PR and self-governing blogs

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Wednesday March 28, 2007 · 3:12 PM PDT

2007/03/28 · 15:12

Ok, so I don't know if that's a good title or not, but I'm writing this in haste. I just finished watching the end of John Gibson on Fox (why, oh why do I do that to myself?), and his final "my word" section was about the left wing blogosphere spewing hatred toward Tony Snow and the news that his cancer has spread. Aside from the fact that he wrongly quotes WinSmith's diary on the topic, which he completely misrepresents, why are we giving ammunition to right wing blowhards like Gibson?

I know that Gibson made it seem like people were rooting for the cancer when most people were just saying "fuck Tony Snow." There's a difference, but not many people would accept it. When it comes to the bombers though, no one should in seriousness lament that they missed their target. I hate the man to, but that's beyond the pale. Follow me over the fold for a suggestion.

Poll

31 votes Show Results

Should it be prohibited to wish the death of a public figure here?

31 votes Vote Now!

Should it be prohibited to wish the death of a public figure here?

Yes

19 votes

2 votes

Get out of here Big brother

8 votes

You're missing the point, and I'll explain the comment

2 votes

Open Access and Scientific Publishing (now w/ Poll)

Statius

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday March 14, 2007 · 8:21 AM PDT

2007/03/14 · 08:21

What to do? So many topics I'd like to write a diary on today, including the use of War on Terror Language to refer to the need to renew NCLB, but then I saw the following article from Wired. Alas, I barely have time for this one, so it'll be short.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) has pledged this year to resurrect the Federal Research Public Access Act (S.2695), which would require federally funded research to become publicly available online within six months of being published.

I doubt that the bill would pass, but it would have far-reaching ramifications. Follow me over the flip for some brief thoughts.

Poll

3 votes Show Results

What do you think will be the effect of Open Access on Scientific Publishing

3 votes Vote Now!

What do you think will be the effect of Open Access on Scientific Publishing

Peer Review will be irreperably harmed

0 votes

Journals will need to scale back their publishing schedules

0 votes

Governmental interference in scientific research

0 votes

Nothing will change except the medium in which research is published

0 votes

None of the above. I will explain in comments

3 votes

Give the Devil the Benefit of the Law

Statius

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Saturday March 10, 2007 · 10:27 AM PST

2007/03/10 · 10:27

My title for this diary comes from the movie A Man for All Seasons, based on a play by Robert Bolt. Here is the relevant quote:

William Roper: So, now you give the Devil the benefit of law!
Sir Thomas More: Yes! What would you do? Cut a great road through the law to get after the Devil?
William Roper: Yes, I'd cut down every law in England to do that!
Sir Thomas More: Oh? And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned 'round on you, where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat? This country is planted thick with laws, from coast to coast, Man's laws, not God's! And if you cut them down, and you're just the man to do it, do you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then? Yes, I'd give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety's sake!

Follow me over the fold as I discuss this a little more.

Statius

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Wednesday March 07, 2007 · 12:50 PM PST

2007/03/07 · 12:50

Before beginning, let me say that I'm not a firm supporter yet for any of the primary candidates. Leaning towards Obama, but unsure. I also am very much for a woman President, but like many, have some misgivings about Clinton. But I'm giving her a chance.

Anyway, I found this article today on Slate about the ways that Katie Couric might be a test for how the country might react to a Clinton presidency:

No one has ever accused Hillary Clinton of being too perky or showing too much leg. Even so, the presidential candidate could learn a lot from Katie Couric. The bright-eyed former morning-show host made her debut as the anchor of the third-place CBS Evening News on Sept. 5, when she took over for Bob Schieffer, and Dan Rather before him, and Walter Cronkite before them. Her tenure has been a bumpy one and in that, a useful test of the public's willingness to accept a woman as a figure of national and international prominence.

Follow me over the fold for some thoughts on this.

Poll

54 votes Show Results

Is Katie Couric a good test for Hillary Clinton

54 votes Vote Now!

Is Katie Couric a good test for Hillary Clinton

Yes

1 vote

42 votes

In some ways yes

6 votes

You mean a woman can be President?Hi

5 votes

UPDATED: Mitt Romney defends the dignity of Gay people.

Statius

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Saturday March 03, 2007 · 8:11 PM PST

2007/03/03 · 20:11

Before getting to Mitt, this diary has a bit about Ann Coulter. Yes, I know, another one of them. I had absolutely no intention of writing this short diary, but this prompted me to do so:

C'mon it was a joke. I would never insult gays by suggesting that they are like John Edwards. That would be mean.
Did any of these guys say anything after I made the same remark about Al Gore last summer?Why not? What were they trying to say about Al Gore with their silence?

Follow me over the fold for a few brief thoughts

Poll

60 votes Show Results

Is Mitt Romney guilty of

60 votes Vote Now!

Is Mitt Romney guilty of

Pandering

16 votes

Doublethink

2 votes

Homophobia

1 vote

Politics as usual

5 votes

A combination of all of them

36 votes

How do we define Poverty? (Children's Health Insurance Program)

Statius

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Tuesday February 27, 2007 · 11:02 AM PST

2007/02/27 · 11:02

It is obvious to most of America, not just the readers of DailyKos, that health care is a significant crisis that is not going to be solved easily. A recent skirmish over how to handle health care involves the Children's Health Insurance Program, which unsurprisingly is always being underfunded. What's Bush's solution? Of course you know the answer--restrain spending. From the NYT:

In his budget this month, Mr. Bush said he wanted to return the program to its "original objective" of covering children with family incomes less than twice the poverty level. Budget documents note that 16 states cover children above that level and that "one state, New Jersey, covers children up to 350 percent of the federal poverty level."

Over the fold I do not intend to further criticize the abhorrent way that this administration seeks all answers to Domestic problems in the free market, but rather to consider what's wrong with our idea of poverty.

Statius

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Sunday February 25, 2007 · 7:09 PM PST

2007/02/25 · 19:09

This is a short diary, since I'm sort of multi-tasking here between work and the Oscars, but this story went up at Salon. Written by Lindsay Beyerstein, it's a consideration of whether or not high-profile bloggers should work for political campaigns directly. Follow me over the fold for a few brief questions.

Poll

20 votes Show Results

Should "A-list" (whatever that means) bloggers work on campaigns?

20 votes Vote Now!

Should "A-list" (whatever that means) bloggers work on campaigns?

Yes

0 votes

9 votes

Really depends

8 votes

But that might mean showering and going to work in an office!

3 votes

Student rights and recording the teacher

Statius

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Tuesday February 20, 2007 · 10:12 AM PST

2007/02/20 · 10:12

As the political climate continues to polarize in this country, I become more and more concerned about my position in the Academy. As an untenured instructor, how much freedom do I have in the classroom? I am a teacher of Writing, Rhetoric, and English literature. My classes inevitably get into political language whenever the topic of rhetoric comes up. It's often unavoidable because the students themselves bring it up. I'm usually careful to avoid bringing my own lefty views into plain sight, and try to show the abusive uses of language in political language in general. But will I always be perceived with such generosity by my students? Several recent cases make me think that I such generosity may not always be given.

Follow me over the fold as I consider the ramifications of students having the right to record the political and religious speech of their professors.

Poll

66 votes Show Results

Should students be allowed to record their teachers for poltical purposes?

66 votes Vote Now!

Should students be allowed to record their teachers for poltical purposes?

Yes

35 votes

23 votes

It depends on the case

4 votes

Let the Legislature figure it out

4 votes

Fashion-ing marriage

Statius

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Saturday December 02, 2006 · 10:10 AM PST

2006/12/02 · 10:10

For the most part, I am respectful of The New York Times. I do consider it to be the "paper of record," even if that is an antiquated idea. With a few exceptions, I think they have a solid editorial staff and bullpen of reporters. But, the shine came off a little with this article I read today.

What I read was a relatively decent article on how some heterosexual couples are waiting to get married until gays and lesbians have the same right. Now, there were the obligatory mentions of celebrity couples who do this (I won't bother mentioning their names), but much of the article focused on young professionals, graduate students, law students, and so on, who have also made this choice. What's wrong with that, you ask? Well, the New York Times put it in the "Fashion & Style" section of the paper.

Follow me over the fold as I vent.

Statius

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Sunday November 19, 2006 · 7:28 PM PST

2006/11/19 · 19:28

Here in Missouri, Governor Blunt has instituted some of the most brutal cuts to medicaid in the nation. Having cut medicaid to almost the federal minimum, Blunt now has a vision for how to "reform" Missouri Medicaid. It would start by eliminating Medicaid altogether, and replace it with a whole new system. Here is the governing idea behind Blunt's health policy:

Tentatively dubbed Missouri Healthnet, the new system would use both carrots and sticks to place more emphasis on prevention and personal responsibility.

Under the working draft, residents would apply for the program over the Internet, use a state rating system to pick their doctor, receive benefits tailored to their health status and reap rewards for good habits.

Poll

79 votes Show Results

What kind of healthcare do you have?

79 votes Vote Now!

What kind of healthcare do you have?

Medicaid or Medicare

5 votes

Individual health policy

7 votes

Group policy through employer

44 votes

What insurance?

23 votes

Re-aligning Republicans

Statius

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday November 09, 2006 · 9:53 AM PST

2006/11/09 · 09:53

Kos writes

every bit of anti-minority party legislation the GOP implemented these last 12 years better be kept intact by the new Democratic leadership. Let them reap what they sowed. They deserve every humiliation they designed for those in the minority status.

Far from the "rolling re-alignment" of the party and the U.S. that Karl Rove envisioned for Republicans under Bush's reign, the anti-minority legislation of the Republicans will serve not to silence them, but to re-fashion the Republican Party.

As they are shut out of major policy decisions on Congress, forced to vote on the losing side of issue after issue, and effectively stifled by the majority party, the Republicans will need to re-locate their center. Rather than being far right, they'll need to gravitate toward the center, even toward the left, in order to be a player in political decisions. This will dictate what kind of future candidates we'll see from Republicans in the next few election cycles. Read More

Why can't we get our act together with voting?

Statius

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday November 07, 2006 · 11:05 AM PST

2006/11/07 · 11:05

I voted today in Missouri (District 3). There were only four electronic voting machines. When I went to register and show my ID, I was told there was a long wait for the electronic machines, or I could take a paper ballot. I took the paper ballot. There was a table with partitions set up, but they were all being used. Most people just wandered around the polling place with their ballots. They often sat on outlying benches or seats to fill out the ballots. I even heard one couple discussing their votes as they were voting!

Where was the monitoring? Why would I be allowed to just wander around with my ballot in hand? The poll workers were registering people or milling about, but there was nothing stopping me from talking to other voters while they voted, to influence them, or to tamper with the vote in other ways. I was feeling particularly concerned about this after watching Hacking Democracy
Read More

RSS

PR and self-governing blogs

Open Access and Scientific Publishing (now w/ Poll)

Give the Devil the Benefit of the Law

UPDATED: Hillary Clinton and the Katie Couric factor

UPDATED: Mitt Romney defends the dignity of Gay people.

How do we define Poverty? (Children's Health Insurance Program)

Blogging and the Presidential Campaigns, from Salon

Student rights and recording the teacher

Fashion-ing marriage

A conservative vision of healthcare

Re-aligning Republicans

Why can't we get our act together with voting?