Word of the Day

My favorite show right now is a pseudo-political news broadcast/interview similar to the Daily Show called the Colbert Report. Stephen Colbert plays conservative newsman who was formerly a senior correspondent on the Daily Show. He always stays in character and can be a very arrogant man but funny at the same time. He always has a guest on at the end of the show but unlike most shows where the guest comes to the host Colbert mockingly runs to a side stage where he meets the guest and is treated like the guest with admiration and respect. My favorite part of the show is the Word of the Day. Sometimes it is more than one word and at other times can be a fake compilation of more than one. Stephen describes a story based around the Word of the Day and a computer generated sidescreen displays often opposital(just made my own word of the day up) humor than totally disagrees with what he might be saying. I know I can always get a laugh from that man who is full of it.

Clinton's Agenda

Hilary Clinton has always seem to care about the American people to some degree when developing her health care program during her husband's terms as President even though it failed. The New York Times recently reported that she plans to have an extensive program more than any other candidate for helping the fight on AIDS/HIV. It doesn't come as much of a surprise to me that she outduels other candidates such as Obama and Edwards. She is a calm, calculated killer with ice in her veins whose a seasoned veteran. It's my guess even though a year away from the Presidential Election that she will be the first woman president ever. I have a feeling she would actually follow through with this proposal or atleast try while most politicians only talk she wants to make history. She plans to" 'significantly reducing the number of new infections' and would set measurable goals and time lines for increasing prevention efforts and expanding access to treatment." Hopefully she'll come through.

Apparently since there is no strong Republican candidate there is no possible chance that they can win the election which is a year from now as opposed to the Democrats who only have to strong contenders and both would change the political landscape of what a President has always been a white male. The author of Polls find GOP isn't touching voters forgets that often there have been no-namers up to the primaries who have emerged into two-term Presidents such as Bill Clinton. He does have a partly legitimate point that the Republicans may be in big trouble especially since Hilary is winning the overall polls but this thing is far from over.

Huffington Post

It never surprises me how if someone dislikes another human being they will do anything in their power to twist and turn words and phrases into demented lies. Recently the Huffington Post, declared that Huckabee has no foreign policy experience and would obviously be inept to be the President of the United States. The article keeps citing Obama but in actuality Obama also has very little foreign policy experience, not a match to Hilary Clinton. A President doesn't need to know everything and be experienced in every aspect since that is impossible that is why he possesses aids and cabinets members to help make decisions. The post was interesting because it caught my attention but I have a passion to viamately disagree with him. He takes very small statements some only two lines and picks at small points or totally irrelevant issues to the statement. Lionel if you don't like him just say you don't like him for certain reason like he is a conservative and your not. Pick your battles wisely.

When I was searching for a feminist blog to comment about, I was expecting an ultra liberal wacko feminist blog that despised men and mocked their every move. I was actually agreeing with some of the viewpoints for a while but then it made me think. The post described the dangers of females getting really wasted and then posting the pictures on a website such as facebook. Their future employers may disqualify them from a job if they ever saw some of those drunk night pictures while if a man had some of the pictures he wouldn't be tarnished since he would probably drink with that employer. I disagree on the second point since men and women could be disqualified based on those pictures and it is not a gender thing. My friend has actually deleted all his drunk photos off facebook. She contends that woman must get rid of these pictures or call it a night earlier though if both of her premises were true one that men can afford these pictures and that men and woman are on the same playing field then her post would be redundant and wouldn't make sense. Yet women are not on the same playing field just yet and smart women like this one who are not wacko ultra feminists are helping get woman closer to where they want to be.

Tipping Point

Global Warming has been pushed off long enough by Americans and it seems that very soon something will be done by the leaders of this country. I recently read an environmental blog. It turns out that 2007 will be the second warmest year since 1880 bar to 2005. According to research within the next two - three years 2005 will be a once forgotten record with higher temperature increases expected around the globe. The research is getting technical and graphs more in depth and scrutinizing. I once thought global warming was a scheme but I've changed my mind. Something needs to be done. Hopefully politicians won't waste more time and put off problems that the next generation will suffer since it doesn't directly affect them.

OPT ED

Recently, Thomas L. Friedman wrote an excellent article in the opinion section of the New York Times that reminded Americans that Iran is still a threat regardless of what is happening. He made an excellent correlation that Iran is like a neighborhood drug dealer and there are certain neighbors who want to get him removed. It is obvious as day that he is a drug dealer but the police can do nothing about it because of the strict legal definition. He also makes a very important quote that I found deep with insight. "As I’ve also said before: Some things are true even if George Bush believes them, but good luck getting anyone to buy that anymore. " No other countries want to use economic sanctions just because of business propositions. My cousin and I had an argument when America went into Iraq on why we might as well invade Iran since they harbor terrorists and have capabilities to produce nuclear bombs. His statement seems to be ringing true more than ever.

6:30 News

The job of the news is to keep you watching and their is always a small preview in the beginning of breaking stories. Good evening this is Daniel German and I think the only reason people watch the news is for the weather. They show it multiple times during the night and it's obviously the most pertinent reason people are there yet the weatherman tends to be wrong 50% of the time. It started off with news that the death penalty was being abolished in New Jersey thanks to Governor Corzine and how manufacturers are removing a deadly ingredient in microwavable popcorn. Ohhh gee thanks. Of the nine who are currently on death row in New Jersey the most notable is the man who molested and killed the girl Megan who is famously associated Megan's Law where pediphile's need to register when they move into a new area of their conviction.

Boring stories circulate like cataclysmic black holes that are engulfing certain small meteors twenty million light years away. Then they will jump back to important stories such as Castro saying he may relinquish his power soon and Putin may agree to be Prime Minister of Russia once his tenure as President is up. Apparently the Screen Writers Guild is on strike so some late night talk show hosts may have poor jokes once the season resumes. Conan said his jokes will be bad and the show might suck but he always makes fun of himself and being a writer for Saturday Night Live I doubt it. They also gave a visual list run-down of upcoming segments on the show that seem so interesting yet always disappoint. It seems obvious why I don't watch the evening news very often

Fox News vs. CNN

"We report the news, you decide" has been Fox New's slogan for some time. CNN has been assumed to be slightly more liberal but very moderate while Fox seems to be clearly conservative. They cover alot of the same events and have objective coverage when it comes to standard news events. Both are extensively covering the campaign trails for both Republicans and Democrats. Though on later pundit shows the views may tend to change on certain issues. I found on Fox News there was one segment where the anchorwoman talked about the issue of Happy Holidays vs. Merry Christmas and what was happening that would anger you. It was more geared toward a conservative argument. If Bush was mentioned on Fox News there would be less criticism since he is a Republican President but CNN might not show the same story the same way. Overall I believe it's good to have many options both partisan and objective because there were certain parts I liked of the partisanship but some I didn't so objective was good. America is a country of freedom and where we can choose so we should be able to choose and who is to say that there is such a thing as objectivity. The gatekeepers are always making decisions based on their ideology and what they think will sell so objectivity isn't always possible.

Daily News

There are some differences and some similarities between the Daily Show and the Evening News. They both bring up to date stories on what is going on though the Daily Show tends to be more political and may have more obscure stories presented into find their twist. The Evening News is just to tell the facts and maybe throw in some weather or a cute story. The Daily Show goes to the next level and makes fun of a certain politician or prominent person. Let me tell you its always funny and Jon Stewart does a great job with his senior advisors. It's a nice change from watch the Evening News which can be boring then you turn on Stewart later and your cracking up. Stewart also has interviews with famous people such as President Bill Clinton. It was a wonderful exchange between them and Clinton recently wrote a new book and was promoting it and sorta kinda not really supporting his wife. It doesn't seem that he want her to win that bad. He said he likes the candidates alot but he says his wife is the best for the job. I don't think he has any other option

Hannity and Colmes

Supposedly Fox News is to be "fair and balanced" but I do not agree on this show because how it is presented. It obviously leans to the right though I have no problem with that but the dynamics of the two gentlemen play a role in why that works. Alan Colmes is the mild-mannered and calm sidekick who rarely speaks up and shows his what is on his mind. Sean Hannity is a domineering and at times extremely rude man who commands the arena.

Recently I watched the show and Hannity did an interview with the "Architect" Karl Rove who gave advice on what Presidential candidates should do in order to win the primaries. The show was similar to the O'Reilly Factor but I think Hannity is less of a gentleman. In order for the show to be more fair and balanced Colmes "the liberal" needs to speak up more often with opposing viewpoints and different ways to find solutions. Finally they had a segment with Haroldo Rivera. Enough said Haroldo is the man.

Two Heinekens

One of the first days in the semester my brother came up to my dorm and we started doing yaegerbombs. After we did two he started cracking up and told me he had to show me something. We went on the computer and probably watched the funniest video ever on youtube. It's great because it mocks guidos down to a tee. Shows how they're really a joke even though they think their so tough. Unfortunately my roommate abused and used the video and it became boring but now that I watched it again I found humor and it still rings true to the same truths.

After watching "All The President's Men", it helped me understand just how hard investigative journalism could be and how two men could change the landscape of a country forever. The press and the American public will never have the same respect they once had for the Presidency. These two men went to great lengths and uncovered something they never dreamed they would when they started. I'm glad for the contribution they brought forth and I believe the press must watch politicians or they will get away with murder but it's ashame the trust factor has been leveled.

local

I recently watched the local news at 5 and it's been some time. I was under the impression that there would be more political segments. I was surprised there was really only one that was fairly long on John McCain and the resurgency in his campaign. It also discussed his endorsement but another prominent politician Joel Lieberman. Almost all the other stories were fluff or sad. I found out that insomnia is now being linked as genetic but what isn't these days. Unfortunately there was a tragic event in Long Island where a young boy died in a fire though the rest of his family survived him. I rather not watch fluff and especially not sad events that put a damper on your night. Though those are the things that seem to draw society in as opposed to political units of importance.

Rushing

Rush Limbaugh is a lunatic along with Al Franken. They both represent extreme sides of their perspective parts of the political spectrum. I've listened to Rush is the past and even though I'm a conservative the man is luney. He agrees with everything the President does regardless if he believes it to be true. Kinda fanatical for me but in a recent sound bite he suprised like never before.

He was talking about his own new set of Limbaugh laws for immigrants. They have to learn to speak the english language, no billingual ballots, and no speacial "government goodies" like healthcare and social security because Americans need it. There was no protesting, no flagwaving of native countries and no badmouthing the President or any governmental figure. Here's the kicker, he said if you don't like these laws immigrants espcially Mexicans you can go back to your country. The funny thing is these are actually Mexican laws. Then he asked how you say double standard in spanish- "no mas."

Class Critique

I read one of my classmates blog on Presidential candidate Mitt Romney and how he should not be penalized for his religion. I agree with her on that. He is an excellent leader and has remarkable credentials on his resume. Some of them are absolutely astoundin and have much merit. Yet I disagree with her that Mormonism is the new Catholic. I'm sorry Rebecca, in Moving Off but that is not the case. Catholics and Prostestants have found similar ground on many issues and to be honest one of them is deep theological errors with Mormonism. If Mormonism was the new Catholicism Mitt's dad, George, would of had an easier time winning the 1968 Presidential Election especially since it was after JFK, your Catholic comparison. This country is not quite ready for a Mormon President even if he is as qualified as Mitt Romney

Girls Next Door?

Look at those babes. Recently, I watched the reality television show, "The Girls Next Door" and was appalled. Yes they are beautiful but man does bimbo and dumb blond every hold a meaning. I cannot figure out for the life of me if they're actually stupid or they do it for the camera. Ohh wait, it's clearly the former. It must be hard to think, walk, talk and in their case look beautiful all at once. It was a Christmas special or should I say tis was a Christmas special that had the three girlfriends of Playboy creator Hugh Hefner. They had to reminisce about old times with the family and talk about what they were doing currently. Apparently it was hard for one to remember what she did for the last twenty some odd years of her life at Christmas. Another one who was more intelligent talked about how she woke up on Christmas and opened gifts then would listen to Mariah Carey.

I'm glad I grew up in a family that listened to Bing Crosby over Mariah. No offense but her Christmas album doesn't warm the cockles of my heart. Unfortunately, this show is having a large impact on girls today. Girls assume its ok to show large amounts of cleavage since the playboy girls do it. Why not act ditzy because who cares about getting a real job one day. It doesn't matter if I can't like articulate like myself and say like about one hundred times per hour. It's just ashame and most role models are getting worse and worse for females and to be honest as a guy I just don't like it. Maybe I should walk around in a bikini one day. That will turn some heads.

Wooley Mammouth Lies

Who is he kissing? Republican Presidential contender Rudy Giuliani shown at a recent speech where he probably "miscalculated" a statistic. Recently, through the help of a website called http://factcheck.org/ the New York Times have exposes some candidate blunders to inform the public. It's not only a Republican thing! Both Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama have been caught what I like to describe a public unawareness deception, commonly known as lying when you do no think you'll be caught. Both Democrats have blamed the current Bush Administration for certain issues yet have blown each out of proportion. The former first lady claimed that the National Institute of Health has decreased spending while in fact it has actually increased. Senator Obama claimed the National Debt has doubled yet in fact that is not the case. But let's not forget my pal Rudy. He boasts that under him New York City spending went down seven percent. According to one of his own memoirs, spending for the Big Apple grew an average of 3.7 percent each year. An aide quickly pointed out after that he meant to say it was proposed by him for a seven percent reduction.

Far cry from the truth. I have a funny feeling in my stomach that it was not his intention to tell the truth. Thankfully, there is a group that checks the statements made by politicians to inform the public or those who want to know the validity of their statements. Mayor Rudy also claims that he increased the police force from 28,000 to 40,000. That is very impressive.....except for the fact that he merged the Port Authority and that accounted for 7,000 officer increase. I guess that's a good job of a politician to not make distinctions like that. The problem is America really doesn't want to know. Only a certain few are concerned and when the others find out the lies some politicians told adversely affected their lives they often become angry but rarely does it provide a change. There is a great sheep's wool pulled over America's eyes and ears.

The Factor

For conservative pundit Bill O' Reilly, losing a verbal debacle is unacceptable and will not happen on his show. It's amazing how he can argue at the top of his lungs and in a split second resort to a calm demeanor, thank the guests and go to a quick commercial break. The show is a hybrid of the news, a political punditcy and sensational Hollywood gossip all wrapped up in an all encompassing debate. A story on the Nebraska mall massacre had on site reporting while a Houston man murdered two burglars who turned out to be illegal immigrants. Personally I agreed with O' Reilly that the man should go free since he was protecting his neighbor's house but he was ferocious debating with an immigration attorney and his style turned me off.

From there he called out Joe Biden for calling the President a liar and planning to march us to Iraq. He asked for an apology from the Senator yet that seems improbable. Then a segment that was instantly my favorite with Dennis Miller. They chatted about their lives briefly and then discussed the Hilary Obama feud. Miller gave his advice on what Obama should do to win the primary. As always, Miller was witty, quick and provided amusing and clever phrases to woo me and the rest of the television audience. Obama must develop ice in his veins and not falter under the pressure in order to win. Common sense it seems to me though I still liked the whole bit. Finally there were two short sensation segments on Barbara Walters for the ten most popular celebrities where they had playful banter. The other was a frivolous clip of Jenna Bush on the Ellen Degeneres Show. they were not my favorite parts and quite frankly I found them boring but it showed an opposite of O'Reilly a rather lighter side. Overall, I liked the show and plan on watching it again.