Pearson Pipeline

Is your head whirling from the daily barrage of attack ads from the candidates and spin doctors? Do you want nonpartisan information on the gubernatorial candidates and the issues? Then log on to these library databases and recommended web sites for balanced perspectives on the personalities and issues at stake in the 2010 mid-term elections:

Gale Biography Resource Center: Read up on Jerry Brown and Meg Whitman and you’ll find some fascinating facts about our candidates for governor in this database. For instance, did you know that Margaret (no wonder she prefers Meg) was once a pre-med major at Princeton, and that she “traded Beanie Babies and Pokemon cards with her children on eBay”? Or did you know that Edmund—yup, that’s Jerry’s actual name—worked briefly with Mother Teresa in India?

CQ Researcher: An excellent source for in-depth articles on politics and current events written by seasoned journalists. Be sure to read this week’s featured report: Democrats’ Future: Will they lose their congressional majorities?

Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center:  The perfect database to research different perspectives on an issue. Review the pros and cons of legalizing marijuana, air pollution control or find balanced articles about Meg Whitman and Jerry Brown.

Now, if you want nonpartisan web sites on elections and politics, Prof. Herb Gooch of the Political Science Department steers his POLS 102 students to these sources:

• California Secretary of State (Ballot measures & more)

• California Voter Foundation (Polls, surveys and research)

• California General Election (Ballot measures, etc.)

• Directory of California State Propositions – League of Women Voters

• District Maps from the California Voter Foundation

• FactCheck.org

• League of Women Voters

• PolitiFact.com from St. Petersburg Times and CQ

• Proposition Analyses – Legislative Analyst’s Office

Happy voting!

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