WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Forget the struggling economy. There's one U.S. industry -- Big Politics -- that is looking ahead to a record year in 2012. The U.S. elections will be the most expensive ever, with a total price tag of $6 billion or even more, fueled by millions of dollars in unrestricted donations as Republicans and Democrats vie for control of the White House, Congress and state governments.
Read the full story @ The LA Times
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Friday, September 2, 2011
The Growth of Social Media: An Infographic
Say what you will about the tidal wave that is social media: it’s over-hyped, a fad halfway through its 15 minutes of fame, that isn't as effective for influencing and motivating voters as television and print newspapers or old fashioned telephone and door to door canvassing.
But take a look below at the steep curve of the user growth rate in all age ranges and demographics, and the continuing pervasiveness of social networking into every facet of work, play, politics and life in general. It’s hard to argue that social media hasn’t changed forever how we interact and connect with each other. See for yourself: (below the fold - click more)
The U.S. Government Is Not Broke
by Beverly Bandler
To tell Americans that the United States Government is broke, as the Republican Party and some Democratic conservatives do, is not only a lie it is irresponsible and just plain idiotic propaganda. Too many Americans believe this hokum that defies common sense.
To tell Americans that the United States Government is broke, as the Republican Party and some Democratic conservatives do, is not only a lie it is irresponsible and just plain idiotic propaganda. Too many Americans believe this hokum that defies common sense.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Political Activism With Social Media
Social networking tools such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and blogs have forever changed how people communicate and how they organize for social and political change.
21st century political candidates and community organizers have swapped yard signs for social media. With Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and other new media tools, the traditional relationship between political authority, the main stream news media and "we the people" has been upended, making it easier for "we the people" to collaborate, coordinate, and have a voice in the politics that affect the life of ourselves and our families.
To hear more about how social media engagement has become a critically important strategy for political candidates and community organizing come to the Social Media Day cosponsored by the Texas Democratic Women of Collin County and the Democratic Blog for News.
The Social Media Day will be at the Plano Centre on Saturday September 10th from 9:00am to 12:00pm in the Hillhaven Room. (map)
Suggested Donation of $5 to the TDWCC – pay at the door.
RSVP to events@tdwcc.org
Event sponsors:
Texas Democratic Women of Collin County
Democratic Blog of Collin County
More:The Mobile Election 2012
Many online strategists expect SMS to actually take a backseat next year as the presidential cycle ushers in a new world of mobile apps and an expanded use of video.
The reason is simple: Smartphone use has grown exponentially over the past two years, making this coming election cycle the one in which mobile use by campaigns should explode.
In December of 2008, just 14 percent of wireless customers in the U.S. were using smartphones. Now, according to the latest numbers from the Pew Internet and American Life Project, more than a third of all Americans are using smartphones.
“Research has shown that by the end of 2011, smartphone usage will reach 50 percent,” says Cami Longstreet Zimmer, president of Campaign Touch Mobile Solutions. “Mobile doubles every six months, so having a mobile strategy for your campaign is a must.”
Monday, August 29, 2011
65% Of Online Adults Use Social Networking Sites
Now, a new survey by Pew internet & American Life Project finds that 65% say they use a social networking site like MySpace, Facebook or LinkedIn, up from 61% one year ago. Only email and search engines are used more frequently than social networking tools.
That's more than double the percentage that reported social networking site usage in 2008 (29%). And for the first time in Pew Internet surveys, it means that more than half of all adults (51%) use social networking sites.
Among internet users, social networking sites are most popular with women, young adults under age 30, and parents.
Young adult women ages 18-29 are the power users of social networking; fully 89% of those who are online use the sites overall and 69% do so on an average day.
As of May 2011, there are no significant differences in use of social networking sites based on race and ethnicity, household income, education level, or whether the internet user lives in an urban, suburban, or rural environment.
See the full report for a more detailed analysis of how Americans use social networking sites at pewinternet.org.
Friday, August 26, 2011
Billions Meant for Struggling Homeowners Diverted By House Republicans
A new report by the investigative website Pro Publica publicizes that Congress diverted $30 billion in bailout money allocated to help struggling homeowners prevent foreclosure in order to pay down the national debt instead.
There were more than 1 million foreclosure filings in the first half of 2011 alone, yet only a fraction of the government aid that was supposed to reach homeowners has been spent:
Read the full report @ Pro Publica.Instead, Congress has mandated that the leftover money be used to pay down the debt.
Of the $45.6 billion in Trouble Asset Relief Program funds meant to aid homeowners, the most recent numbers available show that only about $2 billion has actually gone out the door.
The low number reflects how little the government’s home loan modification and other programs have actually helped homeowners deal with the foreclosure crisis.
Sen. Sanders Introduces Bill To Lift Social Security Payroll Tax Cap
On Thursday, Sanders announced that he will introduce legislation that would fully fund Social Security to the end of this century without cutting benefits to any of its beneficiaries. Sanders’ legislation would eliminate the income cap that currently exists in the payroll tax that does not tax income above $106,800:
To keep Social Security strong for another 75 years, Sanders’ legislation would apply the same payroll tax already paid by more than nine out of 10 Americans to those with incomes over $250,000 a year. [...] Under Sanders’ legislation, Social Security benefits would be untouched. The system would be fully funded by making the wealthiest Americans pay the same payroll tax already assessed on those with incomes up to $106,800 a year.
Last week, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) was a featured speaker at the United Steel Workers 2011 conference in Las Vegas.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT)
Sanders focused much of his speech on the Social Security system, blasting suggestions by Democrats and Republicans alike that, for example, we should adjust the cost of living adjustment to cut Social Security payments to working class Americans or raise the retirement age. “When [Social Security] was developed, 50 percent of seniors lived in poverty.
Today, poverty among seniors is too high, but that number is ten percent. Social Security has done exactly what it was designed to do!”
Sanders points out that President Obama himself endorsed this idea on the campaign trail in 2008. “What we need to do is to raise the cap on the payroll tax so that wealthy individuals are paying a little bit more into the system. Right now, somebody like Warren Buffet pays a fraction of 1 percent of his income in payroll tax, whereas the majority…pays payroll tax on 100 percent of their income. I’ve said that was not fair,” said Obama during the campaign.The Social Security system is currently fully funded until 2037. Lifting the payroll tax cap would virtually eliminate funding shortfalls the program would experience over the next 75 years.
Hurricane Irene A Dangerous Storm For The Eastern Seaboard
The expected arrival of the nearly 600-mile-wide Hurricane Irene this weekend means that states of emergency have been declared along the length of the eastern seaboard. Dangerous Irene is an usually wet and large hurricane in its overall size with tropical storm force winds extending out nearly 300 miles from the center. Climate scientists studying hurricanes have documented a 35-year warming trend of 1 degree Fahrenheit in ocean surface temperature. That 1 degree rise in surface temperature increases atmospheric water vapor available to feed hurricanes, increasing the area of tropical storm force winds and total rainfall amounts.
Depending on numerous factors, it could take New York City “weeks or months” to return to normal if the densely-populated city suffers a direct hit from Hurricane Irene. Apart from the potential loss of life in the most densely populated part of the America, history suggests that the economic damage could run into the tens of billions of dollars, depending on the severity of the storm and how close it comes to the City of New York. Unlikely but theoretically plausible scenarios could have the damage entering the realm of the costliest natural disasters of all time, and perhaps being large enough to have a materially negative effect on the nation’s gross domestic product.
The storm is poised to hit New York at a time when high tides reach their highest levels, which could amplify flooding in the city built around bays and rivers. Some experts predict a storm surge of five feet or more. Lower Manhattan could see streets under a few feet of water.
"In many ways, a Category 2 or stronger storm hitting New York is a lot of people's nightmare, for a number of reasons," said Susan Cutter, director of the Hazards and Vulnerability Research Institute at the University of South Carolina.
Even if the winds aren't strong enough to damage buildings made largely of brick, concrete and steel, a lot of New York's subway system and power lines are underground. The city's airports are close to the water, too, and could be inundated, as could densely packed neighborhoods. Hospitals were told to make sure generators were ready.
Fox News: ‘Facts Are Certainly’ On The Side Of Global Warming, But ‘It Doesn’t Matter’
On Fox & Friends Sunday, anchor Clayton Morris admitted that Fox News factcheckers have confirmed that man-made global warming is “certainly” real, but argued that it “doesn’t matter” because climate denial is popular among Fox News-watching conservatives. Morris contrasted Jon Huntsman’s defense of the National Academy of Sciences with Rick Perry’s claims that scientists have “manipulated data” to concoct manmade global warming:
MORRIS: If you dive into the weeds a little bit on this global warming thing, you see that it seems that facts are certainly on Huntsman’s side on all of this and fact checkers have come out, we’re actually having our own brain room look look at this right now that any of Perry’s comments don’t seem to hold a lot of water. It doesn’t matter. What’s resonating right now in South Carolina is helping Governor Perry tremendously and he fired back at Huntsman on global warming and gaining traction, facts or not.
Fox & Friends Sunday with anchor Clayton Morris
Americans care deeply about energy, weather disasters, food prices, clean air, and a safe future for their children.
Maybe if Clayton Morris and his Fox News colleagues decided that facts should matter, they’d be able to rally Americans to fight global warming pollution before it’s too late.
Skepticism and outright denial of climate changing global warming are among the articles of faith of the Tea Party movement across the country. To a large extent, of course, those articles of faith were intentionally fostered by the constant bombardment of anti-science propaganda from Fox News and other right-wing media.
For some, the denial of scientific facts are a matter of religious conviction; for others, it is driven by distrust of those they call the elites. And for others still, efforts to address climate change are seen as a conspiracy to impose world government and a sweeping redistribution of wealth.
Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX) trades that fear and distrust of scientists in his proclamation that climate science is a "contrived phony mess" based on “so-called science” in a “secular carbon cult.”
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