Ten Years Ago…

30Nov08

Here’s some more stuff by Matthew Ygelsias and Ezra Klein about the time sensitive nature of being a successful blogger that I discussed earlier.
Basically the conclusion is that, in line with Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers, that time is often an important factor in success. Bill Gates had tremendously unique access to information about computers from [...]

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Tags: Dot.coms, Ezra Klein, Generational Success, Malcom Gladwell, Matthew Yglesias, Outliers

Bush Embeds

28Nov08

I’ve been trying to follow the stories about the Bush administration burrowing their political appointees in the civil service jobs where I guess they’re basically in place till they retire.
It’s an interesting practice, and it’s pretty clearly something the Democrats have been out maneuvered on in the past.
My understanding is that the larger context of [...]

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Tags: burrowing, Bush appointees, Political Appointees

But Blogs Sucked in 2002-2003!

24Nov08

I had been meaning to discuss this blog post by Matthew Yglesias where he points out that one apparently required feature to being a successful blogger is having started blogging in 2002-2003.
It’s one of the more somber facts about blogging, the most popular sites this year are almost exclusively explained by which sites were most [...]

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Tags: 2003, Atrios, Blogs

Outside the Beltway

24Nov08

So once again I know a bunch of people leaving Washington DC for the holidays. Washington DC is unique in that most of the population is from somewhere else, this particularly so among whites. Fully two thirds the city’s sports fans rout for non local sports teams. I’ve noticed particularly among the older, more [...]

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Tags: Thanksgiving, Washington D.C.

Brave New Center

23Nov08

I’ve noticed many internet folks complaining that Obama’s cabinet picks have been too centrist, and they must be on to something because George Will and David Brooks were on the television this morning saying how pleased they were with Obama’s picks. I basically see where the criticism is coming from, but I think people [...]

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Tags: Barack Obama, David Brooks, George Will

Turn It On

18Nov08

Flaming Lips-Turn It On

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Tags: Flaming Lips

Larry Summers Is Toxic

11Nov08

There’s been a bit of dust up about Larry Summers and his ‘Toxic Memo’ suggesting the west export/outsource it’s pollution to Africa. To summarize: Folks like Matt Stoler say Summers would be a bad choice to join the Obama Administration in any capacity and list the toxic memo as one reason:
Summers was one of the [...]

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Tags: Dylan Matthews, Larry Summers, Matt Stoler, Michael Kinsley

The Cost of Not Investing In America

10Nov08

Here’s Al Gore in the NY Times talking about the need to reform our electrical grid.
Second, we should begin the planning and construction of a unified national smart grid for the transport of renewable electricity from the rural places where it is mostly generated to the cities where it is mostly used. New high-voltage, [...]

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Tags: Al Gore, Electric Grid, Infrastructure, Tom Brokaw

I’m Back

09Nov08

OK, never really left. But I’ll be trying to post more frequently now that the election is over, and I’m not spending my weekends canvassing in VA.
It’s a bit of a paradox as the election drove the blog stats higher while it kept me from actually writing more stuff. The stuff I wrote in [...]

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Tags: Chris Colaninno, November

Sunday Morning Presidential Campaign Flashback

09Nov08

Back in the August, Cokie Roberts tells us about Barack Obama’s under performing campaign and how his vacation choices were elitist/un-American.

Obviously suggesting Barack Obama shouldn’t have visited his grandmother looks particularly worse now, but still that’s got to be one of the dumbest things ever said by someone not in the [...]

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Tags: Barack Obama, Cokie Roberts, Obama family pets, Sunday Morning Talk, Vacations

Election Demographics Breakdown

08Nov08

To follow up on the last post here’s some numbers from Kevin Drum about which groups Obama over and under performed his 9 point average swing among the nation as a whole.

Better then Kerry
Income $200,000 or more (+34)
First-time voters (+33)
No high school (+27)
Latinos (+27)

[...]

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Tags: Barack Obama, Electoral Victory

Which “We”?

06Nov08

Here is Ezra Klein on how no single group won the Election for Obama.
It’s only 3:40pm, and I have already read perfectly plausible arguments asserting that labor, young people, women, blacks, Hispanics, and white voters provided Obama his crucial margin. And you know what? They’re all right! If you subtracted enough points among any of [...]

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Tags: Barack Obama, Ezra Klein, Mark Penn