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Requests Thread
23 Jun 2008 02:28 pm
Comments (72)
The change that would come with more and more members of government having experience in the sciences and engineering.
Barack Obama's support for corn ethanol subsidies and tariffs on the more energy-efficient Brazilian sugarcane stuff, please.
The new Girl Talk album. Have you heard it? If so, what'd you think?
Which artistic era are you more partial to?
Johnny Cougar
John Cougar
John Cougar Mellancamp
John Mellencamp
Uh-huh!
The US men's olympic basketball team, please, and how they will not only fail to win gold, but struggle to get to the medal round at all.
Petey brought up something interesting in the post-Finals thread. He said that Vladimir Radmonivich's plus/minus was the best on the Lakers for the series. But to seemingly every analyst writing and talking about the game-- and seemingly everyone who watched the series-- he was abysmal.
Petey thinks this is evidence Radman has been unfairly maligned. I see it as evidence of the limits of these kinds of new metric. Look, overall I'm broadly sympathetic to the new statistics. I believe they offer many new avenues for understanding the game. But I do think they have limits, such as this example. And I'm also not a big fan of the culture associated with those metrics-- way too much grave dancing and disrespect towards traditional methods of evaluation. Isn't there a middle ground here?
Matt, you seem sympathetic to some of the claims made by animal rights proponents, yet you stop short of vegetarianism. Could you elaborate on what degree of moral consideration you think farm animals deserve and what, if any, implications that should have on our dietary and agricultural practices?
What do you think (if anything) of the Amazon kindle and do you think it has any implications for publishing? I ask because I notices "Heads in the Sand" doesn't seem to have a Kindle option.
Western Sahara: what next?
Are American metropolitan areas outside of the Northeast Corridor dense enough or well layed out enough to support inter-city rail? Beyond putting light- or medium-rail in those cities, how much would have to change before inter-city rail made sense as a way to travel from, say, Milwaukee to Indianapolis?
Tell us again why you supported the Iraq war in 2003, but only a few years later somehow you came to the conclusion that killing hundreds of thousands of innocent people was a bad idea.
That would be awesome.
1. All your posts lately are about how the world is going to hell in a handbasket--can we have some positive posts, please?
2. My cat won't use his litterbox when your page is up on my browser. Can you offer me some advice on this?
3. Sometimes I think you're kidding with the things you write. You should have some sign-a bell, or a flashing light--that indicates when you're being ironic.
(Apologies to P. Schickele)
Please comment on McCain's $300 million for an "efficient battery" and why Obama should/should not support the same idea.
/Obama supporter
Also the Bear v. Shark quandary mentioned a couple of days earlier by myself, if you get bored.
Most influential indie rock band from Minnesota: Husker Du or The Replacements?
Matt - I want to second the Men's b-ball thread and the ethanol sugarcane thread. But please comment on Glenn Greenwald's awesome smackdown of TNR today!
Matt,
Please start the internet condemnation of the FCC's holding up of the sirius/xm merger. Its corporate control of the government at its best.
I'd like to see a post about the economic absurdity of McCain's $300 million reward for revolutionary fuel cell technology that works in this Austin Powers scene.
Enable comments again...ooooh wait, that's Ambinder. You have a very thick skin, Matt, which is a good thing in your profession. Maybe have a sit-down with your colleague about comments?
And more stuff about food in the DC area, preferably the cheaper stuff. I'm in Baltimore and I'm always looking for good places to go when I'm down that way.
In light of the tremendous damage the floods in the Midwest have caused, I think it's only appropriate you write something on the awesome new Girl Talk album.
Regarding the war in Iraq. I here a lot of debates about various small picture (though not unimportant) issues in Iraq. Most of the time these issues are framed as false binary choices. I rarely read about anyone revisiting the decision to go to war in the first place in a constructive way.
Given our enormous expenditure of money, blood, domestic political capital, and international political capital, what else could we have done with all of this money and capital?
I mean, if we assume that regime change was needed in Irag, and we assume that our policy should seek to fundamentally change the political climate in the middle east, (I'd emphasize human rights rather than democracy.) how else could we have used our money, influence and might to achieve these goals?
Recently Jonah Goldberg gloated that he had sold more books than you. He seems to believe that his "triumph" on the best seller list was done in the face of "institutional" liberal bias when it comes to conservatives selling books. The gist of his comment was that you enjoy a huge advantage because the liberal media promotes liberal books. Yet, he was on the Daily Show (you weren't), he spent weeks and weeks on right wing radio, he even did a week long stint on Glenn Beck's show. To my mind you haven't had this so called "institutional" support that he claims you have. It seems that conservatives are very good at promoting conservative books (about politics) while liberals, and the liberal media are not. There always seems to be a blind spot with conservatives who think that any success they enjoy, through selling books is because they were so brilliant that they "slipped one past" the liberal media. So I was wondering what you thought is the difference between Goldberg's book and your own? Why do you think he was able to achieve a New York Times bestselling book, and you did not? And do you think that the right wing has a better mechanism for selling, promoting, and humping all the new conservative books that basically call liberals, the devil, or Hitler, or whatever?
this Collier collumn:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/19/AR2008061901429.html?nav=slate
All your posts lately are about how the world is going to hell in a handbasket--can we have some positive posts
Well, the world is positively going to hell in a handbasket.
Most influential indie rock band from Minnesota: Husker Du or The Replacements?
The answer, of course, is Prince.
After the various proposals to waive the gas tax leading, analysts reported that eliminating the $.18/gal tax will lead to maybe a 2 cent reduction in prices.
What about raising the gas tax? Will doubling the tax only result in a 2 cent increase in prices? Who picks up the other 16 cents: the producers, the refiners, the retailers, the consumer (via reduced demand)?
Prince isn't a rock band. And certainly not an indie rock band. But yes, Prince is more influential than both of them. But The Replacements are more influential the Husker Du.
In response to James Gary, I think the Dems won on FISA.
After the dust has settled, what do you think about the outcome? As I understand it Bush wanted and engaged in ***warrantless** wiretapping after 9-11. This law says no, the FISA court need to look at wiretap applications. Bush lost. To me, the blogosphere's reaction is weird.
I thought the Dems were going to sellout by giving in on the court oversight but fight on the telecom immunity. It turned out to be the other way around which is much much better, don't you agree?
Everyone's focusing on the telecoms, but as Leahy said, they'll be able to find out who in the government ordered the telecoms to do what they did (all except quest.)
Check this out:
http://blogs.tnr.com/tnr/blogs/the_plank/archive/2008/06/22/keeping-fisa-in-perspective.aspx
Do you really think having a president from a big city will change the way we look at light rail? After all, excepting Clinton, every president of recent memory spent significant time in big cities before becoming president. Could the apparent disparity favoring smaller cities and rural locations be caused by the quirks of the US political system, which gives small states disproportionate influence in the Senate and Electoral College?
Oh, and do you have any thoughts on Camp Rock. My daughter loved it, but not as much as High School Musical.
I want more in depth discussion of your point the other day about the mistake in Gallup's analysis:
You see analysis of this sort all the time, but it's all based on a mistake -- there's not a demographic electoral college where "winning" particular sub-samples of the population is the key to victory and therefore it's important to focus attention on the most evenly divided demographic groups.
Good. But can you explain then WHY we see this all the time, and hear it on the radio? The key to the election is working class whites, women, etc. etc. Isn't the key to the election getting more votes? (Or getting more votes in states with more than half of the electoral college votes.)
I am guessing that high-priced consultants are telling the candidates things about different groups that are not quite so dumb, but by the time these not-so-dumb points filter out to the media covering the election, and then get simplified for incorporation in news stories, they have become very dumb.
But can you really explain WHY?
And, isn't there some way to get the political coverage to stop portraying so many stories in light of such dumb mistakes?
Why is Marc Ambinder afraid of comments? Is it because he dislikes being called out for his totally lame McCain bias? Or is he afraid that his commenters might say something that would be held against him by the McCain campain, ending any hope he has of being invited for barbecue?
Whom would you have supported in the general elections from 1896 to 1932?
In other words, when would you have jumped ship to the Democrats and would you have been on a third party ticket along the way?
To what extent can we save energy over the long run by designing single-family homes with energy efficiency in mind? What options are there? And what how much effect on upfront costs would that have? What sorts of design improvements should be required to be built in?
I would like to know how education in less affluent urban areas can ever be brought to parity with more affluent areas given the local/property tax funding of public schools in the US.
I have to say that I question the value of these "requests" that Matt and Ezra are doing. I think most people here agree that when Jonah Goldberg or the other NRO bloggers blog about stuff they don't understand and say really ignorant things it's appropriate to turn them into joke butts. I think the request for topics can lead all too easily into the requesters ending up doing the same thing. I winced when I saw that Matt had posted something about farm policy and while it was kind of a relief that he didn't actually say anything about it I'm not sure I see the value in a virtually content-free post.
I'm also interested to hear your thoughts on the $300 million battery prize. Some initial thoughts here: http://9numbers.com/2008/06/23/i-dont-get-it/
I'm also interested to hear your thoughts on the $300 million battery prize. Some initial thoughts here: http://9numbers.com/2008/06/23/i-dont-get-it/
I read your work everyday, so I hope you don't mind one out of the general ball-park. I know you are concerned with energy issues. Do you know anything about the horizontal drilling being pursued in upstate New York? Any affect on NYC? What's Halliburton up to?
The New Republic hit this: http://blogs.tnr.com/tnr/blogs/environmentandenergy/archive/2008/06/20/drill-first-questions-later.aspx
Anyway, I'm being selfish, as I live up here and am more than a little scared, so I am fishing.
This may be a bit/way too much for a single post, but anyway:
I've always wondered about how much lobbying and campaign finance-related (i.e., legal) corruption there is in other industrialized democracies? Do other comparable countries have the same problems that we have do, especially wrt corporate influence? If not, why not?
I'm also interested to hear your thoughts on the $300 million battery prize. Some initial thoughts here: http://9numbers.com/2008/06/23/i-dont-get-it/
I'm also interested to hear your thoughts on the $300 million battery prize. Some initial thoughts here: http://9numbers.com/2008/06/23/i-dont-get-it/
Most influential First Lady or Ladies, and what kind of First Ladies might Michelle Obama and Cindy McCain be?
My request:
Some info on mountaintop removal coal mining. Besides it being god-awful for the environment in just about every way imagineable, doesn't it also present some security risks? Coal companies require tons and tons of high explosive to knock the top off a mountain. These materials could just as easily knock down, say, a federal building in oklahoma city. Is anyone effectively policing it? I would bet money that oversight of big coal is virtually nil.
Oh the 300MN battery prize is interesting, too.
I read your work everyday, so I hope you don't mind one out of the general ball-park. I know you are concerned with energy issues. Do you know anything about the horizontal drilling being pursued in upstate New York? Any affect on NYC? What's Halliburton up to?
The New Republic hit this: http://blogs.tnr.com/tnr/blogs/environmentandenergy/archive/2008/06/20/drill-first-questions-later.aspx
Anyway, I'm being selfish, as I live up here and am more than a little scared, so I am fishing.
Write about professional wrestling.
-Energy Companies that advertise on theatlantic.com and the advertisements themselves.
-Why Real Genius really is maybe the best movie ever.
-I agree with whoever said thoughts on the US Olympic basketball team.
I second Chris on the public funding of education issue. If you have time, toss in a breakdown of how federal funding mixes in (I think it is about 6% of most schools' budgets) and ponder the question of why more schools have not said "screw it" to NCLB, as the funding at stake is paltry compared to the costs.
-Energy Companies that advertise on theatlantic.com and the advertisements themselves.
-Why Real Genius really is maybe the best movie ever.
-I agree with whoever said thoughts on the US Olympic basketball team.
I winced when I saw that Matt had posted something about farm policy and while it was kind of a relief that he didn't actually say anything about it I'm not sure I see the value in a virtually content-free post.
I felt the same way. Matt's "response to request" posts feel like high-school term papers--however competently researched and written, they are seldom very interesting to read.
How far exactly is Ambinder's nose up McCain's ass?
Find a public figure who opposes ImmigrationEnforcement, and then follow the money. For instance, this shill who I mentioned on this thread from today:
matthewyglesias.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/06/exurbs_aint_what_they_used_to.php
My unanswered questions for MattY are at my name's link.
Do you think investors and market speculation is raising the price of commodities like oil, and if so, how much?
I believe it does and the if you notice, pricing started skyrocketing lately as investors moved from debt (subprime) and equities, to commodities.
How can guys like Krugman and Ezra Klein be in favor of getting rid of the housing tax exemptions after millions of Americans have counted on them when buying homes?
Removing the housing exemption now would be like taxing every home owner $5000 a year. That would be the biggest tax increase in American history.
Is this really the kind of thinking that the left is doing these days?
Do they really think that pulling a bait and switch on home owners is the right thing to do?
Can they be serious?
I don't know about Krugman, but we all know Ezra is too young to even understand what owning a house means, and so has no idea what he's talking about. But Krugman...jeez.
Talk some sense into them, Matt?
I read your work everyday, so I hope you don't mind one out of the general ball-park. I know you are concerned with energy issues. Do you know anything about the horizontal drilling being pursued in upstate New York? Any affect on NYC? What's Halliburton up to?
The New Republic hit this: http://blogs.tnr.com/tnr/blogs/environmentandenergy/archive/2008/06/20/drill-first-questions-later.aspx
Anyway, I'm being selfish, as I live up here and am more than a little scared, so I am fishing.
Why is Matt dodging my question: who is cooler, David Lynch or Thomas Pynchon?
You've made brief comments praising Obama's decision to campaign aggressively in states like Indiana and North Dakota that Democrats haven't won in 40 years. I'm interested in your take on how this fits in with Dean's 50-state strategy and diverges from the asinine narrowly-targeted interest group campaigns favored by Mark Penn and other overpaid insiders who never win anything.
And along with the rest of America, I await your thoughts on the vital bear vs. shark issue.
Prince isn't a rock band. And certainly not an indie rock band.
Reject the tyranny of genre catagories.
McKibben, in the Washington Post on Monday (opinion section):
"I think, on balance, that they're positive -- that in the United States sprawl has eroded our sense of community, with grievous results. (Almost every index shows that the less far-flung Europeans are happier.) Overseas, more and more experts argue that export-driven hyperdevelopment is turning into a recipe for ecological disaster and social dislocation."
("they're positive": McKibben refers to the effects of high gas prices.)
Particularly intriguing I found his assumption put in brackets: that Europeans are happier than Americans ...
Something to ponder about, Mr. Yglesias.
(Disclosure: I'm a European, a German.)
My wife is not the issue here. I hope that my wife will someday learn to live on her allowance, which is ample, but if she doesn't, sir, that will be her problem, not mine, just as your rug is your problem, just as every bum's lot in life is his own responsibility regardless of whom he chooses to blame. I didn't blame anyone for the loss of my legs - some chinaman took them from me in Korea - but I went out and achieved anyway. I can't solve your problems, sir, only you can.
I'd like to know how your thinking on FISA, Obama, etc is evolving if at all. Are you outraged on a Greenwald-order level, or just dismayed that the inevitable compromise turned out to be closer to a capitulation (though not a total one as the Great Glenn would have us believe)? Does Obama deserve special animus on this as the "leader of the party"? Is the Fourth Amendment being "eviscerated" by a cowering opposition? How should we calibrate our outrage?
Disregard all requests for blog posts while continueing to request requests. When trend on number and beligerence of requests is evident report complete with graphs.
To anyone not living in a closet, Thomas Pynchon hasn't been cool for like 30 years. Anyone here read Mason & Dixon? Snorsville.
Pynchon is not cool, he is a geek.
I am very cool, however.
Just for what it's worth, i sure didn't mean to post the same freaking comment 4 times above. It looked like my browser was locked up and i was hitting back and resubmitting. Sorry...
I've just read Dreams for my Father and found it very interesting. If you've read it, can you speculate on what it reveals about the kind of President Barack Obama would be?
In light of recent comments, I'd like to see something along the lines of
Once you have clicked the Post button once, your comment has been submitted. Please do not click the Post button again, as this will result in multiple postings.
prominently placed under the service agreement below. This would seriously take 30 seconds to code, and maybe 5 seconds to cut and paste my comment into an e-mail to IT.
Seriously, if Ambinder can turn his comments on and off at will, you should be able to get this done.
Also, I'd like to thank Citizen Jake and Michael T Sweeney, because the new Girl Talk album is in fact fucking awesome, and I never would have heard about it if not for their comments.
So it appears that Australia's premier basketball league is faltering. The Sydney Kings are unable to pay players and were just booted from the National Basketball League and all national broadcasts have ended. A few thoughts on the current state of Australian basketball would be most lovely.
Your take on ZZ Top's latest tour and album would also be appreciated by the people.
Who is Samuel Bodman? And why has he been hiding until this past weekend?
You'd figure with current events he would be a household name rather than part of an 'it's academic' second round multiple choice answer that most would get wrong. Why has this guy not been in public eye at all, e.g. Sunday talk shows? This recent Saudi Arabia trip seems to be the first press he's ever had. And he's not like he's a complete political hack, he's got an doctorate in engineering from MIT.
"Recently Jonah Goldberg gloated that he had sold more books than you."
Bwahahahahahahahahahaha!! Told you so!
This must be why Matt's stopped hyping the damn thing. It's a bigger loser than Andrea Corr's solo album last year (which actually did well in Spain, where they love the Corrs - and Spanish men love Andy!)
Scythia: Excellent point. Except that I'm beginning to suspect The Atlantic doesn't even have an IT staff for Matt to bitch to. Ambinder probably just knows how to get into the blog admin utility and mess with his comments.
Or Matt just doesn't give a shit, which is more likely since he doesn't even read most of the comments anyway.
You'd think he'd care about his blog looking like it's run by a moron. You'd think...
But then you read his posts.
Okay, that was snarky. Sue me.
The reason why "Liberal Fascism" was a success and "Heads In The Sand" is a failure is threefold:
1. "Liberal Fascism" is the far better title. It's dangerously memorable. "Heads In The Sand" could be about ostriches for all anybody knows. It's dull, dervative.
2. Jonah G. has a far larger "Q" (or in publishing "X") rating. A nationally syndicated column, cable TV appearances, an appearance on the HBO Maher show, etc.
3. The concept of "Liberal fascism" is dumb enough to entice a lot of idiots or near-idiots to buy it. The theme of "Heads In The Sand" is a so what? It's been done and done better by a slew of writers, some better known than MY, some less known.
Hey Matt--
Roger Cohen has an article about Turkey today, maybe you could take a look at it and comment?
The Replacements are a better band (more fun, more great songs) but you can argue that Husker Du was more influential in their use of distortion and their blending of pop structures and punk textures.
You can hear Westerberg's voice in Jeff Tweedy, Ryan Adams, even The Goo Goo Dolls, but it's hard to say if that is an influence or just a similarity.
Ypur Official NBA Draft Predictions?
Why is "violence down" good enough for the surge to be a success? Shouldn't "the end of terrorist/ insurgent activity in Iraq" be the threshold for surge "success"?
This is more succinct and nicer than similar comments and an email to you.
Comments closed July 07, 2008.
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Heads in the Sand
In the movie Roadhouse, there is a scene in which Terry Funk told Sam Elliot to "mind your own business, Dad." At the time this didn't seem very strange. Only later did I discover that Terry Funk and Sam Elliot are actually the exact same age. This was mind blowing. Talk about that.
Posted by Sandy | June 23, 2008 2:32 PM