Hint: Click on the "full screen" button in the bottom right hand corner for the best view.
So, what's the point of He/She/They Said.com? Well, a couple things. First, while Twitter is growing, there are still Twitter-phobes out there who, while not anxious to tweet or be tweeted at, still have an interest in the news and campaign chatter. For them, the site is a place to stay in the loop without having sign up or use Twitter yourself. In other words, eavesdrop away but don't worry about getting trapped in a bad conversation.
And second, for the Twitter users in our midst, the site provides a compilation of quality information sources so you can find, follow and interact with them yourself.
It's not a complex idea, but one I had not seen put to use for Michigan news, politics and commentary. So, here it is.
As the video says, check it out, "like" it on Facebook, share it with others on Facebook, Twitter and through email, bookmark the site, give us your feedback and come back often.
]]>It was a good idea for an article, taking an inside look at the importance of campaign staff and who candidates for governor have chosen to surround themselves with. Here's a sampling:
STAFF AN UNHERALDED, BUT CRITICAL, PIECE IN GOV. RACE
Their names may not be on the ballot, but when voters make their choice for governor this year, their choice in many ways is a referendum on the work done by the staff for each of the eight major candidates for governor.
With the deadline to file their signatures a week away, the campaigns have assembled their teams, which will manage the organizations charged with getting the candidates to victory in the August 3 primary, and then, the November general election. And this year, with the first open seat race for governor since 2002, there are many more opportunities to work on a gubernatorial campaign.
And,
]]>Matt Resch of Resch Strategies and a veteran of Republican campaigns for more than a decade in Michigan, said a good staff should be able to take the distractions of a campaign away from the candidate, who can focus on getting out his or her message.
"(Candidates) have to watch every word and be prepared," he said. "And not have to worry about whether petition signatures are being gathered or whether a press release got out on time or making sure that donations are collected and recorded correctly."
Mr. Resch said there is no formula in assembling a good staff in terms of trusted longtime hands, new blood or hired guns. "It comes down to what formula allows the candidate to perform best," he said.
]]>MIRS Capitol Capsule, Monday, January 25, 2010
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"You see, the House doesn't want the Senate to look good, and the Senate doesn't want the House to look good. So, this way nobody looks good and everyone gets what they want."
- Political consultant Matt RESCH on why no government reforms proposed by the Legislature will go anywhere in 2010.
Dave Barry's Year in Review for 2009.
It's 4,316 words long. 4,312 of them are hilarious. The other four are just very funny.
Happy New Year!
]]>]]>Dear readers: Due to press problems delivery of today's Lansing State Journal is delayed. Delivery will resume when the problem is fixed.
]]>MIRS Capitol Capsule, Monday, November 23, 2009
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"(Lt. Gov.) John CHERRY can't just go behind the Romney Building, plant a bag of magic beans and climb to a world where (Gov. Jennifer) Granholm doesn't exist."
-- Matt RESCH of Resch Strategies when asked at what point Cherry, the leading 2010 Democratic gubernatorial candidate, should distance himself from Granholm.
Detroit's now a three-newspaper town.
A third daily covering the region, the Detroit Daily Press, made its single-copy debut Monday. Based in Royal Oak in offices formerly occupied by The Daily Tribune, the Daily Press published its first edition, containing 20 pages split between two sections.
I'm fascinated to see how this goes.
]]>It wasn't long ago that our favorite local public radio station - and by writing the phrase "favorite local public radio station" I've aged myself 15 years, easy - abandoned its all-jazz format for a mostly-junk format. It's not that the music they play now is bad, it's just not what you ever really want to listen to while in the kitchen, making dinner, feeding a toddler, having a cocktail or all of the above. It's just not a station you'd be drawn to listen to... and we don't.
But tonight... mark it down, Nov. 15... I put 2 and 2 together and got goodness.
My iPhone has an application that connects to hundreds of public radio stations from all over the country. You can listen to all of them just as if you're sitting in a living room in Albuquerque or Albany.
So, I am. Right now, I'm listening to the station from New Orleans. Plugged it right into our kitchen radio and it's like the station was a block away. And, no offense to my friends at Lansing Community College, but the jazz coming from the Big Easy is just a tad better.
Wanna live in a cool city? Don't worry, there's an app for that.
* An explanation for none Twitterers. "#lovelansing" is known as a hashtag. The author of a tweet on Twitter can label it with a hashtag, i.e. #lovelansing, so that others can search for all the tweets with the #lovelansing hashtag and discover all the wonderful things about living in Michigan's capital city. Unfortunately for Lansing, however, the things to love about it are greatly outnumbered by the things to complain about. Hence, the sarcasm.