All Nighter in Congress

#standwithRand

One Week

11-6-2012

Photojournalists Dirty Secret

That quiet man or woman behind the camera harbors a rather dirty secret……at one time or another they have purposely taken less than flattering photos of politicians with whom they disagree politically.  Photojournalists, myself included, instinctively understand the visual nature of human beings.  A good picture can capture a moment, effectively freezing the narrative and invoking an emotional response with the viewer. A photographer can create whatever impression they want with selective editing of their photos.

Pulitzer prize winning photographer Eddie Adams  once wrote about  the power of photography –   “Still photographs are the most powerful weapon in the world. People believe them; but photographs do lie, even without manipulation. They are only half-truths.” 

In a recent article on Buzzfeed, Amy Odell examines the difference in the quantity and quality of photographs taken of Ann Romney on the campaign trail as compared to FLOTUS.  The article highlighted the ugly truth that photojournalists will purposely photograph politicians with whom they disagree with politically in unflattering angles or apply hideous crops during post processing of the photos. These photos are then submitted for sale to photo stock sites such as Getty and then published in newspapers and periodicals.  A ton of ink and pixels have been generated on the topic of bias in the main stream media, particularly with the arena  of modern day politics. The same can be said of photojournalism. In this case, photos, not words are used to shape an opinion.

The article focused on Getty Image editorial collections but Getty is not the only stock photography site on the block. AP Images from 7/1/2012 to 10/28/2012 reveal similar findings in photo quality of both women. FLOTUS had a total of 563 photos to Ann Romney’s 262 photos for the same time period.  P.P.E. Agency had no photos of Ann Romney and 105 photos of FLOTUS with a focus on her European trips and her derriere.   Reuters compiled slide shows of both FLOTUS and Ann Romney. FLOTUS garnered 40 photos in the slide show and Ann Romney with 28 photos. The differences in the slide shows reveal a startling level of  editorial control in an attempt to shape the public visual impressions of both women. I am serious. Go check out the slide shows and pay particular attention to the photo of both women addressing their respective national convention this summer. To make it easier – go to photo 12 on the FLOTUS slide show and photo 3 on Ann Romney’s slide show.  Remember these are the stock photography sites your local newspaper typically go to for images of national events and the photojournalists who work for these companies know this.

Part of my passion for photojournalism is to do my part to fill in the ‘half-truths’ with my own independent brand of photojournalism. I’ve covered political rallies since 2005 always pushing the technological envelope and being frustrated quite often 🙂  Today, the technology to instantly share photos instantaneously has revolutionized photojournalism. It is no longer a walled garden of select photographers crafting and editing their photos to shape public impressions.  Everyone with a cell phone or a point and shoot digital camera can be a citizen photojournalist – together we can fill in the ‘half-truths’ of photography.

Oh P.S.: FLOTUS = First Lady of the United States.

What are your thoughts on photojournalism? Share them in the comments section.

Rebuild America Bus Tour Rolls into Altoona, PA

H/T Marathon Pundit.

Rebuild America bus tour is holding a rally this Friday, November 2nd (voting day for some of you) in Altoona, PA. This organization has identified 5 swing states that it plans to focus its energy – Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Iowa. They believe that winning 3 of the 5 states is key for a Romney/Ryan victory and to that end have planned rallies in each of these states.

The Pennsylvania rally details are below. If you have time go check out the rally and don’t forget to take photos!

Date/Time:
Friday, November 2nd
5:00 PM – 6:30 PM

Rally Location:
Bavarian Hall
1509 13th St
Altoona, PA 16601

Pennsylvania is showing signs of breaking from the tradition of electing the Democrat Presidential candidate this year. Although nothing in politics is certain until election day, polling data is beginning to show a trend towards both the Romney/Ryan ticket and Republican Senate candidate, Tom Smith. Rasmussen is now reporting the US Senate race in PA is essentially a tie.  While I am hesitant to call both of these races in Pennsylvania, this election will go one of two ways in PA: Tom Smith and Mitt Romney win PA or Casey JR and Obama will take PA.  This election comes down to a numbers game in Pennsylvania as there are more registered democrats than republicans. The outcome of the election depends upon which party can get more people to the polls. For Romney and Smith to have a credible chance to win in Pennsylvania two things need to happen – Republicans need a strong GOTV  drive in the suburban counties especially around Philadelphia combined with a sluggish, dispirited Democrat voter turnout in both Allegheny and Philadelphia counties.

 And that is my two cents on the election predictions. What are your thoughts on the PA presidential and senate race?

10-11-12 Ryan vs Biden

UPDATE: Biden is living up to expectation as ‘The Angry Old Man” in the debacle of a debate.

Paul Ryan is the clear adult in this debate. The choice cannot be any clearer.

Source: etsy.com via Tania on Pinterest

 

 

It is VP debate party time! The Ryan – Biden debate is shaping up to be one of the most entertaining debates in modern history. I’m so looking forward to watching this debate while snacking on these specially prepared debate treats:

 

Red, White, and Blue Strawberries:

Source: thesisterscafe.com via Tania on Pinterest

 

 

 

Independence Day Cupcakes:

Source: familybites.blogspot.com.au via Tania on Pinterest

 

 

 

Toast those who are about to debate with Witches Brew:

Source: blog.vegas.com via Tania on Pinterest

 

 

Don’t forget the Cheetos – Joe Scarborough’s favorite snack!

 

Source: google.com via Sara on Pinterest

 

What are your plans for debate night?

Democrat Messaging Problem

This presidential campaign season has been witness to a remarkable erosion of the once formidable message discipline within the Democrat Party. Since the DNC convention where the most talked about event was when the DNC delegates booed God to Obama’s inability to articulate his American vision during the first presidential debate and now the latest fumble centering around a Democrat State Representative in Pennsylvania who completely rejects the premise of our Pledge of Allegiance.

Democrat state Representative Babette Josephs (D-Philadelphia) who is resigning after 28 years refused to state the pledge of allegiance due to her objection to the inclusion of ‘under God’ in the Pledge.  It is understood that she can omit the phrase she finds offensive when asked to lead the pledge. From a pure marketing perspective reading stories like this is like scraping metal on a chalkboard. Ouch!

The take home message of her statement reads more like this: As a Democrat, Do not trust me to look after your well being. I pledge loyalty to nothing outside my own personal whims. It is a matter of trust.  Looking at this from two real world angles; what if  a human resource associate is interviewing Babette Josephs for a staff position where she finds certain aspects of the company’s mission statement to be offensive and refuses to abide by them?  What level of confidence would the HR associate have in entrusting the future prosperity of the company in Babette’s hands?  Parents considering hiring Babette to care for their child where d she finds parts of their expectations to be offensive and refuses to abide by them. How comfortable would the parents be in entrusting their child with her?  Again, it is a matter of trust.

Along with trust,  words ALWAYS matter. Democrats seem to be off kilter with their messaging strategy this election cycle. Pennsylvania is a purple state and at this point I believe the  state could go to either party in November. It surprises me to see these stories leaking out so close to a very critical election. I was expecting the well oiled messaging machine of 2008 to be right back in place for the 2012 election cycle since the same people, more or less, are running this machine.

What are your thoughts on Democrat messaging versus Republican messaging during this campaign?

 

2012 Independence Hall Occupation

Introducing ‘Occupy Unmasked‘. Let’s start with what we know about this group. You can read my early posts on Philly Occupation HERE

Philadelphia was chosen to be the site of a national conference (General Assembly).  What the city has been enduring  a tattered band of roving fringe activists trying to annoy as many Philadelphia residents and visitors as possible.  Organizing marches during rush hour traffic in the city endears you to exactly NO ONE.

Yesterday, 26 Occupation supporters were arrested during a protest outside our beautiful convention center. Again, this activity does not garner public sympathy, just arrest warrants. *sigh*

Pennsylvania Primary Voter ID Information and a Few Endorsements

UPDATE: Welch concedes; Tom Smith is the presumptive winner of the Republican primary PA Senate Race

UPDATE: Calling the Democrat Attorney General Race for Kathleen Kane

UPDATE: An ousting of ‘blue dog’ democrats in PA? As good as it is for the nation that Altmire and Murphy to have lost, they (the moveon.org wing) served their purpose and were expendable commodities. The Lid takes a look at the alarming claiming of the Democrat party by unions. Question is when will the Democrat party be owned by Democrats?

Pennsylvania law now requires all voters to present a photo ID in order to cast a vote. Tuesday’s primary is a dress rehearsal for the November general election. You will be asked for an ID, but not barred from voting if you do not have one on your person.

The Committee of 70 has put together a voter guide explaining the details of the Voter ID law. Via Committee of Seventy:

WHAT TYPES OF PHOTO IDS ARE ACCEPTABLE IN NOVEMBER?

Acceptable PHOTO IDs include:
•    A PA driver’s license: currently valid or expired less than 12 months.
•    An ID issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT): currently valid or expired less than 12 months.
•    A currently valid U.S. passport. Expired passports will not be accepted.
•    An active duty or retired U.S. military ID, including an ID for members of the PA National Guard: an indefinite expiration date will be accepted.
•    A currently valid military dependent’s ID. Expired IDs will not be accepted.
•    A currently valid employee ID issued by federal, PA, PA county or PA municipal government. Expired IDs will not be accepted.
•    A currently valid ID issued by a PA university, college, seminary, community college or two-year college to students, faculty, employees and alumni. Expired IDs will not be accepted.
•    A currently valid ID issued by a PA care facility (such as a long-term care nursing facility, assisted living residence or a personal care home). Expired IDs will not be accepted.

I have few politicians to endorse in this primary and with no further ado, here are my endorsed candidates:

On the Republican side:

PA Senator – Tom Smith or Sam Rohrer
PA State Representative – Dave Kralle
President – Mitt Romney

On the Democrat side:

Kathleen Kane – Attorney General – it was the following video that convinced me to endorse her:

Tonight on the Snark Factor

Listen live to the Snark Factor every Wednesday night at 1opm EST on FTR Radio where I will be joining Fingers Malloy, Irish Duke to bring news bites at the top of the hour followed by sparkling chats with invited guests. If you are a fan of my blog, you’ll know that I have an eclectic taste in news of the day.

On tap for Wednesday night:

• West Chester Area School District is an affiliate of a radical group tied to Derrick Bell teachings.
• TV Weatherman sues CBS for sex discrimination. Claims he was passed over for ‘unqualified, attractive young women’. Heh, I only thought this happened on CNN.
• 7 Mistakes Women Make with Men…I am amused.
• I am Hester Prynne.

Ohhh..Johnny Depp and director Tim Burton unite in a stunning remake of ‘Dark Shadows’.

A Better Use of Three Thousand Dollars

While I was away at Blissdom…

Sandra Fluke flashed on to the national stage recently with her demand to have her $3,000 dollar contraception tab picked up by Georgetown University.

Ya know what?  I don’t give a flying fig how much a 30 year old adult woman decides to spend on birth control. I don’t want to know her contraceptive costs, I don’t want to know why she feels the need to splash out the cash, but most importantly, I don’t want anyone in this fragile economic environment compelled to support such an expense.

Cathy Cleaver Ruse writing for the Wall Street Journal remarked on the statement provided by Sandra Fluke:

She testified that all around her at Georgetown she could see the faces of students who were suffering because of Georgetown’s refusal to abandon its Catholic principles. 

Really?  According to Sandra,  students in the midst of law school are suffering over Catholic principles; not midterms, finals or demanding law professors? Wow, Georgetown Law School seems to be a cakewalk, where do I sign up?

Actually, Sandra’s statements to House Democrat Steering and Policy Committee brought illumination to the ease of access and low cost of contraceptives.  Today, American women have easy access to a wide range of safe, affordable contraceptives than in any time in our nation’s history.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for women struggling to provide healthy, nutritious meals for their families. Sadly, it is easier and less costly for a women to purchase contraceptives than it is to provide healthy meals for their families.

Feeding America shares sobering statistics on hunger in America:

• In 2010, 48.8 million Americans lived in food insecure households, 32.6 million adults and 16.2 million children.
• In 2010, 14.5 percent of households (17.2 million households) were food insecure.
• In 2010, 5.4 percent of households (6.4 million households) experienced very low food security.
• In 2010, households with children reported food insecurity at a significantly higher rate than those without children, 20.2 percent compared to 11.7 percent.
• In 2010, households that had higher rates of food insecurity than the national average included households with children (20.2 percent), especially households with children headed by single women (35.1 percent) or single men (25.4 percent), Black non-Hispanic households (25.1 percent) and Hispanic households (26.2 percent).
• In 2009, 8.0 percent of seniors living alone (925,000 households) were food insecure.
• Food insecurity exists in every county in America, ranging from a low of 5 percent in Steele County, ND to a high of 38 percent in Wilcox County, AL

My hometown, Philadelphia county, has a child food insecurity rate of 20.4% according to Feeding America. Interesting to note that unemployment rather than poverty is strong indicator for food insecurity in families.

Looking at these statistics, I can’t help but be appalled by the sheer arrogance of Sandra Fluke. While women struggle to feed their families, Sandra most likely has never gone a day without a meal, yet demands public support for an expensive lifestyle choice.

You know what sounds like a good idea. Show Ms. Fluke where she can purchase contraceptive for $9/month and use the money saved to support food banks providing meals to food insecure families. According to Feeding America, $100 dollars equals 800 meals.  In the end, Fluke can maintain her lifestyle choice and actually make a meaningful contribution to society – a win/win situation.

We have bigger issues in this nation, a moribund economy forcing more and more families into food insecurity situations and we are being distracted by a woman with an inflated sense of entitlement.  Let’s keep our focus critical  issues such as building a better economy and finding ways to provide low cost healthy food to families at risk.

Okay, I’m off my soapbax. Questions? Comments? Feel free to opine in the comment section.