Daily Archives: August 8, 2007

Book Review: Team of Rivals

Posted by on August 8, 2007 2 comments

Taking the advise advice of my brother (which I usually ignore), I pulled “Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln” from Audible.com and started listening. Doris Kearns Goodwin does a masterful job of portraying Lincoln with all his goodness and still showing some of his weaknesses. Her inclusion of records and quotes from family, friends, colleges and rivals highlights important aspects of Lincolns life in the Presidency.

The book begins with the Republican National convention of 1860 when Lincoln was seen as a 3rd or 4th choice as the Republican nomination. He somehow (due to his political maneuvering) won the nomination and eventually the Presidency. After winning the election, Lincoln invited several of his rivals from the Republican convention to be part of his Cabinet, most prominently William H Seward, Edwin M Stanton and Salmon P Chase. This move is now viewed by political historians as one of the reasons he was so successful. He united the factions of the party (which was still in it’s infancy) by bringing the leaders of each of the factions into the cabinet.

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McDonald's wrapper improves taste

Posted by on August 8, 2007 No comments

A recent study highlighted the influence of marketing on children by taste testing food wrapped in McDonald’s food wrappers.

The study had youngsters sample identical McDonald’s foods in name-brand and unmarked wrappers. The unmarked foods always lost the taste test.

Is this something we need to start looking at regulating more? Should advertising by junk/fast food companies be regulated or even banned (similar to smoking advertising on TV/Radio)?

Study author Dr. Tom Robinson said the kids’ perception of taste was “physically altered by the branding.” The Stanford University researcher said it was remarkable how children so young were already so influenced by advertising.

Very interesting….

{democracy:4}