Bill Postmus.net

HP: Americans Elect Continues To Fail At The Internet

Administrator — Fri, 18 May 2012 07:30:58 +0000

At some point today, the folks behind Americans Elect — the super whiz-bang effort to get an anthropomorphic Thomas Friedman column elected president — will announce what they are going to do now that the big run-up effort to get people to sufficiently support one or more of a thousand possible candidates has ended in failure. Because they probably have to do something. As Dave Weigel notes, Americans Elect has secured ballot access in over half of all states (even post-failure, the organization touted its success getting on the ballot in Maryland), and those ballot lines are not going anywhere.

The easy speculation is that AE will either roll back some variety of the “support click” standard it initially set or dispense with the whole illusion of millions of people “choosing” the candidate online entirely. But the plan was for the organization’s leadership to have a dialogue with the “community” of supporters to determine the path ahead. Of course, the obvious problem with this is that Americans Elect has not yet demonstrated that it actually understands the internet well enough to use it as a tool for creating and activating a community. That’s why it’s no surprise to read this report from Jonathan Tilove, who says that the “process by which Americans Elect conferred with its “community” in advance of the decision due later today was … typically odd, obscure and limiting”:

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Everyday Health: The 49 Worst Foods for Your Diet

Administrator — Thu, 17 May 2012 15:34:42 +0000

Researchers in New Zealand have identified what they believe to be the 49 worst foods for weight loss. Here’s the list.

By Annie Hauser, Senior Editor

FRIDAY, Feb. 24, 2012 —Buyer beware: Just because a food’s labeled “healthy,” “smart,” or “all-natural” does not mean it’s the best choice for someone who’s trying to lose weight. For example, honey, vegetable chips, and granola are just a few of the supermarket staples that have tricked dieters into believing they’re healthy choices, when in fact, they are as equally loaded with calories, fat, sodium, and glucose as their more vilified counterparts of table sugar, potato chips, and sweet cereals.

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TPM: Justice Department Sues Sheriff Joe Arpaio Over Alleged Latino Abuse

Administrator — Wed, 16 May 2012 17:52:36 +0000

Ryan J. Reilly May 10, 2012, 12:22 PM 6884

Updated: 12:45PM

The Justice Department finally filed suit against Sheriff Joe Arpaio and his Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday, accusing the Arizona official of engaging “in a pattern or practice of unlawful discriminatory police conduct directed at Latinos in Maricopa County.”

Federal authorities allege that Arpaio and his office have unconstitutionally and unlawfully targeted Latinos during traffic stops and during crime suppression operations. DOJ alleges that MCSO unlawfully detained Latino drivers and passengers and conducted unconstitutional searches and seizures in addition to illegally targeting Latino workers during worksite raids.

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HP: Super PACs, Conservatives Lead Surge In Independent Spending On Congressional Races

Administrator — Tue, 15 May 2012 16:49:26 +0000

WASHINGTON — On Tuesday night Indiana conservative upstart Richard Mourdock defeated 36-year incumbent Sen. Dick Lugarin a primary battle that featured no fewer than 12 independent groups — not connected to candidates or political parties — spending money to support their favored candidate.

The spending in Indiana was part of an April trend of more independent group involvement in congressional races. As the Republican presidential primary wound down, spending by independent groups in congressional races ticked up.

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Slate: Netanyahu’s Grand Coalition: Bluster or Battlestations?

Administrator — Mon, 14 May 2012 15:37:59 +0000

By Michael Moran
Updated Thursday, May 10, 2012, at 6:07 AM ET

My GP column, written before Netanyahu’s convening of a unity government, still stands. In spite of renewed speculation about an Iran-Israel strike, I think Israel benefits (as does the P5+1 in their negotiations with Iran) from maintaining an Israeli “wildcard.” But I still say no attack.

Thoughts? Read on …. and please comment. This is one debate where very few people really have any inside information, though plenty will pretend to.

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HP: Credit Unions: The Pros And Cons Of Moving Your Money To A Not-For-Profit Financial Institution

Administrator — Sun, 13 May 2012 16:57:00 +0000

Credit unions have seen a rise in membership as big banks have come under scrutiny for their never-ending profit-making measures.

While the Occupy movement, Bank Transfer Day and the fallout of Bank of America’s $5 debit card fee have all heightened public skepticism of large financial institutions, big banks still control more than 12 times the assets of credit unions, according to the National Credit Union Administration’s figures.

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HP: Facebook Subscribe Suggestions: 50 People In Politics To Follow

Administrator — Sat, 12 May 2012 14:52:42 +0000

Facebook’s relatively new subscribe feature allows members of the public to view updates from Facebook users, without having to friend them. While the feature is more popular among members of the tech and media communities, there are still plenty of members of the political community who use it.

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Fox News: Postal Service Overhaul

Administrator — Fri, 11 May 2012 15:56:40 +0000

Cost: $33,662,000,000*

The USPS has lost over $25 billion over the last five fiscal years. The USPS is facing a projected net loss of $14.1 billion for fiscal 2012. The 21st Century Postal Service Act of 2011 would allow the agency to trim costs, but would put off many more drastic changes. The bill would delay the postmaster general from carrying out proposed delivery and service cuts. The bill would also make it more difficult for the postmaster to close post offices and mail processing centers. The legislation would cost $34 billion over the next decade.

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BetaBeat: Twitter Apparently Not Handing Over Jack Without A Search Warrant

Administrator — Thu, 10 May 2012 15:53:05 +0000

Company moves to block subpoena of user’s tweets.

By Kelly Faircloth 4:18pm

(Photo: Scott Beale, Laughing Squid)

When last we checked in with the legal struggle over Occupy Wall Street and Twitter accounts, it didn’t look great for anyone looking to keep their DMs out of court. At issue: The state wants data associated with a protestor charged with disorderly conduct. A judge ruled the defense can’t fight a subpoena, because–as the legal thinking went–the information on Twitter belongs to the company, not to the individual user. And Twitter’s policies seem to suggest they’ll hand material over in the event of a subpoena.

But it appears it won’t be quite that simple for the DA’s office. Rather than complying with the order, Twitter just filed a motion to quash it.

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CSM: Vladimir Putin 101: A quiz about Russia’s president

Administrator — Wed, 09 May 2012 15:50:01 +0000

Vladimir Putin speaks with his hand on the Constitution during his inauguration ceremony as Russia’s new president in Moscow Monday, May 7, 2012. (Vladimir Rodionov/Presidential Press Service/RIA Novosti Kremlin/AP)

Vladimir Putin is back in charge of Russia, taking up the office of president for the third time in 12 years. How well do you know Russia’s top political figure? Take our quiz and find out!

To read the rest of the story, click here.