Thursday, October 27, 2011

THYME Magazine

Citizen Journalism with a Better Flavor

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Volume III, Issue XCIII

Think about this for a minute: Did you ever know much about Margaret Thatcher's husband, Sir Denis Thatcher? Do you even know his name? He might have indeed been "the smartest man in the UK" but the news media never trumpeted it.

Similarly, how much do you think about Mr. Bachmann? You didn't know who Todd Palin was until his wife was tapped to run for Vice President in 2008.

The 'other' weekly news magazine just pulled out the old "smartest woman in America" template to describe the style of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Mrs Clinton may indeed be a sharp cookie (even if she doesn't BAKE cookies), but if she hadn't hitched her wagon to a star... young and rising Bill Clinton, she might well be doing real estate deals today in her law firm.

That is not to deride her success, given the opportunity handed to her. Still, to be quite honest, Mrs. Clinton is in some good company when it comes to 'Smart Power,' as TIME calls it. Consider the young Mother from Wasilla Alaska who got involved in local politics out of her own concern. She took on oil interests and became governor. Read her op-ed pieces in the WSJ [1.] and the folksy accent is gone along with the whole beauty queen thing. What remains is good solid analysis that is worth reading.

Michele Bachmann is another person worth listening to. Though she's faded in the presidential race, her input has been valuable in forging the debate. The 'mainstream media' clearly has trouble embracing brilliant women who do not embrace their ideology. The alternative media and citizen journalists are more than happy to fill this void.

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Sir Denis Thatcher, husband of UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, greets US First Lady Nancy Reagan, at No.10 Downing Street, June 2, 1988.

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