Category Archives: Politics

Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

Posted on 5/23/2006 by Ben

YouTube has the 7 minute testimony that Fred Rogers gave to a Senate commitee in 1969 to help secure funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. It’s touching and compelling.

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The Daily Show affects young voters

Posted on 5/16/2006 by Ben

A study found that watching The Daily Show might be causing low youth voter turnouts because viewers have a more cynical opinion of candidates and the political system. Ah, now I get it. Young people aren’t avoiding the polls because … Continue reading →

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Stephen Colbert roasts Bush

Posted on 5/1/2006 by Ben

Stephen Colbert gave a hilarious in-character “tribute” to Bush at the Washington Correspents Dinner. Video here. That handshake with Bush afterwards looks pretty awkward.

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Who Is Rakan Ben Williams?

Posted on 3/14/2006 by Ben

I swear I’m not “Rakan Ben Williams.” ;) Is this going to land me on the no-fly list?

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Texas Cops Release Cheney Shooting Report

Posted on 2/16/2006 by Ben

Smoking Gun has the official police report on the Cheney shooting. I love that there’s a Captain Kirk in the Kenedy County Sheriff’s Department.

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Pete Ashdown for US Senate

Posted on 1/4/2006 by Ben

Pete Ashdown is founder of the largest ISP in Utah and he’s running a tech-savvy campaign for Orrin Hatch’s Senate seat. He writes his own blog and he’s put his platform on a wiki. He probably can’t beat Hatch but … Continue reading →

Posted in Computers and Internet, Politics | Leave a comment

Massachusetts OpenDocument Standard Under Threat

Posted on 11/2/2005 by Ben

There’s now an amendment on an economic stimulus bill in the Massachusetts State Senate that threatens to roll back the OpenDocument standard recently announced by the Information Technology Division. If you are a Massachusetts resident, please call or email your … Continue reading →

Posted in Free Software, Politics | Leave a comment

Microsoft fights Massachusetts OpenDocument conversion

Posted on 9/15/2005 by Ben

The Globe has an article on Microsoft’s attempt to avert the Massachusetts government switch to the OpenDocument office file format. Tim Bray got a copy of Microsoft’s talking points and takes them apart.

Posted in Copyfight, Free Software, Politics | Leave a comment

The bad idea behind our failed health-care system

Posted on 9/8/2005 by Ben

Malcolm Gladwell’s piece in the New Yorker on the trouble with the U.S. health care system is a must read. Instead, the United States has opted for a makeshift system of increasing complexity and dysfunction. Americans spend $5,267 per capita … Continue reading →

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Demand your TSA travel records

Posted on 8/20/2005 by Ben

Here’s how to request the information that the Transportation Security Administration has collected about you using a Privacy Act request.

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Bush sneaks in vetoes under a veil of formality

Posted on 8/17/2005 by Ben

It’s bizarre finding this on Science Blog: An article published in the latest issue of Presidential Studies Quarterly discusses how the Bush administration used a little-known policy tool of attaching presidential signing statements to bills to, in essence, veto them. … Continue reading →

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Calling All Luddites

Posted on 8/3/2005 by Ben

Thomas Friedman covers Andrew Rasiej’s Wi-Fi for everyone campaign for New York City public advocate.

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Hillary vs. the Xbox: Game over

Posted on 7/27/2005 by Ben

Steven Johnson, author of Everything Bad Is Good for You implores Hillary Clinton in an open letter to stop worrying about the video game generation. Many juvenile crimes — such as the carjacking that is so central to “Grand Theft … Continue reading →

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The Conservative Argument Against Factory Farms

Posted on 6/16/2005 by Ben

The American Conservative has a terrific article by former Bush speechwriter Matthew Scully. Scully argues that conservatives should be opposed to factory farming and animal cruelty in general. While there is much in this article that I don’t agree with, … Continue reading →

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Identity of ‘Deep Throat’ Source Revealed

Posted on 5/31/2005 by Ben

So Deep Throat was W. Mark Felt, the number two spook at the FBI at the time. I always kind of hoped it was Pat Buchanan.

Posted in Politics | 1 Comment