Blog posts

While on the subject of Slacktivist, he has also had some amusing critiques of Bush’s recent claims regarding Social Security. It would appear that the President is not aware of how his own Social Security system works, believing it to be a savings programme rather than a tax that provides for the current generation of retirees. Perhaps Bush was confused as I was when Kari’s most recent Social Security statement arrived, showing how much she had contributed over the years. I had always understood Social Security to work the way it does in fact work, but receiving such a document forced me to go back and check. Perhaps the President was confused by the misleading propaganda that arrived in his mailbox?

The blog world has been awash with commentary on the Washington Post’s recent attempts to defend their editorial decisions in the run up to the Iraq war. In the wake of print media’s critical take on blogging during the Democratic National Convention the opportunity to let loose at a bastion of the traditional press has been too much to resist for many who see blogging and traditional journalism in opposition. It is sad that such an opposition between two complementary mediums continues. ...

Through Salon I picked up this piece in today’s Guardian. In it, Simon Tisdall, the lynch-pin of the Guardian’s US election coverage speculates that: The US charge sheet against Iran is lengthening almost by the day, presaging destabilising confrontations this autumn and maybe a pre-election October surprise. and goes on to suggest that: The US will ask a meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency on September 13 to declare Iran in breach of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, a prelude to seeking punitive UN sanctions. ...

Two links worth passing on here. I’ve been meaning to post about The Polyphonic Spree’s new album. I never quite get there, and the cancellation of their Grand Rapids show contributed to that failure. But it is worth noting that at least one member has appeared on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted List. On an entirely different (I think) note, Change for America carried this piece on the state of journalism in the US. The story is worth it for the Jon Stewart link alone.

A brief glance at email this evening proved rewarding given this notice from the USCIS Status Monitor: On August 6, 2004, after approving your application, we ordered you a new card. Your card will be mailed to you as soon as it is ready. No mention of how long that will be, but it is rather reassuring to know that should someone offer me a job I’d be able to take it! ...

John Kerry may be the best option for America, but he’d be hard pressed to make a case that he’s the most punctual. Today we queued with what organisers claimed was between twelve and twenty thousand others (I’d guess more like ten, though Michigan Radio say City Officials concur with the twenty) to join what we’re told was Grand Rapids’ biggest ever political rally and hear the man put his case. The merchandise peddlers along the line provided some entertainment (the claims from one that his wares were “ebay ready” produced the largest smile) but it showed the faithful’s commitment that many spent more than two hours queueing in the sweltering heat. ...

A number of people have asked me since my move how I perceive the difference between politics in the US and the UK. Another article in Sunday’s New York Times neatly summed it up, showing the gap between the approval rating of the president by the members of his own party and the rating by members of the opposing party. This year, that gap is the widest it has ever been in an election year(84% vs. 16%). To my mind, it is polarisation that marks out American politics, at least as presented in the media. ...

It could be that several days away from home, cut off from my usual news fix dealers, caused a build up of outrage withdrawal. Or it could be that my skin isn’t as thick and my political outlook not so jaded as it can be tempting to believe. Whatever the cause, this front page story of Sunday’s New York Times set a bunsen burner in my blood vessels. ...

For several years now there has been debate about the value of what Margaret Hodge (former HE minister) named Mickey Mouse degrees. In the midst of successive governments’ pushes for more vocational qualifications and a decline in applications for many traditional science-based courses, universities began to come up with new programmes. Brewing was perhaps the most notorious, but the University of Plymouth’s Surfing degree also attracted its share of sniggers. ...

We’ve spent the past two days in Chicago. Travelling to Chicago used to mean returning to O’Hare. A flight back to the UK (hopefully direct) and a return to a lifestyle of late night phone calls and tricky planning. That anticipation has still been lingering in the back of my mind each of the last three times we’ve driven here, the approach of the Skyway indicating the approaching departure. Even whilst considering the approaching flight, I’ve always enjoyed the entry into Chicago. Once the smoke stacks, fumes and less than fragrant emanations of Gary, Indiana, are passed the post-industrial landscape of the eastern fringes of Chicago quickly surround us and I enjoy the return to something I can more easily identify as a City. ...