Showing posts with label Aaron. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Aaron. Show all posts
Friday, May 29, 2009
Future
I have it on good authority (pw's mouth) that pw will be posting again this summer as his studies conclude. Despite spending most of my blogging time these days over at EFCA Blog I'll try to pitch in as well. Not sure what Aaron's plans are, but let's all keep our fingers crossed for a revival of sorts.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
The Movement That Dare Not Speak Its Name
It's unclear whether Aaron should be treated as the proverbial marooned Japanese soldier, unaware of WWII's conclusion, or whether this should all be seen in a more spiritual light, a la the Resurrection. I'll combine the metaphors, pick up a rifle, and join Aaron's island coup. Because after all, one person's raving insanity is two people's grassroots movement..
Aaron tackled this to some extent in the comments section of his last post, but I think the Life and Times of Sarah Palin is relevant enough to warrant continued discussion. Aaron wrote:
For those not up to speed, Palin's star in Alaska has fallen quite a bit in the wake of her November electoral defeat. She nominated a hard right candidate for attorney general who was subsequently denied confirmation by the Alaska legislature. She has had a series of avoidable problems filling an open legislative seat, the continued and public beef with Levi Johnson and family is increasingly petty and embarrassing, and she pissed off her legislature yet again after ditching the last day of an important session to headline a pro-life group's dinner in Indiana.
Despite all this, it's unclear what effect this will have on her statewide electoral prospects in Alaska, be they in a gubernatorial reelection bid or running for Murkowski's U.S. Senate seat (which appears unlikely).
I'm interested in how (or if) this will effect her popularity in the lower 48. Larison had a fairly interesting post recently on the schism between what he calls "mainstream conservatives" vs "dissidents" and why there was increasingly little conversation between the two groups. As "David Cameron's Tiny Wanker" alluded to in comments, the degree to which Palin has a legitimate national presence in 2012 is the degree to which the GOP is increasingly far afield from the body politic.
Combine this with the increasingly incendiary and bizarre comments coming from very mainstream Republican sources (John Boehner's truly sad interview with Stephanopolous last weekend, Texas' governor talking of secession, or nearly any Michelle Bachman comment). Throw in the fact that there is an established and powerful media presence actively promoting a lot of this rhetoric, and you have a situation that at the very least merits continued comment and observation.
Who is the leader of the opposition party? Seriously. Michael Steele? Ostensibly. John Boehner? Legislatively. Mitch McConnell? Ha. Rush Limbaugh? Rick Sanford? Bobby Jindal? I honestly don't know the answer, but there was a moment in time when Sarah Palin could have perhaps drawn a plurality of Republicans to her banner. It's unclear whether or not that time has passed. I think I would argue that it hasn't. It doesn't matter that that's a sad state of affairs. Sadly, no one knows who David Frum or David Brooks are. They know Palin, and literally tens of millions of people see her as their political leader.
Aaron tackled this to some extent in the comments section of his last post, but I think the Life and Times of Sarah Palin is relevant enough to warrant continued discussion. Aaron wrote:
As for Palin, I think it's a mistake to simply say, "She lost, forget about her." Palin was hugely popular with the conservative rump in this country.Though Aaron didn't indicate otherwise, the issue in question is to what degree Palin remains popular with a significant minority of the GOP.
For those not up to speed, Palin's star in Alaska has fallen quite a bit in the wake of her November electoral defeat. She nominated a hard right candidate for attorney general who was subsequently denied confirmation by the Alaska legislature. She has had a series of avoidable problems filling an open legislative seat, the continued and public beef with Levi Johnson and family is increasingly petty and embarrassing, and she pissed off her legislature yet again after ditching the last day of an important session to headline a pro-life group's dinner in Indiana.
Despite all this, it's unclear what effect this will have on her statewide electoral prospects in Alaska, be they in a gubernatorial reelection bid or running for Murkowski's U.S. Senate seat (which appears unlikely).
I'm interested in how (or if) this will effect her popularity in the lower 48. Larison had a fairly interesting post recently on the schism between what he calls "mainstream conservatives" vs "dissidents" and why there was increasingly little conversation between the two groups. As "David Cameron's Tiny Wanker" alluded to in comments, the degree to which Palin has a legitimate national presence in 2012 is the degree to which the GOP is increasingly far afield from the body politic.
Combine this with the increasingly incendiary and bizarre comments coming from very mainstream Republican sources (John Boehner's truly sad interview with Stephanopolous last weekend, Texas' governor talking of secession, or nearly any Michelle Bachman comment). Throw in the fact that there is an established and powerful media presence actively promoting a lot of this rhetoric, and you have a situation that at the very least merits continued comment and observation.
Who is the leader of the opposition party? Seriously. Michael Steele? Ostensibly. John Boehner? Legislatively. Mitch McConnell? Ha. Rush Limbaugh? Rick Sanford? Bobby Jindal? I honestly don't know the answer, but there was a moment in time when Sarah Palin could have perhaps drawn a plurality of Republicans to her banner. It's unclear whether or not that time has passed. I think I would argue that it hasn't. It doesn't matter that that's a sad state of affairs. Sadly, no one knows who David Frum or David Brooks are. They know Palin, and literally tens of millions of people see her as their political leader.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Extinct Blog of the Day
Today's hospiced blog is...The Pseudo Body Politic. For the past two weeks I'm sure our loyal reader(s) has wondered what has befallen TPBP. Rest assured, pw, Aaron, manfish, and myself are all alive and well. Put simply, after a discussion with those folks, I've decided that TPBP has run its course.
On a more positive note, and one of the reasons I'm taking a hiatus from TPBP, is because it's looking likely that I'll soon be a contributing member to Beyond Bread, a blog run by Bread for the City, a large DC nonprofit that engages in all kinds of support services for DC residents in need of help. I'm not sure exactly when I'll be up and running with those folks, but it should be soon. I'll let you all know.
This blog started with a $1 bet (that has yet to be paid) with my friend Dome about whether TPBP would endure for a week. It did. It's been seven months, nearly 500 posts, four total contributors, and 200,000 words of original content. During it's tenure, over 1,000 separate people from 30 countries checked it out at one time or another.
In terms of content, some of it's been shit, and some of it (mostly from pw, Aaron, and manfish) has been quality. Sorry for anybody that had to wade through the former to get to the latter.
This blog came along when I desperately needed something to focus my time on, and a way to sharpen my writing skills. TPBP gave me both.
A blog is, above all, a community. To anybody that stopped by, commented, or contributed in any way, thanks. Commenters db, nick, and anonymous deserve a special shoutout, as does any cleveresque pseudonym my brother invented. Special thanks to Aaron, pw, and manfish, who are all great people and talented writers, and were willing to let me share this space with them.
I won't be "turning the blog off" so to speak. It will remain up and one never knows when one of us will show our Pseudo faces, so feel free to check back at your leisure.
Until then...
On a more positive note, and one of the reasons I'm taking a hiatus from TPBP, is because it's looking likely that I'll soon be a contributing member to Beyond Bread, a blog run by Bread for the City, a large DC nonprofit that engages in all kinds of support services for DC residents in need of help. I'm not sure exactly when I'll be up and running with those folks, but it should be soon. I'll let you all know.
This blog started with a $1 bet (that has yet to be paid) with my friend Dome about whether TPBP would endure for a week. It did. It's been seven months, nearly 500 posts, four total contributors, and 200,000 words of original content. During it's tenure, over 1,000 separate people from 30 countries checked it out at one time or another.
In terms of content, some of it's been shit, and some of it (mostly from pw, Aaron, and manfish) has been quality. Sorry for anybody that had to wade through the former to get to the latter.
This blog came along when I desperately needed something to focus my time on, and a way to sharpen my writing skills. TPBP gave me both.
A blog is, above all, a community. To anybody that stopped by, commented, or contributed in any way, thanks. Commenters db, nick, and anonymous deserve a special shoutout, as does any cleveresque pseudonym my brother invented. Special thanks to Aaron, pw, and manfish, who are all great people and talented writers, and were willing to let me share this space with them.
I won't be "turning the blog off" so to speak. It will remain up and one never knows when one of us will show our Pseudo faces, so feel free to check back at your leisure.
Until then...
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Apologies and International Flights
I’ve been rather infrequently checking TPBP this week, as I’ve had some entirely exciting and annoying problems develop in my real world life. I’ve been slowly (very, very slowly) working with the Peace Corps on a medical condition: I’ve got a nerve in my foot that’s under pressure and is causing my foot to hurt all the time. It makes walking and standing up all day difficult, which is awkward, since I do a lot of both. The upshot of that is, Thursday, the Peace Corps Medical Office in Washington, DC, has decided I will receive better treatment in the United States (and, apparently, taking care of it myself). Thursday they told me I was being medically separated. This being the Peace Corps, decisions like that proceed with a great rapidity (unlike, say, the treatment of my foot problem, which took over six months of slow useless and pointless treatments and four and a half hour bus rides). I’ll be flying home to Ohio on Saturday, my Bulgarian adventure finally at an end. I’ve always wanted to visit Washington, and I finally will: for about three hours, as I have a layover there. Not quite what I wanted, but what can you do?
It’s unbelievable how much stuff you can accumulate in a year and a half. I have mixed emotions about the whole situation. I wanted to finish my full service. My students were all upset that I was leaving (and you would be too, if you were losing the only teacher in town who let them play games). However, I know that I have completed my service (a medical separation is still a closing), and the more I think about getting back to my family, my friends and my special lady friend, I can’t help but be excited. You should see the teddy bear my eight graders got me as a going-away present.
What I’m not so excited back is moving to the US in the current economy. I’m sure I’ll have plenty of opportunity to see what it’s like when I get home, and perhaps it will provide some fodder for the blog – which I notice is going well, with strong posts from everybody but me, and even a brand new poster, although he sounds pretty suspicious. Posting will continue to be light since I still have to move. In the meantime, enjoy your holidays and I hope your foot feels better than mine.
It’s unbelievable how much stuff you can accumulate in a year and a half. I have mixed emotions about the whole situation. I wanted to finish my full service. My students were all upset that I was leaving (and you would be too, if you were losing the only teacher in town who let them play games). However, I know that I have completed my service (a medical separation is still a closing), and the more I think about getting back to my family, my friends and my special lady friend, I can’t help but be excited. You should see the teddy bear my eight graders got me as a going-away present.
What I’m not so excited back is moving to the US in the current economy. I’m sure I’ll have plenty of opportunity to see what it’s like when I get home, and perhaps it will provide some fodder for the blog – which I notice is going well, with strong posts from everybody but me, and even a brand new poster, although he sounds pretty suspicious. Posting will continue to be light since I still have to move. In the meantime, enjoy your holidays and I hope your foot feels better than mine.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
An Introduction
I’d like to thank DP for the opportunity to get in on this blogging business. As he mentioned, we’ve known each other for years and I’ve always enjoyed discussing the events of the day with him. I find that, even when I don’t exactly agree with him, talking with DP about something helps me clarify my thinking. I hope I can bring an element of that to the table.
As to me, as DP mentioned, I’m currently a Peace Corps volunteer in eastern Europe. I work as a high school English teacher in a mixed ethnicity community, which has been a very interesting, enjoyable, frustrating and rewarding experience. One thing that it has allowed me to do, though, is keep up with the domestic political scene from afar. It’s been a bit strange to watch politics change, especially when the cable news echo chamber runs off the rails about something. It’s like looking for a black hole. You can’t see it, but you can see the way it distorts everything around it.
That being said, I’m full of opinions and already enjoy keeping up with blogs. I hope that this will be a rewarding experience for everybody. I look forward to more discussion with you guys out there soon.
As to me, as DP mentioned, I’m currently a Peace Corps volunteer in eastern Europe. I work as a high school English teacher in a mixed ethnicity community, which has been a very interesting, enjoyable, frustrating and rewarding experience. One thing that it has allowed me to do, though, is keep up with the domestic political scene from afar. It’s been a bit strange to watch politics change, especially when the cable news echo chamber runs off the rails about something. It’s like looking for a black hole. You can’t see it, but you can see the way it distorts everything around it.
That being said, I’m full of opinions and already enjoy keeping up with blogs. I hope that this will be a rewarding experience for everybody. I look forward to more discussion with you guys out there soon.
Welcome Aboard
The Pseudo Body Politic is happy to announce the addition of a second blogger, Aaron, who will starting blogging this week. Aaron, who lives outside the United States on a Peace Corps assignment, but remains a complete news junkie, will be a great addition to TPBP and should provide some excellent commentary on a wide number of subjects in addition to politics.
Looking for a job takes up an incredible amount of time, you see, and I wanted to make sure that the loyal readers of TPBP were provided with ample news updates. Having known Aaron for years, I can attest that he will deliver the same level (if not a superior level) of completely inane commentary that my readers have grown accustomed to over the last couple of weeks. With any luck, you can look forward to Aaron's posts beginning today or tomorrow. Welcome, Aaron.
Looking for a job takes up an incredible amount of time, you see, and I wanted to make sure that the loyal readers of TPBP were provided with ample news updates. Having known Aaron for years, I can attest that he will deliver the same level (if not a superior level) of completely inane commentary that my readers have grown accustomed to over the last couple of weeks. With any luck, you can look forward to Aaron's posts beginning today or tomorrow. Welcome, Aaron.
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