The Dust Bowl – Ken Burns (PBS)

I grew up hearing about The Dust Bowl from my grandparents, and I always thought that it was just kind of a bad storm that my family had been a part of. I didn’t think of this being a story that was really worth telling… I don’t know why, maybe just because it was depressing. But the older I get the more important legacy and history become in my pursuit of living a fulfilling life. The realities of this time period started to become more clear to me after having read The Grapes of Wrath in high school… Reading that book actually gave me great grief as I thought about people past and present living through somewhat of a hell on earth.

This PBS special is going to air on November 18th and 19th. I plan to watch this and talk to my grandparents about it. If you have grandparents who experienced events such as this and the Great Depression, and World War 2 I recommend that you talk to them about it now, even if it doesn’t feel urgent – because it is…

It was the worst man-made ecological disaster in American history—in which the heedless actions of thousands of individual farmers, encouraged by their government and influenced by global markets, resulted in a collective tragedy that nearly swept away the breadbasket of the nation.

It was a decade-long natural catastrophe of Biblical proportions—encompassing 100 million acres in Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, Colorado and New Mexico—when the skies withheld their rains, when plagues of grasshoppers descended on parched fields, when bewildered families huddled in dark rooms while angry winds shook their homes and pillars of dust choked out the mid-day sun.

via Upcoming Films | Ken Burns | PBS. (continue reading by clicking on this link)

New Presidential Swing State Polls

We probably talk about these polls too much, but these races matter… So here we go.

The First Presidential Debate of 2012 (Complete) Romney vs.Obama – 10/3/2012 University of Denver

Presidential Debate 2012 (Complete) Romney vs.Obama – 10/3/2012 – Elections 2012.

Here is the full debate, and I’m going to put my quick thoughts below (so that I don’t spoil anything if you want to make up your own mind), but I’ll post some more thorough thoughts later.

Full Debate

OK, so far all of the analysis that I’ve heard tonight is that people feel that Mitt Romney got the best of this debate. On a personal note I don’t necessarily agree, but I understand how that might be true when speaking about the electorate. I think that this is going to be surprising to many because of the views that people have about these 2 people and their person-ability (and on that note I think that Obama looked much more comfortable but that Mitt looked more engaged, as he looked the President in the face almost the entire time that he wasn’t speaking). However, this isn’t all that surprising as this debate was about domestic issues (aka: The Economy), and considering the fact that this debate was almost entirely about President Obama’s record (because the voters know at least something about it), and the roles will likely flip in the coming debate (particularly in the foreign policy debate).

I think that the topics that we will likely hear more about over the coming days will be much of the same:

• Medicare – Romney supports the voucher approach, and Obama doesn’t
• Taxes – they both need to define more clearly what they want on personal and corporate rates
• Military – (this may be wishful thinking) They didn’t talk too much about this, and it mostly seemed like a preview of the Foreign Policy debate when they did

I would love to hear more specifics about each of these things however. I want to hear about Romney’s plans to close loopholes, but I’m in suport of that. And I want to hear Obama defend the Affordable Care Act, as it still seems mysterious in a lot of ways (although I support so much of it), and I want to hear them both define their approach their plans for foreign policy from this point forward (even though I feel like I understand the President’s approach so far). I would also appreciate a more cooperative conversation about regulation, but I think that’s pretty wishful thinking.

I took some notes, and I’m going to watch this video again, and consolidate my notes so I can make a few more observations about what took place tonight. Please feel free to let me know what you thought about this debate if you have an opinion, I would love to hear from you.

-Grady

Swing State Polls as of First Debate

So it’s the day of the First presidential debate of 2012. Morning Joe did some analysis of the holes today in swing states. It sounds like Ohio is a lost cause for Mitt Romney, but maybe we can make history and win the presidency without it. I don’t think that’s likely… But we will just have to see.

The three poles that they seem to find most notable were in: Ohio, Virginia, and Florida.

Republicans do not win the Presidency without winning Ohio… But everything that isn’t is a rule, until of course that rule is broken.

They also discussed Iowa, North Carolina, Colorado, and Nevada:

It seems obvious to me that the 2 states to consider on this list are Ohio and Florida. However, the states not on this list that probably need the most consideration are: Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. The Midwest is becoming the new South in Republican politics, and therefore Presidential politics. But we’ll see if they can get a real stronghold over the next few years. I’m getting ahead of myself, let’s just get ready for this debate tonight.

Live Stream – First Presidential Debate tonight from the University of Denver

I’m very excited for this debate, and if you are looking for a place to watch it you can watch it here, live. That is of course if you don’t have a TV, because it will be live on several channels (listed below), but if you are stuck somewhere without TV, just come to this blog gradycarter.wordpress.com and you can watch it here. I always love getting your feedback, and I’d love to get some feedback about this debate. So feel free to email me or comment your thoughts, and let me know if you’d like to share them on the blog, that can be worked out, if they’re thoughtful and not too angry 🙂

First Presidential Debate tonight from the University of Denver

BY NATE, ON OCTOBER 3RD, 2012

The first in the series of Presidential debates between President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney will be happening tonight at 9pm et, 6pm pt from the University of Denver in Colorado. The debate will be 90 minutes long with a focus on domestic issues. We will have the live stream embedded so you can watch the debate right here on this page.

Live Stream: Begins around 8pm et / 5pm pt, check back here to watch live

If you have trouble with the YouTube Feed below there are several places that you can click, like this one:
C-SPAN Live Debate Feed

Live Stream (Only Works during the Debate)

Spanish Live Stream: Univision Live

Air Time: Wednesday, October 3, 2012 @ 9pm et / 8pm ct / 7pm mt / 6pm pt

Channels: ABC, NBC, FOX, CBS, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC and more including CNN Espanol and others

Moderator: Jim Lehrer (Host of NewsHour on PBS)

The debate will focus on domestic policy and be divided into six time segments of approximately 15 minutes each on topics to be selected by the moderator and announced several weeks before the debate.

The moderator will open each segment with a question, after which each candidate will have two minutes to respond. The moderator will use the balance of the time in the segment for a discussion of the topic.

Following the broadcast, we will have the full video of the debate available for viewing. Check back for links.

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via First Presidential Debate tonight from the University of Denver « 2012 Election Central.

Update On Swing States 9-21

The time has come for another update on the Swing States, and it seems to be more of the same recent store (aka: Mitt Romney’s campaign is in trouble). I say that Governor Romney’s campaign is in trouble because even though the President’s numbers have risen some recently Mr. Romney’s have fallen even more… Of course there are different polls, but even the Fox News polls have been looking bleak for Governor Romney.

 

I found this one to be surprising because I’ve heard for a long time that Republicans have a voting block that is just more likely to vote no matter who the candidates are. I don’t know if this polling is somehow going against that

This might not be all that telling, but in real terms twice as many people said that they are less likely to vote for Romney because of his “candid camera” comments. I think that between that video, and what/how/when he said the things he said during the attacks on our embassies in the Middle East, he is in big trouble. I personally think that he has lost this election.

This map might just tell it all…

State of the Race 9-14: Morning Joe

I think it’s pretty clear that the Presidential race is Obama’s to lose, and looking at some of the latest swing state polls it seems to only confirm much of the same.

Over the last couple of years I have personally thought that Colorado will actually become the next Iowa or Ohio in terms of swing state stature. It has places like Colorado Springs representing the far right and Boulder repeating the far left. I think that this state is one to pay attention to over the next few years and elections.

Median Household Income and Benefits By State (2010)

While I do believe in having some collectivist programs to keep this country as one nation, I understand that these gaps will really make some of those collectivist ideas on a national scale hard to pull off…