Poll: Americans Concerned About Big Government

At 57%, the number of Americans who say the government is doing too many things that should be left to individuals and businesses is at a 10-year high.

 

The Problem with Online Petitions…

Online petitions can be a great way for a group of people to show solidarity with a belief, value, idea, or choice. Until recently, I was a fan of online petitions, because they were a great way to give folks who were relatively new to online activism a voice. I have even expressed on several occasions that one of the benefits of having a substantial, quality online social network is that when you need an online petition signed – you have a way to get the word out quickly. Ft. Hard Knox has promoted a few online petitions, and encouraged political conservatives to sign them.

Ok, Jenn, so what’s your problem today?

I’m glad you asked.

Leftists used online petitions, fundraisers, and websites in the last election season as a very effective phishing tool. Who can forget this: Obama Phishing Expedition Reels in a Whopper? For those that need a reminder, a “phishing” expedition online is the collection and building of a database of names, addresses, phone numbers, e-mail addresses and other personal information. There is some “suspicion” now that those databases are now being used to promote the White House agenda (although this has yet to be proven).

Unfortunately, there are a number of webmasters on the political right who have decided that this tactic worked so well for the left, we might as well do it, too. Politicians and non-profits of every stripe are now shamelessly using the online petition to gain the personal contact info of as many folks as they can. What will this information be used for? Who will it be sold to? It’s hard to know. In many cases, it will simply be used as a contact list the next time that politician or group needs money or a bunch of signatures. In other cases, however, these lists are sold and traded, and there’s no telling where they’ll end up.

I have been bombarded lately with requests to sign online petitions. I occassionally will sign one if I’m familiar with the group or politician, if I’m relatively sure they are actually gathering the information to use to prove a point regarding the “will of the people,” and if I know I’m really not going to mind getting numerous e-mails over the next several months and years from that group or politician. In most cases, however, it is almost impossible to tell who is gathering the information or what they are planning to do with it.

Another problem with all of the online petitions is that they have become a substitute for effective activism. Perhaps we feel like we’ve “done something,” or “made our voice heard,” on an issue by signing one, but a little common sense will tell us that there is a limit to how seriously these online petitions (signed all too often by people using fake names and contact information because of the concerns listed above, or because they are spamming the petitions with multiple entries) will be taken. These internet “petitions” are not at all similar to the signature petitions that are gathered at the local level, and used for grass-roots activism. The effort toward finding, trying to log-on to, and filling out personal information on these online petitions might be more effectively spent on contacting your legislator.

 

Gov. Sanford Has Found the Key to Combating the Democrats

Governor Sanford’s TV Ad on the stimulus bill and government debt is hitting a home run according to Frank Lunz, who analyzes such ads.

 

Long Lines at Polls

I’ve been voting since 1976 and I’ve never missed an election in that time.  I’ve also never experienced lines like I did this morning.  The attached photos are from my cell phone so the quality isn’t that good but you can clearly see the line is long.

My wife and I arrived at the polls around 6:40 this morning.  Already there was maybe 200 people in line and by the time the polls opened the line was up to 300.  We finally finished at 8:10 and by then the line was at least 400 people.  It stretched all the way around the building!

While I was in line I was contemplating what such long lines might mean.  The pundits are pretty much agreed that all the early voting has benefited Barack Obama.  Does heavy turnout on election day help McCain or Obama?  I confess I have no idea!

One thing seems clear.  This looks like the highest voter turnout in my lifetime!  I’ve heard predictions as high as 70% which would be unprecedented.  Many will say this is a good thing.  They reason that the most important thing is that citizens participate.  The more participation the better.

I’m all for participation but I’m concerned about people who vote without having much or any knowledge of the issues or candidates.  Howard Stern’s bit where he sent someone out to talk to Obama supporters is a case in point.  They claimed McCain’s views were Obama’s and these people were fully supportive of every McCain position so long as they believed it was Obama’s positions.  Clearly these people are not voting on issues and appear to have no idea what the issues even are!  Perhaps that is inevitable but that doesn’t make it good.

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Also see: Michelle Malkin – Election Day: America votes

NYU Department of Psychology – Political Attitudes and Voting Behavior – Survey

From the New York University Department of Psychology:

A research team from the Psychology Department at New York University, headed by Professor Yaacov Trope and supported by the National Science Foundation, is investigating the cognitive causes of voting behavior, political preferences, and candidate evaluations throughout the course of the 2008 U.S. Presidential election. This stage of the study focuses on the information people use to inform evaluations during the last few weeks before the election. They seek respondents of all political leanings from all over the country (and from the rest of the world) to complete a 15-minute questionnaire, the responses to which will be completely anonymous.

If you’re interested, click HERE to complete the survey

 

Poll – Who Won the Last Presidential Debate?

 

WWF Web 2.0 Survey (#2) Results (Update)

Thanks to everyone who participated in the WWF Web 2.0 Survey this week. The results are here.

Among those that participated in the survey, the top five courses that respondants were interested in were (in this order):

1. Basic Search Engine Optimization for Bloggers (SEO)
2. What’s a ‘Wiki’ and what do I do with it?
3. Using the Social Networks to Promote your Blog or Project
4. How to survive on Digg
5. Using Facebook more Effectively

We had some wonderful suggestions, which included resources already available on some of these topics, and may be able to share those with you very soon. We also got some great topic suggestions for future e-Newsletter articles, and we’re already beginning to work on those – the first will be in this coming Tuesday’s e-Newsletter.

Thanks, again, for your help, everyone.