Junk Science
Posted on July 25th, 2007 in Uncategorized by Josh 
(No Ratings Yet)
(No Ratings Yet)You’re a month old now - it’s time we had a chat about bloggering
In the interest of moving things forward, I thought I'd start a thread on the content and direction of Partisan Free Politics (as well as some basic bloggery-nonsense).
My vision for this project (and please feel free to disagree) is to foster a partisan-neutral, issue-oriented community capable of holding its own against the partisan-frenzied mobs that dominate the political blogosphere. We (and not just the Millennial generation) have before us an unprecedented opportunity; to communicate, organize and impact the world through diffuse organic power structures. The source of this power is not derived from the internet - though the internet helps - it is derived from the discovery of a common ground (civic engagement). To that end, the authors of ...
YouTube Debates Show Wolf Blitzer How it’s Done!
Posted on July 24th, 2007 in Uncategorized by Andrew MacRae (No Ratings Yet)
(No Ratings Yet)
Unless you were hiding under a cave yesterday - you may have caught a part of the YouTube CNN debate. Generally, I thought it was incredible and the questions seemed much more poignant than those typically asked of potential presidential candidates, but I am curious what you all thought about it?
Project Vote Smart — Shiny New Stuff for 2008
As acting Media Director and in an effort to open up lines of communication and clear up some confusion about the new stuff PVS has going for 2008, I've compiled a list of exciting new initiatives and programs that we are working on for this Presidential election season
It's kind of long, but broken down into 11 sections. Feel free to e-mail media@votesmart.org for clarification or more information on any of these.
Carolyn Holmes
1) Blog / Blog Outreach Program
We’ve started a blog, the Voter's Speakeasy (www.votesmart.org/blog), that will mostly cover updates on internal matters, and will serve as a forum in which people can stay connected with the day-to-day goings on of PVS. We have asked the department heads to regularly ...
Be careful what you wish for?
I seriously love democracy.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/15/AR2007071501108.html
(I'll get around to learning how to make hyperlinks and such eventually, right now I don't have time to work with the series of tubes and such that makes the internets...so there you go.)
Fenty’s Got a Gun
Well to be precise, he doesn't actually carry it himself (to my knowledge,) but he does have a whole city full of armed guards. Shelly Parker, who lives in one of those parts of DC that interns (and Mayors) are generally told not to go in, on the other hand, isn't allowed to possess one. Ms. Parker isn't an ex-con, she has no mental disabilities, by all accounts she is an upstanding member of her community, the only thing that precludes her from legally possessing a firearm in her home is that her home is within the District of Columbia, which has an almost complete and total ban of private gun ownership.
Ms. Parker's concern for her safety ...
A point of further clarification regarding Project Vote Smart
Posted on July 13th, 2007 in Partisan Free Politics, Project Vote Smart by Andrew MacRae (No Ratings Yet)
(No Ratings Yet)
It was brought to my attention that some of the posts on this blog cast project vote smart in a negative light. Unfortunately, that is the cost of having an insider conversation about what each everyone of us agrees to be a vital and necessary organization. Dialogue, however virulent, is a necessary part of democratic social orders. With that caveat, I wanted to start a positively oriented post, to let our friends in Montana (some of whom are avid readers of this blog ) know that this "two-way medium" - can work in their favor.
While in Montana I started to comprehend the genius behind PVS, but it wasn't until I moved to our nations capital - that I came ...
One thread to rule them all…
For my next trick I will attempt to combine two discussions into one. For those of you who may not have read, Rudo, Matt and I have been discussing diversity and affirmative action under the guise of my first Supreme Court posting. Mauritania vs. Orange Shirt Guy, Sam's blogging debut, has also led to some very interesting discussion on gender issues, consumerism, and beauty in general, with the author, as well as Rudo, Stacey and myself (after having been drug unwilling into a discussion on gender issues) having weighed in thus far. The thesis of my second PFP post is that there is one obvious treatment that would help alleviate each of these problems: education. ...
Mauritania vs. Orange Shirt Guy
Here goes my long-awaited, much-anticipated blogging debut. Andrew asked for a
Texan perspective, but I don’t really think I reflect the “typical” Texan viewpoint. Nevertheless, I will write.
I came across this article today in the New York Times:
It’s not exactly about a policy issue, but I think I could picture the group talking about this around the fire. Besides, I’ll work my way to the policy stuff. Patience, please.The article is about women in Mauritania who are deliberately overfed, because, to them, obesity is a desired quality in women. It’s a sign of affluence and, yes, beauty. Young girls are forced to eat calorie-rich and fatty foods, often to the point of throwing up, ...
