Sunday, January 20, 2008
Bush Biography
There was a lack of a post of real significance on the Daily Kos. So I went searching for an updated conservative blog. I quickly found “Power Line.” The most recent post is titled “We Can’t Wait.” Apparently Oliver Stone is creating a film biography of Pres. Bush. I am intrigued, because I think that such a film would certainly, and immediately, fail. BUT, the blogger claims “if all of Stone's fellow BDS sufferers buy a ticket, it will be the Gone with the Wind of the 21st century.” Is this the politics talking or just the wishful thinking that precedes most movie releases? Oliver’s last film, “Alexander,” was a joke in the box office; most movie goers even claimed that it was a downright horrible movie. But he hope to create an unbiased film entitled Bush starring Josh Brolin. I doubt that it will be as effective as some might hope, but most certainly, it will mix things up a little. If we are lucky it may even present us with something that we haven’t seen or heard before. Other movies along the line of a political “true” story have attempted to do the same. “Breach,” a movie following the biggest break in security at within the CIA, fell flat on its nose. It was unimaginative and lacked any real plot. The only way that Stone can save his movie is to promote it as a documentary/biography, and not a feature film.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Jan 20
Jill Derby, Chair of the Nevada State Party, spoke about Nevada’s choice for delegates. She said: “We look forward to our county and state conventions where we will choose the delegates for the nominee that Nevadans support." But Kos claims. “Translation: If this thing is close, "we" party insiders will "choose" for the rest of the state.” I actually agree with what Kos says today. In the case of Nevada, he tells us about how delegates are sent to vote for “the nominee that Nevadans support.” They are not required to vote for the nominee that they pledged to vote for. In a case like this, the “voter” is still open to persuasion, even after the popular vote has been taken. The political system in the US may have become outdated. Maybe not the entire system, democracy seems to have been working out well so far, but certain “little” things.
After this election, I think that we should begin to take a harder look at how our political process works out. This issue wasn’t mentioned in the Daily Kos, but I think it is important. What about the 3rd party? Nowadays, the 3d party has almost no chance of ever getting elected. The entire system is a 2 party system. I’m not saying that I always agree with the 3rd party, the fact is: I don’t know what they stand for. I might vote for them I knew what they had to say. I suppose if I really wanted to know, I could look it up. But the fact remains that the average American wants the politics handed to them on a silver platter. They don’t want to have to go searching for the new issues.
Pending a newer post from “All Things Conservative” I decided to look to a similar conservative blog. But “Little Green Footballs” also failed to meet my expectations. Not only were there a few posts, all the posts contained little useable commentary. I will try tomorrow to find something more useful.
After this election, I think that we should begin to take a harder look at how our political process works out. This issue wasn’t mentioned in the Daily Kos, but I think it is important. What about the 3rd party? Nowadays, the 3d party has almost no chance of ever getting elected. The entire system is a 2 party system. I’m not saying that I always agree with the 3rd party, the fact is: I don’t know what they stand for. I might vote for them I knew what they had to say. I suppose if I really wanted to know, I could look it up. But the fact remains that the average American wants the politics handed to them on a silver platter. They don’t want to have to go searching for the new issues.
Pending a newer post from “All Things Conservative” I decided to look to a similar conservative blog. But “Little Green Footballs” also failed to meet my expectations. Not only were there a few posts, all the posts contained little useable commentary. I will try tomorrow to find something more useful.
Jan 19
“Cheers and Jeers: Rum and Coke FRIDAY!” The blogger on the “Daily Kos” creates a new holiday on Sunday marking the day exactly one day before Bush leaves office. Apparently, this is no longer a political blog. This blog site has not become a site purely where people bash the current administration.
“Date after date will pass, never to again exist under the dark cloud of this greedy, crony-filled, incompetent, lying, power-mad administration. This fact alone---despite war and recession and constitution-shredding and the knowledge that one year of Bush/Cheney is like 5 human years---will produce a little daily rainbow in my brain. A little spring in my step.”
After reading this quote, which mentions nothing of the policies (except the war/recession), I am stunned. As far as I have heard, this is the worst attack on the administration. I almost fail believe that a person can feel that negatively about the administration. Well, maybe not. But this person has failed to give any reason for this attack, only that the day they leave it to be celebrated with a lot of drinking. It is this type of generalization that bothers me the most.
Because the conservative blog has not posted, yet again, I am left reading the liberal blog. This is quite discouraging. I tend to see myself as a conservative. Yet, day after day I read this “crap.” Occasionally there may be an insightful post, but most of the time it is all slanted irredeemably. There seems to be little that I can take away from my reading.
“Date after date will pass, never to again exist under the dark cloud of this greedy, crony-filled, incompetent, lying, power-mad administration. This fact alone---despite war and recession and constitution-shredding and the knowledge that one year of Bush/Cheney is like 5 human years---will produce a little daily rainbow in my brain. A little spring in my step.”
After reading this quote, which mentions nothing of the policies (except the war/recession), I am stunned. As far as I have heard, this is the worst attack on the administration. I almost fail believe that a person can feel that negatively about the administration. Well, maybe not. But this person has failed to give any reason for this attack, only that the day they leave it to be celebrated with a lot of drinking. It is this type of generalization that bothers me the most.
Because the conservative blog has not posted, yet again, I am left reading the liberal blog. This is quite discouraging. I tend to see myself as a conservative. Yet, day after day I read this “crap.” Occasionally there may be an insightful post, but most of the time it is all slanted irredeemably. There seems to be little that I can take away from my reading.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Jan 18
Pending a newer post from “All Things Conservative,” I am left reading the liberal “Daily Kos” yet again. The post that I read today was titled: “Our Sins Remembered.” It dealt mainly with the issues of “stagflation.”
This term was rather new to me. It refers to a period where economic growth is stagnant combined with rising inflation. The cycle of recession and growth is compensated for in both cases with inflation. When there is a fear of rising inflation, the government cracks down on the supply of money available in the US. Then when the job market is rough and there is not much spending, the economy is stimulated be increased spending. But now, similar to the 1970’s there is little economic growth while inflation still rises. And this time around, it did not take massive action from OPEC to send us into a downward spiral toward “stagflation.” Yet even now, our dependency is greater than it was in the 70’s. The writer blames our lack of oil independence on the Republicans (go figure) but I don’t agree with that particu.lar statement.
What I do agree with is what we need to do now. We must release ourselves from the hold that the “oil countries” have over us. I think that the looming shortage of oil will definitely hurt our economy. But because our country is built on the interstate system (so to say), we will be forced to innovate to keep our country alive.
I’m no expert when it comes to issues like this, but one thing is clear, we should have already had a plan to decrease our dependency by now. We need to take steps now to ensure our superiority in the world market. The oil that flows into our country controls our economy, when the oil “dries up,” we will be left without a leg to stand on. The next administration MUST begin taking steps to ensure this independence.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Jan 17
Apparently the democratic switch vote for Romney worked. The headlines from the Detroit Free Press reads: "ROMNEY MAKES IT ANYBODYS RACE." Detroit News reads, "ROMNEY BLASTS GOP RACE WIDE OPEN." I wonder whether these news papers know about the Mitt for Michigan campaign. Romney’s win in Michigan must be taken with a grain of salt. It is possible that the papers are trying to sell copies by slanting stories, but the reader must not be pulled in to thinking that Romney is doing great.
Unfortunately, the conservative blog I have been following hasn’t posted anything new for quite some time. I am left only to comment on the liberal site “The Daily Kos.” In a recent post, the blogger brings up the issue of Mark Deli Siljander, a former Republican congressman from Michigan.
“A former congressman and delegate to the United Nations was indicted Wednesday as part of a terrorist fundraising ring that allegedly sent more than $130,000 to an al-Qaida and Taliban supporter who has threatened U.S. and international troops in Afghanistan.”
The blogger takes this exception to a respectable congressman and turns him into the “first Congressional creation of the radical religious right.” But the quote that I find the most ignorant is this
“In short, Mark Siljander is a archetypal radical rightwing politician. They espouse patriotism and fundamental values, but really, they're just ignorant, intolerant, greedy and don't care about America.”
Not only do they apply the miss deeds of a single person to an entire group, a strategy used by the worst kind of people (of whom we have talked in class), but they then make further rash generalizations about the entire group. One of the things that bugs me the most is when people make ignorant generalizations. Generalizations are bad enough when they come from someone who doesn’t know what they are talking about, but for a “political analyst” to make such a sweeping statement about a group as visible as the Republican Party is outrageous. It leaves me only to assume that the blogger, although intelligent, cannot not be trusted. Everything that they have said is now irreversibly redeemable. I fear for those who rely on this slanted opinion for their own political outlook.
Unfortunately, the conservative blog I have been following hasn’t posted anything new for quite some time. I am left only to comment on the liberal site “The Daily Kos.” In a recent post, the blogger brings up the issue of Mark Deli Siljander, a former Republican congressman from Michigan.
“A former congressman and delegate to the United Nations was indicted Wednesday as part of a terrorist fundraising ring that allegedly sent more than $130,000 to an al-Qaida and Taliban supporter who has threatened U.S. and international troops in Afghanistan.”
The blogger takes this exception to a respectable congressman and turns him into the “first Congressional creation of the radical religious right.” But the quote that I find the most ignorant is this
“In short, Mark Siljander is a archetypal radical rightwing politician. They espouse patriotism and fundamental values, but really, they're just ignorant, intolerant, greedy and don't care about America.”
Not only do they apply the miss deeds of a single person to an entire group, a strategy used by the worst kind of people (of whom we have talked in class), but they then make further rash generalizations about the entire group. One of the things that bugs me the most is when people make ignorant generalizations. Generalizations are bad enough when they come from someone who doesn’t know what they are talking about, but for a “political analyst” to make such a sweeping statement about a group as visible as the Republican Party is outrageous. It leaves me only to assume that the blogger, although intelligent, cannot not be trusted. Everything that they have said is now irreversibly redeemable. I fear for those who rely on this slanted opinion for their own political outlook.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Jan 14
Today’s most interesting post was from “The Daily Kos.” Kos claims that Clinton, Obama, and even Edwards have double digit leads over all other Republican candidates; except for McCain who has a close 48% vote (compared to 50%). Kos later claims that McCain is the best choice, saying “Anything to stop the McCain boomlet this early on will be good for us.” I find that particular quote quite interesting, considering that in the conservative blog yesterday, the blogger claimed that McCain’s campaign was over months ago. Kos says that for some reason, people are still falling for McCain’s “straight talk bullshit.”
But more close to home is the Mitt for Michigan campaign. In this particular effort by democrats, they plan to swap sides and vote for Romney. With democrats voting for Romney, they hope to nominate a candidate that they can beat; “because the GOP deserves the very worst.” Although this strategy makes sense, it seems to be quite underhanded. Kos even praises the effort because it will give the least popular Republican a tainted victory, and because it will cause even more confusion. He now hopes not only to ruin Romney’s chances for president, but also he wants to harm the candidate personally.
But more close to home is the Mitt for Michigan campaign. In this particular effort by democrats, they plan to swap sides and vote for Romney. With democrats voting for Romney, they hope to nominate a candidate that they can beat; “because the GOP deserves the very worst.” Although this strategy makes sense, it seems to be quite underhanded. Kos even praises the effort because it will give the least popular Republican a tainted victory, and because it will cause even more confusion. He now hopes not only to ruin Romney’s chances for president, but also he wants to harm the candidate personally.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Jan 10
“Hillary Was Supposed to Win New Hampshire.” That was the title of a recent blog post from All Things Conservative. He begins his post with a long winded “I told you so.” After making a controversial call about the New Hampshire primary, it turned out that he was right. He uses his “political astuteness” to cement his further predictions. On his part, this was an excellent move; it lends credibility to the rest of his analysis. He claims that the media was the actual winner of the New Hampshire primary. He tells us that the media over exposed Obama, because it made for good “news.” After the primary, they touted Hilary as the "come from behind" winner, similar to Bill in 1992. All of campaigns these days seem to be controlled completely by the media, not by the issues. Hilary’s campaign was never in any real trouble, but going into the primary, she was thought to be far behind Obama. This is just the twisted lens of the media; telling us what to believe and who to vote for.
Later, he claims that Giuliani is in danger of becoming irreverent. Again blaming the media, he claims that Giuliani is barely being talked about, and may soon lose his chance at the race. And then McCain. He claims that McCain’s campaign was over months ago, and still says that McCain will not win the nomination.
One thing that intrigues me is the fact that for how much the blogger rags on the media, he seems to give little thought to the fact that he is a part of that media himself. I understand that being biased is part of being a conservative blogger (or blogger of any sort), but my hope is that they aren’t ignorant of this contorted view.
Later, he claims that Giuliani is in danger of becoming irreverent. Again blaming the media, he claims that Giuliani is barely being talked about, and may soon lose his chance at the race. And then McCain. He claims that McCain’s campaign was over months ago, and still says that McCain will not win the nomination.
One thing that intrigues me is the fact that for how much the blogger rags on the media, he seems to give little thought to the fact that he is a part of that media himself. I understand that being biased is part of being a conservative blogger (or blogger of any sort), but my hope is that they aren’t ignorant of this contorted view.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Jan 8
All Things Conservative's latest post discuses the holding of illegal immigrants for court dates. The blogger argues that as everyone knows, the reason the immigrants are held is because otherwise they wouldn’t show up for court. To me, this actually makes sense. If an illegal immigrant is caught and given a court date, they are basically told, “Come back on this day so we can deport you.” Why would they go back? Honestly, I don’t think I would. The blogger prescribes: “Deport them and make them fight their immigration case from their home...their real home.” This may actually work. Contrary to belief, the US economy will not collapse if we deport all the illegals (as see in “A Day Without a Mexican”)
The Daily Kos, reams on the Clinton campaign for complain about unfair treatment by the media. He points out the Clinton campaign has had every advantage in the 2008 election. But the part I find most interesting is where the blogger asks: “Does this sort of whining ever work?” To me, it seems that that is all that this particular blogger does anyway. It seems to be just one long complaint about anything and everything. I am curious what the blogger would say about his own blog if he read it objectively.
The Daily Kos, reams on the Clinton campaign for complain about unfair treatment by the media. He points out the Clinton campaign has had every advantage in the 2008 election. But the part I find most interesting is where the blogger asks: “Does this sort of whining ever work?” To me, it seems that that is all that this particular blogger does anyway. It seems to be just one long complaint about anything and everything. I am curious what the blogger would say about his own blog if he read it objectively.
Monday, January 7, 2008
Jan 7
Take 2.
There has been a lot of recent activity on the "Daily Kos." The most recent entry discusses the aftermath of Fox News not allowing Ron Paul into their republican Forum. It calls the Fox News viewers “suckers.” The fact that a respected liberal blogger has sunken to the level of calling his opponents demeaning names is quite amusing. It seems like a third grader crying for attention. The blog features a video of a mob chasing Sean Hannity down the street chanting "Fox News Sucks!" The blogger is sure to point of that is a conservative mob causing the problem, pointing out that they may look more at home carrying pitchforks and torches.
The entry from the conservative counterpart was equally as interesting. The blogger brings up a recent occurrence where Hilary Clinton was near tears. “Exhausted and facing the prospect of losing the second test of her primary campaign, Hillary Rodham Clinton fought back tears…” It is pointed out that this may not show the kind of “strength” that we need in a president. But considering that her life’s goal is slowly slipping through her fingers, I think that a brief moment of emotion is in order. The blogger then attacks those who defend Hillary, by calling it an underhanded and staged human moment. The author also seems to be as close minded as his liberal counterpart, seeing only what he wants to see. Every true human emotion has now been degraded to a desperate grab for more votes. Both sides see attacks from the other in everything.
There has been a lot of recent activity on the "Daily Kos." The most recent entry discusses the aftermath of Fox News not allowing Ron Paul into their republican Forum. It calls the Fox News viewers “suckers.” The fact that a respected liberal blogger has sunken to the level of calling his opponents demeaning names is quite amusing. It seems like a third grader crying for attention. The blog features a video of a mob chasing Sean Hannity down the street chanting "Fox News Sucks!" The blogger is sure to point of that is a conservative mob causing the problem, pointing out that they may look more at home carrying pitchforks and torches.
The entry from the conservative counterpart was equally as interesting. The blogger brings up a recent occurrence where Hilary Clinton was near tears. “Exhausted and facing the prospect of losing the second test of her primary campaign, Hillary Rodham Clinton fought back tears…” It is pointed out that this may not show the kind of “strength” that we need in a president. But considering that her life’s goal is slowly slipping through her fingers, I think that a brief moment of emotion is in order. The blogger then attacks those who defend Hillary, by calling it an underhanded and staged human moment. The author also seems to be as close minded as his liberal counterpart, seeing only what he wants to see. Every true human emotion has now been degraded to a desperate grab for more votes. Both sides see attacks from the other in everything.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Jan 4
I've decided to follow "All things Conservative," a decidedly conservative blog, and the political opposite, the liberal "daily kos."
The most recent post in the “Daily Kos” discusses the comments recently made by Sen. McCain. John McCain's spoke at the Adams Memorial Opera House in Derry, New Hampshire, last Thursday. The blogger gives a transcript that overly emphasizes the extent to which McCain interrupted the questioner. McCain suggests that American troops should stay in Iraq for 100 years. Without giving McCain a chance to respond, the blogger quickly tears apart his comments. He calls attention to different examples throughout history that don’t even seem to apply in this situation. The politics of the world have changed so greatly in the past 30 years that these tactics seem outdated and need to be changed. He later calls the idea of a "pax Americana" ridiculous.
The conservative blog was about the oil exploration in Alaska. He claims that America must rid itself of foreign oil dependence and responds to comments made by John Kerry about the ability of the US to achieve this goal. He calls attention to democrats who call for change but when it actually happens, they quickly condemn it. Democrats are made out constantly block progress, playing both sides of every debate.
The most recent post in the “Daily Kos” discusses the comments recently made by Sen. McCain. John McCain's spoke at the Adams Memorial Opera House in Derry, New Hampshire, last Thursday. The blogger gives a transcript that overly emphasizes the extent to which McCain interrupted the questioner. McCain suggests that American troops should stay in Iraq for 100 years. Without giving McCain a chance to respond, the blogger quickly tears apart his comments. He calls attention to different examples throughout history that don’t even seem to apply in this situation. The politics of the world have changed so greatly in the past 30 years that these tactics seem outdated and need to be changed. He later calls the idea of a "pax Americana" ridiculous.
The conservative blog was about the oil exploration in Alaska. He claims that America must rid itself of foreign oil dependence and responds to comments made by John Kerry about the ability of the US to achieve this goal. He calls attention to democrats who call for change but when it actually happens, they quickly condemn it. Democrats are made out constantly block progress, playing both sides of every debate.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)