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from The Atlantic Magazine
The Twitter Electorate Isn’t the Real Electorate
Social media is distorting our sense of mainstream opinion.
Does Twitter matter? The temptation is to say no. Its user base is small compared with Facebook—321 million monthly active users versus more than 2 billion—and a quick glance at the trending topics reveals its fractious, claustrophobic atmosphere. Yet as one dead fox proves, it does matter: On December 26, a single tweet by a British lawyer with 178,000 followers, announcing that he had killed a fox with a baseball bat, made the front pages of two major newspapers. Yes, it was a quiet news day. But Twitter has become journalists’ easiest and most reliable source of cor-blimey (or OMG, to American readers) stories, because all of human life is there, and it’s searchable. It is also the world’s wire service: Just look at Donald Trump, who drops his unfiltered thoughts straight onto Twitter, confident that they will be picked up by journalists. For anyone interested in politics, it is the closest thing to a global community center, or a small-ads section—the virtual room where it happens. All of this gives the social network—and its most active users—outsize power to shape the political conversation. Its influence can be seen in contests currently under way in the United States and Britain: the race to become the Democrats’ presidential nominee, and the struggle to succeed Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the Labour Party. Both risk being distorted by what we might call the “Twitter Primary.”
from The Bold Italic
Every day in San Francisco, people walk the city’s streets unaware of the history that our concrete jungle holds in its depths. Little do most people know that roughly 40 ships are buried underneath the Embarcadero and the Financial District, which used to be the city’s original shoreline. Most of the vessels are remnants of the Gold Rush, left behind by men who arrived in the San Francisco Bay from near and far in search of fortune. Today, the abandoned ships are all around us—a hidden reminder of the city’s history.
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from The Brookings Institution
American think tank in Washington, D.C.; Left-Center bias; VERY HIGH factual
8 truths to remember before starting another military campaign
As the U.S. has preserved and expanded its global military posture, post-Cold War presidents of both parties have consistently committed the military abroad in an expanding series of campaigns or other obligations. These endeavors frequently lack a compelling enough relationship to American vital security interests to justify their costs and consequences.
8 truths to remember before starting another military campaign
As the U.S. has preserved and expanded its global military posture, post-Cold War presidents of both parties have consistently committed the military abroad in an expanding series of campaigns or other obligations. These endeavors frequently lack a compelling enough relationship to American vital security interests to justify their costs and consequences.
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from FEE (Foundation for Economic Education)
RIGHT-CENTER BIAS, HIGH, non-profit organization
17 Benjamin Franklin Quotes on Tyranny, Liberty, and Rights
Benjamin Franklin was dubbed “The First American” for a reason.
17 Benjamin Franklin Quotes on Tyranny, Liberty, and Rights
Benjamin Franklin was dubbed “The First American” for a reason.
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from The Spokesman-Review
Newspaper in Spokane, Washington
Sue Lani Madsen: Survey says no to comprehensive sex education, OSPI says yes
The results are in, and the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction’s survey says, in short, “No." That was the reply from 58% of about 10,000 respondents asked if comprehensive sexual health education should be mandatory in public schools. So, naturally, bills were quickly filed and a hearing held in Olympia this week on House Bill 2184 to make comprehensive sexual health education mandatory for grades K-12. That’s a hopelessly ironic fate for a bill whose supporters emphasized was necessary to teach affirmative consent.
Then and Now: Spokane River Shacktown
A collection of shacks hug the riverbank of the Spokane River, west of the Monroe Street Bridge, in February of 1946. The shacks dated back to around 1900. During World War II, only about 20 men lived there, but in the post-war era, the settlement grew to 100 men.
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Sue Lani Madsen: Survey says no to comprehensive sex education, OSPI says yes
The results are in, and the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction’s survey says, in short, “No." That was the reply from 58% of about 10,000 respondents asked if comprehensive sexual health education should be mandatory in public schools. So, naturally, bills were quickly filed and a hearing held in Olympia this week on House Bill 2184 to make comprehensive sexual health education mandatory for grades K-12. That’s a hopelessly ironic fate for a bill whose supporters emphasized was necessary to teach affirmative consent.
Then and Now: Spokane River Shacktown
A collection of shacks hug the riverbank of the Spokane River, west of the Monroe Street Bridge, in February of 1946. The shacks dated back to around 1900. During World War II, only about 20 men lived there, but in the post-war era, the settlement grew to 100 men.
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