http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UErR7i2onW0


Obama admits he did not keep his word:

(To ABC News)

"You know, I think your question points out to a legitimate mistake that I made during the course of the year, and that is that we had to make so many decisions quickly in a very difficult set of circumstances that after awhile, we started worrying more about getting the policy right than getting the process right."

"But I had campaigned on process. Part of what I had campaigned on was changing how Washington works, opening up transparency and I think it is -- I think the health care debate as it unfolded legitimately raised concerns not just among my opponents, but also amongst supporters that we just don't know what's going on. And it's an ugly process and it looks like there are a bunch of back room deals.

"Now I think it's my responsibility and I'll be speaking to this at the State of the Union, to own up to the fact that the process didn't run the way I ideally would like it to and that we have to move forward in a way that recaptures that sense of opening things up more."

http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2010/01/obama_finally_admits_he_broke.html

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While I never trusted Obama and the Democrats to begin with, I can see why this message would ring true for those who were fed up with John McCain Republicanism and decided to give Barry a chance. Well, he's had it. And seems to be failing miserably.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSqL9ygBCck

Ridley Scott has made the movie Robin Hood, starring Russell Crowe. It looks really cool, but the mention of it reminded me of a quote from Atlas Shrugged. Hopefully, the movie will portray the real Robin Hood who did not steal from the rich, but rather from the oppressive government who taxed the citizens into poverty.

Ragnar Danneskjold: "But I’ve chosen a special mission of my own. I’m after a man whom I want to destroy. He died many centuries ago, but until the last trace of him is wiped out of men’s minds, we will not have a decent world to live in."

Hank Rearden: "What man?"

Ragnar: "Robin Hood."

Ragnar: ". . . [Robin Hood] is not remembered as a champion of property, but as a champion of need, not as a defender of the robbed, but as a provider of the poor. He is held to be the first man who assumed a halo of virtue by practicing charity with wealth which he did not own, by giving away goods which he had not produced, by making others pay for the luxury of his pity. He is the man who became a symbol of the idea that need, not achievement, is the source of rights, that we don’t have to produce, only to want, that the earned does not belong to us, but the unearned does. He became a justification for every mediocrity who, unable to make his own living, had demanded the power to dispose of the property of his betters, by proclaiming his willingness to devote his life to his inferiors at the price of robbing his superiors. It is this foulest of creatures – the double-parasite who lives on the sores of the poor and the blood of the rich – whom men have come to regard as the moral idea." ". . . Do you wonder why the world is collapsing around us? That is what I am fighting, Mr. Rearden. Until men learn that of all human symbols, Robin Hood is the most immoral and the most contemptible, there will be no justice on earth and no way for mankind to survive."

The Pirate Ragnar Danneskjöld
From Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged

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"Really great people make you feel that you, too, can become great.”
~ Mark Twain

I have been thinking the last few weeks about the purpose of education, and the pursuit to attain higher knowledge. For me, the university is something that can propel me to achieve greater things in life and give me opportunities that I may never have had otherwise. I am planning to go to law school, and an undergraduate degree is rather necessary to enroll, but the experience of attending college is more than receiving a paper degree, it is the process that brings you there.

What I have understood these last few years that shapes my present thought is that the people with whom you associate has a great deal of influence on your achievements. If one were to hang around students who were altogether uninterested in their coursework, or even their major, feelings of indifference would soon rub off on you. However, surrounding yourself with likeminded individuals who challenge and contribute to your education will be the ones who most likely will have the better influence.


Choose people who have a driven personality and know what they want to do in life. Vision shapes our perspectives and our perspectives changes our attitudes. If you associate yourself with people that have motivation, you will be motivated. Remember to co-contribute to the relationships you have with others by having an optimistic and encouraging friendship that strengthens the drive to succeed.


It is also extremely important to couple vision with determination. Having a goal but falling short because we gave up is all too common. To succeed, we must perservere. Fellow student who share this drive will contribute to the overall success of your goals.

Law school is coming up soon, and my undergraduate experience will have prepared me for the upcoming challenges. Yet, the paper degree I receive means little if I have not learned to seek out others with vision and motivation and learn from them as well. Everyone can go far with a will and desire to achieve their goals while remembering the process is just as important as the result.

My professor once said, "Life isn't a race." I think he has wisdom there. Education can equip and prepare us for life, but missing lasting friendships with motivated people sets us back. If we want to go far, it is important to look for those with a passion to learn. By not giving up and taking each step at a time, the education we receive will be of much more worth. The significance of the result is increased by the magnitude of the steps taken to achieve it.

“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan "press on" has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”

~ Calvin Coolidge


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Screening coming soon to Marshall University.

Wake up and smell reality:

• During 2009, Iran will probably reach the point at which it has produced the amount of low-enriched uranium needed to make a nuclear bomb.

• Obama Scrapping Missile Defense in Europe

•  Iran Test-Fires Missiles That Put Israel in Range

• Japan says North Korean nukes threaten world

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Marshall University's school newpaper declined to publish my response to a letter to the editor that slammed the Marshall University College Republicans as racists and suggested we rename our group to " We Hate the President Because He is Black." I normally do not pay much attention to such uneducated drivel, yet the issue has become heated on campus. Therefore, I will print our response in as many avenues as possible.


As I was attending to my daily routine of flipping through the Parthenon, I turned to the opinion section and focused on the letters to the editor. The Marshall University College Republicans were accused of promoting racially charged advertising strategies in order to gain members by using the phrase “College Republicans: Serving Kool-Aid so you don’t have to drink Obama’s.” I was amused at the response, but also concerned about the implications of such accusations.

The historical context of the political term “Kool-Aid” originated with the mass suicides of the Jim Jones’ cult where members drank poison Kool-Aid. Since then it has been popular in political circles as a term to describe a political message that supporters blindly believe without investigating the truth.

In Washington lexicon, this type of rhetoric has been applied to presidents of several administrations, regardless of their political party. President Obama should not be sheltered from political attacks solely based on the color of his skin. Our President has policies that affect everyone, and supporters of him should understand the historical tradition of dissent.


Given the significance of having the first black president in our time, it is unfortunate that widespread political terms are being misinterpreted to mean something that is racially charged. These types of accusations limit intellectual debate by labeling common political vernacular as taboo, and do not serve to provide a rational counter-argument.

I reject the notion that the Marshall University College Republicans promote or endorse racially insensitive messages; this goes against our Republican ideals of judging people based on their character, not on their race.


Perhaps we should not get all “wee-weed up” over a lack of understanding, as President Obama recently coined. Thinking before we speak leaves a better taste in all of our mouths, more so than any cup of Kool-Aid.
 
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The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now is desperate to blame the recent prostitute scandal on someone else. They released a statement condemning their employees' actions but also tried to shift the focus away from their leadership. Apparantly, they knew nothing about this. Right. And Obama has not heard of this scandal. Sure.

Here is an excerpt from their statement where they play the race card to avoid responsibility.

"...we should be clear that this attack on ACORN is part of an aggressive and sustained right-wing campaign, spearheaded by Fox and their ideological compatriots on talk radio, on blogs, and within the Republican Party, which has as its goal the destruction of the nation’s largest and most effective organization of low- and moderate income families. But these attacks are about more than ACORN: they represent an attack on the poor and communities of color; on the broad progressive agenda that we are fighting for; and on President Obama himself and the movement for change that his administration symbolizes. And because the stakes are so high, we are asking you to stand with us as we fight back."

This is a link to the full statement.




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In many of the conversations I have with friends and co-workers, I often perceive a dismal tone and a negative attitude about the state of our government. The 2008 election certainly contributed to the worrying; most concerns are already being manifested now. Huge bailouts, uncontrolled spending, corruption, and other evils of the current administration pose great threats to the stability of our nation. Even so, these problems are not dissimilar to years of the government's expansion into every area of society.

It is only now moving at a faster pace.
The main concerns I am confronted with have little more to do with spending and taxes than the threat of a government that will no longer pay attention to the will of the citizenry. This is a serious problem for any elected official; people do not trust the government and have indignation when ignored by those they sent to represent them. Town hall meetings on health care have highlighted the anger people have, yet that is only a small taste of the disgust for the corruption of our elected officials.

Obama claims people are tired of government as usual (this was his entire campaign message), yet he has no understanding of what he speaks. He claims partisan politics are the root concern for the lack of trust the American people have, but that only partly addresses the real issue. Political bickering between the parties annoys us; government intrusion takes away our earnings.

Which is worse?

We the people have had enough.
The question is: can it be stopped?

It's hard to imagine a scenario in which all the ills of our government will be solved, barring a takeover by true constitutionalists in every level of bureacracy and administration. The government keeps growing and the leaders of our nation do not seem interested in turning back the tide of a soft tyranny.

Obama and the Democrats in congress are setting themselves up for huge losses in the elections to come. The takeover of the economy was not the sort of "hope" and "change" that people thought they were voting for. During the elections, we have the opportunity to choose men and women of strong character who will stand up to the ever-growing control that government has taken.

However, their actions may only slow down the growth. Permanent reversal of the unwise decisions of their predecessors is unlikely and unfeasible. Once government programs are started they are all but impossible to uproot. Change must happen, but it will take dedication to conservative principles the fervor to keep our elected officials accountable to truly make the difference.

Can real change take place? At this point I honestly cannot tell.


"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same." ~ Ronald Reagan

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I wrote this paper concerning the Drudge Report for my Rhetoric class a semester ago, so some terms might be unfamiliar, but after again indulging myself in the news that Matt Drudge provided these past months, I felt this article might serve a nice summary of wide influence he possesses.




Since the advent of the Internet, ordinary people have utilized this broad range of resources to connect with others and share information. The Drudge Report is an example of such media, as it applies the concept of fluidity and speed, displaying breaking news which allows the reader to learn about the news of the day in short headlines. There is controversy to this type of journalism, and the Drudge Report is usually the main target. Much concern is focused on whether this medium is used for reporting the news or simply reflecting the author’s views. The Drudge Report carries many favorable attributes, but the manner in which news is reported raises doubts about the credibility of the source, and in turn, whether the information is truly “news.” Media-centered criticism shows how a medium influences the texts that it carries and the audience that it addresses (Brummett, 191), which will be the lens that this paper will use to analyze the means of the Drudge Report’s influence of the news. The Drudge Report affects the way we understand news by blatant and subtle attempts to persuade us of the author’s opinion.


The Drudge Report (hereafter referred to as DR), was founded in 1994 as a weekly subscriber-based email that shared gossip about Hollywood and Washington D.C. It has since grown to a full-scale news aggregation website that hosts a large collection of links to news outlets. Matt Drudge is the founder of the site and manages what stories will be displayed. His crowning achievements include the announcement of Bob Dole’s choice of Jack Kemp for vice president in 1996, and posting a story concerning Newsweek’s decision to withhold a story on the scandal between President Bill Clinton and White House intern, Monica Lewinsky in 1998 (Drudge, 1998).

The DR serves as one of America’s top news sources and the bulletin board for news broadcasters everywhere. The DR enjoys over 500 million page views per month, and at least over one million unique visitors per day (InterMarkets). Drudge has been able to keep a constant flow of new information available, and has scooped major news media on many stories. For example, he published a link to a National Enquirer story that claimed John Edwards was having an illicit relationship with another woman while his wife was dying of cancer. Other media outlets had apparently ignored this information until Drudge posted his link. More and more, people are turning to this site for their one-stop news source.

Media logic seeks to explain the influence of a medium, and the ways that we internalize our way of thinking about that medium. To understand the power that the DR has, analysis of the medium in which Drudge presents the news, as well as the differences between the website and traditional forms of media, is crucial to understand the power that the DR exerts. The website has advantages over traditional print media, first because those types of news sources are usually much slower to publish, and second, because that form of media separates its stories into categories, of which readers naturally skip ahead to their favorite section.

The DR does not offer categories; instead, it is “just the facts, ma’am,” or more accurately, just the hard-hitting, salacious news that is updated by the minute. The readers of the site do not expect frills; only headline news. The DR fulfills this need for speed and simplicity, which is why he attracts such a large audience; he gives the people what they want. However, the question that must be asked is, does our patronage to the DR come without a cost? Are we sacrificing accuracy for speed? More importantly, when does “news” simply become the author’s viewpoint? As we examine the ways that Drudge uses this medium to direct our attention to news items, it becomes clear that the buyer had better beware when reading the headlines of the site.

For instance, Drudge has considerable influence about what will be the conversations around the water coolers of America, simply by posting a link to a story. He draws so many people to his site, that in order to influence what millions of citizens and media outlets will report on, he simply has to make a few clicks of the mouse. Drudge also exercises his power by telling us what is important. Democratic Party strategist Chris Lehane says “phones start ringing” whenever Drudge breaks a story, and in their book, The Way to Win, ABC News Political Director, Mark Halperin and National Politics Editor of The Washington Post, John Harris, call Drudge “the Walter Cronkite of his era” (World News, 2006). Other news outlets must carry the top headline on the DR; if Drudge says it is important, his competitors must follow his example and promote that story.

The wide popularity that the site enjoys sets up the DR as, either a beacon of light, or a stage from which Drudge can opine. The headlines at the top of the page tell us what is significant at the moment, which is why I suspect the latter. The control over which headlines constitute breaking news allows the DR to funnel public interest to a story that may have never received any attention from the mainstream media. Halperin and Harris argue, “With the exception of the Associated Press, there is no outlet other than the Drudge Report whose dispatches instantly can command the attention and energies of the most established newspapers and television newscasts” (Boehlert, 2008). However, our need to have nonstop news at our fingertips creates an opportunity for the bringer of the news to manipulate how we receive the message that he brings.

To examine the ways the Drudge presents news, and why it might be considered unforced, personal opinion, a look at the layout of the website itself yield the clues. Drudge has a unique style of delivering news. In subtle ways, we are told what Drudge believes is important. Regular media outlets categorize the news by topics, but Drudge goes a step further by implicating the importance by the hierarchy he creates with his hyperlinks. One news headline will be above another as an expression of the sheer significance of the story. Other times, he will use two contrasting headlines to make a point, such as the story of a global warming conference, and the forecast for snow during the meeting. The hierarchy of the stories and the words used for their headlines are enough for one to see the persuasion.

I find that the tweaking of news headlines puts the reader in Drudge’s preferred subject position; one that when reading his stories causes the reader to view the story as Drudge would, with either grave importance, or hilarity. The reader’s eyes are always directed to the story that Drudge believes is most important, and consequently, have disregard for the ones that did not receive such attention. In more subtle approaches, we can identify other ways through which Drudge influences the texts he presents.

The logo of the DR, which spells out the name of the website, is slanted to the right, perhaps signifying his personal values. The news headlines, which are usually presented in black font, will be colored green whenever displaying stories about global warming. In a more blatant attempt of persuasion, Drudge uses flashing sirens to indicate major breaking news at the top the page. He also will display embarrassing pictures of political figures that we are naturally led to assume he dislikes. If we are accustomed to Drudge’s presentation of the news, we change how we perceive the content of the news story before we read it, just based on the headline. Simply put, if Drudge wished to shape public opinion of an event, he merely has to post a story with a witty headline. Halperin summed up the beauty and controversy of the DR: “Matt Drudge is not doing stories on policy, on welfare, on healthcare. He is doing stories on the most salacious aspects of American politics. When that drives the dialogue, that's where the country heads, that's where our political coverage heads” (World News, 2006).

The website certainly comes with blesses and curses: quick, exciting news, although tinged with the author’s non-objectivity. Some organizations, such as Media Matters, are concerned with the extent of his influence, especially since they feel his stories are usually misleading our inaccurate. However, while the DR certainly makes its fair share of mistakes, it is not distinct in that regard: countless other news mediums often make similar errors. Rather, the fact that Drudge has such wide influence in the first place is where critics should focus their concerns. If we were truly apprehensive about the caliber of Drudge’s reporting, we would do well to consider the reasons he exists. The DR provides raw news in a speedy manner, giving us what we want. He cannot exist as a force in news unless people read what he writes.

Whether Americans should demand the DR’s sensational offering of news is another debate; instead, a proper manner of responding to the DR is more constructive. The characteristics of the website may influence the way we perceive news, but this is a risk the reader must take when choosing to visit the DR. This is true of other news sources, where intent of persuasion may not take as obvious a form as this website; we must be careful to evaluate the veracity of information given before accepting what we are told. If we can understand the tactics that news media such as the DR employs, we can better respond in an appropriate manner to the information we are given, paying close mind to the form in which it comes.

Drudge once said, “I go where the stink is. I'm a partisan for news” (World News, 2006). While indeed he sometimes delivers gossip rather than news, and opinion rather than fact, Drudge’s website will continue to drive the national conversation and media coverage of events with his commitment to bring people what they want in a news story, something exciting, groundbreaking, and most of all, a scoop. The medium in which he presents the information gives him room to persuade, yet, we cannot discount his importance in our understanding of the news based on this fact. Our demand for quick news has brought us a supplier. Instead of bemoaning the ways that the site operates, we must read with open minds and evaluate what is presented.

When it comes to Drudge, we should be careful not to shoot the messenger, rather, be cautious of the message he brings.


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Boehlert, E. (2008, October 21). Retrieved December 3, 2008, from Media Matters: http://mediamatters.org/columns/200810210005

Drudge, M. (1998, January 17). Retrieved December 8, 2008, from Drudge Report: http://www.drudgereportarchives.com/data/2002/01/17/20020117_175502_ml.htm

InterMarkets, I. (n.d.). Retrieved December 8, 2008, from InterMarkets: http://www.intermarkets.net/advertisers/mediaKit/Portfolio/drudgeReport.html

World News . (2006, October 1). Retrieved December 3, 2008, from ABC News: http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=2514276&page=1


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