Caffeinated Thoughts |
- Move Over FOX, MSNBC, CNN…English Al Jazeera May Become Next Big Player in America
- Kraig Paulsen: The First Funnel
- Regarding My Sarah Palin Fanaticism
- And Now There Are Two–Newt Gingrich Announces 2012 Presidential Exploratory Committee
- What Social Truce Among Conservatives?
| Move Over FOX, MSNBC, CNN…English Al Jazeera May Become Next Big Player in America Posted: 03 Mar 2011 07:11 PM PST Al Jazeera’s 24hour English language news station may soon be available on a television near you. That is great news to those who seek the lastest information from the Middle East and around the world. Currently only available in a few places in the US, namely Washington DC, Toledo and Sandusky Ohio, Burlington Vermont, and Houston, Texas, coverage may soon be expanding greatly. Executives from Al Jazeera have recently visited Comcast’s headquarters in Philadelphia. It is said, strike when the iron is hot, and man is Al Jazeera hot right now. Offering superior coverage of the recent revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and elsewhere, they have seen traffic to their webstream reportedly rise by 2500%, about half of which are streaming from the US. Al Jazeera received 40,000 emails from Americans who wanted the station available to them. They were able to deliver to Comcast 13,000 emails from American Comcast customers who want English Al Jazeera added to their line up. Another 7500 and 1000 emails were delivered to Time Warner and Cablevision, with whom Al Jazeera also met. Not only did Al Jazeera cover the recent revolutions better than their American counterparts, they may be able to claim a bit of credit. Wadah Khanfar, director general of the Al Jazeera network spoke at the Technology entertainment and Design conference or TED on Tuesday. He reports that although Al Jazeera had been baned from Tunisia, Libya and Egypt, (presumably because Dictators aren’t too keen on a free press), they were still able to cover the events because of two key factors. One, they were trusted by the people, and when the people took to the streets, they brought their cameras with them and those videos made their way to Al Jazeera. Al Jazeera also had many brave journalists willing to put their lives on the line to go undercover to report on the pro-democracy protests. This may have been one of the deciding factors that allowed these revolutions to be a success rather than a genocide. Mr. Khanfar recalls: “receiving a phone call one night from someone in Tahrir Square in Egypt who appealed to him not to switch off the cameras. ’If you switch off the cameras tonight, there will be a genocide. You are protecting us by showing what is happening at Tahrir Square.’ Personally, as someone who tries to keep up with news from the Middle East, I am hopeful that English Al Jazeera will be more widely available to Americans. I have a feeling, if available, they will quickly join FOX, MSNBC and CNN as one of the more popular 24 hour news stations. This may be one of the few times I agree with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. I’m sure many who read this will be very skeptical, but I would encourage you, please take a little time to check out English Al Jazeera. You can check out the coverage on their website or live webstream, and judge the content for yourself. Share and Enjoy:                 |
| Kraig Paulsen: The First Funnel Posted: 03 Mar 2011 04:00 PM PST
This week the Iowa House reached its first self-imposed deadline related to legislative action, commonly referred to as the "First Funnel." For a policy bill to remain eligible for debate by the full House at some point later during the session, it must be approved by a House Committee before the end of the week or "First Funnel." If a bill doesn't survive the "First Funnel", it is likely the issue is dead for the remainder of the year. This rule does not apply to budget bills or tax bills. I'm pleased to report that House Republicans' agenda items have cleared the funnel. We have said we are committed to putting Iowans back to work, making it easier to be an employer in the state, cutting government spending and getting government out of the way. There are numerous bills that we've already sent to the Senate that are awaiting consideration. We've sent over budget cuts, an income tax cut, a property tax cut, a bill to strengthen our right to work law, and a bill to give Iowans a say over their health care, among others. A few notable bills that just beat the funnel deadline are House File 124, House Study Bill 103 and House Study Bill 124. House File 124 deals with charter schools in Iowa. Enacted in 2002, Iowa's current charter school law is in its ninth year. After nine years, Iowa has 8 charter schools. Compared to some of our Midwest neighbors, this is a paltry number. Ohio leads the pack in the Midwest with 368 charter schools, followed by Wisconsin at 233, Minnesota at 161, Illinois at 116, Indiana at 62, Missouri 46, and Kansas 37. A major contributor to Iowa's low number is the nature of its law. HF 124, is working to streamline charter school law and allow for more entities to apply to start a charter school, including colleges and universities, private colleges, and non-profit entities. House Study Bill 103 is commonly referred to as the "IPEP" bill. This legislation replaces the current Department of Economic Development with a public-private partnership charged with marketing and promoting Iowa called the "Iowa Partnership for Economic Progress. The bill includes the Partnership for Economic Progress, the Economic Progress Authority, and the Economic Progress Corporation. The new partnership's mission is to grow and diversify Iowa's economy by encouraging the creation of high quality jobs for its citizens through business recruitment, retention, expansion and creation. House Study Bill 124 promotes the development of next-generation nuclear power technology in Iowa. The bill creates a process by which Iowa utilities could study, plan, and construct a nuclear power facility in the state. Development of such a plant creates jobs for construction and operation of the facility, while also ensuring a stable, clean source of baseload power for Iowans. Since this could be one of the first facilities utilizing this technology, Iowa could also become a hub for development of nuclear technology and a training site for other companies using the same technology. For a complete listing of bills that survived the House funnel, visit www.iowahouserepublicans.com. We'll keep working on these bills as we continue to focus on passing commonsense budget bills that reduce government spending out of committee. The House Republicans' budget will cut out waste and not spend more than the state takes in. State Representative Kraig Paulsen (R-Hiawatha) is Speaker of the Iowa House. Share and Enjoy: |
| Regarding My Sarah Palin Fanaticism Posted: 03 Mar 2011 02:00 PM PST
Craig Robinson responded to my post yesterday regarding the focus group that The Iowa Republican pulled together. He wrote:
I've been pretty up front that I'm a supporter, but to call me a fanatic? Gee I love being labeled. As far as finding it necessary to try and discredit anything that might be construed as being negative? Anything? There are tons of stories, polls, speeches, interviews both positive and negative that I could cover, but I don't. I don't because I have plenty of other interests as well. The Register poll and TIR were on my turf so I addressed them. Yes I went after Jonathan Martin's story about "anonymous sources in Iowa" complaining about her visit to Iowa last fall. I did so because it was false. I also have zero tolerance for "anonymous sources" who want to behave like teenage girls leaking gossip to the press. I love backhanded compliment about admiring "my support and fascination with everything Palin." I give the snark two thumbs up, but I have to confess something to Craig and you my readers. I never watched Dancing With The Stars with Bristol Palin, so I'm not quite sure I've earned the fanatic label. But yes if I critique a couple of items in the news in Iowa about Sarah Palin, go ahead and call me a fanatic if it makes you feel better. Regarding McClatchy I pointed to a narrative that I believe is being put forth. Here is what I wrote:
McClatchy has a public record of liberal bias and if you don't believe there is a larger narrative about Sarah Palin going on in the media, well then you haven't been paying attention. Here is one such example at McClatchy owned Anchorage Daily News. Do I think Craig Robinson has an agenda? No, and you know what? I also don't think he is an establishment Republican hack as I have seen some call him. I can even recall coming to his defense. I do agree with Craig on this. If Sarah Palin is going to run she does need to play in Iowa. I've said so on numerous occasions. I also agree that she has a ton of work to do in Iowa if she does run. I also believe that she can't bypass the press (at least not completely) if she does run. I also think that she has a ton of organizational work to do if she does run. I'm not completely convinced that she is going to run, but I think that she will. While she can't wait too much longer, I don't believe that Mike Huckabee and Sarah Palin absolutely need to get into the race before this summer. I do believe she (and any other candidate) needs to participate in the Iowa Straw Poll. So while I foresee backing her if she does decide to run (that shouldn't be a surprise to anyone who is a regular reader here); I believe the road to winning the nomination will be very difficult with a crowded field. I just don't buy the meme that she'll be the end of the party or that she is unelectable. She hasn't even started campaigning yet. The voters will decide and if she runs and wins the nomination I believe she'll have just as good of a shot as anyone of beating President Obama. It'll be difficult, but if we are really looking at $5.00/gallon gas and if unemployment is still high in 2012 he's vulnerable regardless who runs against him. But hey, don't listen to me because I'm just a Palin fanatic. Update: Hey a new poll shows that right now Obama would thump Tim Pawlenty and Mitt Romney. They might as well pack it in as well since they aren't "electable." Tongue planted firmly in cheek. Share and Enjoy: |
| And Now There Are Two–Newt Gingrich Announces 2012 Presidential Exploratory Committee Posted: 03 Mar 2011 01:30 PM PST
Well those who have formally announced their intentions are trickling in… who do you think will pull the trigger next? If I were a betting man, my money would be on Rick Santorum which if that is the case I'll have to retract my criticism of Fox News. Next week on Monday we'll be tripping over presidential candidates both prospective and confirmed, should be fun. Update: Tyler Kingkade corrected me there are four. My apologies to Fred Karger, he also has a committee. Then there's Buddy Roemer – I don't even know who that is. Share and Enjoy: |
| What Social Truce Among Conservatives? Posted: 03 Mar 2011 11:30 AM PST
Mr. Burns, with all due respect, most social conservatives have never thought it was all about them. In fact I have yet to meet a social conservative who isn't concerned about fiscal issues. However we understand that social issues impact fiscal issues. We also understand that while the economy may drive the 2012 elections, we want a candidate who is not squishy on social issues. Now I have met fiscal conservatives and social moderates who do believe and have always believed it was all about them. Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels comment that we need "a truce" on social issues was tragic. Many interpret that to mean surrender and/or apathetic neglect. That isn't acceptable, but leading with the economy (as well as energy policy with $5.00/gallon gas prices looming) is palatable. We feel the pinch as well. So there is no truce. While we expect economy to be the focus candidates who believe they can write off social issues will not get a pass. We want a Reagan conservative, not a milquetoast. Share and Enjoy: |
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