This Site, the 411

Dear Readers:

I have just started this site to focus on my political postings. With fewer than 60 days left before the 2008 presidential election, I feel it is more important than ever for those of us who are paying attention to highlight and analyze relevant issues.

In order to get the ball rolling here, I've imported several posts from my other blog. I've only included those with political content, but it should offer some background regarding how I think and where I stand on issues. In case you didn't realize from the title, "Beyond the Palin," I'm operating from the perspective of a progressive Democrat. I am an Obama supporter and proud of it. That said, I believe myself to be a thoughtful and analytical consumer of the news and media in general. Furthermore, while there are things I believe that vary from the Democratic platform, on the whole I know Barack Obama and Joe Biden to be the best choice to lead our country forward.

I have already set up several categories, and expect more to come as I go forward. I also hope to invite other friends to post their thoughts to this site, so look for other authors in the future as well.

Following is a description of each of the categories as the stand now:

• Politics: Anything that has political content, with a few subcategories:
  
  
  
  • Campaign '08: Anything that deals with any race in 2008, including congressional and presidential.
  
  
  • Barack Obama: Anything that focuses on Barack Obama.
  
  
  • Joe Biden: Anything that focuses on Joe Biden, Barack Obama's running mate.
  
  
  • John McCain: Anything that focuses on John McCain.
  
  
  • Sarah Palin: Anything that focuses on Sarah Palin, John McCain's running mate.
  
  
  • Hillary Clinton: Anything that focuses on Hillary Clinton.
  
  
  • PUMA: Anything that focuses on those identifying themselves as disgruntled Hillary Clinton supporters.
  
  
  
  


• Humor: Anything that I find amusing...you don't have to and may not find these funny, but if I've labeled it with "humor," it's something that made me laugh. Checking out what amuses me might be a good way to learn just how twisted I can be at times.


• Musings & Observations: My general thoughts and observations about this and that.


• Rants: The same as musings and observationals, but expressed with angry zeal.


• Words: I love words; this is a place to share some of my favorites with you.


• Quotes: I love quotes; this is a place to share any with you that make me laugh or think or both.


• It's All About Me: Anything that speaks to who I am. That vague enough? I do have one subcategory called Diary of a Mad eDater. I have several posts that predate finding a wonderful man, with whom I am very happy and have been for over two years now. These posts are about some of my experiences with eDating before my current relationship. I've included them both because they are funny and because they contain some of my best political commentary.


• 411: Bits of information about this blog or the world around us.


• Religion: Anything that focuses on religion, especially its role in our public discourse.


• Old Media: As an avid consumer of both print and televised media, the things I read or watch sometimes inspire me to comment. This category covers such posts. I have included a couple of subcategories here as well.


• Blogs: This is for posts commenting on or recommending other blogs.

Most of my posts are listed in multiple categories, as I find that categories are an easy way for readers to navigate to posts that interest them. When I first started posting, it wasn't possible to "tag" my posts, so I tended to use categories more like tags. I will be tagging my posts as well, in order to avoid putting all my comments in every category. It's a process, but, it should be an interesting journey...at least for me =-)

That's it for now. Please feel free to comment on any post and; let me know if you are interested in becoming a regular author.

Best,

Noetical