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Essence of Political Science

Essence of Political Science

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How Campaign Ground Games Have Been Revolutionized This year’s Presidential election looks set to be, by a long shot, the most expensive ever. The Romney and Obama campaigns (and their allies) have already spent more than four hundred million dollars on television ads, and are expected to shell out six hundred million more in the next seven weeks. But the most important struggle between the campaigns is taking place elsewhere: in the hands-on, door-to-door fight for votes, called the “ground game.” And, as Sasha Issenberg shows in his enlightening new book, “The Victory Lab,” the ground game has been revolutionized in recent years by technological innovation and clever experimentation, to the point where it may well have a bigger impact on Election Day than all those millions in ads. Even in today’s money-soaked politics, all campaigns have limited resources of money, time, and manpower. Campaigns fail if they waste resources courting voters who are unpersuadable or already persuaded.

Buddhism and the God-idea Do Buddhists believe in a god? No, we do not. There are several reasons for this. The Buddha, like modern sociologists and psychologists, believed that religious ideas and especially the god idea have their origins in fear. The Buddha says: Sleepy-Time Smoothie My husband woke up coughing and a little feverish this morning. UGH... a darn COLD! I knew I'd need to set aside my chores and make the long drive to town to buy him some Nyquil.

Death By Scrabble by Charlie Fish Page 2 of 4 She plays SWEATIER, using all her letters. 24 points plus a 50 point bonus. If it wasn't too hot to move I would strangle her right now. I am getting sweatier. It needs to rain, to clear the air. As soon as that thought crosses my mind, I find a good word. 10 Lesser Known Economic Issues Politics While not an economist in the traditional sense, I am very interested in the study of economics. While not everyone shares this level of interest, I believe people should have an understanding of economics as the field is so important to understanding the world that we live in. Though this list contains ideas that are controversial, it is not intended to promote anger or controversy. Rather, these entries were chosen to shed some light on lesser known, yet important economic issues facing our world, and give readers something to ponder. Please give your opinions on these issues in the comments.

THE ECONOMICS OF HIGH-END PROSTITUTES PLASTIC FLOWERS AND MAWKISH SENTIMENTALITY | April 17th 2008 Lee Jordan/flickr The BBC is a national institution, supported by public funds. 50 Most Influential Books of the Last 50 (or so) Years In compiling the books on this list, the editors at SuperScholar have tried to provide a window into the culture of the last 50 years. Ideally, if you read every book on this list, you will know how we got to where we are today. Not all the books on this list are “great.”

Organic Food Not sure which organic produce is worth shelling out the extra cash for? Each year, the Environmental Working Group publishes its Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce to help consumers reduce their exposure to harmful pesticides by identifying the most contaminated fruits and vegetables. The guide includes EWG's “Dirty Dozen” list—the top foods laden with fungicides and pesticides—so you can make the best choices when it comes to going organic. Here are the current biggest offenders. Author Quote Posters - Design Being around a successful author would surely be exhausting and inspiring in equal amounts. As well as all that wisdom they put into their books, their thought-provoking one-liners would literally be falling out here, there and everywhere. So while you'd beat yourself up for not possessing even a smidgen of that kind of talent, you'd also be maniacally scribbling it all down for dinner party quoting. The rather smart Evan Robertson has created a set of posters that combine iconic author quotes with genius design work. If you don't want at least two of these hanging on your wall then we need to have a serious chat.

The Top 10 Relationship Words That Aren't Translatable Into English Here are my top ten words, compiled from online collections, to describe love, desire and relationships that have no real English translation, but that capture subtle realities that even we English speakers have felt once or twice. As I came across these words I’d have the occasional epiphany: “Oh yeah! That’s what I was feeling...” Mamihlapinatapei (Yagan, an indigenous language of Tierra del Fuego): The wordless yet meaningful look shared by two people who desire to initiate something, but are both reluctant to start. Oh yes, this is an exquisite word, compressing a thrilling and scary relationship moment. It’s that delicious, cusp-y moment of imminent seduction.

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