) confidently expect to finish it by the end of 2019. Happy New Year to all!

#199 The White Collar Holler – Stan Rogers (1979)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsDkmVo2fg4

 

As far as I know, neither well-known Canadian folkie Stan Rogers nor his lesser-known colleague Nigel Russell (who wrote the song) ever spent a day wearing a white collar, much less working in IT. Nevertheless, this ode to office-based professionals really hits the spot, so much so that I made a point of playing it for the attendees at my Westat retirement party.

Which 2020 Candidates Won 2018?

https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/12/24/democratic-2020-presidential-candidates-won-2018-223552

 

If you can stand it … a really early take on the Democratic side of things, by Bill Scher of Politico.

#198 Queen Of My Soul – Average White Band (1976)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVYbDhyoc8Q

 

Music, sweet music

You're the queen of my soul

 

Certainly a sentiment near and dear to my own heart.

 

AWB notched only two big hits: the #1 near-instrumental “Pick Up The Pieces” and the #10 follow-up “Cut The Cake”. (“Queen Of My Soul” topped out at #40.) Despite their modest commercial success, however, they maintain a loyal following, put on a great live show, and are well worth checking out, even if you find “Cut The Cake” to be really annoying.

#197 Giving Up On Love – Jerry Butler (1964)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDmdc6WNHCk

 

Jerry Butler is one of my all-time favorite singers, and the only reason he hasn’t appeared on this list earlier is that I couldn’t make up my mind about which of his many classics to go with. I can’t put it much better than the words that “pghpookie” posted to accompany this video:

 

“Soft, cool soul from the 'Iceman' Jerry Butler. Released in 1964, and included on the 'Need To Belong' album, this is one of Jerry's most overlooked ballads. It's short, sweet, and to the point. It's also beautiful. What a great interpreter of songs and one of our finest balladeers.”

#196 Where Or When – Dion & The Belmonts (1960)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfTZRpCUXc0

 

Doo-wop groups often recorded versions of songs from my parents’ day (often referred to as the “Great American Songbook”). Some of these were, shall we say, radically re-invented – see, for instance, the deconstruction of the Rodgers and Hart classic “Blue Moon” by the Marcels. Dion and crew, however, do a lovely, beautifully-harmonized rendition of this ballad, also written by Rodgers and Hart.