MY LAST POST... some comic relief.

A little comic relief after all the serious talk I had these past 39 entries. A great sum-up of everything I was able to point out regarding religion and politics in the United States, thanks to Bill Maher. I hope you enjoy this. Thank you so much for taking the time to read my blabbering and to somewhat acknowledge my opinions, no matter how weird or "out-there" they may be. Enjoy and take care!

Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i78sSduUW2Q

Religion in American politics

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

Great video. Religion is slowly seeping more into our government year after year. This whole war on "Terrorism" has to do with Christian faith. It's kind of funny that President Bush continuously preaches so much about religion and ends every public speech of his with "God Bless," and we claim to live in a secular country where there is a strict separation between church and state. I think not. America needs to take a step back and re-evaluate its agenda and its hypocrisy before going out and insulting and criticizing other nations like Iran for being extremely religious and imposing strict religious ideologies on its people. While America is certainly not to that extreme, it definitely is a mild version of that and it's interesting that no one really, remotely acknowledges that. I believe before America points its fingers at other nations for being "racist," or "extremists," or whatever else... America needs to take a look at itself, within its own borders, and fix its own problems before commenting and insulting other nations' ideologies.

Our Founding Fathers

So, I just wanted to touch a little bit on the lecture a few weeks back regarding the Founding Fathers and their religious views and beliefs. This is a little bit about what was covered which I thought would be interesting to share. Jefferson was known to have cut up certain passages from the Bible and was a Deist who didn't believe that the son of God was Jesus. Paine attacked Christianity and was an atheist who sought a government based on reason, not faith. Adams was strongly religious but in contrast, Washington would not kneel to pray, was mused about becoming a preacher, and was the first inter-religious promoter. Finally, Franklin was very eclectic regarding his religious views and doubted the divinity of Christ. So, these facts are kind of interesting in that we have proof that our nation was not necessarily built upon Christian ideals and values and that most of this religion "bs" that candidates are so concerned with today are really just made up stuff that came about these past few years!

OO Richard Dawkins...

Video: "Top 10 Reasons I hate Religion"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8UxcGt04zg

After watching this video,despite how slanted it is,any rational person would reject both atheism and christianity. Any dogma,weather secular or religious, when aligned with the state, always will be antithetical to human life and liberty. While this video is slightly stupid in its own rights, when it comes down to it, Dawkins sort of has a point. The way it is presented is certainly erroneous and absurd, but there is some truth to it. Religion is taking over our lives and affected every aspect of our society and it has crossed a very fine line. We need to take note of this and make sure that it doesn't delve deeper into the basis of our lives.

French racism

The French law on secularity and conspicuous religious symbols in schools bans wearing conspicuous religious symbols in French public (i.e. government-operated) primary and secondary schools. The law is an amendment to the French Code of Education that expands principles founded in existing French law, especially the constitutional requirement of laicite: the separation of state and religious activities.
The bill passed France's national legislature and was signed into law by President Chirac on March 15 2004 and came into effect on September 2, 2004, at the beginning of the new school year.
The law is a great example of a modern, industrialized society and its capability and ability to still invoke racism and ban such a religious symbol in a so-called free and democratic nation. It's funny how France, among other nations, claims to be this modern, democratic society with so many freedoms and rights given to its people, but at the very next instance, they ban such a thing from schools and expect people to cooperate. Truly idiotic!

Mapping Muslims

Article: http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2007/11/16/41735.html

A plan by the Los Angeles Police Department's counter-terrorism bureau to map Muslim groups in the city has angered civil rights activists and community leaders, it was reported Friday.
The Los Angeles Times reported that the LAPD wants to create a map of Muslim groups in order to help communities avoid the influence of radicals seeking to incite "violent, ideologically-based extremism." With an estimated 500,000 Muslims living in the greater Los Angeles area, it seems crazy to even think of doing such a thing. This will just continue increasing the tensions among the Muslim community and create more feelings and sentiments of hate. What else with the American authorities come up with next?

Our screwed up society

Something like 65 percent of America say that they would never vote a non-believer into office. even though we make up at least 10 percent(more than Jews and Muslims). Our mere belief system about the cosmos completely disqualifies us from being elected and you think your persecuted? I've heard from scholars that the religious are the biggest callers of censorship and I guess this is vitally important within our society today and has impacted many features of our lives. We can only hope that this will soon change and we will have a different view of religion.

Do Christians face persecution in America today?

http://youtube.com/watch?v=oDeIg-mp5eo&feature=related

Funny video summing up the role of religion in American society and politics today.

Republicans and 2008 Presidential Elections

In recent Pew surveys, roughly one-third (32%) of all Republican and Republican-leaning registered voters say they would prefer to see Rudy Giuliani atop the Republican ticket in 2008. John McCain and Fred Thompson have about equal support among this group (17% and 19%, respectively). One-in-ten Republicans prefer Mitt Romney, with Mike Huckabee generating nearly as much support as Romney in recent surveys. (A separate analysis of the surveys finds that Thompson's support declined slightly between September and October, while Huckabee's support rose slightly during the same period.) Giuliani fares better among other religious groups than among white evangelicals. White Catholics, for instance, prefer Giuliani over his competitors by more than a two-to-one margin; among white mainline Protestants, he has a 15-point advantage over Thompson, his closest competitor. This is interesting to compare with the democratic candidates’ effects on religion and voter turnout.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/youdecide2008/index.html?CMP=KNC-YahooPI

Democrats and 2008 Presidential Elections

Overall, the contest for the Democratic nomination has been fairly stable, with Clinton leading her opponents by wide margins in most recent surveys. An aggregation of surveys conducted by the Pew Research Center in September and October finds that Clinton is the clear front-runner among all Democratic and Democratic-leaning registered voters, with close to half (44%) of this group saying that they would most prefer for Clinton to be the nominee in 2008. A quarter prefers Barack Obama, while slightly more than one-in-ten (13%) favor John Edwards. But support for the three leading candidates varies considerably among certain religious traditions. It’s interesting to compare the differences among republican and democratic voters and each party’s emphasis on religion and its effects in voter turnout.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/youdecide2008/index.html?CMP=KNC-YahooPI

Faith and Elections of 2008

The personal faith of candidates has become a very public part of the 2008 presidential campaign. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama have hired strategists to focus on reaching religious voters. Democrats in general are targeting moderate Roman Catholics, mainline Protestants and even evangelicals, hoping to enlist enough voters for whom religious and moral issues are a priority to put together a winning coalition. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has been questioned so much about his Mormon faith. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a Catholic who says he gave serious consideration as a young man to becoming a priest, is fending off critics who say he should be denied the sacrament of communion because he supports abortion rights. Religion has become such a common element of presidential politics that during the first televised debate among the 2008 Republican candidates, a reporter asked if any did not believe in evolution three Republicans raised their hands: Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo. Crazy how religion has played such an impact in politics today.

McCain and Christianity

Article:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/10/01/mccain.christian.nation/index.html?imw=Y&iref=mpstoryemail

Muslim and Jewish groups on Monday sharply criticized Sen. John McCain's comments that he would prefer a Christian president to lead the United States. And they have every right to think that way. We claim to be such a democratic country based on democratic principles and based on diversity and so forth but then we have an individual, with such an esteemed, respected position, come out and say that this country would be better off with a Christian president. That is a direct blow to the nature of this country and to the ideals and values that America is supposedly based upon. Even if McCain does think that, and he has every right to since we are a nation based on the freedom of speech, he should understand that his position comes with a certain level of understanding and he has to understand that this will insult people and is a completely inappropriate and offensive remark.

Importance of Religion on Presidential Candidates

In response to the article regarding John McCain and his commentary about presidential candidates and religion, I just wanted to talk a little more about that because it’s truly something that I can’t seem to comprehend. Is religion really so important in American politics? Is it really impossible to ever elect a president who is not a Christian? These seem like such unlikely questions but the reality and the truth is that these questions are truly valid within American society today. I hate to say it but in some ways, America, or at least American politics, is somewhat racist and that just doesn’t seem to be okay… I’ll expand on this idea a little more in the following weeks.

Bill Maher on Voting and Religion

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QKhC1lI0b0

The YouTube freak that I am, I came across this video with Bill Mahr and found it to be hilarious. A comic in his own right, Mahr discusses the effects of religion on our lives today, especially in politics. He calls for a so-called "Religion Test" for our country and bashes several of the presidential candidates, including Mitt Romney. This was definitely a fun little alternative to the serious and bias commentary from the bigger news media outlets. Thank you Bill Mahr, thank you.

More on Mitt Romney

Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/08/us/politics/08romney.html?ex=1328590800&en=3c8c164179e6c40c&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

So there are continuous questions being asked as to whether as a Mormon, Mitt Romney has the slightest chance of being elected President. I decided to write a little bit about Mormonism and I'll let you guys decide... does it really change or decrease the qualifications of a presidential candidate? You let me know!

Mormonism was founded in 1830 by J. Smith and has about 11 million members. It is the fastest growing denomination in the world by some accounts and some of its beliefs include that a lost tribe of Hebrews settled in Ancient America, not Native Americans. Mormons believe that the Garden of Eden was in Missouri and that the second coming of Christ will appear there too. They believe that Mormonism is the true Church and the rest of Christianity is way off course. Mormon temples are off limits to non-Mormons and they have certain very strict codes of conduct and restrictions. So now that you know more about Mormonism... does it affect how you're going to vote? You decide.

Is Obama Muslim?

Article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/28/AR2007112802757.html?hpid=topnews

So Barack Obama was once a Muslim? The article states that Obama was, during some time in his life, a Muslim because he was trained as a young child in Indonesia. The article states "Since declaring his candidacy for president in February, Obama, a member of a congregation of the United Church of Christ in Chicago, has had to address assertions that he is a Muslim or that he had received training in Islam in Indonesia, where he lived from ages 6 to 10. While his father was an atheist and his mother did not practice religion, Obama's stepfather did occasionally attend services at a mosque there." In campaign appearances, Obama regularly mentions his time living and attending school in Indonesia, and the fact that his paternal grandfather, a Kenyan farmer, was a Muslim. Obama invokes these facts as part of his case that he is prepared to handle foreign policy, despite having been in the Senate for only three years, and that he would literally bring a new face to parts of the world where the United States is not popular. Controversies arose regarding this and Obama has had to make it clear and make continuous statements that these allegations are false. It really is truly sad that it has come down to this. For a presidential candidate to intensely and aggressively deny such a fact... what has America come to.. honestly.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Happy Halloween everyone... I think it's safe to say that I can take a one-day break because of this great holiday... but in case you guys are still grading today's posts, I might just dress up as one of the founding fathers or one of the presidential candidates and that way get credit for today? Would that be OK? haha I'm not even kidding... :)

McCain prays... thank god.

Article: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,996351,00.html

In an article by Time magazine I came across titled, "McCain's faith: 'I Pray Regularly'," a religious background and overview of presidential candidate and Senator John McCain is provided, along with news that he prays. Well, thank the lord... John McCain prays regularly. I guess that's definitely something very news-worthy and definitely worth a 2-page article... NOT! More and more I'm coming across these articles and the more absurd it gets... wow.

A follow-up to my last post

Interestingly enough, as I was browsing through the amazing website I found last week... I came across a section that provides detailed candidate profiles. Among information like hometown, political experience, and so forth... was, yes you guessed right, religious views. Are you serious? Is it really that big of a deal that I know that Hillary Clinton is a "United Methodist" and John McCain is a "Baptist?" BIG DEAL!!

JACKPOT!

I think I just hit the jackpot when I came across this website... it links the connection between religion and the upcoming 2008 elections and the influence of religion on this coming election. It has a multitude of articles and is really amazing!

http://pewforum.org/religion08/

Immigrant Connection

Many constitutional experts, among them Vincent Munoz of Tufts University, argue the separation of church and state crafted by the Founding Fathers ensures that religion is not saddled with problems that come with political partisanship. "When the Constitutional Convention put in the provision to say no religious test for office, that was objected to by people who opposed the Constitution. One of the arguments was that if we don't have a religious test for office, Jews or Catholics or Muslims might be elected," explains Munoz.
Munoz adds, "James Madison's response was,'Well, if the people of America want to elect a Jew or a Muslim or a Catholic for office, that's fine.' And so, yes, it is true that at the time of the founding we were a more homogenous nation, but it doesn't mean that the Founders didn't anticipate much of the religious diversity we enjoy today in America."
And most analysts says the role of religion in public life will likely continue to be an integral part of American politics.

Article: http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2007-03/2007-03-16-voa63.cfm?CFID=227530160&CFTOKEN=33203774

Faith at the Ballot Box

While religion has always mattered in American politics, some analysts say that in recent years, it has taken on a more prominent role in national elections.
John Green, of the Washington-based Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, points to President Bush's victories in 2000 and 2004, for example, which in part were due to his successful appeal to conservative religious voters. But Green says voters casting ballots in keeping with their religious beliefs dates back decades. Green says America's two leading political parties - - the Democrats and the Republicans - - are often at loggerheads over social issues because of their different religious constituencies. "In the Republican Party, it tends to be white Christians, particularly white evangelical Protestants, but also Christians of other backgrounds. The Democrats have a more complicated religious coalition that includes African-American Protestants, Hispanic Catholics, liberal Christians, Jews, Muslims and Hindus, as well as non-religious people," says Green.
Green says the Republicans tend to talk more openly about religious questions because their coalition is not as diverse. In the Democratic Party, politicians do talk about religion, says Green. "But they are much more cautious because of the religious diversity of the Democratic Party."

Christianity in America

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3658172.stm

An interesting article about the influence of Christianity in America. The article states the fact that although the United States has a constitutional barrier separating church and state, the vast majority of Americans want their leaders to be religious. A quite fascinating article and a great read!

Religion and Politics

A little exerpt from my paper...
The question of religion and politics is not the same as the question of church and state. Failure to make this distinction results in confusion. The problem of church and state has to do with institutions and practices. Neither must trespass the boundaries that define their legitimate sphere of influence. Here the concept of separation is valid. Thorny problems arise in two particular areas. 1. The first involves trying to steer between avoiding an establishment of religion and permitting its free exercise. Prayer in public schools and is among the most contentious. 2. A second range of problems arises when religious belief and practice conflict with secular law.
The problem of religion and politics defines another set of issues. Church and state deals with the relationship of institutions that are independent of each other. Religion and politics has to do with two spheres of activities in the life of the same persons. Citizens who belong to religious groups are also members of the secular society, and this dual association generates complications. Religious beliefs have moral and social implications, and it is appropriate for people of faith to express these through their activities as citizens in the political order. The fact that ethical convictions are rooted in religious faith does not disqualify them from the political realm. However, they do not have secular validity merely because they are thought by their exponents to be religiously authorized. They must be argued for in appropriate social and political terms in harmony with national values.

The politics of UCI

A little interesting twist to my other posts.... The politics of UCI. Yes, they really do exist. So, I moved from the east coast and just coming to the west coast was such a huge change for me and when I came to UCI, I really found it so interesting as far as the politics that exist on this campus. It's worse than high school. The cliques are undeniably there and undeniably exclusive. We have the Greeks. We have the athletes. We have the non-affiliates. We have the Persians. We have the Arabs. And the list goes on... but honestly, it's so interesting to stop and look around and just acknowledge that so many groups and cliques exist on this campus. Now, don't get me wrong, I am part of a sorority and part of the Greek life here. The only reason being that I moved from the east coast and realized that the best way for me to meet people and network was to join a sorority. And undoubtedly, it helped and I have no regrets but rarely do I surround myself with people in the Greek life. I have found a few amazing friends in different sororities and fraternities, but otherwise Kappa Kappa Kappa's annual "wear no clothing" party is not my cup of tea... My point is that the drama is still here. I thought that coming out of high school, where so many cliques existed and drama was all over the place and it was top news of the day if Popular Sally's jock football player boyfriend left her for Ugly Nerd Betty, that this would be gone and it would no longer exist but boy was I wrong! Now, I don't know if this still exists on every other college campus but I really don't like it. I thought college was a place AFTER high school where everyone is more mature and more acknowledging of others and all the stuff you hear... but is it really? Is it only in our minds and dreams that we have painted college to be some euphoria of diversity and mixing of cultures and peoples? Unfortunately, yes... yes it is. The cliques are still there. The drama is still there. Sad.

Influence of Politics

What influences how we vote? Do we vote based on religion? based on what our parents tell us? how do we vote and what do we base it on? I recently just moved to the United States and this whole campaign, elections, and emphasis on politics is certainly new to me. I find it interesting that having lived in both Washington D.C. and California, how the demographics change and how the voting demographics, specifically, have changed. Is it something in the environment that influences how we vote? I really cannot determine what it is that influences how people vote but truthfully, I think most of it is how we are raised and what our parents and ancestors have stressed and imposed on us. A website I found recently analyzes how religion and politics coincide and the effect both have on each other. Religion and politics. Check it out... it's pretty interesting!

Politics behind the media

So, as I'm turning on the TV real quick before heading to class, I can't help to notice how much media propaganda exists. Now, I'm not saying that in these very 5 minutes I turned on the TV, I randomly thought of this, but it's something I have noticed throughout the years and more so in college as I have become more aware of such things. We tend to tell ourselves that we ultimately make our own decisions and that no one else, especially the media, can affect our decision in any way. But is that really true? Looking back at past presidential elections, I would be lying to myself if I said that I was not somewhat affected in my decision-making after looking the debate on TV or after hearing post-remarks and background stories published by the news media. To some extent, media plays a huge role on our lives and ultimately, it does affect the way we run our lives. Without TV, without news, without media... what would life be like? In our society today, we base our lives on getting information any time we want and relying on news for information for the day that forms the basis of how we are going to go on with the day. This is a pretty random post... but it just hit me suddenly today how much our lives are influenced by the media and how much these technological outlets have taken over our lives. It's an interesting topic to think about... so go ahead, think about it.

Gun Control?

In the wake of the Virginia Tech shooting, a campus that lost 33 of its own, I have come to really take a step back and evaluate our gun control policies and how our government is approaching laws pertaining to gun control. The Virginia Tech tragedy has been labelled as the largest school shooting and even largest shooting rampage in United State history. was rocked by the largest school shooting in United States history. While it was unimaginable to fathom that the gunner was even capable of such an act, more questions have boggled my mind about the ease by which he was able to obtain the guns (a .22 caliber Walther and a 9mm Glock). It was reported that the gunner, Cho, simply walked into a local gun shop and while a background check was taken, everything went through, was approved, and he walked out with a gun in hand within a few minutes. The question I have is can such incidents really be prevented in the future? Truth of the matter is while we cannot simply go around and question people who we think are remotely capable of such an act or threatening to other people in any way, there are other ways we can deter them from successfully achieving such a mission... put it simply, gun control. People with Cho's mind-set exist. There is no doubt about it. There are people all around the world who, for whatever reason, have this mental disability and have this hatred towards people around them and society at large. They tend to seek violence and cause harmful acts but how much harm can they really accomplish without arms, without guns, without any sort of ammunition? Little to none. Honestly, think about it... we need to implement more control and more regulation on gun distribution. If I had it my way, I would outlaw guns everywhere and leave them for the use of police, the army, etc but that is just me trying to picture an ideal world. We need to be more aware of the consequences that such mentally disable people can cause when they are in possession of such deadly weapons. The Virginia Tech shooting was a tragedy that I pray will never ever happen again and I cannot imagine the pain that the entire campus and the families are feeling at this point and I would hate to see anything like that happen again. It is up to us to take a step back and learn from this, to realize that we cannot and should not tolerate acts like this and we need to make changes in our system. I leave you with this final thought, "People are not capable of killing other people, people with guns are."

As an Iranian-American

So, as the news and media are on a slow day, I've decided to go ahead and write a little bit about and reflect on being an Iranian-American. Attaching that "American" seems a little weird but considering the fact that I have dual citizenship, I guess I am in a sense obliged to attach that bit to the end of my nationality. I have never lived in Iran, however I am in a way attached to a country I have never experience for a long period of time. Why? I guess it is just part of our human nature to confide in the very nation that our ancestors have grown up in and our parents have been raised in. The dual labelling of being both an Iranian and an American is certainly interesting and has brought about a lot of confusion growing up. Being an Iranian for me means that I have that rich history and culture in my being and it is where I come from. Being an American means that I have come to this country and am grateful for all the opportunities that it provides for me. The joining of the two is where it becomes in a sense hard and interesting at the same time. The politics behind being an Iranian somewhat clash with that of being an American. The cultures are different, the histories are different, and the traditions are undoubtedly different. But, I take pride in being both. I have come to accept the fact that I am an Iranian-American and I am grateful for being not only a part of one of the richest and extensive civilizations in the world but also part of the biggest powerhouse in the world and a country where every opportunity can be given to me. For this, I am utterly grateful

Don Imus

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RF9BjB7Bzr0
OO Don Imus... where do I even begin? So after years of commentary and insults, the recent comments he made regarding the Rutgers women's basketball team just took it over the edge. He has had years of such a reputation so it is interesting that these most recent comments just exploded and led to such backlash and well... him losing his job. While the comments are absolutely inappropriate and so unnecessary, I don't understand why it was these comments that eventually led to his demise. While some may argue that everyone has a right to say whatever they want and it is freedom of speech and all that... there is a right place and a right time for everything. As a mature person and as a professional, he should know better and should be responsible for saying such demeaning things. It is absolutely inappropriate and he should (and is) held accountable... hopefully he'll learn his lesson once and for all.

Barack Obama 2008

So not that I'm promoting him for president in 2008.... or ok who am I kidding! Obama is certainly on top of my list and I am a huge supporter. Having run out of things to say for today, I decided to go ahead and shoot a plug for my 2008 presidential candidate of choice.. why not! A man full of credentials and with a history of experience and an outlook for the future like no one else, Barack Obama is the man to elect in 2008. His diverse background, his extensive experiences in the government, and his proposals for the future are all reasons to consider him a viable and THE right candidate next year. Actually, instead of all my "blabber" talk, go ahead and look at his official campaign website and decide for ourself... Barack Obama. After all, like I discussed a few posts back... I do not have the power to change or influence how you vote, it is part of who you are, part of your past, and part of your history that has the power to affect your voting behavior. Go ahead and make the right choice for yourself.

A Look Back on a Racist Event

UCLA Student Tasered... for reasons that I simply do not understand.On November 14, 2006, Mostafa Tabatabainejad, a 23-year old, was shocked while leaving the library at the University of California, Los Angeles. He had been asked to leave after failing to show a student ID card. The incident occurred around 11:30 pm at the university's Pwell Library computer lab when the victim failed to provide a valid ID card during a random check. Apparently, he was then asked to leave and he failed to immediately leave the premise but he was on his way out, when a police officer grabbed his hand and it is from there that the gruesome acts began and the rest is history. Footage of the event caught on a video phone was posted on the YouTube website and has been widely circulated on the internet causing much concern amongst viewers. It's been reported that the video received over 500,000 views in its first few days on-line.First, I just want to comment that this news was only really shown on YouTube and university communication sites and not on any national news sites or media outlets, that I know of. Why? Perhaps because of the image of the UCPD. Second, I don't even know where to begin. For one, since when do university libraries go on "random checks" where they go around asking people for valid ID cards? I know for a fact that students from Saddleback College, from various high school, (point being.. NON-UCI STUDENTS) access our libraries and our computer labs and no one cares or rather... no one checks! So, why was this student asked to leave the premises simply because he did not have a valid ID... so he may not have been a UCLA student... BIG DEAL! And I don't even want to start commenting on the actions taken against him. I am utterly disgusted and I had forgotten about the incident until I happened to come across the video on YouTube and decided to go ahead and comment on it. I really don't even know what to say anymore.... I think the video speaks for itself.

Hilary Clinton - "1984"

Hilary "1984"This ad demonstrates the power of viral campaigning. It illustrates a very sophisticated and creative ad construction. It has been labelled as the "political phenomena of 2008." It was not tied to any candidate so no one took responsibility of it in the media. For 2 weeks, the mastermind remained a mystery. Arianna Huffington, who has one of the most popular political websites, sent out about thirty people to find the mystery author. The mastermind turned out to be 33-year old Philip de Vellis who was fired/quit (changes depending on who you talk to) immediately. The ad demonstrated the ability and power ordinary people have over news media and over the campaigning agendas. It shows the swarm power of bloggers and the Internet. More importantly, it demonstrates the fact that the future of American politics rests in the hands of ordinary citizens. As one put it, "It is not the first citizen ad, and it will not be the last...."

American Media continued....

By the 20th century, objectivity began to introduce into American journalism and radio chipped away at the newspaper monopoly on the news circuit. American newspaper families started to go corporate, losing control to shareholders. TV took away another chunk of newspaper readership. From 1960-2000s, media consolidated in nearly every form: print, radio, TV. News consumers, expecting objectivity, have grown increasingly frustrated with the mainstream media. They viewed it as too liberal, unapproachable, non-responsive, arrogant, slow to admit mistakes, etc... Until the Internet, news consumers had few choices: power concentrate, barriers to entry into new businesses were high. Conservative talk radio filled the need in the 1990s... but only a few voices could be heard. FOX news came along (right-wing, unsophisticated) and soon crushed CNN in the ratings. Now, newspaper readership is experiencing unprecedented declines. It is interesting to see how people are relying more and more on news outlets like FOX news and video searches like YouTube and so forth and less on the good old fashioned newspaper. OO how the American media has evolved...

American Media

So the history of American media is certainly an interesting topic and one I will briefly outline in this post. It first began with the colonial press that was controlled by the British government when Great Britain had control over America. It eventually evolved into a very opinionated press during the Revolutionary era and objectivity was scorned. Next, media was dominated by political parties and politicians. The Penny Press made newspapers accessible to everyone because it was so inexpensive. The business model for the media was established... this belief that eyeballs=advertisers. The Muckrackers and yellow journalism championed causes; attractive to the "little guy." By the late 19th century, several families had developed media empires that made them wealthy, known , and powerful. For example, the LA Times was headed by General Odus until the 1960s.

Matt Drudge!

Why has Matt Drudge been labeled the MLK of the Internet? A 40 year old, raised near DC, with no college education, working at a 7/11 and McDonald's, Matt Drudge has become one of the Internet's leading political bloggers. He started a forum about gossip which slowly evolved into a political website. He launched his website in 1995 and started to break stories before the mainstream media. It all started in 1998 when a Newsweek story about an alleged affair between President Bill Clinton and White-House intern Monica Lewinsky broke out. Someone at Newsweek leaked it to Drudge and the story became huge. It was all accredited to Matt Drudge who was launched into "celebrity" status. By the end of the year, Clinton was impeached and Drudge's influence continued to grow due to his willingness to publish items not yet covered by mainstream media - can dictate what the mainstream media covers, or what gets attention. 427 million home-page views in March on his site... that's insane! He estimates 20 percent of his stories are wrong but the site generates millions in revenues anyway. He rarely names his sources and has facts wrong more often than not - this kind of accuracy would get him fired quickly at a mainstream media outlet but it is this power he has over his website that makes his so unique. The public has complained that the mainstream media is too uptight and too worried about information and details rather than getting the story out there. This is where Matt Drudge has become influential. However, there certainly has been varying opinions of him and his has become controversial. Check it out and judge for yourself:MATT DRUDGE POLITICAL WEBSITE

Islam in the Media

A television station run by Hamas has now enlisted a new group into their army.... kids. Every Friday on Al-Aqsa TV, Palestinian children tune into the TV show singing songs and learning messages that are Anti-American and Anti-Israel. The Palestinian Information Minister said that the character represented a "mistaken approach to the Palestinian struggle against Israeli occupation." But why is it even there? They are obviously trying to persuade and attract the younger generation to form hatred and sentiments of hate in them. It is sickening honestly. They are using characters such as Mickey Mouse to more easily attract children. They could use any character but they go ahead and use Mickey Mouse.... an idol for children. I don't know really what to say about this... it is just sickening. Children are the most innocent beings and to try to conform them into such hatred beings is just flat out wrong. I really have nothing more to say about this.... it is just digusting even writing about it. yuck.

The ruthless power of authority

I recently got an e-mail from a friend of mine with the following attachment.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uczWUs3vTh4It was truly disgusting to watch. The ruthless power that authority has over innocent civilians and their ability to take advantage of any situation, of any person, at any time is sickening. I'd hope that in situations like these, people of authority or officers in this case, would assist the innocent and help this poor girl while she was trying to find and save her dying father. This video just reiterates for me the fact that we cannot really trust anyone in this society, but ourselves. Eventually, the woman was taken to jail and held for a few hours and thankfully, her father survived but it still does not deter from the horrific acts of the police officer and the insulting behavior. The society we live in today is truly harsh and we must not trust anyone.. honestly, it sounds crazy... but we live in a crazy world these days and no one must be trusted but yourself and do what you think is right... I don't mean to sound like Dr. Phil or anything but it's true... only believe in yourself... in the end, the only person that will be affected is yourself but you must be prepared and willing to accept that fact that you are responsible for your own actions and hence, if you do what you believe in, then you will be reciprocated with whatever consequences.

Ann Coulter

"Jews can be 'perfected' by finding Christ" - Ann Coulter

This direct quote from Ann Coulter is only one of the many insulting remarks that she made on nation television. Yes, that's right... on national television... in front of millions and certainly in front of many Jews themselves. Claiming that Jews are imperfect and inferior to Christians and that they should devote themselves to Christianity for a better and more pure life is simply absurd. While Coulter has every right to speak her mind and is entitled to her opinion by all means under our first Amendment, ensuring freedom of speech, there is a fine line when you come on national television. To claim that everyone in America would be better off just simply converting to Christianity and denouncing every other religion is just plain demeaning. America is based upon a foundation of diversity and without all these different religions, America would not be America. The basic principles and values that America is based upon would be nonexistent. It is one thing to have a strong opinion and think in this manner but it is a completely other thing when one goes on national television in front of millions and denounces what this nation is based on. It is disrespectful, naive, and just plain out dumb!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18aYlBNjW_0

Religion & the Media

So I initially took the class thinking that religion and the media were two completely separate entities and that one had no influence or absolutely no connection to the other. Slowly but surely, as I began to think more about it and dive into the topic, I realized that the link between the two is certainly there. In the U.S., we have a society based upon the principles of freedom of speech and so forth and a definite separation between church and state. But, if we look closely, there is undoubtedly an influence of religion on not only how our lives are governed, but on the media and so forth. It's something we don't really expect from a democratic society such as America's. If we look at the Middle East, there is an obvious influence of religion and religious beliefs and ideologies on everyday life, including media coverage. Television networks such as Al Jazeera and other such examples portray the definite link between religion and the media and the tremendous influence that one plays on the other. In the United States, we tend to think that this does not exist. That freedoms and rights do not render a society influenced by any such ideologies, let alone religion. Interestingly enough... this is not true or at least I don't think so. The influence of religion seeps through every crevice of our lives, without us even noticing it. And so, this concludes the first of my posts. It should be an interesting quarter and an interesting experience and I look forward to further expanding on this very topic and to truly understand and grasp the concept of Religion and the Media...