For a nonpartisan, nonprofit, "consumer advocate" for voters, visit FactCheck.org.
According to their website, FactCheck.org's mission is to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics by monitoring the factual accuracy of what is said by major U.S. political players in the form of TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews, and news releases.
FactCheck.org's goal is to apply the best practices of both journalism and scholarship, and to increase public knowledge and understanding.
The Annenberg Political Fact Check is a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania, established by publisher and philanthropist Walter Annenberg to create a community of scholars that would address public policy issues at the local, state, and federal levels.
The APPC accepts NO funding from business corporations, labor unions, political parties, lobbying organizations or individuals. It is funded primarily by the Annenberg Foundation.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Just the Facts!
Friday, September 12, 2008
How To Debate a Girl, and Win
Loved, loved, LOVED the open letter to Sen. Joe Biden from Slate senior editor, Dahlia Lithwick.
Dahlia's sage advice to Sen. Biden? Pretend Sarah Palin is a man. And don't be such a "Joe Biden". Dahlia writes that Gov. Palin is "a charming, confident, and gifted reader of speeches", but points out the differences between the two, extoling Biden as a "six-term senator and chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee" with World leaders as routine friends and qualified from day one to be a heartbeat away from the presidency.
While I agree with Dahlia that everyone expects Sen. Biden to win the debate on substance, I disagree with the numerous "sexist bully" remarks.
So, Sen. Biden cannot "act too smart", "condescend", "engage, fight, bicker, or bluster", or he'll lose this debate. Why is Gov. Palin's gender even in play? Why are we such a shallow society that we even consider Sen. Biden may "gaze fixedly at her breasts or ask her to fetch" coffee? What a sad commentary on where we are as a people of this Earth.
Dahlia also refers to Palin as "not a serious candidate" and "that by every obvious metric—experience, knowledge base, decades of public service, policy experience, understanding of the world—Palin is an unserious candidate for the vice presidency of the United States". I think she's VERY serious; she will be aggressive and well-schooled by the time the debate rolls around. She will "argue, tell jokes, kick ass, or get her ass kicked, just like a man".
Yes, I would suggest to Joe Biden, as well as Dahlia did, that we don't need flirting, smirking or flattering. And, he shouldn't be a "blow hard", either. There's nothing wrong with "amiable", but what happened to a good, old-fashioned handshake versus pecks on cheeks unless you're cheek-pecking both genders. Stop with all the pandering and kisses, and let's get down to issues.
Dahlia's line about Gov. Palin's "plans to sell Barack Obama's next celebrity memoir on eBay and give all the money to special-needs children" was hilarious. I also loved Dahlia's suggestion that Sen. Biden "ask politely (and like you really want to know the answer and not just hear yourself say the question) what she learned while leading the Alaska National Guard into that war against Saskatchewan".
In the words of the immortal Bette Davis, I think we're in for a bumpy ride, and a VERY serious one, too!
Photograph of Joe Biden by Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images. Photograph of Sarah Palin by Ethan Miller/Getty Images.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
PRSA Submits Formal Challenges to McCain and Obama on Ethics
The Clean & Fair Campaign 2008 group on Facebook just sent this important message:
The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) announced that it has submitted written challenges to the communications directors of the McCain and Obama campaigns. In a letter to Robert Gibbs (Obama for America) and a letter to Jill Hazelbaker (John McCain 2008), PRSA Chair & CEO Jeffrey Julin, on behalf of the PRSA Board of Directors, asks the campaigns to sign a formal pledge obligating them to abide by the PRSA Code of Ethics in their campaign communications.
PRSA has yet to receive signed pledge forms from either of the campaigns, but will continue to speak out publicly and vigorously on the issue. Stay tuned for further developments.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Newt Gingrich at The Norfolk Forum
Last night at The Norfolk Forum, the guest was Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the House and now member of the professional speaker circuit, author and health/health care transformer. Mr. Gingrich, a self-described "passionate American", honored Hampton Roads by referring to us as a "region of enormous import". (agreed, Newt!)
His main point(s)? that the U.S. needs to understand a few things about ourselves:
- Science and Information Technology (IT) is developing at exponential rates, and we'll see 4-7 times the number of discoveries in the next 25 years vice the last 25 years. (IMO: this may be an underestimate!)
- China and India are not our friends, they're our competitors on the global market.
- Our infrastructure needs to be addressed or we're faced with decay.
- Energy is important to us and we must do everything (wind, solar, nuclear, conservation, oil, coal, etc.), including Drill Here-Drill Now-Pay Less (also the title of his recent book).
- If our health system is healthier, our citizens will be healthier.
Mr. Gingrich directed us all to the 2Million Minutes website for a must-see film comparing 2 high school students each from the U.S., China and India, driving home the point that our educational system requires fundamental reform for the U.S. to compete on a global level. The students from China and India see themselves as citizens of the world (world-centric) while U.S. students are more concerned with what is immediately going on around them (me-centric).Here is a snippet of last night's speech (albeit given at another venue at another time) re: federal bureaucracy in comparison to the efficiency of FedEx and UPS:
Mr. Gingrich espoused the application of metrics to bring about fundamental change for our success, such as those employed by Rudy Giuliani when he brought NYC to be the safest city in the U.S., improving the crime rate by 75%, also outlined in Giuliani's book "Leadership". Giuliani's metrics allowed his team to track improvements and make appropriate changes.
A brief history lesson took us from the Revolution for U.S. independence from England to the Jeffersonians to Andrew Jackson's frontier politics, to Lincoln's Civil War to the progressivism of American presidents Theodore Roosevelt, William H. Taft, Woodrow Wilson, and Franklin D. Roosevelt to Reaganomics. Gingrich's point is that the U.S. is now in the position for another wave of sweeping change.
His point was driven home that healthier citizens who live longer are cheaper than unhealthy ones, as Medicare costs 5 times what Social Security does. Saving Lives = Saving Money. Mr. Gingrich is promoting a national system on electronic, paperless health records which could be paid for by the savings from fraud prevention. He has founded an organization, Center for Health Transformation, working towards a 21st century solution for a healthier populace and health system, explaining that with the right incentives, a healthy change in behaviors can be affected.
Gingrich pointed out that the U.S. is a culture dominated by bureaucrats and trial lawyers which are strangling the change that is needed.
The Q&A, unfortunately, devolved into an Obama/Biden and McCain/Palin comparison, pointing out that, in his opinion, John McCain would not have chosen Sarah Palin as VP if Hillary Clinton had been part of the Democratic ticket. But, like Palin or not, she is a good contrast with Joe Biden, Obama's VP pick.
He added that, if asked a year ago, he would have said McCain would have been out of the race and the Democratic ticket would have been Clinton/Obama.
Gingrich closed with his assessment of the election as the "most fascinating 60 days in American history" and that the McCain-Palin ticket has triggered something in the American public.
Come on, stop with this "silly" stuff!
What's wrong with this picture? It's okay that six (yes, SIX!) of Time's Top Ten stories this week are about Republican Vice Presidential candidate, Governor Sarah Palin. This election season is ground-breaking, to be sure. (Three were environment-related and #10 a tongue-in- cheek piece on the Obama/O'Reilly interview).
However, how sad is this commentary? Why is our main focus a search for "celebrity" status and "sex symbol" pictures of Governor Palin? Come on! Get with the election issues, and STOP turning TIME into People Magazine or US Weekly. STOP "dumbing down" the news, please.
1. Searching for Palin's 'Hot Photos'
The current Republican vice-presidential candidate is shaping up to be not only a celebrity, but a sex symbol, according to popular Internet searches
2. Are Evangelicals Really Sold on Palin?
Viewpoint: Her anti-abortion credentials are impeccable. But some of her views are at odds with younger Evangelicals
3. Mayor Palin: A Rough Record
Despite her reformer reputation, McCain's Veep pick was a polarizing figure in normally friendly small-town politics
4. In Wasilla, Pregnancy Was No Secret
Sarah Palin's hometown knew she was going to be a grandmother but also assumed it was nobody's business
5. Could Florida Survive the Big One?
The next big hurricane could leave the state not merely damaged but in financial ruin
6. Sarah Palin's Breakout Night
With curiosity high and expectations low, the vice-presidential nominee delivered a homespun howitzer of a speech
7. The Man Behind Palin's Speech
Bush speechwriter Matthew Scully had crafted the words even before Palin was picked. A match made in heaven
8. Collider Triggers End-of-World Fears
Scientists are dismissing critics who warn that the Large Hadron Collider could create Earth-swallowing black holes
9. Why Disasters Are Getting Worse
Hint: It's not really climate change. There's more destruction because humans have created more stuff to be destroyed
10. Obama Meets O'Reilly: No One Dies!
In a (mostly) civil exchange, the Democratic nominee and Fox kingpin talk about the U.S. and the threats abroad
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
Undecided Voter?
If you're undecided in this year's Presidential campaign, then "What Matters", the local public affairs TV show on WHRO-PBS and hosted by Cathy Lewis, wants you for a special election coverage show in October.
Contact Barbara Hamm Lee, WHRO Chief Community Affairs Officer and Producer of "What Matters", to be part of WHRO's Friday night public affairs line-up. Call Barbara at (757) 889-9437 and leave a message now, if interested.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Who knew I was so popular?
Evidently I, Missy Blankenship, am running for President, not as an Independent, but as a viral "write-in" candidate. I told my friends not to do this, as I am apolitical, but who am I to fight the social groundswell? Visit http://tinyurl.com/MissyForPresident or watch the video here:
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Engage in '08
WHRO's Center for Regional Citizenship is supporting a local initiative to engage people **especially youth** in the political process.
Be There, Be Counted is the website. And, it's fantastic! Whether you call them Gen X, Gen Y, Millenials, whatever... they're our future and we need to involve them in the "process" now.
Be sure to check out the very cool "Select A Candidate" tool; simply answer some questions and find out which presidential candidate most fits your views.
Monday, June 12, 2006
A President's Accomplishments
George W. Bush's 50 Greatest Accomplishments
Rights we may lose, if we haven't already
For more, check out the Gundadin News Network Blog
I didn't write 'em...I'm just sharing 'em!
Posts
