this is kid oakland blog

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(or, as you can see above....k/o...for short.)

Welcome to kid oakland blog. I'm Paul and I live and work and write in Oakland, California. I've been writing online as kid oakland since the first days of scoop at dailykos.com (2003) and you may know me from there, or from my participation at blog communities like booman tribune or MyDD. However it may be that you've found your way here...welcome!

This blog is a place to find articles on politics and culture from a progressive point of view. I try to keep the content here fresh and the links reflective of the best writing and voices available on the net. Topics of interest include: progressive politics, local and regional blogging, electoral politics, national and international news stories mixed with essays and links on music and culture. If you liked my writing on dailykos, you'll find news stories and links to other writers who work in a similar way and covering similar territory.

Your comments and tips are always welcome. Your readership is very much appreciated.

Enjoy!!

Paul, kid oakland

Contact me: kidoaklandatcomcast.net

Site content published under a Creative Commons license. All citations and links on this site are made in the spirit of fair use to promote and comment on the work cited, with a link to the original whenever possible. Comments are subject to moderation.

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a serious moment

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James Watson: racism alive and well in the USA

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I've spent the last 24 hours reading as the fires ignited by Nobel laureate James Watson have spurred hundreds of racist comments on message boards across the world . The racial views espoused by Watson are not simply pernicious, they are unamerican. The premise that you could walk out your door in the United States and make the claim, with a straight face and in a public place, that you presume that someone is less intelligent than you because of the color of their skin or ethnic background is abhorrent. Watson claims that everyone with Black employees “knows that they are not the equals of Whites” and, somehow, that is supposed to be acceptable? We are supposed to take him seriously…as a scientist? I don’t think so. Watson is about to lose his job and what was left of his reputation. The equality of every citizen, respect for each other including our differences and a sense of the potential inherent in each and every citizen, especially our children, is essential to what it m
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Sharks, Carp and Dolphins: applying a model from business to politics

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From where I stand, it is encouraging to read essays expressing creative and critical ways to think about Democratic strategy in what is shaping up to be a significant election year.   Thereisnospoon has served up another solid challenge (always welcome) to Democratic assumptions...and bmaples addendem to that diary (including a nice summary of some thoughts from Markos) extended the idea of a  "broad assault" on conservatism that I (with many others) advocated in the wake of Katrina with flipping the rock . What I'd like to do with this essay is adapt a paradigm from the world of business strategy that I think applies to the Democratic party in 2006.  I think you'll find these ideas dovetail with the above essays, and, I hope, will prove useful tools for thinking about Democratic strategy in 2006... Dudley Lynch's 1989 book Strategy of the Dolphin: Scoring a Win in a Chaotic World divided business strategy into three competing paradigms:  that of Sharks, that
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