Twice we have been wrapped up in some kind of national drama and a catastrophe has come in from out of our collective blind spot, swept away the import of the previous discourse, and laid bare a "true" problem.  In the case of the 2012 election, Superstorm Sandy displaced the petty bickering between the two candidates, illustrating that the ongoing cataclysmic global warming is more important than any domestic squabbles.  Secondly, all the b.s. around the "fiscal cliff" (December 2012) was pushed into the background by the Newtown elementary school shooting, demonstrating the need for adequate gun control laws in the U.S.

12-12-12

#1 Meme of the Aughts?

https://www.google.com/search?q=can+you+hear+me+now+meme&oq=can+you+hear+me+now+meme&aqs=chrome.0.57l2j61j5j60l2.5614&sugexp=chrome,mod=14&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Approximately 48% of all babies in North Carolina are born under Medicaid insurance coverage.

The Poverty Surge

What does it say about Obama that he is a Jay-Z guy instead of a Nas guy?

Following up on this post, I wonder if Biggie's use of "It ain't hard to tell..." in his rhymes on "Party and Bullshit" (1993) was influenced by Nas who released a demo of that tune (then called "Nas Will Prevail") in 1991.