Just a heads up. I'm re-imagining what this website should be and what I should use this domain name for. Until then, things here will be a bit quiet. Instead, I'm over on Tumblr.
(This RSS address will be best for the future.)
January 2008 Archives
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I got a chance to see the Kerouac last Thursday; I'm not a big Kerouac fan, but it was pretty cool. Loved seeing the draft of On the Road.
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"It is a little strange to see a guy whose party has been in power for years standing in front of a big blue “Washington is Broken” sign, but I think we have already determined that Romney is nothing if not really, really adaptable."
As has been the case often lately, I'll be in New York for the day. But this time, I have lots of downtime to hang out and maybe even do something fun. So if you're around and want to grab coffee, drop me an e-mail. Alternatively, if you know of an interesting coffee joint where I can work for a few hours (preferably downtown-ish), definitely drop me an e-mail!
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Ex-owner and editor of The New Republic
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If you only needed one reason to read Megan's blog, her obsession with Dick Cheney should be it.
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I'm thinking this also means they have to turn them over the Oversight Committee?
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Yep, I think it probably is a trend, Ross.
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HAHAHAHA
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On January 3, the 46th most-searched term on Google was "Iowa caucasus." Note the spelling.
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"There is no margin of error for Edwards, no backup plan: He has to find a way to stay at the center of the primary narrative, despite the almost reflexive tendency of the news media to frame the race as Front-runner and Challenger." Yup.
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"The preternaturally jolly McAuliffe is a good man to have spinning for you in a pinch. But his good cheer dimmed when I asked him about Bill Richardson, who appears to have made an 11th-hour deal to throw his supporters to Obama."
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Very cool, including a story about how O'Reilly Publishing's famous "animal covers" came into the world.
Just a quick note to mention that I'll be on the RJ McKay Show in Philadelphia tonight around 9pm. Tune into WPHT (1210 AM talk radio) to hear you favorite political pundit (ie, me) pontificate about the Iowa Caucuses, the New Hampshire Primary, and what it all means for the candidates.
Ann's New Studio
Originally uploaded by Greg Palmer
I finally got the opportunity to visit Ann in her new studio tonight.
It's a ton bigger with two gigantic windows to let in light; suffice
it to say it is a beautiful new space for one of my favorite artists.
Congratulations, Ann!
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Oh wow, fantastic graph. What is wrong with this picture?
I am the biggest loser, per last night's bet. And as painful as it was, I've fulfilled my debt by making a token donation to a candidate of my friend's choosing:
(And note he was chosen only because I dislike him so much, not because either of us like Rudy)
(And note he was chosen only because I dislike him so much, not because either of us like Rudy)
A friend and I decided to do top 3 picks and see who comes closer. I'm gonna put them here for the sake of keeping things out in the open.
Me:
1) Edwards
2) Clinton
3) Obama
Him:
1) Obama
2) Edwards
3) Clinton
Can't wait to see who got closer...
Update: Looks like I'm the big loser here!
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If I had $100 million lying around, this would be fun.
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"The average price for an apartment reached $1.4 million in the last quarter of 2007, up 17.6 percent from the fourth quarter of 2006..."
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"Japan is suffering a crisis of confidence these days about its ability to compete with its emerging Asian rivals, China and India. But even in this fad-obsessed nation, one result was never expected: a growing craze for Indian education."
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The Red Hook... sounds good.
For the past week I've been meaning to write a post to congratulate Carl Malamud on his latest win in his fight to open up government resources. Partnering with several organizations and funding sources, the Boston Public Library will embark on a project to digitize its government documents collection.
Check the NY Times coverage:
The project, which will take two years and require the hand scanning of millions of pages of government hearings and related publications, will cost an estimated $6 million, according to the project’s sponsors. Boston Public Library librarians said they planned to begin by digitizing the House Committee on Un-American Activities hearings from the 1950s, which is regularly sought after by its patrons. The project is being undertaken by Public.Resource.Org, a nonprofit group seeking to open public access to government records, and the Internet Archive, a San Francisco-based digital library.Also, check out Carl's announcement at Public.Resource.Org and BoingBoing. I've had the privilege of working with Carl both in my capacity at Congress and as a fellow advocate of open government data; he's one of the most passionate and interesting folks I've had the pleasure to meet. I'm always looking forward to seeing what he has up his sleeve next.
This evening I rolled out a new design for Keystone Politics. I never seem to be satisfied with the design, but this represents an improvement over the past color scheme and a professionalized look for the site. I'll roll out specific new features over the next few days. Here are a few notes on key areas where I'm either testing a new feature or looking for ideas.
- Subscriptions: For the past few years, I've focused on RSS subscriptions. With this design, I'm testing whether we'll see a better response rate from a daily headlines e-mail. Knowing the political audience, I think it will be a hit.
- Discussions: One of the biggest challenges on Keystone Politics is convincing our readers to participate in discussions on the site. I don't think we made a big improvement in this area, but I'm going to be actively seeking out ideas.
- Revenue Opportunities: I finally caved and installed a leaderboard advertisement banner at the top of the page. I've resisted it for four years, but increased server costs mean that we've got to bring in more money.
- Cleaner Sidebar: We fit a lot of information into our sidebars; I think this look is cleaner than the last one.
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I'd love to see this case solved.
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I _think_ this might do what I want it to do with my blog.
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This is probably worthwhile as well to get rid of those ridiculous daily link posts.
It's coming down the the wire in Iowa and some candidates are airing their closing arguments during tonight's 6 o'clock news. The ads are really representative of the differences in the style and intentions of the candidates. I hate talking about the mechanics of campaigning, because we should be focusing on the message. So listen to the message.
Here's Hillary:
I can't find an embedding link for Obama's but it's on his homepage here.
And then there's my boy, John Edwards. He doesn't even appear in this commercial, but it was more powerful to me than the other two combined.
Message:
Hillary - "Let's be friends."
Obama - "I like the sound of my own voice."
Edwards - "I'm so money, I don't even need to appear in my own commercial."
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“It’s hard for me to see any data here that the traveling public would care about or ought to care about,” he said. “... We were asked to release the data and I said that we would, and I’ve done that.”
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"Lawmakers pretend that lotteries make new taxes unnecessary. But lotteries are a tax, an inefficient, badly targeted one."
Now that I'm back to normal (or so say my family and friends), I have time to be interested in fun things again, so I'm catching up on reading/watching/listening. Check this video of a guy who maintains high-voltage power lines. (via kottke.org)
I have very little to add to the hub-bub about Iowa except to echo Rolling Stone's Tim Dickinson. It's gonna be an exciting few weeks, starting with Thursday.
Sometimes I just fucking love politics. The race in Iowa is such that nobody, and I mean nobody, can predict who is going to emerge victorious on January 3 — in either party’s caucuses. We’re looking at a dead heat among Clinton, Obama, and Edwards on the Democratic side and a dogfight between Huckabee and Romney in the Republican race. Polling over the holidays — when families are traveling — is a joke. So the instruments we pajama pundits usually use to gauge momentum are clouded by statistical burps that show Hillary up ten points in one poll or and down two in another.
