You can’t deny that the way the mainstream media is handling the ACORN tape scandal [LINK to YouTube search] is a bit…odd.
Lets face it, it’s not secret that ACORN is a shady organization whose ties to the democratic party hurt, but didn’t hinder President Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential bid. Evidence of the organization’s dealings has been known, again, since 2008 and these series of videos obviously prove that.
However, my post isn’t about the video itself, because in the end, I really don’t care what ACORN does. They didn’t invent voter/tax fraud and they aren’t the first to do it. My post is more about what the media didn’t see.
Last night, Jon Stewart made a very good point regarding this story. The media totally didn’t see this coming and ultimately got “scooped” by two students with $3,000 and a hidden camera. In their coverage of this, it’s apparent that they aren’t pleased.
Other than FOX News, who is flaunting this with their usual swagger, I have had to do more foraging than normal on the interwebs to find some stuff about this.
I really don’t think this has to do with bias, it is pretty well known that ACORN will show you various ways to declare your Ecuadorian sex slave as a dependent in your tax forms. But rather, I think the media realized that this whole “citizen journalism” is a pretty large gorilla in a very small room.
As a current student journalist and writer, I think that this is good for us, the little guys who put together a 12-page paper three times a week or update a blog. It evens the playing field a bit for us, and lets us know that just because we don’t have the vast resources of some of the bigger players doesn’t mean we can’t get things done. But this is also good for the media, the big dogs who we one day aspire to work for.
In the end though, people like us want to work for a big player one day. Entering the jobs of writers and editors with this mindset will put a fire under our asses to get the big stories and not get scooped by a bunch of kids. I think this is a great wake-up call for not only mainstream journalists but those who aspire to be mainstream journalists. We will have to comepete.
According to CNN this morning, model Liskula Cohen sued Google for the identity of a commenter who defamed her on a Blogger site. Here is a quote from the CNN’s Newsroom blog:
Cohen went to court after a user of Google’s blogging service, Blogger.com, created a site called “Skanks in NYC.” The blog featured photos of Cohen with insulting captions. The judge ruled that Google had to turn over any identifying information it had (in this case an IP address and an e-mail address) on this blogger, and Google has complied.
After Don Lemon read a few comments on the air (one of those comments being mine, many thanks to Don) he asked a question that I think sums up this entire situation. Does “hatespeak” count as freedom of speech?
The argument in this case is that the blogger’s comments about Cohen are defamatory, and they are. According to Gawker, the blog “Skanks of NYC” labeled Cohen as well, a New York City skank. I would quote the blog, but I don’t quote gossip and smut.
Americans today throw freedom of speech around heavily. However, we can’t pick and choose what we are free or not free to say. When white supremacists spew ignorance and hatred, they have a right to do it. In the end I disagree with it, I criticize it, but I will not challenge their right to be stupid.
I once had a high school teacher who would pretentiously quote Voltaire every time students disagreed with each other, and it rings true now:
“I may not approve of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”
In actuality, that was said by Evelyn Beatrice Hall in “The Friends of Voltaire”, but that’s neither here nor there.
In the end, freedom of speech is a take it, or leave it issue. People will hate and defame, but in the end unless they have definitive proof, most people are smart enough to dismiss it. If you want to live in a country where you are free to say whatever you want, you need to be able to take the good with the bad.
This ruling is going to set an ugly precedent for the Internet. This is a huge set back for the blogging community, who is heavily based on opinions and Op-Ed commentary. I have a feeling this is going to be the first of many.
People have always wondered what Twitter could be used for. Most people (myself included) use Twitter to stay in touch with friends, get instant alerts from popular websites, or follow the every move of celebrities who have absolutely nothing interesting to say. However with the stolen election in Iran, Twitter has found its purpose. The Iranian people in support of opposition leader Mir Hossein Moussavi have taken to social media such as Twitter to spread their message to the world in a country where foreign media is gagged and lines of communication are restricted. But how reliable is it?
When I am watching the news on TV, I am watching CNN. Despite Rick Sanchez’s Twitter fever spreading to every facet of CNN (expect Larry King because he doesn’t know what a computer is) is now steeped in social media. With Twitter and this whole iReport business it seems to me like CNN is saying that anyone can be a journalist. What struck me was during most of CNN’s Iran coverage, they had a big, red, banner running at the bottom of the screen saying “Unverified Information”. CNN, like a lot of shows these days, are using social media to keep in touch with their audience. But at what point can social media be treated as a credible source?
Twitter’s use of aliases means that sources can be anyone they wish to be, and we all know what happens to stupid people when they are empowered with anonymity. Another concern is that disinformation can be easily distributed this way, and for a network reporting raw, unconfirmed information, that could be a problem. Reports from people on the ground in Iran are saying that much like the Moussavi supports use Twitter and Facebook to coordinate protests and events, the Iranian government uses it to send bad information and monitor the opposition. I just don’t think that at this point in time, Twitter can be reported as a reliable source.
Ever since the #CNNFail incident, in which the blogosphere and the twittersphere(?) accused CNN of dropping the ball a bit on the Iran Election coverage, CNN has been relying heavily on “tweeps” to provide them information on the going on in Tehran. Here is a quick excerpt from the NY Time article:
Untold thousands used the label “CNNfail” on Twitter to vent their frustrations. Steve LaBate, an Atlanta resident, said on Twitter, “Why aren’t you covering this with everything you’ve got?” About the same time, CNN was showing a repeat of Larry King’s interview of the stars of the “American Chopper” show. For a time, new criticisms were being added on Twitter at least once a second.
Andrew Sullivan, a blogger for The Atlantic, wrote, “There’s a reason the MSM is in trouble,” using the blogosphere abbreviation for mainstream media.
CNN said, “We share people’s expectations of CNN and have delivered far more coverage of the Iranian election and aftermath than any other network.”
In the end, we don’t know exactly why Twitter will be. Biz Stone said in an interview with Stephen Colbert that they are currently looking to see how they can use Twitter to make money. Other’s are touting it as the next major type of communication since the text. Twitter can be all those things, but for now, it is not a trusted source.
Here is a video from CNN yesterday that we talked about on PantherWire this morning. Here, Kyra Phillips is discussing a new factor that she will be judging Barack Obama after his first 100 days in office. Topic: “Swagga”
WTF CNN? It’s not like you ran out of news today? We have swine flu, Obama’s budget plan, Chrysler flushed down the bankruptcy toilet? Did you really compare Barack Obama to Lando Calrissian? TO SHAFT?!
However the best part of the clip has to be TJ Holmes trying not to be offended by the segment as a whole. Anyway, you can check it out while I look for another television news source that hasn’t completely lost it’s mind. I’m running out of options…
Looks like AIG is up to it’s usual tricks again. This time paying out large bonuses to executives with bailout money. Here is a quick excerpt from CNN Money:
Anger over $165 million in bonuses doled out to American International Group senior employees reached a fevered pitch on Monday, prompting the Obama administration to vow to recoup the money and a New York prosecutor to subpoena the firm for recipients’ names.
President Obama said Monday that he has asked Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner to use the government’s role as a majority owner of the troubled insurance company and “every legal avenue” to stop the bonuses.
“It’s hard to understand how derivative traders at AIG warranted any bonuses,” Obama said.
So AIG doles out $165 million of OUR money and now what? AIG has been a black hole for tax dollars since the bailout began. Too much money in, not enough transparency, and not enough accountability. While these guys are paying out bonuses, the company itself is continuing to hemorrhage money and no one can seem to close the wound.
Barack Obama needs to come down hard on this. This is the type of corporate bullshit that cannot be tolerated during these times. AIG states that these are existing contracts that they must honor in order to stave off legal battles and maintain their reputation, however we all know that too is bullshit. GM union workers were forced to renegotiate their contracts during this time, and frankly AIG shouldn’t be any different.
Sadly, we are majority shareholders AIG and President Obama and Tim Geithner are our representatives on the board so to speak. Find these bonuses, stop them from happening again and make sure that this money is returned back to the company.
UPDATE: In between my moments of sleep this morning, CNN reported that most of the people who given the bonuses left the company shortly there after. People infuriate me sometimes.
In News, Politics on February 23, 2009 at 11:22 am
Since the election of Barack Obama, and even during most of the election season, MSNBC has seemed to have this sort of love affair with our new president. MSNBC’s attempt to become the voice for this administration is so obvious that it borders on indecent. Chris Matthews said one that he ”I felt this thrill going up my leg,”. Now, slightly homosexual comments aside, MSNBC is now worthless to me in terms of media objectivity.
Oddly enough, I have noticed that with either extremes, CNN has become much more middle of the road, especially with all this twittering and i-reporting stuff. With MSNBC and FOX at either extreme. Look, bottom line is, all this Obama pandering isn’t doing anyone any good. If media outlets like MSNBC continue to kiss ass and talk about how Obama makes their legs feel, to what end does that help.
We, the Media, have an obligation to bring an unbiased perspective to you, the reader/viewer/consumer/person. Does it inform you when Chris Matthews goes on a rant about how great Obama is? No. Does it help you when Rush Limbaugh starts going nuts telling everyone how much he dislikes Obama, and how he wishes he could fail? Negative.
If MSNBC wants to be a news leader instead of the lapdog of an administration, they need to hold this administration accountable for everything, and not let one thing slide. I am not going to go as far as saying that FOX does this, as FOX usually pulls a lot of stuff out of their ass (and their top two pundits are egotistical blowhards who refuse to hear anyone over the sound of their own uninformed, biased opinion) but at least they are…doing something?
I woke up today and put on CNN, and instead of getting some market predictions, an update on Obama’s quest to keep his Blackberry, or the weather, I saw this. Michael Phelps has been photographed taking a hit from a bong. The world as we know it will change forever.
Who cares? Our economy is crashing down all around us, Israel and HAMAS are at it again, Bernie Madoff stole $50 Billion, people are killing their families in acts of financial desperation and we are all outraged because Michael Phelps smokes pot?
Let’s save our outrage for something much more deserving. Whether you agree with Phelps or not, whether you forgive him or not is irrelevant. I am sure we can all agree that other issues merit our attention much more than this.
Michael, you want to smoke pot, thats fine. You won eight gold medals at the Olympics, you are one of the greatest athletes of all time. Smoke pot. You’ve earned it. I apologize that fickle, hypocritical people are coming down on you when I am sure they have smoked pot themselves at some point in their lives.
Well, the end of the world being 12/12/2012 is starting to sound quite reasonable now.
Sarah Palin decided she’d up and form a political action committee to fund and support political candidates who share her views on politics. Here is an excerpt from CNN’s Political Ticker:
WASHINGTON (CNN) –Sarah Palin has launched a new political action committee called SarahPac, signaling that the Alaska Governor intends to remain a player in national politics even after her failed bid to become the country’s first female vice president.
“SarahPac will support local and national candidates who share Gov. Palin’s ideas and goals for our country,” says the PAC’s Web site, which promises that Palin will be “a strong voice for energy independence and reform.”
So basically, if you are a self absorbed individual who doesn’t read anything, doesn’t know how to answer questions, suffer from delusions of grandeur and want to run for a political office, Sarah Palin will give you other people’s money to do it.
I think she is starting to amass her clone army. Someone notify the Jedi Council.
The other day I found myself in a heated discussion with one of my friends about bloggers and the media, spawning from this post I wrote here. He argued that most bloggers are idiots and write whatever the hell they want and make broad accusations on baseless arguments, citing the example of how the blogosphere went nuts after someone thought that Sarah Palin’s baby wasn’t her baby. Being a blogger myself I quickly came to the defense of blogging community. Soon after that, he basically dismissed everything I had accomplished in the past 10 months by saying that I wasn’t a blogger I was just “some dude who writes stuff on the internet and doesn’t even get paid”. Knowing full well what this website has done for me, and the things I have accomplished because of it, it’s quite an offensive thing to say. Especially coming from a friend. But as soon as it all wore off, it got me thinking…
In the past two years, bloggers have been getting major amounts of respect from the media. And while yes, anyone can be a blogger and write whatever it is they want, it is still a respectable format for those who normally wouldn’t be heard to voice their opinions. Sure, we have a few people who do write off the wall, crazy stuff, like Sarah Palin’s baby conspiracy. I chose not to but hey, if someone thinks it’s a valid concern, who am I to say no? Now, if you want to write that stuff on your blog, knowing full well it’s highly speculative and debatable then that is up to you. It’s your right, you can say whatever you want..The media knows this. They do filter what they collect from the blogosphere to an extent. I don’t remember a single mainstream media outlet reporting the allegations that Sarah Palin’s kid wasn’t hers.
However, seeing as bloggers are rapidly becoming fixtures of the media, I think we owe it to our readers to be some what objective. We need to hold ourselves to a higher standard because we are now at the forefront of this sort of Media 2.0 revolution. We must remember that in this environment we can, and in fact should be held accountable for our words, even if the only one holding us accountable is ourselves. I put that in bold face because I think it’s important. If nothing else I want you to take that with you. The media is held accountable every day for things they say, and even though the blogging community tends to be out on its own (for now), my question is, given the current state of affairs should we be any different?
We are witnessing the media and the Internet slowly become one. I mean turn on CNN and you’ll see it. Rick Sanchez looks to Twitter, Facebook, and Blogs for live, on-air feedback. CNN as a whole looks to it’s iReports for on the spot reporting as soon as news breaks. Print publications look to blogs for great writers who can contribute and keep their print publications competitive in a world where print media is fading.
Another thing that hit me hard is the “…and doesn’t even get paid” part. I promise you, the day The Jorge Zone starts making money, is the day I stop writing for it. This definitely isn’t what I intended it for. This is a launching point, something that will lead me to something else, something to get my name out there and make my mark. If you are a blogger who wants his blog to make money, then might not happen. I don’t do this for the money, and that is the reason why 99% of the stuff I write here is QUALITY. I do it because I LOVE to do it, and if you blog because you love to write and you want readers then your blog will be successful. Just because we may not get paid, doesn’t make this any less of a profession.
I have noticed in the short time that I have been doing this is that you can either be a blogger, or “some dude who writes stuff on the internet and doesn’t even get paid”. I am a blogger, and The Jorge Zone is A BLOG. My track record on this site speaks for itself. Do I expect someone who doesn’t do this to understand the difference? No. But at the same time I think the burden is on ourselves to establish that credibility. We need to form our reputation not as individuals on the Internet, but as a community. Wea are voices once lost in a crowd but now given a stage to speak, and an audience who listens. We are tomorrows journalists, writers, poets, and authors. The blogging community, whether you respect it or not, whether you like it or not is definitely here to stay. But the least we can do for you, the reader, is to class it up a bit.
I promised myself I wouldn’t post about Sarah Palin anymore, but after this video from a new conservative documentary, it’s on like donkey kong. Watch this video…and then we’ll discuss. I am sorry to expose you to nine minutes of Sarah Palin, but it’s for a purpose:
Sarah Palin is blaming media’s bias for the fact that her ticket lost the election. I was going to let this video go by, considering it’s basically the same song and dance this woman likes to perform every time she is in front of a camera, but this time around she decided to spew her ignorance about bloggers, and well that just doesn’t fly with me. Just to refresh your memory, here is what she said:
“It’s a sad state of affairs in the world of the media today, mainstream media especially, if they are going to rely on anonymous bloggers for their hard news information. Very scary.”
See what Sarah Palin doesn’t understand is that the phenomenon that is blogging has taken us in to a sort of “Media 2.0″ situation. The blogging community has become so vital to mainstream media, because it gives the mainstream media something that it cannot achieve on it’s own, omnipresence. Currently with the help of bloggers, Twitter, Facebook, iReport, the media has an unbelievable reach, and it gives people like me, a common ground with mainstream media.
Sure, anyone can be a blogger, and anyone can spew misinformed ramblings on the internet for all to see. So I’ll give that to Palin, frankly I thought the rumors about her child not being hers were a bit much. But to say that it’s a “sad state of affairs” that bloggers are regarded and acknowledged by the mainstream media is just ignorant. Frankly, I as a blogger couldn’t let that slide.
The rest of the video speaks for itself. From the fact that she thinks people like Katie Couric and Tiny Fey exploited her (one mocked the ridiculousness that is her and the other just asked her questions…like a reporter should do) to her comparing a vice-presidential nomination to Caroline Kennedy’s Senate seat (come on…) just proves that Sarah Palin lives in her small, narrow world. Katie Couric might not be the center of the universe Sarah, but neither are you.
In the end, this documentary asks the question “How did Obama get elected?”. Where Sarah Palin is quick to cite the media’s “bias” towards Obama, she is ignoring the rather large gorilla in the room. Obama won this election partly on his own merit, his superbly run campaign, and his excellent election staff. But the major factors that secured the election for Obama were the Bush Administration’s gloriously awful track record for the past eight years, the GOP’s inability to provide an adequate candidate in this election, and Sarah Palin. If Palin is all the GOP has for 2012…then that is indeed a sad state of affairs.
Here is a link to a CNN story about how a recent study not only confirms the existence of Gulf War Syndrome, something that 1 in 4 Gulf War Vets suffer from. The study links the cause of GWS to anti-nerve gas pills issued to U.S. Troops during the conflict, and pesticides that they came in contact with.
According to the report, Gulf War illness is a “complex of multiple concurrent symptoms” that “typically includes persistent memory and concentration problems, chronic headaches, widespread pain, gastrointestinal problems, and other chronic abnormalities.”
The government has since wasted years trying to disprove that this illness even exists. Now with definitive proof, people affected by the illness can finally seek help from the Veterans Administration.
“Gulf War illness isn’t some imaginary syndrome,” said Ken Robinson, the senior intelligence officer for the initial Department of Defense investigation into Gulf War illness in 1996-97.
“This is real, and it has devastated families. Now is the time to restore the funding cuts that have been made in the Veterans Administration. Our mission has to be to ensure that these veterans get help and become whole again.”
What really bothers me the most is that our government spends massive amounts of money on defense, yet some how are troops are still underfunded and, much like sufferers of GWS, at risk. Our troops deserve the best care possible. These are men who have put their lives on the line to fight for and defend this nation. But once their term is up, injured soldiers usually find an endless maze of bureaucracy, and an up hill battle to get some help.
Fortunately there are many programs such as the Disabled American Veterans Charitable Service Trust, which helps veterans with various physical and psychological rehabilitation programs, meets needs of veterans with specific disabilities, and helps homeless vets get back on their feet. President-Elect Obama wants to change the status quo of government, I hope that he spreads some of that change on veterans affairs.
Give it up for CNN guys, they totally owned this election as far as coverage goes. Whether it’s Wolf Blitzer walking in front of that giant 100 inch screen that looks like it might eat him, or John King twiddling around with his “MultiTouch Board of Awesomness” flicking and tapping away, cycling the different states between red or blue, or Campbell Brown totally schooling McCain spokesmen, CNN has had this down.
In all seriousness though, CNN I think has been on top of this election non stop. They have covered the primaries exceptionally, they have provided, I think, very unbiased, balanced coverage, and have asked great questions of the candidates. The Political Ticker has been a source of my blog constantly, their iReport and Fact Checking have been spot on.
What do you guys think? Agree or Disagree? Leave a comment. I am also trying to work with this Poll Daddy thing, so once that pops up, you can cast a vote on that.
I would LOVE to tell you to go ahead and rent Mad Max, in order to prepare for the inevitable future. But I am not going to panic. I am going to stay calm. The DOW has plummeted to about 8222.50 (currently) and every time CNN, or FOX cuts to the floor of Wall Street, you just hear screams. Like if they flooded the place with acid, or Tang without enough water. I read somewhere that the so far the losses add up to $8.3 Trillion.
$8.3 Trillion… that’s a lot of trillion.
I do think this is all in the heads of the investors… at least for now. When fear grips investors, it grips the market. And it’s THAT fear that brings us down. It seems that the Bailout hasn’t done much and consumer confidence is down. Some people are asking the government to step in, guarentee all bank deposits. Some are even going a step futher and saying the Government should even insure loans in between banks. It’s chaos. Though I doubt it will happen this year, I hope we see the bottom too.
Now if you excuse me I am going to log on to my E-TRADE account, listen to Air Supply, and cry. Peace Out.
The Christian stereotype is one that has been around for a while, and one that I have noticed since I became one in the 6th grade. I think we all know the stereotype. Crazed, fanatical, judgmental, out of touch with society? I am sure we dress like pilgrims is somewhere in there too. We all live on compounds, running around calling people heathens, and banishing you to hell for not listening to us. And yes there are some people out there who are exactly like that, but I assure you, it is not the majority. Now my next statement might sound “out-there” to you but I hope you keep reading. The main reason that one would think we are a bunch of crazies is…get ready…the media. Now wait…I am not going to go on a tirade about the evils of the media and the world at large. Frankly, it’s not even the media’s fault. When you flip on to the news what do you see? All the crazed cults who are being raided by the FBI for child molestation or are amassing enough automatic weapons to invade most of South America. You don’t really hear about local churches achieving great success in community outreach programs, making their local area much better. You don’t hear about how they have changed people’s lives, helping single mom’s make ends meet, starting programs to reach out to the homeless, or have started successful alcohol and drug rehabilitation programs. Churches, true churches that reside in communities and neighborhoods are a valuable asset to their respective local areas.
The people in these churches aren’t really crazy either. They don’t run around shouting judgments at you, they won’t shove their faith down your throat. Remember, Christianity is all about FAITH. When I meet someone and I tell them I am a Christian sometimes they seem to want to try to convince me that I am either insane or wrong. I am neither, I just have faith in that what I believe is true. Just like you have faith that what you believe, be it evolution or Buddhism, or that slightly cool Star Wars religion is right, so do I. Anyway, it’s nice I got that out of the way but I digress. Yeah we aren’t all crazy. I for instance, don’t dress like the characters in “The Village”, I shop at a lot of stores. I am not out of touch with society, I watch the news, I enjoy R rated movies (I am a pretty big Superbad fan actually…), I have an iPhone and even a Macbook Air. I listen to all kinds of music, even if it has the parental advisory. I don’t run around forcing my beliefs on you, and if you want to hear them that’s cool just let me know. But I assure you what you see on TV or in that moronic movie Saved (which in no way impacted my crush on Mandy Moore)is not the case.
I was watching CNN today, and Rick Sanchez was interviewing Tony Alamo, who is being accused of child molestation and child pornography, among other things. Basically the entire time he went on about the evils of society, citing ludicrous examples and Bible verses taken completely out of context rambling on about all the “faggots” in the world, and how the “government is the anti-christ”, and basically telling Rick Sanchez he is going to hell. He kept his cool thankfully, but I almost wanted to call in and start refuting everything that man said and making a primary point that he does NOT represent us. It’s people, lunatics, like Tony Alamo, who take what we believe and spin it into a radical, tainted message for their benefit. They use The Bible to justify terrible acts, and to judge and push people away. This situation was the reason I decided to post this. I just don’t want true Christians, good, kind people to be unfairly grouped in to organizations like these.
Anyway, feel free to voice your opinion on this. Agree or Disagree? If you have a valid, calm, thought and present it like an adult I will be glad to hear you out and reply. I keep a very open mind so I value your feedback. If you are going to be a moron who wants to yell, scream and be ignorant, don’t even bother cause I moderate comments. Peace Out and thanks for listening.
As I was doing my morning blog sweep, I noticed a few stories where it seems all the McCain campaign is doing is just, as Stephen Colbert puts it, wagging the finger at the Democrats. First off, here is Barack Obama addressing the Republicans new “campaign for change” from the CNN article:
Obama made the remarks at a Virginia campaign stop late Tuesday afternoon. “John McCain says he’s about change too, and so I guess his whole angle is, ‘Watch out George Bush – except for economic policy, health care policy, tax policy, education policy, foreign policy and Karl Rove-style politics – we’re really gonna shake things up in Washington,’” Obama said.
“That’s not change. That’s just calling something the same thing something different. You know you can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig. You know you can wrap an old fish in a piece of paper called change, it’s still going to stink after eight years. We’ve had enough of the same old thing.”
Apparently John McCain didn’t like this, saying it was an attack against Sarah Palin, who said in her acceptance speech that:
“You know the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull? Lipstick.”
Oh boo friggin’ hoo. If you want to strech Obama’s remarks completely out of context and say that it was an attack against Sarah Palin, then she deserved it. Cause that’s a stupid Sarah Palin quote and I am sick of hearing it. It’s up there with the Bridge to Nowhere quote and her dumb crack at community organizers. But alas, his comment is merely referring to the fact that the Republicans can call their policies whatever they want, but in the end it’s the same. It’s a pretty popular phrase… you know put lipstick on a pig but it’s still a pig. It’s pretty obvious that when the Republicans dish out the attacks, that’s fine. But if you retaliate…you better watch out, cause they’ll run crying to the media calling foul.
Now, here comes Joe Biden, his argument is that if you support helping children with disabilities then, logically, you should support Stem Cell research. I mean, it’s a fair argument, seeing as not only do the Democrats support Stem Cell research, so does John McCain. Joe Biden said:
”I hear all this talk about how the Republicans are going to work in dealing with parents who have both the joy … and the difficulty of raising a child who has a developmental disability, who were born with a birth defect.” He went on to say: ”Well, guess what, folks? If you care about it, why don’t you support stem cell research?”
Uh Oh. He is just arguing the issues right? Apparently McCain/Palin doesn’t agree. His campaign said Joe Biden “sunk to a new low”. David Wade, a spokesman for Joe Biden put it this way…
“This is a clash of policies, not a clash of personalities,” Wade said. “We’ve heard not a dime’s worth of difference between the McCain-Palin ticket and the Bush administration on medical breakthroughs that millions of parents and doctors believe could save lives and transform the quality of life for countless Americans.”
The McCain/Palin ticket is being the whiny kid on the playground who punches you in the face when the teacher is not looking. You are fighting the political battle for the highest position in the United States government. Strap on a helmet, and grow a shell. Speak about the issues, and stop making up controversy.
As Tropical Storm Fay inches ever so closer to the US mainland, I am slowly losing my mind. The conditions outside are pretty nasty and are only getting worse. It was raining pretty hard this morning so I had to skip my morning activities. So far today, I have alternated playing Call of Duty 4 and GTAIV, I have watched CNN, and I just realized that I missed The Steve Wilkos Show at 1 pm (darn…). All of that with the occasionally ”blog sweep” where I check all the blogs I like for new posts. Anyway, I am fighting the urge to take a boredom nap, and right now I have not even seen what light looks like as my room is dark. It’s only going to get worse…as it hits tomorrow. This is the best way to spend my last week before school starts.
This was on Larry King last night. Everytime I watch this I can’t stop laughing. In fact, I used to sort of, in a way believe that there might be alien life out there. Now, I don’t. Supposedly this dude was catching a guy staring into his house. Long story short, it’s an Alien. Let me not ruin it, enjoy the video. Have we run out of news?
Welcome to The Jorge Zone! This is my blog, my mental exhaust pipe, slowly filling the atmosphere with my opinions, favorite links, news and the like. This blog is all about the political and social issues we face today. Current events, political & economical happenings, religion & faith, global warming, stuff like ... Continue reading »
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People have always wondered what Twitter could be used for. Most people (myself included) use Twitter to stay in touch with friends, get instant alerts from popular websites, or follow the every move of celebrities who have absolutely nothing interesting to say. However with the stolen election in Iran, Twitter has found its purpose. The Iranian people in support of opposition leader Mir Hossein Moussavi have taken to social media such as Twitter to spread their message to the world in a country where foreign media is gagged and lines of communication are restricted. But how reliable is it?
I would LOVE to tell you to go ahead and rent Mad Max, in order to prepare for the inevitable future. But I am not going to panic. I am going to stay calm. The DOW has plummeted to about 8222.50 (currently) and every time CNN, or FOX cuts to the floor of Wall Street, you just hear screams. Like if they flooded the place with acid, or Tang without enough water. I read somewhere that the so far the losses add up to $8.3 Trillion. 
