Blogspeak 2008 December 18

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojavich
Obama: Review Finds No ‘Inappropriate’ Contacts With Blagojevich (Zeleny, J., The Caucus, New York Times, 2008 Dec. 15)

Infrastructure & Environment
Economic Stimulus Package Would Increase Energy Funding (Infrastructure Watch, 2008 Dec. 8)
Economic Stimulus Package Would Increase Environmental Funding (Infrastructure Watch, 2008 Dec. 8)
Economic Stimulus Package Would Increase Transportation Funding (Infrastructure Watch, 2008 Dec. 8)
Emanuel States Support for Infrastructure Spending (Infrastructure Watch, 2008 Dec. 11)
Governors Call for Federal Infrastructure Investment (Infrastructure Watch, 2008 Dec. 8)

United Nations Intelligencer 2008 December 18

Obama Names Choice for U.N. Abassador
President-elect Barack Obama has nominated Susan Rice to serve as Ambassador to the U.N. (Obama names national security team).

Web Security & Anonymity
A U.N. agency is working on standards, proposed by China, to trace back the sources of internet communication. While there may be legitimate reasons to track such communications to prevent or investigate crime and terrorism, some are concerned about potential abuse (U.N. agency eyes).

OI Comment: Let’s not whitewash the issue. Some governments will abuse this power if they achieve it. Totalitarian governments, like China’s, will absolutely abuse it.

Sources
Obama names national security team including Clinton, Gates (2008 Dec. 2). Dallas Morning News. http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/nation/stories/DN-cabinet_02nat.ART.State.Edition2.298e736.html, accessed 2008 Dec. 18.

U.N. agency eyes web anonymity controls. (2008 Sept. 12). CBS News. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/09/12/tech/cnettechnews/main4443738.shtml?source=RSSattr=SciTech_4443738, accessed 2008 Sept. 26.

Blogspeak 2008 November 29

Energy
Obama pushes alternative energy as a jobs issue (McClure, R., Dateline Earth, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 2008 Nov. 23)

Infrastructure & Environment
Water Infrastructure News (Infrastructure Watch, 2008 Nov. 24)
Water Resources News Nov. 24, 2008 (Infrastructure Watch)

Obama & McCain Meet
Why Barack Obama needs John McCain (Goldstein, Y., Full Comment, National Post, 2008 Nov. 17)

Some Still Question Obama’s Eligibility
Obama’s Birth Certificate Challenger Keeps Going (Serchuk, D., Trailwatch, Forbes)

Blogspeak 2008 November 19

Infrastructure
Transportation News (Infrastructure Watch, 2008 Nov. 18)

Governor Sarah Palin
Why Palin in 2012 Needs Sen. Stevens to Win (Brown, P., Political Perceptions, Wall Street Journal, 2008 Nov. 17) (Stevens lost)

Blogspeak 2008 November 17

Campaign Wrap-up and Fallout
McCain's verdict on Palin: more trouble than a pitbull (Watt, N., Political Blog, Guardian, 2008 Nov. 5)
Wondering What Sarah Palin's Future Holds... (Geraghty, J., The Campaign Spot, National Review Online, 2008 Nov. 5)

Environment & Infrastructure
Water Resources News (Infrastructure Watch, 2008 Nov. 13)

Shout-Out 2008 November 17

Thanks for your links to OI.

Clean Water Affordability Act (Open Congress)
Long-Term Energy Assurance and Security Enhancement Act of 2008 (Open Congress)

Blogspeak 2008 Nov. 3 (Nov. 4 is Election Day)

Polls
Final Pew Poll: McCain Closes but Obama Still Leads (Davis, S., Washington Wire, Wall Street Journal, 2008 Nov. 2)
Landslide or close race? (2008 Presidential Election Blog, 2008 Nov.2)
Yes, I've Seen the SurveyUSA Minnesota Poll (Geraght, J., The Campaign Spot, National Review Online, 2008 Nov. 3)

Swing States
McCain plans swing state barnstorming for Monday (You Decide 2008, 2008 Nov. 3)

Blogspeak 2008 September 16

Financial Markets
Wall Street crisis: this should be Barack Obama's moment (Martin, I. Telegraph, Eagle Eye, 2008 Sept. 15)

Infrastructure
Homeland Security Secretary Draws Attention to State of Infrastructure (Infrastructure Watch, 2008 Sept. 11)
New Orleans Still At Risk Post-Katrina Even as Public Concern Fades (Infrastructure Watch, 2008 Sept. 11)

John McCain
McCain playing it safe (The Presidential Election Blog 2008, 2008 Sept. 5)

Obama Campaign on the Attack
Obama Questions McCain’s ‘Honor’ (Timiraos, N., Wall Street Journal, Washington Wire, 2008 Sept. 15)

Russo-Georgian Conflict
Russia beaten by little Georgia (Bookman, J., Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 2008 Sept. 15)
Russians React to Putin’s ‘08 Remark (Shirwitz, M., New York Times, The Lede, 2008 Sept. 15)

Swing States
Turnaround in Virginia? SurveyUSA finds Obama lead (On Politics, USA Today, 2008 Sept. 15)

Vice-Presidential Candidate: Joe Biden
Biden delivering major speech attacking McCain as “Bush 44” (You Decide 2008, 2008 Sept. 15)
Biden ramps up attack dog role in Obama campaign (Reuters, Tales from the Trail, 2008 Sept. 15)
Press Section of Biden's Plane Is 'Totally Deserted' (National Review Online, The Campaign Spot, 2008 Sept. 15)

Vice-Presidential Candidate: Sarah Palin
Palin Outlines Four-Point Focus In McCain Administration (Conroy, S., On the Road, CBS News, 2008 Sept. 15)
Vice Presidential Candidate Gov. Sarah Palin (AK) Full Speech at the RNC (Presidential Election 2008, 2008 Sept. 9)

Blogspeak 2008 September 11

Back to School
Obama Takes His Daughters Back to School (Political Radar, ABC, 2008 Sept. 8)

McCain Up in Polls
New Poll Shows McCain Up; Palin To Give First Interview (Ververs, V., Horserace, CBS News, 2008 Sept. 8)

Obama’s Faith
Oops! Barack Obama says 'my Muslim faith' in interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos (Nickerson, M., Chicago Sun-Times, 2008 Sept. 8)

Palin and Feminism
Feminists Flip Out Over Palin (Newmark, B., Fox Forum, 2008 Sept. 8)

Palin’s Reception Among Republican Leaders
Rice Offers Less-Than-Hearty Palin Endorsement (Political Radar, ABC, 2008 Sept. 8)

President Bill Clinton
Barack Obama and Bill Clinton To Do Lunch Thursday (Chozik, A., Washington Wire, Wall Street Journal, 2008 Sept. 8)

Stupid Posts
Obama Military Service Claim Defies Credibility (“MCCAIN”, Right Pundits, 2008 Sept. 7)
OI Comments: Obama’s mention of signing up for Selective Service as a teenager is hardly a claim of military service. Every male American born since 1959 has been required to register upon reaching a certain age. Obama may have been stretching to find a way to connect to or communicate respect for military service, but he was hardly claiming to have served.

Incidentally, previous military service is not required to be a supporter of the military or commander-in-chief. Reagan broke the Soviets with a combination of military strength and economic pressure, but never served in the military. John Adams was not a military man, but he valued a strong military and his efforts in the Continental Congress helped keep George Washington’s little army going.

In contrast, great military officers don’t necessarily make great presidents. U.S. Grant was the great general of the civil war, but he was largely a flop as a political leader and businessman. Jimmy Carter was a successful Naval officer and in recent years made a name for himself as an author and peacemaker; his presidency might be seen as the low point in his career.

Blogspeak 2008 September 4

McCain’s Comments on Western Water Resources Compact
McCain in hot water out west (Plenty, 2008 Aug. 22)
On the Eve of the Convention, an Opening for Obama in Colorado? (Romano, A., Stumper, Newsweek, 2008 Aug. 21)

Republican National Convention
How a Curtailed Convention Helps McCain (Romano, A., Stumper, Newsweek, 2008 Sept. 1)

Vice Presidential Candidates: Joe Biden and Sarah Palin
“Gorgeous” Joe Biden Praises “Good Looking” GOP VP (Bruns, A., Embeded Producers, Fox News, 2008 Aug. 31)

Blogspeak 2008 August 27

Democratic National Convention
DNC Convention Speeches Day 2 - Including Keynote Mark Warner, Hillary Clinton, and Eleanor Holmes Norton (2008 Central, 2008 Aug. 26)

Sen. Hillary Clinton
Clinton says election isn't about her (Presidential Election 2008, 2008 Aug. 27)
Hillary's Speech (2008 Presidential Election Blog, 2008 Aug. 26)
Michelle Obama Meets With Hillary Clinton In Denver (Gavrilovic, M., From the Road, CBS News, 2008 Aug. 26)

Vice-Presidential Candidate: Joe Biden
Joe Biden loves RIAA, DRM; hates encryption, George Bush (Nusca, A., Toy Box, ZDNet, 2008 Aug. 25)
Joe Biden: Loves to Talk, Hates to ‘Ask’ (Cooper, C., Washington Wire, Wall Street Journal, 2008 Aug. 25)
The Mess in Mississippi, Redux: The Joe Biden Connection? (Slater, D., Law Blog, Wall Street Journal, 2008 Aug. 24)

Blogspeak 2008 August 25

Democratic Party
2008 Democratic Convention Schedule, Aug 25-28 (You Decide 2008, 2008 August 20)

Obama’s European Tour
Reflections on Obama’s Tour (Communist Part USA, ’08 Elections, 2008 July 31)

Obama’s Position on Abortion
'The doctor continues to think that it's nonviable but there's, let's say, movement..' (National Review Online, The Campaign Spot, 2008 August 21)

Senator Hillary Clinton
FIRST THOUGHTS: ALL ABOUT HILLARY (MSNBC, FirstRead, 2008 August 21)
McCain hunts Clinton supporters (2008 Hopefuls, 2008 June 28)
What Not To Read Into: Pronoun Edition (2008 Central, 2008 August 19)

Vice-Presidential Speculation, Selection & Commentary
The Early Word: Running Mates, of All Sorts (New York Times, The Caucus, 2008 August 23)
What Not To Read Into: Pronoun Edition (2008 Central, 2008 August 19)

Policy and Politics Blogs and Websites

Inclusion of links does not constitute an endorsement or claim by OI. The content of these other sites is the responsibility of their writers, editors or operators. OI hopes to update this list from time to time, but you may still find broken or misdirected links on the list.

Amended 2008 August 13

Aguanomics
American Water Resources Association Blog
American Water Works Association’s President’s Blog
The Campaign Spot
Common Agricultural Policy
Congressional Budget Office Director’s Blog
Congressional Budget Office Publications
Crazy for Liberty
Environmental Law Professor Blog
Evolution of Security (Transportation Security Administration blog)
First Read
Farm Aid: Around the Kitchen Table
Food & Water Watch
Food Law Prof Blog
Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa
From The Road: CBSNews.com
The Gavel (Speaker of the House blog)
Government Accountability Office Reports
GovTrack
Green Issues
Greenversations (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency blog)
Hydro-Logic
Infrastructure Watch
Mera Bharat Mahan
PA Editors Blog
People's Weekly World Blog
Political Buzz
Politics and Food (Rachel C. Dechenne)
Policy and Food
Public Works Solutions
Open Intelligencer
Rhetorica
Secretary of Health and Humans Services blog
Texas Water Resources Institute
TradeAgreements.gov
U.S. Food Policy
Water and Wastewater Blog
Water for the Ages
Water News Update
Water Wired
WaterSISWEB
Welcome to the Fast Lane (Secretary of Transportation blog)
World Socialist Web Site (International Committee of the Fourth International)

Presidential Candidate and Party Web Sites

Amended 2008 August 13.

Major Parties

Party: Democratic

• Party site: http://www.democrats.org/
• Anti-McCain Sites:

www.democrats.org/page/content/thenextcheney

http://mccainpedia.org/index.php/Main_Page

• Other sites about the party:

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Party_(United_States)

Candidate: Barack Obama

• Campaign web site: http://www.barackobama.com/index.php
• Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress: http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=o000167
• Candidate's U.S. Senate web site: http://obama.senate.gov/
• Candidate's MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/barackobama
• Candidate's Twitter page: http://twitter.com/BarackObama
• Candidate profile at GovTrack: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/person.xpd?id=400629
• Contributors to campaign (OpenSecrets): http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.php?CID=N00009638
• Federal Election Commission reports and data: http://herndon1.sdrdc.com/cgi-bin/can_detail/S4IL00180
• Other site's about the candidate:

AOL Government Guide: http://www3.capwiz.com/mygov/bio/?id=3181&flv=1&ncid=RpWxcJEVXc0000000073&icid=rbox_government_officials.M

Washington Post profile: http://projects.washingtonpost.com/2008-presidential-candidates/barack-obama/

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama

Party: Republican

• Republican National Committee: http://www.rnc.org/
• Anti-Obama Sites:

www.meetbarackobama.com

www.barackbook.com

• Other sites about the party:

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Party_(United_States)

Candidate: John McCain

• Candidate's web site: http://www.johnmccain.com/
• Biographical Director of the U.S. Congress: http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=m000303
• Candidate's U.S. Senate web site: http://mccain.senate.gov/public/
• Candidate's MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/johnmccain
• Contributors to campaign (OpenSecret): http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.php?CID=N00006424
• Federal Election Commission reports and data: http://herndon1.sdrdc.com/cgi-bin/can_detail/S6AZ00019
• Other sites about the candidate:

AOL Government Guide: http://aolsearch.aol.com/aol/search?invocationType=topsearchbox.search&query=%22John+McCain%22

Washington Post profile: http://projects.washingtonpost.com/2008-presidential-candidates/john-mccain/

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McCain

Minor Parties

Party: Constitution Party

• Party web site: http://www.constitutionparty.com/
• Other sites about the party:

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_Party_(United_States)

Candidate: Chuck Baldwin

• Candidate's web site: http://baldwin2008.com/
• Candidate's radio program: http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/
• Other sites about the candidate:

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Baldwin

Party: Libertarian Party

• Party web site: http://www.lp.org/
• Other sites about the party:

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertarian_Party_(United_States)

Candidate: Bob Barr

• Candidate's campaign web site: http://www.bobbarr2008.com/
• Candidate's personal web site: http://www.bobbarr.org/default.asp
• Federal Election Commission reports and data: http://herndon1.sdrdc.com/cgi-bin/cancomsrs/?_08+C00340190
• Other sites about the candidate:

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Barr