MEDIA PAGE

Press Guide

You can watch the videos most quickly by viewing the Flash version, or you can download them in Windows Media format. You can watch each individually, or the whole bunch as explained below. If you have a DSL or cable connection, each Windows Media video should download between 10 seconds and a minute.

Use the Wmv dial-up only (1) if you have a dial-up connection, (2) if you are too impatient to wait the ten minutes or so to download video, and (3) if Flash Video doesn't work well with your connection. The Wmv dial-up version blurs any words on the screen and also blurs my face (although that might be a good thing).

Podcast and One-Long-Video Alternatives

The podcast is mp3 audio from the videos on the website. 25MB, 17 minutes long. (1) Why am I running?, (2) About me, (3) What party am I running in?, (4) 377 Times (fake ad), (5) Wrong for America (fake ad--better with video), (6) Could ranked voting have prevented the government shutdown?, (7) Full representation, and (8) the Voter's Pledge. Download the bk4sos.org podcast

The one-long-video option contains all of the above videos and is a 36MB, 17+ minutes long, Windows Media file, for those who want to download all the videos at once for convenience or for dial-up folks who want to download overnight or when they go to the store (two hour dial-up download). bk4sos.org all 8 videos

My Education and Experience >>

What are the duties of the Secretary of State?

SPOOFS OF POLITICAL ADS
Watch these ads twice, once for fun, and once to identify
the “sophistry” involved.
You need to have your speakers on for full enjoyment.

We hope to add one more funny video before election day November 7, 2006. Check back often or join our e-mail list by clicking here.

Dictionary Entry:sophistry
Function:noun
Date:14th century
1 : subtly deceptive reasoning or argumentation
2 : SOPHISM: an argument apparently correct in form but actually invalid; especially : such an argument used to deceive

In other words, an argument that sounds good but is actually bogus.

Here are some types of “sophistry” you may find in political ads.

--Exaggeration
--Facts out of context
--Attacking a straw man
--Implying correlation is causation
--Selective use of objective sources
--Attacking motives rather than addressing merits
--Decrying the slippery slope (sometimes a valid argument, but almost all policy issues eventually come down to "where you draw the line")

Can you think of more? E-mail me at bruce@bk4sos.org