Tag Archives: politics

How to Deal with Offensive Speech – SNL 2018 Edition

Posted on November 12, 2018 by Ralph Hanson

So, a week ago, Pete Davidson on Saturday Night Live mocked a political candidate.  Nothing really new here, right? Except that this time he mocked Lt. Commander Dan Crenshaw, who just won a seat in congress from Texas. Crenshaw wears … Continue reading →

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Remembering “Plamegate: The Opera”

Posted on April 13, 2018 by Ralph Hanson

With everything else going on, you may be forgiven for missing reports that President Trump is considering issuing a pardon to Lewis “Scooter” Libby, who was at one time Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief of staff. If you need a … Continue reading →

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Back To Pre-Class Video: One Last Time from Hamilton

Posted on January 11, 2017 by Ralph Hanson

As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve spent the last semester on a productive and refreshing sabbatical, but I’m now back in the classroom and making use of pre-class videos for students to watch as they come in. I started things off … Continue reading →

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Media News Roundup

Posted on March 7, 2013 by Ralph Hanson

Hawaii passes Steven Tyler Act Would ban “unwanted photos or videos of others in private moments.”  Nice idea, but do celebs really get the right to say “pay attention to me now, but not now”? How Sen. Rand Paul used … Continue reading →

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Presidential Victory and Concession Speeches

Posted on November 7, 2012 by Ralph Hanson

2008 was seen by many as a high point for presidential victory and concession speeches, with both candidates giving excellent messages. Here are the 2012 speeches from Barack Obama and Mitt Romney: Obama’s Victory Speech Romney’s Concession Speech

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Truth 6 – Activism and Analysis are not the Same Thing: Numerical analysis matters

Posted on November 7, 2012 by Ralph Hanson

Yesterday I posted a number of predictions from pundits about how the presidential election would turn out.  The best predictions did not come from the partisans, they came  from the number crunchers who took a hard look at what the … Continue reading →

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Election Day Media World

Posted on November 6, 2012 by Ralph Hanson

Our pundits have spoken!  And today we get to find out what we the people have to say about how the election turns out. And that means tomorrow (I hope!) we get to judge how well the pundits did at … Continue reading →

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WP’s The Fix Lists Top Political Ads of 2012 (so far)

Posted on September 26, 2012 by Ralph Hanson

I don’t think that this election cycle has given us a lot of brilliant political ads, but here are four that the writers at The Fix political blog at the Washington Post really like, and I have to agree with … Continue reading →

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When politicians’ private remarks go public

Posted on September 18, 2012 by Ralph Hanson

The news broke today that Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney said some pretty disparaging things about the 47% of Americans who don’t end up having to pay income tax while speaking at a private fund raising event.  The leaked video … Continue reading →

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Leaving the mainstream to watch political conventions

Posted on September 7, 2012 by Ralph Hanson

I like media that matches my political point of view as much as the next guy, but when there is an important event or speech going on, my preferred channel is C-SPAN.  And increasingly, I prefer to watch C-SPAN online … Continue reading →

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