Archive - 2003

Date

November 28th

What now?

Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Fri, 11/28/2003 - 15:46

(Originally published on my MovableType blog and moved here for consolidation).

Three years ago, I left a powerful position at a large hedge fund in Connecticut, in hopes of finding a more fulfilling job. Over these three years, I’ve consulted to various financial firms, mostly to keep the cash flow as positive as possible. I’ve also worked with several startups and have a few articles published on a wide array of topics from hedge fund technology to psychology of online behavior to looking at politics online. At the same time, I have dabbled in essays and fiction.

(Categories:

)

Rate on NewsTrust

November 25th

KOS Trackbacks

Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Tue, 11/25/2003 - 06:46

(Originally published on my MovableType blog and moved here for consolidation).

This morning, I noticed that DailyKOS now has a trackback link beneath each story. Is KOS successfully using trackbacks from Scoop?

We shall see.

I guess not. The ping returned:
Ping 'http://www.dailykos.com/tb/2003/11/25/45726/461' failed: HTTP error: 500 Internal Server Error

(Categories:

)

Rate on NewsTrust

November 22nd

New York Dean Grassroots Summit

Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Sat, 11/22/2003 - 07:25

(Originally published in my MovableType blog, and consolidated here.)

The Official Blog has comments on the DC Grassroots Summit but I haven't seen any comments on the New York Summit, other than on a mailing list of Dean Rapid Response Network coordinators.

So, here are my comments.

Paul Maslin spoke quite well. I loved his comments about Passionate Patriots. That is what we are, and is a wonderful response to the compassionate conservatives, whom we are finding out to be neither compassionate, nor conservative.

He spoke about a recent poll showing Dean having 23% and Kerry 22% in Massachusettes. I haven't been able to find that poll online, so if anyone can provide a pointer, I would love to see it.

We discussed a Field Organizing Guide with very helpful comments about canvasing and getting out the vote. Fortunately, CTForDean already has a good field plan in place that is doing pretty much what is described in the guide. It was good to see the Connecticut plans validated.

With all of that, I didn't find that I got much for new information from the summit, and I suspect that others who read the blogs and mailing lists regularly, and are involved in organizing, probably didn't get much new information either.

However, what I did, which I consider extremely important, was an opportunity to meet many people face to face that I had developed friendships with online.

(Categories:

)

Rate on NewsTrust

Trippi on BOP

Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Sat, 11/22/2003 - 06:15

(Originally written for my MovableType blog and consolidated here.)

Christopher Lydon has written a wonderful post about his interview with Joe Trippi. (http://www.bopnews.com/archives/000017.html#000017)

One of the questions that Lydon asks is, What makes him so sure, I asked, that George W. Bush is not "bloggable"?

Part of the answer comes as The other Republican handicap on the Internet, in the Trippi view, is that Bush and Rove have not even begun to unlearn the ancient rules of campaign command and control

(Categories:

)

Rate on NewsTrust

The Power of Marriage

Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Sat, 11/22/2003 - 05:56

(Originally published in my MovableType blog and moved here for consolidation).
For those who have not seen it, David Brook's Op Ed piece today, The Power of Marriage is a stunningly powerful arguement for conservatives to support Gay Marriage.

Here is my response to Mr. Brooks:

As a social liberal, I find that I often disagree with many of your columns. As a Howard Dean supporter, I am often upset by what seems to me mischaracterizations of his positions. Yet as a man of faith, I must applaud your column 'The Power of Marriage'. It is the best commentary on the topic I have yet read.

I hope many take up your call for moving from a culture of contingency to a culture of fidelity.

I am passing the link on to all my friends, encouraging them to read the column.

(Categories:

)

Rate on NewsTrust

November 18th

Blogging the Democratic Convention

Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Tue, 11/18/2003 - 10:02

(Originally published in my MovableType blog, and moved here for consolidation).

Over on DailyKOS is a discussion about Bloggers at DNC convention.

Bloggers getting press passes. Lots of WiFi being available. Etc.

Kos writes, "I want anyone with a regularly updated blog to get credentials." I guess I'ld better start updating my blog more regularly. I really want to be there.

(Categories:

)

Rate on NewsTrust

November 15th

My Letter to the Editor

Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Sat, 11/15/2003 - 17:18

(Originally published in my MovableType blog, and moved here for consolidation)

My letter to the editor, in response to the article New Lieberman ad takes swipe at Dean

I was disappointed to read about Joe Lieberman’s swipe at Howard Dean, “New Lieberman ad takes swipe at Dean”, Nov 14. "I don't think it's right to have raised a divisive symbol like the confederate flag” Lieberman is quoted as saying.

What I don’t think is right is for Lieberman to attack a fellow Democrat for encouraging people who have stopped voting as Democrats to look at the issues that really matter and return to the Democratic party.

(Categories:

)

Rate on NewsTrust

October 30th

Cows?

Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Thu, 10/30/2003 - 15:58

(Originally published in my MovableType blog, and moved here for consolidation).

In today's New York Times, there is an editorial, When Good Photo-Ops Go Bad

It ends off with the comment:

Right now, Mr. Bush's potential opponents may be enjoying the administration's current embarrassment, but they'll feel different the next time they're in Iowa and a staff member announces it's time for the portrait with the cow.

I found this particularly interesting in light of an entry in Rick Klau's blog yesterday entitled Caption contest showing Howard Dean standing in front of a cow.

(Categories:

)

Rate on NewsTrust

October 27th

DeanSpace.ORG

Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Mon, 10/27/2003 - 19:36

(Originally published in my MovableType blog, and moved here for consolidation)

For those of you who haven't checked out DeanSpace.org, please do. It is based on Drupal and has some interesting potential for distributed grassroots campaigning.

Also, they have now added Trackbacks.

(Categories:

)

Rate on NewsTrust

October 21st

FCC working to widen digital divide?

Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Wed, 10/22/2003 - 03:40

(Originally published in my MovableType blog, and moved here for consolidation)

Today, on one of the Howard Dean mailing lists I am on, I received a copy of press release from the FCC in which Commisioner Copps asks, "Is The Internet As We Know It Dying?"

It prompted me to check out current regulations proposed by the FCC. One of the websites I heard about at the AoIR conference is www.regulations.gov.

(Categories: