The local news always discusses the same subject matter. You will always get your daily dose of the weather, which is helpful. Then you find out what's going on in proximity to where you live. A suspected robbery in Hammonton, a local woman is sent to the hospital after a shooting takes place in Pleasantville. And of course, the exciting news that is happening within your local community, such as a town experimental rain garden is flourishing. In other news, a 3-way car accident at the garden state plaza toll.
Finally, they get into some news that's political. Of course we hear about the H1N1 flu virus, inevitably (5 cases reported by New Jersey health officials), a former councilwoman is indicted for "official misconduct". Also a matter of concern for New Jersey shores, there has been no money allocated to beach replenishment from state or federal government!
Other than those few stories aforementioned, stories were rather locally based (hence local news), strictly pertaining to local residents, car accidents and minor community issues. There is a lot more room for political content, which certainly effects more people than a rain garden experiment. Personally, I thought the news was quite boring and had the urge to view something entirely different. Nonetheless, I can see why people are interested in watching their local news, giving them a sense of knowledge within the community.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Who Will be Next?
Souter is retiring. Oh no! We all know what that means. Obama has to pick a Supreme Court justice to replace him. As a Democratic president with a unified congress, fears are beginning to increase among Republicans as his decision on who will be appointed draws nearer.
The Huffington Post recently released an article discussing the various prospects of who Obama will appoint to the high bench. Republicans have noted that as a state senator from Chicago, Obama voted against cloture on the nomination of Samuel Alito back in 2006. When asked if this would have any impact on his decision to vote for or against Obama's future judicial candidate, Republican senator Richard Shelby stated that he is not a payback kind of guy and that he believes we should move forward. Perhaps this means that other Republican senators will act in this objective manner and keep an open mind when it comes to their decisions on whether or not to vote in favor of Obama's pick.
One thing is for sure: Republicans are taking this very seriously. Ideology of the appointee is going to play a major role in their vote. In addition to the background and expertise of this person, they will have to have at least a moderate standpoint on many controversial issues. I am very curious to see who Obama will appoint and the proximity of his or her ideological views to Obama's own views.
Pirates!!
A recent CNN article discusses pirates attacking a French navy vessel on Sunday. They captured eleven pirates. Mistaking this French vessel with a commercial ship, they attacked. Before they even had time to fire at the vessel, there was a French helicopter flying overhead.
Piracy attacks have become quite popular this year, with over 100 seized pirates over the course of the year. This has become a rather large problem for NATO and the EU, as there are about 70 pirates in a prison in France. The coast of Somalia has proven to be a hot spot for piracy this past year. NATO has been working tirelessly along with the European Union to protect their seas from piracy. Despite their efforts, piracy has continued to soar off the Eastern coast of Africa. Since Somalia has not had an effective government since 1991 (according to CNN), it is difficult to tame from their end. Dealing with millions of dollars, it is of absolute importance that these pirates are captured quickly!
However, here is a different side of the story. Somali Piracy was covered by Al-Jazeera, a famous Arabic news station. Although the quality is not the best, if gives a good idea of the root cause of such piracy, as well as solid visual of what is going on. Check it out:
Piracy attacks have become quite popular this year, with over 100 seized pirates over the course of the year. This has become a rather large problem for NATO and the EU, as there are about 70 pirates in a prison in France. The coast of Somalia has proven to be a hot spot for piracy this past year. NATO has been working tirelessly along with the European Union to protect their seas from piracy. Despite their efforts, piracy has continued to soar off the Eastern coast of Africa. Since Somalia has not had an effective government since 1991 (according to CNN), it is difficult to tame from their end. Dealing with millions of dollars, it is of absolute importance that these pirates are captured quickly!
However, here is a different side of the story. Somali Piracy was covered by Al-Jazeera, a famous Arabic news station. Although the quality is not the best, if gives a good idea of the root cause of such piracy, as well as solid visual of what is going on. Check it out:
Please Twitter in Church?
A recent article on CNN discusses a pastor's encouragement to Twitter during church services.
John Voelz, a pastor from Michigan is looking for ways to make his church services more creative and interesting for his congregation. Not only does he encourage Twitter, they actually educate their congreaton on how to use Twitter. For two weeks, they asked the congregation to bring their laptops and cell phones to a training session where they showed them how to blog.
This is a very unorthodox approach to getting congregates more involved and interested in church. Most likely, many would argue that although technology is growing more intertwined with daily life, Sunday morning mass may not be the place for it just yet.
However, this is not the only church service that regularly integrates Twitter into mass. In Seattle, New York City, and Charlotte, pastors have the same idea. These pastors claim that it is necessary to modernize church services, to allow people to remain close to God in these changing times. "Twitter Sundays" are becoming more popular throughout the nation. Pastors feel that this is an undeniably useful tool to create a greater sense of a unified community.
Some things that are said on these microblogs:
"had awesome music today and yes i am twittering in church."
"nothing u do 4 the lord is in vain."
"I have a hard time recognizing God in the middle of everything."
I can only say that I am surprised. Yet to be quite honest, I really shouldn't be. Technology and Internet tools are the way of the future. If churches want to modernize along with it, it is a fun creative way of allowing church members to become more active, unifying them by this social tool.
John Voelz, a pastor from Michigan is looking for ways to make his church services more creative and interesting for his congregation. Not only does he encourage Twitter, they actually educate their congreaton on how to use Twitter. For two weeks, they asked the congregation to bring their laptops and cell phones to a training session where they showed them how to blog.
This is a very unorthodox approach to getting congregates more involved and interested in church. Most likely, many would argue that although technology is growing more intertwined with daily life, Sunday morning mass may not be the place for it just yet.
However, this is not the only church service that regularly integrates Twitter into mass. In Seattle, New York City, and Charlotte, pastors have the same idea. These pastors claim that it is necessary to modernize church services, to allow people to remain close to God in these changing times. "Twitter Sundays" are becoming more popular throughout the nation. Pastors feel that this is an undeniably useful tool to create a greater sense of a unified community.
Some things that are said on these microblogs:
"had awesome music today and yes i am twittering in church."
"nothing u do 4 the lord is in vain."
"I have a hard time recognizing God in the middle of everything."
I can only say that I am surprised. Yet to be quite honest, I really shouldn't be. Technology and Internet tools are the way of the future. If churches want to modernize along with it, it is a fun creative way of allowing church members to become more active, unifying them by this social tool.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
NBC News
Recently, I watched the nightly news on NBC. The order in which the stories were presented was very interesting.
First, the epic Swine Flu was presented instilling trepidation and panic into the minds of all viewers. They discuss how the H1N1 virus continues to spread, focusing on the vaccine for the monster. They later jump into floods all across the Midwestern region of the US. It will cost well into the hundred thousands to repair all damages. On a lighter note, they begin to discuss how Cuban-American relations are gradually improving, then continue on with the depressing news. In a nutshell, Chrysler is bankrupt, and crime rates are increasing in urban areas caused by the condition of our poor economy.
Why do people watch the news? As much as it kept me up to date with what's going in in the U.S., it was actually quite depressing! They highlighted one to two stories that were positive, and that's about it. The order in which the stories were presented went pretty much like this: Negative to negative, positive, then leave you with negative once again. Perhaps this was not the intent of the order, but it is surely how I perceived it.
whitehouse.gov
In a recent class discussion, whitehouse.gov was brought up as being a propaganda tool used by the Obama administration. As a result, I decided to check out the website. After only a few minutes on the site, I was already overwhelmed by the direct information on there and didn't know what to look at first. Just by going on the homepage, you can find every piece of signed legislation in chronological order by the administration as well as their descriptions. You can also find a weekly address given by the president, information on the economy, and so much more.
Clicking through this website was wonderful. YOu can find out anything about the current administration and what they're doing, as well as what your state and local government is up to. Inevitably, it makes Obama look good, too. Since the site is run by his administration, I wouldn't expect anything different. But, if you're looking for direct information on what your government is doing without the taint of the middle-man media, then you've found it in this site. Learn about the new piece of legislation, then decide for yourself if you agree, without the interpretive subjective media to get in your way. How often can we say we've learned a bit of news about our government without mass media getting involved? Learn about Obama's agenda the way he wants to present it to you, it is his agenda after all and should be presented to his fellow Americans through a direct source.
This week, the president's address urges American's to stay calm but cautious in regards to the H1N1 Flu Virus. Check it out:
Clicking through this website was wonderful. YOu can find out anything about the current administration and what they're doing, as well as what your state and local government is up to. Inevitably, it makes Obama look good, too. Since the site is run by his administration, I wouldn't expect anything different. But, if you're looking for direct information on what your government is doing without the taint of the middle-man media, then you've found it in this site. Learn about the new piece of legislation, then decide for yourself if you agree, without the interpretive subjective media to get in your way. How often can we say we've learned a bit of news about our government without mass media getting involved? Learn about Obama's agenda the way he wants to present it to you, it is his agenda after all and should be presented to his fellow Americans through a direct source.
This week, the president's address urges American's to stay calm but cautious in regards to the H1N1 Flu Virus. Check it out:
Hannity: Obama's First 100 Days
Recently, Hannity recapped Obama's First 100 Days as he perceived it. With little to no commentary, he put together inconsistent and out of place phrases to attempt to portray the faults of Obama's administration thus far. And so, with dramatic music highlighting the background of their words, he begins his recap.
He starts with Guantanamo closing in one year. Wait a minute, why is this a bad thing again? He continues on with a segment of an Obama speech, where he simply says that the state of the economy can become a national catastrophe. How is that not already obvious, regardless of who became President??
He then shows a clip from Biden, stating that even if we do everything right, there is still a 30 percent chance we get it wrong. One would assume he is talking about the economy. Yet since that is the only part of some random speech, we don't even know what that sentence is regarding!!
Continuing with the economy, he discusses Obama's resolution, the stimulus bill, aka, spending bill. What do you think a stimulus bill is? Thats the whole point. Your congress voted for this, and you voted for your congress. Moreover, the nation voted for Obama! He openly stated that this was his plan for recovery throughout his campaign. Why do you question it now and not then?
August 31st, 2010, America will be out of Iraq. Again, where is the bad in this?
Next, Obama is shown giving a speech, yet again. He states there have been times where America has shown arrogance. Is it really unpatriotic to convey the truth? Yet Hannity insists he said this in a negative way. He then shows a clip of Obama stating he does not consider America a Christian nation, at the same time, showing a poster of "The Decline of the Christian America". You must be joking. Whatever happened to separation of church and state?! Whatever happened to our first amendment right to religious freedom? They then state he bowed before the Saudi king.
He concludes by saying this has been the most expensive first 100 days for the American people.Yet the last time we have had an economy this bad was The Great Depression, and we had a war to get us out of it that time, we don't have that kind of revenue this time around. In a nutshell, his was the most awful depiction or recap I have seen in my life. Taking random clips and speeches and throwing them together completely out of context doesn't quite do it for me. Attempting to highlight every negative aspect of Obama's first 100 days and coming up with this garbage just goes to show how strong Obama's first 100 days actually were. I applaud Obama on his efforts to create a more stable economy and prevailing against his adversaries.
He starts with Guantanamo closing in one year. Wait a minute, why is this a bad thing again? He continues on with a segment of an Obama speech, where he simply says that the state of the economy can become a national catastrophe. How is that not already obvious, regardless of who became President??
He then shows a clip from Biden, stating that even if we do everything right, there is still a 30 percent chance we get it wrong. One would assume he is talking about the economy. Yet since that is the only part of some random speech, we don't even know what that sentence is regarding!!
Continuing with the economy, he discusses Obama's resolution, the stimulus bill, aka, spending bill. What do you think a stimulus bill is? Thats the whole point. Your congress voted for this, and you voted for your congress. Moreover, the nation voted for Obama! He openly stated that this was his plan for recovery throughout his campaign. Why do you question it now and not then?
August 31st, 2010, America will be out of Iraq. Again, where is the bad in this?
Next, Obama is shown giving a speech, yet again. He states there have been times where America has shown arrogance. Is it really unpatriotic to convey the truth? Yet Hannity insists he said this in a negative way. He then shows a clip of Obama stating he does not consider America a Christian nation, at the same time, showing a poster of "The Decline of the Christian America". You must be joking. Whatever happened to separation of church and state?! Whatever happened to our first amendment right to religious freedom? They then state he bowed before the Saudi king.
He concludes by saying this has been the most expensive first 100 days for the American people.Yet the last time we have had an economy this bad was The Great Depression, and we had a war to get us out of it that time, we don't have that kind of revenue this time around. In a nutshell, his was the most awful depiction or recap I have seen in my life. Taking random clips and speeches and throwing them together completely out of context doesn't quite do it for me. Attempting to highlight every negative aspect of Obama's first 100 days and coming up with this garbage just goes to show how strong Obama's first 100 days actually were. I applaud Obama on his efforts to create a more stable economy and prevailing against his adversaries.
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