April 7, 2014

Ezra Klein explains it all, on his newly launched website that means to make "the 'vegetables' of news more appetizing."

The snarky New York Magazine asks: "How many topics can I better understand right now?" Answer:
Not many. So far your options are student debt, GM's recall scandal, Obamacare, congressional dysfunction, immigration reform, global warming, federal taxes, Bitcoin, and health-care spending.
Speaking of eating what some liberal politico thinks is good for you, I was amused by: "'I'll never forgive Michelle Obama for this school lunch': Students sick of smaller, healthier portions take to social media to rail against First Lady's pet project."

Funny that Ezra deployed the eat-your-vegetables metaphor. So tedious! Why would we look to his operation for genuine nourishment?

CORRECTION: I'd misread the Q&A as an interview with Ezra (and portrayed a response as "dismal"), but the New York Magazine writer is doing both the Q and the A, albeit with some quotes from the Vox website, which is responsible for deploying the "vegetables" metaphor. I don't know if Ezra personally deployed it, but here's a Vox FAQ quote with the metaphor:
Vegetables can be cooked poorly. But they can also be roasted to perfection with a drizzle of olive oil and hint of sea salt. It’s our job to experiment with all kinds of preparations....
That's already so dull that I don't trust them to do the drizzling and hinting. (And why specify sea salt and not inform us whether the olive oil in your metaphor is extra virgin? Because "extra virgin" might bother the sensitive reader or because salt that isn't sea salt might seem unhealthful?)

35 comments:

Lance said...

Wow. Klein really is the antithesis of Mickey Kaus.

Lance said...

Wow. Klein really is the antithesis of Mickey Kaus.

John Christopher said...

Althouse, I think you missed this one. The linked article is not an interview with Klein.

tim maguire said...

I think it's perfect. Vegetarians are sickly, less well nourished than omnivores.

Michael K said...

About what I'd expect from a recent UCLA graduate in poly sci with no real education.

Paco Wové said...

Ezra Klein: proof that the 'profession' of journalism has lost its sense of smell.

Ahh, it probably never had one to begin with.

Bob Boyd said...

Ezra Klein is kind of a cross between Cliff Claven and Pajama Boy.

Sigivald said...

Why would we look to Ezra Klein for anything, even without that statement?

David said...

Ezra should do some teaching at the University. Two courses come to mind:

What To Believe.

What You Should Not Believe.

Wince said...

"Here Child, Finish Your Nothing "

Steven said...

Ah, yeas, sea salt. Because instead of seasoning food with salt that was in pristine primeval oceans and then safely locked away for millions of years between layers of impermeable rock, I want the salt freshly taken from a source humans are actively dumping their industrial byproducts in.

Bob R said...

I think Rachel Ray made specifying the "extra virgin" too prole for the hipsters.

Brian said...

Why *sea* salt?

"Then said they unto him, Say now Shibboleth: and he said Sibboleth: for he could not frame to pronounce it right."

As for *extra virgin*, Bob R has it. No value as a shibboleth there.

PB said...

Combining this Althouse post and the one preceding it - Ezra doesn't make a good case for something that should be read in it's entirety. Rather, I think he counts on skimming and lack of critical thinking.

Alex said...

Sorry Ezra but the people want the 'french fries' of news.

Heyooyeh said...

Why have a boring wonky site when you can have an amazon portal where your reactionary readers call everything they don't like "fascist"?

Left Bank of the Charles said...

We may be seeing a Piers Morgan effect. People reading the Vox blog only to see Ezra Klein. And people reading Vox in order to write about it failing too.

Crunchy Frog said...

Ezra Klein: the brussels sprouts of journalism.

George M. Spencer said...

"Amtrak's insane boarding rules, explained"

"Everything you need to know to start watching Game of Thrones today."

Klein wanted millions from Bezos to publish this!!!

Ha.

Kylos said...

Why is sea salt considered healthful? It's not iodized. Do people suddenly have a good source of iodine in their diet?

gadfly said...

The first thing that I notice about the Vox site is that readers comments is not a feature. So Klein et al decide what the news is and what spin they like but there is no way to respond.

I don't mean to criticize just the Vox site because others including Commentary Magazine shut down their comments recently, making it impossible to howl at them for continually taking pot shots at Sarah Palin.

Back to Vox, I was taken aback by the obvious attack on the Border Patrol citing the killing of 42 illegals (not so named in the article) in Arizona. Nothing was said about circumstances such being fired upon or being threatened by numerically superior gangs of illegals - nor did the article state that BP agents have been killed as well including some of the agents caught up in our government's shady Fast & Furious operation.

Border Patrol deals with law breakers and arrests normally turn violent because of actions by the perps. If we cannot have the details, don't run the stories.

Drago said...

Paco: "Ahh, it probably never had one to begin with."

I beg to differ.

The old street-wise toughguy journalists were something to behold.

Particularly compared to the what constitutes the modern journalist set.

What is most interesting is how much the old journalists used to know about "stuff", not "process" or "inside the beltway" navel gazing.

But "stuff".

Tangible stuff.

Ancient history now.

Anonymous said...

If you thought NPR bars, packed with social justice granola, Terry Gross, and whirled peas were all you needed to understand our pure democracy, think again!

Who needs 'old' journalism?

**Vox comes in tech, general interest and Yglesias flavors.

I Have Misplaced My Pants said...

What is Ezra Klein, like 29?

He needs to shut up and learn from his betters for about thirty more years before anyone should listen to him.

If he has any capacity for growth at all in about thirty years he'll be embarrassed by the pretentiousness of his youth.

kcom said...

"nor did the article state that BP agents have been killed as well including some of the agents caught up in our government's shady Fast & Furious operation"

What Fast & Furious operation? You're just making up words now. That didn't happen. Well, it never happened for Ezra and his types because they were asleep at the wheel. Well, that's not exactly true either. They were actually in the backseat giving a BJ to...ahem...someone very special.

Sam L. said...

Ezra, not one of my favorite bloggers; not now, not ever, never!

Crunchy Frog said...

IHMMP: that would require him to have more self awareness than the vast majority of lefty boomers running around now.

Alex said...

Some people are angry at how much Ezra Klein has accomplished at 29. Much more than these old farts ever could.

jimb82 said...

Alex, I know 29-year old staff sergenats who have done 3 tours downrange who know more about life and have accomplished far more of substance than Ezra Klein ever will.

rhhardin said...

A carrot and a tomato were out for a drive and crashed.

One was killed instantly and the other is a vegetable for life.

Drago said...

Alex: "Some people are angry at how much Ezra Klein has accomplished at 29. Much more than these old farts ever could."

A list of these accomplishments would be nice.

For discussion purposes.

Brando said...

Sea salt. Always with the sea salt!

I need to figure out what will be the next big thing for foodies, and get in on the ground floor. Maybe I can come up with something called "Artisan Tree Infused Salt" and put in something about Amazon tribes and health benefits. It could be the next acai berry or quinoa!

Brando said...

And can we please impose a new rule where we only discuss Pajama Klein when he actually comes up with something insightful or worthwhile? Because otherwise I'll suspect a widespread conspiracy to make this guy relevant, like a Kardashian.

jaed said...

Why is sea salt considered healthful? It's not iodized. Do people suddenly have a good source of iodine in their diet?

Sea salt contains iodine naturally and doesn't need to be iodized. (It also includes other minerals, which is why it's considered "healthful", although I'm not sure how significant they are. They do make it taste better, though.)


I keep reading "Vox" and thinking Vox Day... which is causing some serious brain whiplash.

Todd said...

I would much prefer that instead of spending time trying to make news tasty that they would instead spend the time to make it factually correct and complete. That way I could read it and [you know] make up my own mind.