Socialism v. Capitalism: Does one produce a better Thanksgiving?

Yes, as a matter of fact, one is better than the other! Well, at least according to Fox News and the once reputable John Stossel. Only Fox News could turn a holiday into yet another slam against "socialism." I am surprised we do not hear about Christmas and its socialists roots...some big rich fat guy forced to go from home to home giving away toys to "other" children. Sounds like a handout to me

Here is Stossel explaining it.

I Feel Like I'm Fixin' to Die Rag - Country Joe and the Fish

The Vietnam era was ripe with politically charged songs. Nothing embodies the social movement known affectionately as "The Sixties" better than Woodstock. One of the more famous tunes from Woodstock would have to be Country Joe and the Fish and their cry out against the draft and the Vietnam War in general.

Well, come on all of you, big strong men,
Uncle Sam needs your help again.
He's got himself in a terrible jam
Way down yonder in Vietnam
So put down your books and pick up a gun,
We're gonna have a whole lotta fun.

Speaking of the government exploiting our young men during the War for their own political gain. Sadly, many young men did have to trade in their books for guns and ammo,

Come on Wall Street, don't be slow,
Why man, this is war au-go-go
There's plenty good money to be made
By supplying the Army with the tools of its trade,
But just hope and pray that if they drop the bomb,
They drop it on the Viet Cong.

Lots of money to be made in war! Are we still seeing this today? Oh, you betcha!

Well, come on generals, let's move fast;
Your big chance has come at last.
Now you can go out and get those reds
'Cause the only good commie is the one that's dead
And you know that peace can only be won
When we've blown 'em all to kingdom come.

The Vietnam War was no better time for the generals to beef up their resume in times of a Red Scare. Almost as silly as "no fighting in the war room" is the line "and you know that peace can only be won." Rather than cultivated, peace comes from the hellish realities of war, death, and bombs. Not.

One of the greatest anti-war anthems! Enjoy the video...wish I could have been there :)

Keep on Rockin' in the Free World!

Long time rocker, folk artist, and condemner of war, Neil Young's "Keep on Rockin' in the Free World" is a classic political tune. The song has become an iconic anthem and it's status continues to rise as more and more artists cover the song. Young's lyrics are considered to be an indictment of the politics of the 1980's. In today's post-9/11 world, the lyrics seem prophetic and even more meaningful than when originally written on the eve of the '90's.

There's colors on the street
Red, white and blue
People shufflin' their feet
People sleepin' in their shoes
But there's a warnin' sign
on the road ahead
There's a lot of people sayin'
we'd be better off dead
Don't feel like Satan,
but I am to them
So I try to forget it,
any way I can.

The first verse serves as a warning to what lay ahead if we continue down the same path. "People sleepin' in their shoes" depicts the rampant homelessness problem we saw facing the nation under Reaganomics. Young's criticism of capitalism and American consumerism often lands him the title of "Satan" amongst his greedy capitalist counterparts.

Young continues...

We got a thousand points of light
For the homeless man
We got a kinder, gentler,
Machine gun hand

The lyrics are a direct reference to President George H.W. Bush's campaign pledge to create a compassionate citizenry volunteering to help cope with society's ills. The "thousand points of light" symbolize the American citizen's spirit and a shining example of giving selflessly to care for one another's neighbor and brother. Along with "a kinder, gentler hand", Bush believed that each American could contribute to helping make the United States -- and the world -- a better place to live and work.

The song is strongly democratic and with pro-American ideals in that it is a condemnation of the supply-side/trickle down politics of President Ronald Reagan. "Reaganomics" involved massive tax cuts in the wealthiest brackets which supporters claimed would trickle down to lower brackets. In fact, the policies led to huge federal deficits and exploding unemployment and social decay, particularly in large urban American cities that were left neglected, polluted, and destroyed.

The lyrics of "Rockin' In The Free World" also refer to the rampant and mindless consumerism of American culture and the rise of the disposable society based on waste and pollution. As Annie Leonard put it in her video turned novel "The Story of Stuff." Americans are on an ever expanding Work/Watch/Spend lifestyle. Non of which makes us any happier.

We got department stores and toilet paper
Got styrofoam boxes for the ozone layer
Got a man of the people, says keep hope alive
Got fuel to burn, got roads to drive.

The lyrics "Got a man of the people, says keep hope alive" refer to the Reverand Jesse Jackson's signature phrase to "Keep hope alive." Young contrasts President Bush's rhetoric and Rev. Jackson's religion as solutions to society's ills, when in actuality, they are nothing more than "feel good" slogans with little results to show.

All in all, one of the greatest, and most notable political songs of all time. When Rolling Stone Magazine came out with the top 500 songs of all time, this song landed at number 214.

Keep on ROCKIN'!

Beck on Obama's trip to Asia

This story is just great! Some micro blogger in India "leaks" some story about Obama's trip to Asia as costing $200 million a day." Well, when it turns out that that was a lie...

Yup, good ole' Glenn Beck still had to report it. Even he is unsure of it, but in the interest of taking down the president and spreading his infectious lies to his mindless minions...

This of course all begs the real question: Have the standards of journalism fallen with the widespread use of blogs, twitter, and other social networking sites? The short answer is yes. Any Joe The Plumber can have access to these sites and report however they feel. With no real penalties or back lash. However, having the ability to have news at your fingertips 24 hours a day can be a great thing. Bloggers have revealed many troubling instances, and will continue to do so in the future.

FACT: All Terrorists are Muslim

Yes, ladies and Gentlemen, our friends over at Fox News are telling their viewers that ALL TERRORISTS are Muslims. I guess some of the non-Muslim terrorists just...disappeared from their minds. Timothy McVeigh was a DEVOUT follower of Islam. Come one here folks! The American Coalition of Life Activists, who have published hit lists on abortion providers, with addresses, also follow the teachings found in the Koran. From the left, you even have the Earth Liberation Front, who have been widely known to burn places down in the name of saving the environment.

I hereby pledge to America to...LIE

The Party of "No" has come out recently (not like Mehlman) with a Pledge to America. Their new heralded pledge is nothing new, and echoes almost in its entirety Gingrich's "Contract with America" circa 1994. The pledge goes into detail concerning the economy, health care, the stimulus bill, small businesses, and of course, taxes.

I will outline a few gross LIES spread by the GOP.

According to the document, the PTA states that jobs in the government sector are exponentially increasing, while private sector jobs are suffering severe losses. Hardly true, in fact, not even remotely true. Jobs in the government sector have steadily decreased while the private sector has gained 763,000 jobs. So, their claim of some omnipotent government that is expanding at ravenous rates never before seen...is FALSE.

It then goes on to claim that jobless claims are "continuing to soar." Again, you've been mislead. Jobless claims are down 8% from their worst levels.

It says Obama’s tax proposals would raise taxes on “roughly half the small business income in America,” an exaggeration. Much of the income the GOP is counting actually comes from big businesses making over $50 million a year.

I must ask if the GOP's PTA is to spread misinformation to the masses? If that is their pledge, than they have succeeded. I would call this nothing more than a desperate attempt to oust their democratic opponents.

CNN knew of WAR CRIMES?

I spend a lot of time on my blog pointing out the obvious fallacies and irresponsible journalism from Fox News, but I felt that I needed to balance it out a bit.

It is being reported (obviously not by CNN) that they possess a video PROVING War Crimes in Iraq by American soldiers. The only problem is, CNN owns the tapes and refuses to air them or release them.

Michael Ware, a prominent war correspondent in Australia, says he witnessed American soldiers executing a teenage boy by shooting him in the back of the head. According to Ware, the young Iraqi posed absolutely no threat to U.S. forces. This story comes shortly after U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan were accused of creating a "Death Squad" that killed Afghans for fun, then dismembering their bodies for "trophies." What I want to know is when these soldiers will be tried, and convicted as War Criminals.

Also, I want to know why CNN feels the tape is too graphic for the public to view. They wouldn't necessarily need to show it on TV, but could release it online, and with some sort of disclaimer. I can only hope WikiLeaks can somehow get a hold of the tapes.

The American public MUST be aware of the atrocities we are committing over there! We are not winning over hearts and minds, but rather killing them for sport.

So, we obviously need ne plans for Iraq/Afghanistan...something like: GET THE HELL OUT! There should be outrage with CNN, until they release the tapes. I know for me personally, I will stop watching their channel, and visiting their website until the video is released. I have plenty of other options to get my news.

Fair and Balanced?

Fox and Friends can't even seem to get the pictures of people correct, let alone the facts!

Keep in mind that below are the actual images of the people they are discussing. Irresponsible journalism at its finest. They talk about Reddicliffe as having an "ax to grind-" but why stoop so low as to physically alter the appearances of people?

Oh, and another thing! Quit bragging about how many people watch your show. Unfortunately, that only means we now have a less informed public courtesy of your irresponsible journalism.

Why Can't the Media Get the Number Correct?

The man who championed the phrase "Gold, God, and Guns" held his rally this weekend. However, its been difficult to surmise the actual amount of people at the event. So, why is figuring out this number so difficult? I understand that its nearly impossible to count each and every person, nor is it even practical. But I would have to assume that someone made a big error in their calculations. Estimates ranged from (probably the correct) 87,000 to 500,000. Beck himself was quoted saying the event pulled in "300,000 to 650,000" people.

So how could there be such disparities between different news sources? Well, the fact is, Glenn Beck's "Restoring America" rally was highly political in nature. Beck had no idea when he originally planned his rally that it fell on the 47th Anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech. This alone is enough to politicize an event. MLK surely would have found himself on Beck's "blackboard" rants on his TV show for advocating social and economic justice. Beck, who often describes himself as a history buff, should have known that August 28th, is a very important day in American history. Though the theme of his talking points overall may not have been political (good riddance), this rally has made a quite a splash in the political realm . It is no secret that Beckonians have a real hatred towards Obama, and his administration. These people coming out in support of Glenn Beck, and his hysterics (though the numbers are significantly less than hoped for) shows their distrust for Obama and their hope to "restore" America. Whatever that may mean.

So will we ever know exactly how many people attended Beck's event? Most likely not. But I can assure you, that the man who had the real dream, and the real fortitude to carry out his dreams, gathered many more Americans, and his ideas were embraced by more than just white middle/upper class men.

Anti-muslim Rally at Ground Zero

Misinformation from Murdoch's Empire

It's no secret that Fox News distorts the truth. Sure, maybe other media outlets do it to some degree, but Fox News has made a business of it. A BIG business - with a $700 million dollar profit in 2010!

Murdoch's News Corp gave the Republican Governors Association (RGA) a million dollar donation. As if we didn't already know that Fox was simply an arm of the GOP, this donation erases any doubts.

By not adhering to ANY of the traditions of objectivity by journalists, Fox News has been able to spread lies, and propaganda to its simple minded market. It is a sad reality that, in order to grab new viewers, Fox News has stooped so low.

I would have to assume that Fox News has had a major influence on the American people who believe President Obama is a Muslim.

Create a Spectacle

I am assuming that most people in class saw this while coming into the Social Science building for our Mass Media in Politics Class.

What I found most interesting, was not their hate-spewing message, or their overall nutty views, but rather seeing the extreme far-right in motion. As a whole, the right-wing evangelicals are a force to be reckoned with. Not only are they loud, obnoxious, and boisterous, but they vote.

The man holding the "Homo Sex is Sin" sign was patriotically dressed, with pictures of revolutionary war heroes, while others video-taped the entire spectacle.

What also came to mind, was the idea that in order to sell news, or to conjure up more viewers, there seems to be a need to be more sensationalist than the others. I do not feel like many of the students watching subscribed to their views, but they did create quite a scene. Much like the battle between William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer, which gave rise to yellow journalism, many news outlets feel the need to "one-up" each other. Much like these guys are hardly speaking the truth, nor are many of the media outlets.

AOL Looks to Reinvent Itself

On my way to class this morning, I was listening to Morning Edition on NPR. They ran a story about a new wave in journalism. This morning, AOL launched its 100th local news site.

Patch goes into a community with a population of 15,000 to 75,000 people, mostly upper-middle class. Then it hires one local editor, like Evans. The editor does most of the day-to-day reporting and writing, but also purchases stories from freelancers. It's sort of the online equivalent of the free community paper that in a lot of towns doesn't exist anymore.

These reporters cover stories from local city council, town hall, and school board meetings. It seems like a good idea to get people excited and involved in local politics. All we have to do now is wait and see how it all works out!

War in Afghanistan: Will we live to see the end of it?

I realize it is late, and class starts tomorrow. However, I was up and reading, and thought this was both appalling, and pertinent to the class (even though we have yet to start). General Petraeus was on Meet the Press this morning and offered up some gorgeous spin about how the war is going. No where in the segment was there any mentioning of the staggering increase in civilian deaths, or the bullets being yanked from a screaming, and dying pregnant woman, who was shot by ISAF forces.

David Gregory, who was doing the interview, seemed to be quite enamored with Petraeus, and his bias towards the man diluted any chance of getting real answers.

Please watch the video here

Last Day of Summer

I was talking with my girlfriend the other day about that feeling in your stomach on the last day of summer. You always try to "live it up" but that is rarely the case. I slept in a good bit, and then had issues with my computer, which prompted a trip to best buy.

I just recently finished a book titled Common Nonsense: Glenn Beck and the Triumph of Ignorance. It was written by Alexander Zaitchik, and really explored the phenomena we know as Glenn Beck and his extreme-right cronies. It traces his career as a top 40 morning deejay, to the tearful fear mongering, hate-spewing, Mormon he is today.

To any critic of Glenn Beck, this book is a must read. The research is solid, and all sources are cited.

With that said, I hope everyone who heads back to class tomorrow a wonderful last few hours of summer!

My LAST Semester!

Hey class!

Just wanted to post something up here so it didn't look so bare and uninviting!

As the title indicates, this is my last semester here at Kennesaw! Afterwards I will hopefully begin graduate classes, but not until I find that ever elusive J-O-B!

Hopefully everything in this blog will-in one way or another-relate to class topics, and today's media in our own political system.

See you all in class!