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Join the open public debate on water commoditization-Economist.com
You can register there and give your opinion in an open debate on water commoditization up to October 10th. Vandana Shiva represents the con side, and someone named Steven Hoffman represents the pro side. This is a good opportunity to let your voice be heard about commoditization of water resources. And of course, it isn't any surprise to see DOW Chemical sponsoring this especially since they wish to buy desalination plants and probably wants to see privitization to hold back resources to spur the building of such plants. There is an all out assault on our resources by corporate America for profit now and we must fight it for our own survival. I firmly believe that now, and this open debate is where you can make your opinions known. I am registered there as 'waterahumanright.' Please participate and give the water justice movement and environmental democracy a hand.
Currently, the voting is: pro 40% / con 60%.
Thanks! You can register there and give your opinion in an open debate on water commoditization up to October 10th. Vandana Shiva represents t... more -
Ifill Bias in V.P. Debate? The People Weigh In...
Thousands Rate Ifill Debate
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Posted on October 3.2008 by Megan Tady
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In this election cycle, the media are part of the story. Whether journalists are lobbing softball questions to the candidates or parroting ridiculous “gotcha” lines, the public increasingly has to scrutinize the media almost as much as our future leaders.
Last night, 2,500 people tuned in to the vice presidential debate with a watchful eye on the moderator, Gwen Ifill of PBS. Free Press launched the “Citizens Media Scorecard” to allow viewers to weigh in on how each moderator handles the debates. The few journalists selected to participate in the debates -- and the media narrative that follows -- play a major role in determining our next president. They must be held accountable.
Did Ifill ask relevant questions? Did she play favorites, as many in the blogosphere feared she would? The results are in:
Overall, her performance was praised. Ifill received higher marks from Obama partisans for conducting an extremely serious and relevant debate (74% vs. 56% for McCain's), for showing no favoritism (94% vs. 52%), and for overall excellence (55% vs. 23%).
But both groups tended to criticize her for being too reticent (70% of Obama voters, 75% of McCain's) in challenging the factual accuracy of the debaters' statements.
Both groups scolded Ifill for skipping the topics of Social Security (84%) and immigration (81%). The major disagreement was on the topic of poverty: Half of the McCain voters in our panel thought its treatment was "just right" (53%); most of the Obama voters called it "not enough" (83%).
About half of Obama's supporters (51%) criticized Ifill for failing to spend more time questioning Palin about her readiness and qualifications to be vice president, whereas many fewer McCain supporters (29%) offered equivalent criticism concerning questions about Biden.
Yet large majorities of both groups of supporters approved of Ifill's choice of questions as giving just the right amount of time to six major issues: nuclear proliferation (76%), global warming (74%), war & peace (73%), the global war on terrorism (73%), tax policy (70%) and energy policy (70%).
Read the rest of the results here.
There are two more debates left, and two more chances to rate them. We can’t simply hope that our journalists deliver the debate performances that will lead to more informed voters. We have to demand it.
The moderators need to know we’re tuning in to the debates to watch them. Sign up to rate the debates today.
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Now let's hear what Current has to say about it. Thousands Rate Ifill Debate Increase text size Decrease text size Email this page Print this page ... more -
Palin Delivers, But Doubts Linger
Palin, the first female governor of Alaska, referred to "average, middle-class families like mine," and in her first answer she suggested that the proper place to take the temperature of Americans' concerns about the economy would be at a Saturday-morning soccer game.
"Now, thankfully, John McCain has been one representing reform," Palin said. "People in the Senate, his colleagues" -- she turned to the senator from Delaware -- "didn't want to listen to him and wouldn't go towards that reform that was needed."
Biden trained his fire on McCain, noting that the senator from Arizona "two Mondays ago" claimed that the "fundamentals of the economy were strong."
He added: "That doesn't make John McCain a bad guy, but it does point out he's out of touch."
The debate, with its emphasis on quick answers and numerous topics, became a barrage of numbers and competing and conflicting visions of Obama and McCain.
Likely to be more lasting for viewers was the lack of obvious mistakes on either side, and an image of Palin that was more like the confident, smiling politician who burst onto the scene with a fiery speech at the Republican National Convention, and less like the stumbling candidate who has seemed ill prepared in a series of interviews broadcast recently with CBS News anchor Katie Couric.
She was respectful and cordial to Biden -- "Hey, can I call you Joe?" she asked when she greeted him onstage -- but quick to try to put him on the defensive about his past differences with Obama. "I watched all those debates," she said, referring to the Democratic primaries in which the two were rivals.
But the essence of the night -- and one of the major arguments of the campaign -- may have been illustrated by a long exchange after Biden said policies of the Bush administration have been an "abject failure."
"There's a time, too, when Americans are going to say, 'Enough is enough with your ticket,' on constantly looking backwards, and pointing fingers and doing the blame game," Palin said. "There have been huge blunders in the war. There have been huge blunders throughout this administration, as there are with every administration. But for a ticket that wants to talk about change and looking into the future, there's just too much finger-pointing backwards to ever make us believe that that's where you're going."
Tell us why this is interesting Palin, the first female governor of Alaska, referred to "average, middle-class families like mine," and in her first answer ... more -
Biden touts experience, Palin pushes 'maverick' record
Highlights:
Joe Biden, Sarah Palin debate change, "maverick" status
Both candidates get good reviews for their debate performances
VP candidates discuss economy, foreign policy, climate change
Biden tries to link McCain to Bush; Palin pushes record of reform Highlights: Joe Biden, Sarah Palin debate change, "maverick" status ... more -
Is Joe Biden going to kill a white woman tonight?
Joe Biden is going to destroy Sarah Palin tonight, he is knowledgeable on foreign as well as domestic policies. She is in no way ready to debate Joe. For everyone that does not believe me here is a taste of what Joe is all about. Joe Biden is going to destroy Sarah Palin tonight, he is knowledgeable on foreign as well as domestic policies. She is in no way ready... more
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Time's 10 Best VP Debate Moments
Go to the link, it's a series of ten pages. All except two have video. Brings back memories, ha ha.
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The First Presidential Debates Are over: McCain: "New 9/11" less likely
The first Presidential Debates are Over:
Barack Obama hit him for thinking Iraq was the only threat to America.
McCain says 911 less likely now; though still possible.
Barack Wants elimination of the Al Qaida in Afghanist AND Pakistan.
McCain opts for IRAQ and Afghanistan.
All in all- the debates were boring. maybe be disappointing. nothing truly big happened. it was the same old. The only difference is that now their stances are set in stone, and from this point onward anything that goes against them will be damaging. The first Presidential Debates are Over: Barack Obama hit him for thinking Iraq was the only threat to America. ... more -
Never Misunderestimate the Dipshittery of the American Voter
In light of the economic chaos of the past few days, I'm going to say something I thought would never pass my lips - John McCain is an even bigger asshat than George Bush. In light of the economic chaos of the past few days, I'm going to say something I thought would never pass my lips - John McCain ... more
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Obama vs. McCain T-Shirt Throwdown
The Presidential debates turn into an elevator t-shirt throwdown
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If McCain Doesn’t Debate, Debates Commission Cannot Just Feature Obama
As of Thursday evening, virtually no one knows if John McCain will participate in the first presidential debate set for Friday evening in Oxford, Mississippi. Frank Fahrenkopf, co-chair of the Commission on Presidential Debates, and a former Republican Party national chair, said in an interview with Salon, “The law requires that there must be two candidates for a debate. If we did anything else, we would be making an in-kind contribution to the Obama campaign.” Of course, what he really meant is that there must be at least two candidates in a debate. In 1980, when the League of Women Voters was hosting presidential debates, the League invited President Jimmy Carter, Republican nominee Ronald Reagan, and independent candidate John B. Anderson. Carter refused to participate, so the debate was conducted between Anderson and Reagan. Both did well and neither damaged himself. Later in the season there were two Reagan-Carter debates.
Daily Kos, on Thursday evening, invited comments on the subject of “Whom should Obama debate?” (if McCain doesn’t participate). One commenter at 7:09 p.m. Pacific time said, “Why not let Bob Barr, Ralph Nader, and Cynthia McKinney debate Obama? It couldn’t hurt to hear their positions, and Obama would benefit by reaching out toward left-leaning independents with the gesture.”
Another commenter, at 7:16 p.m., said, “It couldn’t hurt to hear their positions? Yes it could. I am in full agreement that we need to reach out to all voters — specially those who feel let down by Obama’s bouts of centrist triangulation. We won’t get them by including those three…if it is outreach we need, we already know how to do that. Giving these people a forum they would otherwise never have gained does us no good at all. The risks of Obama looking bad in such an encounter are also far too great.”
Still another commenter, at 7:12 p.m., said, “Ralph Nader. Except that would be a real debate and the network would never allow that.” As of Thursday evening, virtually no one knows if John McCain will participate in the first presidential debate set for Friday evening... more -
Obama rejects McCain call to delay debate
NEW YORK (Associated Press) — Republican John McCain said Wednesday that he wants to postpone Friday's debate to deal with the nation's financial problems, but Democrat Barack Obama said "it's more important than ever" that the country hear from its next president.The White House rivals maneuvered to claim the leadership role on the financial crisis that has overshadowed their campaign, leaving the question of whether they will hold their first debate Friday in doubt. Obama said he would go ahead with his debate preparations, while McCain said he would stop all advertising, fundraising and other campaign events to return to Washington and work for a bipartisan solution."It's my belief that this is exactly the time when the American people need to hear from the person who in approximately 40 days will be responsible for dealing with this mess," Obama said in a news conference in Clearwater, Fla. "It's going to be part of the president's job to deal with more than one thing at once." NEW YORK (Associated Press) — Republican John McCain said Wednesday that he wants to postpone Friday's debate to deal with the na... more
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Friday’s foreign policy debate
This Friday evening, on the campus of the University of Mississippi, the two major contenders for the US Presidency will square off in a debate on foreign policy. While one might expect differences over the Iraqi War, Musings from Maytown declares that few substantive differences separate the two candidates on foreign policy. This Friday evening, on the campus of the University of Mississippi, the two major contenders for the US Presidency will square off in... more
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Analysis: McCain's debate ploy a sign of weakness
Republican presidential candidate John McCain's decision to pull out of Friday night's presidential debate is a sign that he lacks leadership and is losing the national debate on the key issue of the economy, several observers said on Wednesday.
"I think this is a gimmick, pure and simple," said Tom Schaller, a political commentator and professor of political science at the University of Maryland. "McCain is losing the national conversation on the economy, so he's looking for some attempt to prove he is high-minded and above mere campaign and debate politics.
"It looks like he's trying to call a time out in the middle of a presidential campaign and then take credit for it."
Mr. McCain said on Wednesday he was needed in Washington to help deal with the financial crisis. Democratic candidate Barack Obama said that a presidential candidate should be able to deal with the debate and the crisis.
"It's my belief that this is exactly the time when the American people need to hear from the person who, in approximately 40 days, will be responsible for dealing with this mess," Mr. Obama said.
The decision by Mr. McCain came on the same day that a Washington Post-ABC News poll showed that Mr. Obama now holds a nine-point lead in the race because of the pessimism surrounding the economy. Republican presidential candidate John McCain's decision to pull out of Friday night's presidential debate is a sign that he... more -
McCain running away from debate -- who's he kidding?
Tell us why this is interestingJohn McCain doesn't like televised debates that much. Instead, he prefers to do town hall meetings, the informal Q-and-A sessions where he can engage the people directly without interference from that pesky news media. And no wonder: he revived his 2008 presidential bid by barnstorming the country doing town halls.
Today, McCain announced that he wants to skip Friday's first presidential debate with Barack Obama because it's in the "national interest" to deal with the impending financial situation.
I think these facts are not unrelated. If McCain succeeds in cancelling Friday's debate, that would leave just two scheduled opportunities for his opponent to engage him directly on national television ... and one of them would be a town hall meeting.
Well, it sort of serves Barack Obama right. Obama was the one, after all, who decided that a slim lead in the polls was reason enough to refuse McCain's calls for a series of town-hall meetings over the summer. I happen to believe that Obama would do pretty well in those town halls, because McCain has not held one where the room wasn't packed with Republicans and GOP-leaning independents, let alone held a town hall where his chief opponent was standing right there, ready to refute anything he said. Instead, he ducked out for political reasons, and now McCain is paying him back in his own currency.
So what does Obama do? Well, the only correct response to McCain's call to suspend the debate is to say: Forget it. And that is what both Ole Miss (the host school for Friday's debate) and Obama both said in their responses.
McCain's motives are transparent. He's not needed in Washington, so why does he want to go there? As Jonathan Alter rightly noted, John McCain has not exactly pushed a lot of heavy-hitting legislation during his 25 years as a senator. Mitch McConnell (despite his supportive comments today) is not awaiting McCain's arrival at Reagan Airport. McCain and Obama are needed in front of the American people, in a battle of ideas about our economic future.
And McCain will be happy to do that ... in a town-hall meeting. Friday's debate -- which was supposed to be about foreign policy -- is a more formalized affair with PBS's Jim Lehrer asking the questions, a format that supposedly favors Obama. (And to the commenter who seems to think Lehrer would stick to only asking questions about North Korea and Iraq ... c'mon. He's a journalist, not a robot.)
In a way, you can't blame McCain for trying to postpone an encounter with his opponent until the current fiscal mess blows off page one. Since Wall Street started its wild ride last week, Obama's lead over his GOP rival has widened to as much as nine points (WaPo) and gives him a pronounced lead in electoral college projections, as seen in the above chart posted today by the super-wonky 538.com.
Still, I'm reminded that McCain, at the 9/11 service forum, piously defended his running mate's derisive "community organizer" comment about Obama by saying, if my opponent had just agreed to debate me earlier this summer, we could have had a campaign of more substance. He can't fall back on that rejoinder any longer, because now he's the one perceived as avoiding a debate. Tell us why this is interestingJohn McCain doesn't like televised debates that much. Instead, he prefers to do town hall meetings... more -
Should the debates be postponed?
One of the major discussions on Current today was that McCain has proposed that the debates be postponed so the candidates can focus on the economy.
What do you think? One of the major discussions on Current today was that McCain has proposed that the debates be postponed so the candidates can focus o... more -
McCain seeks to delay debate to focus on economy
Republican John McCain said Wednesday he is directing his staff to work with Democrat Barack Obama's campaign and the presidential debate commission to delay Friday's debate because of the economic crisis.
In a statement, McCain said he will stop campaigning after addressing former President Clinton's Global Initiative session on Thursday and return to Washington to focus on the nation's financial problems.
McCain said he wants President Bush to convene a leadership meeting in Washington that would include him and Obama...
Read The Rest at Link... Republican John McCain said Wednesday he is directing his staff to work with Democrat Barack Obama's campaign and the presidentia... more -
Obama carries uneven record to debate: Style may hurt him
Senator Barack Obama has shown himself at times to be a great orator. His debating skills, however, have been uneven.
Some of his chief strengths — his facility with words, his wry detachment, his reasoning skills, his youthful cool — have not always served him well and may pose significant vulnerabilities in the series of presidential debates that begins Friday, according to political analysts and a review of his earlier debate performances.
Mr. Obama has a tendency to overintellectualize and to lecture, befitting his training as a lawyer and law professor. He exudes disdain for the quips and sound bites that some deride as trivializing political debates but that have become a central part of scoring them. He tends to the earnest and humorless when audiences seem to crave passion and personality. He frequently rises above the mire of political combat when the battle calls for engagement.
Tell us why this is interesting Senator Barack Obama has shown himself at times to be a great orator. His debating skills, however, have been uneven. ... more -
McCain's debate record
Senator has a track record as a scrappy combatant willing to take risks
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John McCain secures presidential debate advantages
Senator John McCain's campaign has scored a twin victory in negotiations over the presidential debates by securing a highly structured vice-presidential forum and persuading his rival Barack Obama that foreign policy should be the first topic. Senator John McCain's campaign has scored a twin victory in negotiations over the presidential debates by securing a highly struc... more
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