" } } }, "7": { "text": "Let's think about it this way, how might Apple have approached this, assuming what so many people think is true, that in a year or two, they won't be limited to the current low resolution screen. Let's assume for the sake of argument that there's an 80 percent probability that in 2015 we'd be able to ship the absolutely killer product, one that makes you scream it's so cool. Never mind what it means to the users, of course that's important to you and me, but that's not how the Apple of Steve's Eye made its decisions. Doc Searls wrote about this in 1997, and talk about hitting the mark. Dead bull's eye for Doc. You want to understand Steve's Apple -- read that piece.", "created": "Sat, 17 Nov 2012 23:42:12 GMT", "pgfnum": "15468" }, "8": { "text": "Remember when netbooks were the rage? I kept saying Apple should ship one. And Apple kept saying we'll ship one when we're ready. The ones everyone is selling aren't good enough for us to put Apple's name on it. I think Cook even said they were junk. I thought that was extreme, but I respected the drama of it. That's some kind of confidence. So we waited. And what came? The iPad. I still wish they had shipped something that worked like the netbooks of the day, but they didn't. Apple wouldn't compromise. It took guts and vision and certainty, patience, and an absolute desire to hit the ball out of the park in a historic way. It would have been a lot easier to just ship something like a netbook. Just as it's easier to ship a compromise like the current iPad Mini.", "created": "Sat, 17 Nov 2012 23:44:23 GMT", "pgfnum": "15469" }, "9": { "text": "I also mentioned a change in the way I was thinking about my Apple stock. I felt that's part of the deal of writing a blog, when I write about companies I own stock in. If I'm thinking about selling, I have to say that, unless there's a really good reason not to. I put it at the top, at the beginning, so it would stand out. Because when I tell my readers that I bought the stock, and then tell them that I hold it, if one day I tell them I sold it, I'd like to have told them inbetween that I was thinking of selling it. It seems to me the honest thing to do. After all I didn't buy an ad and say this to random people as some kind of great proclamation. I wrote a blog post, on my blog, to people who read my blog, and said \"I'm thinking of selling my stock, and here's why.\"", "created": "Sat, 17 Nov 2012 23:46:19 GMT", "pgfnum": "15471" }, "10": { "text": "But the main point was to put a little stake in the ground, so a couple of years from now I could go back and see what I thought about this product when I first got it. My blog has lots of posts like that, and it helps me as a person who is into products and has changing tastes, and makes mistakes, and learns new stuff along the way.", "created": "Sun, 18 Nov 2012 00:04:42 GMT", "pgfnum": "15478" }, "11": { "text": "\"cheesecake\"", "created": "Sun, 18 Nov 2012 00:29:07 GMT", "pgfnum": "15486" } } }, "23": { "text": "Google Reader communities", "created": "Sat, 17 Nov 2012 18:59:57 GMT", "name": "googleReaderCommunities", "pgfnum": "15449", "type": "thread", "subs": { "0": { "text": "I had a phone conversation today with a reporter doing a story on Google Reader communities.", "created": "Sat, 17 Nov 2012 19:00:03 GMT", "pgfnum": "15450" }, "1": { "text": "Apparently there was an active social network built around Google Reader that disbanded when Google tried to switch everyone over to Google Plus. This is something I didn't know about, except peripherally, because I never used Google Reader. I would like to learn more. (But have no interest in using Google Reader or Google Plus.)", "created": "Sat, 17 Nov 2012 19:00:17 GMT", "pgfnum": "15451" }, "2": { "text": "Wondering if there are any opportunities for open development to help bring the communities back together, with the understanding that this time they will have to take responsibility for running the servers, and may have to pay for some of the software development.", "created": "Sat, 17 Nov 2012 19:00:52 GMT", "pgfnum": "15452" }, "3": { "text": "This is a story that repeats in technology. I'm interested in trying to build sustained communities that don't depend on the continued investment of a single company.", "created": "Sat, 17 Nov 2012 19:01:35 GMT", "pgfnum": "15453" } } }, "24": { "text": "How tech companies grow", "created": "Fri, 16 Nov 2012 19:18:47 GMT", "name": "howTechCompaniesGrow", "pgfnum": "15440", "type": "thread", "subs": { "0": { "text": "Two really interesting posts esp when juxtaposed.", "created": "Fri, 16 Nov 2012 19:18:53 GMT", "pgfnum": "15441" }, "1": { "text": "1. Marco Arment writes about Twitter's limits on developers. \"Even though we don't currently have a Windows 8 client, we might have one in the future, so yours isn't allowed,\" he paraphrases on Twitter's behalf.", "created": "Fri, 16 Nov 2012 19:19:03 GMT", "pgfnum": "15442" }, "2": { "text": "2. Bijan Sabet, an early investor in Twitter, posts two pictures. One when the company had 15 employees and a wide-open API. That was just four years ago. And the picture from today, when the company has 1500 employees and doesn't allow developers to compete with them.", "collapse": "false", "created": "Fri, 16 Nov 2012 19:20:17 GMT", "pgfnum": "15443", "subs": { "0": { "text": "\"A" }, "1": { "text": "\"A", "created": "Fri, 16 Nov 2012 19:25:34 GMT", "pgfnum": "15448" } } }, "3": { "text": "Now I don't know for sure why Twitter changed their policies, but I can take a guess.", "created": "Fri, 16 Nov 2012 19:21:05 GMT", "pgfnum": "15444" }, "4": { "text": "Those 1500 employees have to do something. At least some of them are going to write the clients that the developers used to write.", "created": "Fri, 16 Nov 2012 19:21:23 GMT", "pgfnum": "15445" }, "5": { "text": "Which raises the next question. Why does the company need to hire all those people to work for money and stock when the developers are willing to do it for love? When you have the answer, you'll understand why Microsoft has shipped so many new versions of Windows over the last ten years, when the market was perfectly happy with the version they produced ten years ago.", "created": "Fri, 16 Nov 2012 19:21:45 GMT", "pgfnum": "15446" }, "6": { "text": "Spoiler: All those employees make decisions that tend to keep them employed. That's how small innovative companies become big incumbent ones.", "created": "Fri, 16 Nov 2012 19:22:46 GMT", "pgfnum": "15447" } } }, "25": { "text": "What is going on in Gaza?", "created": "Fri, 16 Nov 2012 14:25:46 GMT", "name": "whatIsGoingOnInGaza", "pgfnum": "15421", "type": "thread", "subs": { "0": { "text": "I saw the initial messages on Twitter from the IDF yesterday and a flutter of other messages from people apparently on the other side.", "created": "Fri, 16 Nov 2012 14:25:57 GMT", "pgfnum": "15422" }, "1": { "text": "News reports tell of the action, bombs and rockets, and what may come next.", "created": "Fri, 16 Nov 2012 14:26:27 GMT", "pgfnum": "15423" }, "2": { "text": "I read Jessica Roy's excellent piece saying social media companies had no idea what to do. A war is being fought on the networks. This was inevitable, but now it's actually happening.", "created": "Fri, 16 Nov 2012 14:29:20 GMT", "pgfnum": "15426" }, "3": { "text": "Maybe that's all there is to say. But it's very much a fog from my desk here in NYC.", "created": "Fri, 16 Nov 2012 14:26:45 GMT", "pgfnum": "15424" }, "4": { "text": "If you can shed any light without turning my site into a war zone, please do.", "created": "Fri, 16 Nov 2012 14:27:09 GMT", "pgfnum": "15425" }, "5": { "text": "Here are some links I'm finding.", "created": "Fri, 16 Nov 2012 14:36:58 GMT", "pgfnum": "15427", "subs": { "0": { "text": "Jeff Gauvin: \"Bibi launches a war on Gaza to win an election.\"", "created": "Fri, 16 Nov 2012 14:37:05 GMT", "pgfnum": "15428" } } } } }, "26": { "text": "Linkblog via email", "created": "Thu, 15 Nov 2012 23:59:55 GMT", "name": "linkblogLinksViaEmail", "pgfnum": "15411", "type": "thread", "subs": { "0": { "text": "I learned how to use IFTTT today, thanks to a recommendation from Laughing Squid man, Scott Beale. It's quite nice.", "collapse": "true", "created": "Thu, 15 Nov 2012 23:41:09 GMT", "pgfnum": "15412", "subs": { "0": { "text": "Reminds me of a project I did with Betaworks a couple of years ago, that turned into bit.ly. We were trying to create an end-user programming language for Internet apps. They pulled it off. Congrats.", "created": "Thu, 15 Nov 2012 23:52:44 GMT", "pgfnum": "15418" } } }, "1": { "text": "My test project was to create an email version of my linkblog feed. This is the feed that comes out of my linkblogging tool, Radio2. The links flow to Twitter, and to their own site.", "collapse": "true", "created": "Thu, 15 Nov 2012 23:42:22 GMT", "pgfnum": "15413", "subs": { "0": { "text": "My goal is to have them flow everywhere, asap.", "created": "Thu, 15 Nov 2012 23:57:10 GMT", "pgfnum": "15419" }, "1": { "text": "I'm learning to be patient as the various environments prove they're not that into freedom for linkbloggers like me. :-)", "created": "Thu, 15 Nov 2012 23:57:44 GMT", "pgfnum": "15420" } } }, "2": { "text": "You can subscribe here.", "created": "Thu, 15 Nov 2012 23:43:13 GMT", "pgfnum": "15415" }, "3": { "text": "http://groups.google.com/group/daves-linkblog", "created": "Thu, 15 Nov 2012 23:43:17 GMT", "pgfnum": "15416" }, "4": { "text": "Enjoy! :-)", "created": "Thu, 15 Nov 2012 23:43:18 GMT", "pgfnum": "15417" }, "5": { "text": "PS: Here's a link to the recipe I used.", "created": "Fri, 16 Nov 2012 17:22:41 GMT", "pgfnum": "15439" } } }, "27": { "text": "Seamless + NYMag reviews", "created": "Fri, 16 Nov 2012 01:19:14 GMT", "image": "http://static.scripting.com/larryKing/images/2012/11/15/coffeeMugWhite.gif", "name": "ideaForNewYorkMag", "pgfnum": "15406", "type": "thread", "subs": { "0": { "text": "When I'm looking for a restaurant in NY, I often turn to New York Magazine's reviews because they are concise and when they pick a restaurant it's usually pretty good, imho of course.", "created": "Thu, 15 Nov 2012 19:22:40 GMT", "pgfnum": "15407" }, "1": { "text": "But, when it's time to order a delivery, and having food delivered is a way of life in NYC, I'm stuck using the reviews at Seamless or Delivery. Let me just say that the tastes of their users and mine are not the same. I'd much rather eat food from NYMag-recommended restaurants.", "created": "Fri, 16 Nov 2012 01:03:08 GMT", "pgfnum": "15421" }, "2": { "text": "\"ASo could we please have a melding of good criticism and a great commerce website? Integration would be fantastic, not only with restaurants but with movie listings. I like to use movies.google.com. Unfortunately the reviewers they link to from each movie are, again, not my favorites. For that I go to the NY Times, mostly. I'm learning to use other sources now that I have a movies river, thanks to NakedJen's recommendations of movie review sites, and an evening I spent browsing around a month ago.", "created": "Fri, 16 Nov 2012 01:04:19 GMT", "pgfnum": "15422" }, "3": { "text": "Hey why not hook in Amazon's recommendation engine. That's what Chris Dixon and Caterina Fake were working on at Hunch. \"Here are some nearby restaurants we bet you'd like.\" You gotta know the world is going that way.", "created": "Fri, 16 Nov 2012 01:06:28 GMT", "pgfnum": "15423" }, "4": { "text": "I guess the bottom line is there's still a lot of integration to do among the various data sources on the net.", "created": "Fri, 16 Nov 2012 01:06:51 GMT", "pgfnum": "15424" }, "5": { "text": "PS: Don't forget OpenTable. :-)", "created": "Thu, 15 Nov 2012 19:26:30 GMT", "pgfnum": "15410" }, "6": { "text": "PPS: One more thing -- can we get an RSS feed for Frank Rich's columns. It's a serious omission. Thanks. :-)", "created": "Thu, 15 Nov 2012 19:25:26 GMT", "pgfnum": "15409" } } }, "28": { "text": "Vivid dreams", "created": "Thu, 15 Nov 2012 14:54:06 GMT", "name": "vividDreams", "pgfnum": "15385", "type": "thread", "subs": { "0": { "text": "Something switched over for me recently, wish I knew what it was -- but I'm not spending as much time writing code. Instead I'm writing blog posts and hanging out, reading and doing a lot of sleeping. And because there's been so much sleep there's been a lot of dreams. And sometimes I remember little bits of dreams that at the time I thought were interesting or profound.", "created": "Thu, 15 Nov 2012 14:23:53 GMT", "pgfnum": "15386" }, "1": { "text": "It seems significant when the narrator in my dream is my father. I wonder later if this is just my version of him inside me, or if there's some method of communication between the subconscious and the dead.", "created": "Thu, 15 Nov 2012 14:28:43 GMT", "pgfnum": "15388" }, "2": { "text": "Sometimes it freaks me out that people in my dream see things about me that I don't myself see, in the dream. How could this be, I wonder -- because the other people are really me. It's as if my subconscious has written a play that my conscious self knows nothing about.", "created": "Thu, 15 Nov 2012 14:29:33 GMT", "pgfnum": "15389" }, "3": { "text": "And lately my dreams have had a long-gone lover in them, and we're re-living the agonizing last days of our relationship. I woke this morning with a real, sad, and unhappy question. What if this was the love of your life, and you didn't know it then.", "created": "Thu, 15 Nov 2012 14:30:19 GMT", "pgfnum": "15390" }, "4": { "text": "We say \"no regrets\" so casuallly, but is life anything but regrets?", "created": "Thu, 15 Nov 2012 14:31:42 GMT", "pgfnum": "15391" }, "5": { "text": "And then I had a mathematical dream, wondering if time travel would be so entertaining to us if we hadn't invented awkward language for time that suggests that it could possibly be a two-direction thing.", "created": "Thu, 15 Nov 2012 14:31:58 GMT", "pgfnum": "15392" }, "6": { "text": "Stories about time travel are fun, probably because we live with so much with regret. What if there were the possibility of going back and doing it again, knowing what you know now. When you're young you don't even know what that idea means. It's not like life imparts all that much wisdom, no -- it's what you know about yourself that matters. This was the big one Dave. We know that now. Be more loving, more caring -- spend the time to avoid misunderstanding. Don't give up so easy. Or give up easier. Try something else because what you did the first time around didn't work. If only. If only life were like programming, where you could do it three or four times, each time learning from what you did wrong and choosing not to do it again. Or if I could travel back in time and have a talk with those two young people and find out what's really in their hearts. Force them together in an embrace so they can talk love instead of hurt.", "created": "Thu, 15 Nov 2012 14:50:52 GMT", "pgfnum": "15396" }, "7": { "text": "It doesn't get any less confusing. But as you go forward things are done, they're finished. Books are closed and life goes on -- until it doesn't.", "created": "Thu, 15 Nov 2012 14:35:36 GMT", "pgfnum": "15393" }, "8": { "text": "I can still tell the stories about the people I miss, the loves of my life who are no more. The friends who are gone, the people who are just stories now, just actors in my dreams.", "created": "Thu, 15 Nov 2012 14:36:14 GMT", "pgfnum": "15394" }, "9": { "text": "Apparently I have more important work right now that writing new code. :-)", "created": "Thu, 15 Nov 2012 14:37:00 GMT", "pgfnum": "15395" } } }, "29": { "text": "Jeremy Lin belongs in Brooklyn", "created": "Wed, 14 Nov 2012 22:55:27 GMT", "name": "jeremyLinShouldBeInBrooklyn", "pgfnum": "15385", "type": "thread", "subs": { "0": { "text": "\"AFor some reason it just feels right that Jeremy Lin should play for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association.", "created": "Wed, 14 Nov 2012 22:55:37 GMT", "pgfnum": "15386" }, "1": { "text": "The Knicks were too good for him, I guess -- but the Nets -- Brooklyn? Fugheddaboudit. It's poifect. Like Canarsie and Flatbush. The L train and the Q train. The Lawn Guyland Railroad and Junior's cheesecake. Prospect Park and Jeremy Lin. It works.", "created": "Wed, 14 Nov 2012 23:02:53 GMT", "pgfnum": "15390" }, "2": { "text": "Now, I want to say I don't know bupkis about the Nets except like the Knicks they have a couple of stars, and I'm sure the players wouldn't want Lin, but it would be reallllly smart business for the Nets to bring him back to NY where he is admired, and the Knicks are hated for letting him go. They can keep Carmelo and the rest, we want Jeremy Lin on the Nets.", "created": "Wed, 14 Nov 2012 22:57:40 GMT", "pgfnum": "15387" }, "3": { "text": "It would be so cool. And you'd get all the folks from Flushing, and we'd come from Manhattan to see the Nets and when the Knicks play at Barclay we could yell in unison FUCK DA KNICKS and you wouldn't have to tell us to scream it louder.", "created": "Wed, 14 Nov 2012 22:59:21 GMT", "pgfnum": "15388" }, "4": { "text": "He's the new Jackie Robinson. He should be in Brooklyn. Please someone have the imagination to make this happen!!", "created": "Wed, 14 Nov 2012 23:00:10 GMT", "pgfnum": "15389" } } }, "30": { "text": "How did Cuban get caught?", "created": "Wed, 14 Nov 2012 15:36:20 GMT", "name": "facebookgate", "pgfnum": "15356", "type": "thread", "subs": { "0": { "text": "Facebook, as far as I know, has never showed all updates to all the people who follow you.", "created": "Wed, 14 Nov 2012 15:15:37 GMT", "pgfnum": "15357" }, "1": { "text": "There's always been an assumption that Twitter does show all your updates to all the people who follow you, but how could you know? It's really something only they know. My guess is that they don't either. It certainly would be consistent with all their past policies.", "created": "Wed, 14 Nov 2012 15:16:45 GMT", "pgfnum": "15358" }, "2": { "text": "We like to believe that our Internet services are like the Internet itself -- basically fair. But they are run by tech industry insiders, and they are not fair. Not even close.", "created": "Wed, 14 Nov 2012 15:17:44 GMT", "pgfnum": "15359" }, "3": { "text": "There was a time, not long ago, when Twitter dramatically inflated the follower counts of their personal friends, or press people they wanted good coverage from. Not by small amounts -- by hundreds of thousands of followers. Up till that point we sort of assumed they were trying to run a level playing field. It was at that point we learned they were not, in any way, trying to.", "created": "Wed, 14 Nov 2012 15:18:14 GMT", "pgfnum": "15360" }, "4": { "text": "Here's a nightmare scenario for our friends in the media business, and these days almost everyone is in the media business, including Mark Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks NBA team.", "created": "Wed, 14 Nov 2012 15:19:31 GMT", "pgfnum": "15361" }, "5": { "text": "1. More and more people depend on Twitter to show them the news. Other forms dry up. People stop going to home pages. Stop getting email alerts. Stop subscribing to RSS feeds.", "created": "Wed, 14 Nov 2012 15:20:05 GMT", "pgfnum": "15362" }, "6": { "text": "2. Big networks like CNN and NBC direct their viewers to follow them on Twitter. When NBC runs the Olympics, there's a Twitter icon on the screen a large percentage of the time. Twitter has become like a public thing, like the web.", "created": "Wed, 14 Nov 2012 15:20:49 GMT", "pgfnum": "15363" }, "7": { "text": "3. Twitter expands beyond the 140 character limit, for certain publications, at first they're liberal about who's included. And the first moves are small. Instead of a 140 character limit, there's now a 200 character limit. You can include a picture or a video, but not both. This is viewed without any ads on the Twitter site. More people don't bother going to the site to read the full story because they just wanted the synopsis anyway, or the picture.", "created": "Wed, 14 Nov 2012 15:21:42 GMT", "pgfnum": "15364" }, "8": { "text": "4. Now Twitter expands the limit beyond 200 characters. Full \"long form\" articles are now viewable directly on the Twitter site. They want to keep everyone on their site as much as possible. Now Mr or Ms Media Exec, what do you do? Do you go with them or not? But wait -- it gets better!", "created": "Wed, 14 Nov 2012 15:23:39 GMT", "pgfnum": "15366" }, "9": { "text": "5. Off-site content gets a big warning about viruses and other malware. Be careful clicking on this link.", "created": "Wed, 14 Nov 2012 15:33:22 GMT", "pgfnum": "15374" }, "10": { "text": "6. Twitter, Inc, now worth $85 billion, buys the Washington Post, NY Times and NBC News.", "created": "Wed, 14 Nov 2012 15:24:27 GMT", "pgfnum": "15367" }, "11": { "text": "7. You're not sure if they're showing your stories to your followers. You start to suspect that when the user clicks on your story they show them their version of the story.", "created": "Wed, 14 Nov 2012 15:24:52 GMT", "pgfnum": "15368" }, "12": { "text": "8. You threaten to pull all your content.", "created": "Wed, 14 Nov 2012 15:25:36 GMT", "pgfnum": "15369" }, "13": { "text": "9. Twitter says okay. Don't slam the door on your way out.", "created": "Wed, 14 Nov 2012 15:25:43 GMT", "pgfnum": "15370" }, "14": { "text": "I know this is just one scenario. It could turn out that Twitter is not a media company at all. They just look like one because I have a vivid imagination. You want to bet on that? Well, you are betting on that.", "created": "Wed, 14 Nov 2012 15:25:53 GMT", "pgfnum": "15371" }, "15": { "text": "I think the media industry is as clued in on its future as Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan were about their chances at becoming the next President and Vice-President. I don't think Twitter is especially clever, they're just acting like a tech company. They're gradually encircling all the media entities and it seems the media guys don't have any idea it's happening.", "created": "Wed, 14 Nov 2012 15:26:37 GMT", "pgfnum": "15372" }, "16": { "text": "That's why Cuban's exclamations about Facebook seem so naive. Did he not see this coming? Huh? He's supposed to be such a smart dude. How did he get caught in this trap? How did you?", "created": "Wed, 14 Nov 2012 15:27:47 GMT", "pgfnum": "15373" }, "17": { "text": "Other observations:", "created": "Wed, 14 Nov 2012 15:57:18 GMT", "pgfnum": "15375", "subs": { "0": { "text": "Twitter is not in any way \"democratic\" media. They amplify some voices, a lot. Not saying they cut back others, but they could and we wouldn't know.", "created": "Wed, 14 Nov 2012 15:57:22 GMT", "pgfnum": "15376" }, "1": { "text": "FYI -- there are no equivs of Mother Jones, Esquire, NY Mag in the tech world. It's all press releases and people gossip.", "created": "Wed, 14 Nov 2012 15:57:42 GMT", "pgfnum": "15377" }, "2": { "text": "The political pundits are too occupied with mandates and sex to look around them and see how the media has changed.", "created": "Wed, 14 Nov 2012 15:58:34 GMT", "pgfnum": "15378" } } } } }, "31": { "text": "Spielberg's Lincoln", "created": "Tue, 13 Nov 2012 22:46:30 GMT", "name": "spielbergsLincoln", "pgfnum": "15362", "type": "thread", "subs": { "0": { "text": "I saw Lincoln this afternoon.", "created": "Tue, 13 Nov 2012 22:46:35 GMT", "pgfnum": "15363" }, "1": { "text": "Good acting, esp of course Daniel Day-Lewis.", "created": "Tue, 13 Nov 2012 22:46:51 GMT", "pgfnum": "15364" }, "2": { "text": "Famous TV actors from Mad Men, Breaking Bad, Law & Order. Surprising and fun to see them in 19th century costumes.", "created": "Tue, 13 Nov 2012 22:47:09 GMT", "pgfnum": "15365" }, "3": { "text": "Basically it's a shallow ho-hum Hollywood movie. No surprises. A plot that could be on any TV show, not even a very good one.", "created": "Tue, 13 Nov 2012 22:47:44 GMT", "pgfnum": "15366" }, "4": { "text": "There were a couple of decent jokes in there, esp one about George Washington.", "created": "Tue, 13 Nov 2012 22:53:05 GMT", "pgfnum": "15370" }, "5": { "text": "A movie that will be quickly forgotten, though it will probably win a few awards.", "created": "Tue, 13 Nov 2012 22:48:16 GMT", "pgfnum": "15367" }, "6": { "text": "Could have almost reviewed it in 140 characters, decided to write just a few more. :-)", "created": "Tue, 13 Nov 2012 22:52:13 GMT", "pgfnum": "15369" }, "7": { "text": "Worth seeing, but not with a whole lot of enthusiasm.", "created": "Tue, 13 Nov 2012 22:48:34 GMT", "pgfnum": "15368" } } }, "32": { "text": "Generals Have Sex!", "created": "Tue, 13 Nov 2012 18:13:34 GMT", "name": "generalsHaveSex", "pgfnum": "15356", "type": "thread", "subs": { "0": { "text": "Executive summary: It's safe to ignore what's happening in the news on TV.", "created": "Tue, 13 Nov 2012 18:16:30 GMT", "pgfnum": "15359" }, "1": { "text": "I just tuned into MSNBC while I had lunch and caught the press conference with Jay Carney, White House spokesperson. The reporters want to know how the President feels about a general having sex. The logical, adult answer would be -- I don't really have an opinion about that. And that would be the end of it, because there's lots of sex going on all the time, and it isn't news.", "created": "Tue, 13 Nov 2012 18:13:41 GMT", "pgfnum": "15357" }, "2": { "text": "Right about now the press should be having the same soul-search the Repubs are having about why they were so surprised by the election. Why did they waste enormous hours \"discussing\" absolutely nothing in the time time leading up to the election. Instead, as if to prove they aren't doing anything, the big story is about a general's sex life.", "created": "Tue, 13 Nov 2012 18:15:04 GMT", "pgfnum": "15358" }, "3": { "text": "PS: At some point in this \"story\" I expect Gary Tuchman or John King to get in front of one of those dazzling computer displays with an illustration of a penis and a vagina. They would then proceed to explain how it works. Then Alex Costellanos and David Gurgen could give the Republican view of sex, and Paul Begala could explain the Democratic view. Wolf Blitzer would proclaim it \"very interesting.\"", "created": "Tue, 13 Nov 2012 18:38:50 GMT", "pgfnum": "15360" }, "4": { "text": "PPS: Chuck Todd on MSNBC would show some numbers and Karl Rove on Fox would explain that Republicans don't have sex, so STFU.", "created": "Tue, 13 Nov 2012 18:43:40 GMT", "pgfnum": "15361" } } }, "33": { "text": "My iPad history", "created": "Mon, 12 Nov 2012 16:22:04 GMT", "name": "ipad3VsIpadMini", "pgfnum": "15369", "type": "thread", "subs": { "0": { "text": "I have bought four iPads.", "created": "Mon, 12 Nov 2012 15:54:02 GMT", "pgfnum": "15370" }, "1": { "text": "1. The first one was handed down to my mom, who loved it, so we bought her an iPad 3 with LTE. Then I gave the hand-me-down iPad to NakedJen in Salt Lake. I think she likes it too.", "collapse": "true", "created": "Mon, 12 Nov 2012 15:54:11 GMT", "pgfnum": "15371", "subs": { "0": { "text": "

@davewiner I really do love my iPad. Very, very, much! I wasn't convinced I even needed one, now I take it everywhere! e&

— nakedjen f' (@nakedjen) November 12, 2012
" }, "1": { "text": "" } } }, "2": { "text": "2. I bought the iPad 2, which I still have. It's light and holds a charge for a long time, but it doesn't have LTE or a retina display. I keep it charged in the living room, and sometimes use it as a TV iPad.", "created": "Mon, 12 Nov 2012 15:54:59 GMT", "pgfnum": "15372" }, "3": { "text": "3. I bought an iPad 3 with LTE, which is getting the lion's share of use. As has been pointed out by many, I didn't like it when I first got it. I still don't like it for the reasons I stated then. It's heavy, runs hot, and doesn't hold a charge very long and takes a long time to charge. Managing its battery is a problem. Yet it's the one I travel with, and the one I read in bed, and often is the living room iPad, because of the beautiful screen and because of the LTE. For me the quality of the screen is important because I have impaired vision. This is not a theoretical thing, not something to brush aside.", "created": "Mon, 12 Nov 2012 15:55:42 GMT", "pgfnum": "15373" }, "4": { "text": "4. I have an iPad Mini, which to me seems a lot like the Kindle Fire I bought when it came out. I use it as little as I use the Kindle. Maybe that will change. Maybe not. When I got the iPad Mini, I put the Kindle on the coffee table too, so I could, if I wanted to, pick it up sometimes. I pick up neither. But get this Apple freaks -- the Kindle has a nicer screen. It's heavier. And it's not an iPad so I don't really know how to use it.", "created": "Mon, 12 Nov 2012 15:58:15 GMT", "pgfnum": "15374" }, "5": { "text": "Disclaimers: YMMV. IMHO. AANW. (Apple assholes not welcome.)", "created": "Mon, 12 Nov 2012 16:22:20 GMT", "pgfnum": "15376" } } }, "34": { "text": "The new electorate", "created": "Mon, 12 Nov 2012 15:39:19 GMT", "name": "theNewPunditry", "pgfnum": "15356", "type": "thread", "subs": { "0": { "text": "It's fascinating to watch the Republican pundits hash it out post-election. I find many of them are saying things I wished they would have said before the election. Particularly this wonderful piece by Wick Allison at The American Conservative. Really nails it. Top to bottom.", "created": "Mon, 12 Nov 2012 15:04:14 GMT", "pgfnum": "15357" }, "1": { "text": "This Obama ad came out shortly after Romney's 47 percent video. Something Republicans should think about now. And this one too.", "collapse": "true", "created": "Mon, 12 Nov 2012 15:26:38 GMT", "pgfnum": "15365", "subs": { "0": { "text": "", "created": "Mon, 12 Nov 2012 15:26:20 GMT", "pgfnum": "15364" }, "1": { "text": "" } } }, "2": { "text": "Ryan Lizza in the New Yorker explains how the Republican Party is one state away from no longer being a national party. If they lose Texas, the Democrats will have a lock on the White House. No more \"battleground\" states.", "created": "Mon, 12 Nov 2012 15:07:18 GMT", "pgfnum": "15359" }, "3": { "text": "\"AJonathan Chait writes in New York that we just had a class war, and the middle class won. But now that the war is over, \"what the people want is all fairly beside the point,\" he says. It's understandable, given what he does, that he feels that way, but he couldn't be more wrong.", "created": "Mon, 12 Nov 2012 15:09:13 GMT", "pgfnum": "15360" }, "4": { "text": "When everything settles down to the new normal, the pundits' view will probably be only slightly different from the old one. But the people, I think, are ready to move faster than the pundits are. I think part of the Democratic Party gets that, but I don't think they'll give up the power they would need to, in order for them to change at the pace the electorate is ready for.", "created": "Mon, 12 Nov 2012 15:06:14 GMT", "pgfnum": "15358" }, "5": { "text": "I knew we'd get here. Obama won by making his own excellent Facebook. But we need our own tools, so we can drive the political process even when there isn't a looming national election.", "created": "Mon, 12 Nov 2012 15:31:32 GMT", "pgfnum": "15367" }, "6": { "text": "The people have to drive their own policy.", "created": "Mon, 12 Nov 2012 15:31:11 GMT", "pgfnum": "15366" }, "7": { "text": "And it's happening -- legalization of marijuana was not a corporate-driven thing. Wasn't done by lobbyists. Same with gay marriage." }, "8": { "text": "So the pundits will stay in the new reality where they are comfortable. And for the first time in a generation, the people get to drive on into the future, and define where we're going next.", "created": "Mon, 12 Nov 2012 15:31:46 GMT", "pgfnum": "15368" } } }, "35": { "text": "Tech reporting is often nonsense", "created": "Sun, 11 Nov 2012 18:14:40 GMT", "name": "reportingIsNonsense", "pgfnum": "15359", "type": "thread", "subs": { "0": { "text": "The horserace school of election coverage has been debunked.", "created": "Sun, 11 Nov 2012 17:50:42 GMT", "pgfnum": "15360" }, "1": { "text": "But it's not the only kind of reporting that's based on the gut feel of people who don't know what they're talking about.", "created": "Sun, 11 Nov 2012 17:50:58 GMT", "pgfnum": "15361" }, "2": { "text": "Tech reporting is a great case in point.", "created": "Sun, 11 Nov 2012 17:51:17 GMT", "pgfnum": "15362" }, "3": { "text": "\"ALook at this article at Business Insider that says because they shuffled the chairs at the top level of management at Apple they can predict that a similar kind of revolution is coming soon in their software. The reporter thinks that Apple's mobile OS is no longer innovative, so the whole thing will be redesigned, deployed, somehow, in as little time as it takes to move one exec out and the other in. Never mind that the new exec isn't even a software developer.", "created": "Sun, 11 Nov 2012 17:51:25 GMT", "pgfnum": "15363" }, "4": { "text": "\"It's Time For Apple To Unleash A Major Software Overhaul,\" they say. Sigh.", "created": "Sun, 11 Nov 2012 18:04:24 GMT", "pgfnum": "15373" }, "5": { "text": "You don't have to be an engineer to be a reporter, but you do have to pay attention. Unless you want to sound like an idiot.", "created": "Sun, 11 Nov 2012 17:52:52 GMT", "pgfnum": "15364" }, "6": { "text": "When was the last time an OS got a total overhaul because an exec thought it needed one? Well, that was a trick question cause it happens all the time, of course. And how often are they disasters? Unfortunately for the companies, the execs and most importantly, the users -- that happens all the time too. So much so, that a smart company never undertakes such an overhaul without lots of process. Years of planning, and then it probably doesn't work. Look at how many times Microsoft tried it. Apple too, but in the last decade, they've been much more conservative. And that's a good thing.", "created": "Sun, 11 Nov 2012 17:53:06 GMT", "pgfnum": "15365" }, "7": { "text": "Now here's some more bluntness -- iOS is itself the major retooling. ", "created": "Sun, 11 Nov 2012 17:55:02 GMT", "pgfnum": "15366" }, "8": { "text": "Reading the tea leaves you can see that they had the idea that gradually they would bring iOS features to the Mac OS. If you quickly traveled to 2015 or 2018 and booted up what they're selling as a desktop then, you'd be booting up iOS, with the old Mac OS in a compatibility box to run your legacy apps. I think this didn't work out as they hoped it would, that the cultures are so dramatically different, that they couldn't make the transition work. As a Mac user who also uses iOS -- I certainly hope so.", "created": "Sun, 11 Nov 2012 17:55:40 GMT", "pgfnum": "15367" }, "9": { "text": "Apple would be ill-advised at this point to rip up the UI of iOS and start over. Too many users. Too many braincells already aligned to the way it works. That's why progress happens so slowly in OSes. And in so many other everyday things that billions of people use.", "created": "Sun, 11 Nov 2012 17:57:14 GMT", "pgfnum": "15368" }, "10": { "text": "You could complain that iOS and Android are very much alike in UIs. And so are the UIs of Buicks and Toyotas. It has to be that way. It's good that it is that way. It means that our skills are transferable. It keeps lock-in to a minimum.", "created": "Sun, 11 Nov 2012 17:58:22 GMT", "pgfnum": "15370" }, "11": { "text": "I guess reporters have to have something to write about, and maybe there isn't enough. But don't expect a major overhaul of Apple's mobile OS. It would be better for everyone if they concentrated in the next few years on fixing bugs and smoothing things out.", "created": "Sun, 11 Nov 2012 17:59:31 GMT", "pgfnum": "15372" } } }, "36": { "text": "Horserace punditry is over", "created": "Sat, 10 Nov 2012 22:01:09 GMT", "name": "horseracePunditryIsOver", "pgfnum": "15365", "type": "thread", "subs": { "0": { "text": "\"APolitical reporting, as we've just seen in the cycle completed this week, is 99 percent horserace. But if you read and believed Nate Silver, as the race progressed, polling became more accurate, and it was fascinating to watch the pundits diverge from what the numbers were showing. Silver's model has been tested in two presidential runs, and both times it predicted the outcome in every state, almost perfectly. The 99 percent of political reporting that's about the horserace is over, obviated and unnecessary, now that we've got automated and near-perfect horserace data, thanks to Silver.", "created": "Sat, 10 Nov 2012 22:01:17 GMT", "pgfnum": "15366" }, "1": { "text": "Other elements of previously standard politics that were debunked:", "created": "Sat, 10 Nov 2012 22:03:39 GMT", "pgfnum": "15367" }, "2": { "text": "1. Negative advertising. Users pretty much figured it out when the ads were lies, and discounted them. Some of the lies even backfired, the candidates basically spending money to slime themselves.", "created": "Sat, 10 Nov 2012 22:03:51 GMT", "pgfnum": "15368" }, "3": { "text": "2. Voter suppression didn't work either. The voters tuned in, and just waited in lines that were supposed to make them go home. I don't think the Republicans will try such an open and obvious trick again.", "created": "Sat, 10 Nov 2012 22:04:33 GMT", "pgfnum": "15369" }, "4": { "text": "3. The idea that anything any candidate says is off the record. Kind of amazing that after the macaca disaster, that Romney allowed himself to bear such terrible witness against himself. Pretty much have to expect that won't happen again. Not that the candidate will guard better so his off the record statements are not caught on tape, rather it'll be seen as too dangerous to nominate someone who is so thoroughly narcissistic, arrogant and dishonest.", "created": "Sat, 10 Nov 2012 22:07:02 GMT", "pgfnum": "15371" }, "5": { "text": "The Obama campaign won basically by creating their own private Facebook, with unique features for political campaigns. You could argue that Obama's network is even more valuable than Zuck's. Maybe this is his Presidential library, or his version of the Carter Center or the Clinton Global Initiative. Only this time you might call it ObamaBook. The ultimate political machine.", "created": "Sat, 10 Nov 2012 22:04:46 GMT", "pgfnum": "15370" }, "6": { "text": "But I don't think ObamaBook is the last word. In this campaign the electorate was networked in ways that were not controlled by the media or the parties. That's only going to grow over the years. I hope that we'll eventually take over the political process, and the voters will start driving the discourse, not just during election season, but all the time.", "created": "Sat, 10 Nov 2012 22:11:15 GMT", "pgfnum": "15373" } } }, "37": { "text": "How to spot an outliner", "created": "Sat, 10 Nov 2012 18:12:40 GMT", "pgfnum": "15346", "type": "thread", "subs": { "0": { "text": "I went to a basketball game last night with Doc Searls, and after the game we went out for a bite to eat. And we had a long talk, as we always do.", "created": "Sat, 10 Nov 2012 18:12:44 GMT", "pgfnum": "15347" }, "1": { "text": "Conversations with Doc are like multi-dimensional tennis. He always hits the ball back over the net. But sometimes he hits two or three. And then I hit two or three. All of a sudden there are all these threads going on, and of course since conversation is mostly linear a lot of them drop on the floor. My mind picks them up later.", "created": "Sat, 10 Nov 2012 18:29:50 GMT", "pgfnum": "15355" }, "2": { "text": "One of the things I wanted to say to Doc, who is a long-term outliner guy, is that there's an easy way to spot an outliner. They start sentences like this. There are three reasons for doing this. First, blah blah and second, blah blah and third etc etc. (I heard him doing this several times last night and made note in my mind to come back to this later.)", "created": "Sat, 10 Nov 2012 18:14:06 GMT", "pgfnum": "15348" }, "3": { "text": "We tend to put bullet points on our conversations.", "created": "Sat, 10 Nov 2012 18:14:56 GMT", "pgfnum": "15349" }, "4": { "text": "I, of course, am an outliner dude myself.", "created": "Sat, 10 Nov 2012 18:15:11 GMT", "pgfnum": "15350" }, "5": { "text": "I'm happiest in rattling off lists of things that, together, make up a chain of thought.", "created": "Sat, 10 Nov 2012 18:15:19 GMT", "pgfnum": "15351" }, "6": { "text": "My mind just organizes things that way for me.", "created": "Sat, 10 Nov 2012 18:15:36 GMT", "pgfnum": "15352" }, "7": { "text": "It's as if it has a secretary that neatens everything up before delivering it to my mouth or fingers (for typing on the keyboard).", "created": "Sat, 10 Nov 2012 18:15:44 GMT", "pgfnum": "15353" }, "8": { "text": "If you don't believe me, read the previous piece. :-)", "created": "Sat, 10 Nov 2012 18:16:09 GMT", "pgfnum": "15354" } } }, "38": { "text": "This is not Steve's Apple", "created": "Sat, 10 Nov 2012 18:01:37 GMT", "name": "steveWouldntHaveShippedTheIpadMini", "pgfnum": "15335", "type": "thread", "subs": { "0": { "text": "First, I have been an Apple shareholder for about 10 years. I haven't sold my stock, yet -- but for the first time I'm thinking about it. I'm worried that I'll decide to sell after it's too late.", "created": "Sat, 10 Nov 2012 17:37:39 GMT", "pgfnum": "15336" }, "1": { "text": "Anyway -- here's the thing. I bought an iPad Mini. It was too cheap not to give in to curiosity, to see if it's more compelling or useful or whatever, than the high-end iPad that I already have. Executive summary: It is not.", "created": "Sat, 10 Nov 2012 17:38:26 GMT", "pgfnum": "15337" }, "2": { "text": "Here's the list of problems.", "created": "Sat, 10 Nov 2012 17:39:23 GMT", "pgfnum": "15338" }, "3": { "text": "1. I already had a great iPad. It's big and heavy, and hurts my arm to read in bed. It's my primary bed computer, and also the second screen when I'm watching TV. When I read in bed it leaves impressions on my arm where it rests. I can't imagine this is good for the circulation in my arm.", "created": "Sat, 10 Nov 2012 17:39:34 GMT", "pgfnum": "15339" }, "4": { "text": "2. I could use the iPad Mini, but I don't. People say they don't mind the grainier screen, but I do. If I have a choice, and I do, I always pick up the bigger iPad with the easy-to-read high resolution screen.", "created": "Sat, 10 Nov 2012 17:40:25 GMT", "pgfnum": "15340" }, "5": { "text": "3. What about as a traveling computer? Well, there too I go for the larger iPad, because it has LTE. It's very functional, in my knapsack, when I go out. I swtich it over from wifi to LTE when I go out. And I turn on Bluetooth, so that my iPod (blue, 32GB) has a way to get on the net. The iPad Mini could be a replacement for the iPod, I suppose. But it doesn't fit in the pocket as well. (However it does fit in my pocket, which is cool. Maybe I should try replacing the iPod with the Mini.)", "created": "Sat, 10 Nov 2012 17:40:57 GMT", "pgfnum": "15341" }, "6": { "text": "4. But here's the verdict, the reason why I think this product is making Apple's stock dive. Steve never would have shipped it. I know people have been saying that about all kinds of things ever since he died. Steve wouldn't have done this or that. I've stayed away from saying that -- even though the thought has popped into my head -- because I've never felt certain, and I don't think it's fair to say something like that unless you really feel it in your gut. But this one is kind of obvious. Technology has to keep getting better. Once you've shipped an iPad with a super high-resolution \"retina\" display, you can't ask people to buy a new one that doesn't have it. Steve wouldn't have done it.", "created": "Sat, 10 Nov 2012 17:42:35 GMT", "pgfnum": "15342" }, "7": { "text": "5. Some features are just features, like a camera, but the resolution of a display isn't a feature. It's integral to the product. It's like trying to sell a car with a fuzzy windshield. Everything you do with the Mini is a reminder that you could be using a nicer product. Always having the nicest thing is what Steve's Apple stood for.", "created": "Sat, 10 Nov 2012 17:59:23 GMT", "pgfnum": "15344" }, "8": { "text": "6. The new Apple is willing to compromise. And what are they compromising for? Well, it looks like they're doing it so they can \"compete\" with Google and Amazon. But again -- Steve's Apple never deigned to do something as crass as \"competing.\" It was a foreign concept. Steve's Apple was so far in advance of everyone else, it was ridiculous to think of them as competition. But here is the new Apple inviting comparison to something else. But the comparison that's inevitable and damning, is the comparison between the Mini and its predecessor, the iPad 3. And in that comparison the newer product is a dust-catcher. Its battery is always fully charged. It never gets off the night table. It was an obsolete product the day it shipped, and the day before it shipped.", "created": "Sat, 10 Nov 2012 17:59:51 GMT", "pgfnum": "15345" }, "9": { "text": "BTW, this is why the orchestrated reviews of products are often worthless. I invite Mossberg, Pogue or Gruber to re-review their iPad Mini now, a week after their initial reviews, and let us know if they're actually using it. And if they still think it's a winner. I believe it's not only not a winner, but it signals a new Apple that's no longer beyond compare, no longer insisting on delighting its users to the point of orgasm. This Apple is content to be a competitor. Not my idea of what Apple is, and definitely not Steve's.", "created": "Sat, 10 Nov 2012 17:48:33 GMT", "pgfnum": "15343" } } }, "39": { "text": "My new blogging platform", "created": "Fri, 09 Nov 2012 22:27:36 GMT", "name": "myNewBloggingPlatform", "pgfnum": "15327", "type": "thread", "subs": { "0": { "text": "A few months ago, I'll have to look up the date, I switched to a new worldoutline-based blogging platform.", "created": "Fri, 09 Nov 2012 22:27:41 GMT", "pgfnum": "15328" }, "1": { "text": "I wanted something that would be halfway between a formal blogging tool, and Twitter.", "created": "Fri, 09 Nov 2012 22:28:01 GMT", "pgfnum": "15329" }, "2": { "text": "Here's why. Because I found myself with things to say that couldn't fit into 140 characters. I think by now this happens to everyone.", "created": "Fri, 09 Nov 2012 22:28:12 GMT", "pgfnum": "15330" }, "3": { "text": "So I wanted an environment that would feel as fluid and as casual as Twitter, but have no limits on length. I wanted to be able to edit as much as I want, and then quickly move on to the next piece.", "created": "Fri, 09 Nov 2012 22:28:42 GMT", "pgfnum": "15331" }, "4": { "text": "\"Fluid\" writing is the big thing. I didn't want to have to think about creating a blog post. I'd just start writing. If I didn't like the way it was coming out, I could just delete it and it would leave no trace behind. I'd never had a platform where the collection of all my posts was nothing more than a document. I've always wanted that, but until recently I hadn't gotten there.", "created": "Fri, 09 Nov 2012 22:41:50 GMT", "pgfnum": "15340" }, "5": { "text": "I just wrote two blog posts in about ten minutes.", "created": "Fri, 09 Nov 2012 22:29:18 GMT", "pgfnum": "15332" }, "6": { "text": "That's what I'm talking about.", "created": "Fri, 09 Nov 2012 22:29:25 GMT", "pgfnum": "15333" }, "7": { "text": "Blog posts that feel like a sequence of tweets.", "created": "Fri, 09 Nov 2012 22:29:29 GMT", "pgfnum": "15334" }, "8": { "text": "I've got that working -- and it feels great. ", "created": "Fri, 09 Nov 2012 22:29:42 GMT", "pgfnum": "15335" }, "9": { "text": "One of the downsides is far more typos and spelling errors.", "created": "Fri, 09 Nov 2012 22:30:10 GMT", "pgfnum": "15336" }, "10": { "text": "But -- far more of my ideas make it out of my brain and onto the net.", "created": "Fri, 09 Nov 2012 22:30:19 GMT", "pgfnum": "15337" }, "11": { "text": "Whether it means anything to anyone but me remains to be seen. :-)", "created": "Fri, 09 Nov 2012 22:30:30 GMT", "pgfnum": "15338" } } }, "40": { "text": "The people are never a lame duck", "created": "Fri, 09 Nov 2012 22:21:33 GMT", "name": "lameDuck", "pgfnum": "15319", "type": "thread", "subs": { "0": { "text": "Most of the punditry in Washington isn't worth a bucket of warm spit.", "created": "Fri, 09 Nov 2012 22:21:37 GMT", "pgfnum": "15320" }, "1": { "text": "\"ATake this op-ed in the Guardian that say that because of gridlock in Washington it will be impossible for the President do do anything in his second term that matches what he got done in the first. They don't know that, and they like to pretend they do -- but they're just being lazy.", "created": "Fri, 09 Nov 2012 22:21:49 GMT", "pgfnum": "15321" }, "2": { "text": "Less than two weeks ago New York City was being flooded by a hurricane of such strength with such a huge surge that it wasn't even considered possible before it happened. That triggered an immediate priority, what are we going to do to protect New York against future flooding? And more important, what are we going to do to protect the other coastal cities in the United States. A huge number of Americans live in danger of the kind of flooding we experienced in New York at the end of October.", "created": "Fri, 09 Nov 2012 22:22:44 GMT", "pgfnum": "15322" }, "3": { "text": "And that's just one thing.", "created": "Fri, 09 Nov 2012 22:24:34 GMT", "pgfnum": "15323" }, "4": { "text": "Who knows what kind of winter we're going to have in NY?", "created": "Fri, 09 Nov 2012 22:47:06 GMT", "pgfnum": "15342" }, "5": { "text": "And where the next drought will hit.", "created": "Fri, 09 Nov 2012 22:47:18 GMT", "pgfnum": "15343" }, "6": { "text": "For the Repubs -- where is the next Benghazi.", "created": "Fri, 09 Nov 2012 22:47:36 GMT", "pgfnum": "15344" }, "7": { "text": "You think any of those would disrupt the gridlock?", "created": "Fri, 09 Nov 2012 22:47:46 GMT", "pgfnum": "15345" }, "8": { "text": "The gridlock isn't some sacred thing. If we push hard, the gridlock will break. Congresspeople are sissies. They really don't have much spine when the people are on their ass.", "created": "Fri, 09 Nov 2012 22:47:56 GMT", "pgfnum": "15346" }, "9": { "text": "Life isn't that predictable. You don't know what's going to happen. We shouldn't waste our time thinking in such hum-drum terms. We could have a revolution, a legal revolution. I think it's going to happen one of these years.", "created": "Fri, 09 Nov 2012 22:24:56 GMT", "pgfnum": "15324" }, "10": { "text": "What do we have to revolt about? Well, voter suppression for one thing! It's outrageous. And surprise -- the people figured it out, and they were outraged. For once the books balanced. :-)", "created": "Fri, 09 Nov 2012 22:25:41 GMT", "pgfnum": "15325" }, "11": { "text": "Some of these diseased people should go to jail.", "created": "Fri, 09 Nov 2012 22:37:48 GMT", "pgfnum": "15339" }, "12": { "text": "When you call the President a lame duck you're necessarily saying the People are also a lame duck. And if you read the Constitution, and believe we could be motivated to push back a little more, the People are never a lame duck.", "created": "Fri, 09 Nov 2012 22:26:14 GMT", "pgfnum": "15326" } } }, "41": { "text": "Thanks President Clinton", "created": "Fri, 09 Nov 2012 15:41:04 GMT", "name": "thanksPresidentClinton", "pgfnum": "15313", "type": "thread", "subs": { "0": { "text": "I haven't heard anyone talking about the contribution President Bill Clinton made to the re-election of President Obama. So I decided to do something about it...", "created": "Fri, 09 Nov 2012 15:41:11 GMT", "pgfnum": "15314" }, "1": { "text": "http://thankspresidentclinton.com/", "created": "Fri, 09 Nov 2012 15:41:42 GMT", "pgfnum": "15316" }, "2": { "text": "If you concur, please pass that URL along so everyone can take a moment and pay homage to The Big Dog, who played a big role in this year's victories.", "created": "Fri, 09 Nov 2012 15:41:50 GMT", "pgfnum": "15317" } } }, "42": { "text": "Why Romney Lost", "created": "Fri, 09 Nov 2012 14:05:30 GMT", "name": "whyRomneyLost", "pgfnum": "15272", "type": "thread", "subs": { "0": { "text": "The meme du jour is Why Romney Lost.", "created": "Fri, 09 Nov 2012 14:05:34 GMT", "pgfnum": "15273" }, "1": { "text": "It's really not so hard to figure out.", "created": "Fri, 09 Nov 2012 14:05:50 GMT", "pgfnum": "15274", "subs": { "0": { "text": "\"There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it. That that's an entitlement. And the government should give it to them. And they will vote for this president no matter what.These are people who pay no income tax.\"", "created": "Fri, 09 Nov 2012 14:05:55 GMT", "pgfnum": "15275" } } }, "2": { "text": "You don't have to look any further. Basically this limited the field of possible Republican voters to people who were too stupid to get that he was talking about them.", "created": "Fri, 09 Nov 2012 14:06:53 GMT", "pgfnum": "15276", "subs": { "0": { "text": "\"AAside from being insulting, it's clueless.", "created": "Fri, 09 Nov 2012 14:20:31 GMT", "pgfnum": "15281" }, "1": { "text": "I have a pre-existing condition, and if for some reason I lost my health insurance, I would not be able to replace it, no matter how much money I spent. I have never not had insurance. The system is terrible. I had to scramble to find insurance when I lost my job a few years back. Ironically, it was the health care law in Massachusetts that saved my ass.", "created": "Fri, 09 Nov 2012 14:20:38 GMT", "pgfnum": "15282" }, "2": { "text": "I'm willing to pay for the average cost for a person with my health, I think that's fair. But health care is already highly socialized. I get the same treatment as everyone else with the condition I have. We need to pool our resources.", "created": "Fri, 09 Nov 2012 14:24:36 GMT", "pgfnum": "15285" }, "3": { "text": "I don't feel entitled to health care. I am a very productive member of society, and I find it highly insulting that the Republicans think I depend on them to give me a sense of purpose with my life. That's just laughable it's so arrogant and ridiculous.", "created": "Fri, 09 Nov 2012 14:22:19 GMT", "pgfnum": "15283" }, "4": { "text": "So if you want an idea of why this approach didn't work, join the human race -- and you'll find out right away.", "created": "Fri, 09 Nov 2012 14:23:04 GMT", "pgfnum": "15284" } } }, "3": { "text": "As another famous Republican said: \"You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time.\"", "created": "Fri, 09 Nov 2012 14:07:35 GMT", "pgfnum": "15277" }, "4": { "text": "In this case you could only fool 53 percent. And some of them were Democrats.", "created": "Fri, 09 Nov 2012 14:09:00 GMT", "pgfnum": "15278" }, "5": { "text": "As President Clinton says -- it's just arithmetic.", "created": "Fri, 09 Nov 2012 14:10:30 GMT", "pgfnum": "15279" }, "6": { "text": "PS: I wish President Obama had thanked President Clinton in his victory speech. It would have brought the house down. The Big Dog really earned it.", "created": "Fri, 09 Nov 2012 14:10:41 GMT", "pgfnum": "15280" } } }, "43": { "text": "\"They don't know they're dead\"", "created": "Fri, 09 Nov 2012 02:51:07 GMT", "name": "theyDontKnowTheyreDead", "pgfnum": "15268", "type": "thread", "subs": { "0": { "text": "I find it fascinating that Mitt Romney and his advisors went into election night thinking they were going to win. Reminds me of the famous \"I see dead people\" scene from The Sixth Sense with Haley Joel Osment and Bruce Willis.", "created": "Fri, 09 Nov 2012 02:51:14 GMT", "pgfnum": "15269" }, "1": { "text": "", "created": "Fri, 09 Nov 2012 02:52:25 GMT", "pgfnum": "15271" } } }, "44": { "text": "Boehner on ObamaCare", "created": "Fri, 09 Nov 2012 00:06:46 GMT", "image": "http://static.scripting.com/larryKing/images/2012/11/08/chait121015_1_250.jpg", "name": "boehnerOnObamacare", "pgfnum": "15259", "type": "thread", "subs": { "0": { "text": "Speaker Boehner says that ObamaCare is the law of the land.", "created": "Fri, 09 Nov 2012 00:06:51 GMT", "pgfnum": "15260" }, "1": { "text": "1. So there you have it -- a clear mandate from the election. Whether you knew it or not, when you voted for Obama, you were making health reform in the US a reality. But there were other mandates.", "created": "Fri, 09 Nov 2012 00:07:02 GMT", "pgfnum": "15261" }, "2": { "text": "2. You were also protecting Roe v Wade, and making a more liberal Supreme Court much more likely.", "created": "Fri, 09 Nov 2012 00:08:21 GMT", "pgfnum": "15262" }, "3": { "text": "3. Another sure thing is a tax increase for the wealthy. Taxes may go up for everyone else.", "collapse": "true", "created": "Fri, 09 Nov 2012 00:08:35 GMT", "pgfnum": "15263", "subs": { "0": { "text": "The President has a lot more chips in the upcoming negotiation than the Republicans do, because they can only pass legislation or stop new legislation. The tax increase is already law. All the President has to do is this -- nothing.", "created": "Fri, 09 Nov 2012 00:11:29 GMT", "pgfnum": "15265" }, "1": { "text": "Read Chait's piece for the full story.", "created": "Fri, 09 Nov 2012 00:21:20 GMT", "pgfnum": "15267" }, "2": { "text": "Also Businessweek: \"Obama and the Democrats can gain a huge source of new revenue by doing nothing at all.\"", "created": "Fri, 09 Nov 2012 00:13:48 GMT", "pgfnum": "15266" } } } } }, "45": { "text": "The world is socialist, part II", "created": "Thu, 08 Nov 2012 19:35:41 GMT", "name": "theWorldIsSocialistPartIi", "pgfnum": "15246", "type": "thread", "subs": { "0": { "text": "I try to save big ideas for January 1, every year.", "created": "Thu, 08 Nov 2012 19:35:47 GMT", "pgfnum": "15247" }, "1": { "text": "Hard things to write, things that take a while to think about, both as ideas, and how I want to approach it in writing.", "created": "Thu, 08 Nov 2012 19:36:14 GMT", "pgfnum": "15248" }, "2": { "text": "On January 1, 2011, I wrote a piece called The world is socialist.", "created": "Thu, 08 Nov 2012 19:36:36 GMT", "pgfnum": "15249" }, "3": { "text": "It was intended as a rebuttal to the idea that was going around that our President is a socialist, somehow more radical than all his predecessors, and that was somehow a threat to people who live in the United States.", "created": "Thu, 08 Nov 2012 19:36:51 GMT", "pgfnum": "15250" }, "4": { "text": "It was said a lot during the campaign (I'm looking at you Peterffy) and now in the aftermath, they're still trotting it out. We're going off the cliff because the President is socialist. It's so sad to see people so adrift, for a couple of big reasons.", "created": "Thu, 08 Nov 2012 19:37:42 GMT", "pgfnum": "15251" }, "5": { "text": "1. The President is no more socialist than any other President.", "created": "Thu, 08 Nov 2012 19:38:35 GMT", "pgfnum": "15252" }, "6": { "text": "2. The world is socialist (as I said in the piece I wrote).", "created": "Thu, 08 Nov 2012 19:38:45 GMT", "pgfnum": "15253" }, "7": { "text": "Even the wild west, the supposed ideal of individuality, was highly socialist. The government gave people free land. The government moved the Native Americans out of the way when the Europeans wanted to harvest the buffalo or steal their land. Or is \"liberty\" something that only applies to white folk?", "created": "Thu, 08 Nov 2012 19:38:59 GMT", "pgfnum": "15254" }, "8": { "text": "Snowstorms are socialist as are hurricanes. When the city gets dumped on we have the roads cleared by the Department of Sanitation, government workers. You don't get a specific bill for this, it's covered under your taxes.", "created": "Thu, 08 Nov 2012 19:40:18 GMT", "pgfnum": "15255" }, "9": { "text": "And taxes. Rich folk pay more, because they get more. The companies they own use more roads, water, education, police. We have to pay for these services. If you don't want to contribute, then you shouldn't take the services. That is, you should move somewhere else. Because just by living you're using the protective services of the government, the police, the military, etc.", "created": "Thu, 08 Nov 2012 19:41:06 GMT", "pgfnum": "15256" }, "10": { "text": "And health care. Should your life be ruined because you get a curable disease? We've decided no. Is that socialist? Perhaps. But then disease, like snow and hurricanes, is socialist too.", "created": "Thu, 08 Nov 2012 19:42:01 GMT", "pgfnum": "15257" }, "11": { "text": "Well, read the piece. In the follow-up to the election this would be a nice one to get out of the way. We, who voted Democratic this year, are no more or less socialist than you are. If you think otherwise, then tell me how. Do you not drive on roads? Do need to breathe clean air? Do you go to public events that are kept peaceful by the police? Do you like to have clean water running into your house? Do you want your neigbors to flush their toilets into the street? Etc.", "created": "Thu, 08 Nov 2012 19:42:19 GMT", "pgfnum": "15258" } } }, "46": { "text": "Strange numbers", "created": "Thu, 08 Nov 2012 19:22:18 GMT", "image": "http://static.scripting.com/larryKing/images/2012/11/08/cards.gif", "name": "strangeNumbers", "pgfnum": "15240", "type": "thread", "subs": { "0": { "text": "\"AI don't have a handle on this yet, because it's become virtually impossible to tell how traffic from Twitter arrives. But the hit counts on my short URLs are going way down. I used to get two or three thousand clicks on each one, as recently as a couple of months ago. Now I get two or three hundred clicks. I don't know what to attribute this to.", "created": "Thu, 08 Nov 2012 19:22:32 GMT", "pgfnum": "15241" }, "1": { "text": "I recently started supporting the Twitter Cards feature, so you get a 200-character synopsis of each piece on Twitter, without clicking through.", "created": "Thu, 08 Nov 2012 19:24:39 GMT", "pgfnum": "15242" }, "2": { "text": "I'm not sure this is such a good deal. :-)", "created": "Thu, 08 Nov 2012 19:25:02 GMT", "pgfnum": "15243" }, "3": { "text": "I'm very concerned that we're turning over all our flow to a small number of companies. And we can't tell whether they're passing our tweets along to everyone who follows us. I'm beginning to wonder about that too.", "created": "Thu, 08 Nov 2012 19:25:09 GMT", "pgfnum": "15244" } } }, "47": { "text": "What Republicans look like, to me", "created": "Thu, 08 Nov 2012 17:07:05 GMT", "image": "http://static.scripting.com/larryKing/images/2012/11/08/archieBunker.gif", "name": "riotingAndLooting", "pgfnum": "15234", "type": "thread", "subs": { "0": { "text": "Yesterday: \"Romney did something with integrity by saying we need to get behind the President. If Romney had won, Obama's supporters, most of them, would have swallowed hard and gotten behind the new President and hoped for the best.\"", "created": "Thu, 08 Nov 2012 17:07:10 GMT", "pgfnum": "15235" }, "1": { "text": "I got a response from someone who I later blocked, who said that before we got behind the new President, we would riot and loot first.", "created": "Thu, 08 Nov 2012 17:07:50 GMT", "pgfnum": "15236" }, "2": { "text": "\"AThen I read this piece by Tom Junod on Esquire where he said: \"Though they will be back soon enough with their philosophy of limited government, they will heretofore practice their tried-and-true strategy of demonizing segments of the American population at their peril.\"", "created": "Thu, 08 Nov 2012 17:08:25 GMT", "pgfnum": "15237" }, "3": { "text": "I thought these two go together. I wanted to tell my correspondent that I am a middle-aged white, affluent, educated person, who would never in a million years riot or loot anyone or anything. I realize of course that there's no point in saying that, if his intentions were respectful, he would already know that.", "created": "Thu, 08 Nov 2012 17:09:25 GMT", "pgfnum": "15238" }, "4": { "text": "This is how a lot of us see Republicans. I thought people who think of themselves as Republicans who aren't like this should know that.", "created": "Thu, 08 Nov 2012 17:10:28 GMT", "pgfnum": "15239" } } }, "48": { "text": "As Repubs try to figure it out", "created": "Thu, 08 Nov 2012 15:17:12 GMT", "name": "repubsTryToFigureItOut", "type": "thread", "subs": { "0": { "text": "A few notes for Republicans trying to figure this election out, and for everyone actually -- because there was some new stuff.", "created": "Thu, 08 Nov 2012 14:40:32 GMT", "pgfnum": "15223" }, "1": { "text": "1. The late-breaking ad run by Romney that said Jeep was moving jobs to China blew back in his face. The people figured it out. And they had great communication tools to share the news with each other. The message: \"Romney is a dick.\"", "created": "Thu, 08 Nov 2012 14:40:53 GMT", "pgfnum": "15224" }, "2": { "text": "2. When Akin said the awful stuff about women and rape, that presented an A-B choice to the Republican leadership. They seemed to understand that, because they called on Akin to step aside. When he didn't, they stuck with him. I assume Republican strategists figured that while maybe it would be an issue in Missouri, the rest of us would forget about it. We didn't. And then it happened again in Indiana. This time the Republican leadership didn't say anything. What if, instead, Romney had made a big deal about it, like the Obama race speech in 2008. Cut support for Akin, on principle. That would have changed the tone of the campaign. But this isn't the kind of thing a Romney does. And that's a big part of why he isn't President-elect Romney. He isn't willing to take a risk for a big reward. He's a numbers guy. Not a good guy to be Leader of the Free World. (Not that we haven't already had presidents like that, we have.)", "collapse": "true", "created": "Thu, 08 Nov 2012 14:41:54 GMT", "pgfnum": "15225", "subs": { "0": { "text": "He said in his concession speech that he and Ryan had \"left everyting on the field.\" Not true. He didn't take any personal risks other than telling ever-more-bold lies about himself. If he had taken a principled stand on something maybe a few more voters would have looked into his eyes and seen some of the conscience his friends says he has. But if he has it, it never showed up in the campaign. Quite the opposite -- his calculating \"I'll say whatever I have to say to get your vote\" attitude is what we saw 100 percent of the time.", "collapse": "true", "created": "Thu, 08 Nov 2012 15:03:09 GMT", "pgfnum": "15232", "subs": { "0": { "text": "" } } }, "1": { "text": "Akin and Mourdock teed up a perfect opportunity for him to stand for something. How much guts would it have taken to completely withdraw support from these guys? Sure it would have made enemies in the Republican Party. But it would have given him at least one anchor to the human race, for the rest of us to connect with. \"At least he's willing to stand up for a woman who was raped.\" (It sounds terrible to say it that way, but that is what it comes down to.)", "created": "Thu, 08 Nov 2012 15:05:53 GMT", "pgfnum": "15233" } } }, "3": { "text": "3. Romney sealed it with his 47 percent comment at the Florida fundraiser. These were familiar ideas. It sounded authentic, like this is what Romney really thinks. No matter how competent you think a guy is, he has abstracted a huge number of American voters to be sub-human. If that's what it takes to hold his world together, I don't want to live in that world. I was already decided not to vote for him, and I didn't imagine there would have been anything he could say to change my mind, but when the debates came around...", "created": "Thu, 08 Nov 2012 14:43:42 GMT", "pgfnum": "15226" }, "4": { "text": "\"A4. The mistake Obama appeared to make was to paint Romney as a cretin, incompetent, dumb, rich, inbred jerk. Well, you could see, in the debate, he wasn't that. He could think on his feet. Put a good sentence together. And he had the fire that Obama lacks. If I had been on the fence (again, I wasn't) that debate might have pushed me over. If he hadn't shared the 47 percent bit, that might have made a difference. There was a moment in the first debate when a thought popped into my head that he's the real president. It wasn't something I reasoned my way to, it was a flash of insight. I imagine this is the feeling, that other people had too, that made his poll numbers go up.", "created": "Thu, 08 Nov 2012 14:45:46 GMT", "pgfnum": "15227" }, "5": { "text": "5. I think he disqualified himself with the bullshit about Benghazi. People were dying, we didn't know how many. The situation was fluid, and there was Mitt sticking his two cents in. Really some people don't have good intuition for politics. Romney proved that day he was one of them.", "created": "Thu, 08 Nov 2012 14:47:24 GMT", "pgfnum": "15228" }, "6": { "text": "6. Don't make jokes about climate change or birth certificates.", "created": "Thu, 08 Nov 2012 15:01:07 GMT", "pgfnum": "15231" }, "7": { "text": "7. I think the biggest lesson of 2012 is that the people are much better connected now than they ever have been. That means that bold manipulative lies don't work, because they can be exposed, quickly, by networks of people that voters trust. In the past, politics was totally centralized. Like everything else, it is not centralized anymore. We have fact-checkers, we can listen to them, and now apparently enough people do that we can enforce a certain discipline on our candidates.", "created": "Thu, 08 Nov 2012 14:47:38 GMT", "pgfnum": "15229" }, "8": { "text": "8. Given the circumstances of the economy, Romney could have won. That's why Republicans should hear this loud and clear. If you run as the Party of Cretins you're going to keep losing. It might take a few years for the transition to be complete. If the Republicans want to reform, they should reform along the lines of empowered voters with good access to information. And show respect for everyone. Don't nominate patricians like Romney. Nominate people with decent political instincts, who would never say the kinds of trashy things Romney said, no matter how much depends on it.", "created": "Thu, 08 Nov 2012 14:50:12 GMT", "pgfnum": "15230" } } }, "49": { "text": "Election almanac e-book?", "created": "Wed, 07 Nov 2012 23:03:33 GMT", "name": "anEbookNeeded", "pgfnum": "15213", "type": "thread", "subs": { "0": { "text": "It would be useful to have an e-book you could buy for say $10 put out by a reputable news organization, that gathers, in book form, all the information about the election we have, almanac-style.", "created": "Wed, 07 Nov 2012 23:03:41 GMT", "pgfnum": "15214" }, "1": { "text": "It would be updated as new information comes in. Eventually it would stop updating.", "created": "Wed, 07 Nov 2012 23:04:15 GMT", "pgfnum": "15215" } } }, "50": { "text": "Dear Repubs, we heard you", "created": "Wed, 07 Nov 2012 17:00:52 GMT", "name": "dearRepubsWeHeardYou", "pgfnum": "15201", "type": "thread", "subs": { "0": { "text": "Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell on the top Republican priority, two years ago. It wasn't jobs. Not deficit or ending wars. Not health care.", "created": "Wed, 07 Nov 2012 17:06:46 GMT", "pgfnum": "15205" }, "1": { "text": "", "created": "Wed, 07 Nov 2012 17:00:58 GMT", "pgfnum": "15202" }, "2": { "text": "The United States paid dearly for this.", "created": "Wed, 07 Nov 2012 17:01:31 GMT", "pgfnum": "15203" }, "3": { "text": "If you think we forgot, we didn't.", "created": "Wed, 07 Nov 2012 17:01:39 GMT", "pgfnum": "15204" } } }, "51": { "text": "It's a good day", "created": "Wed, 07 Nov 2012 16:08:33 GMT", "name": "itsAGoodDay", "pgfnum": "15184", "type": "thread", "subs": { "0": { "text": "Lots of good stuff today.", "created": "Wed, 07 Nov 2012 15:39:33 GMT", "pgfnum": "15185" }, "1": { "text": "1. Obama won re-election.", "created": "Wed, 07 Nov 2012 15:39:43 GMT", "pgfnum": "15186" }, "2": { "text": "2. He gave a great speech.", "created": "Wed, 07 Nov 2012 15:39:49 GMT", "pgfnum": "15187" }, "3": { "text": "3. Romney gave a great concession speech.", "created": "Wed, 07 Nov 2012 15:40:03 GMT", "pgfnum": "15188" }, "4": { "text": "4. As of today, Romney becomes a punchline to bad jokes. Had he won, he still would have been the punchline to bad jokes, but they would have also been tragic jokes.", "created": "Wed, 07 Nov 2012 15:40:13 GMT", "pgfnum": "15189" }, "5": { "text": "5. Obama talked about climate change in his speech.", "created": "Wed, 07 Nov 2012 15:41:57 GMT", "pgfnum": "15190" }, "6": { "text": "6. He talked about self-government, implying possibly that he will help organize the people to do things that help our country regain some semblance of grounding. It's very true. In this country the people have all the power. But if you never work with us, if you treat us like mere voters, we can't work together. The President, of all the branches of government, must work with the people. Must like the people. And must lead the people. When the Repubs said the President wasn't leading, they were right. They could push us around because there was no connection betw the President and the people.", "created": "Wed, 07 Nov 2012 15:42:07 GMT", "pgfnum": "15191" }, "7": { "text": "\"A7. By keeping things as they are, with the Senate and House, we told the government that they have to put the bullshit aside and start working for the good of the country. Some people will say this was a message to both parties, but that would be a mistaken interpretation. The message was to the Republicans. I don't know about you, but I heard them say they were being jackasses and holding the economy hostage to try to make Obama a one-term president. I assumed from that point on all the talk about principles was just smoke, covering for their remarkably honest admission. We all paid a huge price for the vanity of the Republican Party. No more of that or we will punish you with obliteration. And maybe we have a President now who knows how to organize the people.", "created": "Wed, 07 Nov 2012 15:42:39 GMT", "pgfnum": "15192" }, "8": { "text": "8. To Republicans, you may not like Obama, and I'm sorry you feel that way, but you have to man-up and deal with it. He not only is the President but he was just re-elected. Stop insulting the majority by saying we elected someone who is not legit. Don't be sore losers. Nothing is more un-American and honestly its disgusting to see grown men and women act like that. Romney did something with integrity by saying we need to get behind the President. If Romney had won, Obama's supporters, most of them, would have swallowed hard and gotten behind the new President and hoped for the best.", "created": "Wed, 07 Nov 2012 15:44:43 GMT", "pgfnum": "15193" }, "9": { "text": "9. I think our new President got the message about the Republicans. They will be bastards if they feel they can get away with it. So take Teddy Roosevelt's advice. Speak softly and carry a big stick.", "created": "Wed, 07 Nov 2012 15:46:41 GMT", "pgfnum": "15194" }, "10": { "text": "10. The fiscal cliff is no problem. Read Jonathan Chait's excellent piece on this subject. Opened my eyes.", "created": "Wed, 07 Nov 2012 15:48:42 GMT", "pgfnum": "15195" }, "11": { "text": "11. If the Repubs want to play a game of chicken on the debt ceiling, again, I have two words for you: 14th Amendment. Dare them to impeach you. Look into the camera and tell the American people that we don't negotiate with terrorists. And mean it. This is where your new cojones come into it. Last time around when you took the 14th Amendment off the table, that's when you sealed our defeat. See #9.", "created": "Wed, 07 Nov 2012 15:49:02 GMT", "pgfnum": "15196" }, "12": { "text": "12. ObamaCare FTW! When people see how much it helps they will love it. The law goes into effect in major ways next year, and with an executive branch that owns it, it has a much better chance. The Repubs will still try to starve its funding, but that's much better than having them try to dismantle it, as they would have under a President Romney.", "created": "Wed, 07 Nov 2012 15:53:53 GMT", "pgfnum": "15197" }, "13": { "text": "13. Even better, the Supreme Court will not be packed with Alito-Thomas-Scalia clones. More Kagans and Sotomayors, please. And Ginsburgs and Breyers and sheez even another John Roberts wouldn't be so bad.", "created": "Wed, 07 Nov 2012 15:54:07 GMT", "pgfnum": "15198" }, "14": { "text": "14. Maybe Netanyahu will stop trying to go behind President Obama's back.", "created": "Wed, 07 Nov 2012 15:55:42 GMT", "pgfnum": "15199" }, "15": { "text": "In general, the President Obama we're getting in 2013 is much improved over the one we got in 2009. This one has battle scars. The old one was remarkably naive about the Republicans. We all knew what he didn't seem to know -- they're bastards. They don't like you and they don't want to work with you. But they have to if you use the bully pulpit. You have all the power that Franklin Roosevelt had, if you choose to use it. He had radio. You have even better tools. Use them or become the red meat that the Republican jackals eat for lunch.", "created": "Wed, 07 Nov 2012 16:00:03 GMT", "pgfnum": "15200" } } }, "52": { "text": "Today we're the Decider-in-Chief", "created": "Tue, 06 Nov 2012 16:16:08 GMT", "name": "theDeciderinchief", "pgfnum": "15170", "type": "thread", "subs": { "0": { "text": "Bush said he was the Decider-in-Chief.", "created": "Tue, 06 Nov 2012 16:08:01 GMT", "pgfnum": "15172" }, "1": { "text": "A couple of days ago Bill Clinton picked up the idea and gave it to the President.", "created": "Tue, 06 Nov 2012 16:08:11 GMT", "pgfnum": "15173" }, "2": { "text": "But today is a special day. The day when we're The Decider.", "created": "Tue, 06 Nov 2012 16:08:26 GMT", "pgfnum": "15174" }, "3": { "text": "We still haven't done enough with it. But one day maybe we will do more.", "created": "Tue, 06 Nov 2012 16:08:38 GMT", "pgfnum": "15175" }, "4": { "text": "If we declare our independence from the two parties, and run the next election ourselves, and it's possible -- we have the means to do it -- we can fight a revolution and win. And keep the attention of our leaders long before and after Election Day. And not just on superficial \"values\" issues, but issues of war and peace, how the economy works, and whether we're serious about saving the planet.", "created": "Tue, 06 Nov 2012 16:08:57 GMT", "pgfnum": "15176" }, "5": { "text": "But no matter what, don't pay attention to people who say your vote doesn't matter. They're wrong. It does. The act of voting is like exercise. When you run a mile, you end up at the same spot you started at, and you give up an hour of your life. But you have done something. You've preserved your power to do something tomorrow and the day after. Same with voting. Even if you vote for someone you hate, you've still voted. The act itself still matters. And someday it will have more meaning, I'm sure of it.", "created": "Tue, 06 Nov 2012 16:10:12 GMT", "pgfnum": "15177" } } }, "53": { "text": "My favorite movies", "created": "Mon, 05 Nov 2012 18:01:13 GMT", "name": "myFavoriteMovies", "pgfnum": "15115", "type": "redirect", "url": "http://davemovies.blorkmark.com/" }, "54": { "text": "If Obama wins", "created": "Mon, 05 Nov 2012 14:06:06 GMT", "image": "http://static.scripting.com/larryKing/images/2012/11/05/jets.gif", "name": "ifObamaWins", "pgfnum": "15069", "type": "thread", "subs": { "0": { "text": "\"AMy wish if Obama wins tomorrow is that he start building a cross-party coalition with his new buds Chris Christie and Bill Clinton. Go to a Jets game maybe. Ask Christie which Repubs are fun to party with. Bring them along too. Start a new informal Cabinet of advisers, people the President hangs with to talk sports or drink a beer or (privately) smoke some reefer. Then they plot out new ways to get the whole country working, not just the tri-state area. We have something much bigger than Sandy to recover from, that is if Obama wins.", "created": "Mon, 05 Nov 2012 14:06:10 GMT", "pgfnum": "15070" }, "1": { "text": "If Romney wins, god help us.", "created": "Mon, 05 Nov 2012 14:10:31 GMT", "pgfnum": "15071" }, "2": { "text": "Update: If Lindsey Graham keeps saying shit like this he can come to the football game too.", "created": "Mon, 05 Nov 2012 14:35:23 GMT", "pgfnum": "15072" }, "3": { "text": "Update: Wouldn't it be fun if Obama named Bill Clinton as Secretary of Getting People to Work Together? I heard Clinton give a speech at the end of his second term where he advised that we all \"find a shared vision.\" This is every bit as much needed today as it was in 2000.", "created": "Mon, 05 Nov 2012 14:37:02 GMT", "pgfnum": "15073" } } }, "55": { "text": "Pando on corporate platforms", "created": "Mon, 05 Nov 2012 06:13:09 GMT", "name": "pandoOnCorpPlatforms", "pgfnum": "15062", "type": "thread", "subs": { "0": { "text": "\"AA surprising piece by Kevin Kelleher in Pando about lock-in on corporate platforms. It's surprising because none of the California tech blogs have been looking at the possibility that the corporate platforms might not be a permanent fixture. And Pando has been one of the most conservative, imho. It's great to see them look in this direction.", "created": "Mon, 05 Nov 2012 05:53:57 GMT", "pgfnum": "15063" }, "1": { "text": "Eventually the lock-in will break. It would be smart for one of the platforms to decide that as a business strategy they'll try to create an open platform with replaceable components. Let people use different editors, browsers, let them hook in their own back-ends. Create a real ecosystem, with freedom, constructed the same way the web is, using formats and protocols that already exist, where ever possible. This really can work.", "created": "Mon, 05 Nov 2012 05:54:17 GMT", "pgfnum": "15064" }, "2": { "text": "They would be promising to compete on quality, performance, features and price, not lock-in. It's really the honest way to go, and lots of industries work this way. For example, I can buy a Ford, Toyota, BMW or Smart car -- and drive on the same roads and use the same fuel. Everything is interchangeable about them except the key that gets me in and starts the engine. It's a good model for how our communication systems should work, at all levels.", "created": "Mon, 05 Nov 2012 05:55:16 GMT", "pgfnum": "15065" }, "3": { "text": "Products like Twitter or Instagram are providing useful features, they really don't need to lock their users in. They will possibly survive this transition, if they're flexible when it happens. There's lots of examples of past transitions to study for possible strategies.", "created": "Mon, 05 Nov 2012 05:57:00 GMT", "pgfnum": "15067" } } }, "56": { "text": "How much does the NYT cost?", "created": "Sun, 04 Nov 2012 15:07:45 GMT", "name": "howMuchDoesTheNytCost", "pgfnum": "15043", "type": "thread", "subs": { "0": { "text": "Here's a story for a reporter at the NY Times.", "created": "Sun, 04 Nov 2012 15:07:58 GMT", "pgfnum": "15044" }, "1": { "text": "Find out how much I, a resident of the city of New York, a blogger, would have to pay per month for a digital subscription to the Times.", "collapse": "true", "created": "Sun, 04 Nov 2012 15:08:08 GMT", "pgfnum": "15045", "subs": { "0": { "text": "\"A" } } }, "2": { "text": "Is it like a phone company contract? Do I have to sign up for one year? Two years? I'd much prefer to buy a month at a time like a no-contract cell phone. But sometimes it's hard to get rid of these things, like AOL. I had to talk to them several times, many years ago, to get them to stop billing me $20 a month. Given the deceptive way the NYT markets digital subscriptions, I strongly suspect they're like that when you want to say goodbye.", "created": "Sun, 04 Nov 2012 15:08:38 GMT", "pgfnum": "15046" }, "3": { "text": "I don't care how much it costs for the first 12 weeks. That's such an insult. As a reader of the NY Times, I expect you to lay out the information clear unambiguous terms. It's such a contradiction that the Times markets itself this way.", "created": "Sun, 04 Nov 2012 15:08:53 GMT", "pgfnum": "15047" }, "4": { "text": "I honestly don't know how much it costs. But if it's not too unreasonable I probably would have bought in a long time ago. To the Times, the way you're marketing this product is totally inconsistent with the values of the product you're trying to sell. I don't care if this gets more people to buy in, you're never going to get my business until you level with me, in a Times-like way.", "created": "Sun, 04 Nov 2012 15:09:34 GMT", "pgfnum": "15048" } } }, "57": { "text": "What are red state folks saying?", "created": "Sun, 04 Nov 2012 14:50:29 GMT", "name": "whatAreRedStateFolksSaying", "pgfnum": "15031", "type": "thread", "subs": { "0": { "text": "If Romney wins, we won't have to worry about what the red states are saying -- we'll hear it every day in the form of legislation, tax policy, executive orders. But if Obama wins, we have a chance to try to grow the majority through the simple act of listening.", "created": "Sun, 04 Nov 2012 14:23:55 GMT", "pgfnum": "15032" }, "1": { "text": "\"AOn the surface the red state folks say things that we know are not true, and most of them probably do too. The president is American. He is no more a socialist than any Republican president ever was. It's all repetitive talking points given to them by their pundits. Same as the Democrat pundits on MSNBC give their people idiotic talking points. A lot of my friends think there's a difference. If anything the MSNBC dogma is richer than the Fox News bullshit. That kind of crap isn't worth listening to or arguing with. Time-wasters. The people who really believe that are hopeless. They are drugged into a coma.", "created": "Sun, 04 Nov 2012 14:24:59 GMT", "pgfnum": "15033" }, "2": { "text": "I also say we should not focus on policy issues, because they are mostly symbols, ways of expressing a more fundamental distrust, dislike, perhaps even in some cases hatred of east and west coast liberals. It's the fundamental things below that, what the symbols are expressing, that we should focus on, because they have validity.", "created": "Sun, 04 Nov 2012 14:26:23 GMT", "pgfnum": "15034" }, "3": { "text": "That may sound surprising, that the source of hate is valid, but it is -- and until we listen to it, and try to understand what causes it, we will not grow the majority. What if we can give them what they want? What if they feel the world is moving too fast and leaving them behind? Is that something we can relate to? We all feel that to a certain extent. My guess is that people in flyover territory generalize about people on the coasts, just like we generalize about them. We're all greedy, powerful, ignorant and rich.", "created": "Sun, 04 Nov 2012 14:27:39 GMT", "pgfnum": "15035" }, "4": { "text": "But people voting for Obama are not all alike. And middle class people have similar issues whether they live in the Bronx or Jacksonville, Florida.", "created": "Sun, 04 Nov 2012 14:30:28 GMT", "pgfnum": "15036" }, "5": { "text": "On the networks we hear from people in Louisiana saying that finally the people up north have a taste of what it's like to be them. That's sad, because that didn't just happen. It's been like that all along. People in Staten Island and Rockaway have always been forgotten. Just like people in Louisiana. ", "created": "Sun, 04 Nov 2012 14:31:13 GMT", "pgfnum": "15037" }, "6": { "text": "The crazy thing is we all feel forgotten. Every one of us. Even the chairman of Chase or the mayor of New York or the governor of New Jersey feel unheard and unappreciated. I think that's the symbol we're all trying to manipulate, to light a huge flare, to send a message saying very simply -- hey I'm here, don't forget me.", "created": "Sun, 04 Nov 2012 14:32:12 GMT", "pgfnum": "15038" }, "7": { "text": "That's why the visual symbols of the people jumping off the WTC holding hands, or standing on roofs in New Orleans waiting for rescue, or lining up for gas in New Jersey, while differing in degree, are all expressing the same idea. I'm lost, we're all lost, we have no idea what we're doing, and what we're doing isn't working. This isn't a new idea with Obama. This has been our problem in America ever since the 60s, the last time we, as a country had a mission.", "created": "Sun, 04 Nov 2012 14:32:59 GMT", "pgfnum": "15039" }, "8": { "text": "The way things are, our leaders will never come up with the answer. We have to do that ourselves. It's a game of inches. It's two people communicating and helping each other across the red-blue divide. It's bi-partisanship not in Washington, it's bi-partisanship between us.", "collapse": "true", "created": "Sun, 04 Nov 2012 14:34:25 GMT", "pgfnum": "15040", "subs": { "0": { "text": "" } } } } }, "58": { "text": "Crowd-sourcing the election", "created": "Sun, 04 Nov 2012 13:56:09 GMT", "name": "crowdsourcingTheElection", "pgfnum": "15023", "type": "thread", "subs": { "0": { "text": "A note for next time, let's not let Shelly Adelson have all the fun. :-)", "created": "Sun, 04 Nov 2012 13:41:45 GMT", "pgfnum": "15024" }, "1": { "text": "One thing we've learned in the last few years is that if you have an idea that tickles the imagination of enough people, you can raise a lot of money online to develop the idea.", "created": "Sun, 04 Nov 2012 13:41:57 GMT", "pgfnum": "15025" }, "2": { "text": "\"ASo, when a video like this one comes along, that mixes a Republican crowd mocking climate change with scenes of the Sandy disaster, we could put $50 million behind running it where ever we like.", "created": "Sun, 04 Nov 2012 13:42:52 GMT", "pgfnum": "15026" }, "3": { "text": "The cool thing about this is that we could decide to run ads that our candidate would never run. We could run them in non-battleground states. Or we could run ads to make sure an issue gets discussed in debates that our favorite candidate is trying to side-step. We can make winning about making politics do for us what we want it to do, instead of settling for the compromises that come from letting individual fatcats do all the pushing. You and I may not have a billion dollars, but if we pool our resources, we can act like we do.", "created": "Sun, 04 Nov 2012 13:43:48 GMT", "pgfnum": "15027" }, "4": { "text": "Or we could run ads that shame the big spenders, reveal things about them they don't want revealed, give them an incentive to crawl back into their holes and stop pushing the rest of us around. I'm looking at you Thomas Peterffy.", "created": "Sun, 04 Nov 2012 13:46:16 GMT", "pgfnum": "15029" }, "5": { "text": "I believe that Citizens United actually opened a big door that we can all take advantage of, not just Republican dickheads.", "created": "Sun, 04 Nov 2012 13:45:17 GMT", "pgfnum": "15028" }, "6": { "text": "And yes, I know the title of this piece is funny. The founders of our country were the original crowd-sourcing guys, and voting is the ultimate form of crowd-sourcing. We've just gotten out of the practice of being proactive with our vote. We only vote on the things the rich guys let us vote on. Well, we have the tools to change that, imho.", "created": "Sun, 04 Nov 2012 13:47:01 GMT", "pgfnum": "15030" } } }, "59": { "text": "Help Annie help NYC", "created": "Sat, 03 Nov 2012 15:25:02 GMT", "name": "helpAnnieHelpNyc", "pgfnum": "15029", "pubdate": "Sat, 03 Nov 2012 15:23:42 GMT", "type": "thread", "subs": { "0": { "text": "Annie Feighery is working to get actual physical things to people who are hurting in the aftermath of Sandy. Here's what they need:", "created": "Sat, 03 Nov 2012 15:01:17 GMT", "pgfnum": "15030", "subs": { "0": { "text": "Cleaning supplies (especially bleach-based cleansers).", "created": "Sat, 03 Nov 2012 15:09:57 GMT", "pgfnum": "15037" }, "1": { "text": "Diapers/wipes." }, "2": { "text": "Food that does not need to be cooked (ready-to-eat: PB&J, bagels, prepared meals pre-packaged, etc)." }, "3": { "text": "Warm clothes and blankets (socks, long sleeve shirts, warm child PJs, etc)." } } }, "1": { "text": "Details", "created": "Sat, 03 Nov 2012 15:22:28 GMT", "pgfnum": "15045" }, "2": { "text": "Please pre-sort your items as much as possible, as volunteers have to do it if you don't." }, "3": { "text": "Don't mix cleaning supplies with clothes in a bag.", "created": "Sat, 03 Nov 2012 15:10:49 GMT", "pgfnum": "15039" }, "4": { "text": "Try to separate adult clothes from kid clothes by bag.", "created": "Sat, 03 Nov 2012 15:13:37 GMT", "pgfnum": "15042" }, "5": { "text": "They're filling a moving van. :-)", "created": "Sat, 03 Nov 2012 15:32:09 GMT", "pgfnum": "15046" }, "6": { "text": "Where and when", "created": "Sat, 03 Nov 2012 15:22:02 GMT", "pgfnum": "15044" }, "7": { "text": "Bring supplies to 606 W 116th near Ollie's, 116th and Broadway, Sunday morning betw 8 and 10AM.", "collapse": "true", "subs": { "0": { "text": "
View Larger Map" } } }, "8": { "text": "The 1-train has a stop at 116th and Broadway. And the 1-train is running! :-)", "created": "Sat, 03 Nov 2012 15:17:10 GMT", "pgfnum": "15043" }, "9": { "text": "Tweet her at @AnnieFeighery if you want to drop-off today instead.", "created": "Sat, 03 Nov 2012 15:11:18 GMT", "pgfnum": "15040" } } }, "60": { "text": "Crane on the move", "created": "Sat, 03 Nov 2012 14:41:43 GMT", "image": "http://static.scripting.com/larryKing/images/2012/11/03/crane.jpg", "name": "craneOnTheMove", "pgfnum": "15023", "type": "thread", "subs": { "0": { "text": "Remember the crane that blew over in the storm on Monday?", "created": "Sat, 03 Nov 2012 14:41:49 GMT", "pgfnum": "15024" }, "1": { "text": "Apparently it still works, and they're solving the problem by turning it, so that the dangling part is touching the building.", "created": "Sat, 03 Nov 2012 14:41:59 GMT", "pgfnum": "15025" }, "2": { "text": "\"A" }, "3": { "text": "Presumably from there, they can dismantle it safely, and cart away the broken bits down through the building itself.", "created": "Sat, 03 Nov 2012 14:42:22 GMT", "pgfnum": "15026" }, "4": { "text": "It's kind of brilliant. They might do some damage to the building, but the ground below remains safe, and the problem may be solved quickly.", "created": "Sat, 03 Nov 2012 14:42:46 GMT", "pgfnum": "15027" }, "5": { "text": "Update: Here's a close-up of the crane. Note the net under the crane bits.", "created": "Sat, 03 Nov 2012 14:56:22 GMT", "pgfnum": "15028" }, "6": { "text": "Update #2: Here's a Bloomberg article that explains the plan.", "created": "Sat, 03 Nov 2012 15:04:53 GMT", "pgfnum": "15033" } } }, "61": { "text": "Most brutal political ad, ever", "created": "Fri, 02 Nov 2012 20:46:38 GMT", "name": "theMostBrutalPoliticalAdEver", "pgfnum": "15021", "type": "thread", "subs": { "0": { "text": "", "created": "Fri, 02 Nov 2012 20:46:49 GMT", "pgfnum": "15022" } } }, "62": { "text": "The 2001 Marathon", "created": "Fri, 02 Nov 2012 17:25:46 GMT", "name": "the2001Marathon", "pgfnum": "15011", "type": "thread", "subs": { "0": { "text": "In 2001, the New York Marathon took place 54 days after 9/11. The fires were mostly out by then.", "created": "Fri, 02 Nov 2012 17:53:20 GMT", "pgfnum": "15019" }, "1": { "text": "Having the marathon on Sunday is more like having it a few days after the hellacious snowstorm of 2010. You might have been able to clear the streets for the race, but what about the streets you weren't plowing. How much money would be lost by those people not being able to get to work? I think you're looking at a much higher cost than the revenue a sporting event brings into the city. Penny-wise, pound-foolish. It's probably more money to get the bodegas and delis open all over the city. And the barber shops and halal food vendors. And get some more trees off people's houses. Re-open Central Park for the people. So totally like the mayor to focus on opening it for the media and elite runners. The city needs the park. And what about people with no electricity. Give me a break.", "created": "Fri, 02 Nov 2012 17:28:34 GMT", "pgfnum": "15017" }, "2": { "text": "Another comparison. The Yankees returned home on 9/25/01 -- two weeks after 9/11. The baseball game involved a small part of the Bronx which was far from the disaster, and all transport systems to and from the Bronx were working at the time. Most of the infrastructure of the city was unaffected by 9/11. Not true in 2012.", "collapse": "true", "created": "Fri, 02 Nov 2012 17:27:30 GMT", "pgfnum": "15015", "subs": { "0": { "text": "
View Larger Map" } } }, "3": { "text": "More prior art. The Bay Area World Series resumed ten days after the Loma Prieta quake in 1989. As bad as that was, and it was really bad (I was there), this is a much bigger disaster. I don't think that's sunk in with a lot of people yet.", "created": "Fri, 02 Nov 2012 17:59:22 GMT", "pgfnum": "15020" } } }, "63": { "text": "Occupy Staten Island", "created": "Fri, 02 Nov 2012 16:54:59 GMT", "name": "mayorBloombergILoveYouBut", "pgfnum": "15001", "type": "thread", "subs": { "0": { "text": "Just read this in the Times.", "created": "Fri, 02 Nov 2012 16:55:09 GMT", "pgfnum": "15002" }, "1": { "text": "Staten Island Hotel Owners Won't Kick Out Guests to Accommodate Runners. As anger percolates over the the decision to hold the New York City Marathon, at least two hotel owners on Staten Island, where the race starts, said they would not kick out those displaced by Hurricane Sandy to accommodate runners who have reserved a room.", "created": "Fri, 02 Nov 2012 16:56:38 GMT", "pgfnum": "15004" }, "2": { "text": "The rest of the piece is on the Times site, without a working permalink. But I'm sure you get the idea.", "created": "Fri, 02 Nov 2012 16:58:43 GMT", "pgfnum": "15006" }, "3": { "text": "The Mayor is a smart man, but he's made a very stupid decision, to have the marathon on Sunday. I can see the preparations happening right now in Central Park. It's a massive event that uses a lot of city resources at a time when all those resources should be used to restore power and transit and probably to some degree to save lives of New Yorkers. It's certainly possible that there's damage we don't even know about.", "created": "Fri, 02 Nov 2012 16:58:58 GMT", "pgfnum": "15007" }, "4": { "text": "Maybe next year we can have a marathon. But this doesn't look like an ordinary disaster, like a snowstorm, which the mayor kind of blew a couple of winters ago.", "created": "Fri, 02 Nov 2012 17:00:35 GMT", "pgfnum": "15008" }, "5": { "text": "It's important to do this rebuild right, and to include all the people of New York. Someone must get that. This is the premier American city not a monarchy. As long as there are New Yorkers suffering this way, we can't have a party.", "created": "Fri, 02 Nov 2012 16:55:59 GMT", "pgfnum": "15003" }, "6": { "text": "One person said this is like Mardi Gras after Katrina. Emphatically it is not. I went to New Orleans five weeks after Katrina. There's no way that city could have had any kind of party at that point. And we're a much larger city and this wound is fresh, the bleeding and dying hasn't stopped. New Orleans had its party, seven months after the hurricane. Maybe we'll be ready for a party at that point.", "created": "Fri, 02 Nov 2012 17:03:42 GMT", "pgfnum": "15009" }, "7": { "text": "People don't realize how much damage was done to our communities, and even more important to the infrastructure that connect us. It looks like these systems are really damaged. Months before they come online. it's time to sober up and get a clue, all of us. Especially our mayor.", "created": "Fri, 02 Nov 2012 17:04:43 GMT", "pgfnum": "15010" } } }, "64": { "text": "Nate is great!", "created": "Fri, 02 Nov 2012 14:59:52 GMT", "name": "nateIsGreat", "pgfnum": "14984", "type": "thread", "subs": { "0": { "text": "I think the public editor at the NYT is just right when she admonished Nate Silver for offering a bet with Joe Scarborough.", "created": "Fri, 02 Nov 2012 14:59:57 GMT", "pgfnum": "14985" }, "1": { "text": "Nate made a mistake. Here's my take.", "created": "Fri, 02 Nov 2012 15:21:04 GMT", "pgfnum": "14998" }, "2": { "text": "\"A1. I am educated, with a math degree. I've spent decades writing software. To do what I do requires a precise kind of thinking, but there's also an art to it. So when I read Nate's analysis, I recognize and appreciate it. I think Nate is one of a small number of young folk who make me optimistic about the future. I appreciate that he uses statistical methods, and I understand what you can and cannot do with stats. It's possible that Romney will win when there's an 80 percent chance of Obama winning. But, according to Nate's model, four times out of five, Obama wins. He's not 100 percent sure of it. But he's sure enough to put his honor on the line. As a believer in Nate, and a supporter of Obama, I am relieved. But -- if Nate said it was the other way around, 80 percent likely that Romney would win, I wouldn't even think of trying to discredit Nate. Instead, I'd be depressed about the future of the world. A fundamentally different way of processing negative information. :-)", "created": "Fri, 02 Nov 2012 15:00:39 GMT", "pgfnum": "14986" }, "3": { "text": "2. Uneducated people probably don't understand the limits of statistical analysis. Probabilities don't come into it for them. I can't imagine that what Nate writes about makes much sense to them.", "collapse": "true", "created": "Fri, 02 Nov 2012 15:02:23 GMT", "pgfnum": "14987", "subs": { "0": { "text": "BTW, self-educated people are just as educated as formally educated people. Not drawing a distinction between people with and without degrees.", "created": "Fri, 02 Nov 2012 15:14:35 GMT", "pgfnum": "14997" } } }, "4": { "text": "3. Making bets with such people accomplishes nothing.", "created": "Fri, 02 Nov 2012 15:03:32 GMT", "pgfnum": "14988" }, "5": { "text": "4. I have had to deal with gangs of Internet trolls for years. It happens to everyone who takes a leadership role. The more you accomplish, the more inundated with garbage you get. When I realize all the things I didn't do because I didn't have the stomach for dealing with these people it makes me really angry. If I had it to do over again I would not let them stop me. I've developed new procedures that keep them out of my way. They seem to work. Knock wood.", "created": "Fri, 02 Nov 2012 15:03:44 GMT", "pgfnum": "14989" }, "6": { "text": "5. Nate may think it's possible to teach Scarborough something. If he wanted to learn, he would buy Nate's book, or take a course in stats, or listen instead of rejecting strange ideas. But that's not who he is. No matter what you say to him, his mind is not going to change. You can't open the door for him. You can't show him how wonderful your world is. He's not looking for new delights. Sad, isn't it, but there are lots of people like that. They will never become Nate Silver fans. That's life!", "created": "Fri, 02 Nov 2012 15:04:56 GMT", "pgfnum": "14990" }, "7": { "text": "6. You have to be satisfied by informing people who understand the process you use, or whose minds are open to new ideas.", "created": "Fri, 02 Nov 2012 15:06:03 GMT", "pgfnum": "14991" }, "8": { "text": "7. The trolls will insult you for this. They will say you are not open to new ideas. Maybe they believe it. I don't know why they do it. But you'll never figure it out, no matter how hard you try, because they are truly different from you. So different that you can't communicate. So give up trying.", "created": "Fri, 02 Nov 2012 15:06:31 GMT", "pgfnum": "14992" }, "9": { "text": "8. I think the Times has had this problem for generations. Long before there was an Internet.", "created": "Fri, 02 Nov 2012 15:07:09 GMT", "pgfnum": "14993" }, "10": { "text": "9. Their isolation, their aloofness, could be functional, might be a response to this reality. I've often wondered why NYT people can be such assholes. Now I have an idea. They only let certain people into their discussion space. There are only certain people they listen to. Nate is to be commended for having a broader circle that influences him. But that doesn't make the Times wrong. They are probably just reacting to the reality that there have always been low-roaders like Scarborough. People who try to stop things they don't like or understand. Tune them out. But I think they go too far, and tune out things they should be listening to, that's not meant to harm them, or stop them. But too much time may have passed for the Times, organizationally, to be able to tell the difference between a troll and someone with strange wonderful ideas.", "created": "Fri, 02 Nov 2012 15:07:30 GMT", "pgfnum": "14994" }, "11": { "text": "That's why I agree with the public editor that the bet he offered to Scarborough (which he, predictably, slimed) was a bad idea. Not something to be repeated.", "created": "Fri, 02 Nov 2012 15:09:05 GMT", "pgfnum": "14995" }, "12": { "text": "On the other hand, the Times could find ways to open up a bit more and let some strange ideas in. They suffer for being too cloistered. And those of us in their community suffer too.", "created": "Fri, 02 Nov 2012 15:09:42 GMT", "pgfnum": "14996" } } }, "65": { "text": "No marathon", "created": "Fri, 02 Nov 2012 02:28:29 GMT", "name": "noMarathon", "pgfnum": "14341", "type": "thread", "subs": { "0": { "text": "\"AThere are many New Yorks right now. I am lucky -- I live in one that's coming back to life quickly. I have TV, electricity, Internet, heat. Most of the stores in my neighborhood are open. The only catastrophe that happened nearby is the crane that fell during the storm. But that seems to be taken care of, and its only a concern because it's caused traffic gridlock in my neighborhood. Very small problem.", "created": "Fri, 02 Nov 2012 02:28:33 GMT", "pgfnum": "14342" }, "1": { "text": "Last night I took a walk down to 4th St, went cross-town, and came back via Times Square. The contrasts were very heavy.", "created": "Fri, 02 Nov 2012 02:30:40 GMT", "pgfnum": "14345" }, "2": { "text": "I wondered how we could get the energy that's flowing through Times Square -- and everything is normal there -- to flow through the parts of the city I had just visited that are dark.", "created": "Fri, 02 Nov 2012 02:31:22 GMT", "pgfnum": "14346" }, "3": { "text": "Today for the first time we're getting a picture of what's happening in Staten Island.", "created": "Fri, 02 Nov 2012 02:31:56 GMT", "pgfnum": "14347" }, "4": { "text": "What will become apparent tomorrow? And do we really want to use our resources at this time for a huge optional event when citizens and taxpayers in parts of the same city are fighting for their lives? It's more ridiculous because the marathon is a citywide event.", "created": "Fri, 02 Nov 2012 02:32:17 GMT", "pgfnum": "14348" }, "5": { "text": "This the Heckuva job Brownie moment for the mayor. Only a billion times worse.", "collapse": "true", "created": "Fri, 02 Nov 2012 02:34:46 GMT", "pgfnum": "14349", "subs": { "0": { "text": "" } } }, "6": { "text": "No marathon. Bad business for NY.", "created": "Fri, 02 Nov 2012 02:47:09 GMT", "pgfnum": "14974" } } }, "66": { "text": "The paywall contradiction", "created": "Thu, 01 Nov 2012 23:03:37 GMT", "fldisquscomments": "false", "name": "thePaywallContradiction", "pgfnum": "14963", "type": "thread", "subs": { "0": { "text": "When I heard that the WSJ and NYT were turning off their paywalls for the duration of Hurricane Sandy, I felt sure there was something wrong with this, though I found it hard to put in words.", "created": "Thu, 01 Nov 2012 22:50:51 GMT", "pgfnum": "14964" }, "1": { "text": "I'm going to try now and see what happens.", "created": "Thu, 01 Nov 2012 22:51:44 GMT", "pgfnum": "14965" }, "2": { "text": "When I write something publicly it's because I want to put the ideas out there and get a response. I want the benefit of other minds interacting with the idea. To limit access is opposite the purpose of writing it publicly. So every person who can't read it subtracts some of the value. If that person had a pivotal insight, one that would make me change my mind -- then all the value of publishing it is gone if I never get to hear the response because of a paywall.", "created": "Thu, 01 Nov 2012 22:52:25 GMT", "pgfnum": "14966" }, "3": { "text": "One might argue that it's a matter of extent. If the paywall should come down because there's important potentially life-saving information on the site today, then it should come down tomorrow too, if the news organization is any good -- because that's always true. What difference does it make if they could save one life or one thousand? To the person whose life is saved, it makes none.", "created": "Thu, 01 Nov 2012 22:54:32 GMT", "pgfnum": "14967" }, "4": { "text": "In 1995, I called the attempted censorship of the Internet in the CDA a \"crime against humanity.\" Some people questioned the use of that term. I offered two defenses:", "created": "Thu, 01 Nov 2012 23:01:12 GMT", "pgfnum": "14971", "subs": { "0": { "text": "I have two answers. First, it's a felony to leave the scene of an accident, and it's a felony to blow up a Federal courthouse in Oklahoma City. Scale has nothing to do with it. If this isn't a crime against humanity, who is it a crime against? Do we hold our politicians accountable for their actions, especially if they're on a global scale? Are just US citizens offended by their attempt to shut down free speech on the Internet? No. The mail has been coming in from all over the planet. And rightly so. This act has global implications.", "created": "Thu, 01 Nov 2012 22:56:33 GMT", "pgfnum": "14968" } } }, "5": { "text": "Writers and publishers have different motivations and missions. A writer's job is to spread ideas far and wide and reap the benefit. That's his art. A publisher's mission is, well I don't understand that one -- because I am a writer. :-)", "created": "Thu, 01 Nov 2012 22:57:50 GMT", "pgfnum": "14970" } } } } }; //7/9/15 by DW
Last update: Fri, Feb 10, 2017 at 6:08 AM.

November