August 2011
greenvilleurbanlandscape asked: How does it feel to be a political professor in the post-political era?
lewisandlife asked: I just read your piece on the London riots, and as a Brit, found it very interesting as always. You talked about, at the end, helping people built connections to their communities. I agree that it is important but I was wondering how exactly you go about it? And I don't mean that in a confrontational, challenging your political views kind of way. I simply don't know how one would go...
mgolladwyne asked: just wanted to say how much i enjoy your blog and thank you for your insights. i have found myself on more than a few occasions reading your blog and having to seriously think through my positions on a few things. this is especially enjoyable to me in that it challenges my preconceived notions on certain topics and forces me to redefine my own stances. this isn't to say i don't find...
4 tags
Rick Perry's Unanswered Prayers
The following editorial is from today’s New York Times. I have nothing to add. PP
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Timothy Egan, The New York Times
A few months ago, with Texas aflame from more than 8,000 wildfires brought on by extreme drought, a man who hopes to be the next president took pen in hand and went to work:
“Now, therefore, I, Rick Perry, ...
“Corporations are people, my friend.”
– Mitt Romney.
Personally, I’ll buy this the day they draft a corporation and send it to war. The day a corporation has a child who needs medical attention or a good education. The day a corporation can’t breathe the fumes its factories create. The day a corporation cries when the planes...
5 tags
On London's Riots
I love London.
I’ve vacationed there several times. I lived there for six months on sabbatical. For whatever reason, I get London, and London gets me.
And not just the nice bits. As it happened, I lived in the remarkably posh neighborhood of St. John’s Wood. Kate Moss lived nearby. I saw Paul McCartney walking down the street as I strolled along in Little Venice, which is not far...
A Bumper Sticker for Rick Perry
Rick Perry for President: Because America Needs Another Governor from Texas in the White House!
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How NOT to Take a Real Public Opinion Poll
So I find myself in possession of a direct mail solicitation from the Republican National Committee—the peak organization of the Republican Party. It contains a deeply personal letter—not—from RNC Chair Reince Priebus asking the bearer to respond to the RNC’s 2011 Obama Agenda Survey—as well as to send in a contribution to support their cause.
That’s all fine...
“Creating an enterprise strategy and knowledge development resource to support...”
– Bob Lutz’ account of the GM’s North American Strategy Group’s mission statement, pre-bankruptcy.
Lutz, who was brought in to be the guru of new products at GM (having done so successfully at Chrysler, Ford and BMW), pointed out that, tellingly, the mission statement wasn’t...
therange asked: Can you recommend any good books or writers who write about contemporary politics? Preferably for someone with a more casual interest.
5 tags
Random Observation #3
Who knew that after its politicians jerked around with the financial stability of the United States, the financial markets that rely on the financial stability of the United States would react badly?
I mean, who could have seen it coming?
And yet, to square the unsquareable circle, where is all the money that is flooding out of Wall Street and the European and Asian stock markets going?
US...
the-dregs asked: If you had complete control of the national budget how would you fix the countries debt crises?
5 tags
The Permanent Campaign and the Failure to Govern
I want to suggest that March 19, 1979 was the most important, utterly ignored date in recent American political history.
Why is that date important? It’s the day C-SPAN started broadcasting.
This event, which seemed beyond innocuous at its start—after all, who REALLY wants to to watch Congresspeople give speeches all day long?—turned out to be momentous. It launched the era of...
On "The Response"
So Rick Perry got 20,000 people to come to a stadium in Texas and pray for America. To quote the brilliant BBC presenter Jeremy Clarkson, “How hard can it be?”
“Perry “rarely earned anything above a C in his courses — earning a C...”
– That Rick Perry earned a D in principles of economics at Texas A & M may be the least surprising news of the day.
You can read more about it here. h/t: The Monkey Cage.
Random observation #780
Isn’t it fascinating to watch people wonder where all the good jobs are and then go to Walmart to buy the cheapest stuff they can find?
Welcome to the neoliberal new world order, where there are lots of really cheap things no one can really afford to buy.
“Consider one crucial measure, the ratio of employment to population. In June...”
– Paul Krugman, The New York Times.
I look forward to austerity—e.g., withdrawing spending from the economy—magically stimulating new job creation.
uncdan asked: I'm curious because I haven't heard a good argument before.
Republicans are renowned for their support for cuts to the Education budget. Aside from calls for reform, or possibly that teachers are supposedly overpaid... what is the reason behind their consistent desire for cuts in this area?
A lot of left-leaning people just see it as evidence of their...
Republicans are renowned for their support for cuts to the Education budget. Aside from calls for reform, or possibly that teachers are supposedly overpaid... what is the reason behind their consistent desire for cuts in this area?
A lot of left-leaning people just see it as evidence of their...
