Today’s a big day in Iran - 30 years ago, the hostage crisis began.
My blogging time is limited, so please check out my prior Public Interests posts on the Iran question here.
The Public Interest
The Public Interest: Ideas & Discussion on Events of the Day
30 YEARS AGO: 13 ABAN
November 4th, 2009, 11:35 am by Dan Lehr20 YEARS AGO
November 3rd, 2009, 12:30 pm by Dan Lehr
Local blogger Christian Hoeferle was barely two decades old when one of the most significant events of his home country, Germany, happened.
In a must-read post at Chattarati, Hoeferle recalls the mood at the time:
“Amid this emerging uproar, the GDR celebrated its 40th anniversay in October 1989. During his visit to the festivities in East Berlin, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev publicly said: “Trudnosti podsteregajut tech, kto ne reagirujet na shisn,” or, “Difficulties lurk for those who do not react to life.” This quote was later transcribed to mean: “Those who are late will be punished by life itself”.
It was the signal many had been waiting for: the Soviet Union would not stand in the way of the liberation movements in Eastern Europe. And it was Gorbachev’s answer to Ronald Reagan’s famous appeal in June 1987: “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”
It was then that we realized: This is serious. However, we still didn’t expect change to happen so quickly. Just a few weeks later, on November 9th, 1989, GDR leaders formally opened the borders. For the first time, East Germans were free to travel to the West. My family sat at home in front of the TV, watching in awe as people lined up in droves at the checkpoints. By the thousands, they crossed the inner-German border to get their first taste of the West.
CONNECTING THE DEPRESSION DOTS
November 3rd, 2009, 11:30 am by Dan Lehr
Former Reagan economist Bruce Bartlett notes some similiarities between the Great Depression and this, the “Great Recession:”
“Unfortunately, the current crisis is caused by the same deflationary forces that caused the Great Depression. Monetarists dismiss this argument on the grounds that the money supply has not only not fallen, but in fact has risen sharply. At the end of September, the money supply (M2) was up by $523 billion over a year earlier–a substantial increase. For this reason, they dismiss the idea that government stimulus was necessary to get the economy moving again. Read the rest of this entry »
ELECTION DAY
November 3rd, 2009, 10:15 am by Dan Lehr
.
Daniel Larison reads the tea-leaves:
“Something I don’t understand about the national GOP’s elevation of the NY-23 race to such a high profile is why they think nationalizing House races favors them. Nationally, the GOP remains toxic and its party ID continues to be very low. Nationalizing the race gains the GOP nothing in a traditionally supportive district, but it potentially saddles their preferred candidate with all of their baggage from the past several years. It is also mimicking the absolutely failed Republican tactics of almost every special election of the last three years. With depressing regularity, GOP attack ads have warned voters against such-and-such a candidate siding with Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, when most people outside of Washington don’t know and couldn’t care who these people are. The leading role Palin has had in backing Hoffman, which has also triggered something of a stampede of other national Republicans to try to match her bid for conservative activist support, has to be something of a dream come true for Chris Van Hollen and the DCCC considering her genuinely poor ratings with non-Republicans.
MACHIAVELLIAN MOVE OF THE WEEK
October 28th, 2009, 1:16 pm by Dan Lehr
Above: Newt Gingrich points out that national politicians on the right who’re trying to influence a local election aren’t necessarily doing something that can be defined as “conservative.”
THE ‘OPT-OUT’ OPTION
October 27th, 2009, 9:32 am by Dan Lehr
I’m a fan. And you should be, too.
And Anonymous Liberal spells out exactly why allowing states on the surface to refuse a government-funded public option makes strategic sense:
“..assuming it’s a true opt-out provision, the national plan will initially be available in every state. Undoubtedly there will be calls from conservatives (particularly Republican politicians who are considering presidential runs in 2012) for states to opt-out of the public plan. Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty has already stated that he will lead such a campaign in Minnesota. As we saw with the stimulus bill, however, there is often a stark difference in both priorities and opinions between state-level Republicans and Republicans with aspirations for national office. It is one thing to posture for the national media; it is quite another to actually take steps to deprive citizens in your state from being eligible for a federal benefit. It would not surprise me at all if, when push comes to shove, many state-level Republican (even in very red states) balk at the idea of opting out of the national plan.
[snip]
NASHVILLE HAUNTS
October 26th, 2009, 1:11 pm by Dan Lehr
UPDATE: Metafilter linked her series, & because of that now you can anticipate Aunt B herself reading one of these stories on an upcoming All Things Considered newscast! Congrats, Aunt B!
Original post:
In what’s without question one of the Tennessee blogosphere’s best series of the year, Aunt B’s been tracking down and posting a ghost story in Nashville for each day this month, including this one about a mysterious waitress appearing in a mirror at a Hooters restaurant:
“The staff is usually split 50/50 about how they feel about her. Some of them are terrified, even though she only appears in the mirror and there aren’t weird noises or a feeling like anyone else is present if you’re alone in the dining room. There’s nothing at all creepy about her.
Some of them secretly appreciate, on busy days, when they are so tired of the “clever” comments and the small tips, catching her eye in the mirror and getting a supportive nod or wink.
But eventually the patrons notice. And then it becomes really weird. Usually, one person will see her first and he’ll say something just to the folks at his table. You’ll see them looking at the mirror and then kind of sitting tall in their seats to crane their necks around and check if they aren’t perhaps mistaken. Read the rest of this entry »
125 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK
October 26th, 2009, 1:05 pm by Dan Lehr
“Zero longitude” was put on the map, though not without controversy:
“By the end of the difficult summit, which dragged on until “smoke came out”, Greenwich, UK had won the prize of longitude 0º by a vote of 22 to one, with only San Domingo against and France and Brazil abstaining. One of the main reasons for British victory over key rivals Washington, Berlin and Paris, was that 72% of the world’s shipping already depended on sea charts that used Greenwich as the Prime Meridian. It was also convenient that Greenwich’s location insured that the 180º meridian, where formally the date line should be located, mostly passed over water.”
CRACKS IN THE OL’ DIVIDE
October 26th, 2009, 11:51 am by Dan Lehr
A.C. Kleinheider and Jon Meacham both try to see some.
[image: the North American Continental Divide, August 1977. photo by my father]
WHILE THE GETTIN’S GOOD
October 26th, 2009, 9:27 am by Dan Lehr
“In any large group, a few people do most of the work—usually those who are most ideologically committed or who have a direct stake in a particular outcome. So decisions often end up reflecting not the wishes of the group as a whole but those of its most engaged members.
…
it’s far from clear that across-the-board hostility to regulation is really in the best interests of the free-enterprise system. We assume that lobbies always recognize what’s best for their members. But they don’t, and, in the case of climate change, they may very well be missing what the companies that have resigned in protest have seen: global warming isn’t just bad for the planet; it’s bad for business.”
SILVER LININGS
October 26th, 2009, 9:24 am by Dan Lehr
For Democrats: losing power helped some Republicans regain a proper skepticism towards the concept of the unitary executive.
For Republicans: gaining power helped some Democrats recognize their electoral fortunes are going to be increasingly tied to fiscal responsibility.
(photo: sky outside my home, July, 2009)
SO YOU’D LIKE A JOB AT VW
October 26th, 2009, 9:17 am by Dan Lehr
SOUPY SALES, 1926-2009
October 23rd, 2009, 9:10 am by Dan Lehr
“Our shows were not actually written, but they were precisely thought out,” he explained in his memoir. “But the greatest thing about the show, and I think the reason for its success, was that it seemed undisciplined. The more you can make a performance seem spontaneous, the better an entertainer you are.” - from his New York Times obituary.
Above: his answer to the dance crazes of the early-to-mid 1960s, “Do the Mouse.” It also includes some of the brilliant spontanaeity described in the above quote. He also “did the Mouse” on one of the Ed Sullivan shows on which the Beatles appeared.
SOUNDS FAMILIAR
October 22nd, 2009, 9:48 am by Dan Lehr
“When men of spirit are born in our times…the ambition to become famous consumes them, & they become rivals in their haste to leave a name to posterity; they publish the fruits of their talents without reflection & without discretion.”
-John Calvin, writing in 1532, from his Commentary on Seneca
image: Andy Warhol
LAZY SHADES OF GRAY
October 22nd, 2009, 9:27 am by Dan Lehr
“The problem with modern contrarianism is that it’s lazy. Too often, it’s the sole focus of a piece, and it’s the focus for reasons purely of entertainment or ideology. Which is too bad, because the kind of journalism that’s most useful is the kind that explains both first order things and counterreactions and doesn’t pander to readers’ desires to pretend that the world is simpler than it really is. After all, counterreactions may usually be less important than first-order effects, but they’re still worth investigating. Some tax cuts really don’t raise as much revenue as you’d think. Raising the minimum wage really can have perverse effects in specific slices of the economy. If you’re genuinely interested in knowing how the world works, you want to know this. Read the rest of this entry »
IS SHE GONNA RUN, OR WHAT?
October 21st, 2009, 10:35 am by Dan Lehr
Tom Schaller at FiveThirtyEight.com doesn’t think history’s on her side:
“When an incumbent runs, the party in power wins about two of every three times, but when the seat is open the party in power wins only about half the time. The two-thirds pattern has held more recently, too: Since World War II, there have been 10* elections in which the incumbent–whether he won a first term or succeeded to the White House by death or resignation–has run for re-election: ‘48, ‘56, ‘64, ‘72, ‘76, ‘80, ‘84, ‘92, ‘96 and ‘04. And the incumbent, and thus the party in power, won seven times.
So a strategic politician seeking the Oval Office should, all else equal, wait until she is not running against an incumbent president enjoying the many advantages incumbency provides, from access to the bully pulpit to control over the levers of government. History says the odds are better if you wait.”
I hope Palin fans recognize the hard truth that lies in that statement.
Much more here, including his take on her chances in the primary season.
Schaller fails to mention what I consider the single biggest strategic advantage in not running, which I touched on at this blog back in July: Read the rest of this entry »
AN OPEN LETTER TO THE ROSETTASTONE AD DEPT.
October 21st, 2009, 9:31 am by Dan Lehr
Ladies and gentlemen:
It’s long past time to update this ubiquitous ad.
You’ve used it - without any alteration - for years in many magazines. I don’t know how long you’ve used it, but I’d guess long enough to have an extremely high Q score. Don’t get me wrong - it’s a good ad. But at this point it strongly gives off the impression that you’ve encased it in amber. Not to mention the impression that Mr. Hardworking Farm Boy is so dim he’s still brushing up on his Italian. Shouldn’t your product be so simple and effective that he should be on his way to Rome by now?
Here’s a radical idea: advance the story.
WHAT E.T.’s WATCHING
October 20th, 2009, 10:30 pm by Dan Lehr
“The graphic above shows the relationship of these broadcasts to known stars in our local neighborhood. Should intelligent life exist around any of these stars, this life may have already received and continue to receive streams of our TV programming.
Our broadcast content may explain their silence.”
EYEING IOWA
October 20th, 2009, 2:08 pm by Dan Lehr
Marc Ambinder on the GOP 2012 presidential candidate strategy that omits the Iowa caucuses if your last name isn’t Palin or Huckabee:
THE CORRUPTIVE QUALITIES OF REAGAN’S ‘11th COMMANDMENT’
October 20th, 2009, 11:18 am by Dan Lehr
..that commandment being “thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican.”
I would argue that that maxim, while it served its purpose to unify the party when it was needed, has actually done it more harm than good in the past decade.
“You can’t convince people to change if they are not willing to take what you have to say seriously. It seems to me that the kind of things people like Frum et alia criticize among the conservative base are things that have to do with the ideological ossification that is preventing the GOP from thinking and acting creatively to change with the times, and to figure out how to make conservatism relevant and responsible in a different set of circumstances than that which brought Reagan to power. As long as the conservative base is more interested in the old custom of heretic-hunting than it is in thinking creatively, dissidents will have little or no power to affect the GOP agenda. And there’s not much they can do about it.”
What do you think?
j’ACCUSE!
October 20th, 2009, 9:16 am by Dan Lehr
Brad Willis at RTNDA’s site:
“A couple of months ago, my buddy Colin recommended I watch American Cannibal (you can find it easily on Netflix). I now make the same recommendation to you. Here’s why. The documentary initially set out to follow two TV writers as they went from pitching their ideas to a having finished product. Along the way, the writers got desperate and started pitching reality TV ideas. The bite they got was not the one they wanted, but because people eat up reality TV, the writers and producers went forward, no matter the cost.*
I never had much love for reality TV before, but the past year or two have helped me understand reality TV is not just an inane and mindless bit of entertainment. It isn’t neutral. It actually hurts. It hurts our culture, our country, and our neighbors.
So, today as you sit back and point fingers at Richard Henne and berate him for being so heartless, take a moment to remember that you told him it was okay.
That is…you told him if he managed to get on TV…you’d watch.”
*A minor quibble: network writers & producers don’t proceed with reality TV shows “no matter the cost” - they readily choose them because they’re vastly cheaper to produce, compared to a sitcom or drama.
Still, pretty much in agreement with the writer, despite the fact that I myself personally contributed to the frenzy on Thursday afternoon.
(awkward silence)
SONG OF THE YEAR: 1860
October 19th, 2009, 12:00 pm by Dan Lehr
This phonautograph recording proves Edison wasn’t the first to record sound. I wonder if the Frenchwoman singing ‘Claire de Lune‘ had any idea that she was achieving a unique kind of immortality.
THE LAY OF THE LAND
October 19th, 2009, 9:30 am by Dan Lehr
Democracy Corps has concluded a focus group session with conservative voters in Georgia and independent voters in Ohio which any political junkie worth their salt needs to read.
Regardless which side of the political fence you fall on, you can learn a lot from this. Multiple gems, including:
“First and foremost, these conservative Republican voters believe Obama is deliberately and ruthlessly advancing a ‘secret agenda’ to bankrupt our country and dramatically expand government control over all aspects of our daily lives. They view this effort in sweeping terms, and cast a successful Obama presidency as the destruction of the United States as it was conceived by our founders and developed over the past 200 years.
DUSTING FOR DA VINCI
October 19th, 2009, 5:10 am by Dan Lehr
From Newser:
“A painting bought for $19,000 by a Canadian dealer two years ago has been valued at $150 million after it was determined to be a work by Leonardo Da Vinci. Carbon dating and infrared techniques convinced experts that the portrait on vellum was a genuine Da Vinci. The final proof came when analysis found a fingerprint “highly comparable” to one on the artist’s painting, St. Jerome.”
- Broadcast Services
- TV Listings
- Public EEO Report
- WTVC DTV Report
- Science Theatre
- Online Services
- RSS Feeds
- Advertiser Index
- Yellow Pages
- Related Sites
- Total Visual Concepts
