You gotta love the folks at The Onion. Video available here.

posting by Ben Goldman

Michael Moore’s website is an interesting place to visit to read about his take on election 2008. http://www.michaelmoore.com/

He also has some very helpful links on registering to vote - I think this is a worthwhile site to check out.

*Posting by Jane Verostek.

The University of American Politics has added their voice to the over 160 leading American universities and other organizations calling for presidential candidates to debate on the scientific and technological challenges facing the United States.

Science Debate 2008: A Concerned Citizens’ Initiative

Science Debate 2008 is an initiative calling for presidential candidates to share their views on the issues of the environment, health and medicine, and science and technology policy. “The crucial role of science and technology in many policy decisions facing the nation and world cannot be understated,” said UAP President, Robert Smith. “Whoever our next president is, they will have to face these issues.”

Will the candidates debate science?

A debate proposed for April 18 by Science Debate initiative organizers has been officially abandoned after Obama declined and Clinton and McCain failed to commit. In the same time frame, both Clinton and Obama have agreed to participate in the Compassion Forum, a conversation on faith and values to be broadcast by the Church Communication Network, on April 13 at Messiah College in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Science Debate 2008 has now presented candidates with three possible May dates before the Oregon primaries on May 20.

Science Debate 2008 Signatories

Science Debate 2008’s “Call for a Presidential Debate on Science & Technology” has been signed by:

• The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
• The Council on Competitiveness
• The National Academy of Sciences
• The National Academy of Engineering
• The Institute of Medicine
• Nobel laureates and other leading scientists
• Major business leaders,
• Congresspersons of both major political parties
• Religious leaders
• Over 160 leading universities and associations, including now the UAP

For more on Science Debate 2008, visit their official website at http://www.sciencedebate2008.com.

*Posting by Gail Wiese

The 2008 Presidential race is on the minds of many Americans. Obama, Clinton and McCain are trying to build credibility, raise funds to continue campaigning and debating one another on a daily basis, meanwhile the newspapers and other media outlets are reporting every nuance and angle possible.

But what happens after the votes are cast? The next President is going to inherit monumental challenges. The economy, the war in Iraq, health care, education, international affairs, the next direction of the space program and a plethora of other issues.

The following articles are just a few opinions on what needs to happen when our next President is sworn into office:

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=25531

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/03/22/MNNGVLT77.DTL

http://www.brookings.edu/multimedia/video/2008/0306_issues_aaron.aspx

Our next president could become overwhelmed by the prospects of solving all problems for all people. However, if we choose our next president wisely, he or she should view their election as a tremendous opportunity to do good, solve problems and create a positive mark in history.

–Jean

A student newspaper in Syracuse, New York had a recent article that discussed where faculty donations went - to what political party and candidate. This is an interesting article for students of UAP to read and possibly conduct a poll here.

The 4-11-08 issue of the Daily Orange - Student Newspaper - Syracuse University - Syracuse, New York

Their Donations revealed - of faculty members who donate to presidential campains most of their dollars go to Democrats following the national trends by Melissa Daniels.

The faculty of Syracuse University is making its contribution to democracy this election cycle - a sum of at least $28,000.

And 39 of the 45 contributions made by employees of Syracuse since Jan. 2007 have gone toward Democratic candidates, according to the U.S. Federal Election Commission records. David Murray, an associate dean of advancement at SU, gave $500 to Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) in January. He was convinced Obama was the candidate to back after listening to a speech the candidate gave about race. “His speech on race was the first in my lifetime that anyone had talked about race to the American public as if we were adults,” Murray said. “That was the day I gave him that money.” Going by the numbers, it’s the education industry - not just SU - that leans left. Massie Ritsch, communications director for the Center for Responsive Politics, said donations from the educators are usually largely Democratic. “The education industry is as Democratic as the oil industry is Republican,” Ritsch said. The Center for Responsive Politics is a non-partisan, non-profit research group that tracks political donations and analyzes its effects on elections and public policy, according to its Web site. So far in the 2008 presidential campaign, 75 percent of donations from educators have gone to Democratic candidates, according to the Center for Responsive Politics Web site. The field is ranked 10th out of 80 tracked industries, contributing almost $18 million so far. “Democrats can count on money from college professors and other educators,” Ritsch said.

Here’s the breakdown of contributions since Jan. 2007 from Syracuse University employees to the 2008 presidential candidates:

*$8,850 went to Sen. Hillary Clinton (D.-N.Y.) from 17 individual donations

*$7,500 went to Obama from 13 individual donations

*$500 went to Sen. John McCain (R.-Ariz.) from two individual donations

*$250 went to Republican Mitt Romney from one donation

*$250 went to Gov. Bill Richardson from one donation

*$200 went to Sen. John Edwards from one donation

An additional $1,800 was donated to the Democratic National Committee from three separate donations.
To read the rest of this article go here.

*Posting by Jane Verostek.

The Republican National Convention will be in Minneapolis this election year. It is set to be September 1-4, 2008. There are a number of (official and un-official) sites already out there covering the convention details.

http://www.gopconvention.com/

http://gopconvention.thehill.com/

http://www.gopconventionreport.com/

* Posting by Jane Verostek.

The Democratic National Convention will be in Denver this election year. It is set to be August 25-28, 2008. There are a number of (official and un-official) sites already out there covering the convention details.

http://www.demconvention.com/

http://www.democrats.org/a/conventiona/

http://www.denverdnc2008.com/

*Posting by Jane Verostek.