Bad Word: “Jihad”

I sympathize with American Muslims about the misuse of the word “Jihad” by, well, virtually everyone, but I was flabbergasted by the ad campaign launched by the Council on American-Islamic relations in Chicago to redefine the word. The campaign uses real Muslims talking about “My Jihad.”

To quote from the New York Times story: [...]

Great News for Democrats: Republicans Think PR Will Win the White House

A recent gathering of the Republican National Committee aimed at plotting their comeback after their stinging 2012 national election defeats actually reveals a consensus that should sweeten the chances for Democrats in future contests.

According to reports on NPR and in he New York Times (G.O.P Mulls Strategy from Obama’s Playbook), Republican leaders are [...]

The Battle for Degrees

Community Colleges vs. For Profit institutions. It is a battle you may not have anticipated, but thing are getting ugly. According to a recent story, the University of Phoenix has spent years and millions of dollars lobbying against community college expansion in Arizona, while at the same time launching “partnerships” that make it appear [...]

Skewed Coverage Helped Skewer Health Care Reform

As we arrive at the day of reckoning for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in the U.S. Supreme Court, this excellent media analysis from the Pew Center for People and the Press reveals how media coverage of the issue contributed to public confusion and increasing opposition.

While many of us noted the failure of [...]

Before You Climb Out on a Limb…

… make sure your “friends” aren’t carrying saws.

While we may never know why the Susan G. Komen For the Cure Foundation reversed its outrageous decision to stop funding breast cancer screening programs at Planned Parenthood centers, I have to believe that internal disunity played a major role.

While any organization puts itself in [...]

Komen Cutoff of Planned Parenthood Has a Familiar “Ring”

The news that the Susan G. Komen Foundation had decided to eliminate funding for Planned Parenthood’s breast cancer screening program has touched off a firestorm of much-deserved criticism of Komen.

This latest move is part of a global drive by anti-contraception extremists who are trying to end programs that give women control over their [...]

Occupy Wall Street Disrupts More Than Traffic

Nearly everyone seems engaged by the Occupy Wall Street protests and their spread around the world.

I am heartened somewhat to see that the media has finally begun to show some respect. The tenor of recent coverage has become a bit more objective—particularly when compared to the derisive tone it took at the beginning. [...]

Montpelier, Vermont – After the Great Flood

I had been feeling really low after traveling to Vermont and seeing the horrendous damage done by Hurricane Irene’s flooding.  Roads and bridges were swept away and more importantly, people’s homes and livelihoods destroyed. I saw countless acres of crops destroyed by polluted flood waters, home after home disgorged of all their former occupants’ [...]

Bad Word: “Like”

 

At this year’s Communications Network Meeting in Boston, I heard a great presentation by MoveOn.org founder Eli Pariser.

Among other sobering observations that can be found in his recent book The Filter Bubble: What the Internet is Hiding From You, Pariser points out the stultifying impact of the ever-increasing use of the [...]

Mobilizing Support for Student Success

Over the last two years I’ve been privileged to work on the California Leadership Alliance for Student Success (CLASS) to engage with a select group of community college presidents and trustees focused on boosting graduation and certificate completion in their colleges. Led by the University of Texas’s Kay and Byron McClenney, preeminent national leaders [...]