Monday, January 12, 2004

Are We Stupid ... or Really, Really Stupid? Something else from that Pew Research Center study on where people get campaign news: The utter cluelessness of most survey respondents on basic factual questions about candidates and issues. The survey found: "...Most Americans are not familiar with the ins and outs of the campaign" and "public awareness of facts about the candidates’backgrounds also is relatively low." "Relatively low" is a charitable description. The survey asked two questions about Democriatic candidates' backgrounds: Which one is a former general? Which one used to be House majority leader? The survey reports that 31 percent of respondents knew the answer to the first question (clue: not Tippecanoe, or Ulysses S. Grant, neither), and 26 percent answered question two correctly (a guy from Missouri, but not Harry Truman). On the other hand, the survey found that older people and those who say they regularly get news from the Net, from NPR, or newsmagazines seem to be more on the ball. A full third of that group answered both questions correctly. New spin on the 2000 election: We elected a true man of the people. Pass the pretzels. 11:14:41 PM    comment []

Laugh the vote, or something An excellent study today from the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press on what voters think about campaign coverage and what sources they use: Not too surprisingly, more and more people think news coverage of the presidential race is slanted. The difference from four years ago: Democrats (who see a right-wing bias) are joining Republicans (who think leftists run the media) in complaining about it. But what I find most interesting is this finding: "...One-in-five young people say they regularly get campaign news from the Internet, and about as many (21%) say the same about comedy shows such as Saturday Night Live and the Daily Show. For Americans under 30, these comedy shows are now mentioned almost as frequently as newspapers and evening network news programs as regular sources for election news." I love it: News you can trust from Tina Fey and Jimmy Fallon. 10:45:13 PM    comment []

John Brekke online Hey, my brother has the beginnings of a Web site to promote his art work: www.johnbrekke.com. Looks great. 8:08:32 PM    comment []

Back to the bog ... I mean 'blog' Back to Berkeley from Chicago, where I spent Friday and Saturday at Bill Hogan's memorial and funeral. What was great about it: --Met lots of the religious people and activists with whom Uncle Bill spent his life. Many priests who were ordained in his class at St. Mary of the Lake Seminary (1952) or immediately before and after. Many people from the civil rights movements. Even a few from the Communist Party USA, one of Bill's latter-day affiliations. --Met a few only dimly known relatives, including Joe O'Malley, one of my mom's first cousins, who saved her from drowning in Lake Michigan in 1939 (she was 9, he was 17; four other members of her family did drown).    --In talking to the people at the memorial, managed to come up with what I think is a workable parallel for the life Bill led. Everybody talked about what an activist he was, his humor, how interesting he was, how constant in his principles, how ready always to start a protest or join a protest (one person claimed that Jesse Jackson nicknamed Bill "instant picket" back in the '60s). What I hit on was this: Yes, Bill did fight for freedom and lead a free life. But one aspect of doing that is pure terror (for most people, at least, including myself): Like Jesus in "The Last Temptation of Christ," you let your actions be guided by a voice no one else can hear, by a vision no one else can see. To others, you look crazy or extreme. To persist in following that course is one definition of courage.   8:06:54 PM    comment []

© Copyright 2004 Dan Brekke.