Archive for July 2007

Why Being From Pittsburgh is Like Being an Immigrant

Hey readaz. My dad recently proposed the theory mentioned in today’s title. Here’s why it’s true: Pittsburgh has a large diaspora. Pittsburgh has a large population, with more than 2.3 million people living in the Greater Pittsburgh metropolitan area. That said, one look at this graph will tell you that that’s less impressive than it [...]

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Required Campaign Reading

All Democratic strategists need to read this article and memorize its every word: Dems, You Gotta Have Heart It should really be an incredibly simple premise, but I can’t figure out why some Democratic dudes just can’t grasp it: Joe Average doesn’t have the time or the interest to read your policy papers; he has [...]

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Obama

Barack Obama’s comments about talking directly to Iran and North Korea is a great example of just how narrow our political debate really is: the guy’s talking about doing exactly what the U.S. did for 40 years during the Cold War (which we won), and somehow taking this stance means he supports Iran and North [...]

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The Humans Are Dead

I planned to cancel my HBO subscription this summer, but then I caught Flight of the Conchords and now I’m stuck to the show like a junkie with monkey disease. So I’m going with a copout post of three of the best:

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Quick Hits

Back in my New York days, it seemed that every time you turned around, someone was praising the independent, gritty spirit of 1970s-80s New York, the culture that produced hip-hop, tagging, Reggie Jackson, Taxi Driver, CBGB-OMFUG, The Warriors and other art inspired by the city’s crushing, nigh-bankrupt bleakness. While I acknowledge the period as one [...]

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They Seem Made Up, And Yet They Aren’t

As my friend Steve put it, “these sound a lot like people doing imitations of him”: The 50 Dumbest Things … I’m particularly fond of Nos. 50, 44, 39, 35, 26 and 14-13.

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Chipmunk: Underappreciated. Squirrel: Overexposed.

Squirrels run all over the place down here in DC. Meanwhile, chipmunks only live near wooded areas, knowing better than to overdo it in this media-heavy city. SQUIRRELS AREN’T COOL Squirrels are basically just bushy-tailed rats. Where do you see them in urban areas? Nine times out of ten, they’re playing in the garbage can, [...]

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Why Do Special Olympic Athletes Hate America?

Today’s testimony from the outgoing Surgeon General is probably the best one yet in the never-ending parade of scientists who don’t like the current government. Not only did your man Dr. Carmona (dude has one hell of a c.v., btw) testify that administration officials suppressed his reports on stem cells, contraception, global health and secondhand [...]

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