Protect the Vote is looking for teams of videographers to go to New Hampshire on Election Day. If you are interested, contact Cambridge Community Television (CCTV) member Matt Fullerton. Eye on Democracy is holding a video contest – submit a three minute video reflecting the voting experiences, positive or negative, of people in Massachusetts on Election Day – cash prizes (courtesy of CCTV).
Archive for politics
participate, observe – and record the vote
“troopergate” palin abused power
While I’ll be going MIA for the next few days, thanks in part to my finance midterm, I simply couldn’t resist a short blip on the Alaskan drama that’s unfolding around Palin. My biggest question is whether voters will shun Palin for her actions or rally around her in support?
The BBC reports, the running mate of US Republican presidential candidate John McCain has been found guilty of an abuse of power, according to a state legislature probe.
The US presidential race has now become so polarised both Republicans and Democrats will likely see the report’s findings as vindication for their own trenchant views about Mrs Palin, says the BBC’s Richard Lister in Washington.
Alaska’s governor will either be seen as the victim of a Democratic party hatchet job, or a hypocrite.
Most voters, for now at least, seem more concerned about who will extract them from the current economic crisis, rather than any questions about political infighting in far-off Alaska, our correspondent adds.
Read more about “Troopergate”, Palin and the election at the Huffington Post.
making sense of the bailout
Doyle of smartMeme offers an insightful and thought-provoking reflection on the recent bailout. She sheds light on a challenging topic and makes the case for why things are never going to be the same.
I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling like this economic meltdown moment is a game-changer. The recent firestorm over the “bailout” is the beginning of a whole new conversation about our economic system, the role of the state, and extreme wealth and inequality. It is also clearly not the end of our economic woes, and things are likely going to get worse before they get better (excerpt from Battle of the (Bailout) Story).
Be sure to learn more about Doyle and smartMeme:
SmartMeme builds movements and amplifies the impact of grassroots organizing with new strategy and training resources, values based communications, collaborations, and meme campaigning. SmartMeme uses the power of narrative to advance a holistic vision of grassroots social change that connects struggles for democracy, peace, justice, and ecological sanity.
the media takes politics hollywood
With the election less than two months away it’s hard to ignore the constant political chatter on NPR. I like NPR and BBC radio. They are honest – and while the news may not always be promising, it’s truthful.
It’s probably wrong to want to ignore such a prominent event as the upcoming election. However, it’s the politics of this particular election and the media’s role in perpetuating sexism, ignorance and Hollywood glam that makes me want to hole myself up for the next two months, hold my breath and hope for the best.
When did a presidential campaign turn into a never-ending episode of Entertainment Tonight?
The media frenzy surrounding Sarah Palin is sickening. If one based all their information on the mainstream media, then you wouldn’t even know that John McCain was running for President anymore. In fact, I had to laugh, in a “oh-you-have-to-be-kidding-me” kind of way, when I saw Obama and Palin’s pictures side by side on the front page of the Boston Globe, with McCain nowhere to be found.
I’m just as politically opinionated as the next, but this particular rant isn’t about imposing my political views (though I am a devote Barack Obama supporter). Consider this a plea to take a moment and think. Whether you’re conservative, liberal or adamantly in between, ask yourself why Palin’s fanfare is equatable to that of Lindsay Lohen. I’m all for the trashy magazine while sitting in the doctor’s office or on the train, but I’d simply prefer not to see a Vice Presidential candidate gracing the cover of US Weekly next to the Olsen Twins.
politics, web 2.0 and barack obama
It’s a new year and while I continue to be drawn to the realm of web 2.0 I have a new addiction – the ’08 election.
The race is far from over – as it’s only just beginning – and despite ones political aspirations the candidates, their platforms and the overall race itself is fascinating to say the least. But what perhaps is the most interesting piece of it all is that there is not necessarily a disconnect between the election (particularly the “Obama Phenomenon”) and web 2.0, but rather a metaphorically speaking correlation.
An article I read this morning entitled, The Culture Root for Web 2.0 and Barrack Obama (@ Web 2.0 Journal), looks at this very issue.
On the other side, if you take a look at Web 2.0, doesn’t the Obama story remind us of something? Ajax came out from nowhere and took the developer world like a wildfire. Rich Internet Application (RIA) is becoming the de facto way of writing applications within just a couple of years, defying the existing establishments that have dominated the world of programming for decades. FaceBook, MySpace, YouTube, etc. and the other many Web 2.0 startups, typically started by some young inexperienced kids that nobody has heard of, suddenly became the center of our digital life. Time magazine’s “Person of 2006” is “You”. This “web 2.0” phenomenon is also taking our world by storm.
Likewise, similar questions can be asked: What is the reason for this “Web 2.0” phenomenon? Why now?
This particular race is worth staying on top of for so many reasons including the many implications based on who is elected, but it’s with an added twist – the integration of social media and the simple increased power of the web. The role the web has played has been instrumental and will continue to be so as the ’08 election plays out. It is safe to say that the rules of engagement are changing and politics (if not life) will never be the same.
