Electoral College debated

A Freeman editorial today argued that the Electoral College "never really worked as it was supposed to, which was to depoliticize the presidency."

In the comments, user Viking1946 writes:

"there is good reason for the establishment of the electoral college but it causes the national election to focus on small districts that can produce a swing - the fact that NYS is ignored by both candidates is because it is hoplessly (sic) a lock for the Democrat Party"

Derek Balling, however, replies:

"And without the electoral college, the election will focus on a small number of metropolitan areas where the entire election can be decided with the entire rural part of the country being a rounding error.

How is this an actual "improvement"?"

What do you think?

DFM chat on how to improve your journalism skills

Journalists, members of Digital First Media and pretty much everyone else who wants to - are going to be taking part on the weekly Twitter chat Wednesday at noon, Eastern Time.

Today we're talking about how to improve journalism skills and offerings in the digital age and while having no time. Ask for How Tos. Bring your How Tos.

The live feed is posted below. But you can also follow the chat here or here or also here. And you can also check out past chats over here.

If you want to chime in, post a comment in the container or a tweet with the hashtag "#dfmchat" so it can automatically appear below.

DFM chat on election coverage

Delicious new politics page is delicious

Journalists, members of Digital First Media and pretty much everyone else who wants to - are going to be taking part on the weekly Twitter chat Wednesday at noon, Eastern Time.

Today we're planning election season coverage. What can we offer, what should we offer, when should we partner with others, and, of course, tools!

The live feed is posted below. But you can also follow the chat here or here or also here. And you can also check out past chats over here.

If you want to chime in, post a comment in the container or a tweet with the hashtag "#dfmchat" so it can automatically appear below.

First World Problems, local edition

I'll be using this image. I'll use others if I find them.
Simply write your First World Problem in the comments. I'll be adding those.

UPDATE: For those who want context about the image above:

New York Legislature map proposals are laughable. Here's why

There's more. A lot more.

The nastiest election: Adams vs. Jefferson

In the very words of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams' supporters:





Via Reason.

It's kind of funny that CNN is one of the mediums saying how nasty this campaign is, because of their 2008 piece, Founding Fathers' dirty campaign:

Things got ugly fast. Jefferson's camp accused President Adams of having a "hideous hermaphroditical character, which has neither the force and firmness of a man, nor the gentleness and sensibility of a woman."


In return, Adams' men called Vice President Jefferson "a mean-spirited, low-lived fellow, the son of a half-breed Indian squaw, sired by a Virginia mulatto father."

As the slurs piled on, Adams was labeled a fool, a hypocrite, a criminal, and a tyrant, while Jefferson was branded a weakling, an atheist, a libertine, and a coward.

Go read it. Check out what Martha Washington said about Jefferson.

That wasn't the only dirty campaign, as  Joseph Cummins, author of, Anything for a Vote: Dirty Tricks, Cheap Shots, and October Surprises, told The New York Times.

In the election of 1800, one of the dirtiest in American history, the venomous hack writer James CallendarThomas Jefferson) assailed then-President John Adams as a “repulsive pedant” and “a hideous hermaphroditical character,” whatever that means. Later in the 19th century, Martin Van BurenDavy Crockett, no less) and James Buchanan (who had a congenital condition that caused his head to tilt to the left) was accused of have unsuccessfully tried to hang himself. Oh, and Abraham Lincoln reportedly had stinky feet.

The 20th century began this way; at the 1912 Republican National Convention, Teddy Roosevelt, wearing a sombrero and smoking a cigar, cheerfully referred to William Howard Taft, the sitting President and Roosevelt’s former vice president, as “a rat in a corner.” (The rodent motif is popular — FDR liked to call Alf Landon, his 1936 opponent, “the White Mouse who wants to live in the White House.”)

Watch this bleeping ad for governor!

That's a bleeping commercial for Green bleeping candidate Howie bleeping Hawkins.

How not to tweet

I once tweeted (sorry New York Times) five simple rules about "why nobody follows you" on Twitter. It bears repeating, in light of this:



That crazy bloodied nose guy not looking at the road while he's driving with a manic laugh is none other than U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colorado, breaking rule No. 5.

Thankfully, Hudson Valley politicians who tweet behave much better. Sometimes.

Oh, yeah, the rules. Here they are:

1 Why nobody follows you: You post irrelevant info. Also, I like cheese.less than a minute ago via Twitter for BlackBerry®Ivan Lajara
ivanlajara

2 Why nobody follows you: You insult your followers, you stupid person!less than a minute ago via Twitter for BlackBerry®Ivan Lajara
ivanlajara

3 Why nobody follows you: Your post is a reply that makes no sense. why did you do that, @leeroyjenkins?less than a minute ago via Twitter for BlackBerry®Ivan Lajara
ivanlajara

4 Why nobody follows you: You post four or more tweets in a row.less than a minute ago via Twitter for BlackBerry®Ivan Lajara
ivanlajara

5 Why nobody follows you: TMI! http://twitpic.com/1slffaless than a minute ago via TwitpicIvan Lajara
ivanlajara

Siena Poll: Voters "angry"

09 July SNY Poll Release -- FINAL

Obama the comedian

Highlights of President Barack Obama's speech from Saturday's White House Correspondents' Association dinner:

* "Good evening. Pause for laughter."

* “I’m Barack Obama. Most of you covered me. All of you voted for me.”

* "Sasha and Malia aren't here tonight because they're grounded. You can't just take Air Force One on a joyride to Manhattan. I don't care whose kids you are."

* About White House Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel: "He's not used to saying the word 'day' after 'mother.'"

* About chairman of Republican National Committee: "Michael Steele is in the house tonight. Or as he would say, 'In the heezy.' What's up?"

* "Michael for the last time, the Republican Party does not qualify for a bailout. Rush Limbaugh does not count as a troubled asset, I'm sorry."

* About former vice president Dick Cheney, who's writing a memoir "tentatively titled, 'How to Shoot Friends and Interrogate People.'"


* About former rival and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton: "These days, we could not be closer. In fact the second she got back from Mexico, she pulled me into a hug and gave me a big kiss, told me I better get down there myself."

There are plenty more:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

The Twitter hash tags are #WHCD, #WHCA and, more appropriately, #nerdprom.

Obama 'no habla bien'

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama's joke was not lost in translation — even though he referred to a Cinco de Mayo celebration as "Cinco de Cuatro."

Obama jumbled his words as he welcomed guests to the White House to observe the Mexican holiday, sending the crowd into laughter before he referred to the day correctly.

"Welcome to Cinco de Cuatro — Cinco de Mayo at the White House," said Obama, in what appeared to be an attempt to note they were celebrating on the fourth of May instead of the fifth.

Cinco de cuatro means "five of four" in Spanish.

"We are a day early, but we always like to get a head start here at the Obama White House," he said.

During the presidential campaign, Obama acknowledged his Spanish skills were not great.

"My accent's always been good," he said. "It's just that I only know 15 words."

Obama attacks - again

Tedisco and Murphy videos

Republican Jim Tedisco and Democrat Scott Murphy debated yesterday in a televised event I was happy to miss, because I don't live in the 20th Congressional District.

The 20th Congressional Disctrict is a horribly gerrymandered monster that stretches from the Mid-Hudson Valley to the Adirondacks and includes Northern Dutchess and all of Columbia and Greene counties.

Don't believe me? See for yourself.



Not to be outdone, Maurice Hinchey's district is just as mind-boggling.



Tedisco met with the Freeman's editorial board on March 18. Murphy came on March 13.

The candidates also spoke to our colleagues at The Saratogian on separate occasions.

The videos are very insightful, if obviously slanted toward the Saratoga part of the district (Friendly note to The Saratogian: Get some frames for your newspapers)


The election, which is Tuesday, is being followed with great interest nationally, as it is considered by pundits who don't live or work in the district as a referendum on the president.

If you live in the district, you might want to watch these.





Why am I bringing this to your attention?

To shamelessly show you an exchange caught by C-SPAN between Senate Budget Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) and committee member Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa).

CONRAD: "You know, I used to like you. Oh, you are good."

GRASSLEY: "Your wife said the same thing."

Don't believe me? See for yourself:

New York gun laws, BAM!

For those wondering where I've got the assault rifle description described in "New Yorkers have the right to be oppressed," the answer is the very helpful site of the Ulster County Sheriff's Office.

And for those who'd like to know, here are the gun laws for New York state, courtesy of the NRA-Institute for Legislative Action.

My description, if you noticed, quoted, almost verbatim, that of the document for assault weapons. I added the red color to add, ahem, color to my column (I like red).

New York State Gun Laws

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Business & Legal gun laws new york state

The NRA-Institute for Legislative Action has published a document, "What`s So Scary About Banning Assault Weapons?". (Their answer? Slippery slope).

I was going to make a joke about that. But then I thought it's probably better to avoid making fun of people who are really serious about wanting to have a semiautomatic rifle with a folding telescoping stock and with a pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously beneath the action of the weapon, which also has a flash suppresser, a bayonet mount and a grenade launcher, in red.

Et tu, Twitter?

Those of you who had to suffer through "Twitted twits all in a twit about Twitter" may have some questions.

* Did Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Leonard Pitts Jr. really wrote "squirrels on cocaine"?

You bet your tweaked-out squirrel he did! Here's the piece.

* Is "Twitted twits all in a twit about Twitter" an actual sentence?

It is. To twit (the verb) is to subject to light ridicule. A twit (the noun) is a fool. And "All in a twit" means either upset or frantic. Just don't try to read the headline fast.

I was trying to get the same effect as in Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo - an amusing, yet horribly constructed sentence that happens to be grammatically correct.

* Did U.S. Sen. John McCain and ABC's George Stephanopoulos really had an interview via Twitter on Tuesday?

Yes they did. Both discussed really, really important stuff during this groundbreaking interview - stuff like McCain's daughter's cred with conservative blondes and weather the senator prefers PCs or Blackberries, as reported in this story you won't bother to read. Most importantly, there's this masterpiece:

The race for the 20th, abridged

Also on Twitter are the campaigns of Jim Tedisco and Scott Murphy in the race for the 20th Congressional District.

Tedisco's page is what you would expect from a Twitter campaign. He asks for money, plugs his site (and his Facebook page - which is soooo yesterday) and posts little quips about this and that policy.



Murphy's has one post. Dude, why bother?



Libertarian Eric Sundwall doesn't have one because, I guess, he's a libertarian.

The special election is March 31. The seat was vacated by Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand, who was appointed to the U.S. Senate in January.

The 20th Congressional District stretches from the Mid-Hudson Valley to the northern Adirondacks and includes Northern Dutchess and all of Columbia and Greene counties.

Local pols in 140 characters

Now that Facebook is old news, it's worth discussing Twitter, the inexplicable site that allows you to post whatever you want, as long as whatever you want doesn't exceed 140 characters.

Locally, state Assemblyman Marc Molinaro, R-Red Hook, and state Sen. John Bonacic, R-Mount Hope, are the only representatives who are representin' on the site.






Somehow I thought Bonacic looked different.

Awesome pork

NOTE: The following post contains horrible misuses of the word "awesome."

Internet savvy and awesome Sen. John McCain used his awesome Twitter account to post an awesome list (with awesome comments) of the "TOP TEN PORKIEST PROJECTS" in Congress' awesome spending bill. It is awesome.

#1. $1.7 million for pig odor research in Iowa.

#2. $2 million “for the promotion of astronomy” in Hawaii - because nothing says new jobs for average Americans like investing in astronomy.

#3. $332,000 for the design and construction of a school sidewalk in Franklin, Texas - not enough $ for schools in the stimulus?.


#4. $2.1 million for the Center for Grape Genetics in New York - quick peel me a grape.

#5. $650,000 for beaver management in North Carolina and Mississippi.

#6. $1 million for mormon cricket control in Utah - is that the species of cricket or a game played by the brits?

#7. $300,000 for the Montana World Trade Center - enough said.

#8. $200,000 "tattoo removal violence outreach program to could help gang members or others shed visible signs of their past" REALLY?

#9. $475,000 to build a parking garage in Provo City, Utah.

#10. $1.7M "for a honey bee factory" in Weslaco, TX.



The Arizona senator edited the original entry for beaver management. I wonder why.

All speech, no talking heads.

Obama Speech, live (and C-Span-style)

Click on the "Live Now" button below the Freeman's banner.

NOW!

10 p.m. Update: Missed it? Here's the full text of the speech.

Karl Rove is following me

As I wrote before in a post you didn't read, I joined Twitter for "research."

Two days later, I received this e-mail from the site. The subject line started like this:

"Karl Rove is now following you ..."

"... on Twitter!"




Rove, of course, follows most of his Twitter followers.

The Architect's posts usually are full of Rove wisdom:

"Hit on Your World w/ Neil Cavuto cancelled. Sorry!"

He's so dreamy.