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January 07, 2011
A Freshman Senator to Watch: Ohio's Rob Portman.
Pretend for a moment that all Republicans and Democrats cannot be reduced to cartoon characters and cultural stereotypes, or relegated to someone's gallery of demonhood. Learn about Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) (Washington Post), sworn in just this week. He's smart, honest, well-spoken, young (55) and has done everything right so far. Well, perfectly. He's an "R"--but not a shrill dweeb. My sense is that the reading of the U.S. Constitution yesterday across the Hill would have embarrassed him. (But he would never tell me.) The most talented and sane end of the GOP establishment loves the guy. Importantly, we think he'd even get along well with our bud Al Franken. As a fellow Midwesterner, Franken would admire the new junior Ohio senator, too.
Posted by JD Hull at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)
What if your life was actually interesting? Expats in the U.S and Europe vs. China.
See in The Economist "A Tale of Two Expats". Is life really easier for Western expatriates in China than it is for Chinese expatriates in the West? Answer: either expat has it all over you. Time to sell the house and kids and wife? Maybe leave Columbus? Think about it. Life's short. One of the best sentences from a Brit pen ever: "A final headache for Chinese expats is that, when you move to an oppressive Western capitalist society, you encounter a working class that can throw its weight around."
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 07:01 AM | Comments (0)