Great article! thanks for the infuriating info.

One gripe though,

Can we all stop using the misleading phrase "pro-business conservative" to describe the anti-regulation, pro-pollution crowd?

A more accurate term would be "pro robber barren conservatives" or "Laissez-faire capitalists" or "Darwinian capitalists" or "corporate welfare advocates" or my favorite, "Dickensian capitalists."

"Pro-business" is THIER language and automatically makes Democrats and sensible regulation "anti-business." Our policies aren't anti-business, so why do we actively help Republicans frame them that way?

For the overwhelming majority of folks that are just barely paying attention, framing is everything.

Posted at March 28, 2008 1:18 PM in response to Today's Must Read

Paxman,

Thanks for shedding additional light on this, but I think the OJ example was MUCH worse than this. That photo was doctored locally -- TIME darkened his skin specifically AND added more contrast -- meaning it was definitely deliberate and done to make him look blacker. This photo looks like it was adjusted globally -- just more contrast overall -- meaning it could easily have happened unintentionally while changing file formats or just done to create a "heavier" mood without any thought to making Obama look darker skinned.

Comparing this to the famously egregious OJ photo doctoring which caused Time to issue a very public apology isn't fair to HRC. Blame her for her ridiculous plagiarism attacks or for the "slum lord" nonsense, but this is the equivalent of picking an unflattering photo of your opponent to show in your ads, which almost every candidate has done since elections began.

Posted at March 5, 2008 2:23 PM in response to Clinton Camp darkens Obama's skin in Ad

This is nitpicking in the extreme.

I'm a professional photographer (and Obama supporter) and it looks to me like all that was done to the photo was to increase the contrast (blacks are blacker, whites are whiter) The photos you show for comparison are very low contrast. A boost in contrast isn't even necessarily intentional, it can happen just by changing image formats. Contrast is also different on every TV and computer monitor. The ideal contrast for this image is somewhere in between yours and theirs. I'm sorry, but to accuse Hillary of race-baiting because she boosted the contrast in an image is to venture into loony-land.

Hope your enjoying the trip!

Posted at March 5, 2008 12:44 PM in response to Clinton Camp darkens Obama's skin in Ad