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17 Dec 2010 17:09

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Politics: Ezra Klein: Obama’s brand power strong even with GOP House

  • Whatever the explanation, there appears to be more life in the Obama brand than the pundits might think, and than the Republicans might hope.
  • Policy superdude Ezra Klein • Reacting to a recent poll which suggests that Obama has stronger post-midterm stock than his two predecessors. While people trusted the other party to solve problems more than the president after the unsuccessful midterms for both Clinton (in 1994) and Bush (in 2006), Obama still has a little bit of  an advantage over the GOP this time around. “There’s been a lot of criticism of Obama’s communication skills lately,” Klein notes, “but if you look at the polls, he’s doing a far better job than his predecessors did preserving his brand within an unfriendly political environment.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Dec 2010 16:51

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Politics: While his family celebrates Christmas, Obama keeps working

  • going Michelle Obama will be leading the family – including Sasha, Malia and Bo – on a holiday trip to Hawaii. They’ll be taking a small private jet there. (So don’t criticize her, like for that Spain trip in August!)
  • staying However, they’ll be missing dad over the weekend. Barack Obama will be staying home for a few more days to work on the many things Congress is trying to get passed. Take that, Jim DeMint. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Dec 2010 14:12

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Tech: Word Lens translation app really awesome, “points very anus”

  • As a follow to our reblog on Tumblr, it might be good to note that real-time language-translating app Word Lens, while good, isn’t perfect. In fact, it’s points very anus. Or as Garry Trudeau put it back in the day, it’s egg freckles. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Dec 2010 14:00

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Politics: Sarah Palin apparently hasn’t made up mind on running in 2012

“What? Me run for president?! I don’t know anything about that! I haven’t even been thinking about that! I’ve just been focused on my reality show lately.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Dec 2010 12:35

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Politics: Politifact’s “Lie of the year”: How did “government takeover” take hold?

  • Takeovers are like coups. They both lead to dictators and a loss of freedom.
  • GOP strategist Frank Luntz • Making the argument that the GOP should use the phrase “government takeover” in regards to the Obama health care bill – a phrase that has stuck despite the fact that the bill no longer actually has a public option which could be perceived as a “government takeover.” The phrase is now Politifact’s “Lie of the Year,” an award that is probably a better fit in this context than the “we’ve been eating healthy lately” context. Why did the lie propagate? Well, it’s hard to refute it in a handful of words. It actually requires some explaining, something which many news outlets chose not to do. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Dec 2010 12:21

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World: Posted without comment: Julian Assange, fresh from jail, speaks!

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Dec 2010 12:16

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Biz: Madoff trustee scores big settlement for victims in Ponzi scheme

  • $20B the amount investors lost because of Bernie Madoff’s massive ponzi scheme over the years
  • $2.3B the amount that had previously been gained back through auctions and other means
  • $7.2B the amount earned in a settlement with the estate of Jeffry Picower, a Madoff investor source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

17 Dec 2010 02:07

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Music: Pitchfork fulfills obvious Kanye West “best album of 2010” overture

  • But, somehow, West managed to transcend the preposterous talk show appearances, the too-good-to-be-true Twitter account, the live breakdowns, the Horus chain, the free-MP3 stunt(ing), the press blitz, the breakups, the make-ups, the dick pics, the furniture pornography, the Rosewood movement, the NO NEGATIVE BLOG VIEWING, the living paintings, the short film, and the rest of the lot. Through all that noise, we obsessed first and most deeply over the eye of the storm: the album.
  • Pitchfork writer Sean Fennessey • Revealing what’s been a straight-up given for the last month – Kanye West has Pitchfork’s top album of 2010. Considering it got a 10.0 from the site, it would have been a shocker if it wasn’t really. Past Kanye, perhaps the biggest surprise of the top twenty is Janelle Monae’s relatively low number twelve showing. The question is, who would’ve let her in the top ten? From Titus Andronicus to LCD Soundsystem to Deerhunter, the top ten overall is pretty solid, complete with James Blake’s numerous EP releases this year. Actually, we have a thought – Vampire Weekend’s “Contra” doesn’t belong there, thanks to this ad. Put Janelle Monae in its spot and give a girl with some awesome ideas her due, Pitchfork. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 6 Comments • Permalink

17 Dec 2010 00:27

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U.S.: Obama gets his tax compromise, pulls off triangulation hat trick

  • Alright guys. Time to rock and roll. Obama got his tax compromise, even after House Democrats got all uncomfortable about it towards the end there. The process was a little tense, but eventually the House passed it as-is, 277 to 148. Obama learned the art of triangulation well from Master Sensei Bill Clinton, and will now be in the good graces of the GOP for approximately ten minutes. Savor them, Barack, because you’ve earned them. You only had to sell out the estate tax and a number of your people in your own party to do it. But sometimes, to Get Things Done, you have to do some selling out. This is why Superdrag isn’t on the radio anymore and Weezer is still going strong. Weezer Got Things Done. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Dec 2010 00:02

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Politics, U.S.: GOP divide: 2012 contenders disagree on tax cut legislation

  • five potential GOP candidates support the tax cut deal: Mike Huckabee, John Thune, Newt Gingrich, Mitch Daniels and Tim “T-Paw” Palenty
  • four potential GOP candidates oppose it: Mitt Romney, Sarah Palin, Mike Pence, and Rick “The Rock” Santorum source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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