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Visualizing the Iphone 5. What it may look like. [PC Magazine] Internet celebrity Antoine Dodson arrested in Alabama. [CBS News] Playstation Network outage leaves PS3 users disconnected for days. [Mercury News] Obama pulls the plug on internet poker sites. [Washington Times]
Here’s an excerpt — the link to the entire op-ed piece (originally published in the Manchester Union-Leader) can be found below it:
Thanks for another incredible week at The Recovering Politician. We are so grateful for all of your support, compliments, and good ideas. We even appreciate your complaints. And we are addressing them. One of them comes from the RP’s household. The RP, as you may know, is not the Speaker of his House, and he’s barely the minority leader: Mrs. RP, the two RPettes, and even the RPcanine is female. While the site’s introduced two superstar female contributing RP thus far — Kathleen Kennedy Townsend and Lisa Borders — the site has had, let’s say, a testosteroneal (?) imbalance. So next week, we are playing makeup. Three — count ’em 3 — outstanding contributing recovering politicians, all with both X chromosomes fully in place. Wednesday, we feature a former Democratic State Representative who took a shot for statewide office and was swept up in the GOP tide. Friday, you’ll hear from a former Republican metropolitan city councilwoman, who left an outstanding career to join the private sector. But first, on Monday, you will meet a highly-regarded former New York City councilwoman, who engaged in a highly publicized political battle over education reform, lost an election, but has now become a national leader in pursuing her reform passions from the private sector. Her first piece may challenge some of your common conceptions of public education. On RPTV Tuesday, I will interview one of the smartest policy minds in the Republican party: a prolific writer, a frequent television commentator, and one of the most respected expertsof either in Washington. While you might disagree with his opinions (and I do on occasion), you will respect his views and how he approaches the issues. Kind of the essence of what we are trying to accomplish here at The Recovering Politician. And of course, a whole lot more. I hope you enjoy a wonderful holiday weekend, both religious (Good Friday, Easter, Passover), and secular (Earth Day). See you on Monday! The Shanghai Car Show’s rise to prominence pits it against the NYC Car Show. Do you go to see the cars or the models? Be honest! [MSNBC] Finances are dictating college and career choices according to latest polling data. [Businessweek] Rising prices are beginning to hit home. [NBC Nightly News] Don’t tell Junior. Boomers are keeping their kids in the dark about their wealth. [Forbes] Trump-watch continues: Just how rich is he? As rich as he feels! [CNN Money] Citigroup’s annual shareholder meeting: no longer a cage-match? You decide. [NY Times] As we begin to celebrate a series of 150th anniversaries of the Civil War and its aftermath, we flash back just four years to a Presidents’ Day commemoration on the floor of the Oregon State Senate. There, our very own Contributing RP Jason Atkinson does his best — and funniest — Abe Lincoln imitation, in a debate with a scary looking “George Washington.” If you can suffer through the poor video quality, it is worth the punch line to Jason’s masterful oration. Enjoy: The Politics of the Planet Once again, nature has a better solution than resorting to man-made chemicals. [NPR] It is the one year anniversary of the BP Oil Spill. A reminder of what happened through pictures of the spill and the aftermath. [Yahoo News] Why cities are “greener” than you may think, and how our tax law discourages city living. [Freakanomics] A healthful and environmentally friendly meal may be closer than you think. [NPR] Homer Simpson has three phrases that work in every political situation: “Cover me.” ”You’re right that is a good idea”; and “It was like that when I got here.” Brilliant! Gone are the quotes of Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln, and stage right steps America’s three-fingered yellow skinned, balding “herald to the masses,” keeper of pop-language. Roll over Danny Webster. Cover me! A great phrase used liberally in the western United States in close association with “Hey, hold my beer; I want to try something.” It is not as used too much today across party lines and is more used safely inside the bounds of a politician’s registration; however in days past, I would find rural and urban legislators from different parities “covering” each other just to insure the process keep moving. “Cover me” can be viewed as a phrase over cards in the smoky back room, but I think cover me is more of loyalty in friendship over partisan. “Cover me” — used between politicians, mostly for the good. “You’re right, that is a good idea” This is perhaps the ultimate way to defuse hostility. Since politics is the anvil and our words are the hammer, this Homerism works in nearly all situations. I’ve been teaching my eight-year-old son how to be a conversationalist, which I believe begins with being a good listener. While no one would claim Homer in the same breath as Mark Twain or Shelby Foote, the phrase does work if we first listen. “It was like that when I got here.“ Lastly comes the great one. The phrase used by politicos ranging from Obama to freshly elected city counselors. The universal deflection in which a politician keeps their status, deflects criticism, and champions all reform: “It was like that when I got here.” It worked as children standing in a messy room; it worked in junior high when the bunsen burner caught fire; it performed brilliantly on Saturday morning chores with younger siblings; and does it ever work in politics! It’s pass-the-buck-plus. After I thought about it a while, I can’t use it without laughing, blowing my already tissue-thin cover, but for our RP readers, lovers words, students of political survivors, listen for it in our public discourse and smile yourself. Want to play doctor? The New York Times’ Wellness blog gives readers the chance to solve a real-life medical mystery. [New York Times] IMS Health’s annual report on U.S. prescription spending reveals that in 2010, the top 10 most popular medications were generics for the first time. [Time Healthland] Those tiresome pop-up ads for the acai berry will finally be off our computer screens, thanks to FTC intervention. [Huffington Post] Feeling down? Blame it on the pollen… it could be linked to your seasonal allergies. [CNN] Now get that mood back up with a funny YouTube video. This ticklish penguin at the Cincinnati Zoo is quickly becoming an Internet sensation: [YouTube] The RP recently looked at changes in American attitudes towards interracial and intercultural marriages and asked, “Will the idea of gay marriage being illegal in most parts of the U.S. seem absolutely unbelievable in 50 years? Yes.” According to this poll, a majority of Americans think it’s unbelievable now. [CNN] In fact, one church in Louisville, Kentucky, has taken the matter into their own hands, refusing to sign heterosexual marriage licenses until “same-sex couples are afforded equal marriage rights.” As a Louisvillian and a neighbor of the Douglas Boulevard Christian Church, your correspondent says, “bravo.” [ThinkProgress] Gay marriage, of course, also means gay divorce. With another royal wedding coming up, the RP advises against anyone performing their nuptials at Westminster Abbey. The odds are clearly against you. [Robot Celeb] And in the end, love is real, real is love—no matter who you love and who loves you. Celebrate it. [Love]
Among the dozens of hats that he wears, Contributing RP Andrei Cherny edits Democracy: A Journal of Ideas. His post this month reflects on his status as a recovering politician. But even more, it makes a passionate case for progressive economics in an era that seems to be focused on selfish materialism and me-first politics Here is an excerpt — the full link is below:
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