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As worded online. Not my words.

 

Shirley Anita Chisholm was an American politician, educator, and author.[1] In 1968, she became the first black woman elected to the United States Congress,[2] and she represented New York's 12th Congressional District for seven terms from 1969 to 1983. In 1972, she became the first black candidate for a major party's nomination for President of the United States, and the first woman to run for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination.[2]

 

As a third-party candidate in the 1968 election, Charlene Alexander Mitchell was the first African-American woman to run for President of the United States. She represented the Communist Party USA (CPUSA) and her running mate was Michael "Mike" Zagarell, the National Youth Director of the party. At 23 years of age, he was younger than the constitutionally required age of 35 to hold office. They were entered on the ballots in only two states.[9] Mitchell's brother and sister-in-law Franklin and Kendra Alexander had also been active in the party.

 

 

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@Zaji, well, yes and no. Aunt Charlene ran for the office of the presidency twice; the second time was in 1968 and her running mate was none other the Gus Hall. Hall association with that campaign was never officially stricken the library of Congress but not accessible for public consumption. They also reported that uncle Franklin committed suicide, family members say he was killed. Aunt Kendra also died under suspicious circumstances in San Francisco, supposedly a house fire. All from my father's side of the family Augustus Randolph Alexander, damn gangster, an elected official of AFL-CIO. Anut Charlene is still alive, spends a lot of time  in Cuba. And oh yeah, she was on the international ballot and scared the crap of politics because she received an uncomfortable number of votes.

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@zaji, I can see from the hyperlinks that you copied the information from Wikipedia.  Wikipedia is really hit or miss when it comes to accuracy.  I would never use it is a source for serious research (not saying posting here is serious research). The curation is inconsistent and the information is often biased by people with an agenda.

 

One of the problems on the internet is that Google has elevated Wikipedia in search engine results so much so that sites with more accurate information are undiscoverable so people use Wikipedia.

 

The other problem is that Wikipedia does not pay for it's content, the quality of the information reflects this.  Google (and others) have figured out a ways to monetize Wikipedia's "information." This I argue exploits the people who volunteer to contribute to Wikipedia and makes it harder for professional  researchers and journalist to earn a living.  This all contributes to the proliferation of fake news,

 

I know that was a serious side bar, but I thought some of y'all might find the perspective interesting.  I wrote about this 5 years ago in an article called "The Pimping of Wikipedia.

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@Troy, I'm fully aware of the slackness that Wikipedia is and don't fully trust them as far as I can throw them. But, it was late and I really didn't fell like spending my time hunting for the information through more reputable sources. So I gave the quick and dirty version from Wikipedia. But to be frank, I don't like them at all. Trust that. For me, they are a quick peek and then I go on to verify anything written there given that it is, in fact, only a community written/edited information center. Anyone can add to Wikipedia. Yes, they've taken to locking certain entries due to either abuse or inaccurate information being purposely or ignorantly added. But in general, they are not to be taken seriously when it comes to the majority of information. I tend to double check, triple check, anything I find on Wikipedia.

 

Thanks for sharing your thoughts! I appreciate it. But I am not a Wikipedia groupie. Been hating on them for over a decade now.

 

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Yes, and what you describe is the crux of the problem.  If I'm looking for something a factoid and the like Google serves up wikipedia making the the default source of information -- often right in the search engine results page.  If is not worth my effort to dig deeper.  The kind of thing one had to do when we were forced to go to the library to research a topic.

 

At any rate, you are the choir, hopefully the message will make an impact on other readers here.

 

 

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@Troy. Let me add, a lot of companies have taken to adding Wikipedia to their resources. For example, Apple has it built into the Dictionary program a selection for Wikipedia. This way, if I search for a word, I can see the definition, synonym and any Wikipedia entries for that word. When I first saw this a few years ago, I felt it was an assault on my intelligence and intrusion. Still feel that way. I am allowed to "uncheck" the box for Wikipedia so the entries don't show when I do a word search, but they do not have an option for me to delete the mess. I would need to go in and find the folders with the raw file and get rid of it, if that is possible.  I am forever tweaking my computer to block all sorts of things. I primarily use my Hosts file to block any websites I feel are intrusive. I tend to block a lot of ad sites via my Hosts files. While Safari and Firefox have plugins/extensions that can do this, I block some of them from my system level in the Hosts file. I also use a program that monitors outgoing/incoming connections. Nothing I don't want gets to phone home about my internet usage. I additionally use a VPN 99% of the day.

 

Wikipedia has become intrusive on a whole other level. And the fact that Apple is endorsing this and allowing them to intrude on my Dictionary program is outrageous.

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@Troy, brother you MA status allows you a lifetime email and access to your university's online library. Short of that, The Library of Congress and APSA is a primary source authority (free for all things politics); APA, ASA, for sciences (fee memberships). If this discussion is pursuant to my post, just ask! Most things I'm open to disclosure. 

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1 hour ago, Troy said:

@zaji, I can see from the hyperlinks that you copied the information from Wikipedia.  Wikipedia is really hit or miss when it comes to accuracy.  I would never use it is a source for serious research (not saying posting here is serious research).

 

@Troy   Wikipedia is a resource that contains primary and secondary source information.  There is no need to dismiss Wikipedia when you can actually challenge and update information.  Besides, if it doesn't come directly from personal experience everything is to be attributed as "reported by /referenced" ... And who  writes a dissertation and cites Wikipedia, anyway?  That's not what it's for...it's a collaborative work that is neither conclusive nor definitive.  

Anyway,  Shirley Chisholm's  page contains 71 reference sources - so unless you dispute all those references  then Chisholm's Wikipedia page is a good source. 

Oh, and signed a veteran journalist who wasn't even allowed to use the newspaper as a source when researching and reporting:P

Edited by Mel Hopkins
added reference
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@Mel Hopkins. Yes Mel. I scroll straight down in Wikipedia to the sources and go through them before taking the final word of what is written. That is why although I don't care for it, it is an ok first step to help me on my journey to finding facts and primary sources of information. They usually provide the primary sources up front.

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1 minute ago, zaji said:

That is why although I don't care for it, it is an ok first step to help me on my journey to finding facts and primary sources of information.

 

Yes!  And I even have an account to edit  entries ( @Troy does too :D)  but I just don't have time to fight with those others nerds...

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@Mel Hopkins  I have an account as well. LOL. But have never done a thing with it.

 

I think my fear is it turning into some sort of Orwellian machine where they begin to change history/knowledge without people realizing it. Even primary sources can be rewritten, erased. Happens all the time. Look at history books? They are always trying to change history. Look at our ancient knowledge? Much of it, gone, erased.

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1 minute ago, Delano said:

What does this mean ?

 

@Delano  It means that I'm a purist when it comes to source material or at least when I was reporting for public record.  At that time I couldn't even use the newspaper as a source. I could only use primary sources to write the story for publication.  So, don't get it twisted when I stick up for Wikipedia but I recognize it's a good reference starting point. 

1 minute ago, zaji said:

Even primary sources can be rewritten, erased. Happens all the time. Look at history books? They are always trying to change history. Look at our ancient knowledge? Much of it, gone, erased.

 

@zajiI agree and that's what makes me feel bad for not participating in the editing.   But I do have adobe's convert this webpage into a pdf and before that I used to copy & paste and I have files that no longer exist on the web - which is a bit scary to me too!

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3 minutes ago, Mel Hopkins said:

I agree and that's what makes me feel bad for not participating in the editing.   But I do have adobe's convert this webpage into a pdf and before that I used to copy & paste and I have files that no longer exist on the web - which is a bit scary to me too!

 

Yeess!!! I also have information on my computer that I can no longer find ANYWHERE. It's frightening! 

 

 

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Where ya been, Mel?  missed you.  As far as Wiki goes,  it works for me.  Familiarizes me with subjects i am curious about.  i am not involved in projects that require extensive research.  The same goes for Google; another quick fix.

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Sure, there are some great citations on Wikipedia as well as some shitty ones too, but the inconsistency of the citations is just one problem.   

 

The biggest problem is that companies like Amazon, Facebook, Google, and Apple have exploited the platform for profit.

 

Why does this matter? Because the people who do the work of producing the information are NOT PAID!  They do not share in the wealth they create for the planet's most wealth firms.  I would not be so critical of the platform were it not for this fact.  

 

I will never volunteer to contribute content to Wikipedia so that Apple can make more money.  This is no different than the reason for me no longer publishing real content on Facebook.

 

I, like many others, I post links back to my site on social media and Wikipedia.  I'll also let you in on a secret: Wikipedia is much better at driving traffic than social media, perhaps because wikipedia does not use an algorithm to determine what people get to see to keep people glued to their website. 

 

 

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@Troy. Disinformation, misinformation is big business in the 21st century. I’m of the opinion that Amazon, Facebook, Google, and Apple are deliberate distractions. Except Apple which is more original product oriented. The biggest profit is, always has been to misguide the masses. Facebook and Google standout because their part only promotes (redirect) back to virtually everything else, Government, Apple, and all White entities.

 

How powerful is the word of one over thousands, all with the same message in different ways? Of course, we focus on the ‘what’s in it for me’ part of a much larger problem.

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@Troy  Good points. Wikipedia is always having some fundraiser, banner splashed across my screen taking up 3/4 of the page sometimes. Yet, if I were to add/update/edit using my knowledge and research time, I get nothing from it. Nothing. Just a pat on the back and a thank you for advancing humanity, as they enjoy yachts, planes and mansions. And the freedom to do for self. Maybe some of the in-house editors get paid, but not the majority of people who have built Wikipedia to what it is today, a resource that helps lead people, at times, to primary or secondary information. Wikipedia is mining our intellect for free.

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@Zaji. Ah, a true thinker. Yeah, sister, and that’s just the obvious of a massive ploy. Wikipedia is just one of the players on the misinformation/disinformation relay team, those fundraiser banners is an optional distraction to either get something from or give you more of nothing. Those so-called unpaid resources are not left out in the cold though. Until they get their own yacht, plane or mansion they have google ‘bait and click.’ The primary and secondary research resource authority, now those guys are the heavy hitters. Doctors, lawyers, philosophers, and scientists with their thesis, peer reviews, and dissertations; who’d question them, except people like you and Troy? I’d take and/or give what’s convenient and equitable too. Got to be honest with self, right?

 

Everybody’s in on, whatever. That’s why we Black folk better learn what to think (for ourselves) and what to contemplate, quickly. We fall for the ruse by believing we need to know how to think, however, everybody knows how to do that naturally.

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Why do i not give a damn about the ulterior motives of Wikipedia and Google?  Nothing is free in this world.  If they make a profit by supplying me with answers for my trivia questions, then so what.  if FaceBook monitors me for advertiser to target, i don't care, as long as my "delete" button works. I get my instant gratification and life goes on,  just like it will for the "Black Panther" fans.  These things do not have a personal impact on me because i have become a spectator, having lost my passion for being a participant in the sound and fury of this crazy world.  I'm more into other dimensions. 

 

i can only concede that my being old has something to do with my attitude.  i won't be around to have to deal with the consequences of what this manipulation might lead to.  Sorry, kiddies.  I've pretty much resigned myself to the possibilities of not even seeing the final season of "Game of Thrones" which will take place in 2019!  Just trying to make it to my 85th birthday in August.  

 

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I hope you get to see the 2019 version of GOT too.

 

The writers who write for wikipedia do it for free. 

 

Not only would I never write forWikipedia (for free) I would never EVER give them money.  Their soliciting donations is ludicrous -- Wikipedia need to be going after Google who is using their information -- probably more than Wikipedia does themselves.

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