Published by rwatstein November 23rd, 2008
in books, politics and publishing.
Motoko Rich writes: “When President-elect Barack Obama appeared on 60 Minutes November 16 in his first interview since winning the election, he mentioned having read вЂa new book out about FDR’s first 100 days’ without specifically naming a title or author. That tantalizing reference set off a scramble for the claim to First Reader rights the next day before a spokesman disclosed the president-elect was referring to two books: Jonathan Alter’s The Defining Moment: FDR’s Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope (Simon & Schuster, 2006), and Jean Edward Smith’s FDR (Random House, 2007).”
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Published by rwatstein November 23rd, 2008
in library services, politics and career.
As a reminder that local libraries offer extensive job-search resources, here’s how Barack Obama found his community-organizing job in Chicago after he graduated from Columbia University. In 2005, he told American Libraries magazine: “I probably would not be in Chicago were it not for the Manhattan public library, because I was looking for an organizing job and was having great trouble finding a job as a community organizer in New York.”
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Published by rwatstein November 9th, 2008
in books, government, politics and reading.
Garry Wills and Aleksandar Hemon offer some recommendations for Barack Obama to put on his reading list, because even if he has already read these titles, “it is good to refresh the message of each, to show where we have been going wrong.” At the top of the list is Jane Mayer’s The Dark Side: “If Mark Twain said at one time that America had become the United States of Lyncherdom, this book shows why, in the world’s eyes, we have become the United States of Torturedom.”
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Published by rwatstein November 9th, 2008
in education, government and politics.
Many higher education leaders had hoped to see college issues, or education generally, emerge as a major issue in the 2008 race. That never quite happened. And with the war in Iraq and the collapse of the economy, that may not be surprising. But over the course of two years leading up to his election, Sen. Barack Obama has given many policy addresses and issued many proposals about education that may guide his work in office — at least after he deals with the economy, Iraq and Afghanistan. Here are some of the highlights.
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Published by rwatstein November 9th, 2008
in web 2.0, video, government and politics.
Jascha Franklin-Hodge describes how Obama’s social-networking strategy made for a well-oiled Election Day effort. He also discusses the future of the president-elect’s e-mail database of “millions and millions” of supporters.
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Published by rwatstein November 9th, 2008
in web 2.0, internet, government and politics.
Pioneering use of Web 2.0 and social-networking technologies by the president-elect’s campaign has seemingly transformed politics, and could influence government as well. “Barack Obama built the biggest network of supporters we’ve seen, using the Internet to do it,” Joe Trippi, an Internet political and business consultant who pioneered the use of the Internet in politics managing Howard Dean campaign in 2004, and who managed John Edwards’ campaign in this election, told InformationWeek. “I don’t think there’s any doubt that communication through YouTube and other social networks put him over the top.”
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Published by rwatstein November 9th, 2008
in books, politics and science fiction.
Lauren Davis writes: “Ronald Reagan, Winston Churchill, and Eugene Debs all had one thing in common: They were fans of science fiction. More than that, they all used sci-fi at one point or another to shape their political actions and views. From presidents and prime ministers to ordinary citizens looking for change, many people have turned to science fiction as their political guide. We look at some of the ways space operas, utopias, and aliens have shaped our political landscape and given us hope for a more futuristic tomorrow.”
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Published by rwatstein November 9th, 2008
in web sites, government and politics.
Throughout the Presidential Transition Project, this website will be your source for the latest news, events, and announcements so that you can follow the setting up of the Obama Administration. And just as this historic campaign was, from the beginning, about you — the transition process will offer you opportunities to participate in redefining our government. Come back often as we define new programs and possibilities to engage and be part of this administration. Source: Obama Administration/Presidential Transition Project
Change.gov website
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Published by rwatstein November 2nd, 2008
in technology and politics.
Three experts, Ernest J. Moniz, John D. Halamka, and Charles M. Vest, suggest technology policies for the new president.
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Published by rwatstein October 19th, 2008
in education and politics.
In a collection of letters addressed to the next president of the United States, leaders of higher education offer their views on the critical issues facing higher education in the coming four years and suggest what role the next president might play in addressing them.
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Published by rwatstein October 19th, 2008
in government, politics and copyright.
It might go something like this: the President arrives at the Oval Office, first getting his daily threat briefing from the CIA director. Next up, his Copyright Czar arrives, to update the leader of the free world on the threat posed by—college kids illegally downloading the new Kanye West single? Okay, perhaps that isn’t exactly how things will work out. Nevertheless, major copyright owners got a big boost this week as President Bush signed into law the controversial PRO IP Act, which, in addition to dramatically raising penalties for copyright infringement, creates a new, cabinet-level IP enforcement czar. In a statement, Bush suggested the bill made us all safer. “Terrorist networks use counterfeit sales to finance their operations,” he noted.
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Published by rwatstein October 19th, 2008
in politics.
Even before Mr. McCain and Mr. Obama announced their candidacies, Hofstra was organizing its own campaign to be chosen by the Commission on Presidential Debates. Besides giving students a front-row seat to one of the most riveting presidential campaigns in modern history, the debate is making a wider impact on Hofstra.
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Published by rwatstein October 12th, 2008
in politics.
Dear President _________,
Congratulations! Now brace yourself for an avalanche of advice — from the 21 people in your Cabinet, from dozens of advisory councils, hundreds of members of Congress, thousands of lobbyists and pundits, and millions of voters. Everyone’s got an opinion on what needs to be done. But the policies that emerge from such groupthink tend to be weird mashups of conflicting interests or warmed-over slabs of conventional wisdom. Enough of that. The country needs fresh directions and crisp action plans on intractable issues like climate change, energy, security, and defense. To help shape your thinking, we’ve come up with a Smart List of 15 Wired people with big ideas about how to fix the things that need fixing. Hail to the new chief — and please listen up.
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Published by rwatstein October 5th, 2008
in politics and collections.
It takes a virtual media maelstrom to cover an election, so here’s a rundown of compelling politically themed A/V and other nonbook materials for your patrons. From Sarah Palin to Michael Moore, all the firebrands are represented. Vote media!
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Published by rwatstein October 5th, 2008
in education, politics and economics.
Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain have offered similar campaign pronouncements: a college education should be affordable to anyone, and the process of getting federal aid is more complicated than it should be — but there are differences in how each would tackle the problem.
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Published by rwatstein September 27th, 2008
in politics and film.
Documentary filmmaker Michael Moore is thanking his fans by offering a free download of his forthcoming film Slacker Uprising. University and school libraries can get a free DVD, too. Moore’s camp asserts that this will be the first major feature-length film by a noted director to debut for free via the Internet. While Slacker Uprising traces Moore’s 62-city tour of the swing states during the 2004 Presidential election “and records the thrilling—and frightening—response he received across the country,” his overriding goal is to bring out new and young voters. “This is being done entirely as a gift to my fans,” said Moore. “The only return any of us are hoping for is the largest turnout of young voters ever at the polls in November. I think Slacker Uprising will inspire millions to get off the couch and give voting a chance.”
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Download site for film here
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Published by rwatstein May 26th, 2008
in technology and politics.
Find out where Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John McCain stand on key technology issues, such as privacy, net neutrality, stem cell research, and biofuels.
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Published by rwatstein September 15th, 2007
in Pew Research, web sites and politics.
With its early start and crowded field, the 2008 presidential campaign has generated an extensive amount of media coverage. Since the beginning of the year, the race to become the 44th president of the United States has been the second-biggest story, trailing only the debate over Iraq war strategy. But the mainstream media are not the only information source for citizens seeking news about the candidates. The campaigns themselves, through their official websites, seem to be challenging the press as a destination for campaign news. Furthermore, these highly interactive sites are facilitating everything from blogging to fundraising to social networking. To get a sense of what these sites offer and how the candidates use them, The Project for Excellence in Journalism conducted a detailed study of the official websites of all 19 announced presidential candidates — eight Democrats and 11 Republicans.
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