Archive for the ‘Politics’ Category
Russia tests the new President-Elect
Posted in Politicson Nov 5, 2008
Obama’s first day as President-Elect has already brought international tests. Today, Russia announced that it was going to deploy missiles near Poland in response to a US missle defense shield installation there. It is no cooincidence or mistake that this announcement was made the day after the election. Additionally, Russia scrapped plans to disassemble some of its cold-war-era nukes.
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- Tags: Joe Biden, Obama
Why some political ads really bug me.
Posted in Politicson Oct 27, 2008
Consider this stereotypical political advertising message:
My opponent said, “<5 word out-of-context phrase>.” He is out of touch with mainstream America.
I will lower taxes to middle-class citizens, increase benefits by lowering costs, and increase jobs by improving the economy. Vote for me.
My beef with politics right now is that candidates are picking apart the details of their opponents plan without even providing the details of their own plan.
I think we need to look at the details of the plans and strategies of the candidates we plan to vote for. Plans such as “increase jobs by improving the economy” are extremely vague and are likely to be empty campaign promises.
Demand to know, “How are you going to improve this or that?” and “How to you plan to pay for these improvements?” Demand to know the details. Always ask one more how question.
Moderator bias and the VP debates
Posted in Politicson Oct 2, 2008
Gwen Ifill from PBS
Suppose the moderator of tonight’s vice presidential debates is writing a pro-Obama book. Do you suppose that might produce a moderator bias in the debate?
But that is exactly the case with Gwen Ifill, who is writing a book title, The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama which is to be released in January. Presumably, the book will sell better in January if Obama is elected president, providing greater financial reward for Ifill if Biden and Obama’s ticket performs better in the debates tonight.
Is it a good idea to have a moderator who could benefit financially from the outcome of a debate? Of course not.
(Image Source: Used under a creative commons license)
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- Tags: Joe Biden, Sarah Palin
Where is Anbar?
Posted in Politicson Sep 1, 2008
I think we’ve been so focused with domestic news that we’ve forgotten that the planet isn’t flat–that there is news all around the globe.
For example, I found a success story about Iraq. Anbar, a province in Iraq west of Bagdad, used to be the most lethal place for Americans. On Monday, the U.S. handed back control of a much more peaceful Anbar to the Iraqi Army and police force.
From the full New York Times story:
On Monday, following a parade on a freshly paved street, American commanders formally returned responsibility for keeping order in Anbar Province, once the heartland of the Sunni insurgency, to the Iraqi Army and police force. The ceremony capped one of the starkest turnabouts in the country since the war began five and a half years ago.
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- Tags: death, Iraq, police
Shame on CNN
Posted in Politicson Sep 1, 2008
I tuned into CNN on Monday night expecting to hear of extraordinary efforts to save livelihoods of those victims of Hurricane Gustav in Louisiana. Instead I found Larry King and guests destroying the life of a teenage girl.
Recently news broke that Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s 17 year old daughter is pregnant. I tuned into CNN to find a full panel of guests discussing this news item.
Even presidential opponent Barack Obama deplores news coverage of this claiming that “people’s families are off limits, and people’s children are especially off limits.”
Having heard so much about journalistic integrity, I found the fact that CNN chose to cover a story about a teenage pregnancy (remember Palin’s daughter is still a minor) surprisingly horrific. I can only imagine the devastation this might bring to a 17 year old girl as she watches news of her pregnancy being reported on national television.
CNN’s self-proclaimed motto is “The most trusted name in news,” but there is nothing trustworthy about reporting news of a teenage pregnancy, regardless of who her parents might be. Shame on CNN for representing a very low and unethical level of journalism.
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- Tags: CNN, Obama, Sarah Palin, teenage
Hillary is out of the race and out of money
Posted in Politicson Jun 9, 2008
Hillary Clinton recently ended her bid for the presidency. She has incurred over $20 million of debt from her campaign, the largest presidential campaign debt in history. I guess it’s a good thing that she is out–think of what she would have done had she managed more than just a campaign budget… like the national budget? Scary.
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- Tags: Clinton, financial
Best democrat for swing states
Posted in Politicson May 19, 2008
Hillary Clinton’s latest claim why she is the better candidate:
“The states that I’ve won total 300 electoral votes,” she told about 300 people in a high school gymnasium in Maysville, the birthplace of the actor George Clooney. “The question is who can win 270 electoral votes? My opponent has won states totaling 217 electoral votes.” (Source: New York Times)
Additionally, Clinton discounts Obama’s wins in red states: states that traditionally vote republican, such as Utah, Idaho, Texas, and others.
While I believe Clinton’s claims are somewhat silly, I’ll humor the idea for just a moment to do some of my own math.
There are 8 states who have, in the last four presidential elections, voted for the republican candidate twice, and the democratic candidate twice. These states are: Nevada, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Ohio. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_states_and_blue_states)
Now if we consider these 8 swing states, the number of electoral college votes each of these states contributes toward the general presidential election, and the democratic candidate who had the most popular vote, we arrive at these numbers:
- Nevada, 5 votes, won by Clinton
- Louisiana, 9 votes, won by Obama
- Arkansas, 6 votes, won by Clinton
- Mississippi, 11 votes, won by Obama
- Tennessee, 11 votes, won by Clinton
- Kentucky, 8 votes, yet to be determined
- West Virginia, 5 votes, won by Clinton
- Ohio, 20 votes, won by Obama
The totals are: Clinton – 27, Obama – 40.
These numbers seem to indicate that Obama has the best chance to pick up more electoral college votes from these swing states.
Even if we broaden our definition of a swing state to include any state that has been mixed in the presidential voting anytime in the last four elections, Obama still beats Clinton, 71 to 57.
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- Tags: Clinton, elections, Obama, vote
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