The Smithian

One thing…that shouldn’t be up for debate is whether or not we should be as prepared as possible for inevitable weather events like tornadoes…there’s an increasing chance that we will not be thanks to the manufactured crisis known as sequestration…sequestration includes an 8.2 percent cut to the National Weather Service. According to the organization representing weather service employees, that means there is “no way for the agency to maintain around-the-clock operations at its 122 forecasting offices” and also means “people are going to be overworked, they’re going to be tired, they’re going to miss warnings.”

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…many who would…support more regulations and enforcement in the face of a foreign terrorist threat would suddenly scoff at more regulations and enforcement in the face of unsafe workplaces. Why the double standard? That’s the troubling question raised by the reaction—or, really, lack thereof —to last month’s catastrophic explosion in West, Texas…Texas promotes an “antipathy toward regulations” as “the only state that does not require companies to contribute to workers’ compensation coverage” and a place where many counties “cite the lack of local fire codes as a reason for companies to move there.”

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Like Tyler Perry’s oeuvre (with which it shares a histrionic streak), Scandal’s place in black popular culture is way outsized because of the paucity of other black faces in their ecosystem. The work of Perry and [Shonda] Rhimes becomes shorthand for Where Black America Is Today. But where Perry’s work is deeply polarizing, in part, because of his apparent distrust of career-oriented women, Scandal’s popularity is fueled by the many professional black women who, like Olivia, are less likely to be Firsts (but may be still Onlys). They are ambitious and careerist and hypercompetent and well-compensated and unapologetic about all of it.

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in the studio with J. Cole.

Amazon employees in Germany have staged their first ever strikes, in a dispute over pay and benefits…Employees at two huge distribution warehouses…launched the one-day strike…Germany is a vital territory for Amazon. It is the retailer’s biggest market in Europe, with sales last year reaching more than €6.5bn.

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…delivery workers are among the most vulnerable to wage theft. They often use their own cars, bikes or cellphones, but are sometimes not adequately reimbursed. They are also vulnerable to being robbed or injured at work and to being paid less than the minimum wage.

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sosoulfull:

Naps are neccesary (via skrippapeauxs)

[look of the hour]

In the early 20^th century many African-Americans found steady…jobs in urban Post Offices, but little room for advancement. Despite discriminatory employment practices, the Post Office Department was a rare avenue of opportunity…postal jobs were coveted positions that helped lead to the emergence of a black middle class. 

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Hundreds of Chicago fast food workers walked off the job early this morning at restaurants like McDonalds and Dunkin Donuts, with workers at…chains like Macy’s and Sears joining them…more than 500 workers are expected to participate in the strike, calling for higher wages and the right to organize unions in low-wage jobs that are increasingly dominating the American economy.

more. and more.

While the NFL preaches patience/temperance, a new exec MBA program at George Washington University—the first…designed especially for pro football players—takes the opposite approach. Called STAR, an acronym for Special Talent, Access, and Responsibility, the program treats entrepreneurial inclinations not as a frailty to be reined in but as a weapon to be honed and deployed.