UVa, Sabato offer free online course through Coursera

If you've heard of the free massive open online courses offered to anyone through Coursera, you may be interested in a course being offered for University of Virginia Professor Dr. Larry Sabato about President John F. Kennedy's life, administration, and legacy.<br /><br />Titled "The Kennedy Half Century," the four-week class will begin October 21 with two hours of video instruction by Sabato each week.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.coursera.org/">Coursera</a> is an educational website that partners with some of the world’s top universities, including the University of Virginia, to provide free online courses. Anyone can register for the course at <a href="http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=35738630&msgid=537119&act=8TIE&c=561522&destination=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.coursera.org%2Fcourse%2Fkennedy" target="_blank">www.coursera.org/course/kennedy</a>.<br /><br />More from the <a href="http://www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball">Center for Politics</a> at UVa:<br /><blockquote>The MOOC is one of several initiatives the U.Va. Center for Politics is unveiling this fall in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of JFK’s assassination. Prof. Sabato’s latest <a href="http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=35738630&msgid=537119&act=8TIE&c=561522&destination=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bloomsbury.com%2Fus%2Fthe-kennedy-half-century-9781620402801%2F" target="_blank">book</a>, <i>The Kennedy Half Century: The Presidency, Assassination and Lasting Legacy of John F. Kennedy</i>, will be released in October as the class begins. Also in October, the Center will premiere a one-hour <a href="http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=35738630&msgid=537119&act=8TIE&c=561522&destination=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Ffeature%3Dplayer_embedded%26v%3DS8ZY9837v3Q" target="_blank">national PBS documentary</a> on the same subject, which is being produced in partnership with Community Idea Stations. The Center for Politics and Community Idea Stations recently <a href="http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=35738630&msgid=537119&act=8TIE&c=561522&destination=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.virginia.edu%2Fcontent%2Fcenter-politics-wins-emmy-award-out-order" target="_blank">received an Emmy Award</a> for their previous documentary, “Out of Order,” which is about political dysfunction in Washington.</blockquote><div style="margin: 1em 0;">A trailer for the “The Kennedy Half Century” class is available by clicking on the course logo below:</div><center><a href="http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=35738630&msgid=537119&act=8TIE&c=561522&destination=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Diem9zK2cbZI" target="_blank"><img alt="" src="http://www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/LJS2013082201-photo.png" /></a></center>

Center for Politics Coursera John F. Kennedy Kennedy Half Century Larry Sabato University of Virginia UVa, Sabato offer free online course through Coursera

If you've heard of the free massive open online courses offered to anyone through Coursera, you may be interested in a course being offe...

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Bolling, Sabato hit Twitter, FB with Va gubernatorial frustrations

Virginia's gubernatorial campaign took another interesting turn on Friday as two powerful political pundits took to social media to express frustration with the candidates and the state of both campaigns.<br /><br />Sinking further into the muck, the past week saw the Cuccinelli campaign accusing McAuliffe of saying something he didn't while news broke that McAuliffe's former GreenTech company has come under SEC scrutiny.<br /><br />It was almost possible to hear the exasperation in University of Virginia Professor Larry Sabato's voice Friday afternoon as he <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=Larry%20Sabato&src=typd">tweeted</a>:<br /><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Just re-checked my VA Constitution. Requirements for GOV do NOT include being controversial or seedy.<br />— Larry Sabato (@LarrySabato) <a href="https://twitter.com/LarrySabato/statuses/363348708491919360">August 2, 2013</a></blockquote><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>Sabato immediately followed that tweet with another referring to Virginia's Lieutenant Governor:<br /><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Bill Bolling goofed big-time. <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23VAGOV&src=hash">#VAGOV</a><br />— Larry Sabato (@LarrySabato) <a href="https://twitter.com/LarrySabato/statuses/363348904915378176">August 2, 2013</a></blockquote><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>Friday night the <a href="http://www.billbolling.com/">Lieutenant Governor</a> himself took to <a href="https://twitter.com/lgbillbolling/status/363473020356005888">Twitter</a> and Facebook <a href="https://www.facebook.com/bollingva?hc_location=stream">here</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/billbolling?hc_location=stream">here</a> (he has two FB pages) to express frustration about the current state of Virginia's governor's race. Bill Bolling posted:<br /><blockquote><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".r[32efj].[1][4][1]{comment10153084183635387_42097311}.[0].[right].[0].[left].[0].[0].[0][2]"><span data-reactid=".r[32efj].[1][4][1]{comment10153084183635387_42097311}.[0].[right].[0].[left].[0].[0].[0][2].[0]"><span data-reactid=".r[32efj].[1][4][1]{comment10153084183635387_42097311}.[0].[right].[0].[left].[0].[0].[0][2].[0].[0]"></span></span></span>I'm very frustrated by the current direction of the gubernatorial campaign. Instead of spending millions of dollars calling each other names, I'd like to see the candidates actually talk about the important issues facing our state. The people of Virginia deserve better than they are getting, and that's a bipartisan criticism.</blockquote>By Saturday morning he had received hundreds of thumbs ups from around the Commonwealth and, presumably, there were many more who did not publicly give their approval but were thinking it.<br /><br />Dozens left comments, some noting that they would be writing in Bill Bolling's name on the November ballot, a recurring theme that has come up in letters to the editor and conversations on the street. This comment from a supporter named Bill echoed those sentiments:<br /><blockquote><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".r[32efj].[1][4][1]{comment10153084183635387_42097311}.[0].[right].[0].[left].[0].[0].[0][2]"><span data-reactid=".r[32efj].[1][4][1]{comment10153084183635387_42097311}.[0].[right].[0].[left].[0].[0].[0][2].[0]"><span data-reactid=".r[32efj].[1][4][1]{comment10153084183635387_42097311}.[0].[right].[0].[left].[0].[0].[0][2].[0].[0]">I will be writing in Bill Bolling and I have lots of friends here in Goochland that will be doing the same.</span></span></span></blockquote>Another supporter pleaded:<br /><blockquote>Bill, it's not too late. Give us another choice. PLEASE!!!!!</blockquote>Commenter John looked at the election in a different light:<br /><blockquote><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".r[5fr0p].[1][4][1]{comment10153084183635387_42098062}.[0].[right].[0].[left].[0].[0].[0][2]"><span data-reactid=".r[5fr0p].[1][4][1]{comment10153084183635387_42098062}.[0].[right].[0].[left].[0].[0].[0][2].[0]"><span data-reactid=".r[5fr0p].[1][4][1]{comment10153084183635387_42098062}.[0].[right].[0].[left].[0].[0].[0][2].[0].[0]">If this were a job interview for a corporation, I was the hiring manager, and I was down to the two party's respective candidates as my final applicants, I would tell my Human Resource Department to leave the job posted, as I haven't found the right hire.</span></span></span></blockquote>That was the tone of most of the comments as voters expressed concerns, even suggesting Bolling 2017. The naysayers stopped by, too, like James who quipped:<br /><blockquote>It might be helpful if you constructively supported your party's nominee....</blockquote>To which Chris responded:<br /><blockquote>Well, it would have also been nice to have gotten to vote in a primary too, but that didn't happen either.</blockquote>Bottom line: there is definitely dissatisfaction among voters, something picked up on in Sunday's <i>News & Advance</i> editorial, <a href="http://www.newsadvance.com/opinion/editorials/article_be923a3a-fbaf-11e2-b11b-001a4bcf6878.html"><i>Cuccinelli, McAuliffe and the Split in the GOP</i></a>. With that said, we are still three months away from election day 2013.<br /><br />Cross-posted at <a href="http://www.politicalpineapple.com/">Va Political Pineapple</a>

Bill Bolling bipartisan facebook GreenTech Ken Cuccinelli Larry Sabato Lynchburg News and Advance Rt. 58 Terry McAuliffe Virginia gubernatorial race write-in campaign Bolling, Sabato hit Twitter, FB with Va gubernatorial frustrations

Virginia's gubernatorial campaign took another interesting turn on Friday as two powerful political pundits took to social media to expr...

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