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Morning Feature: Fixing Our Heroes, Part I - L.F., Computer Systems
My ancestors were carpenters. They built and fixed stuff. Hammered and sawed and stuff. I lived in a house that my grandfather built. An uncle spent most of his life fixing stuff and then became a...
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Morning Feature: Fixing Our Heroes, Part II - J.S., Cleaning Service
When my wife and I moved here from Brazil, jobs were bad there and better here. Now Brazil has jobs and here it's hard. But we have been here fifteen years. We have our business and our daughter was...
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Morning Feature: Fixing Our Heroes, Part III - M.R., Cable Systems...
I went to one house and they were arguing. A man came out the door swinging our box by the cord. It was scary. The box flew out of his hand and landed on the roof of a shed with a huge bang. My partner...
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Morning Feature: Imaginative or Imaginary? (Ask Ms. Crissie)
Professor Plum offered the BPI Squirrel a set of blueprints for a tree house. The Squirrel noted there is no such thing as a Blogiberry Tree."But if there were," Plum said, "this would be...
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Morning Feature: Government Must Work Well (Meta-Monday)
When it comes to specific issues, most Americans don't want government to be smaller. According to a recent Center for American Progress study, most of us want government to work better.But as we'll...
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Morning Feature: What Americans Want, Part I - Says Who?
In a July study titled What Americans Want, the Center for American Progress explores our confidence in government and what we want improved. It has bad news and good news for progressives.The bad...
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Morning Feature: What Americans Want, Part II - Doing What Works?
In their July study titled What Americans Want, the Center for American Progress offer a package of reforms - they call it "Doing What Works" - to make the federal government more efficient,...
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Morning Feature: What Americans Want, Part III - Sharing with Fred...
In 1933, Chico Marx quipped: "Who you gonna believe, me or your own eyes?"In 2010 the same applies to Americans' experience of government. While 61% are satisfied in our personal experiences of...
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Morning Feature: Ain't that (Im)Peachy? (Ask Ms. Crissie)
Professor Plum was bursting with pride after Ms. Scarlett won the second round of the BPI Clue tournament. For those keeping score, she admitted to doing it in the kitchen with the wrench, but said she...
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Morning Feature: Summer Reading? (Meta-Monday)
Summer, the time to head to the beach with a good book, is nearly over. The BPI resident faculty wanted to know if the staff had been reading, and if so what, so they could add our books to their silly...
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Morning Feature: Exposing More Bippies - The Not-Movies of 2010
With a crack in the usual Morning Feature schedule, a thong of celebrants gathered to expose more of the second annual BPI Awards: the curvaceous and very desirable Bippies.Today we turn to Hollowood...
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Morning Feature: Republican Gomorrah - A Party Shattered?
In late 2008, Max Blumenthal wrote Republican Gomorrah, subtitled Inside the Movement that Shattered the Party. Yet in mid-2010 that party appears poised to gain seats in the U.S. House and Senate.Is...
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Morning Feature: Washington Rules - Planning for War
Today in 1928, the first 15 of an eventual 61 nations signed the Kellogg-Briand Pact, outlawing war. The Senate ratified it 85-1, making it U.S. law.Even as it was signed, we were planning for war with...
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Morning Feature: Is God a Mathematician? (Non-Cynical Saturday)
Are gods discovered or invented? What about rights? Such questions have no provable answers, partly because we disagree on which gods (if any) or which claimed rights are correct.But many mathematical...
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Morning Feature: Eat the Poor? (Ask Ms. Crissie)
Professor Plum was out of sorts after learning his paper proving the existence of paper was rejected by yet another journal."Poor dear," Chef said."Please don't say that," he said. "I don't want to go...
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Morning Feature: Pass in Review? (Meta Monday)
The BPI resident faculty put in a requisition for a bubble machine and a roll of bubble wrap today. Either they're planning a party themed on Champagne Chomsky, or it was their clue that it's time for...
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Furthermore! - Proposing a Moratorium on Self-Kicking
A high school teacher once told me "Stop kicking yourself. Let someone else do it."I was a perfectionist, and was prone to not only blame myself for anything that went wrong, but do so in...
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Morning Feature: What We Did This Summer
Tomorrow is that End-of-Semester Activity Fraught With Stress And Sometimes Disappointment, like a formal dance or something. Just in case we can't find that mirrored ball, and remembering those "What...
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Morning Feature: Storm Season (Non-Cynical Saturday)
August was long, hot, and miserable. While Tropical Storm Earl has not yet made landfall, and is weakening as he heads for Canada's Atlantic islands, the political storms still look like hurricanes.Not...
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Morning Feature: Losing Their Heads? (Ask Ms. Crissie)
Professor Plum asked Ms. Scarlet to leave the BPI staff poker game, saying "Quit while you're ahead.""But I'm not ahead," she said.He offered a playful pun on behind that we shall not repeat. She...
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Morning Feature: Reaching Out (Meta-Monday)
With only 56 days until the 2010 midterms, the resident faculty left no secretive clues about their intentions. Instead they called the mail room to say they would discuss voter outreach. They kept the...
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Furthermore! - The Complacency Gap?
For months, the news media have written and talked about the Democrats'"enthusiasm gap" in 2010. The polling suggests that more Tea Party Republicans than Democrats are excited about voting this year....
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Morning Feature: Voter Outreach, Part I - Listening
With a 25-point Complacency Gap looming in the midterms, Democratic Party groups across the country have begun voter outreach campaigns. In my county, our target is almost 1000 calls over the next two...
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Morning Feature: Voter Outreach, Part II - Enthusiasm and Anger
"It's like this," the voter said. "I donated and voted in 2006 and Democrats didn't stop the war. I donated and voted again in 2008 and President Obama didn't change much of anything. I'm done....
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Morning Feature: Voter Outreach, Part III - New Old Tools (Non-Cynical Saturday)
Canvassing and phone-banking are time tested voter outreach activities, and new tools have made them easier than ever. Organizing for America has a iPhone canvassing app, and today's websites let you...
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Morning Feature: Gangrene or Gang Green? (Ask Ms. Crissie)
Professor Plum's cries stopped the staff poker game cold. He squeezed his thumb and stuttered out the words: "P-P-Paper c-c-cut."It was a tiny nick, and we assured him he wouldn't get gangrene. He'd...
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Morning Feature: Governing Science (Meta-Monday)
What are the most dangerous terrorist threats? What are our energy options? Is Yucca Mountain safe? What are the risks of climate change, and what can we do about them? These questions are both...
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Morning Feature: More Exposed Bippies - TV Series
Yet again, a crack in our schedule allows us to reveal more of our Bippies, the fulsome and coveted BPI Awards. Today we plunge beneath the waist land that is prime time television to honor TV shows...
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Morning Feature: Governing Science, Part I - Fear and Safety
In The One Percent Doctrine, journalist Ron Suskind reported Vice President Cheney as declaring that if there were even "a one percent chance" of a terrorist threat, "we have to treat it as a certainty...
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Morning Feature: Governing Science, Part II - Climate Mysteries and Myths
The 2007 report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimated a 95% chance that global warming is real and not a passing anomaly, and a 90% chance that human activity is a significant...
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Morning Feature: Governing Science, Part III - The Two Percent Solution...
Climate change is the kind of Big Problem for which we usually envision Big Solutions. Big solar or wind farms. Big smart energy grids. Those may be part of the solution, but they will be a small...
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Morning Feature: Chrrrristine? (Ask Ms. Crissie)
"Is that yourrrr wooden leg, or arrrrre you just happy to see me?" Ms. Scarlet asked."Now dearrrr," Professor Plum replied, "that could be adulterrrry.""Rrrright," Plum agreed, taking her hand. "Time...
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Morning Feature: Positive or Negative? (Meta-Monday)
The resident faculty were playing with magnetic Bucky Balls this morning. Maybe they were attracted to last week's discussion of science, or maybe they have repulsive plans for the University of...
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Morning Feature: The Bottoms of Our Bippies - Political Columns
Following a tradition dating back to Delilah, the faculty and staff took their time revealing the curvaceous and coveted 2010 BPI Awards. Today we reveal the bottoms of our Bippies, political columns...
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Morning Feature: False Equality, Part I - Wealth
In Iowa two weeks ago, Newt Gingrich said this about Jefferson's phrase "pursuit of happiness" in the Declaration of Independence:There is no guarantee of happiness, or that we get happiness stamps, or...
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Morning Feature: False Equality, Part II - Privilege
In July, Newt Gingrich wailed against "double standards" on religion:They ignore the fact that more than 100 mosques already exist in New York City. Meanwhile, there are no churches or synagogues in...
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Morning Feature: False Equality, Part III - Fred Whispering (Non-Cynical...
As DailyKos'Jed Lewison noted, Newt Gingrich spewed again:[Anti-colonialism] means you start out every morning with a belief that the West somehow exploited the rest of the world and therefore the West...
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Morning Feature: Mocking the Corn? (Ask Ms. Crissie)
"I was all ears," Professor Plum said, when asked if he listened to Stephen Colbert's testimony to Congress."Now that was corny," Ms. Scarlet replied."Aww, shucks," he said. "Don't sweat it."The staff...
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Morning Feature: Paranoia and Backlash (Meta-Monday)
"I won with the Discordians," Professor Plum announced proudly.Apparently the resident faculty skipped Clue this weekend and played Illuminati, Steve Jackson's classic conspiracy card game. Plum's...
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Morning Feature: TGOP Backlash, Part I - Left Behind
"He did not win the popular vote," she says, an air of defiance in her voice. "He won the electoral vote. If you took into account the popular vote, he lost by a landslide."Were she describing...
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Morning Feature: TGOP Backlash, Part II - War of the Words
"It's fairness. He's very fair.""What it is, is, he's an honest person. He believes what he says""He loves this country.""I always felt like he judged people on how useful they were going to be to him....
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Morning Feature: TGOP Backlash, Part III - Where's Fred? (Non-Cynical Saturday)
In early 2010, Karl Rove met with a trio of tea party activists in Delaware to ask them to support veteran Mike Castle in the Senate race. The meeting went badly. Instead the activists backed Christine...
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Morning Feature: Upside Down Tea? (Ask. Ms. Crissie)
Professor Plum proudly announced that Ms. Scarlet won the resident faculty gymnastics competition with an attempted headstand."Attempted?" we asked."Well, she didn't finish it," he explained. "But no...
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Morning Feature: Deciphering Messy Data (Meta-Monday)
Usually the staff at Blogistan Polytechnic Institute search for a tiny clue to the resident faculty's intentions. This week they tricked us by leaving clues everywhere, pointing all over. We first...
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Morning Feature: Punting Polls, Part III - Get Out The Vote! (Non-Cynical...
Last week's Gallup generic ballot declared a 56-38 TGOP lead among likely voters, given average midterm turnout. But that Gallup poll actually shows a 41-28 TGOP lead ... with 31% undecided or...
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Morning Feature: Pretzel Logic? (Ask Ms. Crissie)
Professor Plum limped into the mail room, holding Ms. Scarlet's hand for support. "I'm never entering the faculty Twister tournament again," he said as Chef brought him a bag of ice. "I'm too old to be...
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Morning Feature: Sticky Ideas (Meta-Monday)
The resident faculty left a scrap of paper on the floor, but the writing was on the bottom side. And they had glued it to the floor. Fortunately they'd used water-soluble glue. Alas, they'd also used...
View ArticleMorning Feature: Sticky Ideas, Part III - Make it Stickier (Non-Cynical...
Are sticky ideas born or made?The former makes them magic: either you're a Sticky Wizard or you're not. The Heath brothers - authors of Made to Stick - believe sticky ideas are made, and anyone can...
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Morning Feature: Five Minutes of Fear? (Ask Ms. Crissie)
Ms. Scarlet notched another yet victory, this time in the faculty Charades tournament. The Charade that put her over the top was Last Tango in Paris. Professor Plum called it, "Two hours of laughter...
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Morning Feature: A Fraudian Slip? (Meta-Monday)
The resident faculty tried to fool us by leaving scribbled notes about the new campus conference center and their "weekly Wednesday meeting." But there is no new campus conference center, and they meet...
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