Politics

Commentary (and rants) on national and local politics.

An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

Online vs. Print Reality Check

Buried in a glowing American Journalism Review article about the success of The Politico -- a politics-only news website that launched a couple of years ago and is getting 25 million page views/month -- is the fact that 60% of its revenue comes from its laser-targeted, thrice-weekly 27,000 circ print edition, without which, the site would  "be losing catastrophic amounts of money." THE PLIGHT OF POLITICO -- AND EVERYONE ELSE. The success of Politico actually seems like an incredibly discouraging sign for the media. Here you have this forward-thinking, primarily virtual venture to create a political news organization that marries…

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An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

Cory Booker: Hero?

Cory Booker at StoryCorps Griot launch by jsmooth995
Despite my previous reflexive defense of East Orange, I’ll admit to buying in to the some of the negative perceptions of Newark, and was originally going to post a link to a great article on Newark’s Mayor Cory Booker that I just got around to reading in last month’s Esquire (with the inane Mike Myers on the cover), but when I went to their site to get the link, I was suprised to come across a scathing letter from Booker, ripping the article’s author Scott Raab a new one.
While I thought the article was a well-written bit of hero worship, it does go a bit overboard in comparing Booker to Will Smith’s character in I Am Legend, effectively casting Newark as a blighted dead zone with little hope of recovery, pretty much what I believed it to be despite knowing better. In his letter, Booker takes Raab to task on a number of points, particularly his narrow focus on the ills plaguing the largest city in New Jersey while ignoring the strides made in the past couple of years — of which he cites numerous examples — but perhaps more impressively, I appreciated his lengthy rebuttal of the idea that he is some lone hero facing insurmountable odds:

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An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

East Orange is for…lovers?

Reddog n Neenee, originally uploaded by Nudnik N Da Hood.

According to CNNMoney it is, ranking it at #21 of the 25 places that have the highest percentage of singles, and an over-30 scene. Hoboken is ranked #1 (ugh), while Newark is #20. (Hat tip to the Barista.)

Interestingly, this is the same East Orange that shares Bloomfield’s southwest border and, every step of the way through our homebuying process, was referred to negatively by, well, just about everybody! (Check the Barista’s comment section for a representative selection of bons mots.)

The worst was the security system sales rep (from Brinks, I think) who drove up the day we were moving in and chatted us up while pitching his services.

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An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

Bloomfield Station

This is the Bloomfield station where I catch the train into the City every day. It's a shame that this part of it is in such a state of disrepair -- especially considering the other side just got a nice facelift -- but politics have apparently gotten in the way of its restoration and the surrounding area's revitalization. It would be nice to see a development plan that balances local flavor with notable franchises, a small movie theater and a good selection of restaurants because I'd rather not drive up to Montclair whenever we want to find something new and…

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An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

Ignorance is Bliss

Call me a latte-sipping elitist if you want*, but there are some truly stupid people in this country. Even worse, they’re willfully stupid!

Via Ben Smith’s “Things Americans Believe”:

10% of Americans believe [Barack] Obama’s a Muslim

…

22% believe President Bush knew about the 9/11 attacks in advance.
30% believe Saddam had weapons of mass destruction.
23% believe they’ve been in the presence of a ghost.
18% believe the sun revolves around the earth.

I can forgive the 9/11 conspiracy theorists because I don’t trust Bush as far as I can throw him, either, and I’m totally open to the idea of ghosts, but anyone still believing Saddam had WMDs is an example of willful stupidity.

And 18% believe the sun revolves around the earth!?!?

WTF?

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An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

Olbermann Pounds Nail Into Clinton Coffin

[youtube:http://youtube.com/watch?v=cdbgELgiBQM]

Again, Keith Olbermann cuts to the chase:

You actually used the word “assassination” in a time when there is a fear, unspoken but vivid and terrible, that our again-troubled land and fractured political landscape might target a black man running for president.

Or a white man.

Or a white woman!

You actually used those words, in this America, Senator, while running against an African-American against whom the death threats started the moment he declared his campaign?

Just another sleep deprivation-induced gaffe — and this from the woman who claims to be ready for that 3am phone call? — or Freudian slip?

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