A few interesting books if anyone is interested:
The Vanishing Voter, Thomas E Patterson
Mass Media and American Politics, Doris A. Graber
Not something "you can't put down" but interesting none the less!
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Saturday, December 8, 2012
The New Republican Party
Is all the hype about restructuring the Republican Party just that, hype? Does all the talk really mean anything or did we hear these same words after the defeat in '08? I'm not sure anything will happen, four years will pass, the Republican base will shrink even further and they'll be scratching their heads with another defeat in 2016.
Here is an article on what the Republicans are thinking post-defeat. Not sounding like too much change is going on!
"So here is the Republican Party reinventing itself. The GOP majority in the Ohio legislature rushes to defund Planned Parenthood in its post-election session. The orange-tinted speaker of the House proposes to undo Obamacare through “oversight” in the name of “solving our debt and restoring prosperity.” Never mind that health-care reform doesn’t raise the deficit but reduces it. Or that “a new low,” 33 percent of Americans, the anti-Obama bitter-enders, still favor repealing the law (PDF). And a rising star in the GOP future, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, offers a dim view out of the pre-Darwinian past that maybe the Earth was created in seven days—and that since “theologians” disagree, we should teach “multiple theories.”
"This doesn’t sound like rethinking, or thinking at all, but like the reflex and revanchism of a party that doesn’t comprehend or simply can’t respond to the dimensions of its 2012 defeat."
It will take a lot of "Danny-types" to turn this around.
Here is an article on what the Republicans are thinking post-defeat. Not sounding like too much change is going on!
"So here is the Republican Party reinventing itself. The GOP majority in the Ohio legislature rushes to defund Planned Parenthood in its post-election session. The orange-tinted speaker of the House proposes to undo Obamacare through “oversight” in the name of “solving our debt and restoring prosperity.” Never mind that health-care reform doesn’t raise the deficit but reduces it. Or that “a new low,” 33 percent of Americans, the anti-Obama bitter-enders, still favor repealing the law (PDF). And a rising star in the GOP future, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, offers a dim view out of the pre-Darwinian past that maybe the Earth was created in seven days—and that since “theologians” disagree, we should teach “multiple theories.”
"This doesn’t sound like rethinking, or thinking at all, but like the reflex and revanchism of a party that doesn’t comprehend or simply can’t respond to the dimensions of its 2012 defeat."
It will take a lot of "Danny-types" to turn this around.
Sunday, December 2, 2012
It Comes Down to Data
"Voters may not recognize just how much campaigning has evolved. The house looks the same, he said, but the plumbing's gotten extremely complicated."
Capturing what we do via the web or TV.
This is the data guy who headed up Dreamcatcher: "Rayid Ghani, the man who has been named Obama’s “chief scientist.”
I guess they listened: "Those familiar with Dreamcatcher describe it as a bet on text analytics to make sense of a whole genre of personal information that no one has ever systematically collected or put to use in politics. Obama’s targeters hope the project will allow them to make more sophisticated decisions about which voters to approach and what to say to them. “It’s not about us trying to leverage the information we have to better predict what people are doing. It’s about us being better listeners,” says a campaign official. “When a million people are talking to you at once it’s hard to listen to everything, and we need text analytics and other tools to make sense of what everyone is saying in a structured way.”
A new term, Microlistening: "St. Clair is among more than a dozen developers hired by the campaign to leverage technology to wring out more votes in what Obama’s advisers say may be an election as close as the contested 2000 race between George W. Bush and Al Gore. From Seattle startups to International Business Machines Corp., they’ve left lucrative jobs to mine for swing voters. They've added a new term to the strategic lexicon: microlistening."
“The things we did in 2008 in many ways were prehistoric by contemporary standards,” Axelrod said at a Dec. 7 Bloomberg View lunch. “There’s a lot you can do in the way of more finely targeting voters so they’re getting information that’s useful to them.”
"It comes down to data -- collecting voter information, synthesizing it and making use of it most effectively. The data comes from conversations on the ground and behavioral patterns on the website. Analysts may try to determine how to best target a voter who gives $5 to participate in a raffle to have dinner with the president versus $5 during a Republican debate."
Capturing what we do via the web or TV.
This is the data guy who headed up Dreamcatcher: "Rayid Ghani, the man who has been named Obama’s “chief scientist.”
I guess they listened: "Those familiar with Dreamcatcher describe it as a bet on text analytics to make sense of a whole genre of personal information that no one has ever systematically collected or put to use in politics. Obama’s targeters hope the project will allow them to make more sophisticated decisions about which voters to approach and what to say to them. “It’s not about us trying to leverage the information we have to better predict what people are doing. It’s about us being better listeners,” says a campaign official. “When a million people are talking to you at once it’s hard to listen to everything, and we need text analytics and other tools to make sense of what everyone is saying in a structured way.”
A new term, Microlistening: "St. Clair is among more than a dozen developers hired by the campaign to leverage technology to wring out more votes in what Obama’s advisers say may be an election as close as the contested 2000 race between George W. Bush and Al Gore. From Seattle startups to International Business Machines Corp., they’ve left lucrative jobs to mine for swing voters. They've added a new term to the strategic lexicon: microlistening."
“The things we did in 2008 in many ways were prehistoric by contemporary standards,” Axelrod said at a Dec. 7 Bloomberg View lunch. “There’s a lot you can do in the way of more finely targeting voters so they’re getting information that’s useful to them.”
"It comes down to data -- collecting voter information, synthesizing it and making use of it most effectively. The data comes from conversations on the ground and behavioral patterns on the website. Analysts may try to determine how to best target a voter who gives $5 to participate in a raffle to have dinner with the president versus $5 during a Republican debate."
Somebody's Watching Me
I guess it is a good thing that all we basically watch on TV is sports and politics (the boys will turn on Family Guy until I walk into the room) as it makes the job of these data mining companies easier! Van Doren Family = Sports (Giants/Yankees) and Politics, done.
The company mentioned in Colin's article, Rentrak, has interesting results from the final debate, who watched, where...
"Rentrak's television ratings measurement service provides daily measurement of all TV networks nationally and at a granular level for TV stations in all 210 media markets nationwide. The service incorporates information from over 20 million televisions and is the only fully integrated system of detailed satellite, telco and cable TV viewing data commercially available."
They're watching us watch! It is the same as when I go to the grocery store and everything I purchase is recorded and I receive coupons in the mail for the items I buy. When I go on Facebook the advertisements that appear are oddly enough items or brands that I have purchased in the past! At least it is not stalking in the standard way but electronic consumer stalking, hoping I will purchase something. In November, it was a President. A little creepy for me. I may just throw some odd show in thereat home now and again now. Suggestions?
The company mentioned in Colin's article, Rentrak, has interesting results from the final debate, who watched, where...
"Rentrak's television ratings measurement service provides daily measurement of all TV networks nationally and at a granular level for TV stations in all 210 media markets nationwide. The service incorporates information from over 20 million televisions and is the only fully integrated system of detailed satellite, telco and cable TV viewing data commercially available."
They're watching us watch! It is the same as when I go to the grocery store and everything I purchase is recorded and I receive coupons in the mail for the items I buy. When I go on Facebook the advertisements that appear are oddly enough items or brands that I have purchased in the past! At least it is not stalking in the standard way but electronic consumer stalking, hoping I will purchase something. In November, it was a President. A little creepy for me. I may just throw some odd show in thereat home now and again now. Suggestions?
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Media Cover and Elections
Lots of folks are critical of media coverage of the
elections. What really can be done? This has been discussed and written about for quite some time but not a lot of changes have occurred. It seems the media coverage has just worsened.
M.R. Kerbel in 1997 stated that the way the media
covers the elections constitutes a “strategic haze that drowns out coverage of
issue stories and in the process cultivating views among news consumers that
candidates cannot be trusted.”
Graber (1987) stated “they have complained about the
heavy emphasis on horse race and hoopla, the de-emphasis of issues, and the
large number of stories dwelling on the personal qualities of the candidates.”
Kerbel, Apee, & Ross (2000), Contend analyses of
campaign stores carried out by political scientists found that less than a
third of campaign coverage even mentions issues, compared with a large among
of political strategy coverage.
Thomas
E. Patterson, author of The Vanishing
Voter, 2002 (skimmed and looks to be worth a read), is very critical of the press and their role in society. He states:
The
media have a powerful drive toward skepticism, a persistent need for novelty,
and a weakness for personality. These
are deeply rooted and longstanding tendencies within the media that are based
on their need to attract an audience and to avoid taking sides in partisan
conflict. These tendencies, however, are
not the desired characteristics of an electoral intermediary. What voters need from an intermediary is
enough consistency and permanence to enable them to keep their eyes on the
horizon. What they get from the press is
a version of politics that centers on incidents and interruptions (Buy, D’Angelo
18).”
Patterson is bold in his criticisms of the press and states that the problem with the modern presidential campaign lies mainly in the role assigned to the press and not with other players, such as PACS, advertising groups or political consultants. He says that the press imposes its own values on American politics and drives a wedge between candidates and voters rather than bringing them together. He says that political journalism violates the assumption that media coverage should be comprehensive, scrupulously fair, and politically balanced.
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Journalism Models, overload!
In thinking about which journalism model will work
best to make sure more political issues are covered, the
topics of political redlining and data mining surfaced. It seems that these days, especially if you
are online, a growing amount of political information we see is tailor made for
each of us. Much of this comes from
companies who data mine our information and then sell it. Political redlining is the “process of
restricting our future supply of political information with assumptions about
our demographics and present or past opinions (Philip Howard, New Media Campaigns and the Managed Citizen,
132).” Howard states that the
elderly, poor, and racial minorities are the most likely victims of imposed
political redlining. He also states that
that it is a campaign practice to decline to serve a community if it is not
part of a sensitive electoral district or individuals who are not perceived to
be sensitive to a political issue.
This article sites Strategies for Journalism to Flourish including self-publishing on a kindle, iPad app publications and instant video documentary making, but doesn’t give us anything to ensure the major issues many are concerned about will be reported.
An article from the 13th International Symposium Online Journalism titled Survival is Success: Journalistic Online Start-Ups in France, Germany, and Italy states that journalistic online start-ups are where we should be headed. Nine media organizations were looked at and of these five are operating at a loss. The article states that journalists want to practice their profession in a new environment, these groups want journalistic excellence, they want to use new tools and engage with audiences, but they need to pay their bills. It states that start ups must carve out a distinct and relevant niche to sustain the journalism “that we hope will be part of our democracies moving forward.”
This PBS report from 2009 is interesting and addresses accountability journalism, which is what we are after: “the journalism that holds everybody with power in our lives and influence in our lives accountable to the rest of us.” Suggestions are offered.
An important quote from Howard is “Increasingly, an
important part of our political participation occurs somewhat beyond our
control, co-opted into a highly privatized and often covert market sphere where
our political information is traded, channeled, and filtered, denying a forum
for its direct, free, and deliberate exchange (Howard 129).”
In an article in New Model Journalism* titled Digital revolution only just begun the reviewer cites a report titled Ten Years that Shook the Media World: Big Questions and Big Trends in International Media
that reiterates what Howard says “In affluent
democracies, the same trend towards a growing plurality of niche providers
erodes the audience for and financing of well-researched journalism. The result
is a widening of the gulf between a minority who will be more informed than
ever before, and the many who will find less and less news targeted at them.” The reviewer asks a pertinent question: “Will
we have a growing inequality of information to add to the woes of our widening
poverty gap?” He questions the implications all of this will have on democracy.This article sites Strategies for Journalism to Flourish including self-publishing on a kindle, iPad app publications and instant video documentary making, but doesn’t give us anything to ensure the major issues many are concerned about will be reported.
An article from the 13th International Symposium Online Journalism titled Survival is Success: Journalistic Online Start-Ups in France, Germany, and Italy states that journalistic online start-ups are where we should be headed. Nine media organizations were looked at and of these five are operating at a loss. The article states that journalists want to practice their profession in a new environment, these groups want journalistic excellence, they want to use new tools and engage with audiences, but they need to pay their bills. It states that start ups must carve out a distinct and relevant niche to sustain the journalism “that we hope will be part of our democracies moving forward.”
This PBS report from 2009 is interesting and addresses accountability journalism, which is what we are after: “the journalism that holds everybody with power in our lives and influence in our lives accountable to the rest of us.” Suggestions are offered.
I used a 1998 Robert McChesney article in a previous blog and think another quote from that fits
here as well "“Democracy requires a media system that provides people with
a wide range of opinion and analysis and debate on important issues, reflects
the diversity of citizens, and promotes public accountability of the
powers-that-be and the powers-that-want-to-be. In short, the media in a
democracy must foster deliberation and diversity, and ensure accountability." The question is, how is this done? McChesney proposes a strong public radio and television system. He states "
It could lead the way
in providing the type of public service journalism that commercialism is now
killing off. This might in turn give commercial journalists the impetus they
need to pursue the hard stories they now avoid. It could have a similar effect
upon our entertainment culture. A viable public TV system could support a
legion of small independent filmmakers. It could do wonders for reducing the
reliance of our political campaigns upon expensive commercial advertising. It
is essential to ensuring the diversity and deliberation that lie at the heart
of a democratic public sphere.”
I don’t have the solution and this subject seems to
be a very large and involved one! I like the quote above regarding
accountability journalism; I’m just not sure how we get there.
*As an FYI, New Model Journalism is an interesting
site. “New Model Journalism provides
comment and analysis of the revolution sweeping the media, changing how
journalism is paid for and how it is done.
With the traditional revenue model failing, the hunt is on for new
models to sustain quality journalism. There’s a lot going on – new media
technologies and platforms are developing fast, while enterprising individuals
and communities are launching start-ups and experimenting with different forms
of journalism.” It addresses Social
Media, Paywalls
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Gay Rights, War on Drugs, Housing, all non-issues during the campaign
Gay Rights
As this article states, big bird, battleships and binders full of women all found their way into the debates, but gay rights, the war on drugs and housing were all left out.
With same sex marriage on the ballot in four states and in the news a great deal, you'd think this would have come up in the debates. Obama announced in June that he supported same sex marriage but failed to bring this up during the debates. Too hot a topic? Not a vote draw?
War on Drugs
In Are Obama, Romney ignoring Mexico's drug war?
"We may share a 2,000 mile border, but the view from here -- notwithstanding our trade relationship and the hunger for drugs in the U.S. that is fueling the bloodshed and flooding my country with weapons -- is that we're truly off the radar."
And from the Huffington Post, after two states legalized marijuana, does the US have the moral authority to lead a war on drugs?
War On Drugs: 27 Reasons Why U.S. Doesn't Have The 'Moral Authority' To Lead It In Latin America
Housing
Where they stand:
Obama: Has introduced legislation that has helped millions of struggling homeowners, but not as many as he would have hoped. The home affordable modification programme has helped an estimated 1 million families refinance their home loans, but it's goal was to help up to 4 million.
Romney: Has criticised attempts to interfere with the housing market. Indeed his free-market approach appears to extend to giving no help to those facing repossession. "Don't try to stop the foreclosure process. Let it run its course and hit the bottom
Views:
As this article states, big bird, battleships and binders full of women all found their way into the debates, but gay rights, the war on drugs and housing were all left out.
With same sex marriage on the ballot in four states and in the news a great deal, you'd think this would have come up in the debates. Obama announced in June that he supported same sex marriage but failed to bring this up during the debates. Too hot a topic? Not a vote draw?
War on Drugs
In Are Obama, Romney ignoring Mexico's drug war?
"We may share a 2,000 mile border, but the view from here -- notwithstanding our trade relationship and the hunger for drugs in the U.S. that is fueling the bloodshed and flooding my country with weapons -- is that we're truly off the radar."
And from the Huffington Post, after two states legalized marijuana, does the US have the moral authority to lead a war on drugs?
War On Drugs: 27 Reasons Why U.S. Doesn't Have The 'Moral Authority' To Lead It In Latin America
Housing
Where they stand:
Obama: Has introduced legislation that has helped millions of struggling homeowners, but not as many as he would have hoped. The home affordable modification programme has helped an estimated 1 million families refinance their home loans, but it's goal was to help up to 4 million.
Romney: Has criticised attempts to interfere with the housing market. Indeed his free-market approach appears to extend to giving no help to those facing repossession. "Don't try to stop the foreclosure process. Let it run its course and hit the bottom
Views:
“For Obama to
score points on housing, he would have to point to clear policy victories,
which is a challenge for him,” Kolko said. “Romney would have to point to fresh
ideas, which is also a challenge.”
Possibly this was a non-topic because so many Americans are till in trouble? “About 31 percent of Americans with a home loan owe more
on their mortgage than their home is worth. In Florida, the largest swing state
with 29 electoral votes, 44.5 percent of mortgages are underwater.”
Poverty. I agree that this was a non-topic during the election
One of the reasons that poverty was not an issue is that poverty is generally associated with cities and the voters that the candidates were trying to attract lived in the suburbs, per In Debate on Domestic Policy, No Talk of Cities. "Big cities typically vote Democratic, so national Republicans regard campaigning there as a waste of time, and Democrats feel they can take them for granted."
Poverty in the US and the world needs to be on the agenda. Focus on the cities needs to be there as well. Per CityMayorsStatistics "In 2008, the world reached an invisible but momentous milestone: For the first time in history, more than half its human population, 3.3 billion people, lived in urban areas. By 2030, this is expected to swell to more than five billion. Many of the new urbanites will be poor. Their future, the future of cities in developing countries, the future of humanity itself, all depend very much on decisions made now in preparation for this growth."
And
"Between now and 2030, the percentage of people living in urban areas will increase strongly in countries like Morocco, from 57 to 73 per cent; Indonesia, from 54 to 69 per cent; Nigeria, from 50 to 66 per cent; Bosnia, from 49 to 62 per cent; China, from 45 to 60 per cent; Sierra Leone, from 38 to 60 per cent; Pakistan from 37 to 50 per cent; Vietnam, from 29 to 42 per cent; Bangladesh, from 28 to 40 per cent and India, from 30 to 41 per cent.
Countries where more than 100 million people already live in urban areas include China (601 million), India (352 million), the USA (254 million), Brazil (169 million), Indonesia (129 million) and Russia (103 million)."
Per the CityMayorsStatistics, hunger and homelessness are the most pressing issues for US cities. These problems will only increase if they are not addressed.
Poverty in the US and the world needs to be on the agenda. Focus on the cities needs to be there as well. Per CityMayorsStatistics "In 2008, the world reached an invisible but momentous milestone: For the first time in history, more than half its human population, 3.3 billion people, lived in urban areas. By 2030, this is expected to swell to more than five billion. Many of the new urbanites will be poor. Their future, the future of cities in developing countries, the future of humanity itself, all depend very much on decisions made now in preparation for this growth."
And
"Between now and 2030, the percentage of people living in urban areas will increase strongly in countries like Morocco, from 57 to 73 per cent; Indonesia, from 54 to 69 per cent; Nigeria, from 50 to 66 per cent; Bosnia, from 49 to 62 per cent; China, from 45 to 60 per cent; Sierra Leone, from 38 to 60 per cent; Pakistan from 37 to 50 per cent; Vietnam, from 29 to 42 per cent; Bangladesh, from 28 to 40 per cent and India, from 30 to 41 per cent.
Countries where more than 100 million people already live in urban areas include China (601 million), India (352 million), the USA (254 million), Brazil (169 million), Indonesia (129 million) and Russia (103 million)."
Per the CityMayorsStatistics, hunger and homelessness are the most pressing issues for US cities. These problems will only increase if they are not addressed.
Country
|
1950
Urban population as percentage of total |
2010
Urban population as percentage of total |
2030
Urban population as percentage of total (Estimate) |
| Argentina |
65.3
|
92.4
|
93.2
|
| Australia |
77.0
|
89.1
|
91.9
|
| Bangladesh |
4.2
|
28.1
|
39.9
|
| Brazil |
36.2
|
86.5
|
91.1
|
| Canada |
60.9
|
80.6
|
84.4
|
| Chile |
58.4
|
89.0
|
92.3
|
| China |
13.0
|
44.9
|
60.3
|
| Egypt |
31.9
|
42.8
|
53.9
|
| Ethiopia |
4.6
|
17.6
|
27.1
|
| Finland |
31.9
|
63.9
|
68.9
|
| France |
55.2
|
77.8
|
82.9
|
| Germany |
64.7
|
73.8
|
80.0
|
| India |
17.0
|
30.1
|
40.7
|
| Indonesia |
12.4
|
53.7
|
68.9
|
| Iran |
27.5
|
69.5
|
77.9
|
| Israel |
71.0
|
91.7
|
93.0
|
| Italy |
54.1
|
68.4
|
74.6
|
| Kenya |
5.6
|
22.2
|
33.0
|
| South Korea |
21.4
|
81.9
|
86.3
|
| Malaysia |
20.4
|
72.2
|
81.9
|
| Mexico |
42.7
|
77.8
|
82.8
|
| Netherlands |
56.1
|
82.9
|
88.6
|
| Nigeria |
11.6
|
49.8
|
66.0
|
| Pakistan |
17.5
|
37.0
|
49.8
|
| Philippines |
27.1
|
66.4
|
76.7
|
| Poland |
38.3
|
61.2
|
70.0
|
| Portugal |
31.2
|
60.7
|
71.4
|
| Russia |
44.2
|
72.8
|
75.7
|
| Saudi Arabia |
21.3
|
83.6
|
86.2
|
| South Africa |
42.2
|
61.7
|
71.3
|
| Sweden |
65.7
|
84.7
|
83.1
|
| Switzerland |
44.3
|
73.6
|
83.1
|
| Syria |
30.6
|
54.9
|
61.0
|
| Thailand |
16.5
|
34.0
|
45.8
|
| Turkey |
24.8
|
69.6
|
77.7
|
| UK |
79.0
|
90.1
|
92.2
|
| USA |
64.2
|
82.3
|
87.0
|
| Venezuela |
46.8
|
94.0
|
97.1
|
| Vietnam |
11.6
|
28.8
|
42.8
|
Friday, November 23, 2012
Gun Control, not a hot topic
Steven Barton, a shooting victim of last summer’s Aurora Colorado movie theater shooting, states that in the next presiden'ts term 48,000 people will be murdered with guns. He appeared in an advertisement asking the presidental candidates to make gun control a national debate topic.
The candidates seem to agree in part in this brief discussion on gun control in the town hall debate. The Fast and Furious scandal is brought up by Romney during the debate. Interesting.
Obama earns three Pinocchios for his comments about Fast and Furious. His factual error sends a message that the previous administration is responsible for gun walking and Operation Fast and Furious.
A NYTimes blog states “The omission of guns might be shrugged off were it not for the fact that the debate took place in Denver, minutes by car from two of the worst massacres in modern American history — the shootings at Columbine High School in 1999 and at a movie theater in Aurora, Colo., less than three months ago. To be in that corner of the country and make no mention of gun violence was somewhat like traveling to northern Japan and saying nothing about its nuclear crisis.”
The candidates seem to agree in part in this brief discussion on gun control in the town hall debate. The Fast and Furious scandal is brought up by Romney during the debate. Interesting.
Obama earns three Pinocchios for his comments about Fast and Furious. His factual error sends a message that the previous administration is responsible for gun walking and Operation Fast and Furious.
A NYTimes blog states “The omission of guns might be shrugged off were it not for the fact that the debate took place in Denver, minutes by car from two of the worst massacres in modern American history — the shootings at Columbine High School in 1999 and at a movie theater in Aurora, Colo., less than three months ago. To be in that corner of the country and make no mention of gun violence was somewhat like traveling to northern Japan and saying nothing about its nuclear crisis.”
Global Warming, "They don't see votes in it"
Global Warming- This is the first time since 1988 where this was not
brought up during the debates. The omission was noticed to a great extent and a website was set up to urge Obama and Romney to give Climate change the attention it
had in in the 2008 election.
Articles offer various reasons why neither candidate was eager to bring up the subject. The article US presidential debates' great unmentionable: climate change gives reasons for why Obama scaled back on his climate/green agenda and states it is due to anti-government conservatives pressuring Obama, leading to the administration downplaying the green agenda and delaying and weakening environmental regulations. It states that this also led to the adoption of what Obama called an "all of the above" energy strategy, which saw a role for expanded offshore oil drilling and domestic production, due to new techniques in hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling.
I enjoyed JonathanFranzen’s take on Obama and his presidency not being green. "I can understand your disappointment, but your hopes seem to me misplaced. I think he did the right thing in making the Affordable Care Act the centerpiece of his first term, and the economic catastrophe he inherited from George Bush made it simply impossible for him to take on climate change as well. But I do have some hope that he’ll do it in his second term." He gives examples of what may have happened if Romney/Ryan had won.
What was the mass media’s role in the control of the discussion? After one debate CNN's Candy Crowley, the debate moderator,said that there had been questions from the audience about climate change, but she thought the economy was the priority. "Climate change, I had that question," she was quoted as saying. "All you climate change people. We just, you know, again, we knew that the economy was still the main thing."
Many, like Candy, think climate change was trumped by the economy and jobs. Other believe it is now a special interest issue that need not be in the spotlight. This article lists Five Reasons to Talk Energy and Climate at the Foreign Policy Debate. Shawn Otto, CEO of the non profit group ScienceDebate.org,which focuses on trying to inject discussions of science-based issues into presidential and other campaigns says "I've talked to political operatives, and they think science is a boutique issue, like changing to the metric system or something. They don't see votes in it." And there lies the issue: no votes, no interest to the politicians. Maybe those swing states aren't big climate change states. You'd think Florida would be!
Democracy Now! hosted a debate between two third party candidates: Green Party's Jill Stein and Justice Party's Rocky Anderson.
They actually discussed the topics omitted from the Obama/Romney debates. Rocky Anderson delivered a statement that many wanted to hear from the two major party candidates "The most important issue in terms of the long term impacts on the greatest number of people -- an absolute tragedy in the making -- is the climate crisis. And our nation -- although every science academy in the world agrees that this is a huge problem with horrendous consequences -- our government continues to abdicate its highest responsibility to provide international leadership on the climate crisis. And the most tragic part of this is the window of opportunity was very, very small the last 10 years to do anything about it, to save our children and later generations from experiencing the most catastrophic consequences of climate change."
And from Mother Jones Why No One Said the C-Word in the Debates
ScienceDebate.org persuaded the Obama and Romney campaigns to provide written answers to 14 science policy questions, carefully chosen by leaders of the scientific community to reflect their most pressing concerns. There is one question focusing on climate.
Articles offer various reasons why neither candidate was eager to bring up the subject. The article US presidential debates' great unmentionable: climate change gives reasons for why Obama scaled back on his climate/green agenda and states it is due to anti-government conservatives pressuring Obama, leading to the administration downplaying the green agenda and delaying and weakening environmental regulations. It states that this also led to the adoption of what Obama called an "all of the above" energy strategy, which saw a role for expanded offshore oil drilling and domestic production, due to new techniques in hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling.
I enjoyed JonathanFranzen’s take on Obama and his presidency not being green. "I can understand your disappointment, but your hopes seem to me misplaced. I think he did the right thing in making the Affordable Care Act the centerpiece of his first term, and the economic catastrophe he inherited from George Bush made it simply impossible for him to take on climate change as well. But I do have some hope that he’ll do it in his second term." He gives examples of what may have happened if Romney/Ryan had won.
What was the mass media’s role in the control of the discussion? After one debate CNN's Candy Crowley, the debate moderator,said that there had been questions from the audience about climate change, but she thought the economy was the priority. "Climate change, I had that question," she was quoted as saying. "All you climate change people. We just, you know, again, we knew that the economy was still the main thing."
Many, like Candy, think climate change was trumped by the economy and jobs. Other believe it is now a special interest issue that need not be in the spotlight. This article lists Five Reasons to Talk Energy and Climate at the Foreign Policy Debate. Shawn Otto, CEO of the non profit group ScienceDebate.org,which focuses on trying to inject discussions of science-based issues into presidential and other campaigns says "I've talked to political operatives, and they think science is a boutique issue, like changing to the metric system or something. They don't see votes in it." And there lies the issue: no votes, no interest to the politicians. Maybe those swing states aren't big climate change states. You'd think Florida would be!
Democracy Now! hosted a debate between two third party candidates: Green Party's Jill Stein and Justice Party's Rocky Anderson.
They actually discussed the topics omitted from the Obama/Romney debates. Rocky Anderson delivered a statement that many wanted to hear from the two major party candidates "The most important issue in terms of the long term impacts on the greatest number of people -- an absolute tragedy in the making -- is the climate crisis. And our nation -- although every science academy in the world agrees that this is a huge problem with horrendous consequences -- our government continues to abdicate its highest responsibility to provide international leadership on the climate crisis. And the most tragic part of this is the window of opportunity was very, very small the last 10 years to do anything about it, to save our children and later generations from experiencing the most catastrophic consequences of climate change."
And from Mother Jones Why No One Said the C-Word in the Debates
ScienceDebate.org persuaded the Obama and Romney campaigns to provide written answers to 14 science policy questions, carefully chosen by leaders of the scientific community to reflect their most pressing concerns. There is one question focusing on climate.
Monday, November 19, 2012
I like this site..A selected history of political satire
And a question..."Satire has long been a tool of political criticism — but in a world where politics and faith are often intertwined should there be a limit to the freedom of expression?"
From Benjamin Franklin to Jon Stewart (some links do not work).
From Benjamin Franklin to Jon Stewart (some links do not work).
Oldest Political Satire & Political Satire used as protest
Per Wikipedia...
"The oldest example that has survived till today is Aristophanes. In his time satire targeted top politicians, like Cleon,[1] and religion, at the time headed by Zeus. "Satire and derision progressively attacked even the fundamental and most sacred facts of faith," leading to an increased doubt towards religion by the general population.[2] The Roman period, for example, gives us the satirical poems and epigrams of Martial while some social satire exists in the writings of Paul of Tarsus in the New Testament of the Bible.[citation needed] Cynic philosophers often engaged in political satire."
"Political satire is a significant part of satire that specializes in gaining entertainment from politics; it has also been used with subversive intent where political speech and dissent are forbidden by a regime, as a method of advancing political arguments where such arguments are expressly forbidden.
Political satire is usually distinguished from political protest or political dissent, as it does not necessarily carry an agenda nor seek to influence the political process. While occasionally it may, it more commonly aims simply to provide entertainment. By its very nature, it rarely offers a constructive view in itself; when it is used as part of protest or dissent, it tends to simply establish the error of matters rather than provide solutions"
Sunday, November 18, 2012
I like the comics!
Best of the year...THE GREAT ‘DOONESBURY’ ABORTION-STRIP ROUNDUP
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/comic-riffs/post/the-great-doonesbury-abortion-strip-roundup-from-animation-to-aberrations-heres-how-things-shook-out/2012/03/15/gIQAD0yUFS_blog.html
A web site of political cartoons http://townhall.com/political-cartoons/
“Show them a birth control pill and they’ll follow you anywhere.”
Sunday evening, time to catch up on what has been going on in the world. Lacrosse tournament over, football over (JV wins 48-0, Varsity crosstown rival game this weekend Hall VS Conard going into OT for the first time ever, Hall wins!), three days of newspapers to catch up on and time to blog! Let's go!
I like reading Gail Collins from the NYTimes. I like her writing style and the info. Good stuff AND she makes me smile.
Anybody Notice a Pattern? 11/16/12
“Quite a few Republicans thought it was a bad idea to insult the integrity of American youth and minorities at a moment when everybody agreed that the electoral future belonged to American youth and minorities.”
Happy Days, Even with the Cliff From 11/7/12
"On election night, people were talking about the not-young male population as if they were a dwindling tribe of graybeards sitting around a sputtering stove in Oklahoma. The Republican strategist John Weaver worried about becoming “a shrinking regional party of middle-aged and older white men.” On Fox News, Bill O’Reilly moaned that “the white establishment is now the minority.”
I like reading Gail Collins from the NYTimes. I like her writing style and the info. Good stuff AND she makes me smile.
Anybody Notice a Pattern? 11/16/12
“Quite a few Republicans thought it was a bad idea to insult the integrity of American youth and minorities at a moment when everybody agreed that the electoral future belonged to American youth and minorities.”
Happy Days, Even with the Cliff From 11/7/12
"And then there was Donald Trump, who tweeted during the vote count: “Lets fight like hell and stop this great and disgusting injustice! The world is laughing at us.” Actually Trump has no conceivable impact on anything. I just wanted to take this opportunity to reminisce about the time he sent me an irate, handwritten message in which he misspelled the word “too.”
"Thanks to a blog by Eric Ostermeier in Smart Politics, I am able to point out that the only candidate for president who lost his home state by a larger margin than Mitt Romney was John Frémont in 1856. And Frémont was coming out of a campaign in which the opposition accused him of being a cannibal.""On election night, people were talking about the not-young male population as if they were a dwindling tribe of graybeards sitting around a sputtering stove in Oklahoma. The Republican strategist John Weaver worried about becoming “a shrinking regional party of middle-aged and older white men.” On Fox News, Bill O’Reilly moaned that “the white establishment is now the minority.”
O’Reilly, 63, added that the new majority was composed of people who “want stuff.” As opposed to older white men, all of whom have signed a pledge never to accept veteran benefits, Social Security or Medicare."
It's all up to Ohio! 10/31/12
"in an ideal world, we probably wouldn’t be required to remind folks that voting for president is not against the law."
"Mitt is bringing half the Republican Party to Ohio on Friday to kick off the new “Romney-Ryan Real Recovery Road Rally.” Everybody’s coming — Ann, the sons, Paul Ryan, Paul Ryan’s wife who we have yet to actually meet, Rudy Giuliani, a couple of Olympic medalists and pretty much every Republican elected official except He Who Must Not Be Named in New Jersey.
Sudden plans for a road trip are usually the sign of a pressing need to escape reality."
"Nearly a quarter of the likely voters have already cast their ballots. Frankly, I don’t see why everybody hasn’t voted already, because this is the only way to keep the desperate party workers from calling you and coming repeatedly to your door to ask you to get with the program."
Sunday, November 11, 2012
The Latino Vote
Post election what I've read and heard most about is the Latino vote, how the election was affected and what it means for the future of the Republican party. Will the party split?
A New America "As was the case last Tuesday, Republicans have for decades relied on the overwhelming support of white voters (particularly southerners, evangelicals, rural residents and senior citizens) and their abundant cultural anxieties, frustrations and resentments. That strategy appears to have run its course. In a year in which their standard-bearer made little serious effort to reach out to minority voters and at times fanned the flames of racial animus, it's a compelling indication that a white-centric political strategy is no longer a route to success."
There will need to be changes if the Republican Party wants to win the Latino vote. What is happening?
US Supreme Court to review law on minority voting rights. I'm not sure this is the direction that will win votes.
A New America "As was the case last Tuesday, Republicans have for decades relied on the overwhelming support of white voters (particularly southerners, evangelicals, rural residents and senior citizens) and their abundant cultural anxieties, frustrations and resentments. That strategy appears to have run its course. In a year in which their standard-bearer made little serious effort to reach out to minority voters and at times fanned the flames of racial animus, it's a compelling indication that a white-centric political strategy is no longer a route to success."
Nate Evaluates the Pollsters
Nate discusses the accuracy of polls and the future of polls in his article Which Polls Fared Best (and Worst)in the 2012 Presidential Race
"In my view, there will always be an important place for high-quality telephone polls, such as those conducted by The New York Times and other major news organizations, which make an effort to reach as representative a sample of voters as possible and which place calls to cellphones. And there may be an increasing role for online polls, which can have an easier time reaching some of the voters, especially younger Americans, that telephone polls are prone to miss. I’m not as certain about the future for automated telephone polls."
"In my view, there will always be an important place for high-quality telephone polls, such as those conducted by The New York Times and other major news organizations, which make an effort to reach as representative a sample of voters as possible and which place calls to cellphones. And there may be an increasing role for online polls, which can have an easier time reaching some of the voters, especially younger Americans, that telephone polls are prone to miss. I’m not as certain about the future for automated telephone polls."
Conversation Cloud
I thought this was sort of cool! Lots going on in the cloud.
http://www.economist.com/conversation-cloud?days=1&ec_ini_tab=electionism&ec_tabs=electionism,readerscomments
http://www.economist.com/conversation-cloud?days=1&ec_ini_tab=electionism&ec_tabs=electionism,readerscomments
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Shaping and surrounding political life: The Media
I found two articles which I found interesting concerning the media and politics. Not sure what regulations are still in place and which are not but from a 1998 article in the Boston Review titled Making Media Democratic, the author Robert W. McChesney states "The American media system is spinning out of control
in a hyper-commercialized frenzy." Sounds familiar still. McChesney calls for media reform.
He promotes public radio and television "A powerful public radio and television system could have a profound effect on our entire media culture. It could lead the way in providing the type of public service journalism that commercialism is now killing off." And "A viable public TV system could support a legion of small independent filmmakers. It could do wonders for reducing the reliance of our political campaigns upon expensive commercial advertising."
This could have been written during this election instead of 1998 "Paid TV advertising by candidates should either be strictly regulated or banned outright, as the exorbitant cost of these ads (not to mention their lame content) has virtually destroyed the integrity of electoral democracy here."
I'm not up on the topics of antitrust and the media and such but I liked this article from Nov 2009 titled Democratic Realism, Neoconservatism, and the Normative Underpinnings of Political Communication Research. The article details the history of the media's effect on politics from the 1950s through 2009 where "The media are now seen as political actors." And "Whether seen as desirable, the electronic information and media environment now shapes and surrounds political life- and it is continually evolving and expanding." Yep!
#MediaAsPoliticalActors
He promotes public radio and television "A powerful public radio and television system could have a profound effect on our entire media culture. It could lead the way in providing the type of public service journalism that commercialism is now killing off." And "A viable public TV system could support a legion of small independent filmmakers. It could do wonders for reducing the reliance of our political campaigns upon expensive commercial advertising."
This could have been written during this election instead of 1998 "Paid TV advertising by candidates should either be strictly regulated or banned outright, as the exorbitant cost of these ads (not to mention their lame content) has virtually destroyed the integrity of electoral democracy here."
I'm not up on the topics of antitrust and the media and such but I liked this article from Nov 2009 titled Democratic Realism, Neoconservatism, and the Normative Underpinnings of Political Communication Research. The article details the history of the media's effect on politics from the 1950s through 2009 where "The media are now seen as political actors." And "Whether seen as desirable, the electronic information and media environment now shapes and surrounds political life- and it is continually evolving and expanding." Yep!
#MediaAsPoliticalActors
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Must be God's plan
Not really wanting to get into a religious discussion, to each his or her own, I am happy to say that...
"Fox News projects Democrat Donnelly wins Indiana Senate seat"
"Fox News projects Democrat Donnelly wins Indiana Senate seat"
Dashed hopes on being polled
Wanting to be polled I let the family know that any calls
coming in should be directed to me. I generally ignore the house phone at all
times but now, different story. The boys would glance at the screen on the
phone and say “It’s a poll mom” and I’d take the call. Well, to date:
·
I’ve talked with someone to clean the chimney
(yes, I scheduled a cleaning after thinking of last year and all the wood I
burned during the power outage)
·
Had a very nice conversation with the Red Cross
about giving blood, the election, polling, giving blood, where I could give
blood, scheduling a time to give blood
·
Declined an offer to refinance my house at an
extremely attractive rate
·
Declined several other “extremely attractive”
offers
·
Took a call from the high school letting me know
that my 15 year old son has two detentions this week (he regretted handing me
the phone and I suspect he has since been screening calls and working against
me on the poll issue, just in case it is another call from the school)
#donttrust15yearoldson
·
I’ve talked with anyone from my family who has
called resulting in family members visiting us during the holidays. All good.
1% and they call it
Really hoping this does not happen...
What Happens If the Presidential Election Ends in a Tie?
"Under Article 2 of the Constitution, the U.S. House of Representatives would be responsible for breaking the tie. When the newly-elected House is seated in January, lawmakers would take a vote."
Read more...
Won't happen according to Nate Silver:
And a nifty video complete with helpful arrows and stick figures!
Monday, November 5, 2012
My TrinPoll...Pretty even
| 53 Students Polled: 19 Romney, 18 Obama, 6 Undecided, 1 Refused to State |
| AGE | GENDER | HOME STATE | CANDIDATE | TOTAL |
| 18 | F | CT | OBAMA | |
| 21 | F | CT | OBAMA | |
| 20 | F | MA | OBAMA | |
| 23 | M | NY | OBAMA | |
| 19 | M | CA | OBAMA | |
| 18 | F | CT | OBAMA | |
| 20 | M | CO | OBAMA | |
| 21 | F | MA | OBAMA | |
| 20 | F | MA | OBAMA | |
| 19 | M | MA | OBAMA | |
| 19 | F | MD | OBAMA | |
| 19 | F | MA | OBAMA | |
| 19 | F | NH | OBAMA | |
| 20 | M | NY | OBAMA | |
| 21 | F | MA | OBAMA | |
| 18 | F | MA | OBAMA | |
| 18 | F | NJ | OBAMA | |
| 18 | F | NY | OBAMA | |
| 18 | F | NY | OBAMA | |
| 19 | M | NY | OBAMA | |
| 19 | F | NV | OBAMA | |
| 21 | M | IN | OBAMA | |
| 18 | F | ME | OBAMA | |
| 19 | M | IL | OBAMA | |
| 21 | F | NY | OBAMA | |
| 20 | M | NY | OBAMA | |
| 19 | F | NJ | OBAMA | 18 |
| 18 | F | CA | REFUSED TO STATE | 1 |
| 20 | F | MA | ROMNEY | |
| 22 | F | NJ | ROMNEY | |
| 22 | F | CA | ROMNEY | |
| 21 | F | NJ | ROMNEY | |
| 19 | F | CT | ROMNEY | |
| 19 | F | NY | ROMNEY | |
| 21 | F | NY | ROMNEY | |
| 20 | F | NJ | ROMNEY | |
| 20 | F | MA | ROMNEY | |
| 19 | M | NY | ROMNEY | |
| 21 | F | MA | ROMNEY | |
| 21 | F | CA | ROMNEY | |
| 19 | M | MA | ROMNEY | |
| 19 | M | MA | ROMNEY | |
| 18 | M | NY | ROMNEY | |
| 21 | M | NY | ROMNEY | |
| 21 | M | NY | ROMNEY | |
| 19 | M | CT | ROMNEY | |
| 20 | M | MA | ROMNEY | 19 |
| 20 | F | MA | UNDECIDED | |
| 21 | M | NJ | UNDECIDED | |
| 20 | F | NY | UNDECIDED | |
| 19 | F | MI | UNDECIDED | |
| 18 | F | NY | UNDECIDED | |
| 19 | M | NJ | UNDECIDED | 6 |
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