Marking the eighth anniversary of the U.S. presence in Afghanistan, more than 100 college and high school students went on a “Funk the War” dance protest through the financial district in Washington on Wednesday. Hosted by the local chapter of Students for a Democratic Society, the dancers shimmied past a handful of buildings they considered threats to the peace movement, among them an Army recruiting station and Clear Channel’s office. via Medill News Service DC
Katie Rogers, Medill News Service on 09/30/09
WASHINGTON: Fighting for a single-payer health care plan, a band of Oregon-based doctors visited 26 cities in just more than three weeks. The final stop for the “Mad as Hell Doctors” was on Wednesday in Washington.
View this video also at McClatchydc.com
With Tina Fey’s ‘SNL’ portrayals of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin — and Palin-herself’s subsequent cameos — I’m kind of convinced this election has turned into a total circus. But I’m not really here to talk about primetime TV. I want to talk about how (forgive me) The Average Joe’s ability to self-publish has impacted the way we’ve paid attention to this election. After all, I did get the screenshot at left from a pop culture blog.
Maybe I shouldn’t call this phenomenon "pop culture politics," but it just sounds better to me than "cyber culture politics" does. Let me explain: Anyone, anywhere is available to set up a blog for free at sites like WordPress, Blogger or Livejournal. Then comes the Twitter account. And let’s not go into the ways anyone, anywhere can express his or her opinions on Facebook (the "status" option has become the bane of my existence, both during the occasional election season and, unfortunately, annual baseball season due to overzealous Cubs fans). Anyway, the list of ways we can express ourselves on the Internet goes on and on. And this makes available a literal countless number of avenues for the rest of us to consume news.
In gathering research for a print story, no one I spoke to saw limitless access to the Internet/virtual soapbox (same thing) as a bad development. As someone who learned from an early age the joys of self-publishing, I can’t say I feel it’s a bad thing, either. Hopefully the nasty stuff gets weeded out with the quality, creatively-driven blogs and projects out there on the Web.
While you’re waiting for a print story, check out these fun election links:
Sarah Palin as president. Alright, this one exhibits a bit too much of the macabre for my taste, but I included the link because the animation is awesome. Looks like Flash animators have a lot of time on their hands, what with the current recession and all …
Help Josh decide. Eek! There’s an undecided voter living in Ohio! Quick, convince him to come over to your side — he’ll let you know if your input was helpful or not.
Presidential pumpkin carving. Templates. One unique way to stick it to the man (or woman) of your choice.
Yes we can hold babies. A blog featuring pictures of Sen. Barack Obama cuddling babies on the campaign trail. Kinda precious.
Presidential bingo. Perhaps a great way to pass the following 8 days, sure to be chock-full of sound bytes from both camps.
And a local option: Haley speaks Youtube series. More on this young lady later.
That’s all I’ve got for now. And since I don’t have the option to hibernate until after the election is over, I’m off to plunge the depths of cyberspace for more quality election coverage from Joe Six Pack/Plumber/Laid Off Flash Animator.
Watch The Elkhart Truth’s DebateWatch 2008 live blog HERE. It opens in a popup window.
The fun begins at 8:30 OM EST, Thursday, Oct. 2 … tonight.
Round one in the presidential debates went to Barack Obama, says a CNN poll.
Didn't you get the memo?
A smiling John McCain next to a headline (and an American flag, natch) declaring, “McCain Wins Debate” appeared in the online ed of the Wall Street Journal this morning. It has since been removed but will live on eternally in this screenshot.
If you’ll be watching John McCain and Barack Obama verbally spar in the US Presidential Debate this evening, here are a few techonologically-savvy tips to get the most of out of the experience:
• Don’t just tune in to the tube. Visit etruth tomorrow, click on this story headline and do some “live blogging” of your own — get a discussion going about whichever issues the moderators throw at the candidates. You’ll have to register with our site, but it’s free (you can even create a user profile while you’re at it).
• Don’t watch the debates alone. If you’ve got the time, throw a “DebateWatch” party: The Commission on Presidential Debates recommends gathering your friends, picking a group leader and going over pre-planed discussion questions afterward, i.e. “What topics or issues discussed in the debates were most useful or informative?”
• Embrace Web 2.0 technology. Twitter will feature plenty of 140-character-or-less “tweet” updates on tonight’s debate happenings. If you join the site, you’ll be able to follow journalists, pundits and regular viewers alike as they observe. Notable Twitter users include Time.com blogger Ana Marie Cox and MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann.
• Forget TV. Watch the whole dang thing online, if you want: University of Mississippi is Ground Zero for the debate this year, and will offer live streaming coverage of the event on its web site. Click here to catch “Debatecasts” past and present.
John McCain is taking a break from the campaign trail to fix the growing American financial crisis. This also means he wants to delay Friday’s debate against Democratic nominee Barack Obama.
Wasn’t McCain saying our economy was just fine — or at least fundamentally sound — like, a week ago?
Times like these, I wish the good old Dr. Gonzo were still alive. Talk about leaving the party early — Hunter S. Thompson would’ve had a field day.
I don’t know what to think about this compilation of sexified Sarah Palin T-shirts Jezebel rounded up. Some of them (like the one posted above) made me snort, and others (like “drill, baby, drill” … I’ll let you find that on your own) are just plain appalling.
First, my thoughts on Palin –
I’m a feminist, yes, but when it comes to divisive figures like her I don’t deny any bit of ill will I feel. I remember those first few minutes when I found out McCain had chosen a woman. I’m actually quite sad the pride I felt was so short-lived. And it’s too bad it didn’t take long to see her as what she is, that she’s nothing more than some sort of political marketing pawn — more than that, I feel like she gives women a pretty bad name and, in some cases, intensifies some pretty smarmy stereotypes (that of the overbearing hockey mom comes to mind). Yeah, she’s a woman and yes, it’s awesome that she’s a “heartbeat away from the presidency,” but come on, you just can’t take her seriously.
That being said, it’s really a shame that these T-shirt makers are attacking her based on what’s under her shirt, and this makes me want to protect her. It’s just taking the mud-slinging too far. Making vulgar references to the female genitalia (and suggesting that Palin embodies this vulgar representation) and slapping on “clever” slogans (“I’d Drill That?” Really? This is the best you can do?) just makes those people who oppose (or support) her look like idiots. Even if you don’t like her (and, let’s be clear, I do not), cheap shots like these are just not the right way to point out her misgivings.
My message to the T-Shirt makers: Point out slip-ups in her political history (and there are many) in a clear, matter-of-fact way. This should take up enough of your time. At least enough of it to keep you from visiting the screen printing shop.
