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As the fall season approaches, there are few shows that I am more eagerly anticipating that Showtime’s “Homeland.” Not only did the suspenseful drama keep me enthralled all last year, but the new season is filmed in Tel Aviv! (It is based on an Israeli series.) Doesn’t get much better than that! Here’s a sneak preview:
A modest proposal. In the future, if you want to pull in a bigger and broader audience and gin up some fun and dazzling sports competition, please have fewer athletic events that seem selected by a prep school athletic director and more sporting events drawn from popular street ball pick up games. Thank you, John The Politics of Tech
The biggest news of the week by far was the successful landing of the Curiosity Rover on Mars! Follow the official twitter account for updates! [Twitter] Here is an awesome tool that NASA released for people to keep track of Curiosity. [NASA] Internet viewers for the Curiosity landing blew away the TV viewers by about 2 million. [CNET] Video has been released of the raid on MegaUpload founder Kim Dotcom’s home. [YouTube] Illinois has made it illegal for employers to ask for the login information for employees social media accounts including Facebook. [Huffington Post]
From The Washington Post:
Click here to read the full article.
If you’ve been watching the Olympics… OK if you have a pulse and electricity in your home… You’ve undoutbedly seen a promo of the much anticipated NBC series, “Go On,” starring Friends’ alum Matthew Perry as a sports radio talk show host who has recently been widowed. If you are not already hooked, here’s another reason to watch: My cousin, Allison Miller, plays Perry’s assistant on the show. Allison, (at left, and at the far left in the picture to the right) has previously starred in Terra Nova and Kings, but this might be her breakout moment. So don’t you dare miss it. So, stay up after the Olympics tonight (or if you are old like me, don’t forget to program your DVR). A star will be born! Or at least, I guarantee many laughs. Here’s a sneak preview of the sneak premiere: The American gold medalist explains to the New York Post that her choice of “Hava Nagila” for her floor routine was in dedication to the Munich 11 who lost their lives at the 1972 Olympics and for whom a moment of silence was denied by the International Olympic Committee:
Here’s a snip of her routine: With Chick-Fil-A on everyone’s mind, John Y. Brown, III spotted this important PSA from Dave Chappelle. Warning: NSFW
In Kentucky we still have the medieval practice of Trial by Ordeal for our politicians. And it’s a great amount of fun for spectators. If you want to take your place among Kentucky’s statewide and congressional officeholders you must first survive Fancy Farm. Part stump speaking; part right of passage. To borrow from Frank Sinatra, “If you can make it there (Fancy Farm), you can make it anywhere.”
I remember preparing for my second Fancy Farm speech. I was in deep West KY outside our Super 8 hotel. I was sitting alone on the curb scanning the local newspapers for local tidbits to pepper my speech with while others ate breakfast inside. I overheard two people talking about me admiringly. Two people I had come to know well. “Look at him. He’s something isn’t he? He’s reading those papers and putting his speech together in his head right now. I don’t know how he does it.” And yet just a few days earlier I heard these same two people talking about me in a very different way. “You know you can’t rely on him. I don’t know what’s wrong with him. If you want something done, don’t expect him to do it.” It was my wife and mother-in-law talking about me. But Fancy Farm changed all that. Suddenly I went from failure on the home front to being a hero—one of only a few who would take the Fancy Farm platform later that day. And they were related to me. It made them proud. It made me feel special. And grateful, for this one day each year, I wouldn’t be expected to run any errands or be judged on the same scale as ordinary mortals. Which was never my strong suit anyway.  The Politics of Faith Missouri voters passed a ‘Right to Pray’ amendment to the state’s constitution by an overwhelming margin Tuesday. The amendment affirms the right of Missourians to pray in public. Opponents say they will challenge the amendment in court. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch] Catholic nuns in the U.S. may disaffiliate from the Vatican. The Catholic Church recently issued a report saying the Leadership Conference of Women Religious — the largest body of U.S. nuns — was not focused enough on abortion and traditional marriage. The Conference holds its annual meeting in St. Louis this week. [The Washington Post] U.S. Sikhs had been on high alert attacks even before the shooting at the Sikh temple in Wisconsin last week. The Christian Science Monitor discusses the fears many Sikhs have in practicing their religion openly in the U.S. [The Christian Science Monitor] After becoming a refuge to European Jews in the mid-20th century, Alaska is still home to more than 6,000 Jews who call themselves the “Frozen Chosen.” [The Jewish Daily Forward]
Today, we proudly present a new feature at The Recovering Politician. Jeff Smith, one of our most popular contributing RPs will be answering YOUR political advice questions here and at City & State, a very popular Web site that focuses on New York politics. Please send in your questions for Jeff to staff@TheRecoveringPolitican.com, and Jeff might answer them in subsequent columns.
After a 2004 congressional bid in which, as a 29-year-old nobody, I lost narrowly to the scion of Missouri’s leading political dynasty, I figured I was done with politics. But thanks largely to a documentary film about our first campaign I got sucked back in, winning a State Senate seat two years later. I adored the Senate—loved crafting policy, loved helping people, loved the camaraderie with my colleagues. Then, through an uncanny series of events involving a lie, a car bombing (in which I had no part) and my best friend’s wiretap, I spent 2010 in federal prison. Along the way I learned about politics, policymaking and people; about friendship, temptation and betrayal. Mine is a hard-won perspective, but one I’m honored to have the opportunity to share with City & State’s readers. One of the hardest things in politics is knowing whom to trust. That makes discretion critical, since asking a friend for advice can be akin to calling a press conference and broadcasting it. This column aspires to be the confidant you can trust for an unvarnished opinion: a “Dear Abby” for politicos, if you will. I look forward to answering questions about all things political, and helping readers gain their wisdom more easily (and anonymously) than I did. I’m running for office, and though I have some volunteers, most come in once, then disappear. I asked my campaign manager why and he said they were all flaky. Do you have any advice? S.E., Webster Groves, Mo. Dear S.E.: First, fire your manager; he sounds flaky. Second, sit down with volunteers when they come in. Ask them why they’re volunteering and what their dream campaign job is. Then—unless their answer involves holding a press conference or sleeping with the candidate—give them a chance to do it. They may have to hit 100 doors before they get to draft a press release, design a mail piece or storyboard a TV ad, but they’ll have a reason other than cold pizza to stay engaged. Finally, the heart of the problem: Your campaign is no fun. Make your campaign a social event. You’re the candidate; you set the tone. If you’re having fun, they will too—and you’ll attract more fun people. I used to bet my interns/volunteers on anything: One-on-one basketball, who could recruit more supporters while canvassing, which one of them could get somebody’s digits at an event. It’s possible to have a blast and be deadly serious about getting votes at the same time. I’m a legislator who screwed up. I promised a school superintendent in my district that I’d vote against new charter schools, then told the charter-school advocates that I’d support their bill, which would allow for charter-school expansion. If I seek higher office, the public-school types and teachers’ union could get me primary votes, but the charter-school lobby donates pretty heavy. What should I do? W.C., St. Louis Dear W.C.: In the future, only make promises you can keep. But since it’s too late this time, here’s what you should do. Since you appear to be agnostic about which is the best policy, call some informed constituents without a stake in the matter to feel them out. If there’s any consensus, vote that way. Then, if you must break your word, you have the one semi-acceptable excuse: “I’m sorry. I heard from my constituents and thought hard, and I decided to vote ‘No.’ This was a good lesson; next time I won’t give my word until I understand the issue better.” And tell them well before the vote so they don’t count you as a “Yes.” Last, before running for higher office, get your views straight so you’re never again making policy calls based purely on personal political considerations. It screams “hack,” and it’s why people distrust pols. I’m an elected official who recently found out that my female chief of staff had sex with three male interns. I’m not sure whether to talk to her or high-five them—she’s pretty hot. But seriously, should I say anything to her? D.A., Miami Dear D.A.: If your male chief of staff had banged your last three female interns, would you say anything to him? (Hint: Any answer that includes the phrase “high-five” is incorrect.) Read the rest of… |
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