Republicans Against 8, an initiative by Log Cabin Republicans to defeat the California proposition that would ban same-sex marriage has released two more ads: "Join Us," and "Defending Freedom." … [Read more...] about Two More Ads from Republicans Against 8
Google, Publishers, and Authors Settle Book-Scanning Lawsuit
The Chronicle's Wired Campus Blog: Google, the Authors Guild, and the Association of American Publishers announced today that they had settled their longstanding legal battle over Google’s mass scanning of books. Under the terms of the deal, Google will pay $125-million to establish a Book Rights Registry, to compensate authors and publishers whose copyrighted books have … [Read more...] about Google, Publishers, and Authors Settle Book-Scanning Lawsuit
We Declare We are Not (Overly) Biased for the Reasons You Think We Are
That was my convoluted take-away from this mea culpa by Politico's Editor-in-Chief John F. Harris and Managing Editor Jim VandeHei. Granted, in defending Politico against accusations of sometimes-liberal, sometimes-conservative bias, several of Harris' and VandeHei's arguments are quite compelling. Others are not. Either way, their essay is an interesting read -- … [Read more...] about We Declare We are Not (Overly) Biased for the Reasons You Think We Are
Election 2008 is Making Us Sick!
AP via MSNBC: Victoria St. Gelais is panicky. Tami Brewster-Barnes feels the nerves in the pit of her stomach. Steven Valentine is losing sleep as his mood rises and falls with John McCain's poll numbers. Voters around the country, whether they support McCain or Barack Obama, say they are experiencing nail-biting, ulcer-inducing anxiety ahead of next week's election and … [Read more...] about Election 2008 is Making Us Sick!
Test Your Prognostication!
We're going to hold a bit of a contest. You use the comments section to enter your guess for the mathematical outcome of the election. (If you can NOT register successfully for comments, you can e-mail your guess to [email protected] and I'll enter it for you.) You have until 5 pm Friday to enter or edit your entries. At that time, comments will be closed and no more entries … [Read more...] about Test Your Prognostication!
Sarah Palin’s Sentimental Side
After Election Day, Alaska may have the Vice President-Elect (or not) and a convicted felon who has just won another term in the Senate (or not), but in any case, they are not likely to be exchanging Christmas cards. After Ted Stevens was found guilty yesterday, Sarah Palin said it was a sad day for Alaska and promptly threw her former mentor under the bus: "The verdict … [Read more...] about Sarah Palin’s Sentimental Side
If Obama Wins… And if Not…
Jack Shafer says let's watch as the press corps battles its performance anxiety: [I]f Obama wins, these scribes know that they'll be facing the toughest assignment of their careers. They've all oversubscribed to the notion that Obama's candidacy is momentous, without parallel, and earth-shattering, so they can't file garden-variety pieces about the "winds of change" blowing … [Read more...] about If Obama Wins… And if Not…
Riding the “Redistribution” Railroad into the Gutter
In a more attractive world I would have preferred to ignore the ongoing clatter and chatter regarding Sen. Barack Obama's supposed predilections towards redistribution, Marxism and Socialism. Audio tapes and old clippings have been produced where Obama comments on the shortcomings of the Warren Court and invokes the dreaded "R word." Unfortunately, Sen. McCain is still clucking … [Read more...] about Riding the “Redistribution” Railroad into the Gutter
Archie: The First Search Engine
Before Google ever was there was Archie – the first Internet search engine – conceptualized and implemented by Alan Emtage while he was working as a systems administrator for McGill University's School of Computer Science. Alan, a friend and colleague from my years at Mediapolis, is a Barbados native. He told the story of Archie in The Nation Newspaper … [Read more...] about Archie: The First Search Engine
Penn on Obama and the New Moderates
Though Mark Penn served President Clinton exceptionally well, he clearly stumbled in his more recent efforts on behalf of Senator Clinton. One possible explanation for the disparity in his performance may have been as simple a matter as Penn's rising to his own level of incompetence, poorly executing the role of campaign strategist rather than playing to his strong suit as a … [Read more...] about Penn on Obama and the New Moderates
Mitch McConnell’s in Trouble at Home in Kentucky
While watching the World Series, I've seen a few too many political commercials over the last week. Many of these, in the Cincinnati TV market, are for or against US Sen. Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky, Senate Minority Leader. McConnell's being seriously challenged by Democrat Bruce Lunsford. Democratic office: GOP office: Cincinnati … [Read more...] about Mitch McConnell’s in Trouble at Home in Kentucky
Where’s the Tightening?
When Obama hit his peak numbers a week or two ago, conventional wisdom said the race would tighten somewhat as we got closer to the election. But as has happened so many times this year, conventional wisdom has turned out wrong, so far. Above is an aggregate of all national polls taken this year. While McCain seems to be improving from his nadir of two weeks ago, we haven't … [Read more...] about Where’s the Tightening?
Your Quote of the Day
Today's quote comes from Richard Cohen's usual op-ed in the Washington Post. It's an interesting tale - and one I was unaware of - which provides the details of two cruise ships full of conservative columnists and editors who set sail in 2007 to Alaska. Their purpose was a meet and greet with Governor Sarah Palin, and they came away with a cult following of love and devotion … [Read more...] about Your Quote of the Day
Is a “Voting Rights Disaster” in the Offing?
This is the question taken up by Christopher Edley Jr. today in a Washington Post editorial. While most of us would like to see greater participation in the electoral process, Edley wonders if high turnout will cause the election infrastructure to buckle. Suppose in your neighborhood there are 600 registered voters per machine, while across town there are only 120 per … [Read more...] about Is a “Voting Rights Disaster” in the Offing?
Obama’s Text Message Advantage
Slate's Farhad Manjoo says Obama's SMS text messages are this campaign's secret weapon. He looks at work done by Donald Green and Alan Gerber, two political scientists at Yale whose book, Get Out the Vote: How To Increase Voter Turnout, is considered the bible of voter mobilization efforts: Green and Gerber estimate that a door-canvassing operation costs $16 per hour, with six … [Read more...] about Obama’s Text Message Advantage
N.J. Hospitals Crisis: Charles Cullen Was Not The Problem, He Was A Symptom
Charles Cullen is every hospital's nightmare: A deranged nurse who methodically murders patients by giving them hard-to-detect overdoses of medications. Cullen, who was arrested in 2004 after a 16-year crime spree made considerably easier because a severe nursing shortage enabled him to go undetected as he moved from hospital to hospital, told authorities that he murdered as … [Read more...] about N.J. Hospitals Crisis: Charles Cullen Was Not The Problem, He Was A Symptom
On the Dangers of One Party Rule
In the best traditions of Robert's Rules of Order, I would like to provide a second to the previous motion from my distinguished colleague Robert Stein, and assign some additional, useless bloviation as an amendment. Right up front I would hasten to point out that, at least in theory, I have always felt that the Federal Government works best for the people when one party … [Read more...] about On the Dangers of One Party Rule
‘What Russia Can Do to Help America’: Argumenty i Facty, Russia
A recent episode at Russia's Mission to the United Nations seems to have captured the Russian imagination: It seems that the Russian Ambassador received a letter from John McCain, asking if he'd consider donating a 'modest' sum of between $5,000 and $35,000 dollars to make him U.S. president. Apparently, some Russians consider this to be a symbol of something much … [Read more...] about ‘What Russia Can Do to Help America’: Argumenty i Facty, Russia
2008: Missed Opportunity for GOP to “Retool”?
Pointing to this article in the UK's The Telegraph, blogger Ann Althouse wonders, "If there is an Obama landslide, how will the GOP retool?" My thoughts, expanded slightly from my comments there: Although the circumstances surrounding it meant that the 2008 presidential election was and remains the Democrats to lose, this was an opportune year for the Republican Party to … [Read more...] about 2008: Missed Opportunity for GOP to “Retool”?
The One-Party Rule Scare
In this desperate week of fighting to hold onto Washington power, the GOP is playing its last card--to arouse voter fear of what one-party rule would do to the country, of what the "Socialism" of Barack Obama would mean if supported by filibuster-proof majorities that would give Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid a free hand. By implicitly acknowledging the defeat of their White … [Read more...] about The One-Party Rule Scare