 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
However, the South remains in flux. Driven by changes in demographics, it has over the past few election cycles shown increasingly Progressive tendencies. Accordingly, Project New America – which was formed five years ago as Project New West by Western leaders, thinkers, and strategists as a tool to interpret and exploit the values and attitudes driving two decades of dramatic growth in the West – has now turned its resources and expertise to the South. In an effort to gain a deeper understanding of the opportunities inherent in the South’s changing fabric, Project New America officially launched The Southern Project at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte in September, 2012. Modeled after its successful efforts in the West, this collaboration of Southern leaders will conduct and compile state-based research designed to guide strategy, messaging and civic engagement efforts. Project New America’s subscription model provides a ready-made dissemination mechanism for its research and strategy tools. Many progressive actors in the South already receive PNA research through their national annual subscriptions. PNA is also developing a robust training program to ensure that its research and data can be easily translated into action. Specific deliverables include a series of trainings and the development of a comprehensive tool-kit of strategies and actionable language that will be made available to PNA subscribers and other Progressive stakeholders in the Southern region. The Southern Project currently includes a broad scope of research in Florida and North Carolina that will provide a critical foundation upon which PNA can build. Initial research projects and intensive trainings have been completed this summer. Coming next is a regional effort that will begin to provide stakeholders with a much richer understanding of Southern voters, and the values-based messaging that can resonate with them. The goal is not merely success over the next few elections, but a state-by-state shift reversing the trends of the past five decades. Please click here to take a look at our new website and learn more about The Southern Project by clicking here.
Several years ago I was watching one of those news magazine shows and the story was about the the explosive popularity of eBay. A very busy business man was interviewed who used eBay almost daily for routine purchase. They asked him why he liked eBay so much. He paused for a moment and answered, “I work constantly on multiple business deals during the day and when I take a few minutes break I want a diversion that truly takes me away somehow. So I go the eBay on my laptop and check things I’m bidding on. It is a sort of release. Even if it’s only 5 minutes at a time 8-10 times a day. It helps center and refresh me.” Those aren’t the exact words, but they convey the idea of what he said.
I think I use Facebook the same way. It’s a sort of release several times a day that helps refresh and center me. And, yes, connect me –to people in the rest of my world (virtual world, anyway).
And at some point in my mid 40’s something happened to me. I was in a restaurant in Frankfort with several friends and someone at the table pointed out another table with a group of energetic young people. Normally when I’d see a table like that, I’d avoid them but I turned slowly to my (younger) friend and smiled broadly and said, “I can’t explain it, but I don’t really want to meet those young people—but I do have this overwhelming desire to mentor them. It’s bizarre. I just want to put my hand on their shoulder and offer advice. What the heck? Am I going through male menopause? Am I molting or something? What is happening to me? Oh, and by the way, I want to talk to you about your relationship with your father and how that is hindering you in your personal and professional life.” OK, That’s not verbatim….but it’s in the ball park. My friend didn’t want my advice. And the young people at the table didn’t either. So I opened a Facebook account where I can write these random, disjointed, goofy but sometimes marginally (or accidentally) insightful thoughts that pop into my head. For fun and for free. Besides, I don’t have any other hobbies to take up my time. And it is cathartic. Oh, and the other thing that happened at about this same time, I decided it was better to be real and connect with people as you are than to be admired and never really connect with people as yourself. Which means, well, you just don’t care as much anymore what others think. What you think becomes more important to you. At least it did for me. Appropriate but real. Respectful but open.
And that is cathartic too. And surprising. I never know what is going to come out of me. So….I guess I’ll keep doing it until this molting phase is complete.
Romney’s remarks (and economic policies) are strangely reminiscent of 1929, right before the Great Depression. Fortunately, that was a really good time for songwriters, so I couldn’t resist . . . .
So I invented a way of helping myself when I am trying to reach a goal. I ask “Future Me”what I should do. For example, one of my goals for this year is around my business. In my mind’s eye, Matchmaker Café is about to be large and in charge. (I apologize that my mind’s eye talks like a ‘90s rapper sometimes.) But how I can garner the traction and the capital to get there is a big ordeal. So when I feel overwhelmed and I don’t know what to do next, or when I am trying to make a hiring decision or a partnering decision, what do I do? I ask Future Me. I just discovered this trick and the amazing thing is that she always knows! And she’s so calm- how the hell does she do that? (Hold on, I’ll ask…….. Ok, she says it’s because she’s satisfied.) Occasionally she says “Too soon to tell” or “Wait and see,” kind of like the Magic 8-Ball. Sometimes she says “You’ll know in 5 years.” I hate that one! But most of the time she knows the answer, almost immediately. I tried this out with a client of mine yesterday, as a reality check, just in case I was hearing voices, ya know? You never know. I also wanted to see how it would work for someone who is single and looking for the One. In this case, Future You=Married You. It worked like a charm. Questions that would usually perplex her yielded answers instantaneously. I was pleasantly surprised. (especially to discover that I have not had a psychotic break- phew!) So I would recommend you try it. Word of warning- just as with Willy Wonka and his crazy gum, this philosophy is untested and may go awry by dessert. Especially if you are more like Veruca Salt than Charlie. You have to be very self-explored in order to truly connect with Future You. Be wary of giving yourself the answer you want to hear. There’s a fine line between the purpose of this exercise and being delusional. Having a guide such as a therapist or a coach can always help. (I happen to know of 2 of those right in my apartment—just in case you’re looking. 😉 ) Read the rest of… The Politics of Pigskin
Two weeks into the season and there is some good drama courtesy of head coaches. This week Tom Coughlin took offense the the Bucs’ actions at the end of the game as the Giants were kneeling down. As he executed the Victory formation Eli Manning was knocked down by the Bucs defense and Coughlin let Bucs coach Greg Schiano know how he felt about it. [ESPN] “CJ. Spiller is first player to average at least 10 yards per carry through first two games (minimum 25 attempts) since Jim Brown in 1963.” -Adam Schefter. That’s a pretty amazing statistic. [Twitter] Joe Flacco is not pleased with the performance of the replacement refs. [PFT] Peter King gives his opinion on the replacement refs and the status of the negotiations between the normal crews and the league as well as the other big stories from Week 2. [SI] The Cardinals picked up a big win this week by beating the Patriots away from Arizona. [Yahoo] Here is are the standings of the Recovering Politician Bowl after Week 1. If you would like to cheer on yours truly then keep an eye out for the Fighting Mongooses. [Yahoo FF]
The other night while hanging out in the Electronics section of Wal-Mart—just minding the business of my own bad self— I was bombarded by a Wal-Mart promotional adloop featuring “Mr Worldwide.” I felt foolish not knowing who Mr Worldwide is and could tell by his demeanor and confident speech that I should have heard of him. I tried Googling him on my iPhone but can’t read the small text–but could tell from the search returns Mr Worldwide was important, cool and goes by the more traditional name “Pitbull.” He grows on you. After about the 20th loop you start thinking to yourself, “He’s not as irritating as I thought during the first 10 loops and I don’t think he’d hurt me–so maybe he’s a gansta-type I can pretend knowing about and it would up my cool status and not be too outrageous.
If you want to know more about him and his bad self (his bad self, unlike mine, apparently really is bad) and don’t follow modern rap music, then get down to your loca Wal-Mart and stand in the Electronics section—near the flat screen TVs and you can learn all about him. Heck, I feel cooler already. The Politics of Media
Maureen Dowd (really – who’d have thought?) caused quite a stir with her Sunday column on the Romney-Ryan view of foreign policy. Liberals and conservatives alike were leveling charges of anti-Semitism against the New York Times columnist. The Times’ editorial page editor Andrew Rosenthal dismissed the claims that she forward stereotypes in the piece. [Politico] Quotation approval is a topic of much discussion among media members of late. Recently, many government and campaign officials are making interviews conditional to their own approval of quotes. Last week, Michael Lewis received some criticism from several journalists for allowing the West Wing to approve his quotes in a new piece about the President for Vanity Fair. The NYT’s David Carr took a look at the issue this weekend. [NYT] 30 Rock takes issue with the way the “Tiffany Network” is characterizing the ratings of ‘Face The Nation’. [AP] Sign of the times? The new redesign for USA Today also signaled the addition of Web TV listings for YouTube and Hulu. [NewMediaRockstars]
But the evidence, as of this writing, is that Obama gained measurable ground last week, at least before being hit by another set of poor jobs numbers. Whether the gains last, or fade as other Obama bounces have done this year, depends on how effectively Team Romney pivots to reenter the conversation this week, and how much the dark economic clouds dominate post-convention coverage. It is fair, though, to conclude that Democrats used their week more effectively than their Tampa counterparts.
Read the rest of…
That being said, I do have a matchmaking site on Facebook. It’s called Matchmaker Café. We don’t charge thousands of dollars- just the same amount as what online dating sites charge. And we set up the date for you- ‘cuz that’s the hardest part! But I digress. True love finds you. You just have to be open to it. That’s what I call “turning your Cablight on.” But that’s not the real trick of love. (It’s not supposed to be about turning tricks, either.) The trick is to be happy once you find it. I have a lot of clients who think that once they find the “One” that they should fire me. And they may be right, of course. There’s a reason that Recovering Dater sounds like I’m part of a 12 step Program (more than a writer of a blog.) That’s because once you find love, you shouldn’t be interested in dating anymore! And you certainly shouldn’t need a dating coach. However, even once you find that [almost] perfect person, you have a choice of being hopelessly miserable with each other or hopelessly romantic. Or everything in between. The beginning stages of dating are like precedents in the law. Once certain patterns are set, there’s no going back. And you will always refer back to that pattern. It’s like when a river dries up but there is still the path. Pour a big rainstorm back in and that water goes in the same direction that it always did for years. Enough metaphors for you? Sorry about that- here’s a real world example. One of the hardest jobs I’ve ever done in my life was teaching Hebrew school when I was in college. It’s hard enough to be a teacher and control the classroom. But then try controlling a classroom of kids who have been in school for 8 hours that day already! $12 per hour was a lot of money in those days- it had to be. So, in the event that you have been a teacher then you will know what I mean about this- the very first day is your only shot for establishing order and discipline. The students can get to know you and like you later. But if you are “soft” on the first day, you’re done for the year. By the next year you have learned, but it’s a new class by then. Read the rest of… |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Copyright © 2024 The Recovering Politician - All Rights Reserved | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
