Frank: How Republicans Hijacked the Midterms
Posted in Main Blog (All Posts) on November 10th, 2014 12:08 am by HL
Frank: How Republicans Hijacked the Midterms
Thomas Frank, Salon: Once again, Republicans used their patented brand of fake populism to make Democrats look like chumps Last week, with the Republican campaign robo-calls coming one after another over the phone in suburban Kansas City — at least a dozen of them every day, the right-wing super PACs’ version of a World War I artillery barrage — I picked out one phrase from the hailstorm of words: “Washington’s liberal class.” That phrase, delivered with sneering emphasis on the second word, may have been a key to the whole confusing affair. Consider the many ironies of the 2014 elections. Georgia, the state with the highest unemployment in the nation, just elected as its United States senator a businessman who is “proud” of his career of outsourcing.
Game Violence Not Linked to Youth Violence
Gory computer games and video nasties do not make teenagers more aggressive — and may even turn them off violence. Films such as Clockwork Orange, games including Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto, and even rock music have been blamed for fueling youth violence. But a new study has found no link between being exposed to such violent media and real-world violent acts. Researcher Christopher Ferguson of Stetson University said, “Society has a limited amount of resources and attention to devote to the problem of reducing crime. There is a risk that identifying the wrong problem, such as media violence, may distract society from more pressing concerns such as poverty, education and vocational disparities and mental health.”