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POLITICS & MEDIA
Aug 21, 2008, 11:03AM
States Ditching Touch-Screen Voting
After the immense controversy over ballots in the 2000 election (remember how stupid hanging chads were?), many states ditched paper voting in favor of trendy new electronic machines. But now many of them are giving up on the touch-screen technology, after concerns about security and reliability proved too risky for the upcoming elections. Basically banks can figure out a way to make ATMs secure, but the government can't figure out how to do the same thing with voting.
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POLITICS & MEDIA
Aug 21, 2008, 10:31AM
Media Zeroing In On Young Voters
Cable news outlets are reaching out to politically aware youth, yet that demographic is far less likely to actually watch cable news. Their efforts to connect with Generation Y mirror what the campaigns themselves are doing to break a "vicious cycle" of political disillusionment and disconnect among the young.
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POLITICS & MEDIA
Aug 20, 2008, 02:57PM
"Voluntary Deportation" A Smokescreen For Harsher Tactics
Earlier this month U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, also known as ICE so that they pretend they're in an action moive, started a voluntary deportation program. The idea is that undocumented residents will take a cushy flight home instead of waiting to get caught by tough law enforcement. It seems like no immigrant would be dumb enough to actually do this, but that's beside the point. By offering this voluntary program, ICE gains thin justification for home raids that tear apart families and take away workers.
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POLITICS & MEDIA
Aug 20, 2008, 10:05AM
This New Guy Wants To Become Textually Active With Me
It seems like everyone college-aged is textually active, but for the first time a presidential candidate wants access to our in-box. Are you ready for that kind of relationship, even for something as intimate as a vice-president announcement? One student weighs the pros and cons before giving in to the pressure.
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POLITICS & MEDIA
Aug 20, 2008, 09:30AM
To Be A Young McCainiac
It's not an easy time to be a McCain campaign coordinator on a college campus, but one student at the University of Wisconsin is having a fun time. Despite the fact that she lives in a very liberal town, she still feels optimistic because she can still find people receptive to McCain's moderate conservatism.
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POLITICS & MEDIA
Aug 18, 2008, 12:32PM
The Oprah Bump
Two grad students took time over the summer to apply their consumer-behavior economic analysis to a slightly different topic: Oprah's endorsement of Barack Obama. What they found is kind of shocking and sheds new light on the poorly understood dynamics of political endoresements. The media diva's recommendation resulted in an additional million votes for Obama during the primaries, according to the study.
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POLITICS & MEDIA
Aug 18, 2008, 10:31AM
A Convention Of Egos
15,000 media credentials will be issued between the Republican and Democratic conventions this fall. That's 15,000 reporters covering an event where the outcome is already known, most of what actually goes on is nothing more than cheap bones thrown to the sundry party constituencies, and everything carried live on CSPAN. So why do news organizations flock to these indulgent events? Because they're chasing bylines and ego.
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POLITICS & MEDIA
Aug 15, 2008, 05:12PM
Old Ideas Can't Fight A New War
The conflict between Russia and Georgia, a far more complicated historical and political narrative than what's been said in the mainstream Western media, has exposed the alarming weakness of U.S. foreign policy. Almost two decades of unilateral assertions of hard power has left us with no moral authority when the military tables have turned. Will the next President be able to repair our reputation, the best weapon we've ever had?
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POLITICS & MEDIA
Aug 15, 2008, 04:27PM
A Magical Land Where Newspapers Make Money
German print newsrooms are a stark contrast to their depressing American counterparts. Editors are happy, publishers are making money, and reporters aren't constantly shopping for new careers. The diffference, according to this writer, is a more competative business environment that encouraged risk taking and adaptation before the Internet got a chance to ruin anything.
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POLITICS & MEDIA
Aug 15, 2008, 11:53AM
Getting Over Our Summer Of Discontent
From the perspective of a Brit travelling through the U.S. this summer, America is in a state of summer malaise. We're questioning our power, our direction, and our place in the world. We're about to go through a transformative election that may radically change our role in world affairs. This author wants to remind everyone, before we declare a post-American era, that "America not exercising power is the only thing the world dislikes as much as her exercising it."
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POLITICS & MEDIA
Aug 15, 2008, 10:30AM
...Republican's Oil Solution Is Hollow
Congressional Republicans are clamoring for offshore oil drilling as a solution to America's energy crisis, but the actual impact on gas prices would be neglible. Nevertheless they're using the issue as a political ploy, hoping it will help them score points with voters for the upcoming election. Instead of offshore drilling we should create the incentives we need to move past oil.
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POLITICS & MEDIA
Aug 15, 2008, 10:30AM
Obama's Oil Solution Is Ignorant...
Obama's new solution to high oil prices will effectively be another tax on oil, only driving up the price more. Blaming big companies for high gas prices may be the easy thing to do, but we should all realize that making a profit isn't a crime. Messing with those incentives will only make our problems worse. Instead we should be making the most of the resources we already have.
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POLITICS & MEDIA
Aug 14, 2008, 03:10PM
Russia's War In Pictures
The war between Russia and Georgia is at a standstill, with Russian troops having boxed in the Georgians around their capital. Many accusations and stories have flown about, but nothing tells a better story than a picture. Here's a photo essay from the Russian lines.
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POLITICS & MEDIA
Aug 14, 2008, 12:08PM
Abused Justice
Elliot Spitzer was widely reviled for his dubious prosecutorial tactics as Attorney General of New York, including leaks and smears that damaged his targets without any charges being filed. Spitzer's own life as governor was ruined when his patronage of prostitutes leaked, but Spitzer has yet to be charged with a crime. While there's a certain amount of irony in this fact, our country's founders tried very hard to prevent the government from accusing people without taking them to court. Just don't exepct the mainstream media to talk about this kind of prosecutorial misconduct, because that's a goldmine of information.
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POLITICS & MEDIA
Aug 20, 2008, 09:36AM
Far Corner, Right Side
McCain's numbers go up, Obama's go down, and both deserve it.
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POLITICS & MEDIA
Aug 18, 2008, 09:18AM
Obama: Muzzle the Media
Barack Obama is on track for a clear victory over John McCain in November. His biggest obstacle is potential complacency among voters who’ve been overwhelmed by the self-interested media industry.
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POLITICS & MEDIA
Aug 12, 2008, 10:50AM
Subjective is the New Objective, pt. 2
Thy name is Spade: Should the media be concerned with telling us what’s right, rather than what is?
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POLITICS & MEDIA
Aug 06, 2008, 09:57AM
Mr. Wrong
In which our penitent columnist argues in favor of slavery reparations. The government does this kind of thing all the time, right? And let's give some money to American Indians for good measure.
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POLITICS & MEDIA
Aug 06, 2008, 09:37AM
Far Corner, Right Side
Certain Republicans are advocating that the party cede the Presidential election to Democrats and let them ruin things for a few years, but there's too much at stake for anyone to be throwing an election.
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POLITICS & MEDIA
Aug 05, 2008, 09:26AM
Presidential Taste
Judging the candidates by their musical tastes isn't fair, but the differences are too telling to ignore.
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POLITICS & MEDIA
Aug 01, 2008, 09:43AM
Curiosity Kills Me
The fears that enabled the war on terror have given way to much more tangible domestic woes, and many people are more scared of a gas station than the possibility of a terrorist attack.
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POLITICS & MEDIA
Jul 29, 2008, 10:21AM
Subjective is the New Objective
The simultaneous ascension of blogs and descension of print media will eventually change our expectations for objectivity in news. The first of a three-part series.
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POLITICS & MEDIA
Jul 24, 2008, 09:35AM
Curiosity Kills Me
The mainstream media is helping Obama's presidency look all but assured.
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POLITICS & MEDIA
Aug 20, 2008, 12:57PM
Christopher Hitchens vs. the World
The in-studio audience for Real Time with Bill Maher makes Christopher Hitchens, author of God is Not Great and waterboarding enthusiast, get a little surly. As per usual, we assume.
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POLITICS & MEDIA
Aug 16, 2008, 10:08AM
Cutting the Horsefeathers
William F. Buckley (RIP) and Gore Vidal discuss their visions of the perfect president on CBS in 1968.
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POLITICS & MEDIA
Aug 16, 2008, 09:56AM
Harry Truman: Dishing it Out
President Truman on fighting international threats (i.e. communism) at home and abroad. Excuse the poor quality, this is a vintage clip.
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POLITICS & MEDIA
Aug 15, 2008, 05:21PM
U.S. Media Cuts International Coverage When We Need It Most
It won't come as a surprise to many, but the dumbing down of America's news-o-tainment networks has severely restricted our access to information about the rest of the world. Yet increasingly the most important issues are global in their scope. Here's an excellent presentation explaining the consumer and business forces behing the closing of the American media.
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POLITICS & MEDIA
Aug 13, 2008, 09:56AM
Nas vs. Fox News
Since around this time last year, Nas has been on Bill O'Reilly's hit-list for accepting a gig at Virginia Tech just a few months after the shooting. O'Reilly called the choice "inappropriate", citing various gun and gang-centric lyrics. Here, on the heels of his new untitled LP, an apoplectic Nas gives a speech decrying Fox News and Bill O'Reilly in front of their Manhattan offices in the middle of the day.
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POLITICS & MEDIA
Aug 11, 2008, 11:13AM
The President That Was Not to Be
Several very weird television ads for George McGovern's presidential campaigns in 1972 and 1984. Not quite Obama/Hilton weird, but still pretty out there.
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POLITICS & MEDIA
Aug 09, 2008, 11:11AM
Persuasion Via Molotov
If you don't vote for George Wallace, your small business will be inundated with molotov cocktails. Really.
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POLITICS & MEDIA
Aug 06, 2008, 10:02AM
Mystery Shoes
Several sneakers filled with human remains have been washing up onto shores in Canada and the U.S. lately, and no one knows where they're coming from.
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POLITICS & MEDIA
Aug 04, 2008, 09:44AM
Confronting The Gorges
The Olympics start this week in Beijing, an event where China looks to present itself to the world as a modern and relevant nation. There's no question China is a force economically and politically as they continue their meteoric development, but it's not without costs. This 20 minute documentary looks at how the Three Gorges Dam, the biggest hydroelectric project ever built, is forcing China to manage a difficult balance between growth and environmental preservation.
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