politics

List

12 Creative Campaign Slogans to Inspire the 2012 Candidates

Christine Lusey runs Retro Campaigns, the internet's premier source for historical campaign t-shirts and memorabilia. We asked if she could compile some memorable slogans from past elections. She did not disappoint. These days it seems like every campaign slogan is just a series of political buzzwords: Hope! Change! Values! Newt! But it wasn't always this way. Here are a dozen old slogans we hope will inspire the current crop of candidates to go with something unique. 1. Al Smith... READ ON

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The Lesser-Known Military Careers of 11 U.S. Presidents

We know the good ones: Washington coaxing his tattered troops through the winter at Valley Forge, Andrew Jackson bidding the Redcoats adieu in New Orleans, Ike masterminding the invasion of Normandy. Throughout history, American presidents have more often than not been former leaders of the military. Here's a list of eleven presidents and their service records you might not have known about. 1. James... READ ON

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10 People Who Became Dog Toys

Dog toys generally come in three designs: classic toys such as Frisbees and tennis balls, indestructible designs like the Kong line, and cute animals that are fuzzy or squeaky. Of course, the problem with the cute designs is that they are usually the most easily destroyed. So rather than letting your pup rip an adorable kitten or duck to shreds, why not let him take out someone you really don't like? 1. Michael... READ ON

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The Oregon County That's Not in the U.N.

There are currently 193 member states of the United Nations, including everyone from South Sudan (added just this month) to the Solomon Islands. And of course, the United States is a charter member, but that doesn't mean the entire U.S. is... READ ON

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When Hizzoner Can Be "Your Honor"

In the aftermath of New York’s decision to approve gay marriage, news broke that Mayor Michael Bloomberg would officiate at the wedding of two of his office aides. Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani has also reportedly backed out on his promise to officiate at a friend’s wedding. This raises a question –- why can a mayor officiate a wedding? In New York state, mayors, former mayors, county executives and police justices are among the state offices that can oversee a marriage (check out the full list... READ ON

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Switzerland's Anti-PowerPoint Party

I know plenty of people love PowerPoint, but I personally can't stand it and apparently, I'm not alone. There's a whole political party in Switzerland dedicated to having it banned within the country's borders. According to their completely unverifiable statistics: The use of the presentation software costs the Swiss economy approximately 2.1 billion Swiss Francs a year (US $2.5billion). They base their calculation on reportedly unverified assumptions about the number of employees that attend... READ ON

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Fresh Perspectives: GOP Candidates

Time for another episode of Fresh Perspectives! These kids are adorable and soo smart. If you missed the earlier episodes, here's one on Libya and another on the death of Bin... READ ON

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FRESH PERSPECTIVES: OSAMA

Kids weigh in on the recent death of Osama Bin Laden! Very... READ ON

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Mr. T as the Meta-rebel

The folks over at at Overthinking It came up with an idea for a new political party: The Mr. T Party. But, as with all parties, there is some disagreement about the nature of the party itself, its intentions, and even its ideals -- although there is the central rallying figure of Mr. T (who is completely unaffiliated with his eponymous Party). In this ten-minute slide show, Overthinkers lay out the philosophical bedrock of the Party. They start with quotes from Vergil's Aeneid alongside Clubber Lang... READ ON

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Oregon House Members Rickroll Colleagues

In Oregon, our House chamber is evenly split between Republicans and Democrats. This 50/50 split has been the topic of some concern, as bipartisanship is now required to pass critical legislation. In a surprising (and delightfully nerdy) move, a bipartisan group of Oregon House members decided to Rickroll their colleagues, by embedding lyrics to the Rick Astley song "Never Gonna Give You Up" into their floor speeches. Citizen volunteers helped videotape and edit the resulting rendition of the song,... READ ON