By now, you’ve heard that Representative Anh “Joseph” Cao from Louisiana cast the single Republican vote in favor of the health care bill.

Quin Hillyer writes a reasoned response to the outcry from conservatives on The American Spectator, citing Cao’s longtime promise to support the bill if it included pro-life language. Representative Cao posted a statement himself on his website:

“I read the versions of the House bill. I listened to the countless stories of Orleans and Jefferson Parish citizens whose health care costs are exploding — if they are able to obtain health care at all. Louisianans needs real options for primary care, for mental health care, and for expanded health care for seniors and children.”

Say what you want about Cao’s politics–whether he made a “secret” back-door deal with the Obama administration in return for Hurricane Katrina funds, for example–but to attack Cao’s ethnic heritage? In what is lauded so often as a post-racial, Obama-happy world? How could this be?

I’m always in shock when I read blatant racial epithets like those directed at Rep. Cao. Just take a look at the public tweet in the graphic to the right for an idea of misdirected vitriol.

Nine prominent poets memorialize the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall in today’s NYT. Mark Doty writes about an ordinary construction site in his U.S. neighborhood; Russian poet Vera Pavlova contrasts the momentous occasion with her everyday experiences as a mother.

Yusef Komunyakaa writes in “Nostalgia” (my favorite of the bunch):

While the east slept in the arms of the west

each house broke into two divided houses

& concertina rolled out across the dead of night

to cleave a full moon.

and

Let’s not speak of official good & evil,

but of a man and woman spooning bodies,

knowing what it takes to make love

go through gray concrete brightly.

The Wall Street Journal compiles that oft-visited subject of writers and their habits. In “How to Write a Great Novel,” top-notch novelists from Edwidge Danticat to one of my favorite writers, Dan Chaon, discuss hours clocked, font size (Ann Rice uses 14-point Courier), and plot points outlined on notecards.

Interesting little highlights:

• Nicholson Baker writes early, early in the morning (about 4 a.m.) with the lights off, his laptop darkened with light gray text, and, once finished, goes back to bed at 8:30.
• Kazuo Ishiguro spends two years outlining his novel and one year writing the first draft.

Many writers discuss the painful process of ditching a novel: Margaret Atwood and Amitav Ghosh among them.

The feature article about writers on writing has been done repeatedly, but this WSJ article is notable for its comprehensive compilation of writers.

James Parker presents a clear analysis of Ricky Gervais and Russell Brand, and their diverse approaches to comedy in this month’s The Atlantic.

As he points out, Gervais is a card-carrying atheist. Brand, too, may well be an atheist, but in Parker’s commentary on this clip, Brand is less focused on metaphysics and more interested in a bit of flirtatious humor with the interviewer. Or, as the author points out, Brand’s “sexual wattage of his grip.”

I admire Parker’s argument that Gervais’ schtick is centered on “littleness”: the details, the micro, the intricacies of his topic. Brand, on the other hand, is driven more by a post-modern, gender-bending approach to humor. Different approaches to a brainy sort of comedy.

In the department of absurd uses of streaming video, this clip of a salsa-dancing labrador takes the cake. There is, of course, more important news in the world (the least of which is that Washington state voters approved Referendum 71, that affords crucial benefits to domestic partners). But isn’t there also room for dogs who can do circus tricks?

I used to be one of those naysayers who clucked his tongue at dog lovers. And then I got a dog. Click play.

We knew it was going to be close. Polls leading up to yesterday’s referendum in Maine were split nearly evenly among those who supported marriage equality and those opposing it. In the end, the “No on 1″ folks–those who support marriage only between a man and a woman–won with 53% of the vote.

Jesse Connolly, the manager of the “Yes on 1″ campaign in Maine, released a statement that was less conciliatory than itching to continue the fight:

We’re in this for the long haul. For next week, and next month, and next year– until all Maine families are treated equally. Because in the end, this has always been about love and family and that will always be something worth fighting for.

For gay marriage advocates, the big picture encompasses several New England states that have sanctioned same-sex marriage: Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Vermont. Iowa is also a state that has legalized gay marriage. The grim news is that 31 states have voted against it.

Is the state-by-state approach to gay marriage our most effective strategy? Piece-meal, local political battles have seen many defeats, including prominent states like California and now Maine. It’s apparent that the need for a federal repeal of DOMA–for our national government to provide leadership in this human rights issue–is now more critical than before.

CNN presents a special report on “Blacks and Gay Equality”. The “down low”, black churches, Obama’s promise of gay equality: CNN anchor Don Lemon poses the issues to a panel of prominent African American men, including authors, college seniors, and preachers, including Tyree ‘DJ Drama Simmons, Bishop Eddie Long, Tyrone McGowan, and Steve Perry.

My favorite quote comes from author Farrah Gray, who says, “Many of us live in the 51st state of the United States: the state of Denial.” He admits the problem of African American homophobia did not come to his attention until the publication of J.L. King’s ground-breaking book, On the Down Low.

Citing a speech by President Obama at the recent Human Rights Campaign fundraiser, the newsclip presents sound bytes about the African American community and its issues with homophobia. Interesting fact: The leading cause of death for African American women, aged 25-34, is HIV/AIDS. Though the assumption by one of the guests is that this is linked directly to the down low, this health statistic is surprising–and worrisome–nonetheless.

Admittedly, I”m not much of a Will Ferrell fan. Yet this video cracked me up.

The actor who plays Ferrell’s landlord is a firecracker–definitely Oscar-worthy. And she’s got a wicked sense of humor (from Funny or Die).

Jorge Colombo, a regular artist for The New Yorker, has been sketching glimpses of New York City since May. Not so unusual, save for the fact that he makes these images on his iPhone: dead-end streets beneath the Brooklyn Bridge, sunsets over the East River, families watching that iconic train schedule board at Penn Station.

He uses an application called Brushes on his iPhone. What was his inspiration?

“I got a phone in the beginning of February, and I immediately got the program so I could entertain myself,” says Colombo, who first published his drawings in The New Yorker in 1994. Colombo has been drawing since he was seven, but he discovered an advantage of digital drawing on a nighttime drive to Vermont. “Before, unless I had a flashlight or a miner’s hat, I could not draw in the dark.” (When the sun is up, it’s a bit harder, “because of the glare on the phone,” he says.) It also allows him to draw without being noticed; most pedestrians assume he’s checking his e-mail.

The artist at work is a joy to watch: Colombo begins in broad strokes of color, then adds layers that might contain skylines and geometric shapes, finally ending with specific details. There’s a neon-like quality to the Brushes application that also intrigued me. Read more about Colombo and his New Yorker covers.

“This is It,” the documentary of Michael Jackson’s last tour rehearsals, opens today in major cities nationwide. I’m not gonna lie–I’m an unabashed devotee of Jackson and his music. As a kid growing up in the 80’s, his music impacted me despite racial, economic, and cultural differences. The CNN/AP footage above excerpts part of Jackson’s rehearsals for the tour.

When Jackson died this past summer, I was surprised by the reactions of my undergraduates. Where I mourned the passing of a great artist, my students–a generation younger than me–only saw a freak show. My students focused on Jackson’s baby-dangling, his extensive plastic surgery, and the scandals tied up in his Neverland ranch and inappropriate behavior with children.

My young undergrads never experienced Michael Jackson when he first appeared on the pop music scene. Jackson, of course, was instrumental to teenagers in the 80’s because of his raw lyrics, his mainstream accessibility of African Americans, and his artistry (the man invented the Moonwalk, for heaven’s sake–who else can claim this kind of global trend?). I remember sitting in front of the television in Council Bluffs, Iowa, at the stroke of midnight for the world premiere of “Thriller” on MTV (back when MTV was a video music channel, not a reality TV vehicle). In my living room, after my bedtime, I was drawn into Jackson’s early pop-and-lock choreography and the grotesque, fascinating vision of Jackson’s zombie crew.

Pre-YouTube and pre-copycat-artists, the original “Thriller” video was a sight to see.