Research and writing at the intersection of technology, politics and ethics
Published on the barackobama.com blog
Successful presidential campaigns are built from the ground up—perhaps more literally than you might think. While it may have seemed like a small contribution at first when Dr. Marie Metoyer brought folding chairs to our Manchester office, these chairs are helping us hold ever-larger phone banks here in the Queen City. And Marie’s contribution to the campaign doesn’t stop there. Continue reading “What she never thought she’d see”
I’m currently in New Hampshire, so this week I bore witness to one of the more extraordinary spectacles in the modern political world: the New Hampshire primary. Every four years, candidates from one or both of the main American parties head to the state to fight for their party’s nomination. New Hampshire is a north-eastern state, usually frozen over at this time of year, but its small population (42nd in the Union) and geographic size (46th) should not belie its importance in choosing presidents. New Hampshire proudly lays claim to being the first in the nation to hold its primary contest every four years (this is in fact prescribed in state law), and the state’s residents tend to take this role very seriously. Continue reading “The 2012 Presidential Election – book review”
Published in Exepose.
On November 2 Americans will head to the polls and vote in a series of congressional, state and local elections. These midterm elections are so-called because they fall half way through a President’s four year term. Therefore, one name that will definitely not be on any ballot paper is Barack Obama. Such is the continuing media and public fascination with the man that the elections are being considered a referendum on the President’s first two years in office. I have to conclude, having spent eight weeks working on a Senate race this summer, that American elections and these ones in particular are about so much more than the incumbent of the Oval Office. Continue reading “Time for Tea in the USA?”
Published on the Power2010 website.
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04.05.2010 // by Josh Cowls
In my first week collecting signatures and canvassing opinion for Power2010, I was struck by the levels of disillusionment with politicians. Asked whether they wanted to help clean up politics, a common response was “Guy Fawkes had it right!” Continue reading “Blowing Up Politics in the 21st Century”
One of my quirks is my need to have rolling news radio such as BBC Five Live on in the background as I’m falling asleep and when I wake up. It’s now quite habitual so, as with most habits, it goes largely unquestioned, but while it has kept me precociously informed for well over a decade now (the first news story I can remember being covered is the NATO air strikes of Bosnia) this unabating audible addiction has its drawbacks. For although news radio probably filled the psychological and vocal void left when I was too old to be read bedtime stories, rolling news and fairy tales quite obviously share little in common. Continue reading “The News Cycle and my Sleep Cycle”
Josh Cowls 