A Chicago Blog

I don’t have much time for blogging today. I have tons of “work” to do. Needless to say, now is not the time to find something really cool online to distract me. But as fate would have it, I did. The guys at Politicker have put together an application that allows you to build your [...]

According to Warner Todd Huston, the Austin American Statesman retracted an article that called Gore’s appearance at Net Roots conference a “faint-in.” The Daily Kos crowd wasn’t pleased with the coverage and bombarded the publisher with complaints. Hmmm. What’s next, taking to the streets and burning effigies? What country do we live in?

From Crains:
ASK Public Strategies, a firm headed by Obama campaign senior consultant David Axelrod, and the Chicago office of Hill & Knowlton will head a projected $2-million to $3-million media and advertising campaign planned by the Alliance to Protect the Illinois Constitution.
“We haven’t signed the contract, but they’re going to be the choice,” said Greg [...]

At least the rude ones. Now if we could just get Todd Stroger to follow suit :=)
Seriously though, don’t you think it’s a little over the line for a journalist to send insulting email to a manager, trying to egg him on? Rick Morrissey was clearly trying to create news in order to report on [...]

Here’s a line of reasoning that shows up all too often in the mainstream press, especially newspapers.
A) Some blogs publish rumors that are later proven false
B) Blogs have no editorial “controls”
C) Newspapers have editorial controls
=Therefore, newspapers are superior sources of truth.
The Sun-Times engages in this fallacious reasoning this morning, attacking blogs for repeating a rumor [...]

I’m not one for complimenting MSM, but I have to admit I’m pretty impressed by MSNBC lately. First they started sharing their videos (a move looooong overdue) and now they are experimenting with data visualization techniques. Pretty cool stuff.

How full of s___ is Thomas Franks? Let me count the ways.
Go read his column on Libertarian non-profits in the Wall Street Journal. Then, email him about his intellectual dishonesty. Send him this link if you like.
The main thrust of Franks’ argument is the apparent contradiction of self-interested libertarians working in the not-for-profit sector. He [...]

Here’s a good topic from Cory at BoingBoing. Just as technology frees up labor to be applied to other productive pursuits, thereby creating wealth in a free economy; so also does it free up cognitive ability to be used up in other cultural projects. Clay Shirky calls this cognitive surplus. Here’s one good passage:

And what [...]

I’m in Denver on work. We’re doing blogger training here. We call it Samsphere. I’m currently moderating a panel. Hey, look! it’s being live blogged! This creates all sorts of metaphysical quandries.

I don’t know why I watch. I don’t. But every morning as my body slowly adapts to its first dosage of caffeine, I watch Morning Joe. Like I said, I don’t know why. I think I like Willie Geist, and not just because he has a bad ass name.
They have Chris Matthews on just about [...]