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POPSALL POLITICS IS LOCAL...or is it? the more sophisticated the populace the more likely national issues will be percieved as local as voters realize the local impact of national decisions
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POPSGOP prefers teabagging over governing Oh, this is just too freakin' funny! Priceless, really. :-D I love the comments, too! Especially the one from "Dorn 76" - November 6, 2009 1:49 PM "The day HCR finally comes up for a vote we'll just tell these idiots some teabaggers and Fox News cameras are outside making a ruckus."
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POPSNHL Drives Buzz with Tweetups
This is a pretty cool casy study on how the National Hockey League (who haven't always been the best marketers) stimulated buzz and interest around the playoffs last year by holding tweet-ups in NHL cities. They did this in both playoff and non-playoff cities - so it was really targeted toward the hard-core fan who just enjoys the sport. When I was with Flying Dog Brewery, we had good success creating tweetups to build stronger awareness and relationships with our consumers. But the cool thing is that loyal consumer who would come to the event would almost always bring someone who was less familiar with the brand, so we got to talk to a partially new audience. The great thing about tweetups is that you can really build the event around any theme because the objective is to come and meet like-minded people. Whether it's the love of hockey, beer or charity event if you get the word out to the right people and throw out an interesting offer for their attendance, people will come
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POPSMichael Vick's unpaid dues: Why dog advocates won't just "move on"
More: "Jumper cables were clipped onto the ears of underperforming dogs, then, just like with a car, the cables were connected to the terminals of car batteries before lifting and tossing the shamed dogs into the water. We don't know how many suffered this premeditated murder, but the damage to the pool walls tells a story. It seems that while they were scrambling to escape, they scratched and clawed at the pool liner and bit at the dented aluminum sides like a hungry dog on a tin can. "I wear some pretty thick skin during our work with dogs, but I can't shake my minds-eye image of a little black dog splashing frantically in bloody water ... screaming in pain and terror ... brown eyes saucer wide and tiny black white-toed feet clawing at anything, desperate to get a hold…The rescuer in me keeps trying to think of a way to go back in time and somehow…pull the little dog to safety. I think I'll be looking for ways to pull that dog out for the rest of my life."
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POPS GOP Trifecta? But it can be difficult to draw broader conclusions from off-year contests, which often turn on local issues. ************************************************** Revolt in New York Beltway bigs misjudged public dismay against the Democratic agenda in Washington. Picked by GOP elites without a primary and with a voting record to the left of many Albany Democrats, Ms. Scozzafava faced a revolt by local and national conservatives in favor of businessman Doug Hoffman, who was nominated on the Conservative Party line. The longtime GOP assemblywoman saw herself falling in the polls and yesterday endorsed Democratic lawyer Bill Owens, who could still win the GOP-leaning seat with a plurality. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703932904574509633956777194.html?mod=loomia&loomia_si=t0:a16:g2:r4:c0.0565713:b28671837
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POPSSo much for cutting PORK - $2.3 million for the U.S. Forest Service to rear large numbers of arthropods, including the Asian longhorned beetle, the nun moth and the woolly adelgid. - $3.4 million for a 13-foot tunnel for turtles and other wildlife attempting to cross U.S. 27 in Lake Jackson, Fla. - $1.15 million to install a guardrail for a persistently dry lake bed in Guymon, Okla. - $9.38 million to renovate a century-old train depot in Lancaster County, Pa., that has not been used for three decades. - $2.5 million in stimulus checks sent to the deceased. - $6 million for a snow-making facility in Duluth, Minn. - $173,834 to weatherize eight pickup trucks in Madison County, Ill. - $20,000 for a fish sperm freezer at the Gavins Point National Fish Hatchery in South Dakota. - $380,000 to spay and neuter pets in Wichita, Kan. - $300 apiece for thousands of signs at road construction sites across the country announcing that the projects are funded by stimulus money. - $1.5 million f
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POPSAfter flurry of stimulus spending, questionable projects pile up
- $3.4 million for a 13-foot tunnel for turtles and other wildlife attempting to cross U.S. 27 in Lake Jackson, Fla. - $1.15 million to install a guardrail for a persistently dry lake bed in Guymon, Okla. - $9.38 million to renovate a century-old train depot in Lancaster County, Pa., that has not been used for three decades. - $2.5 million in stimulus checks sent to the deceased. - $6 million for a snow-making facility in Duluth, Minn. - $173,834 to weatherize eight pickup trucks in Madison County, Ill. - $20,000 for a fish sperm freezer at the Gavins Point National Fish Hatchery in South Dakota. - $380,000 to spay and neuter pets in Wichita, Kan. - $300 apiece for thousands of signs at road construction sites across the country announcing that the projects are funded by stimulus money. - $1.5 million for a fence to block would-be jumpers from leaping off the All-American Bridge in Akron, Ohio. - $1 million to study the health effects of environmentally fr
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POPSMadeleine McCann: Online Video Appeal Video did not clip for some reason. It is at the site. Interpol - the gateway into 187 countries, Europol and national police agencies worldwide are supporting the initiative which is in seven different languages – English, Arabic, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish.
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POPS "Truth to Power" by Mark Steyn
He came; he saw; he stimulated: “If you accept the premise, and I do, that the United States is the most powerful country in the world, then Barack Obama is the most powerful writer since Julius Caesar. That has to be good for American artists.” I suppose so. He could invade somewhere and force the natives to accept degrading roles in NEA-funded performance art. He could take out the Iranian nuclear program by carpet-bombing it with unreadable literary novels. That is, if you “accept the premise” that the United States is the most powerful country in the world. Rocco Landesman may, but it’s not clear, from his actions (or inactions) in Eastern Europe, Iran, Afghanistan, and elsewhere, that the president does. But, even so, it seems an odd pitch to “American artists.” Rocco Landesman, Speaking Goof to Power, isn’t the first Obama groupie to enjoy the kinky frisson of groveling obsequiousness, but he’s set an impressive new standard in public revelation thereof.
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POPSHiking Into History: England’s Ancient Ridgeway Trail More: The full 87 miles of the official Ridgeway National Trail can easily be divided into shorter segments, depending on time available. It can be cut more or less in half, by deciding to walk only the older, original western section, which passes all the great prehistoric sites. Day hikes, and half-days centered on the Uffington White Horse, or Wayland’s Smithy, or the Avebury Stone Circles, can easily be devised by studying the map. The trail’s excellent Web site (www.nationaltrail.co.uk/ridgeway) is full of advice, and possibilities for accommodations and meals.
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POPSNo Bundler Left Behind in exchange for pledges to donate $30,400 personally or to bundle $300,000 in contributions ahead of the 2010 midterm elections.” Yup, they’re just haggling over the price. Many Obama bundlers have secured slots on federal advisory panels and commissions. Still more have benefited from the time-honored patronage tradition of rewarding political benefactors with ambassadorships. Clinton did it. Bush did it. And despite all his fantastical, Balloon Boy-level rhetoric of bringing a “new politics” to Washington, Obama’s done it, too. His ambassador to London, Louis Susman, is a Chicago crony with no diplomatic experience who bundled between $200,000 and $500,000 for Team Obama and is known as “The Vacuum Cleaner” for his fundraising prowess. His ambassador to France, entertainment mogul Charlie Rivkin headed up Obama’s California fundraising operations, raking in $500,000 for the campaign and another $300,000 for the inaugural. His ambassador to Spain, Boston money
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POPSEPA Rules Farm Dust NOT SAFE, Must Be Regulated But the U.S. District Court of Appeals in Washington ruled Tuesday that the EPA had already provided the evidence necessary to determine farm dust "likely is not safe." Michael Formica, a lawyer for the pork council, said this means farmers now face the daunting task of proving a negative - that the dust is not harmful. Formica said his and other groups will consider a further appeal. Farmers said they will be hard-pressed to meet the standards. In a letter sent Wednesday to the EPA, Grassley wrote that compliance would be impossible because of the dust produced in farmers' day-to-day activities. Grassley also has noted that because many rural roads are not paved, particulate readings could be affected by wind gusts that constantly change. "After all, God decides when the wind blows, not Chuck Grassley," he said. But the EPA said the regulation was overdue. http://www.lubbockonline.com/stories/030109/bus_399791974.shtml
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POPSFrom the Brits: " Do Something" Even our "European allies" see it. Obama is weak and indecisive. Our enemies are also noticing. Note they are surging in both Iraq and Afghanistan. The death of our troops from the day Gen McChristal requested more troops, are solely the fault of Obama's dithering. But then, he is not really dithering. This trojan horse, borm a muslim in a muslim country, groomed and educated with muslim money, and then stealthily placed and financially supported by our enemies, is in place to destroy us. Obama will do everything he can to destroy Amerrica financially, and militarily. Now that he has access to our national secrets, watch for the covers of our clandestine agents to be blown, one by one.
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POPSAngel Of The Skies "If we can bring smiles and laughter, even if it is just for a few minutes, to these people, well, then it is worth it," she said. Schmidt 'adopted' Army National Guard Sgt. Tim Gallagher last year and sends care packages on a monthly basis. Although he enjoys the snacks and toiletries, he considers the journals the most moving and thoughtful of all the gifts he has received. "They will be something I cherish for the rest of my life," he said via e-mail. "Something for the ages to look at and see how people really feel about what we are doing here." Even when Schmidt does not have time to put together a care package, she tries to send her soldiers a postcard or short letter. "The morale of soldiers can be made or broken from the amount of mail they do or do not receive." If you would like to adopt a soldier, contact Robin Schmidt at find_robin@hotmail.com.
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POPSNational Novel Writing Month (2009) What: Writing one 50,000-word novel from scratch in a month's time. Who: You! We can't do this unless we have some other people trying it as well. Let's write laughably awful yet lengthy prose together. Why: The reasons are endless! To actively participate in one of our era's most enchanting art forms! To write without having to obsess over quality. To be able to make obscure references to passages from our novels at parties. To be able to mock real novelists who dawdle on and on, taking far longer than 30 days to produce their work. When: You can sign up anytime to add your name to the roster and browse the forums. Writing begins November 1. To be added to the official list of winners, you must reach the 50,000-word mark by November 30 at midnight. Once your novel has been verified by our web-based team of robotic word counters, the partying begins.
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POPS2012 Is Already Here "It started off same as always; coupla fossils saying how our Banjo Patterson was a better poet than Walt Whitman, how Con the Fruiterer is funnier than Seinfeld, only they're Aussies so no one knows about 'em," recalled witness Kevin Porter. "Then this bloke Martin pipes up and says Australia's main problem is that it's stuck in Australia, and everybody says 'Too right!'" "Well, it made sense at the time," Porter added. By 2 a.m., powered by national pride and alcohol, the 3-million-square-mile land mass was barging eastward through the Coral Sea and crossing into the central Pacific, leaving a trail of beer cans and Chinese take-away in its wake. When dawn broke over the Northern Hemisphere, the continent suddenly found itself, not only upside down, but smack in the middle of the Atlantic, and according to most of its 19 million inhabitants, that's the way it's going to stay.
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POPSNational Writing Day Now there's the computer and the internet. In the digital age, anyone with a laptop, a wi-fi card, and a place to sit at Starbucks can put material into cyberspace. The digital revolution means everyone's an author, every day is National Writing Day. And this sudden democratizing of the writing process generates its own set of complaints: * it's wrong to give so many people access to authorship -- after all, most people won't be very good at, and some people are going to write things that we don't agree with * computers make writing too easy -- something so important should only come with effort -- no pain, no gain -- maybe we should increase the entrance fees? * we need to control, license, censor what's on the 'net: after all, the web is full of lies, misinformation, nonsense, pornography, fraud, Nigerian money scams, and hate, not to mention all those pictures of little cats But despite the complaints, writers everywhere are grabbing their keyboards...
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POPSRadical Islamist to Lead Unprecedented March Mr Griffin also hailed the development, saying, "this move by the Pak.. I mean the radical Islamists demonstrates that the BNP is now the right choice for Britain's idiots. We stand now as a mainstream Party, offering the opportunity of quality multicultural unfairness to all Britain's morons. As part of the move the BNP's Constitution is to be reviewed to bring it more in line with the teachings of radical Islam. References to 'ragheads' and other potentially Islamic slights are to be removed, with greater emphasis placed instead on the disempowerment of woman. However, both men said they were in agreement that any bits about being Jewish could stay in place. Reports that the cleric intends to stand for Parliament remain unconfirmed.
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POPSBlack SAS war hero who held off 250 rebels single-handed
With no cover and facing certain death, he sprinted across 800 metres of exposed ground to reach a 25-pound field-gun. It was a brave - but apparently futile manouevre - as the huge weapon took three men to operate. That, however, did not deter Labalaba. Nor did facial injuries which would have rendered a lesser man helpless. As British forces watched in astonishment, Labalaba turned the cumbersome gun on the enemy and opened fire at near point blank range. He went on for six hours, decimating the rebels and ultimately paying for his courage with his life. His comrades found him slumped face down by the massive gun. His selfless actions undoubtedly saved many of the British soldiers holed up inside the fort and won him a posthumous Mention in Despatches. For many, his statue will be a long-overdue memorial to one of the SAS's greatest heroes. It is also some small recompense to thousands of ethnic minority servicemen, many from Commonwealth countries, who feel their
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POPSYes Men Pull Off Chamber Of Commerce Hoax On Climate Change It turns out, that an email press release was just one component of the hoax. In addition, the fake group managed to secure space at the prestigious National Press Club to host a "press conference" announcing its change in climate change position, according to the real Chamber. Several reporters were in attendance, I'm told, unaware that this was all a big joke. The event would have gone off without a hitch except for the fact that an actual Chamber spokesman was tipped off to the shenanigans and moved quickly to break it up. A reporter interested in covering what she thought was a real event inadvertently showed up at the Chamber's office on H Street instead of the press club. UPDATE: A source close to the infamous pranksters, The Yes Men, claims that the group was behind today's hoax and will be sending along a press release and video shortly. Stay tuned!
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POPSGame Viewing in Kruger National Park You'll travel from Johannesburg across the Highveld and Machadodorp to stay the night on the border of Kruger National Park, and take an early-afternoon open-vehicle game drive. Next day you'll take early-morning and afternoon game drives, with the rest of the day to spend at your leisure. Before returning to Johannesburg there'll be time for one final early-morning game drive. Kruger National Park is a paradise for wildlife enthusiasts, and more than twice the size of Yellowstone National Park. Kruger was established back in 1898, making it one of the oldest preserves in the world. The park is known around the world for its easy access to wildlife and its well-maintained roads.
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POPSUnited Nations of America to meet in Nov. 7th Huh? You say - smile. Well not entirely accurate, I guess but what else would you call a meeting between the President and all the recognized Native American Tribes (Nations) on November 7th. At the very least, it's a good step forward in making up for 230 years plus of broken promises between our national government and the daughters and sons of the first inhabitants of this land. Now that I think of it, we are all immigrants right?
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