Farewell. The Flying Pig Has Left The Building.

Steve Hynd, August 16, 2012

After four years on the Typepad site, eight years total blogging, Newshoggers is closing it's doors today. We've been coasting the last year or so, with many of us moving on to bigger projects (Hey, Eric!) or simply running out of blogging enthusiasm, and it's time to give the old flying pig a rest.

We've done okay over those eight years, although never being quite PC enough to gain wider acceptance from the partisan "party right or wrong" crowds. We like to think we moved political conversations a little, on the ever-present wish to rush to war with Iran, on the need for a real Left that isn't licking corporatist Dem boots every cycle, on America's foreign misadventures in Afghanistan and Iraq. We like to think we made a small difference while writing under that flying pig banner. We did pretty good for a bunch with no ties to big-party apparatuses or think tanks.

Those eight years of blogging will still exist. Because we're ending this typepad account, we've been archiving the typepad blog here. And the original blogger archive is still here. There will still be new content from the old 'hoggers crew too. Ron writes for The Moderate Voice, I post at The Agonist and Eric Martin's lucid foreign policy thoughts can be read at Democracy Arsenal.

I'd like to thank all our regular commenters, readers and the other bloggers who regularly linked to our posts over the years to agree or disagree. You all made writing for 'hoggers an amazingly fun and stimulating experience.

Thank you very much.

Note: This is an archive copy of Newshoggers. Most of the pictures are gone but the words are all here. There may be some occasional new content, John may do some posts and Ron will cross post some of his contributions to The Moderate Voice so check back.


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Now there's 60

by Jay McDonough


Art.franken.gi Norm Coleman finally conceded
today he'd lost his bid to be reelected the Republican senator from
Minnesota.  Following multiple challenges and, finally, a decision by
the states Supreme Court,  Al Franken was ruled the winner of the
November 2008 contest.  It's likely Mr. Franken will be sworn into the
Senate as soon as they return next week from the 4th of July break.

Mr.
Franken now makes 60 Democratic (or Democratic voting) senators. 
That's a filibuster proof majority and presents a great opportunity for
real solid progressive legislation to be channeled through Congress.

There
are two kinds of people in this world (Don't you hate it when folks say
"there are two kinds of people in this world"?).  There are those that
relish the opportunity to do something big; to take the big bold steps
and make big significant accomplishments. 

Then there are those
that are cautious, that don't want to be too disruptive to the status
quo, and act meekly with the power they've been provided.

Any bets on which way this 60 member Democratic Senate will go?



Posted by at
Labels:

4 comments:

  1. geoffJune 30, 2009 at 3:06 PM

    Ken Silverstein, over at Harpers, isn't taking any bets but he thinks there maybe a unique opportunity "to see what it looks like when a filibuster-proof majority is squandered."

    ReplyDelete
  2. EarlJuly 1, 2009 at 12:01 AM

    The latter due to too many blue dogs, but I still have a good feeling about Al as my Senator.

    ReplyDelete
  3. chris yJuly 1, 2009 at 1:29 AM

    "Mr. Franken now makes 60 Democratic (or Democratic voting) senators." One of who is called Lieberman and several others who might as well be.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Jay McDonoughJuly 1, 2009 at 3:46 AM

    I'll bet the Republicans are working overtime trying to get Ben Nelson to bolt the Democratic Party.

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)