Roger Clemens testifies in front of Congress and the entire world stops...
ESPN, CNN, MSNBC, and FOX are all there, streaming live.
No wonder we had a high school student who completely fabricated a signing day decision to attend school and play football for a University who had never even heard of him.
Our society's priorities are whack! Who sets those priorities? Policymakers? Media?
Is the United States still not heavily involved in a War? Has genocide in Sudan ceased? Has the Bush Administration been cleared of all accusations pertaining to torture? Isn't there something more important for supposed honorable members of Congress to be investigating?
Clearly Congress has a stake in steroid use in Baseball because, wait what is the reason?
The "news" media in the United States is a joke and more and more the mantra, "make a buck, make a buck" clearly has them under a trance.
I attended Chelsea Clinton's appearance at the Memorial Union on the campus of the University of Wisconsin. I also was witness to Barack Obama last night at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wisconsin (more to come on those experiences complete with videos and pictures in the coming days). Looked at in conjunction with one another, the take home message from the two event is that the 18-29 year old demographic cares. I know this is not a novel idea, but if the young vote actually gets to the polls in November, there is no chance in hell that a member of the GOP will be the next President of the United States.
When 18-29 year olds are talked to and shown that they matter, they listen. More importantly they act.
So I plead with producers of any and all news and other media outlets, please use your platform to add something positive to our society.
Stop covering celebrity melt downs. Stop building sports up to such a magnitude that 17 and 18 year old high school kids feel so down that they won't be playing football at the next level that they are compelled to generate a phony "singing day" press conference.
Instead run stories on grassroots efforts underway to fund community fine art programs in poverty stricken communities. Run stories that show how a group of youth were sponsored by local businesses to get funding for athletic equipment by volunteering around their community.
If you build it, they will come.
If these efforts, even on a small scale are exposed to society the efforts will snowball. All great social movements in the history of the United States have their roots with young people. It is time for the media and policymakers to regain some integrity. There is a large population that they can look to for that and they are ready and waiting.
Naive? No, just fed up, and motivated, energetic, and determined to see somethings done differently.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Monday, February 11, 2008
Madison....the city of Love
Talk about a woman with some connections...
I have a crush on Chelsea Clinton. She was about an hour late to the rally, but I would have waited longer.
Call me crazy, but the first daughter has grown up...into a politically powerful fox!
She came to Madison to talk about her Mom. She was pretty boring, with quite the monotone voice but I couldn't help but notice the bedroom eyes she kept shooting my way.
I have a crush on Chelsea Clinton. She was about an hour late to the rally, but I would have waited longer.
Call me crazy, but the first daughter has grown up...into a politically powerful fox!
She came to Madison to talk about her Mom. She was pretty boring, with quite the monotone voice but I couldn't help but notice the bedroom eyes she kept shooting my way.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Superficial Tuesday
I take it that no one is happy with a tie.
Quite the let down after all the anticipation, the countdown, and the news coverage for Super Duper Tsunami Tuesday. But on Wednesday, all there is to talk about is that Hillary has few more delegates, Obama leads the nation in a CNN poll but Hillary leads in another and some idiots are still voting for John Edwards.
Super Tuesday was so uneventful that Heath Ledger and deadly tornadoes made it into the headlines this morning (that was a knock on the Media coverage and not intended to take a shot at the loss of precious human life. My deepest sympathies and condolences go out to those who have lost).
I ask you to consider these:
Is this race close because voters are deciding who the lesser of the two evils is, again? Or are the voters either less racist than they are sexist or less sexist than they are racist?
Remove yourself from the zooming shots of a field reporter, standing in studio at a podium incessantly calculating and surmising the most current and "most potential" delegate count for the candidates with a telestrator marker. Remove yourself from Chris Matthew's squawk that sounds like someone stepped on his tail or has given him a 'how's your father' with a cold hand every time co-anchor and funnyman Keith Olbermann adds his "politically humorized" two cents.
Just take a second, close your eyes. Say out loud, the name Hillary Clinton.
What is the first thought that comes into your mind?
Answer: She's a woman.
Take another second, please. Close your eyes and say out loud, the name Barack Obama.
Again, what is the first thought that comes into your mind?
Answer: He's Black.
This is important. Very important. I know that people may be tired of talking about race and gender. Talking heads on the news, peers, even myself at one time or another has suggested that we the voters need to be able to look past the superficial characteristics of the leading Democratic Presidential candidates.
But today, I refuse to be colorblind. I refuse to be genderblind.
Hillary struck a cord with me during her speech last night. She wanted to point out that her Mother, who was born before women were given the the right to vote, was in attendance and has had the chance to vote for her very own daughter for President of the United States of America.
Voters will or already have had a chance to vote for that woman also and in the very same election they have been given the chance to vote for a Black man, as well.
It should be perfectly clear that the Democratic Presidential nomination race is so close NOT because either candidate is the lesser of two evils. Nor is it coming down to a racist vs. non-racist and sexist vs. non-sexist ideal. Rather, the public demanded for stronger candidates and better leaders to represent them is finally being met.
Not only are they being met, they are being surpassed by both a Black man and a White woman! And a large amount, dare I say the majority, of the country are comfortable and incredibly excited by that.
I voted in my first Presidential election in November, 2004. I was 19 years old. I voted for the lesser of two evils in that election. My candidate, John Kerry (may his political career rest in peace) lost and the United States of America and the frankly, the world lost with him. I have been impatiently waiting (to put it lightly) for this election in the hope that our country could get it's act together.
I'm happy to say that it appears that the correct moves have been made to make that happen. Beginning with the Democratic Party and the exceptional leadership of two competent policy makers. But responsibility also rests with the citizens of the United States by taking the chance to be less bigoted and to recognize the differences in skin colors and genders and to be comfortable and accepting and appreciative of those differences enough to trust and put faith in the hands of a Black man and/or a White woman to get this country going in the right direction.
Quite the let down after all the anticipation, the countdown, and the news coverage for Super Duper Tsunami Tuesday. But on Wednesday, all there is to talk about is that Hillary has few more delegates, Obama leads the nation in a CNN poll but Hillary leads in another and some idiots are still voting for John Edwards.
Super Tuesday was so uneventful that Heath Ledger and deadly tornadoes made it into the headlines this morning (that was a knock on the Media coverage and not intended to take a shot at the loss of precious human life. My deepest sympathies and condolences go out to those who have lost).
I ask you to consider these:
Is this race close because voters are deciding who the lesser of the two evils is, again? Or are the voters either less racist than they are sexist or less sexist than they are racist?
Remove yourself from the zooming shots of a field reporter, standing in studio at a podium incessantly calculating and surmising the most current and "most potential" delegate count for the candidates with a telestrator marker. Remove yourself from Chris Matthew's squawk that sounds like someone stepped on his tail or has given him a 'how's your father' with a cold hand every time co-anchor and funnyman Keith Olbermann adds his "politically humorized" two cents.
Just take a second, close your eyes. Say out loud, the name Hillary Clinton.
What is the first thought that comes into your mind?
Answer: She's a woman.
Take another second, please. Close your eyes and say out loud, the name Barack Obama.
Again, what is the first thought that comes into your mind?
Answer: He's Black.
This is important. Very important. I know that people may be tired of talking about race and gender. Talking heads on the news, peers, even myself at one time or another has suggested that we the voters need to be able to look past the superficial characteristics of the leading Democratic Presidential candidates.
But today, I refuse to be colorblind. I refuse to be genderblind.
Hillary struck a cord with me during her speech last night. She wanted to point out that her Mother, who was born before women were given the the right to vote, was in attendance and has had the chance to vote for her very own daughter for President of the United States of America.
Voters will or already have had a chance to vote for that woman also and in the very same election they have been given the chance to vote for a Black man, as well.
It should be perfectly clear that the Democratic Presidential nomination race is so close NOT because either candidate is the lesser of two evils. Nor is it coming down to a racist vs. non-racist and sexist vs. non-sexist ideal. Rather, the public demanded for stronger candidates and better leaders to represent them is finally being met.
Not only are they being met, they are being surpassed by both a Black man and a White woman! And a large amount, dare I say the majority, of the country are comfortable and incredibly excited by that.
I voted in my first Presidential election in November, 2004. I was 19 years old. I voted for the lesser of two evils in that election. My candidate, John Kerry (may his political career rest in peace) lost and the United States of America and the frankly, the world lost with him. I have been impatiently waiting (to put it lightly) for this election in the hope that our country could get it's act together.
I'm happy to say that it appears that the correct moves have been made to make that happen. Beginning with the Democratic Party and the exceptional leadership of two competent policy makers. But responsibility also rests with the citizens of the United States by taking the chance to be less bigoted and to recognize the differences in skin colors and genders and to be comfortable and accepting and appreciative of those differences enough to trust and put faith in the hands of a Black man and/or a White woman to get this country going in the right direction.
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