John McCain decided to show up for tonight’s presidential debate. You should too. Meet us at Roots Organic Brewing tonight, to catch the 6 pm debate in their new, expanded space, on a new TV. Get there early to snag a spot and a beer before the action starts. Roots is at 1520 SE 7th, […]
Election 2008
Posted inHomo
John McCain’s Chief of Staff Outed
Blogger Michelangelo Signorile has outed John McCain’s chief of staff, Mark Buse. Why is it relevant to McCain’s presidential campaign? Signorile writes: John McCain is opposed to every single gay rights measure of recent years — from a hate crimes bill, to an anti-discrimination bill to an attempt to repeal the “don’t ask, don’t tell” […]
Posted inPolitics
Amanda Fritz and Charles Lewis Debate at City Club
City council candidates Amanda Fritz and Charles Lewis faced off at City Club today, in a debate that truly kicked off the general election. Though both candidates have been campaigning on their own–often appearing in the same neighborhood parades–this was their first big one-on-one appearance. Check out the blow-by-blow after the cut! Lewis kicked things […]
Posted inBooks
David Foster Wallace: 1962-2008. (Part One of Five.)
It’s hard to get good answers to why Young Voters are so uninterested in politics. This is probably because it’s next to impossible to get someone to think hard about why he’s not interested in something. The boredom itself preempts inquiry; the fact of the feeling’s enough. Surely one reason, though, is that politics is […]
Posted inElection 2008
Why Are Barack Obama’s Campaign Ads So Fucking Terrible?
I like it when the announcer goes “Hmm!” So confused! Everybody keeps saying that Obama needs to “start swinging” and “fight back” and “be a badass,” which I don’t really get, since (A) he’s already a badass, and (B) one of the reasons everybody seemed to like him to begin with was that he didn’t […]
Posted inPolitics
Oh, Right. There’s Still an Election…
I caught two city council candidates–yep, people are still running for city council–at this weekend’s Division/Clinton Street Fair and parade. I tagged along with Amanda Fritz, hoping to catch a glimpse of candidate-voter interactions. But in a parade setting, not surprisingly, those are limited mostly to Fritz waving and shouting “hello!” “good morning!” and “I’m […]
Posted inElection 2008
City Council Candidate Charles Lewis Does About Face on Day Laborer Center
During our endorsement interview this spring—and at several candidate forums—city council candidate Charles Lewis made it clear there was one issue where he held a different view from his challengers: He opposed the city’s creation of a day laborer center. Back then, Lewis cited concerns about “where the funds would come from,” as well as […]
Posted inElection 2008
Public Cash Re-Hash
Last night the Citizen Campaign Commission, the city’s volunteer group tasked with overseeing and analyzing public financing, held its exit interviews for the three ex-candidates who received public money in the City Council race. The candidates (John Branam, Jim Middaugh and Jeff Bissonette) candidly dished the dirt about the processes’s strengths and shortcomings. But first! […]