Only one more day of mean-spirited political commercials!
51 thoughts on “November 5, 2012: Anticipation”
Man, the last weekend here in Minnesota has been unbearable. I thought we were going to miss the whole thing, but a solid dose at the end has been enough to make me glad I don't live in Ohio.
Arizona's the worst place I've lived for the stuff - on both sides, a lot of the major political players here are on the fringes. There's only one person here running a relatively clean campaign, but he's also the most bat-crap crazy person running for office here, so it's a wash. It's funny - his commercials are nothing but clear statements about what he believes, and because his beliefs are so extreme, that's also exactly what his opponent is airing. It's hilarious.
In one case, I haven't heard or seen a single "pro" commercial for one candidate. His reputation is so tarnished and extremist that he's solely focusing on attacking the opposition. His opponent airs a lot of pro-commercials, but for about two weeks, I couldn't even name the person she was facing.
Or Wisconsin. Its very difficult to watch tv down here, which is why I'm glad I pretty much rely on Netflix and books for entertainment. Maybe its because its happening right now, but this just feels like the most mean-spirited set of campaigns I can remember during my time as a voter. Can't we all just get along?
I really feel that we as a nation should be embarrassed by the way our leaders run campaigns. They're exploiting the weak and stupid, and we let them.
Candidates pursue strategies that they think will win. I don't blame them. I blame voters (or potential voters) for being (positively) responsive to this stuff.
Imagine businesses using negative advertising to try to sway consumers. "Coke has been promoting one-worlder socialism with its `Coke and a smile' and `I'd like to teach the world to sing' ads for decades." "McDonalds panders to the mooching 47 percent with its `You deserve a break today' campaign."
But that would just drive people to RC and Wendy's. No one ever says, "If I drink RC instead of Coke, then Pepsi might win."
so our solution is multimember district elections!!!1111one111!!!!
Oh, I definitely realize that the public is the problem.
Problem is, our leaders aren't always running "their" campaigns -- there are lots of action groups running side campaigns, and they'll say a lot of things without caring who approves their message or not.
One of the worst things about living in the Sioux City area was that not only did we get bombarded with all the stuff from Iowa, we also got ads from South Dakota and Nebraska.
the only people who like political ads are the beancounters and suits at radio stations. its easy money for an industry that is falling by the wayside.
Don't forget the postoffice! Keeping the USPS solvent since 2012!
You know, I'm at the point where most of the ads don't bother me anymore. The one type of ad that really gets to me, still, is when a politician uses their underage children in commercials. So your kids think you're a good person. Whoop de doo, your kids don't hate you. Find someone who doesn't rely on you for food and shelter.
The lowest one here that I've seen is an ad that bemoans the fact that the opposing person used profanity twice in an interview. Setting aside how meaningless that is, it also mentions that the interview was in 2006. Still not a pointless enough commercial for you? Well, let me mention that at the time, the candidate who swore in this interview was sixteen.
One of my recent favorite fake-ads is a picture of [candidate A] with the caption "In 2011, [Candidate A] said he was [age]. This year, [Candidate A] says he is [age+1]. Which one is it, Mr. [Candidate A]???!!!"
A 22-year-old can run for the Arizona Legislature?
22-year-olds are elgible for legislature positions in many states.
But not including Arizona. Looks like in Ohio and Wisconsin you can run for anything at 18.
18 makes more sense to me than 21, since 18 is the voting age.
Minnesota only got hit at the end because there was so much money thrown at this election that all of the media in battleground states was already sold out. Last night my daughter asked me why all of the ads on the internet for the past week have been for political candidates and/or causes. Also, I watched one local newscast while in Florida the week before last. Holy overload, Batman.
Last night my daughter asked me why all of the ads on the internet for the past week have been for political candidates and/or causes.
These are the tough talks we all need to have with our kids eventually that makes me nervous.
I was about ready to claw my eyes out during the World Series. At least three quarters of the ads were political in nature, and on several occasions an entire commercial block was dedicated to ads from the two candidates in a very hotly contested race. Ugh. Now my default radio station has nonstop political ads during commercial breaks. I can't wait until this crap is over tomorrow.
one of the beauties of the DVR is time-shifting so that one can zip past the commercials. I have garnered considerable satisfaction from avoiding most of the really awful local political ads in this way the last few days.
On the bright side, living in California I get very few Bronco Bamma/Mittens ads, since that is not competitive here. But the state assembly/senate campaigns and, increasingly, the initiative ads, have been just awful.
It's not just the ads, however. A new study from Pew demonstrates that the social media content is even more thoroughly negative (duh-uh).
I HATE when the ads complain about the incombant voting for this or not voting for that. Man, most bills are so loaded with crap. A congressman might vote down a bill that would promote euthanizing puppies, but by God if there's a rider that would provide $20 for kindergarten supplies, the congressman obviously doesn't care about education! /sorryaboutthatrant
I'd only be mildly surprised by that bill. We've got a guy here who voted to drill in the Grand Canyon. There's not much left that surprises me, but that surprised me. If a Bond villain had done that, I would have said it was too unbelievable even for a Bond film.
I wonder how effective political ads are during sports events. I assume most people watch sports because they don't want to think about politics right then.
or because they are going to the bathroom or getting a beer during the commercial breaks.
I dislike it, even if its an ad for issues/candidates I support.
netflix, NPR, and ipod, so no.
Getting out of Iowa was fantastic for that reason. Though I must say the most annoying ad I've seen is here in WNY. It involves Kathy Hochul, and I honestly can't tell you if it's for or against her because I mute it so fast, but it is trick-or-treat themed and has whiny little kid voices. Ugh, the sound of it alone just grates on you to the point I actually have no idea of the content.
I just interviewed for part-time work at an ice rink near me. Duties would include maintenance, cleaning, helping customers. And, oh yeah, ZAMBONI DRIVING!
Thank you! Not as easy to do this myself whilst stationed at the UP Mothership, and it needed to be posted.
Marty's my home boy. Spamtown Represent!
Whoever updated the Quest: I had no intention of changing it from 82-0. It's a hat tip to the late Tim Allen from Canis Hoopus.
Ah, right. I was copying Jeff.
No problem. I should have voiced my intent when I posted it.
The Red Wings' facebook page is teasing some "exciting news" to be announced this afternoon. It'll probably just be a stadium improvement or a promotion for next season or something, but we'll see.
The Wings do have two coaching vacancies to fill, I believe. I don't remember seeing any announcement of a replacement for Brunansky and Cuellar.
My guess is that they got a great deal on car insurance.
Either that or they will donate $5 million to charity if the mayor of Rochester turns over his college transcripts and passport applications.
Turns out it was controller Darlene Giradina being named Woman Executive of the Year.
Woman executive of the year? They have a gender-specific award?
The Twins have agreed to terms on minor league contracts with Samuel Deduno and Esmerling Vasquez.
Duderino's coming back!
I just had to sneeze, but I had a full glass of milk, so I tried to suppress it until I could put my milk down. I let out half-sneeze and now I have a headache and a crick in my neck.
Man, the last weekend here in Minnesota has been unbearable. I thought we were going to miss the whole thing, but a solid dose at the end has been enough to make me glad I don't live in Ohio.
Arizona's the worst place I've lived for the stuff - on both sides, a lot of the major political players here are on the fringes. There's only one person here running a relatively clean campaign, but he's also the most bat-crap crazy person running for office here, so it's a wash. It's funny - his commercials are nothing but clear statements about what he believes, and because his beliefs are so extreme, that's also exactly what his opponent is airing. It's hilarious.
In one case, I haven't heard or seen a single "pro" commercial for one candidate. His reputation is so tarnished and extremist that he's solely focusing on attacking the opposition. His opponent airs a lot of pro-commercials, but for about two weeks, I couldn't even name the person she was facing.
Or Wisconsin. Its very difficult to watch tv down here, which is why I'm glad I pretty much rely on Netflix and books for entertainment. Maybe its because its happening right now, but this just feels like the most mean-spirited set of campaigns I can remember during my time as a voter. Can't we all just get along?
I really feel that we as a nation should be embarrassed by the way our leaders run campaigns. They're exploiting the weak and stupid, and we let them.
Candidates pursue strategies that they think will win. I don't blame them. I blame voters (or potential voters) for being (positively) responsive to this stuff.
Imagine businesses using negative advertising to try to sway consumers. "Coke has been promoting one-worlder socialism with its `Coke and a smile' and `I'd like to teach the world to sing' ads for decades." "McDonalds panders to the mooching 47 percent with its `You deserve a break today' campaign."
But that would just drive people to RC and Wendy's. No one ever says, "If I drink RC instead of Coke, then Pepsi might win."
so our solution is multimember district elections!!!1111one111!!!!
Oh, I definitely realize that the public is the problem.
Problem is, our leaders aren't always running "their" campaigns -- there are lots of action groups running side campaigns, and they'll say a lot of things without caring who approves their message or not.
One of the worst things about living in the Sioux City area was that not only did we get bombarded with all the stuff from Iowa, we also got ads from South Dakota and Nebraska.
the only people who like political ads are the beancounters and suits at radio stations. its easy money for an industry that is falling by the wayside.
Don't forget the postoffice! Keeping the USPS solvent since 2012!
You know, I'm at the point where most of the ads don't bother me anymore. The one type of ad that really gets to me, still, is when a politician uses their underage children in commercials. So your kids think you're a good person. Whoop de doo, your kids don't hate you. Find someone who doesn't rely on you for food and shelter.
The lowest one here that I've seen is an ad that bemoans the fact that the opposing person used profanity twice in an interview. Setting aside how meaningless that is, it also mentions that the interview was in 2006. Still not a pointless enough commercial for you? Well, let me mention that at the time, the candidate who swore in this interview was sixteen.
One of my recent favorite fake-ads is a picture of [candidate A] with the caption "In 2011, [Candidate A] said he was [age]. This year, [Candidate A] says he is [age+1]. Which one is it, Mr. [Candidate A]???!!!"
A 22-year-old can run for the Arizona Legislature?
22-year-olds are elgible for legislature positions in many states.
But not including Arizona. Looks like in Ohio and Wisconsin you can run for anything at 18.
18 makes more sense to me than 21, since 18 is the voting age.
Minnesota only got hit at the end because there was so much money thrown at this election that all of the media in battleground states was already sold out. Last night my daughter asked me why all of the ads on the internet for the past week have been for political candidates and/or causes. Also, I watched one local newscast while in Florida the week before last. Holy overload, Batman.
Last night my daughter asked me why all of the ads on the internet for the past week have been for political candidates and/or causes.
These are the tough talks we all need to have with our kids eventually that makes me nervous.
I was about ready to claw my eyes out during the World Series. At least three quarters of the ads were political in nature, and on several occasions an entire commercial block was dedicated to ads from the two candidates in a very hotly contested race. Ugh. Now my default radio station has nonstop political ads during commercial breaks. I can't wait until this crap is over tomorrow.
one of the beauties of the DVR is time-shifting so that one can zip past the commercials. I have garnered considerable satisfaction from avoiding most of the really awful local political ads in this way the last few days.
On the bright side, living in California I get very few Bronco Bamma/Mittens ads, since that is not competitive here. But the state assembly/senate campaigns and, increasingly, the initiative ads, have been just awful.
It's not just the ads, however. A new study from Pew demonstrates that the social media content is even more thoroughly negative (duh-uh).
I HATE when the ads complain about the incombant voting for this or not voting for that. Man, most bills are so loaded with crap. A congressman might vote down a bill that would promote euthanizing puppies, but by God if there's a rider that would provide $20 for kindergarten supplies, the congressman obviously doesn't care about education! /sorryaboutthatrant
I'd only be mildly surprised by that bill. We've got a guy here who voted to drill in the Grand Canyon. There's not much left that surprises me, but that surprised me. If a Bond villain had done that, I would have said it was too unbelievable even for a Bond film.
I wonder how effective political ads are during sports events. I assume most people watch sports because they don't want to think about politics right then.
or because they are going to the bathroom or getting a beer during the commercial breaks.
I dislike it, even if its an ad for issues/candidates I support.
netflix, NPR, and ipod, so no.
Getting out of Iowa was fantastic for that reason. Though I must say the most annoying ad I've seen is here in WNY. It involves Kathy Hochul, and I honestly can't tell you if it's for or against her because I mute it so fast, but it is trick-or-treat themed and has whiny little kid voices. Ugh, the sound of it alone just grates on you to the point I actually have no idea of the content.
I dont think this story gets topped today: Jerry Jones was locked out of the Cowboys locker room
its hilarious on about 15 different levels
I said it before and I'll say it again: Shved should model his game after Taurasi's.
He was a lot better last night. I think he'll be fine.
also, I mentioned this yesterday too. Monty Williams is an idiot.
I just interviewed for part-time work at an ice rink near me. Duties would include maintenance, cleaning, helping customers. And, oh yeah, ZAMBONI DRIVING!
hoosier gear daddy?
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRvHaRmyEFc
Thank you! Not as easy to do this myself whilst stationed at the UP Mothership, and it needed to be posted.
Marty's my home boy. Spamtown Represent!
Whoever updated the Quest: I had no intention of changing it from 82-0. It's a hat tip to the late Tim Allen from Canis Hoopus.
Ah, right. I was copying Jeff.
No problem. I should have voiced my intent when I posted it.
The Red Wings' facebook page is teasing some "exciting news" to be announced this afternoon. It'll probably just be a stadium improvement or a promotion for next season or something, but we'll see.
The Wings do have two coaching vacancies to fill, I believe. I don't remember seeing any announcement of a replacement for Brunansky and Cuellar.
My guess is that they got a great deal on car insurance.
Either that or they will donate $5 million to charity if the mayor of Rochester turns over his college transcripts and passport applications.
Turns out it was controller Darlene Giradina being named Woman Executive of the Year.
Woman executive of the year? They have a gender-specific award?
The Twins have agreed to terms on minor league contracts with Samuel Deduno and Esmerling Vasquez.
Duderino's coming back!
I just had to sneeze, but I had a full glass of milk, so I tried to suppress it until I could put my milk down. I let out half-sneeze and now I have a headache and a crick in my neck.