Tracing Xenophobic Internet Chatter to Its Roots in New Jersey Town

Well, the economic stimulus bill has passed and is being signed into law this very day by President Obama. It's over. So, whether you were for it, or against it, it's time to stop talking about it… it's done. And what's done is done.

What do Republicans want? Because for the life of me, I cannot figure it out.

President Barack Obama traveled to Mesa Arizona this week to tell the country about his Homeowner Affordability & Stability Plan to fix the housing market. I didn't watch his speech. I didn't listen to it on the radio.

President Obama's plan to reduce the flood of home foreclosures will include a mix of government inducements and new pressure on lenders to reduce monthly payments for borrowers at risk of losing their houses, according to people knowledgeable about the administration's think …

I go from column to column… post to post… thread to thread… reading the diverse views from left to right… I truly enjoy it… learn from it… care about it… see its potential and sing its praises to others.

"Blink," the mega-best-seller by Malcolm Gladwell, is about the importance of first impressions, and Mr.

President-elect Barack Obama said Saturday his inauguration will be more than simply a transfer of power; it should be a celebration of the American spirit.

I'm planning to be at the Inauguration, at least on the Mall (no ticket here) with who knows how many millions of people, in the probably freezing weather, hoping for a glimpse or two of what's going on (hoping for big screens).

The global financial system was teetering on the edge of collapse when President Bush and his economics team huddled in the Roosevelt Room of the White House for a briefing that, in the words of one participant, "scared the hell out of everybody."

Voters who lined-up Tuesday and the millions who balloted early propelled 2008 to what one expert said was the highest turnout in a century.

Feed-in Tariffs in 70 words or less: Government and power utility offers premium, long-term contracts to residential, commercial, and industrial citizens to generate power on-site.

Offshore drilling became a campaign issue as gasoline prices hit $4 a gallon and political opinion polls showed that not only did Americans want their elected leaders to do something about it, but they thought drilling for oil on the continental shelf is a great idea.

National Security isn't traditionally thought of as a green issue, but the nexus of energy demand, global warming and violent extremism have made it so.

The cost of oil peaked above $140 a barrel this summer, nearly double the price a year earlier and 40% higher than worst-case scenarios discussed just months earlier.

The National Archives's recent decision to open more than 35,000 official personnel files of men and women who served in the Office of Strategic Services (O.S.S.)--the U.S.'s intelligence agency during World War II and the precursor to the Central Intelligence Agency (C.I.A.)--ha …

If George Etzel Pearcy had his way, Lynyrd Skynyrd's famous song would have been called "Sweet Home Talladego." In 1973, the California State University geography professor suggested that the U.S.

Unlike America, Denmark, which was so badly hammered by the 1973 Arab oil embargo that it banned all Sunday driving for a while, responded to that crisis in such a sustained, focused and systematic way that today it is energy independent.

In this energy plan, Obama recognizes that 837,000 troops have served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Hollywood screenwriters could come up with a fictional scenario that makes Congress look worse than it did in real life last week. But it's hard to see how.

But there was a time when the Republican and Democratic conventions were bare-knuckled political brawls.

In a political system as balkanized as ours, it is only in moments of genuine danger that meaningful reforms get enacted. Washington will have to enact a complete regulatory overhaul.

For those people who'd rather watch than read Al Gore's Repowering America speech, given yesterday at D.A.R. Constitution Hall, here is the speech in its entirety.

I've been energized this week by both Al Gore's speeches and TV appearances that challenge all the citizens of the US to work together for energy independence (1, 2), as well as T Boone Pickens similar analysis of the need for energy independence (3).

regg and Evan Spiridellis, founders of jibjab.com, have collected more than 12 million disembodied heads, and they're hungry for more.

Barack Obama on Sunday proposed up to a 50-percent tax credit for small businesses providing health insurance to their employees, a program he hopes has special appeal to Hispanics and other minority groups struggling for a toehold in the U.S. economy.

The launch of the iPhone 3G signals the growing sophistication of an industry -- demonstrating the power of marrying precise location technology with the reach of the Internet on mobile devices.

Some people in the D.C. area are benefiting from the foreclosure crisis.

Barack Obama on Tuesday proposed changing bankruptcy laws to fast-track the process for military families, help seniors keep their homes, and protect people recovering from natural disasters.

New legislation shields some genetic secrets—time and mistrust still obscure others

Hawaii has become the first state to require solar water heaters in new homes. The bill was signed into law by Governor Linda Lingle, a Republican. It requires the energy-saving systems in homes starting in 2010.

As Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton prepare to perform in a pageant of Democratic togetherness in Unity, N.H., Howard Fineman reports on the tensions behind the scenes.

Researchers in a new study found voters were more likely to approve a school-funding initiative if they were assigned to cast their ballot at a school.

From higher electric bills to more expensive gasoline, the possible economic cost of tackling global warming is driving the debate as climate change takes center stage in Congress.

A county in Florida has announced plans to conduct a pilot internet voting project this November for voters who live overseas.

I've had it.

A prominent Stanford law professor on Thursday launched an ambitious project that aims to use collaborative software to harness the extraordinary levels of pent-up political energy and dissatisfaction that voters have shown over the past two years with their members of congress.

LAUSANNE, Switzerland, March 18, 2008 (AFP) - Hundreds of demonstrators gathered Tuesday at the seat of the International Olympic Committee in the Swiss city of Lausanne to denounce China's crackdown in Tibet. The demonstrators, many holding banners and Tibetan flags, arrived wi …

As the battle over reforms to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act rages in Congress, civil libertarians warn that legislation sought by the White House could enable spying on "ordinary Americans." Others, like Sen.

In the summer of 2004, Andy Martin, a colorful Web columnist and sometime Republican candidate for state office, put out a press release announcing his sadness at having to "expose" Barack Obama as a "Muslim who has concealed his religion." Reporters ignored Martin's ch …

Senator and Presidential candidate Barack Obama today released his list of "earmarks" -- pet projects planted in spending bills.  His defense programs are pretty much standard fare: $6 million to work on the roof of the local Rock Island Arsenal; $7.5 million for cybersecurity r …

A Neanderthal-eat-Neanderthal world may have spread a mad cow-like disease that weakened and reduced populations of the large Eurasian human, thereby contributing to its extinction, according to a new theory based on cannibalism that took place in more recent history.

The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled today that California must seek federal approval for stringent new controls on sulfur emissions from oceangoing ships that enter the state's waters, following a suit filed by the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association.

A little while ago, the Newsvine community was asked to comment on the Code of Honor. There were many fine additions and changes suggested. At that time I suggested: I would add to the CoH that hateful speech contravenes the CoH.

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is looking to join the ranks of local leaders who are working to implement a carbon tax.

Under pressure from agriculture industry lobbyists and lawmakers from agricultural states, the Environmental Protection Agency wants to drop requirements that factory farms report their emissions of toxic gases, despite findings by the agency's scientists that the gases pose a he …

Brandy Coons is what health economists call a free rider.

In a move to achieve economic advantage over global competitors, in the past two years Chancellor Angela Merkel has brought science and research to the top of Germany's economic agenda.

You say your book, Day of Empire, is a warning. How so? I'm suggesting that, ironically, the secret to becoming a world "hyperpower" is tolerance. If you look at history, you see great powers being very tolerant in their rise to global dominance.

In a tight race, the Democratic Party's pick for presidential candidate could be decided by superdelegates -- 795 party insiders who are free to vote for anybody they want at the party's national convention.

While no woman has been president of the United States — yet — the world does have several thousand years' worth of experience with female leaders. And I have to acknowledge it: Their historical record puts men's to shame.

The nation's capital attracts more than 15 million visitors a year, mostly leisure travelers who often make their way to the city's official visitor center, which is conveniently located downtown in a corner of the Ronald Reagan building.

Internet-based financial markets appear to forecast elections better than polls do. They also probe how well the next George Clooney drama will do at the box office and how bad the next flu season will be.

Super Tuesday could well decide the nominees for president. That's why it's being referred to this year as Tsunami Tuesday. The stakes are higher for Republicans, most analysts agree, but also high for Democrats.

The government claims that driver's license "reform" will help combat illegal immigration and generally protect national security, but it fails to acknowledge that the Real ID Act seriously threatens privacy and civil liberties on a national scale.

OVER the years, I've been deeply moved by the people who've told me they wished they could feel inspired and hopeful about America the way people did when my father was president. This sense is even more profound today.

Meg Whitman, who raised funds for Romney, has been asking key Republicans about the possibilities, sources say.

We recently published a column describing a few instances of the law of unintended consequences — specifically, what happens when well-meaning legislation winds up hurting the parties it is designed to help.

The alternatives facing Democratic voters have been characterized variously as a choice between experience and change, between an insider and an outsider, and between two firsts—a woman and a black man.

I just spent some time with OpenCongress.org, and I'm thoroughly impressed - and overwhelmed by what I should be following.  I need to establish feeds, watch bills, follow the gossip, and post comments.  It's huge.  Everything you need in one place.  As Ellen Miller of th …

Did you know that the Bush administration is already starting to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions? On December 10, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff announced his top-secret plan for saving the planet from global warming.

A family-owned trucking firm that has a contract to deliver Diebold electronic voting machines to 14 voting districts in Maryland is headed by the former chairman of Maryland's Republican party, Wired News has learned. Office Movers, which is owned by The Kane Company in Elkridg …

Over one year ago NewAssignment.net launched its first lab project. The Polling Place Photo Project. We lovingly refer to it as PPPP. In fact, the image below is the FIRST image that was uploaded into this blog.

The brief interregnum between the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary may be remembered as a time when it appeared that the magical qualities ascribed to Barack Obama included an ability to suspend all the ordinary rules of politics.

The Iowa "bounce," the agenda of the independent voter and what message to send are shaping the election of the next president of the United States.

We haven't even made it to the New Hampshire primary, but millions of Americans are already sick of hearing about the 2008 race. Bad as the torrent of news is, I find the repetition of myths about voters and voting even more galling.

The top science post in the White House needs to be pulled from the shadows of the Cold War and reestablished as a cornerstone of crucial, rational advice for the US presidency.

Who needs a warm-up campaign? Having scaled down her career to support her husband's political goals, Michelle Obama says "it's now or never" for the couple to take the White House.

Knowing your business is big business for Aristotle Inc., whose Orwellian database of voter records has been an essential campaign tool for every president since Ronald Reagan.

In the early moments of the CNN/ YouTube Republican debate on November 28th—the follow-up to the CNN/ YouTube Democratic debate last July—the often useful phrase "the minutes seemed like hours" suddenly felt inadequate.

Here's something to keep in mind as election time approaches: Study the politicians. Not their dossiers or their domestic policies, but their faces.

Who said what about Rudolph Giuliani?

The American two-party democracy offers a significantly more interesting selection than Germany's four-party system.

The following are the responses by seven of the leading Democratic candidates to eight questions posed by New Hampshire Business Review relating to business-related issues. All candidates were given a 150-word-per-answer limit.

Precis: All insurgencies have common characteristics, and obey remarkably similar rules. To understand insurgency, we must follow the money. Pare away all other considerations.

Take the quiz and see!

Killfile appeared on MSNBC Live at 12:52EST today. It was an interview format, with Killfile representing the Newsvine community.

I've been spending more time on Facebook lately, getting to know how it works so I can use it when I have an appropriate project. The opportunity just presented itself in the form of an advocacy campaign headed up by my blog friend Jeff Harrell.

What's the blame game?

RICHMOND, Sept. 21 -- A Republican state legislator from Fairfax County has launched an attack ad on cable TV against his Democratic opponent that features unidentified, unverified quotes from a blog.

Carrying American flags and chanting "Si, se puede" ("Yes, we can"), several thousand Latinos rallied at the seat of Prince William County government yesterday to denounce the Board of Supervisors' plan to curb services to illegal immigrants. Protesters from as far as Minnesota  …

In an ideal world, our differences would be resolved through reasoned argumentation and civilized debate. However, too often (both on Newsvine and in the world), this is not the case.

From the book review: But the theme of Ahmed's Journey into Islam is much broader.

From the article: By a vote of 8-2 today, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors agreed to fund the first phase of a project to extend the Metrorail system 23 miles to Dulles International Airport -- a project local leaders say is deeply flawed, but is also vital for the region' …

From the article: All 10 members of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors think that the plan they are scheduled to consider tomorrow to extend Metro to Dulles International Airport is seriously flawed.

From the article: I am a Quaker who has owned a natural foods business for 31 years and has traveled extensively in the developing world.

On Friday, President Bush visited veterans at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, DC. When he visits Walter Reed, he takes a helicopter which lands in a public space not too far from the hospital.

From the article: Mayor Adrian M. Fenty declared in his first State of the District address yesterday that he is moving fast to make Washington a better place to live, and urged residents to join him for a people's march on Capitol Hill to push for D.C. voting rights.

From the article: Advocates of a bill to give District residents a vote in the House of Representatives said yesterday they were dismayed that the White House opposes the measure but were determined to lobby Congress to get it passed.

The Maryland Senate agreed to express "profound regret" for the state's role in the slave trade with unanimous approval of a resolution that acknowledges the responsibility the state had in maintaining "the institution of slavery and its attendant evils."

The White House declared its opposition yesterday to a bill that would give the District its first full seat in the House of Representatives, saying it is unconstitutional, and a key Senate supporter said such concerns could kill the measure.

From the article: FAIRFAX, Virginia -- Early one Sunday morning in 2002, a phone rings in Yu Ling's Beijing duplex. She's cleaning upstairs; her son is asleep, while downstairs, her husband, Wang Xiaoning, is on the computer.

During my eight years as governor of Maryland, I never had to confront the hardest decision a governor can face: whether to allow an execution to proceed. I am not sorry I missed such a life-or-death choice, although I feel certain I would have opted against execution.

Maryland lawmakers are drawing up ambitious proposals to provide medical insurance to hundreds of thousands of residents without coverage, stepping into the national debate over who should pay the soaring costs of health care.

From the article: Listening to French news I learn that French soccer legend Michel Platini is running for president.

From the article: Hillary Rodham Clinton sure got it right when she announced her candidacy for president while sitting on her living room couch. Her success may very well turn on the decisions of millions of women sitting on their living room couches.

From the article: The emotionally charged, polarizing issue of the death penalty was barely mentioned during the campaign for Maryland governor.

From the article: Thirteen states and the District sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in federal court in Washington yesterday to try to get the agency to strengthen its restrictions on the amount of soot that industries and automobiles can release into the air.

From the article: A growing list of vacancies on the federal appeals court in Richmond is heightening concern among Republicans that one of the nation's most conservative and influential courts could soon come under moderate or even liberal control, Republicans and legal scholars …

From the article: The war in Iraq has produced many casualties. One lesser-noticed one may be the death of an idea -- the idea that the culture of a nation or region can be transformed quickly by well-intentioned foreigners.