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End of Semester Thoughts from the Void
2007-12-04 05:02:00
This has been a spectacular semester. To wrap it up, I'm not going to just blab on like usually do. Instead, I'd like to give my fellow students of Media & Politics in the Digital Age a little recognition for their tremendous blogabilities. After all, blogging is really just about linking to other blogs. So in no particular order, here are my favorite posts from my colleagues' blogs (with my thoughts afterwards):The Machine is Us: Ron Paul cult helps raise $5 millionGod, I wish I had the cojones to take on the Ron Paul cult like The Machine does. Personally, I think Ron Paul makes some good points, especially with his reality-based foreign policy ideas. But this doesn't change the fact that half his supporters are bat-shit crazy. They flock into attack mode whenever someone like The Machine steps on their toes. This was the post that started it all. Bravo. Read the rest of his blog...in Redneck.Verbage: Darfur - Why We Should Do SomethingHey, there's an idea. No more debate...
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Yes! It's working!
2007-12-02 23:57:00
Poll: Giuliani, Clinton support slips a month from first votesI've been blogging for a few months now, and although comments from my loyal readers are few and far between, my site statistics in the range of miserable to depressing, I am thinking that maybe I've just made a difference. Giuliani and Hillary, my two arch enemies here at Blogging the Void, have slightly lower poll numbers. Yippee!!!Here is the latest Giuliani campaign ad:
More About: Working , Workin

The Chuck Norris Approach. Genius.
2007-12-01 05:42:00
The first time I watched the Chuck Norris hearts Huckabee video, I thought it was pretty cheesy. I mean, the Norris fan-base may be influential, but what could this American icon slash joke really do for a candidate treading water in the GOP race. Apparently, a lot. It all has to do with the YouTube Effect. Chuck Norris is one of those guys who gets funnier and funnier the more he tries to be serious. Ever since Conan O'Brien began pulling the Walker Texas Ranger Lever, I realized that Chuck Norris can say anything with a straight face and it is usually hilarious. Chuck Norris is the ultimate celebrity turned YouTube phenomenon. Even his name is funny. Utilizing the power of Chuck, Huckabee managed to create a viral buzz in the webosphere, just in time for the Republican YouTube Debate. And he ended up doing pretty well. There are so many interesting strategies in the digital age of politics. This one should be called the Chuck Norris Approach. I think it is genius....So I just ca...
More About: Genius

Make Your Own Attack Ad
2007-11-28 18:09:00
Politics in the internet age has allowed a wonderful new phenomenon: Homemade Atta ck Ads. They are spreading like wildfire these days. What makes them great is that anyone can create them. This video, which was actually "paid for" by the Edwards campaign, could have been made by anyone. I'll explain why.Making your own video like that would be easy. All you have to do is download media clips using free software, then use a simple program like iMovie to add titles and music, and boom, you are done. Total cost: zero. Watch this video I edited for a group project. The story was meant to portray a future where Americans voluntarily allow their movements and purchases to be tracked through social networking sites. Think of it as Facebook-meets-RFID technology. This world is not that far off. Facebook is now doing precisely what we warned about in the video: collecting information about our purchases and consumer habits. I've complained about this in the past. Watch this demonstration o...
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The Interplay of Influence
2007-11-26 03:00:00
I just had the honor of reading a book published in 1988 called The Interplay of Influence : Mass Media and Their Publics in News, Advertising, Politics by Kathleen Hall Jamieson. It is possible that a more updated version was meant to reach my eyes, but alas, it didn't. Nevertheless, my time-traveling exercise has given me some interesting perspective on today's issues of mass media manipulation in politics and advertising (and vice and versa). The bottom-line is that things are not dramatically different then they were in 1988. I know, we have blogs and YouTube debates in 2007. Now it's We, the Media, right? Unfortunately, no. The web and blogs, etc. contribute to the diversity of news, including forcing out stories that otherwise would be buried. The term "mass media" now has an entirely different meaning. But people still get news from the news. Regardless of what people ask in their YouTube debate question video, CNN is still the one deciding if it goes on the air. It is the ...

Planters Spill the Beans!
2007-11-20 18:05:00
This is how the Hillary Machine plants questions in advance. There is enough "planting" going on these days to drive me nuts. And its not just questions: Did Hillary plant these hecklers in Vegas? You can bet on it! And why the heck do we still listen to what this curmudgeon sea-cucumber has to say? This video questions the so-called "undecided voters" who asked questions. I don't see what's wrong with their backgrounds, but this is systematic planting on the part of CNN:
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Wolves for Lambs
2007-11-17 17:55:00
So many interesting exchanges at this latest Dem debate:A friend of mine is certain that Hillary is planting hecklers in the audience. They make a lot of noise when Obama and Edwards speak. Is this classic dirty politics from the Clinton side? Oh my God. I sound like a right-wing conservative Limbaugh-listener circa 1995. WTF!
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Giuliani Gets Exposed As Fraud by Firefighters
2007-11-14 19:07:00
More on Giuliani 's shaky credentials as the so-called "hero" of 9/11. If the largest Union of Firefighters believes he is a fraud, why don't we?
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Missed Connections
2007-11-09 17:06:00
At yesterday's Yahoo! event called The Rise of Citizen 2.0: Radically Rethinking Democracy in the Digital Age, Karl Rove and other political strategists discussed the impact of "highly engaged, tech-savvy, and vocal voters" on the 2008 elections, or, as Rove described them, "angry kooks" and "people on the fringe". Interesting. These people may be angry, but they are not necessarily the fringe. Most of my views, for example, are shared by the majority of Americans, although they are usually ignored on Capitol Hill. Take the impeachment of Cheney, for example. Polls show the majority of Americans want him removed from his office. And he should be. Cheney is a tyrant. Watch the latest PBS Frontline, The Dark Side. So more than half of Americans support his being impeached, yet their voice in Washington is limited to so-called "space cadets" like Dennis Kucinich (by the way, Ronald Reagan saw a UFO as well). When it comes to impeaching Cheney or ending the war in Iraq, the Democratic ...
More About: Connections

Unleashing the Ideavirus
2007-11-08 19:31:00
In 2000, at the peak of the dot-com bubble, Seth Godin wrote Unleashing the Ideavirus, another self-proclaimed manifesto supposed to revolutionize marketing tactics in the Internet age. The thesis of the book is that ideas are the central commodity being traded in our new economy and that, in order to be successful, ideas must be marketed by people, not at people. In the online idea market, consumers are no longer cattle. Rather than staring passively at television screens, the consumer 2.0 is active and influential. Godin considers Amazon's user-rated review system and mentions the top-rated reviewer at the time, a retired librarian who had written 500 book reviews. The same person, Harriet Klausner, is still the top-rated Amazon reviewer today, now with over 15,000 reviews under her belt. The point is that the Web is made up of millions of Harriet Klausners, all willing to market your product or idea for you. The secret to success, according to the book, is allowing these "sneeze...

AP Poll: Americans Yearn for Change in Direction
2007-11-05 23:57:00
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hoXbd x5QPCHR-LG9F3-HtWp3ReGw Yet we stuck with Hillary or Rudy as the front runners?
More About: Change , Poll , Americans , Dire , Direction

Democratic Slashfest at Drexel
2007-10-31 16:16:00
I just love the Halloween horror theme. Last night the democratic debate in Philly (watch it here) became an all-out bloodbath. The victim? Like any typical slasher flick, it was the blond woman who got ripped up first. With Barack and Edwards on either side of her, Hillary was torn apart, limb by limb. It was awesome. Edwards took the first slice at her, accusing her of voting "yes on a resolution that looks like it was written literally by the Neocons" and then ribbed her record of taking money from the defense industry. Once her blood began to drip, others joined in. Barack took a few stabs at her, accusing her of being the candidate the GOP wants to run against. It's true. Hillary would be the perfect opponent for the Republicans. First of all, the GOP already has at their disposal a vast, right-wing network of Hillary-haters. They may be silent now, but they won't be when she wins the nomination. Second, Hillary's record is no different than a Republican when it comes to iss...
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Monsterfest 08
2007-10-29 22:55:00
Hillary Clinton is the scariest presidential candidate to be for Halloween, according to an AP poll. Rudy Giuliani follows closely in second place. This made me wonder: Who is the scariest candidate for America? After two disastrous terms of George W. Bush, America needs a president who would be, in effect, the polar opposite of Bush. Instead of invading countries, fear-mongering, cutting up the Constitution, and doing the bidding of evil corporations and lobbyists, we need a candidate who would essentially do the opposite of all of those things. The next president must dare to challenge the status quo of corruption in Washington. He or she will have to undo Dick Cheney's career-long campaign to turn the presidency into a dictatorship (watch Frontline, Cheney's Law, with the lights off and prepare to be terrified). So which candidate threatens to undo Bush the least? Although she is the current Democratic front-runner, Hillary wouldn't undo Bush by any stretch of the imagination...
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Guiliani, Give me a Break!
2007-10-24 16:19:00
Rudy tells us how calling Petraeus Betray-us was so offensive. Come on. Who could resist a play on words like that? Then he goes into his standard "we must remain on offense" spiel. I am starting to realize that this man's ignorance is offensive.http://abcnews.go.com/Video/pla yerIndex?id=3596849&affil=wjla
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911 Reasons to Reject Rudy Giuliani
2007-10-23 17:21:00
Recently the Giuliani campaign held a "$9.11 for Rudy " luncheon where guests donated in the amount of Rudy's favorite numbers. He got so much heat for it, he had to return every $9.11 check. What is so exceptionally offensive about Rudy using 9/11 for political gain? For one thing, he is indirectly responsible for the deaths of firefighters that day. The FDNY had been begging Rudy for years to replace their stone-age radios that had already failed once in the first World Trade Center bombing. He didn't. So on 9/11 firefighters couldn't communicate properly. They couldn't tell their brothers to escape the Towers before they collapsed. Checkout firsthand accounts here: The Real Rudy. And then there was his insistence to locate the Office of Emergency Management on the 23rd floor of Building 7, which was part of the WTC complex. Sure enough, this location, supposed to be a command center in the event of a terrorist attack, was useless on 9/11. In fact, the whole building collapsed ...
More About: Rudy Giuliani , Reasons

You Will Be Subpoened for Reading This
2007-10-23 03:59:00
Alternative Title: By The Time I Get to Arizona...In Arizona, an overzealous sheriff has subpoenaed the IP addresses of every visitor to a news website that published a story critical of him. And two journalists have been detained.Here is the story at the Phoenix New Times (warning: this link may get you on the list). This is absurd. A court order for the name of every person who read an article? For a print newspaper, this would be impossible. Yet since this was a web article, all site visits are tracked by IP addresses and cookies. In this case the subpoena demanded site visit information going back to 2004. Retroactive violations of Constitutional rights? This brings up an interesting twist in the internet revolution. For all the freedom of the press on the web, there's a flip-side: freedom to oppress. Just imagine some fascist American President, like Rudy Giuliani, as he ships me off to the new Bloggers' wing of Gitmo, calling for all the IP addresses of visitors to my blog. ...
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The 95 Theses of the Cluetrain Manifesto
2007-10-17 22:31:00
In 1517, Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses on the door of the church at Wittenberg Castle, continuing a powerful debate that eventually became known as the Protestant Revolution. In 2000, a group of tech/marketing guys from Silicon Valley believed they were the ones witnessing a profound transformation. Except this revolution had nothing to do with penance or the Pope, but everything to do with Big Business, which at the end of the Millennium, is the true religion of the masses. Like Luther did 500 years before, these techies, who called their movement "Cluetrain", decided to take their new, updated 95 Theses to the High-Priests and Priestesses of the business world. Instead of the church door, they posted their ideas on the world wide web for all to discuss. And this was precisely their point: thanks to the Internet, human conversations now defy traditional notions of time and space and are linking people and ideas all over the world. And most importantly, these conversations are ...
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YouTube Unveils New Copyright Filter
2007-10-16 15:42:00
Certain clips are simply destined for the internet and the corporate media should be thanking us for putting them there. SNL has been brought back from the dead thanks to fans uploading clips like Lazy Sunday. And take Keith Olbermann's Special Comment. Have you noticed they are always just shy of being ten minutes long, which happens to be the maximum time allowed for uploading to YouTube? Coincidence? I don't think so. Here's a good one. Watch it while you can:
More About: Youtube , Copyright , Filter

Question Mark Guy Supports Obama
2007-10-13 17:42:00
Barack Obama has received a coveted endorsement: Question Mark Guy Matthew Lesko. It came to Blogging the Void's attention over the weekend that Lesko has placed an Obama sticker on his Question-Mark Mobile, a specially modified Scion xB that dispenses wads of cash from the exhaust pipe. Lesko, who is often spotted in Adams Morgan, was unavailable for comment. Analysts we spoke to said the endorsement will be a major boost for the Obama campaign and will cause ripples in the race for the Democratic nomination: "Just think of all the free money from the government Barack will get". Check out these exclusive photos taken on Columbia Road over the weekend.

Obama Girl vs. Ron Paul Girl
2007-10-10 21:54:00
Are beautiful girls the secret to a candidate's popularity on the web? Look at the internet dominance of Ron Paul and Barack Obama at Tech President. Both seem to be miles above the other candidates. Yet web popularity doesn't seem to be translating to national polls, which say Hillary and Giuliani are the ones dominating. So why is there is no web connection? Are millions of internet users ignored in these polls? Are they all too young? And how are the polls being conducted - by calling rotary phones in nursing homes? A Hillary Presidency would be more of the same - possibly a war with Iran. A Giuliani Presidency would be the end of democracy as we know it. Anyways, here are the girls, for what they are worth. If you enjoy stripteases, Ron Paul Girl is the one worth watching. If you like American idol, then check out Obama Girl . Oh yes, Hillary also got a girl recently. She is also a terrible singer.

Book Review: News that Matters
2007-10-08 22:44:00
The exhaustive experiments and surveying conducted by Shanto Iyengar and Donald Kinder in the late 1970s and early to mid 1980s conclude that television news certainly impacts public opinion - not telling people what to think, but telling them what to think about. Inyengar and Kinder mention the work of Walter Lippman, who in the 1920s concluded that mass media such as newspapers had the power to set agendas. In News that Matters , the newspaper has been replaced as the most trusted source of news by something much more captivating and convincing: television. As Inyengar and Kinder explain, television sets the order of priorities for the American public comfortably seated in front of the tube every night. In effect, it tells Americans what to care about. News that Matters introduces the concept of "priming", the notion that television news dictates to its viewers the standards by which to judge government policies and political leaders. Overall, it's not a pretty picture. But it's ...
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Obama Doesn't Wear Flag Pin. Arrest him!
2007-10-05 17:26:00
There is a big uproar in the media because Barack Obama doesn't wear his flag pin anymore. All the big outlets are discussing this. Fox News, always a proponent of totalitarianism, is devouring this like a cheetah on a wounded gazelle. But where did this so-called "story" come from? Cedar Rapids, Iowa. After Barack came through town and gave a speech and an interview, a local ABC affiliate reported just one thing: Barack's lack of a pin. Watch this:Did you hear the outrage in the male anchor's voice? Of all the things they could have reported about Barack Obama, like the content of his speech or his views on Iraq, they tell us about his missing American flag pin? And Iowa is where they supposedly pick the Democratic candidate for President. We are screwed! Thank you, KCRG Channel-9 News. To borrow an idiom from Keith Olbermann, you are the worrrrrrst perrrrrrrrson in the worrrrrrrrrrrrrrrld!
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Hey Rush, This is What a Phony Soldier Looks Like:
2007-10-03 19:29:00
Rush Limbaugh is still under attack for his phony soldier comments. Wesley Clark, who is not a phony soldier, has called for his removal from Armed Forces Radio. Now Republican lawmakers are trying to block the onslaught against their last line of propaganda after Fox News, Conservative Radio. Imus got pulled off the air for insulting a women's basketball team. Shouldn't Rush be off the air for insulting the freethinking members of our country's military? As much as I hate him, I still don't believe commentators like Rush or Imus should be censored for expressing their points of view. If Rush can't insult the members of our armed forces, then we live in a phony democracy. And that ain't what our troops are fighting for in Iraq. Well, actually it is. But not here, dammit! Not here.
More About: Soldier , Rush , Phony , Looks

Iraq is massive, bloody catastrophuck, so logical next step is...
2007-10-02 06:39:00
Think Progress is tracking the latest in the run-up to war with Iran. The Lieberman/Kyl amendment, calling the Iranian Revolutionary Guard a "terrorist organization", passed the Senate with flying colors last week. The US will now classify the military of the sovereign nation of Iran in the same category as Al-Qaeda. Watch Mike Gravel attack Hillary for voting for it. It is safe to say that with the Bush Administration still in the White House and rumors of war abound, supporting this amendment is akin to authorizing an invasion. Various Democrats expressed opposition to Lieberman/Kyl, such as Dick Durbin. Jim Webb called the amendment "Cheney's Fondest Pipe Dream". But unlike Durbin, who ended up voting for it, Webb remains opposed to this provocation. Now Hillary, who is following Kerry's model of voting for something before voting against it, has joined Webb in trying to block an attack on Iran after supporting the aggressive amendment that makes it possible. Watching Democra...
More About: Iraq , Step , Logical , Logi , Bloody