Kos v. Ford: The “DLC vs. the Netroots” Debate

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I know I am behind the fray on this one, and there is a good chance you have seen the Harold Ford/ Markos Moulitsas debate, which captures the contrast between the “DLC vs. the Netroots”. The setting “Meet the Press” which was hosted by MSNBC’s David Gregory (at the time Tim Russert was still the shows regular host) - and certainly served as both an entertaining and substantive political joust. I am attempting to set the mood for round 2 of the “Kos vs. Ford” debate which is scheduled to take place in Austin, Texas on July 17th, as part of the “Netroots Nation” convention.

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New Quinnipiac Shows Obama Leading McCain 49-41 Nationally

A brand new Quinnipiac Poll (literally. It was released a couple minutes ago) shows Barack Obama holding a 50% - 41% lead over his Republican counterpart John McCain. This according to a nationwide poll of likely voters which was comprised over a three day span, July 10th through 13th. The internals of this poll however are almost, if not altogether, more intriguing then the actual surface number, which has Obama up by 9 points.

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Is Colorado the New Ohio? How the Rocky Mountain Swing State Could Decide the Election

There has been a lot of talk regarding the electoral map “swing states” as of late. A particular focus has been put on Ohio, Michigan, Florida, Pennsylvania and Missouri all states where the current polls are close, but reflect similar numbers at this time back in 2000 and 2004. That is why electoral experts have begun to believe that Colorado will ultimately decide the 2008 election - and this is not an assertion that should be taken lightly either. Those arguing that Colorado is very likely in deciding the ‘08 election have quite a compelling argument on their side - one that makes more and more sense as each day passes, and state polls are released.

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The Real Victims of ‘Reality TV’: 5 Groups That Will Be Effected by Trash TV

Jodi Lipper and Cerina Vincent, authors of How to Eat Like a Hot Chick, have put together a list of the top five groups of people that have in essence been “hurt” so to say, by the reality television boom we have seen take place over the last couple of years.

They note that through the systematic “dumbing down” of society, reality TV has hurt many individuals in many different ways. However they are also transparent in their analysis, pointing out that they too watch “trashy reality shows” on a regular basis.

Anyways, here is the list of people whose lives will be forever changed (for the worse) by reality TV:

#1 - Little Girls

Thanks to “The Bachelorette,” little girls grow up seeing that if they can’t find a husband on their own, they can just go on TV and make out with 25 different hot guys to magically find their Prince Charmings. Teenage girls, on the other hand, watch those nasty brats on “My Super Sweet Sixteen” and then turn into them by throwing hissy fits when all they get on their big day is ice cream cake and a key to the family Honda. What about “Keeping Up With the Kardashians”? In order to “keep up” with them, little girls are taught that all it takes to be a celebrity is to become a glorified porn star. Then there are the dozens of “makeover” shows that hire plastic surgeons to make “regular” girls look like they’re favorite celebrities. We’re certainly not saying that all reality shows are bad, but these examples are teaching our little girls the absolute wrong things about themselves - that they should strive to be uneducated, slutty brats with fake boobs. We urge you to steer your daughters’ eyes away from the screen during these shows or to at least take the opportunity to explain why those women are pretty much the worst role models one could pick.

#2 - Little Boys

We think that little boys should be out riding their bikes, finding treasures in the gutter, and daydreaming about they’re cute little crush at school. They should not be glued to the TV watching Flavor Flav hook up with the most classless, scantily clad, cat-fighting women we’ve ever seen. And we don’t want them to be obsessed with watching Tila Tequila to see if she’s ultimately going to choose a guy or a girl to be her partner, either. Boys have plenty of time to learn about bisexuality; they do not need some MySpace whore in a sting bikini and stripper heels encouraging them to think about girls on girls. They’ll waste enough time thinking about that when they’re good and ready.

#3 - Husbands

Our friend’s ex-husband never missed an episode of “Laguna Beach.” He was completely obsessed with those sixteen-year-old rich kids with blonde highlights. It turns out he was also living a double life. When he wasn’t talking about Lauren Conrad and her nemesis, he was banging some other chick the whole time our friend was planning their wedding. Complete and total coincidence? Could be. But we think that reality shows are kind of like strip clubs - if your man visits one occasionally (like for a bachelor party) that’s totally fine and harmless, but these shows (and clubs) can also suck your man in by showing him an alternate lifestyle where there are no rules, no repercussions, and all the fake boobs and equally fake tans he can feast his eyes on. We’d prefer to keep our man with us in the real world, instead.

#4 - Wives

The women on reality shows can make even the most confident women out there feel like they are not beautiful enough, skinny enough, or tan enough, and especially like they don’t have enough shiny things. Does watching reruns of the Real World make you feel good about where you are in life? And does hearing Denise Richards explain that she needs a $9,000 grill because she likes things that are “a little bit fancier” make you feel better or worse about your lifestyle? We don’t think that anyone should try to emulate the people on reality shows, and it’s very sad that watching too many of them can actually impact one’s self esteem. Women who are addicted to these shows and take them too seriously should try watching the news about the rest of the world - it’s sure to make them feel better about the $35 grill in their own backyard.

#5 - Reality Stars

Yes, it may seem counterintuitive to say that reality shows are bad for the very stars that are taking the jobs away from real actors (and writers and directors) and are becoming rich and famous from these shows, but think about where some recent reality stars have landed. “Newlyweds” surely contributed to Jessica and Nick’s breakup, and we wonder if “Hogan Knows Best” had anything to do with little Nick’s horrible car crash and subsequent prison time. No, there may not be a direct correlation between reality show and prison, but these shows do inflate their stars’ egos and make them believe that they are omnipotent, immortal creatures. Dealing with celebrity is hard enough for people who have actually earned it with their own hard work and talent. It must be even more difficult to handle when it comes overnight and for no good reason at all.

How Twenty Something Year Olds, Facebook, Myspace, etc. are Changing the Face of Politics

The 2008 Election is seeing something that no other Presidential race thus far has been privy too - a massive influx of the “youth vote” and the tool they are using to get involved. The internet. It has been well documented that throughout the Democratic the “Millennials” turned out to vote in numbers up until now, no one could have imagined, and the key to a lot of this “involvement” has been the internet - which has transformed from just a way to instant message your friends or check an e-mail, to a vital networking and grassroots mobilization platform.

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New Vanity Fair Article: “A Clinton Campaign Insiders Look at What Went Wrong…”

The upcoming issue of Vanity Fair features an article penned by Gail Sheehy, a Hillary Clinton biographer, as well as a established author. Sheehy writes about the conversations, admissions, finger pointing, and everything else brought up during her numerous interviews with Clinton campaign insiders, and their assertions of what went wrong. Sheehy also recants brief conversations she had with Hillary along the campaign trail, about everything ranging from superdelegates, to fighting all the way up until the convention.

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Obama, the ‘Youth Vote’ Supporting Him & the Impact they’ll Have in Nov.

Throughout the Democratic primary there was one demographic who really didn’t waver in their support of Sen. Barack Obama regardless of what their region, race, or religion was - I am of course talking about the always coveted, but equally equally as absent ‘youth vote.’ Politicians have been trying forever to really mobilize the youth, throughout the years candidates have attempted everything imaginable too mobilize the youth vote on their behalf, however none have really been successful in doing so. Well, that is until now.

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