Contributing RP Tom Allen, a former Congressman from Maine, is working on a new political book, reports Seth Koenig of the Bangor Daily News:
Former U.S. Rep. Tom Allen, a Democrat, and I happened to be leaving a media event in South Portland at the same time Tuesday. We chatted for just a few moments before he hopped into the passenger seat of a waiting sedan, undoubtedly off to another obligation (as president of the Association of American Publishers and a member of several organization boards, he keeps busy).
I asked how he’s liking life outside of the “political crossfire.”
He said he’s loving it. But he’s not staying out of the political crossfire forever.
Allen, who served 12 years in the House before giving up the seat to challenge Republican Susan Collins in 2008 for her Senate seat (unsuccessfully), said he’s working on a book about politics he hopes will hit shelves next year.
“It’s about the ideas that separate Rs and Ds,” the former Portland mayor said. “It explains everything.”
Allen still has strong opinions about politics, as evidenced by guest columns he’s written for the website The Recovering Politician (click here or here for some of his recent opinions about the atmosphere in Congress — he’s not ambiguous about which political movement he feels is to blame for ongoing Capitol Hill hostility).
By Zack Adams, RP Staff, on Fri Dec 9, 2011 at 9:22 AM ET
If you missed the Thursday night game on NFL Network between the Steelers and Browns you missed a very gutsy performance by one, Ben Roethlisberger. After suffering a high-ankle sprain near the end of the second quarter he was carted off to the locker room to get x-rays. They came back negative for any breaks. He then proceeded to play the whole second half on his high-ankle sprain, which can sometimes take weeks to heal fully. The Steelers rallied behind their injured captain and walked away with a victory. [ESPN AFC North Blog]
Contributing RP Eva Moskowitz, a former New York City Councilwoman, has announced plans to expand her nationally-recognized charter school network into Brooklyn:
Ms. Moskowitz’s push into well-heeled neighborhoods comes at a critical time for her nine-school Success Charter Network, which she launched in Harlem in 2006 and expects to grow to 40 schools across the city in the next few years. Charter school supporter Michael Bloomberg has two years left as mayor, and his successor might not be as eager to provide the city-owned space that new schools often need.
Charters have been elbowing their way into the city landscape since the 1990s by offering an education lifeline to high-poverty areas desperate for quality schools. Now, Ms. Moskowitz, whose abrasive style has made her a lightning rod for charter opponents, is pitching her schools to lawyers, doctors and other professionals.
It’s a fundamental shift for Ms. Moskowitz and the charter school movement. While she has braved five years of slings and arrows, her network’s future—and that of other charter schools—may hinge on their ability to build constituencies in affluent, influential areas.
“The political significance of this cannot be ignored,” said Steven Brill, whose book Class Warfare chronicles the school reform battles raging across the country. “Once you have charter schools flourishing in middle-class neighborhoods, they become impossible to oppose.”
Ms. Moskowitz gives an educational, rather than political, rationale. “We’ve got to have more, not fewer, alternatives to a profoundly broken education system,” she said. “The clock is ticking against our kids.”
By Zack Adams, RP Staff, on Thu Dec 8, 2011 at 3:00 PM ET
The Politics of Tech
A case for ending America’s giant Cable corporations – check out the system France has in place. [Americablog]
Google Chrome has officially overtaken Mozilla Firefox as the #2 browser in the world. [Stat Counter]
The Swiss government has ruled on the side of “piracy.” A study concluded that people downloading copyrighted material for personal use are more likely to spend money within those same industries. [boingboing]
There is a proposed bill in the Senate that could effectively end overtime for IT employees. [Standalone Sysadmin]
Carrier IQ: Is it totally rational to worry that our phones are tracking everything we do? [Slate]
Contributing RP, and former Virginia Congressional candidate Krystal Ball, took on hopeful GOP kingmaker Donald Trump on MSNBC yesterday. Our favorite line? “To call (Trump) a clown is unfair to clowns.”
By Sandra Moon, RP Staff, on Thu Dec 8, 2011 at 10:00 AM ET
The Politics of Food
Consumers of fair-trade foods beware–if the product is certified by Fair Trade USA, you might be getting goods that are less fairly-traded than you think. [Motherjones]
Wondering what get your foodie friend or family member for Hanukkah/Christmas/Kwanzaa? You can’t go wrong with a cookbook–check out the best of 2011. [Epicurious]
If you’re planning to fly over the holidays and dreading long layovers because of the lack of decent dining options in airports, then dread no more. Here’s a list of 25 airport restaurants that will make your travel a more decadent experience. [Delish]
The RP’s Recipe of the Week: Kale Chips. If you’re looking for a healthy snack to get you through the winter, try this vitamin packed, easy to follow recipe.
By Patrick Derocher, on Thu Dec 8, 2011 at 9:15 AM ET
Upon reading this article, you will want to eat these.
In a crave-inducing study, a Stanford University study has found potato chips to be reflective of socioeconomic, and possibly even political, divides in the United States. Researchers in the University’s linguistics department analyzed the language on 12 brands of potato chips– six expensive brands, and six inexpensive brands. Their findings indicated that more expensive brands had more words, more advanced language, and more of an emphasis on healthiness than their lower-priced counterparts. Additionally, less expensive brands tended to emphasize tradition, with the most common words including “basic,” “fresh,” and “light,” while the more expensive brands try to portray themselves as exotic, using words like “savory,” “culinary,” and “flair.” [San Jose Mercury News]
These new maps are unbelievable. I could not believe what I was seeing.
I helped draw the lines in 2000 and the judges also had to finish the process that year as well. But in 2000 the judges seemed to draw districts that kept the Republican and Democrat voting percentages close to where they had been before unless it was an open seat.
They also did not put incumbents together. I have only made a quick review of these new maps but from what I can see some of the districts have much different numbers and there was no benefit given to incumbents unless it’s a Democrat incumbent.
There also appear to be several places where incumbents are put into the same district. So far it looks like more Republicans than Democrats.
I will need to take a close look at the suburban seats to make a complete analysis, but at first glance there will be several Republican legislators not very happy with this map.
It is surprising to see judges go this political with the process and I wonder what the Republican leaders were doing to make their case. Did the judges just blow them off and only listen to Democrats? If they didn’t scream loud enough behind closed door they better start screaming now.
Hilarious customer service e-mail from a Zappos.com employee. [e-mail]
Texts From Bennett – an amazing Tumblr I recently discovered. Be warned, there is some NSFW language. Otherwise, it’s very hilarious and I would love to run into Bennett. [Texts From Bennett]
Simply brilliant. However, somehow I don’t think it was in the spirit of the assignment. [picture]
A fitting punishment for a poor parking job. [picture]
