Greetings from Costa Rica

Greetings from the Gulf of Papagayo, Costa Rica. I'm here to celebrate the elections being over, and to get some r&r --so I can keep writing lots of cool stuff for you. So far, I've gone horseback riding, played beach volleyball, and have hit the ocean. The food and coffee are both fabulous. I've also seen Monkeys (did you know that the ones here can hang by their tails -- but in Africa they can't?) and have gotten a sample of rubber off of a rubber tree (yes, I'm a dork).

What about politics, you ask? Via conversation with the locals, I've found out lots of history of Costa Rica. Por exemplo, they disbanded the military in 1948. What keeps Nicaragua and Panama at bay? Most likely all the business investments made here by countries like the U.S.. There are also three major political parties. The "liberal" party is the conservative party. And in the 40s, I believe, a very smart politico found a way to merge communism and Christianity to form the Social Christian party (I think this is what the liberals would love to do in the USA).

I'm collecting lots of new ideas and articles. I'll be back in touch after the Holiday! In the meantime, if you're jonesin' for some good campaign/technology training, check out this article by Jon Henke. This draws on what he learned during the 2006 Allen campaign, and (in his words), it discusses "the effectiveness of the Leftosphere, the coming (sooner or later) engagement by the Republican Party of the Rightosphere, and the evolution of the New Media in politics." Enjoy!