politics

Transcript - Hillary Rodham Clinton’s Democratic Convention Speech: Now, with an agenda like that, it makes perfect sense that George Bush and John McCain will be together next week in the Twin Cities, because these days they’re awfully hard to tell apart.

Zing! I’ve become more of a Hillary fan during the last few months of her campaign, and really enjoyed her speech last night - not as much as Michelle Obama’s the night before, but I doubt anyone will top that one.

DNC: The Twitter National Convention: The Democratic National Convention holds the honor of being the first presidential convention featuring Twitter, the microblogging site launched in 2006. Many prominent journalists, bloggers, and tech-savvy people are using Twitter to share their thoughts in fewer than 141 characters. Here are some of the more interesting observations, or “tweets,” on the Democratic National Convention that have been published so far.

Also, follow the search results for #DNC08 on Twitter. It was pretty cool to watch hundreds of reactions fly by during last night’s speeches.

I am a big fan of the Mill City Museum’s film, Minneapolis in 19 Minutes Flat, but I’m thinking that this 22 minute video created by Current.tv: UnConventionally Yours, might be more informative. It was created to welcome visitors in town for the RNC. “Among the subjects mentioned are the 22nd Ave Station, gay rugby, Islamic Center of St Paul, Hidden Beach and meat raffles.” (via)

Found on Wikipedia: a little somethin’-somethin’ on Joe Biden: Presidential candidate and former dog-eater Barack Obama announced Delaware Senator Joe Biden as his VP running mate this past weekend, a move likely supported by most Democrats as the fella seems pretty popular within the party and is generally a hoot on The Daily Show. Because his name will likely come up at watercoolers after the more interesting conversations such as the weather and the unfortunate demise of the Audrina-Lo friendship subside, here are some details about J-Bizzle (courtesy of Wikipedia) that you can throw out in an attempt to sound at least slightly well-read.

Urban Renaissance Coalition: Declining cities .. and Minneapolis is next: If they were truly trying to attract middle-income families to this city they would lower taxes, improve the schools, spur business development and growth, and get serious about crime. (via)

I’m confused. How is the city supposed to improve the schools, spur business development and growth, and get serious about crime, while also lowering taxes (for all)? When each of those departments get cut every year, where will the money come from? I suppose if we stopped wasting federal money on wars and tax breaks for the richest of the rich, then we could invest in the core cities. But I guess that makes too much sense.

My friend Eric snapped this picture of The Daily Show billboard that is up near 494 and 77 to welcome those in for the RNC.

Eerie Similarities Between Olympian Michael Phelps and Senator Barack Obama

White House DJ Battle: On the eve of the Democratic and Republican conventions, Blender polled Barack Obama and John McCain for their top 10 songs. Then we enlisted trusted sages Randy Newman and Girl Talk to analyze their picks.

Greed Over People: More pre-RNC graffiti: On flickr: Greed Over People and Get Out Phascists. Interesting discussion thread over at Modern Radio. I love this city.

The lives of Barack Obama: An interactive timeline: There are at least two versions of Barack Obama’s life: There’s his version - the story he tells in his speeches, op-eds, and books. Then there’s the media’s version - news articles, columns, and investigative pieces about him as he rose to prominence and since his presidential campaign began. We can learn a lot by comparing the two.

McSame but different: As Bush approval sank, McCain support for him spiked: 2005, Bush’s approval 45%, while McCain voted with Bush 77% of the time
2006, Bush’s approval 41%, while McCain voted with Bush 89% of the time
2007, Bush’s approval 34%, while McCain voted with Bush 95% of the time
2008, Bush’s approval 29%, while McCain voted with Bush 100% of the time

twin city sidewalks: Why the PedalPub is Good for Minneapolis: I have to say I’m alarmed by this blog post detailing a possible crackdown on Minneapolis’s own PedalPub. Apparently, Minneapolis Real Estate Czar Lisa Goodman may be trying to squelch the PedalPub and its suprirsingly tolerant state statute.

Friedman: Eight Strikes and You’re Out: Senator McCain did not show up for the crucial vote on July 30, and the renewable energy bill was defeated for the eighth time. In fact, John McCain has a perfect record on this renewable energy legislation. He has missed all eight votes over the last year — which effectively counts as a no vote each time. Once, he was even in the Senate and wouldn’t leave his office to vote.

Pool Report for Obama Visit to the Copper Dome: Another couple were baseball fans and asked him if [he] was for the Twins or the White Sox. “If you think I’m going to throw my White Sox under the bus because I’m here in Minnesota, that’s not going to happen,” he said.