Iran Election

Posted by Ben

I think in the current day its hard to get away from the recent Presidential Elections that were held in Iran. It seems the people of their country (or at least some) have become very angry over the results of the election and feel that there have been major ballot counting irregularities there. The the Iranian press have made it a mission to document the violence and protests that have become a regular occurrence since the results of the election were made public.
In many cases, I would see this as a news story and although I think like most Americans do not favor President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, but I have no personal interest in the elections in Iran.

However things have been different this time in terms of the media's attention to the elections, and the reaction of the people of Iran and the Iranian government. The media here in America, in rare form began to devote exclusive coverage to the elections and its aftermath. With the expansion of websites like Facebook, Youtube, and Twitter many of the citizens of Iran have been able to document their experiences, and allow their message to get out to the world.
Much like what happened two weeks ago as we approached and observed the Tienanmen Square anniversary the Iranian Government began to crack down on websites like Facebook, Twitter and Youtube as the Chinese Government did; however for much different reasons. The Chinese Government wanted to keep the history of Tienanmen unnoticed by the Chinese people, while Iran wanted to keep the revolt against the Iranian elections out of the Global news and to smother the protesters from speaking with the news media.

The most compelling development that I have noticed in this constant news coverage is the people standing up for their rights as voting citizens. In the face of a government that is outwardly not ruling in any democratic fashion, they are standing up. This poses a problem for President Ahmadinejad who loses credibility if he stays in office and meets and or deals with other countries. With reporters being arrested in Iran and the media being shut out on TV sets all across Iran I wonder if the people of Iran will keep the pressure on their government to do the right thing. When at the onset of writing this post an Iranian Council ruled that the ballot counting done in the election had no irregularities and that the results will remain the same. Will the Global news stay interested or will some other mundane event happen that will cause the news outlets to focus on other stories to lead the news causing the Iranian people to have to fend for themselves?

Obama's First 100 Days

Post Written by Ben

I have been an avid supporter of the President, and much of my time spent away from the blog was also spent away from the news. My aim was to separate myself from the man, and begin to view him as the President. Being one whom disliked President Bush I made it my responsibility to judge President Obama as stringently as I judged Bush. I have slowly brought myself out of hiatus, and started to read newspapers again. I began to watch the nightly news, and on occasion watch the cable news evening news reports. Having yet to relapse from my addiction to the Sunday News shows I rejoin the world of current events just as President Obama enters his first 100 days in office.

As with any President, everyone reflects back on the first 3 months of the Presidents tenure and begin to judge their actions so far, and argue the commitments of the President to his campaign promises. Obama's first 100 hundred days are clear indicators of the way Obama will govern and of how he deals with crisis. No crisis can be more important than the crisis of the day. The economic future of America. After bailouts, and bill passing, Obama and his administration have attempted to maintain a favorable view in the eyes of the American public. This so far has worked for them, as recent polls show that for the first time in five years the majority of Americans feel that the country is moving in the right direction.





Many acknowledge the favorable ratings and positive opinions Obama has received so far, but many are looking towards the next 100 days to be the true test of Obama's Presidency. With the memos and interrogations practices of the previous administration being released to the public Obama is being pressured by many Americans including members of his own party to come down hard on all those involved and to also where fitting begin investigations. The President and the Attorney Generals office have previously already stated that the interrogators will not be prosecuted, but have been oddly silent on future prosecutions or possible investigations of high level Bush officials (including Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and others) who worked closely with President Bush and who authorized the intense interrogations that took place. While on the campaign trail Obama focused his message on hope for the future, and for Americans to not look to the past. This message will surely haunt Obama in the months to come because he will be against his liking forced to make a sound decision on whether he will investigate members of the Bush Administration on torture charges or will be stick with his campaign message and end the talks of investigations once and for all. Obama currently has a favorable approval rating, but in dealing with such an issue is going to cause outrage and discontent by many, and this will see his approval ratings dip.

The current Administration have begun to take on the tasks they promised during the campaign and have begun to deal with issues that they know will bring them a favorable approval. One such issue is the Health care system. In the recent weeks the Obama Administration have been calling the state of affairs in terms of Health care a crisis and have now been positioning to begin preliminary legislation that will ultimately lead them to their goal of Universal Health Care.

On Thursday, Obama will once again go national to speak directly to the American people. There is not yet a general consensus of what he will talk about just yet, but one could conclude that Obama will touch on the economic climate, health care, Bush Administration investigations, and depending on the next few days if anymore outbreaks occur, Swine Flu.
While the first 100 days have gone considerably well for Obama, I look forward to see what the next 100 days will bring.

The Youth Movement Returns...

The Youth Movement has been gone for some time.
And now we are returning... we hope you have missed us as we have missed you and we are returning..... May 19th is our scheduled return date but check back often because we may return sooner than that!!!!

Countdown Clocks, USA Countdowns at WishAFriend.com

The Need for The New York Times

Written by Dave

 

Earlier this week it was announced that the Tribune Company based out of Chicago was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.  The Tribune Company owns the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Newsday, Hartford Courant, Orlando Sentinel, South Florid Sun-Sentinel, The Morning Call and The Baltimore Sun newspapers along with a number of other investments that include the Chicago Cubs.  The debt of the Tribune Company is approximated at $13 billion.

 

Other newspaper companies that are hurting include McClatchy publishing company and the New York Times Co., which is currently looking to sell or mortgage their headquarters in downtown Manhattan.  The main reason for the economic struggles of these printing powerhouses is that advertising dollars are going elsewhere because the printed newspaper continues to decline in popularity.  Coupled with incredibly low stock prices these companies are struggling to stay afloat in the Internet age as both the New York Times Co. and McClatchy are trading at 10-year lows.

Additional layoffs are expected from the industry that has already shed approximately 15% of their staff with more than 15,000 having been laid off in 2008 alone.

 

The decline of the once prominent newspaper industry will have little economic impact on the economy as a whole as their decline has been predicted for quite some time in this age of digital media outlets and 24-hour news.  Some say that this is merely an inevitable cultural transition for a modernized society and that the printed press is a thing of the past.  Sure some of these newspapers are able to continue readership online but the numbers are increasing far slower than the decreasing number of people purchasing the printed edition. 

 

For as long as we have had a democracy there has always been the printed press, you could go as far to say that the printed press has the indispensible role of truth seeking in government.  There is no telling what the consequences are of the absence of this inquiring journalism.  The realization that all news is not good quality news is no more evident than on the 24 hour news circuits where facts are not always clear and developments are continuously being bombarded at the viewer regardless of accuracy.

 

While some boast the future of media is in the hands of online news sources including blogs, this should not be the case.  Credibility and accuracy take a backseat to speed and shock value.  The printed press plays in integral part in investigative journalism and in its absence many truths may be hidden, many stories that should be told will never be heard.  The aim of this blog is not to create the news, sure both Ben and I have gotten involved where we could but for the most part we present articles of interest and give our take on them.  While this is certainly valuable it does not play the same role in journalism that the printed press has so long played.  Do I think the main media outlets such as CNN will do a good job?  After all they have more resources currently than the newspapers and blogs combined.  I still believe they will not be able to fill the void left by the printing giants of the past and it will be a challenge in the future for the public to find truth if newspapers continue to fail. 

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich & Pay-to-Play Politics

Written by Dave

 

Rod Blagojevich, the Democratic Governor of Illinois has been taken into federal custody on corruption charges.  The governor along with his chief of staff, John Harris has been charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and solicitation of bribery.  These charges are according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Northern District of Illinois.

Since Barack Obama will no longer be Senator Obama from Illinois, a replacement must be appointed to fill the vacant spot.  This vacancy is then filled by a choice from the Governor of that particular state.  Governor Blagojevich attempted to profit from this position in a number of ways.  As outlined in the U.S. Attorney statements, Governor Blagojevich was seeking a substantial salary ($250,000 to $300,000) for himself at a non-profit organization or an organization with union affiliation, a spot for his wife on paid corporate boards where he sought a salary of $150,000 a year for her, and campaign funds.  

 

According to the U.S. Attorney, Governor Blagojevich had the following statements caught on tape: 

 

“Unless I get something real good [from Senate candidate 1], s***, I’ll just send myself, you know what I’m saying” – said November 3rd, the day before Election Day.

 

“is a f***ing valuable thing, you just don’t give it away for nothing” – said November 3rd, referring to a Senate seat.

 

“I want to make money” – referring to the leverage that he wished to cash in on with his position as Governor.

Also among the taped statements was a discussion with Harris, where they discussed the possibility of President-Elect Obama appointing Governor Blagojevich to the Department of Health and Human Services.  They then discussed appointing [Senate candidate 1] but that it could not look obvious that the decision was made this quickly and for possibly the wrong reasons.

 

Other allegations raised against Governor Blagojevich and Harris were negotiations attempted between themselves and the Chicago Tribune as Tribune Co. was attempting to purchase Chicago’s Wrigley Field.  The pair demanded that a number of Chicago Tribune’s executive board members be fired in exchange for the Governor’s assistance in the dealings.  President-Elect Obama has not been accused of any wrongdoing in the matter.

 

Final Word

 

If this case is as strong as the U.S. Attorney is making it out to be, Governor Blagojevich is in serious trouble.  It is a crime against the political establishment itself and is another example of why so many young voters are skeptical of politicians.  A Governor should be a role model for children and young adults as it is a position of great responsibility and is truly a service to the community, but stories such as these take politics back years as the public is already uneasy these days about where all of their tax money is going. 

 

In a modern society, wire tapping corruption charges seems like more out of the Prohibition Era than it does in this day and age and the wounds created by these allegations will be slow healing.  Now every politician must assure the public that they can be trusted because they are all on the hot seat now no matter how deserving or undeserving that may be.

 

Obamas, Bidens, and Gores OH MY!!

Post Written By Ben.

OK. First I will admit. This blog post title is a bit over the top, but hey I couldn't resist.

On tomorrow, President Elect Obama, Vice President Elect Biden and former Presidential candidate and Nobel Peace Prize winner Al Gore will have a sit down meeting at Obama's transition headquarters. The announcement sent the political media in a whirlwind attempting to contact every single "insider" they had in the Obama camp to be the first to leak any information that Gore was being considered for a possible Obama appointment.

Aides to Gore have publicly said that Gore has no interest in returning to government any time soon, and for good reason. Ever since Gore left the political scene he has made millions of dollars in his work on Global Climate Change. He even won two Oscars in 2007 for his documentary. Leaving a lucrative career in the private sector would not necessarily be a step in the "right" direction.

Democratic officials however are trying to tame the speculation and rumors saying that Obama is not intending to speak with Gore about a possible cabinet seat. Instead explaining that Obama and Gore have been on regular speaking terms throughout the election and continue to this day.
Obama heavily courted for Gore's endorsement during the election cycle, but only received it after Clinton quit the race because of the clear Obama victory. In April, Obama said that he wanted Gore at the table to help make crucial decisions to help climate change, even if that meant having him there as an informal advisor.

However it seems very odd that just as Obama, Gore and Biden plan to meet in Chicago. The transition team has turned their focus on filling two very important seats in the new administration, Energy Secretary, and Environmental Protection Agency administrator. Two positions that could easily be filled by Gore. A close friend to Gore said that this meeting is more than just face time, it is about business because Gore would not burn that much carbon to speak with the President Elect if it could be done by phone simply.

With the appointments of "political celebrities" in the administration thus far, a Gore appointment would give Obama much credit in the world in terms of climate change. Obama would also please the left wing of his party who have still been angry about the election in 2000.
However to jump the gun too quickly at what this meeting means must not happen.
With Gore spending so much time on climate change, and the administration staring to look at possible candidates for Energy Secretary of E.P.A. administrator; Gore could simply be joining the team to help vet possible candidates. He could even be looking over the person picked for the two seats so that the Obama team can get his opinion on them.

Special Comment: Post Bush Era

Post Written by Ben

There are times when I tend to have thoughts or feelings on a topic or person. I have steered clear of writing down thoughts because I really wanted to focus more on the news piece of our blog, but over the past few days I have begun to reflect on many things. I have decided that I would begin to periodically make Special Comments to allow me to share these with you.

As a young voter I have had experience in two presidential elections thus far. 2004 and 2008. As such, this concept of Presidential Transition feels "new" to me. Yes of course I have lived under three presidents already and there have been two Presidential Transitions in my lifetime; this is the first election where I will have a firm understanding of what is going on.
With little over a month before President Bush changes his title for the rest of his life to Former President Bush I begin to think about living in a Post Bush world.
In every generation there is one event that takes place that will be a large part in defining what that generation was. Events like the civil rights movement, the collapse of communism, etc.
For my generation the defining event will obviously be 9/11, but also George Bush. For me, I can recall memories of Clinton in office, but most of that dealt with the Lewinsky scandal. And as someone who has become so enthralled with the political world the Bush years have been my growing years. I learned politics under our current President, and as I reflect on the plethora of things that have occurred it becomes increasingly harder to imagine a world where George Bush is not President.
I admit, I am not a fan of the current President, but I respect the office in which he holds. I cannot imagine the enormous pressure that is on his shoulders every single day.
Eight years is a very long time. I mean think back to who you were eight years ago and you can see how different not only you are but the world as whole. The world has changed so much since Bush took office and the lasting effects of this Administration will be with us for some time to come be that good or bad. I can only imagine what a Post Bush world is going to become.

While you either celebrate or mourn in the coming weeks the Presidential Transition, it is clear that everyone in this country will be entering a new place in history. A new place for our country.

But what will that place be?

Request Increase, 36%

Written by Dave 

 

Listed below are the proposals set forth by Ford, Chrysler and GM.  The three companies met again with Congress today and requested $34 billion from Congress to help the three automotive companies avoid bankruptcy.  Some chief economists have determined that a complete turn around for the three automakers could cost between $75 billion and $125 billion.

 

Ford Plan

 

Financial Assistance Request: $9,000,000,000

Proposal: [pdf]

Shown below is a video put together by Ford CEO Alan Mulally.

 

Chrysler Plan

 

Financial Assistance Request: $7,000,000,000

Proposal: [pdf]

General Motors Plan

 

Financial Assistance Request: $18,000,000,000

Proposal: [pdf]