Spreading the Message

We have seen over the past few years the amount of influence technology has had on campaigns. We don’t receive our messages how we once used to; we now live in a world where everyone has a black berry and iphone. In the article “Technology reshaping campaigns” from news-record.com author Gerald Witt, explains, “Technology in the 2008 election is eroding the power of campaigning through traditional media — television, radio and print.” We know longer look to the television we just pick up our cell and look online to find the latest news. Blogs and emails are the new social networking way for us all. These are new ways for people to get politically involved, but are they necessarily the best way is the question?
I personally find this way of media best for a lot of people but this also raises another question and that is are these new ways of technology a motivated disengagement for people? As much as I find these new technologies easier for people because you can look online, I also think it goes back to this concept of motivated disengagement because a lot people might be motivated to not think about politics. When the only way to pay attention to an election was through television, radio and print did it make people more engaged? In the article it also discusses how so many people don’t even understand how they ever lived without a cell phone because it is something that is basically attached to our hips. Melissa Westmorelan a 24 year old UNCG graduate and regular facebook junkie had to say ““I look back to what we were doing four years ago, and I think, 'Oh my gosh, how did we get anything done with the tools that we had then?” I wouldn’t take it that far to say how did we get anything done, but it’s weird to think about. Do you feel disengaged?

http://www.news-record.com/content/2008/10/31/article/technology_reshaping_campaigns

Obama on energy

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/03/31/obama.energy/index.html?hpt=Sbin

Obama discusses an idea of lifting an oil ban off of the Virginia coast to start drilling for oil and natural gas in the Atlantic. The administration feels as though this could potentially benefit the energy industry but majorly upset environmentalists as discussed in the article on cnn.com. Obama plans to conduct surveys to "determine the quantity and location of potential oil and gas resources to support energy planning."
This issue is one that is important to the attentive public audience, those who keep up with politics and stay informed on topics. This is a major offshore oil plan that affects everyone and although it sounds like a good idea, it may not be the best. The inattentive audience however may see this as a great improvement, but need to stay current with the facts and how this may impact our environment. There is a reason for the ban in the first place, who decides to undo the ban?
Obama uses artistic proofs to persuade the country to follow his decision the way he introduces this and how he gets the audience to take the matter.
The administration's ideology behind this matter is said not to be guided by politics, but by scientific evidence that there is a need for our scarce resources and a belief that resources are available off of the Virginia coastline.
The advertisment of the issue will be beneficial in gaining support for undoing the ban and drilling for oil and natural gas.

"Big Help" Award goes to Michelle Obama

The Obama’s have become a very influential family in America. If we do not see Barak Obama in the news one day, we more than likely see Michelle Obama. Being the First Lady is practically like being a celebrity. Michelle Obama, whom before her husband’s presidency was unknown in America, is now a highly respected woman. An article from Examiner.com explained how First Lady Michelle Obama won the “Big Help” award at Nickelodeon’s 23^rd annual Kids’ Choice Awards. The award went to an individual who wants to better the world and has significantly improved not only her own, but other communities, too. The main areas that improvements are being made to include: environment, education, health, and wellness. Michelle Obama is also working closely with projects and organizations that are trying to stop the childhood obesity rates, which have been skyrocketing lately. Because she is the First Lady, Michelle Obama receives an enormous amount of both free and earned media. Having her husband as our president puts a lot of pressure and media on the Obama family. Michelle has taken this free media and used it to help better the world. The First Lady’s outgoing and friendly personality was a very persuasive and positive influence on the children and parents watching. Aside from seeing free and earned media in this article, this can also be compared with the multiple celebrities that have been elected for offices. Jesse Ventura (famous wrestler), Reagan (famous actor), and most recently Arnold Schwarzenegger (actor), all are examples of using free and earned media. Because many people already recognized these names and faces, it put them at a greater advantage. Michelle Obama has a greater chance of influencing the kids and adults of America to improve our environment and health because of her celebrity-like status.

Raising issues on gay marriage

An article in the New York Times titled, "Maryland: Impeachment Threat Over Gay Marriage" discusses how Dwyer a republican member of the House of Delegates plans to bring impeachment charges on the House Floor against the state's attorney general, Gansler. Dwyer argues that Gansler overstepped his authority in issuing a legal opinion last month saying that the state would recognize same sex marriage. Gansler was arguing for gay married couples to have the same rights as heterosexual couples. Gansler was hoping to guide state officials in this direction and now Dwyer is talking about impeaching him for it. I think this is ridiculous, Gansler was stating his opinions and speaking up for gay couples, just because he is a state's attorney general does not mean that the issue is going to pass or he is leading people to believe in false issues, he was just simply raising the issue and hoping to guide state officials towards his direction.

I think this issue relates to agenda setting. It is not telling people what to think, but what to think about. I think that was Gansler's idea from the beginning. He wanted to raise the issue of gay marriage and wanted to get people thinking about it. Once people are thinking about the issue it starts to generate buzz, which hopefully will have a positive turnout. I think Dwyer is wrong for making such a large deal about Gansler raising the issue on gay marriage. I am glad that Gansler raised this issue and is trying to get it out into the public.

War in Afghanistan is Essential

President Obama made an unannounced trip to meet with afghan officials today, March 28th. Obama realizes the importance of continuing the United States partnership with the country, and has hopes to bring the violent country to peace. While in Afghanistan the president will speak with about 2,000 U.S. soldiers to motivate and thank the troupes for serving our country. I like how Obama is getting on a personal level with the troupes; I find this to be very inspirational. Obama met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai at the Presidential Palace to discuss ways in which the Afghan government can strengthen its ability to run the country and in the end will bring Afghanistan to peace. I like how Obama is showing addressed this current situation by actually meeting with Afghan officials face to face. This will allow the process of healing the country to occur on a much more rapid pace. This is also helping the American people to have more faith in Obama, because he is helping assure peace for every American.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/03/28/obama.afghanistan/index.html?hpt=T1

Palin Supports Former Running Mate

This article, "Palin Hits the Trail for McCain," from CNN.com talked about the campaign speech Sarah Palin gave in Tuscon, Arizona endorsing Senator John McCain. The article explained that this was their first time appearing in public together since McCain announced he was conceding in the 2008 Presidential Election. Although Palin recentrly resigned as governor of Alaska, she is still using her popularity to try and help McCain get re-elected. Some think that it will be a pretty close race between the senator and opponent J.D. Hayworth. The article also talked about several Tea Party activists are actually supporting Hayworth and several Tea Party activists are not supporting either candidate because of the record in Congress. This article reminded me alot of the chapter in our book that talked about the one candidate who allowed President Bush to endorse him, which actually hurt him in the long run because so many Republicans were not happy with what he had done while in office. He ended up losing to the democratic candidate. Sarah Palin recieved a lot of criticism when she was running for Vice President, for not being intelligent. So the questtion is, will her endorsing McCain help him or hurt him? We will all just have to wait and see.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/03/26/palin.mccain/index.html

Obama Bypasses Senate Process

This article is about president Obama and how he showed his executive authority just one day after Congress left for spring recess by bypassing the Senate and installing 15 appointees including a union lawyer. Because of Obama's victory on health care legislation, this move suggests a new president who is not afraid to provoke a confrontation with the minority party. The Senate Republicans sent Mr. Obama a letter urging him not to appoint the union lawyer, and it was the first time the president has used his constitutional authority to fill vacant federal positions by making recess appointments and avoiding the requirement for advice and consent of the Senate. I think this shows that since Obama had his big victory on health care legislation he is now stepping up and taking charge and showing his authority. He is showing his power and using it to get his message across by making big decisions. I also think this article is an example of agenda setting because it is exploring an event and the issues that were covered and addressed. Obama addressed the issue and it was covered by the mass media. This big step for Obama was covered because he is a legitimate candidate and it was an important event being covered.

Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/28/us/politics/28recess.html?hp

health care

The article "House passes health care bill 219-212 vote" discusses Obama's recent victory with the Health care bill. It explains how this bill is the largest expansion of federal health care guarantee since Medicaid and Medicare four decades ago. The plan is estimated at 940 million dollars, and will ensure health care for 32 million American's that are not currently covered. This was seen as an enormous victory by Obama. He has spent the past few weeks traveling to try and persuade House Members. The Republican party attempted to have bill declined by warning that this bill will lead to government takeover of America's private employer based health care system. They also feared it will lead to higher premiums and taxes while causing drastic Medicaid cuts. However Obama managed to get the bill passed by the House of representatives by 219 members. 178 Republicans and 34 Democrats opposed the bill. However the bill is passed and now will be sent to the Senate.

www.cnn.com

Vietnam War of the financial system?

The Obama Administration has been meeting recently to discuss the countries current struggling housing market. To combat the issues various proposals have been brought forth to keep families in their homes and to prevent further foreclosures in the U.S. market. Over the past two years a number of foreclosures has been exponentially high in comparison to the economy. Such a high number of foreclosures puts the banking sector of our economy at an even higher risk. The new proposal of the Obama administration is setting $50 billion towards helping out homeowners who have been recently unemployed or no longer have a sustainable income to keep them in their current homes. This type of economic reform is the government’s way of creating a new trust from the people. Recent stimulus packages have brought a lot criticism from the media because of the amount of funds being used as well as the ineffectiveness of them. If this new bill works it is thought that a trust will be brought back to the government that has not existed for some time. However, if it fails as previous bills have it is unforeseen what damage will be done to the trust the people once had in the housing market being turned around. The problems with foreclosures and people defaulting on loans with U.S. banking institutions has been labeled as the “Vietnam War of the American financial system” according to Howard Glaser, a housing analyst for the White House.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/27/business/27modify.html?pagewanted=1&ref=politics

What Happens When Congress Fails to Do Its Job?

I found this article on www.newsweek.com, and it talked about how congress doesn't always do their job the way it's suppose to be done. This article goes in to detail about Evan Bayh who was suppose to be Obama running mate during the election in 2008. The article states that Evan didn't stop running in the race because he had poor funding or low poll numbers, but he started to hate his job. I picked this particular article because, it kind of remind me of chapter 11 about Bill Clinton's scandal with Monica Lewinsky. I feel that this article ties in with chapter 11, because just like Bill Clinton scandal it was buzz about why Evan Bayh reason for leaving the campaign was because he had low funding or low poll numbers. Only when Evan Bayh wrote in the New York Times about why he really left was when people started to stop making different comments about what may have happened. Although Bill Clinton's scandal was true and Bayh was not the two were kind of similar because the media to me blew both of the situations way out of control. However by Bill Clinton lying didn't make the situation any better, I just feel that once he media gets a hold of any scandal that it always gets blown up more than what it is.

The Health Movement

Social Movements are a huge part of politics. They offer an avenue for the average person to fight for issues they believe in and actively work for change. One of the fastest growing movements in the US right now combats obesity in both children and adults and works for a healthier America. An article in USA Today discusses a school lunch bill that was recently passed in the Senate. It is working to alter the regulations for safety and nutritional value in food that is served in school cafeterias. I think this is an issue that needs to be taken seriously if we want to improve the quality of life in the US. Health is not something this often related to politics, however the ability to fight for health rights and regulations is very much an aspect of politics. The First Lady, Michelle Obama, is an advocate of healthy eating and living and is working to push schools to buy produce from local farms and establish school gardens. According to the bill schools would get a financial incentive if they adopt the new nutrition standards that the bill requires.

Because of the support from Michelle Obama and other influential people such as Jamie Oliver and Oprah, the Health Movement has a lot of credibility and very much gained it’s position on the legitimacy scale. It is a social movement that I believe everyone can play a part, even if you only make a change within yourself.

Why Can’t Apologies actually be Sincere

After reading this week’s chapter in Perspectives on Political Communication A Case Approach, it made me wonder if politicians get away with more lies then other people. As well as, if an apology is truly an apology coming from a politician. In this week’s chapter it discusses president Clinton and Lewinksy’s scandalous affair, and the concept of apologia and how this concept has had quite the history. In fact the term apologia doesn’t necessarily really mean I am sorry, it is more to explain why. I find this completely upsetting because it seems to be very true in the world of politics. For instance John Edwards and what has been going on with him and his many mistresses. In an article from the National Enquirer called “Sen. John Edwards Caught With Mistress And Love Child,” Author Emily Miller, affairs media consultant discusses this concept of apologia and as much as Edward’s is sorry, he isn’t truly sorry.
It’s interesting to me how politicians get away with lies and then when the truth comes out then the apology starts to surface. As much as these “apologies” seem sincere, I truly don’t believe it, because many of these men go back to the other woman. Very rarely do we see the women stand by there man, and why should they? This article explains how John Edward’s wife is battling cancer, yet he has been seeing a woman the entire time and even had a child with her. When Edward’s was confronted with this rumor all he had to say was "The story is false. It's completely untrue, ridiculous," adding: "Anyone who knows me knows that I have been in love with the same woman for 30-plus years." Now that this has become openly public to all he admits to having a child and says "I will do everything in my power to provide her with the love and support she deserves.... It was wrong for me ever to deny she was my daughter." This is exactly going back to the concept of apologia, I see this as more of an explanation then actually coming out and saying sorry.
Article
http://www.nationalenquirer.com/celebrity/65193

Ottawa Students Threaten Coulter

In an fox mews article called, "Protest Canels Coulter Speech in Ottawa" Ann Coulter a conservative commentator was advised against appearing at the University Ottawa after 2000 threatening students appeared to hear her speak. They said it would be physically dangerous for Coulter to proceed with the event. A student named Mike Fancie said explained how happy he was that they stopped her from speaking. He claimed she was not practicing free speech, but was practicing hate speech. She targeted the Jews, Muslims, Canadians, Homosexuals, women, and almost everyone you could imagine. Coulter explained how this has never happened to her before and she has been all over to schools who accept threatening speakers.

This article brings up the issue's of free expression. From our class Emerson discusses main purposes for free expression relative to the functioning of Democracy. Some of the purposes include, free expression helps individuals to achieve self-fulfillment, free expression allows for the advancement of knowledge and the discovery of truth and free expression is essential to provide for participation in decision making by all members of society. i think all these purposes relate to this issue because both Coulter and the students have a right to freedom of expression. I believe Coulter is harsh with her words and i do not approve of what she says but who is to say she can not speak her beliefs. I also believe the students had a right to lash out, I do not think threats was a right way to lash out, but they had every right to express their feelings toward her as well. That is what is tricky about freedom of expression everyone has a right to express their views and feelings even though others may not agree or like them, we as a society have to learn to accept others and speak our views and oppinions in a more appropriate way.

No More Sallie Mae?

As students, many us of are in serious debt. We take out loan after loan, hoping to one day be fortunate enough to receive a career to be able to pay off those loan payments once we reach graduation. An article from foxnews.com informs it’s readers of the possibility that the “fix it” bill being passed would mean losing billions of dollars in business to Sallie Mae (student lending organization) and many other banks and loan companies as well. This is because of the health care services that Obama recently changed. Long story short, democrats and Obama continue to shift student lending from private banks to the federal government. Also, this would increase Pell Grants given to needy students. Eliminating small, privately owned businesses is something I highly disagree with. Democrats do not value and support small businesses like I feel they should, but I will spare you my opinions on that. My take on this articles rhetorical analysis is that the author is telling the reader, “Hey, we’re killing a few small businesses, but its ok, because there’s more Pell Grant money now.” The way that they at first describe the new changes seems like they are against putting Sallie Mae, etc. out of business, but towards the middle of the article, it is easy to see that is not the case. The author again swings back into supporting small businesses by giving a quote about involving both for-profit and non-profit lenders, but how would that be possible? Although Fox tends to be more towards the right, this author may be leaning a little further left. We will soon find out if this bill passes or not.

President Obama Loses Support in the Golden State

President Obama has lost quite a bit of support in the last twelve months from California citizens. In the last year his approval ratings have fallen from 65%to 52%. The state that usually tends to vote for democratic candidates, has become ill impressed with the president they had so much hope for when he was first elected to turn our country around. One of the issues that has influenced this thirteen point drop is healthcare. Many California voters are not in favor of the healthcare plan President Obama has proposed. However, it is not just the White House that they are unimpressed with. They also do not agree with the job that Congress is doing either. If President Obama's ratings continue to drop, this could really hurt him in the 2012 election. Depending on what happens with Congress and his proposed healthcare plan, more states could be following in California's foot steps.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/california-politics/2010/03/obamas-approval-rating-falls-in-california.html

Free (Hate) Speech aka "To Speak or not to Speak"

"To speak or not to speak, that is the question." Back again with yet another interesting article from the beautiful minds of the people of Newsweek. Hmmm.... a little sarcasm at play here or not? I bet you guys would like to know. Anyhow, the article that will be the topic of discussion on this nice saturday evening will be one concerning freedom of speech, our "beautiful" first amendment right. The article talks about a father who's lost his son due to the "War" in Iraq back in 2006. The Maryland father wanted to do the right thing and honor his son at the military funeral. Little did he know that people would picket near the church with signs reading such slurs as, "Thank God for Dead Soldiers" and "Fag Troops". It was never stated within the article whether or not the son was gay, something that is forbidden in the armed services. The group which are from a Baptist Church flew from Topeka, Kansas to Maryland just to picket this funeral and share their views. The question is whether these actions are considered free speech under the first amendment. Knock, knock..... (in enters the exigence). Free speech is never really free at the end of the day. You have all types of regulations and censorship that prohibits free speech in America, i.e. the FCC. In no way do I share their views or feel that what they did was right. I feel that there is a right time and right place to say things and express opinions that can offend, funerals are not one of those places. The father sued the Church for defamation and intrusion. It was a $10 million suit and he won the case. Later it was reduced to $5 million and now it has become a matter of the U.S. Supreme Court and will be reviewed. The people of this Kansas church seem a bit radical and obviously have extreme right wing conservative views, their audience. That is the audience that they are trying to appeal to. They are clearly against the homosexual community and will stop at nothing to express their views. Knock knock......."Who is it?" "Mr. Constraints." Lol, a little corny, I know. Anyhow, these beliefs and views that they share is what have influenced them to picket over 600 military funerals. They say the best things in life are free, if that is the case, on the list of "The Best 100 things in Life", speech would probably rank at 105.

Health Care Reform

Link:http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/03/20/health.care.main/index.html

Today marks a historic day in America history. Over on Capitol Hill today in Washington, D.C. we'll experience potentially the biggest legislation decision congress has ever made in the last four decades since the passing of Medicare and Medicare. Over this possible legislation debate will come from the haste of the democrats with their majority on the house and the senate as well as a democratic president pushing his own agenda.

Earlier this afternoon Speaker Nancy Pelosi removed her backing of the democrats “deem and pass” approach of this bill. This is self-executing rule is a method used to streamline legislation through the House and has been used 85 times in the last 5 years. I have a concern that this method is not constitutionality sound and thus I’m quite happy she has removed her support. However, I still am uneasy with the democrats method of using a legislative maneuver called reconciliation that would allow the Bill to pass the Senate with a simple majority, something else used to streamline legislation but in this landmark event it violates many of our rights as American Citizens.

All and all I think enjoy the “spirit” of the health care bill, but I concerned with some of the methods being used to force this though our political system. I do have faith in the processes of our Federal Government and I’m excited to see the progress of our political system today.

Obama vs. Republican Party

When viewing the current financial status of the United State there is no denying that some sort of reform needs to take place. Today, President Obama addressed the public concerning the current banking system in the United States and worldwide. The purpose of the address was for President Obama to make it publicly known that he would not tolerate “any attempts to undermine the independence of this agency”. By publicly addressing this issue President Obama is creating an audience in favor of this particular issue, while also secluding those opposed to bank reform. In many instances with the bank reform, those of the Republican Party are strongly opposed to it. President Obama is exercising his own form of exigence by placing a high level of importance on this bank reform. By giving a set guideline as to how this would take place and how it would affect the U.S. banking system is a way of instilling a confidence to those who are concerned with what some view as a crippling economy. The only issue that I see with the current stance President Obama is taking is creating a clear separation between the two parties. Although the outcomes are ideal it will most likely not occur if one side is in not in agreement. For this reform to take place the administration will have to take a less aggressive stance on the bank reform and instill some of the ideas of the opposition as well.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/21/us/politics/21address.html?ref=politics

Obama's final health care push

This aricle is about how President Obama made a final, urgent public plea for health care reform. He did this by slamming private insurers and accusing his plan's opponents of spreading lies and distortions. The House of Representatives is set to vote Sunday on a $875 billion reform plan that cleared the Senate in December, as well as another $65 billion of compromise changes. A Quote President Obama used to persuade voters is, "If you believe that it's right, you've got to help us finish this fight...The time for reform is right now." Basically, if the Senate bill passes the House, Obama will sign it into law. President Obama is using his political power to persuade voters by slamming private insurers accusing them of spreading lies and distortions. Obama is also warning that is Congresss rejects his plan, "The insurance industry will continue to run amok." I view this as a rhetorical situation. President Obama has created discourse by trying to use persuasive methods to change the way people think and act (by voting) about health care. I believe President Obama is attacking private insurers and saying the insurance industry will continue to run amok if the health care bill doesn't pass to reach the unattentive public. People who are not educated on the pros and cons of the health care reform will be more easily persuaded to vote for Obama's health care plan. The article ends with Obama stating, "The only question left is this: Are we going to let the special interestes win again, or are we going to make this vote a victory for the American people?" I feel this statement is relative to a speech act but President Obama is doing something as well as conveying meaning. He is providing reasons while trying to persuade the American people to vote for health care. He is trying to get people to listen to what he says but also see what the health care plan can do for Americans.

Does the Media Persuade You?

Many of us fall into one of the two categories, the attentive public or the inattentive public. The attentive public is for those people who pay more attention to politics then what is actually going on in the world, the inattentive public is for those people who are persuaded by the media. I for one would have to say I fall into this category. I believe that when watching the news it’s hard to not be persuaded by it. This media isn’t just coming from the news; it’s coming from what I hear on the radio and what I read online and in magazines. It surrounds us everywhere.

As I was reading the some articles online one that came to my attention was an article from CNN Travel titled “Mexican violence scaring off American tourists,” posted by Paul Vercammen and Ted Rowlands. In this article the authors discussed how tourists have now become afraid to travel because of the bad wrap places like Mexico have been getting in the media. A street vendor from Mexico discusses that business has gone down a big amount and explains, "Please tell them, the Americans, it's safe to come here. We are all Americans, North Americans.” Even though this may be true, many of us are still afraid to travel out of the country. As I read more of this article I am persuaded though that Mexico has gotten better since a few years back because Paul and Ted interviewed some student’s doing service work in Mexico that explained, "To be honest, I was a tiny bit nervous crossing the border," Walker said. "I've been to Mexico before, but not for service projects. But now that I have been here a couple days, I am perfectly comfortable." As much as traveling to a different country might make people nervous, can the media really affect our lives and the way we live?

Article
http://www.cnn.com

What is the Public Concerned About?

What are Americans concerned about? Are they concerned about politics, environment, or what the Media tells us? A Fox News article says that Americans are less concerned about environmental issues than they have been in the 20 years. The article discusses a poll from Gallup that shows the shift in public attitude is because people think environmental issues are improving or that economic concerns outweigh environmental issues. The poll asked people, "If they worry a great deal about eight distinct environmental issues" and the percentage that answered yes was lower than last year. The number was the lowest since the past 20 years. A bill passed the House last year about the urgency behind enacting comprehensive climate change, but the Senate has not approved anything. Global warming was one category that still had concern, is this because the media had coverage on it?

I am questioning political socialization, which refers to the ways in which individuals gain knowledge about the political world and learn to orient themselves to politics. The article discusses how public concern about environmental issues hits a 20 year low, but global warming is an exception. I think this is because the media discusses global warming quite a bit which makes the public aware of the issues around it. This can be the same with politics, i think that the media has an affect on what we learn about politics. In class we discussed how comedic shows like SNL tells the truth and gets the word out there about political issues and politics and the younger generation tends to watch these shows. I think its interesting how media has such an affect on our lives and the information we retain.

Government Ignores Persistence

People (including government) in America are now just making fools of themselves. According to an article found on foxnews.com, Hawaii receives between at least ten and twenty e-mails each week from people looking for verification that Obama was indeed born there. Because it has become repetitive and extremely annoying to Hawaii, the State House Judiciary Committee was presented a bill permitting government officials to ignore people who won’t give up. These individuals, who the article refers to as “birthers,” are constantly accusing Obama as ineligible to be our president because he was technically born outside of the United States of America, therefore, enabling him to be president.

I do not agree with the birthers when they say he is unable to be our president due to being born outside of the USA, but I also do not agree with the government being allowed to ignore persistent people. This shows how the political process is strictly about power. The government has the power to ignore people, and like the article brings up, America does not want to be internationally known as the country that does not allow people to know where our president was born. Why hide? If the people have questions or simply want to see a birth certificate, I feel that they should be allowed to see that. Honestly, in my opinion, this article almost reached “edutainment” for me. It is literally a joke to me that the government would be able to just ignore people who are not willing to give up. So, the political process in the USA proves that they have power over us, they make and enforce the laws, and we, the people, get to be thoroughly “edutained” on said topics.

Another Market failure? Not so fast!

With the fall of huge corporations and many people losing money in the market that Americans depend on more and more every day it is important to implement a regulatory group to look after these large corps. This is what the government is attempting to do by releasing a draft bill of sweeping regulatory changes aimed at warding off future collapses in the financial system. We all saw what happened to the fall of AIG and GM and how it has affected our financial future as we have loaned out trillions to businesses around the nation. Not only will it help the large corporations but is also supposed to look after us, the little guy trying to make a living in this market. The article goes on to mention bank monitoring and early warning systems to when this issue could occur again. Do you think this bill is smart for our future or is just causing a pain during the health car bill which is still in limbo?

Ohio and the Health Care Bill

In an article from USA today titled “Buckeye brickbats for Obama’s Ohio visit,” and posted by Kathy Kiely, talks about Republican Congressional Candidate Jim Renacci and how he attempted to turn a presidential appearance into one for his own benefit. On a conference call with reporters, Renacci said that the president had "tone-deaf, misguided, reckless leadership" he also mentioned that the health care bill is "being forced on the American people." To me this statement and use of appearance for his own benefit can be associated with the concept of agenda setting. In the text agenda setting is described as a tactic that tells people what to think about (p.77). In this instance Renacci is doing just that. He is criticizing Obama and the health care bill in hopes that people will hear what he is saying and prioritize that issue. The article goes on to question if Jon Boccieri, the current Democratic Rep. will change is vote on the bill when it comes to the house because of the highly Republican constituents. This further supports the agenda setting element to continue focusing on the health care bill. One of the reasons, the texts suggests, that agenda setting works is because they target a less interested, less involved public (p.77). This usually causes the audience to listen to what they are saying and think about the item at hand.

Stimulus Package: Is it Working?

It has been an entire year since the 800 billion dollar stimulus package was passed. Yet the state of the U.S. economy still finds itself facing many problems. The current unemployment rate remains at one of the highest since the Great Depression. Millions of American is upset because trillions of the taxpayers money has been committed to many government bailout plans, yet there seems to be no sight of improvement in today’s economy.
The questions that I have, is where is all of this money going? And why has it not been helpful, like our government promised? The government has allowed the pricing of homes to continue to rise, and this is going to eventually catch up to the economy if it has not already done so. In this case the government needs to allow the price of homes to fall, in order to bring the market back to a sustainable level. I completely disagree with the idea of having a stimulus package. The package attempts to boost the level of economy by taking money from hardworking American taxpayers and is spent toward irrelevant policies that have already suffered from the current level of the economy. Overall our government is wasting billions of dollars to accomplish nothing. Article link below:
http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/01/25/paul.stimulus.waste/index.html

Gossip Is All Around

Should we really believe everything we read? With recent scandals in politics we start to question what is true and what is false. Gossip in politics has become a way for people to basically get away with murder, and to do and say whatever they want. This got me thinking of a concept we have discussed many times this semester in class, and that is the junkyard dog. The junkyard dog is person and in the case of politics, a journalist who is willing to use any means necessary to go above and beyond attacking someone in the media, and spreading nasty rumors.

This tends to go on a lot during campaigns and when someone finds it necessary to make up a rumor to make them look better. In the article Gossip: Of Politics, People and Relationships I found the concept of the junkyard dog to be very appropriate. Writer Allan Schwartz of the article discusses how gossip in politics only occurs when the person or the subject is not present, because that’s when they can get away with whatever they want. Nasty rumors explained by Schwartz always go something like this, “Did you hear that Barack Obama was friends with a left wing radical during the 1970's?" or Did you hear that John McCain had once been involved in very shady bank dealings?” It is easy to see how people love gossip, and believe whatever they hear from the news to be true. I believe that Schwartz was right when he explained that gossip has become something of a norm to us now days. Just because it’s a norm does it make it alright though?

http://www.mentalhelp.net/poc/view_doc.php?type=doc&id=22416

Guns, guns, for everyone!

The Associated Press’ article titled, “Justices may extend gun owner rights nationwide,” explains the United States Supreme Court’s suggestion to completely remove US cities’ bans on handguns. While the second amendment to the Constitution protects citizen’s rights to own a firearm for self-defense, many cities like Chicago and Oak Park have prohibited handguns to prevent gun violence.

This decision that the Supreme Court is likely to pass is a direct example of “Politics of Consumption” which we have defined in class as, “how the government regulates what we buy and the way we consume things.” If this decision passes, then the opportunity to purchase goods has increased for US citizens. While this may result in a slight increase in the number of firearms sold/owned in the US, this ruling is not intended to be a move to stimulate the economy. However, it is interesting to examine how the ruling that the Supreme Court is expected to hand out will not only incorporate the second amendment, but also the “due process” clause of the 14^th amendment.

The “due process” clause states that, “no state shall deprive any person of life, liberty or property without due process of law” and forbids a state to make or enforce any law “which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States.” This is especially intriguing because if you think about it, the government is going to weaken protective gun laws because they do not want to “deprive anyone of property,” however the government continues to regulate laws concerning people owning/possessing marijuana.

I am in no way against the second amendment (I am an avid hunter), however I find it silly to remove laws that have protected citizens for over 140 years, while maintaining strict laws against a relatively harmless plant, and using the exact same “due process” excuse for both instances. The government is picking and choosing what they want to regulate strictly or not, which clearly shows that they run the game of Politics of Consumption, not the citizens.

A Victory For Obama

The article that I found was from www.newsweek.com, and it was based on Pakistan and the war in Afghanistan. The article also discusses Obama performance so far as president. It states in the article that Presisent Obama gets much credit for changing America's image in the world, and that he was probably awarded the noble prize for doing so. The article states that if you asked devoted fans to cite a specific foriegn policy achievements, that they would probably hesistate. The article argues that there is a place where Barack Obama's foreign policy is working, and one that is crucial to Us national security which is Pakistani. The article was brok down in two three different sections, and it was basically three different ways a foriegn policy can be sucessful. Out all of the three case studys the one that stuck out to me was the second one, which was to pursuade. This particular case study was all about how President Obama had invited Indian Prime Minster Mamohan Singh over to his first state dinner. Basically President Obama invited the Prime Minster to dinner to persuade him, and to also re-establish a relationship with him. This example is something like what we discussed in class about rhetoric, and how it is a form or persuasion. President Obama was doing just that when he invited the Prime Minster for dinner. The president used rhetoric when inviting the Prime Minster to dinner, and I'm sure when conversating with him as well.

Pack Journalism at its Finest!

I am torn between whether or not knowing President Obama has decided to postpone his trip to Asia is important for the public know. CNN, AOL, etc., have Obama’s decision to postpone his trip to Asia as one of their “top” political articles. Pack journalism has obviously taken hold of this small bit of knowledge and turned it into something unnecessarily extravagant. Will the public see any drastic changes in the health care reform in those three days? Probably not.
            Democrats are hoping to finally make the last push for the passage of health care reform, which is why Obama is staying in D.C. Many are still concerned as to whether or not it will be passed - with or without Obama present. Changes are still being made, but the White House Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanual, explained to reporters that the end is near; they are near the finish line, meaning few, if any, changes are going to be seen. As the article on AOL continues, it drifts off to a car accident that Harry Reid’s (Senate Majority Leader) wife and daughter were in a severe automobile accident. It even mentions that his wife has serious injuries, such as a broken neck and back. Due to the lack of staying on topic, the universal audience is seeing an example of image advertising. The author is giving us a personal life story, not the facts on the big topic here: health care. The unfortunate and very serious accident may be seen as a tactic to persuade the possible voters who are less attentive or on the fence of passing or failing the health care reform, more of a reason to vote to pass said reform. Relating to a life story or sympathizing with another person can be reasons to jump on the bandwagon.
            Overall, it is obvious that the health care reform is important and relevant to be talked about in the media. Yet, knowing that Obama is temporarily halting his trip to Asia to be present for this reform is not something I consider important. Maybe he has been encouraged to stay because is looks like he is deeply involved and truly concerned about the issue, but we all know that he should already be both of those things. Multiple news stations reporting on this is not necessary, but due to pack journalism, I’m sure we have not seen the last about this trip. 

Breaking Up Is Hard to Do......

The article that I found is from the always "insightful" Newsweek. The article discusses the President and how the media, "finally falls out of love with Obama." The article goes on to state that the press is becoming a bit bored with President Obama. This relates to a concept we have gone over plenty of times this semester regarding the media/press. That concept is agenda setting. Agenda setting relates to mass media and it states that the media doesn't tell us what or how to think, but what to think about. Framing and priming are also aspects of agenda setting and that focuses on the emphasis given to the story and how it is covered. Therefore if the media/press is becoming bored with President Obama, that must mean the public shares the same feelings as the media which is far from true. We all know that the media plays a major role in the way that we perceive ourselves and society, so the less coverage we see of President Obama, the less-relevant he becomes to society. Some reasons the article gives as to why they are becoming bored with Obama is because he seems a bit ineffective and he just doesn't seem to know how to play the "game." However, the article goes on to state that this can be a good thing for Obama. It will help him to realize that the media/press isn't his friends and he can stop worrying about pleasing them and take the necessary steps to getting this economy back on track. At the end of the day, the President needs the media just as much as the media needs the President. It is a relationship of equity, but then again, is there ever really any equity in the realm of "politics" in the U.S.? Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that one out.

Saturday Voting???

The article I chose to write my first blog post on is from The New York Times and is titled “A Push to Supplement Tuesday Voting With Weekends,” written by Jesse McKinley. It explains how a San Francisco Political Consultant plans to get a second day for voting in next year’s general election for the city of San Fran. The man behind the campaign is Alex Tourk and he explains that the proposal would fundamentally duplicate the Tuesday voting occurrence by opening all precincts for the entire day on the preceding Saturday. This can be considered a Rhetorical Situation that consists of an exigence, audience, and constraints. The exigence or need here is an additional day that people can come out to the poles and vote. Another need is for more people to be voting in National Elections, because according to the article America tails most of the world in voter participation. It explains that “work, child care issues and fatigue” are reasons that keep people home on the Tuesday Voting Day. This shows a clear want for change. The Audience in this situation includes the people of San Francisco that have a problem with the current voting day and would like another option. They hope to increase the audience to the rest of the nation through a successful campaign. The constraints are explained in the article and include how would they secure the votes that are cast on the alternate day, how to update rolls to prevent voting twice, as well has how will this be funded. With these three elements, the exigence, audience, and constraints, the campaign to add another day for voting is seen as a political rhetorical situation.

Coffee party vs Tea party

After reading the article Coffee vs. Tea: A political movement is brewing; it described a new group of individuals that are meeting to discuss political issues currently taking place. These members are looking for a “real” government representation. The purpose of the group is to have citizens recognize the need for them to speak out in order to get the government to accurately listen and represent them. This group does not align itself with any particular party. It relates to what is discussed in the book as “kingmaking”, the idea of one party winning and the other losing. The Coffee party believes that this idea is the problem with democracy now-a-days. They explain that the recent healthcare debate has shown the divide in our country and problems with in the political process. The tea party is very opposed to the development and ideas of the Coffee party. I however, agree with the Coffee party’s belief that kingmaking/ having winners and losers in almost every aspect of politics does cause a divide and problems with in our country. Instead of having a nation that comes together, it seems that the two political parties are always in a constant battle.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/03/13/coffee.party/index.html

Healthcare divide

Among the many topics being discussed recently in politics healthcare and it’s reform has been getting a majority of the medias attention. Constant battling over legislation makes it seem that the proposed bill will never actually make it further than the legislative branch. The most recent changes to the bill have been brought forth by the Democratic Party, which is aiming to add a form of student aid into the bill. Without much prior warning of such changes the Republican Party now has grounds to object the bill altogether. This opposition has caused further delay in other aspects of politics as well. The Democratic response has said it will delay President Obama’s trip to Asia for as many as three days to quickly find a resolution to the problems the Republicans are having. By having this divide the Republican party as well as the Democratic are not only wasting precious time with such a hot issue, they are also neglecting international affairs as well. Many politicians from both parties see the healthcare reform as something that can wait until much needed economic crises are dealt with. The collapse of very influential banks and lending organizations recently has strengthened such claims, and will only continue to do so for months to come. By taking a less intense approach to the healthcare issue I think both sides would be much better received, allowing some actual legislative progress to be made.

Too much sex can be a bad thing...

Our political environment in the United States allows for independent political action committees and groups to have their voices be heard. This is in line and indeed a part of the idea of the political science perspective as indicated in our course. And subsequently, this concept can be illustrated through PETA's most recent attempts at advertising to have pets spayed and neutered.

PETA has taken Tiger Woods' sex scandal and used it as an opportunity to encourage individuals to take positive actions in decreasing overpopulation of pets in the United States. Advertisements fall under the realm of political communication. With the appropriate amount of analysis, political communication can be found in almost an areas. It's important for us to apply it to Tiger's situation and PETA's attempt as well.

They argue, with a picture of Tiger, that "too much sex can be a bad thing for little tigers too." The concept is that you should get your pets spayed or neutered and falls under the concept that nothing is safe in society. Overall, anything is fair game when it comes to making your point. That includes sex scandals. Essentially, if you don't want to be used for someone's cause, then you should stay out of the mainstream.

Tiger was apparently unhappy with the concept of be used for the cause. And although PETA agreed not to make billboards, as originally intended, the design has still been seen all over the internet.

"fair" poll is sham.

This poll seems at first very accurate it has separate standings for all the political parties. Also showing However after examining it for a few minutes one notices that you can compare President Obama's standing in polls to President Bush's.

However on closer examination, one notices how the statistics for President Bush are not from his presidency, but current. This shows how the media is not impartial but pushes people to believe certain things.

Anyone just glancing at the poll would think that President Bush was much more popular than President Obama is. However as President Bush is currently not doing anything controversial, or even anything on the political scene, he will be viewed favorably. The impartial way to compare the two presidents would be to compare statistics from the same period .

Although this is not an article from Fox news it is put up by them. They are clearly trying to push a conservative agenda. They do this by using facts but twisting them to plant false ideas.

This only goes to prove the fact that no news station can be completely non partial because no human is completely non partial. Every news station parades that they are non partial and that they provide fair news. This is in no place true. While fox news clearly favors the consirvative side. NBC would favor the liberal. It is only by looking at all sides of a story that a reader can figure out the true story.

Obama's Presidency "All Just A Series of Pseudo Events?"

In our political communication class we have discusses the concept of pseudo events. Bell, Conners, and Sheckels state, "Sometimes stories are deemed newsworthy, but the events have been structured by organizations for the primary purpose of gaining new attention; Daniel J. Boorstin has termed such events as pseudo events" (69). Activity that exists all for the purpose of media publicity and has no effect on real life. A link I found from CATO Institute discusses how President Obama must move away from pseudo events. The article discusses that there has yet been changes that can be outlines from President Obama's grand strategy to implement change. All there is to point out is a series of pseudo events. The article discusses that President Obama's trip to Europe, participation in the Summit of the Americas, and meeting the top world leaders and television appearances have been regarded by most of the American media as foreign policy success, but in reality Obama can claim no concrete diplomatic accomplishments.

I do not know if I necessarily agree with the article entirely. I do feel that a lot of President Obama's appearances have been a part of pseudo events to gain media attention and to create a certain image for the President, but I do not totally agree that President Obama can claim no concrete diplomatic accomplishments. President Obama has not made any huge diplomatic accomplishments yet, but to say that all of his work is just a series of pseudo events and there is no real meaning to try to change out country for the better is wrong. I believe the media is using Obama and stating that he is not accomplishing anything for a pseudo event in itself. I believe the media is always looking for a target to gain attention and obviously the President is going to be their largest one of all.

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again ...

One of the themes that we have discussed in IPC 4020 this semester is the use of popular culture by politicians. As our textbook states, "popular culture can be used to send the messages candidates and elected officials desire" (364). Our textbook focuses on how politicians go on programs like Oprah as the means of using popular culture, but we also might look at how politicians make references to popular culture, like sports, films, and music, in their campaigns. As an example, as this news story shows, Texas governor Rick Perry has utilized a parody of the ABBA number 1 hit from the mid-1970s "Dancing Queen" in his primary race against Kay Bailey Hutchinson, who is leaving the Senate to run for governor of Texas. Perry's parody of the song critiques Hutchinson as the "Earmark Queen." On the one hand, this is meant by Perry's campaign to associate Hutchinson with what it's attempting to portray as wasteful or useless spending. It's using a prominent popular culture text to do that. However, we might also examine what it shows about Perry. Does this, for instance, portray him as having a sense of humor or being a little more down to earth by associating him with ABBA and with this parody?