“It’s one thing to be afraid of terrorism. But there’s no real reason to be afraid of terrorists” – Daphne Eviatar
great quote from a decent article
“It’s one thing to be afraid of terrorism. But there’s no real reason to be afraid of terrorists”
November 18th, 2009“When I take that oath of office, there will be kids all over this country who don’t really think that all paths are open to them, who will believe they can be anything they want to be, And I think the world will look at America a little differently.”
October 30th, 2009“When I take that oath of office, there will be kids all over this country who don’t really think that all paths are open to them, who will believe they can be anything they want to be, And I think the world will look at America a little differently.” – Barack Obama
US cities may have to be bulldozed in order to survive – Telegraph
June 19th, 2009‘Dozens of US cities may have entire neighbourhoods bulldozed as part of drastic “shrink to survive” proposals being considered by the Obama administration to tackle economic decline.’
via US cities may have to be bulldozed in order to survive – Telegraph.
see also this /. post
Pretty interesting story about how vast potions of formerly prime land within cities are being razed in order to return them to nature and reduce the drain on government (and related) serivces. Having been to Detroit (only for a short weekend) I was amazed at how run down and empty large portions of the area/city seemed to be. Its understandable how downsizing it looked at as a failure, it’s just not a part of progress as we’ve come to know it. However, in the case of many rust-belt cities we’ve already “lost” they are ghosts of their former prosperous selves and the only way to move forward is to shrink them down to a manageable size.
The Associated Press: Obama changes office name, pushes Web work
May 12th, 2009“Coupled with that, Obama read a 33-page report with comments from his pre-presidency Web site, letting him know his supporters’ single top priority for the new administration: changing the nation’s policy banning marijuana.”
via The Associated Press: Obama changes office name, pushes Web work.
You have to wonder how seriously Obama will take that request. I have a hard time imagining he’d would take action on it given that I’ve never heard him publically speak about it, but who knows. It’s pretty interesting that it was the most frequently mentioned request/comment. Also interesting that pot supporting people feel free enough to speak up on the record in favor of legalization. I’d imagine at least part of the reason it is the number one request is internet demographics, people who are internet savvy and motivated enough to visit Obama’s pre-election site happen to coincide with the pro-pot segment. At least I have a hard time seeing the greater population careing one way or another.
A prediction about Obama
April 29th, 2009I’m going to go out on a limb and make a rather bold prediction. That not only will Obama be reelected, but there will be a decently strong movement for the lifting of the term limit when his 2nd term is coming to a close. I say this as I sit here watching his 100 day news conference. I’m as impressed with him and his answers now as I was when I watched him speak in 2004. I’m not sure that policy-wise he’s that special, but I think as a person and leader there’s something here that is. Something that I haven’t seen before and can only hope we see again.
The Map Scroll: Income and the 2008 US Election
March 7th, 2009
“You wouldn’t know this if you followed the mainstream media depiction of politics as an essentially cultural battle rather than an economic one, but it turns out that people mostly vote their economic interest:”
The Map Scroll: Income and the 2008 US Election
Pretty interesting, if not unexpected, post about voting tendencies and income. Having grown up in a economically impoverished small town in rural Kentucky I’ve always felt that too many issues are attributed to race rather than economic standing. While its true that violence and to some degree crime is less of a threat there, education, job opportunities, healthcare, housing, and many other standard of living measures are just as bad or worse than inner cities which garner more attention, though admittedly that makes little difference.