January 2006
ArchPundit
Tilting Left at Windmills
Governing’s 13th Floor discusses the political tilt of state centered blogs
. My general take is that state centered blogs have generally tilted to the left, but the reasons for it don’t quite fit the Texas case in Illinois. Obviously, Democrats aren’t feeling left out of the Illinois government, but my sense is that Democrats have fewer grassroots organizations in which they funnel their activism. With the conservative build-up of grassroots organizations over time, there were other avenues for funneling their activism. Left leaning activists are building a bunch of organizations and blogs came along at the same time so they go hand-in-hand.
That’s changing in Illinois even as many who were contributors to the the Leader and such are now taking part in the Illinois Review (which will be blog rolled soon).
More interesting is the change in types of blogs which largely began with people like South Knox Bubba (RIP), Off the Kuff, and me, state centered blogs were largely outsiders who watched politics from afar and most of us became more involved in regular politics through the blog. Now, more of the newer blogs are being started by activists. That will change the nature of the blogs. Charles Kuffner, Bubba, and I began as independent though certainly with a left tilt, but without the entanglements that come from being an activist. That’s changed for Charles and I to some point, I’d guess (Bubba’s out of the game), but it’s mostly changed for those who are starting new blogs.
And IlliniPundit, get your ass back to the blog. It’s participatory journalism, it goes with the whole deal. Stop whining and write.
More later….
But get used to coming back, regular posting is really, really back.
E-mails and Administrative
I’m catching up on e-mail. If you sent me something important and haven’t heard back by tomorrow sometime, send it again. I’m not quite caught up, but I’m getting there.
Also, I’m going to be looking into having guest posters for when I’m swamped. It won’t be terribly often, but there’s a lot I missed and I’d rather have the site with new material all of the time. For now, I’m not taking volunteers as much as contacting some likely candidates.
Also, look for some candidate interviews soon–in fact, any candidates out there who would like to do an interview should contact me. I can’t promise I can do them all, but I’ll do as many as I can.
Durbin Bans all Gifts to Staff from Lobbyists
While it seems bloody obvious this should have been the case in the past, Durbin is still one of the few to have done this. I’d hope to see both the House and Senate Democratic Caucuses institute this rule across the board. In fact, if anyone wants to call their member and get an answer, I’ll keep a running tally.
Pavich Numbers
I’m hearing that John Pavich running for the 11th CD pulled in about $90,000 for the quarter with total numbers around $250,000 raised and $200,000 on hand. That’s without much staffing–which was hired recently. Also, some larger contributions are coming in right now. Those are good numbers without a primary and he’ll need to pick it up, but this keeps him viable. His on hand is half of Renner’s total raised in 2004.
$ 998834.18
That’s the cycle total for McSweeney’s personal expenditures. That’s a lot.
Remember, the January reporting date is January 31st, not the middle of the month as in the other three quarters.
Still Spaces to Hear Markos (Kos) this Sunday
I’m blaming Hiram for the Bears loss since he mentioned contingency plans for a Bears win on Sunday for the event, but seriously, the Naperville Township Democrats are having their annual holiday party on Sunday and Markos will be a guest there. $35 is a bargain for a fundraiser/event so head on out if you are free (Jennifer’s B-day is being celebrated that day or I’d be going). Details to RSVP in the link.
How exactly do I buy phone record?
Kudos to the Sun-Times for being on top of this story. Here’s the AmericaBlog post
If anyone is thinking of buying mine, they’re boring enough I’ll sell them to you for half-price. A bargain to find out that during big Chicago sports events I’m calling my friends drunk and otherwise calling my wife to figure out what the hell she means by “that thingy” on the shopping list.
Welcome to My Pain in the Butt
Those who say it’s a major deterrent are kidding themselves. It might shift the production further away, but such shifts are often accompanied by lower prices as economies of scale develop.
And for more fun, the smaller doses when the pharmacies are closed–are, of course, more expensive than the larger packs. The reality is that limiting the number of packages bought in a given transaction would likely be just as effective.