Is There A Single Tea Party Platform? from The Takeaway: Early Edition by feedback@thetakeaway.org (Public Radio International and WNYC Radio)

Ever since April 15th, when Tea Party groups emerged around the country, the public has been hearing a lot about what—and at whom—Tea Party anger is directed. But as America heads into the midterms with dozens of candidates endorsed by local Tea Party groups on the ballot, it's time to take a look at what the Tea Party wants. In other words, without a national party structure or official spokespeople, what is the best way to identify common planks of a Tea Party platform? Matt Kibbe joins the show to discuss that question. He’s the president of conservative political group FreedomWorks, and the author of a book called "Give Us Liberty: A Tea Party Manifesto."

Listen to the podcast here. Download the podcast, mp3 file here.

David Helfenbein: How Malcolm Gladwell Misses the Mark in His Recent New Yorker Piece on Social Revolution from The Huffington Post Blog by David Helfenbein

When Malcolm Gladwell spoke at my alma mater during the first week of classes a number of years ago, I believed in him because I thought he believed in the future generations. After reading his latest piece, I'm not so certain that he does anymore.

Read the full Huffington Post, *post* here. Of course the bloggers out there are going to come out in droves. It's kind of a debate that's going on. You're getting all sorts of reactions to this. Check this Guardian piece out, out just a bit ago. And here's the Malcolm Gladwell piece on The New Yorker started it all: "Small Change: Why the revolution will not be tweeted". See also: Outliers: The Story of Success, Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking