Dana Blankenhorn

The Cracker Belt

There is a dirty little secret about racism, one no one talks about.

It’s moved.

Seth Stevens-Davidovitz, a Google scientist who moved to The New York Times to do “data journalism,” did the research but, because of how he wrote his story , it was not really appreciated.

His method was to use Google Insights and search for racially-charged terms, like the one the President offered Marc Maron last week. He used data from 2004 to 2007, before the President won election, in order to take him out of the equation. Then he looked at where the queries came from, comparing their frequency across metropolitan areas.

The Last Ghetto

 

One thing the Greatest Generation has, which my generation does not, is ghetto memory. And at the end of their lives, they are back where many started.

Before World War II, most American families lived in a single room, often without running water, let alone electricity. Millions were plunged into such conditions by the Great Depression, and this scarred people for life. It was reflected in their attitude toward living, toward money, and toward pleasure. It is the nearly universal experience of this nation’s immigrants.

My American baby boom generation is a product of those attitudes. We grew up in rooms as big as many of our parents’ houses, surrounded by luxuries they could not have imagined when they were kids. We took what was needed for granted, and grabbed for what we wanted. Our parents gladly indulged us, living vicariously, conscious that life is short, that time is fleeting, and hoping it would render us generous, grateful, and loving in our turn.

Oil vs. Technology

The great unwritten political story of 2015 is the turn of technology, from being covertly involved in politics to being overtly involved in it.

There was considerable covert support for Barack Obama in 2007, highlighted by his appearance at Google, where he was given the answer to a question on databases so he could look even cleverer than he in fact was. When the teacher gives you the answer, it’s because he likes you.

The Oil Empire Strikes Back

When oil was dear, and thought to be rare, the industry was more than happy to cozy up to the renewable fuels industry.

At the height of the Iraq War George W. Bush pushed through a $1.2 billion plan aimed at making hydrogen as cheap as gasoline. Exxon, Chevron and Shell all backed renewable fuel projects, mainly involving biofuels.

President Obama’s program for renewable energy, including the SunShot program that produced Solyndra, passed with bipartisan support, and states fell all over themselves to introduce renewable fuel standards, mandating that solar and wind power go into the grid.

What happened?