Archive - Nov 2008

Michelle and I just returned from the weekend at her parents' place in central Minnesota. Another great weekend - chopped some wood (not much, I'm not in top woodchopper form, it seems), did some reading, and ate a lot of great food.

The cover story of the Nov/Dec 2008 Foreign Policy magazine, "America's Hard Sell," [snippet only unless you subscribe] is an in depth look at the international arena and ideas that are shaping it. The article is by Bruce W Jentleson and Steven Weber - I have read Weber previously and find him insightful.

I really like the discussion explaining the "marketplace of ideas."

In the United States, it is popular to declare war on a problem. So, for example, American political leaders, whether liberal or conservative, consistently appeal for a “war of ideas” to defeat international terrorism. The metaphor is crisp, actionable, and morally compelling. It’s also wrong. Ideas don’t fight wars, and any policy that follows from that formulation won’t work. Ideas don’t go to combat; they vie for the commitment of individuals in an arena that is less like a battlefield and more like a marketplace. The United States is facing a global competition of ideas, and the rules of engagement are much closer to those set out by Milton Friedman than Carl von Clausewitz.

Who dominates in such a marketplace? To start, markets are places where leaders need followers more than the other way around. Presumptive leaders don’t issue orders; they make offers. Eventually, it is the followers who decide whose leadership they find most attractive at that moment.

This is the way to understand the world. The Bush Administration understood the marketplace of ideas at home and ignored it abroad, to its great detriment. Of course, at home, it misunderstood the marketplace of ideas by thinking it could offer no substance - eventually their incompetence caught up with them.

Ideas are the foundation - but you need to put something on top of it. Or a different way of thinking about it would be to say that you need ideas to get attention and you need results to keep attention. Having a huge military may be a growing detriment in this marketplace - few want to listen to the imperial power.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

In these difficult times, I know that I am thankful for all that I have - despite some setbacks, I feel like I'm on a pretty good roll. Listening to the Franti album, he reminds us that the smart people count their blessings, not their misfortunes.

I just read a good Newsweek article that seemed fitting for this day - noting that not all subprime mortgages are created equal and not all subprime lenders were out to get rich quick by setting people up for failure. Daniel Gross' "A Risk Worth Taking" highlights some of the problems with the rhetoric around the housing crisis.

This is well worth reading because it highlights how these programs can work when administered well.

I've had the pleasure of hanging out with Jim during Gopher Football games and he is a great guy. I can only hope to achieve a small bit of what he has done. Saw this on the Pioneer Press and wanted to share it.

Just had a hilarious lunch. Turns out ESPN's short farcical "Mayne Street" show is available online. I love this guy. 5 episodes so far, I watched 3 and laughed at each one. Here is the first:

New Franti album out - downloading it from Amazon now.

Just read a really interesting piece in Sports Illustrated - A More Dangerous Game: Bears On The Golf Course, Deer On The Windshield, Wolves On The Walk Back Home.

I enjoyed this article in part because it deals with wolves and I am fascinated by human interactions with wolves. They are such incredible creatures (the wolves, but we aren't half bad either).

But it also deals with something I am very interested in - how animals are adjusting to human customs and behaviors. Unfortunately, I do think the article misses something I have been considering. Animals have only had a few generations (depending on the animal's lifecycle) to adjust to our roads, the loss of habitat, etc. Over time, I think it realistic to see them increasingly aggressive, not just because of their declining natural habitat, but because they are increasingly accustomed to us - and those that reproduce will be the ones most ready to cope with our world.

So I see this continuing, and I find it fascinating.

I have really wanted to read more this week - I slowly plowed through an incredible Newsweek piece called "Secrets of the 2008 Campaign." Apparently, they had arranged to have reporters deeply embedded with Hillary, Obama, and McCain for most of this year. But they could not publish anything until post election.

So this series of articles has a number of very interesting revelations and gives a back-scene view into Obama's impressive campaign efforts. One such highlight:

The Obama campaign was provided with reports from the Secret Service showing a sharp and disturbing increase in threats to Obama in September and early October, at the same time that many crowds at Palin rallies became more frenzied. Michelle Obama was shaken by the vituperative crowds and the hot rhetoric from the GOP candidates. "Why would they try to make people hate us?" Michelle asked a top campaign aide.

Very highly recommended.

I'm still around - just too busy to write lately. Sorry for that, but sports photography hasn't finished winding down, and I'm swamped with work from my policy work. Michelle has been crazy busy too with work, so it isn't just me.

Still happy though - better to be stressed with stuff you like doing, right? Gophers play Notre Dame on Friday evening in the sweet 16 of the NCAA women soccer tournament, so I wish them the best. Sorry I won't be there to see them upset #1!

Thanks to daddYman for this bit:

What are you doing on Friday night?

Watching GOPHER SOCCER!!! The NCAA tournament has come to Minnesota - and Minnesota is playing its best season in over a decade. Friday night, 6:00 PM, the place to be is the soccer stadium - Elizabeth Lyle Robbie - north of the St. Paul Campus (ask me for directions). Gophers are hosting the first round of the national playoffs.

Gophers fell in the Big Ten Title match to Penn State on Sunday - and I want to blog about it, but I'm swamped with work of all varieties.

You should definitely plan to attend this game. Dress warm. Have fun. Support great soccer in Minnesota!

After 8 disastrous years under a President who clearly did not possess the qualities of a successful President, it turns out that conservatives around McCain knew Palin was even less qualified to be VP than anyone else. And yet, they kept claiming to put "country first" while working to put the most ignorant VP possible into power behind the man who would have been the oldest President to take the oath.

This is bullshit. I see no reason to believe anything that comes out of the mouth of anyone related to this campaign - and I include Senator McCain. I was excited to see his gracious concession speech, but to find out how much more under qualified Palin was without McCain taking responsibility and replacing her with a qualified candidate really pushes the limit. Fuck that.

She didn't know that Africa was a continent - thought it was a country. She didn't know who was in NAFTA - hint: the NORTH AMERICAN FREE TRADE AGREEMENT. Not a lot of countries to choose from.

Thanks to daddYman for pointing me to this Andrew Sullivan post regarding it.

No one should forget that during one of the worst financial crises in the history of this country, when we are supposedly fighting a global war on terror against those that will do anything to kill us, they wanted to put a fucking moron a feeble heartbeat away from the President, gambling that nothing would happen to this ancient man who has led a hard life. As I have said previously, if Palin had somehow reached the Presidency (bear in mind that the race was much closer until the economy collapsed in September) she would have put the final nails in the coffin that Bush turned this country into.

Country first? FUCK YOU, Senator McCain. You are clearly not the person many of us hoped you were. You have no honor. Like Colin Powell, you traded your honor. Honor is earned and honor can be thrown away. I hope you are arrogant enough not to regret your choice.