Regarding Gilbert Sorrentino’s unsentimental adieu, Gerry Howard–author, editor, and dashing man-about-lunch–flagged me to his interview and overview of Sorrentino in Bookforum, which provides the best primer I’ve seen to that unruly body of work: There is also a strong tonal…
Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation “will soon be able to track and monitor online donations made to presidential candidates through its MySpace subsidiary, giving the media group an increasingly prominent role in the 2008 presidential election,” the Financial Times reports.
“This involvement in candidatesÂ’ fundraising is new territory for News Corp, which, until now, has limited its interest in presidential elections to media coverage via its print and broadcast outlets.”
Each of the presidential candidates has been offered a “viral fundraising tool” which “can be used to raise money from grassroots supporters. MySpace is relaunching and improving the tool, and with the new version will be able to track how much money has been pledged to each candidate.” In addition, “all the prospective candidates from both main parties have been offered MySpace tutorials to show their campaign teams how to create effective personal pages.”
This week on head-of-lettuce vlog teevee: Peter Beinhart and Jonah Goldberg address the provocative question, “Is Michael Kinsley all that?” Next week’s topic: “Mickey Kaus–should he consider sideburns?”…
A warrant for the arrest of Rakhat Aliyev, the son-in-law of Kazakhstan’s presdient, has been issued. KZBlog explains why, and how the case may connect to the government’s decision to close a few media outlets controlled by Aliyev and his wife.
Presidential elections in Panama are not scheduled until May 2009, but bloggers are already keeping a watchful eye out for any developments. Another interesting turn of events that will arrive sooner than the elections is the expected release of former Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega. Finally, in addition to blog entries about visas, travel and food, one blogger’s hopeful encounter with a beautiful woman turns out to be something more unexpected and less appealing.
Thai authorities have blocked more sites that support the former prime minister Thaksin. The Bangkok Bugle says the block might have a reverse effect with Thai people trying other means to figure out what Thaksin has to say.
Chicago Magazine: “When Barack Obama launched into his keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, he was still an obscure state senator from Illinois. By the time he finished 17 minutes later, he had captured the nation’s attention and opened the way for a run at the presidency. A behind-the-scenes look at the politicking, plotting, and preparation that went into Obama’s breakthrough moment.”
For the second week, Lebanese bloggers have posted anecdotes, reflections, updates, photos, videos, jokes, sarcasm and drawings on the issue that is taking precedence over all other topics. The issue is the ongoing violence which is taking the form of clashes in the north between the army and the militants and the terrorist explosions jumping from one location to another around the country, writes Moussa Bashir.
A new Pew Research poll finds that Republicans are happier than Democrats. This finding has been consistent since the survey began in 1972.
“Republicans tend to have more money than Democrats, and — as we’ve already discovered — people who have more money tend to be happier. But even this explanation only goes so far. If one controls for household income, Republicans still hold a significant edge: that is, poor Republicans are happier than poor Democrats; middle-income Republicans are happier than middle-income Democrats, and rich Republicans are happier than rich Democrats.”
“Might ideology be the key? It’s true that conservatives, who are more likely to be Republican, are happier than liberals, who are more likely to be Democrats. But even controlling for this ideological factor, a significant partisan gap remains. Conservative Republicans are happier than conservative Democrats, and moderate/liberal Republicans are happier than liberal Democrats.”
