Purple States

In the political world, the United States is divided into “Red States” for the Republican Party and “Blue States” for the Democratic Party. But there is much buzz about the emergence of new “purple states”. In today’s political atmosphere, many states are becoming wish-washier, not having a clear distinction between red or blue, and therefore are being dubbed purple. This creates a number of problems. One being that the candidates cannot tell if they are carrying a purple state. It makes campaigning much harder for the presidential candidates. Also it creates a mixed sense within the state about the feeling politically.
Students on the Quinnipiac campus have been dubbed among the extremely apathetic among the university world. But to talk to some of the students on campus, it would seem to be a very diverse campus in relation to the election. Sarah, a sophomore health science major, said she was planning on focusing in on the campaigns more closely now that the election is rapidly approaching. She said that she favors McCain right now, and doesn’t see how Obama could possibly be elected. Jon, a senior psychology major, said he will e voting for Obama, and that he has followed the election since the beginning, and he is looking forward to seeing the next 2 debates. Talking to these young voters, one doesn’t get the impression that they are confused. But interesting to note, none of the students I talked to was quite sure of their states current color. They knew the main leaning, but they weren’t sure if the state had recently become purple.

poynter online

On the site Poynter Online there is a story about 5 young journalists. They were asked what they thought the future of newspapers and the whole business is heading. I was surprised to find that a few thought print news would always have a place and a few thought that web news is where it’s all heading. There was some general consensus that the web is going to play a major role in the future with people getting news on the iphones and blackberries. There is still a hold out for print however. There is debate whether it will be run by 50 year old men in a tiny section, or whether it will evolve into a magazine form with investigative pieces. Where ever news is headed, there is no argument that people will always need the news and journalists to report, in whatever form it takes.

Political Buttons

Merchandising has become a multimillion dollar industry. Everyone from the newest children’s cartoon to the rock star have merchandise out on the market. Toys and posters and other kinds of memorabilia flood the stores and people’s homes. Some memorabilia has become very valuable. One example of that would be the political buttons of elections past.
The idea of campaign buttons originated with George Washington and his supporters wearing cloth tags on their clothing saying “Long live the President” The first election to use buttons on a large scale was the 1896 campaign between William McKinley and William Jennings Bryan.
In the campaigns of today’s politicians, merchandise has taken on a new level. There are now Barack Obama and John McCain action figures. These little candidates sell for about $12 in the Quinnipiac University bookstore, but from the looks of the shelves, they are not a hot item. Those who would think of buying them are for a joke purpose. Melissa Hebert, junior broadcast journalism major, said she would not buy one to show support for her chosen candidate because it seems silly to have an Obama action figure.
When asked about whether a button or a action figure would be a better choice, Caley Spaulding, junior physical therapy major said “I would want a button. A button can be worn on your jacket and it’s easy. What am I going to do with an action figure? Stick it out of the back of my pocket?”
Maybe Obama and McCain should take a page out of Washington’s book.

Palin, hockey mom at heart

The 2008 election will be history making. The white house will see its first African American President or its first woman vice president. Many students in the Quinnipiac campus have been watching the conventions and figuring out how each side views the main issues.
Sarah Palin, the VP candidate of the republican team, has been in the media quite a lot, but what does anyone really know of her? Jordan Elkins, freshman journalism major, knows her as simply a hockey mom.
Elkins has known Palin since she was 5 and playing hockey on the same team as Palin’s oldest son Track. “The level I know her is not as the governor or Mrs. Palin, it's just been Sarah," said Elkins.
Elkins said it is very surreal to be interviewed; she has done television interviews with Fox and Channel 8. Of Palin’s politics, Elkins is confident that she does have the skills and passion to do the job in Washington.
Speaking of the controversy about whether Palin has enough experience to do what needs to be done. To that Elkins says, “"Who can say someone has enough experience until they are given a chance." Elkins also pointed out that while she does not follow the Obama campaign, she noted the similarity in news coverage concerning experience. Elkins says she does not think that Obama has much more experience than Palin.
Most of all, Elkins noted the determination of Palin. When she was elected as mayor of Wasilla, a town about 40 miles north of Anchorage, Palin was “all about the town, when she was governor, she was all about Alaska, and I’m sure if she gets Vice President that will translate over to the nation.” Elkins is a registered Republican and plans to complete an absentee ballot in November.

lostremote.com

The website lostremote.com is a very interesting blog. The organization is good with the descending order of articles. Also it is convenient how the article titles are links, bringing the reader to the article and the section to comment on it. In addition, all of the articles on the page have links to what the topic is covering. The use of videos and pictures further helps the reader understand the story and gives another voice to what is being said.

The environment and hybrid cars

There is coming to be more of a push for environmentally savvy consumers to drive hybrid cars. The ads on television tout their superiority to the terrible gas guzzlers. And in the coming election, the environment is one of the main stage issues because of the recent “go green” movement. On many college campuses, students are becoming passionate about the politics of their chosen candidate. But how many students actually drive hybrid cars? They have been out for enough time that a new generation will have gotten to make the choice in car buying.
On a walk around a typical college parking lot, one isn’t blown away by the presence of hybrids. Especially at a private university, you are more likely to see a BMW or a Mercedes. A walk through the lot presents possibly 5 or 6 hybrids among the entire lot; most of the cars are a respectable middle price range car. It is the exception to see a hybrid car, unfortunately.
While driving a hybrid car isn’t the largest or most critical way to help the environment, it is becoming more of an advantage to the driver due to rising gas prices. Both environment and the skyrocketing gas prices are major election issues. More and more people are realizing how important the environment issues are becoming, and therefore people are looking at how the candidates plan to handle many of the problems. As more people become concerned with the state of the world, they will start buying the eco-friendly green products, like hybrid cars.