POLITICS: The Facebook reaction to the election

I was happy to hear that Obama won presidency tonight, yet I can't say the same about everyone. One aspect that our media class has focused on is the new technological advancement in media, so I'd like to share with you a collection of Facebook statuses I saw throughout the night:

"Nick is polishing his sniper rifle..."

"Ally is quiting her job, president Obama will take care of me."

"Bobby is bend over america. the terrorists are behind us.. and their pants are down. McCain was the only protection."

"Krista is so disappointed in america's bad decision. atleast when obama's change doesnt come, we can say "i told you so". ireland here i come."

"Kyle is go learn what socialism means...then change your status."

"Katie is our country is about to be a shit show."

"Maya is saying look republicans on fb with ur ignorant statuses we dealt with Bush's ish for 8 years...& now it's OUR TIME..get over yourselves OBAMA 08.'"

"Matt is OBAMA! WE DID IT!"

"Aaron has seen better days."

"Jenn is so excited for America. YES WE CAN!!"

"Sarah is soo moved. YAYY OBAMA :)"

"Eric says John McCain gave a great speech, but Obama will do America well."

"Stephen better see some damn change . . . for the good of america."

"Joey is really happy everyone is giving me some entertainment through these status updates. Keep em comin!!"

"Jaime is not looking forward to becoming a slave!"

"Dan is tentative about Obama... if he ends up touching my 401k or taxing my stock market gains, or rewarding people for being mediocre, i'll be against him."

"Caitlin is moving to australia w/nikki and catie..this country is royally screwed."

"Ashley: I love all the disappointed McCain voters. Real easy to vote for a man when you dnt have to worry about fighting his war."-Current Soldier

"Ronnie is feeling disappointed in his country."

"Alex is so happy right now that America (and OHIO!) finally decided to change from its dracionian ways of the past eight years and elected a true leader. OBAMA!!!!!"

"Amanda is not becoming a doctor thanks to universal healthcare! HOORAY OBAMA"

"Chris is oh well, it won't last long haha."

"Trevor is moving to canada cuz the american dream is over. i dont get why people wanted change and therefor elected a bunch of bullshit."

"Kiley can't believe socialism is the new democracy."

"Alicia is like all things are possible. It's official..BARACK OBAMA '08."

"David is hello socialism."

"Matt is OBAMA won. Get over it. Quit ripping on our new president. If you don't like it then you can get out."



It was a battle of words tonight when Obama was elected. I was entertained by the responses from the Facebook world, and I hope this entertained you. Incase you're wondering what my status read, here it is:

"Aaron is going to put up an election status too. Congrats Obama, go change the world!"

NEWS: Election

I voted today! So should you..

I don't have much else to say, besides the fact that I voted no on Issue 6 (I was surprised with myself, but I don't trust the guy that proposed it, who also has gone bankrupt and charged with fraud).

I'll be up all night watching the votes come in. Check out www.nytimes.com, they have a great link (Pop-up dashboard, center right of the page) to follow the states as they decide.

POLITICS: Palin Punk'd

Right before election day, Sarah Palin has reaffirmed my belief that this country needs Obama-Biden. Palin fell victim to a radio show prank when she agreed to speak to the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy. However, to her surprise it wasn't Sarkozy, it was the "Masked Avengers."

This is just a few things the phone conversation touched on:

"The seven-minute conversation touched on topics including politics to hunting by helicopter quoting 'Like we say in French', 'on pourrait tuer des bebe phoques aussi' [translation: We can kill baby seals also], but leaving Dick Cheney behind, as well as Palin's political future. When one of the duo suggested they saw her as President one day, she responded, 'Maybe in eight years.' During the prank, the duo identified Johnny Hallyday as Sarkozy's advisor on American relations, Stef Carse as the Prime Minister of Canada and their Les Cerveaux de l'info co-host Richard Z. Sirois as the 'prime minister' of Quebec. They also referred to the Hustler porn film 'Who's Nailin' Paylin?' as a documentary about Palin, to which the real Palin replied, 'Oh good, thank you.'"



I really hope the nation doesn't elect a politician this ignorant, a politician that thinks it's a good idea to go on SNL to counter its jokes or a politician that would have that phone conversation.

I can't wait to vote tomorrow, a vote against eight more years of stupidity.

POLITICS: Obama Infomercial 10/29

Here's the famous infomercial that Obama aired yesterday, October 29th. It was a commercial that accomplished its goal, provide stories that normal Americans can relate to, showed a humanistic side of Obama and got people talking.

Many news reports question the infomercial, mainly because it was seen as a "presidential-address" before Obama has become presidential. Others argue that the news channels should have disallowed the commercial to air, because it provided a bias 30 minute block and was not necessarily "news-worthy."

Despite the reactions, the infomercial had the highest TV ratings that night, and for a mere cost of $7 million per network, could've swayed key voters.

Here's the video in four different sequences (only way for it to be on youtube).

What do you think of it?

(POST 50!)

NEWS: NYT endorses Obama, lets take a look back through their past endorsements

Thought this was interesting, especially in the recent news of the NYT endorsement of Obama. (Oh yeah, Colin Powell endorsed Obama too)

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2008/10/23/opinion/20081024-endorse.html

Get informed! Go vote!

POLITICS: Youth Vote 2008

The 2008 election has been shaped to be a benchmark in American history no matter who becomes president. News reports have indicated Obama having slight leads, while the same poles also show Obama has over a twenty point lead on McCain for voters under 30.

Historically, the youth vote has been more liberal. At the same time it has been weaker due to poor attendance on election day. I began to think how my political views, which are liberal were formed.

To keep a long story short, I didn't really know what politics were until my freshman year of high school. I remember the days of the 2000 election at Springdale Elementary, talking about Bush and Gore, but I was always ignorant to politics.

As a person who became drawn into politics during the Bush administration, I was exposed to many ups and downs. I would've aligned myself more with the GOP earlier on, when patriotism was high and we were out to fight terrorism (I was also very ignorant to the price of war, and what it means to lose a soldier).

However, as I became more aware and read into politics, I found myself to agree with the more liberal stances. I couldn't agree with Bush or many of the GOP's ideals. I tell this story not to bore you with my views, but to show why many people (especially young voters) will vote for Obama this year.

Americans are fed up with Bush, with the war, with dumb policy making, with the game of politics and ultimately with Washington. Politics can always be described as the lesser of two evils, but I think America is starting to align themselves with a fresh face that wants us out of Iraq.

POLITICS: Sometimes it's just better to laugh (Pt. 2)

While I was at home visiting the family again, I got the fortune to watch the Tonight Show with my mom and dad. It was nice to share a laugh and watch Caliendo torch Bush and give us a preview of his McCain and Obama. Here's the clip that inspired yesterday's post. Enjoy!

Get informed! Go vote!

NEWS: Joe the plumber-Joe Wurzelbacher

John McCain referred to "Joe the Plumber" at least two dozen times to attack Obama in last night's presidential debate. It's time to meet Joe.

According to NY Times:
Joe is not a licensed plumber
Joe registered to vote in March (the primary), and voted Republican. (He's 34)
Joe's claim to having a $250K business is not true, he gross receipts $250K and would still be eligible for an Obama tax cut.

Overnight Joe Wurzelbacher became a celebrity. He said he feels like "Britney Spears" now. I just have on question for Joe...

Since you're so concerned with the American dream, why won't you put aside your greed for the better of this country, and allow the upper class Americans to be taxed more than the middle class, or lower class?

That way the middle class can pay for college, get a chance to own a house and have the potential to prosper. You go enjoy your $250,000 paycheck while the rest of the U.S. experiences hardship due to the greed in America, and the stupidity of our government.

One last comment: I highly doubt Joe the plumber will buy his company, make his $250,000 and live in the same $90,000 house he resides in now. Something about that man seems less truthful than the actual politicians (it could be that he gave the wrong name originally-and spelled it with an o).

POLITICS: Video games new battleground for ads

Obama broke new ground today, as he became the first presidential candidate to advertise in a video game. The ad appears in Burnout: Paradise City when the Xbox 360 system is connected to the internet.

The ad is in the form of a billboard while the player is racing. It will appear in games until November 3, in ten states. The states, Ohio, Florida, Iowa, Colorado, Indiana, Montana, North Carolina, New Mexico, Nevada and Wisconsin are considered this year's battleground states.

The ads were purchased through Microsoft (Xbox), which offered McCain equal ad space. Neither candidate accepted ad offers from Sony (Playstation 3).

What's next for ads? Cell phone companies selling ads that will text all users..

This is a new age of technology, and now presidential candidates are catching up to all of its benefits. It should be interesting to see where presidential candidates will go next for ads.

POLITICS: The rising tide

Found this interesting.. I got an email from my dad today, who had thought for a while he'd be voting for McCain. Doesn't seem that way anymore.

"My choice has been made, I cannot vote for a man who would make a tremendously bad decision for a running mate. I have watched George Bush make one poor decision after another, and have been worried that we will stay the course until the end of time. I think McCain will do the same.

There are many points that I cannot agree on with Obama, but I can counter many of those single issues with voting for like minded people in the legislature as myself. But my vote for president must be for Barack. I feel that he will be presidential and set the tone for the country when a crises such as the flooding of New Orleans happens again. I think that when he makes a decision based on finding weapons of mass destruction, and finds differently he will then figure out it is time to bring our young men and women home.

I have complete confidence that our country will, in a landslide vote Barack into office. Now I need to figure a way to move up the inauguration date to mid November."

POLITICS: It's on

THE DEBATE: Round 1 Foreign Policy & National Security

McCain: 72 years old. AZ Senator (R)

Strengths- National Security is his knockout punch. Serving in the army and former POW, McCain knows he has the edge on national security issues. In a time of terrorism and war, he hopes to win over voters with his war experiences and tactics. 

Weaknesses- The perception of his age has hurt McCain in some respects. Many believe he is representative of yesterday's policies, not tomorrow's hopes. Also, the ties to Bush and the Iraq War may backfire on his war experience. 

vs.

Obama: 47 years old. IL Senator (D)

Strengths- Charisma has attached his face to hope and change. His former law background has given him the smarts to speak of foreign and domestic policies. The knockout punch will be that he voted against the war, and that he represents new politics of foreign policy rather than hardline war policies.

Weaknesses- Inexperience. Obama hasn't been able to articulate plans to create change and has struggled in former debates. Obama has no national security experience, which will surely be an easy target for McCain.

UPDATE: McCain will participate in the debate.  The debate will start at 9:00 P.M. 

POLITICS: Debate on Friday

This is an announcement for the presidential debate on Friday. WATCH IT! I'm not going to tell you who to vote for, just make sure you vote. This election is pivotal, our country is struggling and it needs a change, whether it be McCain or Obama.

Make sure you listen for the candidates' stances on the important issues.

The war- The Iraq War has dragged on six years since it was declared, "Mission Accomplished." The U.S. is fed up sacrificing its own young citizens to fight a war that we possibly should've avoided. A withdraw will help the U.S. save lives and tax dollars (war is really, really expensive)

The economy- Some economic analysts are calling Wall Street "dead." Our country needs an effective (not fast and ill-thought) plan to re-stabilize the economy and help those Americans that are losing their jobs due in part to the recession. 

The environment- I've come to learn from my POLS 150 that so much can be done, and that the U.S. has simply refused to do anything for the fear of a "weakened" economy. Its about time the U.S. steps up and at least signs the Kyoto Protocol (the U.S. is the only developed country not to sign). It may even help the economy since Americans seem to be buying foreign cars with better gas mileage. Not to mention, we could all use cleaner air.

Change- This is a big one. Obama especially needs to step up and explain how he will actually change this country. Reading through papers and doing research I have found some of his actual proposals, however general America still does not know how he wants to change (and I still don't know much about his ideas for change). McCain needs to prove how he will change the White House from the Bush Administration. Early on, McCain had attracted a huge population of Democrats and Republicans. However, in the past year through his campaigning, McCain has lost many votes because of the closeness to Bush type policy. Statements such as , "I know a lot less about economics...I still need to be educated," have been damaging. He needs to show the leadership and charisma for change in America.

This election needs as many informed voters as it can get. Be a good citizen, use your power to vote and make a smart decision.

NEWS: Where is this country going?

NEW YORK

I love it when the media does its job correctly. I've already spoken of the house with smoke and mirrors that is Washington, but some great journalists help people find the answers they need.  

You don't need to be an economic genius to recognize this is not a great time for our country. Driving past a gas station, checking your account balance everyday to see how close to red figures you are or even reading a newspaper will tell the story. 

Matt Lauer, Ohio University alumnus helped me find the answers in his most recent interview.

John McCain has gone back and forth on the economy, saying we are in crisis but the fundamentals are strong. McCain believes the fundamentals are the American workers, and that they are holding strong.

Obviously American workers are the base of the economy. Without us nothing is made or bought. However, McCain seems to be failing to notice the cracking foundation. The American worker is beginning to scrap for money. They can't afford the gas. They can't afford the new car. They can't afford the new house. They can't afford college. 

I don't want to seem bias, I'll admit I am more liberal in my views. However, McCain can only point to 9/11 as the problem and seeks to only make a commission to study 9/11 and report their findings from its effects.

"We are in total crisis," said McCain. "We need a 9/11 commission, and we need a commission to figure out what went wrong and how to fix it."

I cannot believe in a solution to 2008's problems by looking back to 2001, the tragedy it held and find a solution in it. A commission will not only be costly, ineffective but will also take too long. McCain admits, "America is in crisis today." Today needs to be studied, not September 11, 2001. 

I can't help but agree with Obama's response. "Senator McCain offered up the oldest Washington stunt in the book - you pass the buck to a commission to study the problem. But here's the thing - this isn't 9/11. We know how we got into this mess. What we need now is leadership that gets us out." 

The 9/11 commission proposal will only find how we got into this crisis. It will not get us out. By the time anything will done, the future american worker will be out of the job, out of cash, out of college and America will be out of luck.