US 2020 Election Draft

About This Page
This page is a living document that is being used to collect source information through which we can explore collective sense making. Please share links to articles and videos that are hard to make sense of. This space will be best for sharing sources and some initial discussions. For now, it is probably best to refrain from getting into full blown discussion on this document.

How to Contribute
Include a link under the appropriate date to a news article, YouTube link, etc. Keep in mind, some links you access may be behind a paywall. For example, if you subscribe to the New York Times and share a link, others (who do not subscribe) may not be able to see the article. Note: The ‘week’ will always end on a Wednesday to give everyone a chance to look at the links before Thursday night's call.

Instructions for posting:
 * Please copy and paste the template below and fill in under the appropriate date.
 * Look below to find the Media Bias Rating for your source.
 * The hope is that we can use these sources to inform our in person (on Zoom) discussions. For this reason try not to post more than 2 articles a week so we don’t overload ourselves.
 * Pick stories that are hard to make sense of alone!

Headline:

Source:

All Sides Bias:

Link:

Posted By:

Quick Take / Question:

Zoom Calls
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Zoom Link is available from this Google Doc. Click on the link to request access.

On or before - 9/10
Headline: Decided/Undecided

Source: some TV news report

All Sides Bias:

Link:

Posted By: anonymous

Quick Take / Question: Reported: 49% decided and unchangeable, 18% decided and probably unchangeable, 4% undecided and persuadable. These are very unusable statistics 2 months out.

Headline: Ranked Choice Voting

Source: BallotPedia

Ballotpedia is the digital encyclopedia of American politics and elections. Our goal is to inform people about politics by providing accurate and objective information about politics at all levels of government. We are firmly committed to neutrality in our content.

All Sides Bias: Centrist

Link: https://ballotpedia.org/Ranked-choice_voting_(RCV)#Ranked_choice_voting_in_the_United_States

Posted By: anonymous

Quick Take / Question: A ranked-choice voting system (RCV) is an electoral system in which voters rank candidates by preference on their ballots. It’s on the ballot in some states this year, including Mass.

In Favor:
 * levels the playing field for all candidates and encourages candidates to take their case directly to the voters with a focus on the issues, as opposed to letting their party’s ideology speak for them.
 * more likely to produce more moderate candidates and more diverse legislative bodies
 * Prevents fringe candidates from winning when the strongest candidates split the votes.
 * Candidates are encouraged to seek second choice rankings from voters whose favorite candidate is somebody else. This produces election campaigns that are less about attacking opponents.

Opposition:
 * it's more complicated for voters to understand, at least until they get used to it.
 * value in having an actual final round of campaigning between two candidates. That way, voters can see the top two finishers directly battling each other for public support.
 * In the 2013 Australian federal election, 90 percent of constituencies elected the candidate with the most first-preference votes, which suggests that choice ranking had little effect on the outcome.

Headline: New book and tapes, RAGE, by Bob Woodward

Source: Newsweek

All Sides Bias: Left

Link: https://www.newsweek.com/four-key-takeaways-bob-woodward-trump-book-rage-1530871

Posted By: anonymous

Quick Take / Question:
 * Downplaying the virus: Woodward takes heat.
 * Disclosing a secret weapon.
 * North Korean dictator told Trump "everything," including details of Kim's move to have his uncle Jang Song Thaek executed in 2013.
 * My military generals are a "bunch of p*****s"
 * the U.S. military are "suckers" for paying toward South Korea's protection costs.

Headline: Fatal Force

Source: Washington Post

All Sides Bias:Lean Left

Link: https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/investigations/police-shootings-database/

Posted By: anonymous

Quick Take / Question: database of police shootings, broken down by race, armed/unarmed, mental health, etc. I mentioned this database in last week’s meeting.

On or before - 9/04
Headline: Obama’s Task Force on Police 21st Century Policing

Link: https://www.phillypolice.com/assets/directives/TaskForce-FinalReport.pdf

Posted By: anonymous

Quick Take / Question:


 * Pillar 1 . Building Trust & Legitimacy
 * Pillar 2 . Policy & Oversight
 * Pillar 3 . Technology & Social Media
 * Pillar 4 . Community Policing & Crime Reduction
 * Pillar 5 . Training & Education
 * Pillar 6 . Officer Wellness & Safety

Headline:

Source: Real Clear Politics.com

All Sides Bias: Centrist

Link: https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2020/president/us/general_election_trump_vs_biden-6247.html

Posted By: anonymous

Quick Take / Question: Here is a link to a basket of 8 polls on the election from across the spectrum.

Headline: Portland Mayor's Letter to Trump (from Livestream #42)

Source: dark horse podcast

All sides bias:

Link: https://youtu.be/wt1GtxrrO8Kk

Posted by: anonymous

Quick Take / Question: how would a democratic presidential administration handle the riots and protests that have persisted for 90 days? What is the logic in letting this continue? I agree with the sentiment of some of these actions (like abolishing the police) being tantrum like.

On or before - 8/26
Headline: Former DHS head warns Election Officers to prepare for election disruptions with Plan B

Source: Amanpour and Company

All Sides Bias: Lean Left

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKKiQJ154_E

Posted By: anonymous

Quick Take / Question: Michael Chertoff, former head of Homeland Security under Bush II and former federal judge, warns states’ Chief Election Officers to prepare for election disruption and interference by making a Plan B and be prepared to implement it in real time during the election. Election interference is already happening from outside the US by Russia and others, and from the inside.

On or before - 8/19
Headline: Republicans quietly push mail-in voting despite Trump claims

Source: Politico

All Sides Bias: Lean Left

Link: https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/19/republicans-mail-in-voting-trump-398774

Posted By: anonymous

Quick Take / Question: From what I can see, both Republicans and Democrats are encouraging voters to use mail in voting. Trump’s claim that mail-in voting can somehow be hacked seems unfounded. Many states before Covid use mail-in voting and it seems to work fine for them. Does Trump actually think in person voting would give him the advantage? Or is this a technique to stir the pot?

Source: Washington Post

All sides Bias: Lean Left

Link: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/08/01/just-how-big-problem-is-voter-suppression/

Posted By: anonymous

Quick Take: Related to the notion of voter fraud from Robert’s politico link. Claims of voter suppression are frequently cited by Democrats.

AllSides Media Bias
Please refer to the Media Bias Chart provided by AllSides: https://www.allsides.com/sites/default/files/AllSidesMediaBiasChart-Version2.jpg