Palin on commmunity organizing (1)
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1 day, 7 hours
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This line from Sarah Palin's convention speech has people in my world--the non-partisan world of civic engagement--furious: "I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a 'community organizer,' except that you have actual responsibilities." I wrote a letter to my new home-town newspaper, the Boston Globe, but they printed a better one instead. I submitted mine online and didn't keep a copy, but the gist was this. It's strange that a Republican candidate would ...
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Geoff said:
Let it be remembered that, on Wednesday night, the Republicans began disparaging active citizenship.
Fox News Accuses McCain Of "Out-Right Lies" In Obama Attacks (1)
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PoliticalBase.com Blog (36)
1 day, 10 hours
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Well, this is a first. Fox News is accusing the McCain camp of "out-right lies" in their bogus attacks on Barack Obama's (D) tax plan. Seriously. Add to this the mounting evidence that McCain’s TV commercials assailing Obama’s tax policy contain serious distortions, if not out-right lies. ...The tax debate has just begun and McCain is losing credibility among the non-partisan bean counters and the larger media organizations that have done their own compare and ...
Cindy McCain’s Outfit Likely Cost $300,000 (1)
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2 days, 7 hours
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Vanity Fair estimates the cost of Cindy McCain’s Tuesday night outfit. Oscar de la Renta dress: $3,000 Chanel J12 White Ceramic Watch: $4,500 Three-carat diamond earrings: $280,000 Four-strand pearl necklace: $11,000–$25,000 Shoes, designer unknown: $600 Total: Between $299,100 and $313,100 If her husband is elected, might we expect her to build a farm behind the White House and dress up in shepherdess and milkmaid costumes? (Adds TPM: “Of course, when it comes to measuring elitism, ...
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Geoff said:
“Of course, when it comes to measuring elitism, what’s a $300,000 outfit compared to … whatever it is that’s supposed to be elitist about the Obamas?”
The Wisdom of Public Prediction Markets (3)
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2 days, 14 hours
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Prediction markets continue to proliferate. These communities use money to bet on outcomes in the future. If a prediction comes true, the winners reap the money from the losing betters. The price of a bet, or share, fluctuates over time -- and thus can be used as a signal for the community's opinion. In theory a prediction market taps into the "wisdom of crowds," but can also be viewed as conventional wisdom. However the results ...
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Nick said:
money is an agreement between parties, huh? that works.
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Geoff said:
"Roughly, the day after Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin gave her rousing nomination speech, all six different prediction markets price Obama winning at about 60%."
what would Kant say about Peggy Noonan? (1)
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peterlevine (2)
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Peter Levine (2)
2 days, 19 hours
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Yesterday morning, the speechwriter and columnist Peggy Noonan published a piece in the Wall Street Journal arguing that Sarah Palin was a great choice for vice president: potentially a "transformative political presence." Later the same day, she was recorded saying that Palin was not the best qualified person and was chosen because of "political bullshit about narratives and youthfulness." What's wrong with this? Perhaps it's evidence of a lie. In the morning, Noonan published a ...
The Wildcats of Foreclosure (8)
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Geoff Manaugh (89)
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BLDGBLOG (88)
3 days, 1 hour
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Wildcats are taking over the foreclosed homes of Southern California. According to the neighbor of an abandoned house near Lake Elsinore, "this is the first she has heard of a wild animal taking over a foreclosure."[Image: Karen Brown/The Press-Enterprise].So is the wild coming back for good – or has the ongoing U.S. real estate bubble simply produced temporarily ideal conditions for the return of bobcats and other large feline predators? After all, what sort of ...
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David said:
This gave me a shudder. I immediately had flashbacks of "I Am Legend." Who needs a virus?
BREAKING: Top GOPers Noonan, Murphy Caught Trashing Palin On Live Mic (1)
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3 days, 12 hours
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THIS is incredible. Apparently, top GOPers Mike Murphy and Peggy Noonan had not a clue that their mics were live while on MSNBC this afternoon as they were trashing McCain's pick of Sarah Palin (R) during a commercial break. My favorite is Peggy Noonan saying "it's over" and said Palin was not the most qualified woman, calling it "political bullshit." Murphy said "it's not going to work." Wow. A candid moment among hardcore Republicans. If ...
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Geoff said:
Noonan: It's over.She said it.
Marginal Revolution: Nationalism (2)
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Alex Tabarrok (55)
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Marginal Revolution (295)
3 days, 12 hours
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What do you get when you plot the genetic fingerprints of more than 1000 Europeans on a grid? An image that looks surprisingly like a map of Europe. The findings reveal that our DNA contains a sort of global positioning system, which researchers can use to pinpoint where in the world both we and our relatives came from.... "I couldn't believe the picture was so clear," says Carlos Bustamante, senior author and statistical geneticist at ...
Mirrors as a means of reducing (increasing?) bias (3)
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Tyler Cowen (239)
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Marginal Revolution (295)
3 days, 14 hours
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People exhibit less prejudice when they're in the presence of a mirror, Dutch researchers have shown. Carina Wiekens and Diederik Stapel said this effect occurs because mirrors make us more aware of our public appearance, and therefore remind us of the need to fall in line with social norms.Here is more. Perhaps I have seen too many vampire movies, but in general I am of the opinion that mirrors have a real influence on our ...
the role of charity (1)
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4 days, 8 hours
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When Hurricane Gustav set its sights on New Orleans, the national political campaigns and parties instinctively started to raise money for NOLA charities. They were following the example set after Katrina, when the private sector contributed at least $6.5 billion (PDF). (And that doesn't count the market value of volunteer time.) For comparison: the storm did an estimated $150 billion in damage; and the federal government has spent about $120.5 billion on relief (PDF). So ...
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Geoff said:
"Federal funding must and did dwarf private funding. But private money is useful for supporting experimental or adversarial activities that the government can't touch. Also, individual contributors and volunteers create contacts and social networks. One local activist, Tim Williamson, said "Pre-Katrina New Orleans was an insular, closed community. .... Katrina has opened up the networks." These human connections can be powerful. Finally, private money can support the kind of leadership and coordination that we normally expect of government. Foundations funded the Unified New Orleans Plan, a highly participatory and deliberative process. Compared to the structures created by local, state, and federal governments, the United New Orleans Plan was much better."
Why I Think Palin Will Step Down (2)
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Joanne McNeil (10)
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Tomorrow Museum (8)
4 days, 12 hours
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Unlike Sen. McCain, I’m not a gambler, but I’d put $5 on Palin being replaced with Bobby Jindal by October. To “be with her family,” of course. Apart from Bristol’s bump and her “undecided” mother-in-law, there are too many potential scandals to count. Just as she cancels out the experience argument, an Alaska successionist is weirder than knowing one of the Weather Underground. The firing of Walt Monegan is easier to understand than the Rezko ...
Gallup: 81% Of Clinton Supporters Back Obama, Up From 70% Last Week (1)
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PoliticalBase.com Blog (36)
4 days, 16 hours
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Gallup says Democrats have found unity: Also: The Democratic convention appears to have helped solidify support for Barack Obama among former Hillary Clinton supporters, with the percent saying they will vote for Obama in November moving from 70% pre-convention to 81% after the convention, and the percent certain to vote for Obama jumping from 47% to 65%.
Real Money: 18% Chance That Palin Will Be Withdrawn As VP (1)
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PoliticalBase.com Blog (36)
4 days, 18 hours
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That didn't take long. Intrade now has a wagering proposition on whether Sarah Palin (R) will be withdrawn as the Republican nominee for vice president prior to election day: Moreover, futures on Barack Obama (D) being our next president are up 1 point to 61.1, while John McCain's (R) chances are down half-point to 39.3.
Media Starts Asking Whether Palin Will Be Removed From GOP Ticket (1)
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PoliticalBase.com Blog (36)
5 days, 5 hours
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In this afternoon's New York Times story on the Sarah Palin (R) insanity today was this sentence: Gov. Mark Sanford of South Carolina said that he had heard no discussion about removing Ms. Palin from the ticket. Sometimes, it's the questions being asked that are more important than the answers. Just file this one away... P.S. -- By the way, there's been a marginal uptick over at Intrade on Republican running mate futures on a ...
Get the Most Out of Your New Town [Ungeek To Live] (46)
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Kelly Abbott (40)
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Lifehacker (7794)
6 days, 11 hours
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Editor's Note: Welcome my San Diego-based pal Kelly Abbott, founder of Dandelife and all-around good guy. His new weekend post series, Ungeek to Live, will highlight the ways you can get things done without always involving a computer or gadget. Not all things analog can go digital, and let's face it, most things worth a hill of beans in this world are analog through and through. Life is all about people, places and things. The ...
The GOP's Shameless Hypocrisy Of Palin Veep Pick (38)
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1 week
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Maybe the most remarkable thing about John McCain's (R) choice of the woefully inexperienced Sarah Palin (R) to be a heartbeat away from the oldest man who would ever be elected to the presidency, and a three-time cancer survivor, is the truly shameless hypocrisy of Republicans over this pick. It might be instructive to recall what many of these GOP leaders -- who are now praising Palin's complete lack of national and foreign policy experience ...
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Geoff said:
Washington Times, July 8, 2004:"President Bush yesterday criticized Sen. John Edwards for blocking his judicial nominations and bluntly dismissed the one-term North Carolina Democrat as too inexperienced to be a heartbeat away from the presidency."But Palin? Bush thinks she's the right choice.
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Eric said:
gotcha
