Well, it's Olympic time, records are being broken, and... it got me wondering -- is there a "Daily Kos Book of Records" anywhere?
I'm thinking something that lists things like:
-- Most comments ever on a diary
-- Most recommends ever on a diary
-- Most troll/hide ratings for a comment
You get the idea.
I've been here now for 5 years+, and I always get a kick out of seeing a diary with a thousand+ comments, or even (when my trusted user status is on) comments that have 100+ troll ratings.
Does this exist somewhere, and I'm just missing it? I can approximate parts of it via searches, but it'd be fun to have something that updates automatically.
Would it change the world? Would it win any elections? Hell no. But would it be kind of fun for a community of 100K+ that enjoys the occasional "meta" conversation? Sure, why not. And there ain't a damned thing wrong with a little fun, while we're concurrently trying to do the important things.
Did you know that in the years since World War II, Democrats and Republicans have held the White House for roughly the same number of years (34 for Republicans and 28 for Dems), and yet the Republicans have racked up SEVEN TIMES AS MUCH DEBT? Surprised? Well... keep reading, and you'll see why I’m so charged about this effort...
Over the years, you've heard me rant about a range of subjects here, from ActForLove.org to stem cell research, to other just plain silly stuff. But my first foray here in Kosland came back in 2003, when I was driving the DraftWesleyClark.com effort. So I guess it's only fitting that I'm here again to extol the virtues of another former general – one who is also not afraid to tell it like it is.
In this case, I'm talking about the former Comptroller General, David Walker. For those who aren't familiar with this position, it's the nation's top auditor and the head of the Government Accountability Office.
It's time for another "largest group hug" attempt -- with the current DK record of 230. Here's the deal:
There's been a pitched battle this primary season, but now... we have a presumptive nominee. And we're all going to come together... right? So it's time to start the healing now. To feel the love. To end the hurting.
To create the largest virtual group hug in DK history.
Here's how:
Leave a comment -- any comment -- with "hug" in the subject line
Respond to someone else's comment with "hug" in the subject line
Recommend this diary to keep the hug train going.
Go to 1, lather, rinse, repeat.
You can add other words in the subject, and of course, say what you want in the body, but... just include "hug."
It's been a rough season, no doubt. So take a break, give a hug, and think thoughts of "kumbaya" in your head. The thoughts that will sustain us throughout an even more spirited general election.
Let the group hugging commence. Let's break a record. Let's make history. Go on... hug it out.
It's time for another "largest group hug" attempt -- with the current DK record of 230. Here's the deal:
There's been a pitched battle this primary season, but we're all going to come together behind the nominee in the end... right? So it's time to start the healing now. To feel the love. To end the hurting.
To create the largest virtual group hug in DK history.
Here's how:
Leave a comment -- any comment -- with "hug" in the subject line
Respond to someone else's comment with "hug" in the subject line
Recommend this diary to keep the hug train going.
Go to 1, lather, rinse, repeat.
You can add other words in the subject, and of course, say what you want in the body, but... just include "hug."
We're in the final days, and in fact, the battle still continues. But for just a few minutes, take a break, give a hug, and think thoughts of "kumbaya" in your head. The thoughts that will sustain us throughout an even more spirited general election.
Let the group hugging commence. Let's break a record. Let's make history. Go on... hug it out.
Now that's cool on its own, of course. But I was also thinking, with 150K+ people here in Kosland, that means there's close to 500 with the same birthday as me... statistically speaking, of course.
So if you're a May 19th baby, leave a comment below, and let Kossacks wish you a happy birthday.
And take the poll below, and let's see if there actually is an even distribution of birthdays here, or if there's some kind of trend that defies statistics.
And regardless of when you were born -- happy birthday, happy belated birthday, or happy early birthday.
Okay, so next week will be a whirlwind for me... speaking at two Word of Mouth Marketing conferences -- one in Istanbul, and one in Warsaw. Anyone got travel advice for either place?
I'll be in Istanbul 3 days, and Warsaw 3 days, so not a lot of time, but... would love to hear anyone's advice on things to see, things not to miss, etc.
Oh, and since this post wouldn't really be a proper DK post without some political content... I'm going to be there from May 3rd to May 9th. I'm excited about it, of course, but slightly bummed that I will be overseas... when Hillary drops out on May 8th.
$1 million for Barack Obama in 1 minute, at 1pm Eastern/10 am Pacific, TODAY. Can they pull it off? It sounds completely insane... which is why I love it, and why I'll help. Who's with me?
If you're not familiar with it, the folks over at An Obama Minute have an effort to get Obama supporters to donate $1 million in one minute. And that minute is today, at 1pm eastern. (press release below the fold)
I love it. Grassrootsy, hella ambitious, and hella creative all in one package. If they're gonna shoot for the moon, I'm happy to go along for the ride...
Well, it's ambitious as hell, I'll give them that... You might've heard of this already, but D-Day, H-Hour, M-Minute is tomorrow.
The folks over at An Obama Minute have been running an effort to get Obama supporters to donate $1 million in one minute. Monday, April 21st, at 1pm Eastern, that is. (press release below the fold)
Can they do it? Hell, I don't even know if the servers would hold up. But am I going to join in to try to make it happen? Hell yes. I love this stuff. Grassrootsy, hella ambitious, and hella creative all in one package.
They've had some great buzz, including a sweet hit in the NY Times..
I'm in. Who's with me?
[UPDATE: Wow, rec list already? Thanks folks, that's great, and a great sign for this effort]
[UPDATE # 2: Can't make it at 1pm? Go here to donate now, & have it credited to this effort.]
[UPDATE # 3: Got a blog? Blog the HELL out of this. Get the word out]
I'm a Barack Obama supporter. I have been since the DraftObama.org days of 2006. I want him to be the next president. And that's exactly why I want Hillary Clinton to stay in this race.
Let me be clear -- I realize it's a painful race. I realize we're losing the chance to go after McCain. And I'm frankly beside myself that Democrats are raising $90 million a month -- and using it to go after each other. I mean, that's a whole other level of pain. It's like getting a wisdom tooth pulled... by a proctologist (sorry).
And realistically, if I were Hillary, I would drop out at this point. She's got virtually no chance of beating Obama in pledged delegates, nor in the popular vote. And even the long-shot scenario -- superdelegates voting to give her the nomination anyway -- has become a really long shot. At this point, she'd need 2/3 of superdelegates to overturn the popular will, and that's a tall order.
Okay, so how about this as a compromise, to help prevent a torturous battle until the end of the summer...
Both candidates agree to a revote in Michigan and Florida, but with the following stipulation -- whoever ends up with the most pledged delegates is the nominee.
Period.
Whoever leads in pledged delegates as of early June (when the PR primary is held), the other one drops out. No waiting to the convention.
Of course, you'd also need to get the superdelegates to agree to this -- or at least a big enough chunk of them to make the difference (i.e., to agree to immediately promise to back the early June leader)
Now, it puts Senator Clinton at a disadvantage, since she's well behind in pledged delegates, but... well, that doesn't seem unreasonable, since he's got that lead by winning. And frankly, while Obama would very likely win in this scenario. But he'd also very likely win if things played out from now to the convention. And hey, at least this gives her a chance.
This would end it earlier, it would solve the MI/FL problem, and allow us all to move on to more important topics, like whether Britney is pregnant again.
Checked the diaries, and didn't see this yet, so just in case, here's the latest from Rasumussen:
Barack Obama has moved ahead of Hillary Clinton in Texas.
The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey shows Obama attracting 48% of the vote while Clinton earns 44%. Eight percent (8%) remain undecided and another 12% say it’s possible they could change their mind. That latter figure includes 3% who say there’s a good chance they could change their mind.
Obama leads by sixteen points among men, but trails by nine among women. Clinton’s lead among Hispanic voters is down to seven percentage points.
For those of us political junkies deeply steeped in campaign news on a 24/7 basis, it sometimes helps to take a step back, and use "the Google" to see what most folks are actually focused on.
Now, granted, the Obama campaign has taken America by storm, but just to put things in perspective:
"Barack Obama" = 6,210,000 search results
"Britney Spears" = 79,800,000
And yes, some issues are hot in our world, but....
"FISA" = 463,000 results
"Girl on girl action" = 604,000
The nomination process might be captivating us junkies, but...
"Superdelegates" = 3,280,000
"Superbowl" = 18,500,000
And we might be digging deeply into policy specifics, but...
"Hillary Clinton" AND "health care" = 508,000
"Paris Hilton" AND "sex tape" = 955,000
The point of all this? Well, number one, that I am happy to finally have a "research" excuse to Google things like "girl on girl action." But more importantly, perhaps it should give us some perspective as we move (hopefully soon) into the general election.
It's 50% social experiment, 50% outright bribe, and maybe... $50 in your pocket if you can come up with the best comment.
As many of you know from my shameless DK text ad, I recently started a new blog, BareNaked Pundits. Nothing too ambitious, just a fun way to vent at the end of the day.
So far, the traffic has been nice (and thanks to all who've sent advice and kind words), and I've been having fun. But I want more comments. Specifically, I want more fun, creative, provocative comments... It makes it more fun for me, and more fun for the readers. And frankly, I kind of like the idea of figuring a way to compensate those who contribute creativity via comments.
So here's the deal -- on March 1st, BareNaked Pundits will officially award $50 to the "best" comment made on that site during the month of February.
Oh, and I'd welcome any thoughts people have on this. If it goes well, we might continue and expand this in the months ahead. And if it's a dumb-ass idea and a failure... well, we won't. :)
Well folks, it's time for another "let's psychoanalyze the Daily Kos community" poll. In the past, we've asked about "wine vs beer", about "favorite number from 1 to 10," and today...
What's your favorite day of the week?
Will Saturday win by a landslide? Or will Monday surge from the underdog vote? And what about Sunday vs Friday? Is it better to work, but have the weekend in front of you, or... to be off and have the week in front? And where the hell do Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday fit in?
Go ahead, make your selection. And remember, whateve you choose... EVERY day is a good day for pie.
Well, as some folks here know, I had the pleasure of helping lead DraftObama.org back before the campaign began.
And... it just occurred to me that the TV ad we put out was actually launched 14 months ago. I've got nothing profound to say about that, just a "holy crap" realization that time really does fly.
So, for your viewing (and nostalgia) pleasure, I've included that TV ad right here. Enjoy it, but don't get too nostalgic until this thing is actually done.
Big, big, big thanks to all the people who worked so hard on this and other draft movements, and big, big, big thanks to all the people working like crazy on the actual campaign.
So hey, as you might've seen from my shameless text ad, I've recently started a blog, BareNaked Pundits. Mostly, it's just for fun, but I would like to have the ability to expand it, include other authors, functionality, etc.
And that's where I need advice -- what would people recommend using? Right now, I'm using Blogger. I like it because it's fairly easy to use, and low hassle. But there's a few other things I'd like to have that it doesn't provide:
Treed comment structure, as opposed to a long list (a la DK).
Ability to have user diaries (again, a la DK)
More choice with templates (or at least easy ability to change the look and feel.
Most important, easy to maintain, from a tech standpoint. I'd really like to avoid something that requires me getting into the code on a regular basis. I'm not code-a-phobic, but I don't want to spend my time there.
FYI, cost is not a big constraint, within reason. I'd rather pay $20, $30, $50 a month or more for something that is functional and slick than get a half assed one for free.
Okay, so to clarify, this is not Leon Panetta, but... another Panetta who's still pretty damned important around here in Washington, DC. (figured I'd clarify that after the "Edwards" brouhaha yesterday)
Mike Panetta, the elected Shadow Representative to Congress for DC, has officially announced his endorsement of Senator Obama. And with the DC primary coming up in just a few days, the timing couldn't be better. Here's his statement:
U.S "SHADOW" REPRESENTATIVE MIKE PANETTA (D-DC) ENDORSES BARACK OBAMA FOR PRESIDENT
Contact: Mike Panetta
(202) 253-6534
press@mikepanetta.com
(WASHINGTON, DC February 8, 2008): Mike Panetta, the elected U.S. "Shadow" Representative for the District of Columbia, today announced his endorsement of Barack Obama for President.
"The torch has been passed to Senator Obama as the vanguard of a new generation of leadership, and I know he’ll use that torch to light the fires of democracy here in the District of Columbia," said Representative Panetta. "It’s clear to me that Senator Obama can bring hope to our nation, and hope to those fighting for full citizenship right here in America’s capital."
