jon-david schlough

Save the Comics, Vote Republican

If Democrats win, it'll be like watching the whole world get kicked in the balls....

Assylum Street Spankers "Stick Magnetic Ribbons On Your SUV"

In the interest of full disclosure, and before friends berate me for hypocrisy - I do drive an SUV. I would like to point out, though, that it's only a 6-cylinder engine and I get pretty decent mileage.

I'm LiveBlogging the DFL State Convention @ MNPublius

For those that don't already know, I'm now
blogging for MNPublius.com - jondavid.com is going totally personal. And, while still technically my technopolitical personal weblog, most of my politics writing will be at MNPublius.

This weekend I'm in Rochester, LiveBlogging the DFL State Convention.

Go check it out if you feel so inclined....

The Audacity of Hope

Ok, so I know it seems as though I swill so much Obama Kool-Aid that I'm almost a citzen of either Illinois or Kenya, really this post is pure coincidence. And btw, it's not my fault that 's he's so authentic, eloquent, and honest. Reminds me of a candidate for the 5th in Minnesota in some ways.

So Barack's new book is coming out soon and an email went out with a link to an excerpt. I hastily read through it and it's pretty great. Here's a little teaser talking about his time in the Illinois legislature:

Occasionally, I would partner up with even my most conservative colleagues to pass a piece of legislation, and over a poker game or a beer we might conclude that we had more in common than we publicly cared to admit. Which perhaps explains why, throughout my years in Springfield, I had clung to the notion that politics could be different, and that the voters wanted something different; that they were tired of distortion, name-calling, and sound-bite solutions to complicated problems; that if I could reach those voters directly, frame the issues as I felt them, explain the choices in as truthful a fashion as I knew how, then the people’s instincts for fair play and common sense would bring them around. If enough of us took that risk, I thought, not only the country’s politics, but the country’s policies, would change for the better.

Here's a link to the whole excerpt - enjoy, Happy Friday, and a hat tip to the JoyMowl ;-)

I've Had Enough.

Now I don't know about you.
I don't know about you Democrats, and I don't know about you farmers, and I don't know about you laborers...but I think we've had enough.

Enough of the broken promises, enough of the failed leadership, enough of the can't do, won't do, won't even try style of government.

Four years after 9/11, I have had enough of being told that we cant find the money to protect our ports, our railroads, or our chemical plants, or our borders...but we can find enough money to give a tax cut to Paris Hilton.

I've had enough.

I have had enough of the closed door deals that give billions of dollars to the drug companies when we are told we can't do a thing for the 45 million uninsured and the millions more who can't pay their medical bills.

I've had enough.

I have had enough of being told that we can't afford body armor for our troops and healthcare for our veterans and benefits for our wounded heroes who risked their lives for this country but we sure can find all that money to pay to Halliburton.

I've had enough.

I have had enough of giving billions to the oil companies when we're told we can't invest in renewable energy that will create jobs and lower gas prices and finally free ourselves of dependence on foreign oil.

I've had enough.

And I've had enough of our kids going to school where rats outnumber computers. I've had enough of Katrina survivors living out of cars, and begging FEMA for trailers. I've had enough of being told that all we can do about this is sit and wait and hope. That the good fortune of a few trickles on down to everyone else in this country.

You know, we all remember that George Bush said in the year 2000 that he didn't believe in nation building...

...we just didnt know that he was talking about this country.

-Hon. Senator Barack Obama, HHH Dinner 2006

Minneapolis Better Ballot Campaign Gains DFL Endorsement

Congratulations to the Better Ballot Campaign on this victory.
Instant Runoff Voting [IRV] makes much, much, much more sense than the way elections are conducted now. Oh yeah, and since I've been talking and posting about how funny, informative, engaging online content can be very educational - check this out if you're interested in learning exactly how IRV works :-)

From the Press Release, full text after the jump:

Instant runoff voting, also known as ranked choice voting, is a method of voting where the candidates are ranked in order of preference. IRV encourages more positive campaigning, eliminates the need for a primary election, demonstrably increases voter turnout, and allows voters to vote for their first choice without inadvertently supporting their worst choice. IRV is used for elections in San Francisco; Cambridge, Mass.; Burlington, Vt.; Ireland and Australia among other places.

Net Neutrality : Save The Internet, OddTodd, & AskANinja

If you enjoy surfing the internet and using it to do useful, free or low-cost stuff then you should be aware of the goings on in Washington D.C. One thing I'm focused on lately is developing strategies to help legislators and lobbyists understand exactly what it is they are voting on as policy is defined around technology. This is a good example.

Basically, you want to surf a site and your ISP is, oh I dunno, Time Warner. Republicans want to make it legal for Time Warner, or any other ISP, to prioritize content based on....whatever the feel like. How would they prioritize content? It's all about the $$$$$ baby! The content that you'll be able to view with the full wonderful huge high-bandwidth fiber connection we'll all have soon will be content willing to pay Time Warner a bunch of cash. Crap.

More insight and some seriously funny stuff after the jump...

Tips and Turned : Patty, El & the 6th

I talked with, you know, some people and stuff at an undisclosed location. Not to be confused with the undisclosed location that Dick Cheney was at in Minneapolis or wherever today. I didn't see him, I swear.

Anyway, someone learned Democrats elightened me to the fact that Wetterling for USSenate went through over a million bucks. This is disheartening. No way to plan for it, but she could really use those resources now.

Having to go back to her base and undertake a brand new fundraising effort for a different office is going to be difficult...does her staff have the chops?

There isn't a lot of confidence in the world for Corey Day. I'm not sure if that's deserved, but it's the case. In all fairness I don't know the man. I tend to think people love to talk. It's easy to sit on the sidelines and opine, much tougher in the trenches. God forbid at the helm. But, that being said, it's possible they have a bit of a point.  I wouldn't know...all I do is hang around undisclosed locations. And bars.

Wetterling v Bachmann - COH

Those crazy cats at Wetterling v Bachmann made an interesting post concerning Patty's CashOnHand numbers. The argument is in response to Patty's comment that she wouldn't have to spend money on her name recognition.

So while Michelle raised about 100K more than Patty, she only has about 28K more CashOnHand. I dunno, I see their point that Michelle is raising more dough now, but Wetterling just got endorsed on Saturday and, with the polarizing, hate-fueled rhetoric of Bachmann about to begin hitting the public space with gusto, I predict money will start really flowing into Patty's war-chest.

Patty Wetterling

Total Receipts: $244,986
Latest Cash On Hand: $168,402

Michelle Bachmann

Total Receipts: $396,347
Latest Cash On Hand: $196,232

Given the fact that we need this seat to take back the House, I'm sure this race is going to get plenty of national attention, along with the USSenate race. MAN! MN politics are getting really exciting!

May the best candidate win!

Welcome to Florida

Whew. When you're running for the US Senate, holding on this tightly to a President sitting at 31% approval, you know you're 30 points down and the President's brother, the Governor no less, just announced publicly the day before that you cannot possibly win, being 30 points down and all....good times.

From the AP Story, pic from St Pete Buzz:

But though Harris spoke animatedly for several minutes and kept a firm grip on the president's hand, he wore a grim expression and didn't display the jocularity he usually bestows on local greeters. Harris did not attend other events with the president, while GOP Rep. Adam Putnam, who also was at the plane, did.

Also, from Wonkette, some hilarious news from KH's campaign trail. Is it me or is her whole endeavor becoming a joke? I mean, on what campaign do the women dress in any particular way? And THAT'S how you're going to evaluate people?

I always see jeans, sweaters, hoodies, t-shirts...casual if you can be, at campaign offices. And as far as the swearing and drinking, hey....everyone blows off steam - if anyone got out of control I would think campaign staffers would notice and that individual would get warned and if it continued, dismissed. Everyone needs to decompress, some like alcohol to aid in that unwinding process, and lots of campaign workers are young, fresh from college, and still drink like it - that being said, being drunk too much and doing your job really well are mutually exclusive. And given the hours and pressure, I've heard campaign staffer from both parties express that, hey man, for cripe's sake, I've been working 16 hours a day for as long as I can remember and by Joe, I need a drink.

At any rate, a hilarious litmus test for staffers::

When news broke about Mr. Wade, the Harris campaign was in turmoil. Ms. Harris, increasingly critical of her staff, turned more frequently to Dale Burroughs, a spiritual adviser to the campaign and founder of the Biblical Heritage Institute for the Behavioral Sciences, a Christian counseling service.

Ms. Burroughs told Ms. Harris that the campaign was not a “holy place” because women were dressed provocatively and the men swore and drank, according to Mr. Rollins. Mr. Ingram, the Harris spokesman, says Ms. Burroughs’s role in the campaign has been exaggerated. Ms. Burroughs didn’t return calls seeking comment. [Emphasis ours]