December 2011
68 posts
“[H]e’s not against war.”
—Ron Paul’s senior adviser.
The U.S. Leads The World In R&D, But For How Long? →
npr.org
China already has plans to focus on exciting but vague ideas now — like green energy and bio- and nanotechnology — that will most likely become products in the 2020s. And if U.S. government labs, university departments and corporate researchers aren’t already on top of the next generation of breakthroughs, the country will very likely fall behind in 10 or 20 years when those innovations become marketable products. Our global competitiveness is based on being the origin of the newest, best ideas. How will we fare if those ideas originate somewhere else?
The answers range from scary to scarier. Imagine a global economy in which the U.S. is playing catch-up with China: while a small class of Americans would surely find a way to profit, most workers would earn far less, and the chasm between classes could be wider than ever.
Unfortunately, there isn’t much to prevent this trend.
“I’d prefer to be on Phonedog’s side.”
—An intellectual property lawyer, regarding a lawsuit that claims one blogger’s Twitter followers are the intellectual property of Phonedog, the mobile news site the blogger wrote for. IP authorities say this case could set precedent for corporate ownership of Twitter followers.
“He is however, most certainly Anti-Israel, and Anti-Israeli in general. He wishes the Israeli state did not exist at all.”
— a former Ron Paul staffer [full story]
Last week, Bank of America agreed to pay $335m to settle racial discrimination lending charges against Countrywide, a sub-prime lender that it now owns. Some cheered upon hearing there were financial repercussions for breaking the law — though it is alleged Countrywide misrepresented its mortgage origination practice during the sale to BofA — but most complained that the penalty wasn’t large enough. (Short Form Blog points out that the settlement was the largest of its type ever, which is a fair point.)
Not to worry, says one bank analyst: The acquisition of Countrywide, one of the most perverse sub-prime lenders that fueled the bubble that caused the great recession, might end up costing it $53b when it’s all said and done. Here’s how.
Naturally, the same analyst has a Buy rating on Bank of America stock.
Forced Merriment: The True Spirit of Christmas →
online.wsj.com
Christopher Hitchens on why the Puritans found the holiday suspect—and we should, too
Mr. Hitchens, who died on Dec. 15, was a columnist for Vanity Fair and the author, most recently, of “Hitch-22: A Memoir” and “Arguably,” a collection of his essays. This is a previously unpublished essay commissioned by the Journal, an abridged version of which appears in the print edition of the Review section.
I agree with Ron Paul supporters on this: I sure am glad the mainstream media is finally paying more attention to Ron Paul.
- NPR: Ron Paul Has Support In Iowa, But Old Issues Linger
- Huffington Post: The Madness of Ron Paul
- CNN: Ron Paul Walks Out of Interview (Video)
- Washington Post: Ron Paul’s Investment Strategy: Prepare for Doomsday
- International Business Times: Ron Paul Says Civil War was Unnecessary
- Jewish Telegraphic Agency: Ron Paul 1993 appeal letter warns of ‘race war,’ assails ‘Israeli lobby’
- Slate: Ron Paul and the Coming Race War
- New York Daily News: Video surfaces of Ron Paul talking about racist newsletters in 1995, far earlier than he said he knew about them
We know there is lots and lots of racism in the newsletters that GOP presidential hopeful Ron Paul published in the 80s and 90s, but what else is there? From a 1996 report in the Houston Chronicle:
In later newsletters, Paul aimed criticism at the Israeli government’s U.S. lobbying efforts and reported allegations that President Clinton used cocaine and fathered illegitimate children.
Stating that lobbying groups who seek special favors and handouts are evil, Paul wrote, “By far the most powerful lobby in Washington of the bad sort is the Israeli government” and that the goal of the Zionist movement is to stifle criticism.
Relaying a rumor that Clinton was a longtime cocaine user, Paul wrote in 1994 that the speculation “would explain certain mysteries” about the president’s scratchy voice and insomnia.
“None of this is conclusive, of course, but it sure is interesting,” he said.
So, to recap, there is: Racism, criticism of Israel, and baseless accusations against a still-wildly-popular political figure. There’s doubtlessly some woman-hating in there somewhere, too. This is your current front-runner in Iowa, GOP.
Top 10 Politicians you'd like to see in an electric chair.
None! The reason I probably wouldn’t make it very far in actual politics is because I’m peaceful. In all honesty, I used to think that the death penalty might be useful as a tool in plea-bargaining. Then states went off and executed people who were obviously innocent, so my view on that has, in the cautious language of actual politicians, evolved accordingly.
Instead, what I’d like to have happen is an up-or-down vote on eradicating the death penalty, and with the caveat that every politician who voted to keep it will have to flick the switch themselves in front of their constituents. If you choose to endorse death, you should be prepared to kill someone.
I guess that isn’t an answer to the question.
“Politifact responds to factual criticisms of its work with ad hominem whining. Sad.”
—@daveweigel (via brooklynmutt)
National Journal: There is a payroll tax extension deal between the House and the Senate.
What advice would you give our dear tumblr overlords to become profitable? #worry #howistumblrpossible
Right now, if a company wants to spend, say, $200,000 next year to have a good blog, there isn’t one single provider they can use for that service. That company would have to piece together several service providers — content, design, public relations — to have an end product that’s worth paying for. Because PR and design firms don’t know how to legitimately create good editorial content, this piecemeal approach rarely works well. And so then you have characters rightly wearing ironic t-shirts that say so.
This is a void in the marketplace for corporate marketing dollars. At some point, a provider is going to fill it, or at least try to in an organized way.
A platform like Tumblr could generate substantial revenue by having an owned media consulting division, as opposed to the earned media services that PR firms offer or the paid media services that ad firms offer.
“Take business from PR firms” is the advice in brief.
Here’s the rationale: Right now, influential consumers of news and information aren’t really bothering to differentiate much between news outlets and corporate-made media. For instance, in terms of the credibility assigned to each medium, a good blog post on your company site is becoming closer and closer to having an op-ed published in a big newspaper. That’s an oversimplification of the notion that bylines matter more and media brands matter less than they traditionally have. (I wonder what McLuhan would think of this.) I’ve been consulting on survey research for the past three months, and there is actual data that suggests this trend.
If by chance the Tumblr overlords are reading this, I’m totally free for a meeting. Preferably downstairs at Les Halles.
