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Requests Thread
18 Jun 2008 02:41 pm
Comments (66)
I dig all the talk about transportation/transit around here. How about some analysis of light rail and "express bus" options that are sort of a halfway point between city buses and heavy rail.
Are they band-aid solutions or good ways to expand transit to suburbs. (Georgia just announced that they're upping their funding for express buses.)
You should respond point-by-point to Krauthammer’s recent encapsulation of the widespread VRWC meme that we’ve now really winning in Iraq. He lists several bits of evidence that, he claims, show that the Iraqis are standing up for themselves, i.e. the process is working. For ex., “5. The Iraqi parliament enacted a de-Baathification law, a major Democratic benchmark for political reconciliation. 6. Parliament also passed the other reconciliation benchmarks -- a pension law, an amnesty law, and a provincial elections and powers law. Oil revenue is being distributed to the provinces through the annual budget... Iraq is a three-front war -- against Sunni al-Qaeda, against Shiite militias and against Iranian hegemony -- and we are winning on every front”
Is that true? And if so, what does it say about the right’s point that victory is achievable if we stay? Obviously one response is that focusing on ground-level developments ignores the bigger picture of resource diversion, alienation of the Muslim world, etc., but I’d also really like to see you address Krauthammer’s specific points. Even Sully seemed to be admitting recently that Obama’s rhetoric wasn’t matching the developments on the ground. I haven’t followed the developments myself, but my understanding was that the surge was at first considered a failure because the Iraqis were not using the “breathing room” to pass laws that would allow a peaceful and united future; Krauthammer seems to think on the contrary that the surge has accomplished just that. If it’s true, might that not be a problem come November?
I'm 21, so I'm a part of the youth movement that's become a part of this presidential campaign cycle. Do you think that youth support and interest in candidates will last until November and really affect voter turnout, or do you believe there's enough evidence that youth involvement will drop again, and the primary numbers will be considered inflated? What do you think got them energized about the campaigns in the first place?
Request: Fewer request threads.
Um, why? Are they that difficult to scroll past?
In any event, I figure the thread will be less popular as folks realize that Matthew's just gonna pick one or two requests a day to answer (which is still a better chance of getting him to answer than if you a question/issue on a regular thread, but whatever).
Ikea opened a new store today in the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn. It's a neighborhood not easily accessible by subway, so the store runs free bus service from several points in Manhattan and Brooklyn, as well as ferry service from Wall Street. (That was part of the deal to soothe concerns over traffic congestion). They've also constructed a waterfront esplanade that is sure to revitalize the surrounding community and waterfront.
Not sure what I'm requesting here other than...is there a future to this - big-box retailer comes into poorer, less accessible neighborhood and, as part of its construction, brings in public transportation and community development? (I know that a proposed WalMart was voted down recently in Chicago despite similar promises...)
A complete explication of the Countrywide Mortgage - Dodd/Conrad/Holbrooke/Shalala et al scandal
http://www.portfolio.com/news-markets/top-5/2008/06/12/Countrywide-Loan-Scandal
Matt, you've discussed the inanity of the "gas tax holiday" before but I'd love to hear whether you support a steep increase in the gas tax. Are you a member of Greg Mankiw's Pigou club?
http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/2006/10/pigou-club-manifesto.html
No that basketball season is over, what are you looking forward to Sports-wise?
Any thoughts on Andrew's post? http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/06/what-do-we-pay.html
How about some quality time on this
Muslims barred from picture at Obama event
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0608/11168.html
Glenn Greenwald has a hard hitting post about the "cravenness" of the Democratic party for enabling many of the more egregious policies and ideas of the Bush administration here:
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/06/15/britain/index.
I was wondering what the Yglesias response is.
The naivete or racism of people feigning shock about recent developments on the torture issue, whilst knowing all the way that the USA endorsed torturing regimes in Latin America and elsewhere for a while, and even trained the torturers in proper tecnique.
(Not to be interpreted as condoning torture.)
Glenn Greenwald has a hard hitting post about the "cravenness" of the Democratic party for enabling many of the more egregious policies and ideas of the Bush administration here:
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/06/15/britain/index.
I was wondering what the Yglesias response is.
Any thoughts on Andrew's post? http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/06/what-do-we-pay.html
Learn to love baseball.
The Sonics-Seattle trial?
Any thoughts on Andrew's post? http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/06/what-do-we-pay.html
Do you think that the return to urban living overhyped and mostly limited to young singles moving to select gentrifying neighborhoods, or do you think it's the beginning of a wider trend?
Matt, I think we all want to know where you weigh in on the most important issue of our generation: Lil Wayne's Tha Carter 3.
Any thoughts on Andrew's post? http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/06/what-do-we-pay.html
We all assume Ambinder (and never McArdle), but do you think you could take Douthat?
Ikea opened a new store today in the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn. It's a neighborhood not easily accessible by subway, so the store runs free bus service from several points in Manhattan and Brooklyn, as well as ferry service from Wall Street. (That was part of the deal to soothe concerns over traffic congestion). They've also constructed a waterfront esplanade that is sure to revitalize the surrounding community and waterfront.
Not sure what I'm requesting here other than...is there a future to this - big-box retailer comes into poorer, less accessible neighborhood and, as part of its construction, brings in public transportation and community development? (I know that a proposed WalMart was voted down recently in Chicago despite similar promises...)
Posted by assembly req'd | June 18, 2008 3:08 PM
=================================================
Post would be short. Hip urban liberals like MY shop at Ikea = good idea. Don't shop at Walmart = bad idea.
Vis a vis the telecommuting post...Are you aware of any analysis which explores the energy tradeoffs between large numbers of people getting in their cars (or trains) to go to large, centrally located buildings which are heated or cooled, versus those same people working from home and heating/cooling their houses during the day (which would otherwise not need to be heated/cooled)?
I imagine there is a net energy savings for massive numbers of people telecommuting. However, it does seem that there is an often unremarked upon impact to the electric grid for having relatively more people pulling energy to keep their home offices functional and comfortable during the working day. Having a few hundred thousand people use less energy in their cars and offices is a good thing. But heating and cooling a few hundred thousand inefficient suburban homes seems like it may cause a problem in the near term (i.e. until the centrally located office buildings are fully decommissioned).
Thoughts?
We all assume Ambinder (and never McArdle), but do you think you could take Douthat?
Here's a request. What, exactly, is the US plan for Afghanistan? What would "success" in Afghanistan even look like, and how would America get there? So far this has been treated as a "not enough troops" problem, but this is more or less exactly where the conventional wisdom was on Iraq in 2004. Do we really have any reason to believe that a "surge" in Afghanistan is going to be any more successful than a "surge" in Iraq as long as there remains widespread opposition to foreign occupation in both countries?
I posted this on a prior thread...
Matt, there's a great topic for you to blog about. Just how many times has McCain supported starting a war? He supported the invasion of Iraq. Did he support going into Baghdad back in '91? You just mentioned bombing North Korea. Are there public comments about attacking Iran (outside of his little song)? What has his position been over the years on Lebanon, Syria, Libya, etc.?
McCain says he "hates war", but if his judgment has been to use military attacks twice as often as the U.S. has used them, I'd say that was a pretty important fact about the man.
On a day to day basis do you find reading The Corner to be a comedy or a tragedy?
I'd go with a tragedy especially when either Jim Manzi or Ramesh post something intelligent there (even though I'd very likely disagree) and nobody else on The Corner has the stones to respond to either of them. The silence is deafening.
Thoughts?
First, as someone pretty new to the urbanization theories subject, thanks to all on the recommended books thread for the suggestions. I'll be hitting ye 'ol local library this weekend and picking up a few of the titles folks mentioned.
I do, however, have a few questions about the topic I'd love to see addressed (and if they have already, just point to where they are -- I'll read them, then crawl back under my rock):
1. What about those who like living in the 'burbs? Sure, the commute could be better, but it's quiet at night, and kids have ample room to go outside and play close to their homes. And in my case, the views out of my backyard just can't be beat (several hundred wooded acres that, thankfully, will NOT be developed any time soon ... it's like being on vacation all the time).
Don't get me wrong: I see why urbanism is good theory on a number of levels. But ... well, I kinda like living out in the sticks. In fact, we made a conscious effort to do so. Should we be guilted into living someplace we don't want to due to some planning theory?
2. While planning and zoning and transportation are all important aspects of urbanization, IMHO, the one thing that's often left out of the debate (or not emphasized) is how educational opportunities play a factor in where people live.
The sad truth is that urban school systems tend not to be as good as suburban ones. While I'm sure there are as many reasons for this as there are students (especially here in Kansas City), it's a fact that must be addressed -- any good urban core will have a mix of hipsters, single folks, and families.
Why is this group often ignored, and what can be done to generally improve urban schools and, thus, make cities more family friendly, vibrant and varied?
3. What if the urban core isn't where the jobs are? After all, not every city is like New York or even DC, with most folks working downtown or close to it.
To again bring up what I know, in KC jobs are scattered all over the damn place, with a few big ones downtown (the IRS, H&R Block, etc.) but most others way out in the burbs (Cerner, Garmin, and Sprint are just three huge employers nowhere near the city).
What's the purpose of encouraging people moving back to the city, only to have to commute back to the burbs for their jobs? How are new industries to be created in dense areas lacking the space to build facilities?
Anyway, just some quick thoughts off the top of my head that I'm sure everyone has some great answers to (well, except maybe Al).
Thanks in advance for any replies.
Vis a vis the telecommuting post...Are you aware of any analysis which explores the energy tradeoffs between large numbers of people getting in their cars (or trains) to go to large, centrally located buildings which are heated or cooled, versus those same people working from home and heating/cooling their houses during the day (which would otherwise not need to be heated/cooled)?
I imagine there is a net energy savings for massive numbers of people telecommuting. However, it does seem that there is an often unremarked upon impact to the electric grid for having relatively more people pulling energy to keep their home offices functional and comfortable during the working day. Having a few hundred thousand people use less energy in their cars and offices is a good thing. But heating and cooling a few hundred thousand inefficient suburban homes seems like it may cause a problem in the near term (i.e. until the centrally located office buildings are fully decommissioned).
Thoughts?
A reader [er, me, I'm double dipping] wants to know: "I know you read Ambinder's blog. Do you think it's balanced? If not, which way does it incline?" I think it's very balanced. I have no idea what Marc thinks and, indeed, I sometimes think Marc is so committed to reporting and balance that he doesn't know what he thinks.
Fair enough. Marc Ambinder today:
You know what I like?
I like it that John McCain refers to drilling for oil offshore as drilling for oil offshore, and not "deep sea exploration," which is what the Frank Luntzes of the world would have him say. It's more honest that way. Straightforward.
Care to revise and extend your remarks?
The tenor of your commentary on McCain is vitrolic and very personal. Constant references to his behavior during his first marriage, his age, his hypocrisy, his ignorance and his bad temper. I am not disagreeing with you, he really does seem to be the most overrated public figure in recent memory, but I can't think of any other politician (including President Bush) towards whom you express such antipathy. What explains the personal tone of your comments, do you really hate him, and why him in particular?
Just so edman is not alone, I too would like you to respond to Manzi/Sullivan on climate policy. You've been on a tear lately about McCain on this, but I'd like to see you engage Manzi on it.
You should post this video, it explains the GOP thought process.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rixkck8QnjY
Just so edman is not alone, I too would like you to respond to Manzi/Sullivan on climate policy. You've been on a tear lately about McCain on this, but I'd like to see you engage Manzi on it.
"What's up?"
A dear friend once told me he would never talk to me again if I used that phrase...
What's up with McCain's polling numbers today? I went to TPM and looked at them. WTF is the media going to do for the next five months?
I think every little misstep by Obama here on out is going to be seen through the lense of "is this a big mistake that will bring him down?"
Oh, and before I forget, another blogger/reporter/talking head/someone loosely associated with what some might call "the media" had/has/will have an opinion. Care to comment?...
For those of us too young to remember what those names meant...
Given that Obama just released the names of his national security working group, what sort of National Security (or foreign) Policy might Obama formulate with this team - who are these guys and what are their guiding philosophies? What would they tell President Obama?
Are you aware of any empirical evidence showing that urban transit actually increases social welfare? At least one major analysis argues that (with the exception of BART) it does not:
http://web.iitd.ac.in/~tripp/delhibrts/metro/Metro/on%20the%20social%20desirability-brookings.pdf
Are you willing to assume that transit is socially desirable anyway? If so, why?
Say something about Battlestar Galactica.
"What would they tell President Obama?"
The worst would be Albright who'd say "Don't get involved, unless you get involved". What the hell did they call Albright's "military philosophy", was it "adaptive something",..., "adaptive disorder", no that's not it, a little help?
Anyhoo, I'm sure MY will tell you that at the very very least, we'll begin diplomacy again, Thank the Lord Jesus!
In the recent robots thread, commenter Aaron mentioned that he sees McCain as more like Saul Tigh. I'd request a "separated at birth" item, with side by side photos and commentary on the similarities and differences between the two.
I too am interested in your thoughts on Jim Manzi's stuff. You usually have good insight on climate change policy, and he's been a vocal and interesting poster on it lately.
Answer this question: are you really tall or is Josh Marshall just rather short?
The completely non-establishment MattY shouldn't have a problem with this:
When the FederalReserve explicitly sets out to profit from money that was earned illegally, isn't that an example of PoliticalCorruption at the highest levels of our political system?
I know I won't need to wait long for MattY to condemn that practice in the strongest terms possible.
I wonder if you could coment on the following idea. In response to McCain's distancing himself from the "incompetance" of the Bush administration, should Barack Obama challenge McCain to pledge not to allow any person who served as a politcal appointee during the Bush administration to serve in a McCain administration?
Your thoughts on the proposed windfall oil profits tax - if your goal is lowered carbon emissions, or to reduce reliance on imported oil for national security reasons (and these are not mutually exclusive) how exactly does this help either objective.
Something about the system or lack thereof for reporting domestic violence in this country?
Matt,
I would like you to comment on the lunacy surrounding the xm/sirius merger. This is one of the most egregious examples of special interests killing a fledgling industry it views as competition, and yet there has not been much written about it in the blogsphere. Please help us sirius subscribers(and howard stern fans everywhere) defeat broadcast radio by starting up a multi-blog conversation.
Matt,
Love your blog - and especially like the fact that you encourage your readers to substantively discuss issues through the comments section. Could you tell your fellow Atlantic blogger Ambinder to get a clue and take comments again as well? Maybe it's just me, but I think a blog without an outlet for reader reaction isn't really a blog at all.
Edward, you're right about one thing: Ambinder doesn't have a "blog." What he has is a cesspool of self-important, tendentious hackery under the guise of nonpartisan reportage.
I actually hope he keeps his comments closed. Fewer people will visit.
Perhaps something on Charles Krauthammers insightful point that giving habeas corpus and other legal rights to terrorist suspects is insane and that there is some lesson to be learned regarding the internment of 300,000 Germans during WWII without trial in this country, it being either that we should emulate that action or at least not be upset about not providing captured terrorists with any legal rights or recourse.
Personally, I think we should round up all those of Arab or Persian descent in this country and throw them in jail without trial until the end of the war on terror, which should be in another four or five years. After all, every last German that was interned was a Nazi sabateur, and there is absolutely no significant difference between the war on terror and World War II at all, so we can safely assume every Middle Easterner is an America-hating terrorist. The sooner you liberals learn that the better.
Ambinder doesn't have a "blog." What he has is a cesspool of self-important, tendentious hackery under the guise of nonpartisan reportage.
Just wanted to repeat that.
Can you walk over to Ambinder's office and asked him why he disabled comments?
Here's a request. What, exactly, is the US plan for Afghanistan? What would "success" in Afghanistan even look like, and how would America get there? So far this has been treated as a "not enough troops" problem, but this is more or less exactly where the conventional wisdom was on Iraq in 2004. Do we really have any reason to believe that a "surge" in Afghanistan is going to be any more successful than a "surge" in Iraq as long as there remains widespread opposition to foreign occupation in both countries?Posted by strasmangelo jones
Second that one because Matt's clueless about this subject as well. I'd like to see Matt address Pakistan also - which he can't do either.
Here's another subject both Matt and Josh Marshall are ignoring - the Sibel Edmonds case.
Here we have a massive case of treason, corruption, Republicans and neocons selling US nuclear secrets, bribed Senators - and Josh "All Republican Corruption All the Time" Marshall is absent.
Why is that?
The London Times can cover the story - but US media can't.
Why is that? Find out here.
Sibel Edmonds official Web site:
http://www.justacitizen.com/
Especially watch the documentary film, "Kill the Messenger":
http://wecanchangetheworld.wordpress.com/2007/11/25/kill-the-messenger-the-sibel-edmonds-documentary-watch-it-here-since-you-cant-get-it-from-netflix/
Megan McArdle won't answer it but maybe you will:
Who is the least attractive celebrity that you would be willing to hook up with?
Thanks to this blog (and Drezner's), I discovered Firefly and the wonderful first seasons of Veronica Mars and Friday Night Lights. So my question to you is this: what tv should I be watching these days?
And if you have no recommendations, then I second the commenter who asked you to say something about BSG. More tv blogging!
Great MSNBC article about people buying housing closer in or near train stations.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25248247/
Your thoughts on European integration (or lack thereof). What I'm specifically wondering -- and haven't found any answers -- is which not-so-bright Eurocrat came up with the brilliant idea of requiring unanimity to get the Lisbon treaty passed, and why? If our founding fathers had required the same, we'd still be needing to convert Connecticut Florins to Arkansas Drachmas.
Compare and contrast blogger-pundits, who have an instant opinion on everything and want you to know it, to blogger-reporters (like, say, Glenn Greenwald), who still have mere opinions, but spend the time and effort to back up those opinions with original research/reporting.
And what is your theory on why 99% of bloggers seem to be in the first category? Why aren't there more Greenwalds?
There is nothing wrong with Matt's style of blogging (well, other than the fact that he seems to dictate his posts through some sort of Japanese-to-English translation software). Matt is at the other end of the spectrum: no thought enters his head that you don't know about. (Even thoughts that don't enter his head -- you can write a request for his opinion on Godzilla or boxer shorts or yoga).
No offense, but if almost any of the "blogger/pundit" blogs out there dropped off the internet's tubes, no one would even notice. If Greenwald stopped blogging, it seems to me there would be a gaping hole that would be hard to fill.
Ironically, the little interaction I've had/seen with Greenwald has rubbed me the wrong way: he comes off as a combative jerk when it comes to personality. Again, I think this highlights the fact that what Glenn is doing is not personality based. It isn't personal at all. Whereas with someone like Sullivan or Matt, it is all about personality.
Here's my request.
John McCain: finger-in-the-wind flip-flopper
No sooner does a poll come out showing that now a majority of Americans support offshore drilling, than John McCain flip-flops to support offshore drilling.
I request that you talk about John McCain's shift on the enron loophole as well as how that loophole will make the advance of alternative fuel sources not actually lower prices because it will allow banks to manipulate the prices on those types of energy as well. I'd also like to know how this all ties into the farm bill that Obama voted for and McCain has been using as a campaign issue against Obama saying he was pandering to Iowans but in that bill the enron loophole was supposedly closed? Anyway, I know enough to get myself into trouble on this, but not enough to get out again. Could you demystify it?
MY,
Please, please discuss the FISA "compromise" Steny Hoyer is attempting to ram through Congress and the efforts of Glenn Greenwald and others in trying to stop it.
Thanks.
Question: why have the National Guard not been called out to fight flooding in Iowa and Missouri? Is it because they're all in Iraq?
Comments closed July 02, 2008.
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Heads in the Sand
Request: Fewer request threads.
Posted by SomeCallMeTim | June 18, 2008 2:59 PM