Off topic, but topical. Two interesting stories of the USA in the summer of 2004. The first (NYTimes free registration required) story is about a rapper called the "Iron Sheik" who is and American with Palestinian background. It caught my interest because last semester one of my students did a report on media about "spoken word."

To me, "spoken word" is William Burroughs, Gil Scott Heron, The Lost Poets, or Laurie Anderson (whom most of my students had never heard.) Of course, the artists my students can name are a mystery to me but I had no idea that "spoken word" was so popular across all kinds of college-age kids. Black women, Hispanic women, white men, all were performing and involved in the "spoken word" scene. I couldn't pin them down too specifically on exactly what "spoken word" was, but that's typical of genuine cultural expressions that are coming from people, rather than being fostered by commercial interests. I think it is something to watch to see if it stays an arts and entertainment movement or if it melds political and social interests to become a cultural force on more than just fashion and entertainment.

Item two details a study of health care in the USA that documents that we pay more but get less than in other countries. If this doesn't make the argument for policy reform, then we know the neo-cons are moving us forward on blind faith and ideology (NYTimes free registration required.)

The New York Times > Arts > Music > American-Born 'Iron Sheik' Rhymes for Palestinian Cause The current state of Health Care in USA