It's Election Day in America, and as is so often the case in this
fickle land, the results of the 2010 midterm elections are up in the air. Although President Obama's party is expected to suffer significant losses,
record numbers of districts remain competitive, and even minute errors in polling could mean the difference between
a historic Republican landslide and
an unexpectedly robust Democratic defense. At stake are control of not just the Senate and House, but myriad state and local offices, many of which will play key roles in the dynamics of the 2012 presidential race -- and, more subtly but no less crucially, the once-in-a-decade
congressional redistricting process. Much uncertainty surrounds the behavior of the electorate -- how many will turn out, and how informed will they be? To help move those statistics in the right direction, look inside for voter guides, national and state fact checkers, and an assortment of other resources to keep tabs on as the results roll in.
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posted by Rhaomi
on Nov 2, 2010 -
858 comments
Radio, RIAA: mandatory FM radio in cell phones is the future. 'Music labels and radio broadcasters can't agree on much, including whether radio should be forced to turn over hundreds of millions of dollars a year to pay for the music it plays. But the two sides can agree on this: Congress should mandate that FM radio receivers be built into cell phones, PDAs, and other portable electronics. The Consumer Electronics Association, whose members build the devices that would be affected by such a directive, is incandescent with rage. "The backroom scheme of the [National Association of Broadcasters] and RIAA to have Congress mandate broadcast radios in portable devices, including mobile phones, is the height of absurdity," thundered CEA president Gary Shapiro. Such a move is "not in our national interest."
"Rather than adapt to the digital marketplace, NAB and RIAA act like buggy-whip industries that refuse to innovate and seek to impose penalties on those that do."
But the music and radio industries say it's a consumer-focused proposition, one that would provide "more music choices."'
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posted by VikingSword
on Aug 16, 2010 -
96 comments
Earlier today, the first Viet Nam veteran ever elected to congress, died.
John Murtha (as of this past Saturday, Pennsylvania’s longest serving congressman) was the 19 term representative of Pennsylvania’s 12th district, most notably the home of
Johnstown, and which for most of his service included
Shanksville. He was a hawkish, conservative Democrat, infamous for his involvement in the
Abscam controversy, and most recently
the FBI’s inquiry into the lobbying firm PMA. He could be said to have been very representative, and certainly
very supportive of his blue collar district—
Pro-gun,
anti-abortion, and at first
a supporter of the invasion of Iraq, but eventually
one of its greatest critics. But that criticism came at
a price.
John Murtha was 77.
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posted by Toekneesan
on Feb 8, 2010 -
35 comments
In 2000, the Library of Congress celebrated its 200th birthday by inviting representatives and members of the public from each of the 50 American states to nominate folk traditions, local customs, and special places to a "century's-end time capsule" called the
Local Legacies Project. A nice little introductory catalog to points of local pride, like
Fountain Green, Utah's Lamb Day, Oakland, CA's Black Cowboy Parade,
Kentucky's Bourbon tradition, and
Binghamton, NY's Spiedie Fest, and plenty more.
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posted by Miko
on Feb 5, 2010 -
7 comments
Today
would have been
Indira Gandhi's 92nd birthday, had she not been
assassinated by members of her own guard in her own backyard on October 31st, 1984 (I was
there in New Delhi in a cab when the driver suggested it might
be safer if he turned around and took me straight home). Often confused as a relative of the more famous Gandhi,
fashionable, stylish and well groomed Indira was actually the daughter of India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru and used her married name, although divorced from her
Parsi exhusband. Daughter and
mother of Prime Ministers of India, she herself held office with an iron fist,
remembered for the "
Emergency", a brief period of martial law often overlooked in the democratic vibrancy of Indian politics. Will Mrs Gandhi's
legacy of dynasty be
continued by her half Italian grandson?
posted by infini
on Nov 19, 2009 -
27 comments
An amendment to the Defense Authorization Act currently under consideration in congress would force the notorious
School of the Americas (currently known as "WHINSEC") to "release to the public the names, ranks, countries of origin, courses taken and dates of attendance of all the students and instructors at the institute."
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posted by saulgoodman
on Jun 25, 2009 -
28 comments
March 19, 1979 - The United States House of Representatives goes live on television for the first time in history. Footage from the House floor aired on a network created by a consortium of American cable companies. The first member of Congress to speak?
Al Gore (Sorry, only seems to be available on Real Player. Embedded video, in case weird link fails). [more inside]
posted by IvoShandor
on Mar 23, 2009 -
17 comments
