Debtor nation

What had been a routine matter — raising the federal government’s debt limit to make payments on money already owed — has been turned into a high stakes political showdown, and I think that’s good. But the thing is, the outcome of the polarized negotiations is not in doubt. It’s an absolute certainty that the debt limit will be raised before, or in, the eleventh hour, then Congress will take August off and Obama will go to Martha’s Vineyard. The only question is how much the Republicans will be forced to step back from their position. To get perspective on how we got to where we are, watch this Frontline documentary from early in Obama’s Presidency.

Watch the full episode. See more FRONTLINE.

Netflux

Netflix is taking a lot of heat for the big increases in plan pricing. My account page says:

The price of your Unlimited Streaming + 2 DVDs out at-a-time (Unlimited) plan will change to $22.98 (including $3.00 for Blu-ray) (plus any applicable tax) a month starting with your next billing period on or after Sep 01, 2011.

To stay at the same $18/month I now pay for streaming video and two discs at home, with the Blu-ray option, I have to drop to one disc with Blu-ray. So that’s what I’m probably going to do. Right now there are only two Blu-ray titles in my disc queue, so I’m even considering dumping the option, because that would be $7/month less than the $23/month the 2-disc plan will cost in September, and that’s $7×12 months=$84, which would cover the $79/year that Amazon Prime costs. It’s a classic Economics problem in determining marginal utility.

Those singin’ cowboys!

Speaking of TCM (Turner Classic Movies), last week they were featuring singing cowboys. Give a listen to this tune by Hank Penny, one of the Texas Swing kings, whose career overlapped with the birth of Rock and Roll.

http://youtu.be/X2crGr44JVU

There’s a bit of everything in this — big bands, boogie woogie, R&B , and rockabilly. The sound of Bill Haley and his Comets is right in there.

My pet peeve about Pop music historians is that Rock and Roll is often called black music, as if it all came from rhythm and blues. And it just ain’t so. The whole point of what became rock and roll is that it’s a mix of everything that came before, and the singing cowboys are a much a part of the legacy as any other ingredient. Elvis was great for multiple reasons, but one of the most important was that he was a sponge of influences. When he was asked what kind of music he liked, he’d say he liked everything, and he meant it.

Here’s another one by Penny. Swing it, boys!

http://youtu.be/rTvh-UJrfNI