Latest debate: was there too much sex and profanity?
Was There Too Much Sex And Profanity In The HBO Presidential Debate? Thanks to Mike Smith for passing this along.
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Lexical analysis of debates finds Obama and McCain startlingly similar
My colleague, Dr. Sidicious Bonesparkle, had a bit of sport last week with a Global Language Monitor analysis showing that Sarah Palin spoke at a higher grade level in the VP “debate” than did Joe Biden. As it turns out, the GLM isn’t alone in examining the language used by the presidential and vice presidential candidates.
Read moreCall for participants: new NYU voting behavior study
Any S&R readers interested in participating in some interesting voting behavior research? A research team from the Psychology Department at New York University, headed by Professor Yaacov Trope and supported by the National Science Foundation, is investigating the cognitive causes of voting behavior, political preferences, and candidate evaluations throughout the course of the 2008 U.S. Presidential election. This stage of
Read moreStudy proves Biden won debate by more than a full grade level
Hey, America: are your politicians stupid or do they just think you are? Check this new analysis of Thursday night’s “debate”: An analysis carried out by a language monitoring service said Friday that Gov. Sarah Palin spoke at a more than ninth-grade level and Sen. Joseph Biden spoke at a nearly eighth-grade level in Thursday night’s debate between the vice
Read morePalin’s debate flow chart
Ah – this explains a lot.
Read morePost-debate wrap: Palin, low standards and the new feminism
I’m sitting here taking in what the collected punditry has to say in the aftermath of tonight’s Veep Debate. These aren’t direct quotes, but most of the comments go something like this: “Well, she didn’t answer any of the questions, but she held her own.” “She didn’t make any major mistakes.” “I think she did a great job of not
Read moreWorst Week: Gonna be a big one for John McCain
This could be a Very Bad Week for Sen. John McCain. Last week, McCain attempted a stunt for the ages, announcing that he was “suspending his campaign” so that he could rush back to Washington, where he was apparently desperately needed in order to pull together an economic bailout package. He called on Sen. Barack Obama to stop stomping the
Read moreAmber alert
Hee hee hee…
Read moreLady Die: de Rothschild, elitism and the final episode of Punk’d
This is some pretty funny stuff. Prominent Clinton backer and Dem donor to endorse McCain Posted: 10:45 AM ET WASHINGTON (CNN) — Lynn Forester de Rothschild, a prominent Hillary Clinton supporter and member of the Democratic National Committee’s Platform Committee, will endorse John McCain for president on Wednesday, her spokesman tells CNN. But that’s not the good part. Check this:
Read moreSteal this election!
It looks our old friends are up to their old games again. In Michigan: “The chairman of the Republican Party in Macomb County, Michigan, a key swing county in a key swing state, is planning to use a list of foreclosed homes to block people from voting in the upcoming election as part of the state GOP’s effort to challenge
Read moreThe man, the war hero, the…uhhh…inventor?
The fact is that Al Gore never claimed that he invented the Internet. We all joke about it, of course, and his opponents made ungodly amounts of political hay with the distortion. So, in the interest of bipartisan fairness, I’m sure we can trust everyone (yes, I mean you, FOX “News”) to do what’s appropriate with this breaking tidbit. Yes,
Read moreStop lying to the public: some notes on the faux-ethics of the press
CountyFair had an important and much-needed lesson in journalistic ethics for us this morning. The key points: First: it should never, ever be considered acceptable to quote a candidate or official making a false claim without noting its falsity. Reporters do this all the time, justifying it by saying they’re just presenting both sides, or that they aren’t making the
Read moreHas Obama dug a hole that he can’t climb out of?
Well, well, well…. There’s been a spurt of 527 activity on behalf of Sen. John McCain, but Barack Obama campaign has suddenly gone silent on the subject.That’s because, after of year of telling donors not to contribute to 527 groups, of encouraging strategists not to form them and of suggesting that outside messaging efforts would not be welcome in Obama’s
Read moreThe S&R Interview with Lee Camp, part 2: “Thank God for Jon Stewart”
In part two of the S&R Interview, comedian Lee Camp talks with me about the relationship between politics and comedy and has high praise for those who, like Jon Stewart and Chris Rock, are able to infuse their work with important insights about our society. “Thank god for The Daily Show,” he says. “I wish there was a network that
Read moreThe S&R interview: Lee Camp, pt. 1
On February 23, comedian Lee Camp appeared on FOX News, where he proceeded to sound off on the hosts and their audience. “What is Fox News?” asks comedian and activist Lee Camp on the air. “It’s just a parade of propaganda, isn’t it? It’s just a…festival of ignorance.” Obviously Camp is a man with some political convictions. He’s also a
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lullaby pit 