The "new" Blogger is live, and one of the new features is that readers can receive e-mails when a new post is published.
So, for those who are interested, let me know if you'd like to be put on the Centrist Dude e-mail list, and you'll know whenever there's a new posting. Unfortunately, it doesn't appear that you can set this up yourself; the blog publisher has to submit the e-mail address.
Saturday, December 30, 2006
Saturday, December 23, 2006
FUN WITH PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES
One of the wonderful things about a blog is the potential for feedback. So that’s what I’m going for here: your opinions.
It may be two years out, but we’reseeing the current presidential hopefuls shake out. Evan Bayh has sadly (but wisely) already taken his hat out of the ring, as has Mark Warner. (Well Mark, if you can’t keep your current job you probably shouldn’t seek the boss’s job.) But the following have either formally declared their candidacy, formed exploratory committees, or are generally expected to run:
DEMS
-Hillary Clinton
-John Edwards
-Dennis Kucinich
-Barack Obama
-Bill Richardson
GOP
-Rudy Guiliani
-John McCain
-Mitt Romney
-Newt Gingrich
Let’s take it as a reasonable assumption that no dark horse candidate will enter the fray (I mean, isn’t Kucinich dark enough??) So let’s have some fun: I’m going to take each candidate separately, but let’s start with something basic: who do you like, who do you not like, and (of course) why?
We’ll take each one separately over the coming months, but let’s take this one as a tiny pulse.
It may be two years out, but we’reseeing the current presidential hopefuls shake out. Evan Bayh has sadly (but wisely) already taken his hat out of the ring, as has Mark Warner. (Well Mark, if you can’t keep your current job you probably shouldn’t seek the boss’s job.) But the following have either formally declared their candidacy, formed exploratory committees, or are generally expected to run:
DEMS
-Hillary Clinton
-John Edwards
-Dennis Kucinich
-Barack Obama
-Bill Richardson
GOP
-Rudy Guiliani
-John McCain
-Mitt Romney
-Newt Gingrich
Let’s take it as a reasonable assumption that no dark horse candidate will enter the fray (I mean, isn’t Kucinich dark enough??) So let’s have some fun: I’m going to take each candidate separately, but let’s start with something basic: who do you like, who do you not like, and (of course) why?
We’ll take each one separately over the coming months, but let’s take this one as a tiny pulse.
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
I AM STUPID. SO SAYS THE MEDIA.
In my morning readings I came across this gem:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2006-12-11-seattle-reading_x.htm
The summation of the articles is that it's a listing of the "10 most literate cities in America," along with a bit of explaining of the criteria used to determine who made the list and some tidbits masquerading as factoids.
At first glance, this might seem like a bit of harmless fluff that allows people in the top cities to pat themselves on the back. But something didn't ring right with this, so I read it a second time a bit more carefully. In doing so, several things seemed a bit odd:
1) With the exception of Atlanta, every city at the top is in a cold climate. Isn't it quite probable that people in San Diego, Durham, Austin and Charlotte might be doing less recreational reading because they're not confined indoors?
2) Newspaper circulation and checking out library books (as well as the number bookstores) are the main factors in how literate your city is. So... if you're getting the paper online instead of subscribing, how are you being counted? It's the same for podcasts and audiobooks winning out over library subscriptions. I, as an example, read quite a bit daily: periodicals, books, and online news. (I do declare that I got this article came from USA Today online!) I haven't seen the inside of a library nor subscribed to a newspaper in 8 or 10 years.
I am not alone. The public's habits have changed; how can John Miller even suggest that newspaper circulation is "one of the best indicators of literate behavior," and that if you don't subscribe to a newspaper that the next best source is whether you go to the library for news? What kind of a dinosaur is this guy? In his world, I'm not even counted.
3) What kind of agenda is being pushed forward by trying to imply that "literate" cities voted for Kerry and, therefore, "illiterate" cities voted for Bush? News flash: urban areas (sometimes known as "cities") largely vote Democratic. C'mon; Marion County (Indianapolis) IN voted for Kerry! It's more news that any major metropolitan areas vote Republican.
It's troubling that this snippet made it through the editorial department. Not only was the last presidential election was 2 years ago (ahem...get over it) but politics are a bit deeper than "dumb asses vote Republican while geniuses vote Democratic." What we have is a blatant example of finding some piece of evidence and using it to make a sweeping judgement to attempt to subtly sway public opinion. Eisenhower warned of the military/industrial complex. I say that equally troubling is the media/educational institution complex.
I certainly don't doubt that the cities mentioned have extremely literate people as they all have high levels of college graduates and people in creative and technical fields. But this study is not just flawed; it shouldn't even be given credence.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2006-12-11-seattle-reading_x.htm
The summation of the articles is that it's a listing of the "10 most literate cities in America," along with a bit of explaining of the criteria used to determine who made the list and some tidbits masquerading as factoids.
At first glance, this might seem like a bit of harmless fluff that allows people in the top cities to pat themselves on the back. But something didn't ring right with this, so I read it a second time a bit more carefully. In doing so, several things seemed a bit odd:
1) With the exception of Atlanta, every city at the top is in a cold climate. Isn't it quite probable that people in San Diego, Durham, Austin and Charlotte might be doing less recreational reading because they're not confined indoors?
2) Newspaper circulation and checking out library books (as well as the number bookstores) are the main factors in how literate your city is. So... if you're getting the paper online instead of subscribing, how are you being counted? It's the same for podcasts and audiobooks winning out over library subscriptions. I, as an example, read quite a bit daily: periodicals, books, and online news. (I do declare that I got this article came from USA Today online!) I haven't seen the inside of a library nor subscribed to a newspaper in 8 or 10 years.
I am not alone. The public's habits have changed; how can John Miller even suggest that newspaper circulation is "one of the best indicators of literate behavior," and that if you don't subscribe to a newspaper that the next best source is whether you go to the library for news? What kind of a dinosaur is this guy? In his world, I'm not even counted.
3) What kind of agenda is being pushed forward by trying to imply that "literate" cities voted for Kerry and, therefore, "illiterate" cities voted for Bush? News flash: urban areas (sometimes known as "cities") largely vote Democratic. C'mon; Marion County (Indianapolis) IN voted for Kerry! It's more news that any major metropolitan areas vote Republican.
It's troubling that this snippet made it through the editorial department. Not only was the last presidential election was 2 years ago (ahem...get over it) but politics are a bit deeper than "dumb asses vote Republican while geniuses vote Democratic." What we have is a blatant example of finding some piece of evidence and using it to make a sweeping judgement to attempt to subtly sway public opinion. Eisenhower warned of the military/industrial complex. I say that equally troubling is the media/educational institution complex.
I certainly don't doubt that the cities mentioned have extremely literate people as they all have high levels of college graduates and people in creative and technical fields. But this study is not just flawed; it shouldn't even be given credence.
Saturday, December 09, 2006
LONG TIME, NO POST
I think a year is a long enough time to go without a new post. Time to begin anew, especially now that I'm no longer in Indianapolis, having relocated to Austin, TX.
Topics you can reasonably expect me to comment on:
-why Austin might be the coolest and most creative city in America
-fixing America's political landscape
-a newcomer's view of Texas politics, values, and misconceptions
To those of you who actually come back to read after this long of a hiatus, thanks.
Topics you can reasonably expect me to comment on:
-why Austin might be the coolest and most creative city in America
-fixing America's political landscape
-a newcomer's view of Texas politics, values, and misconceptions
To those of you who actually come back to read after this long of a hiatus, thanks.
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