Bailout Poll

Recently Congress has agreed to try to give Chrysler, Ford, and GM $15 billion dollars out of the $34 billion they were asking for (the number is as of yet not finalized). The decision was made only after Nancy Pelosi agreed to President Bush's demand that any money given was to be given out of a fund to develop more fuel efficient cars and not the economic bailout fund. The bill on the distribution of the money that will be reviewed sometime next week is said to include the provision for a board of trustees that will ensure that the auto companies are reformed with the money. Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts also made it clear that the money will be loan and not a gift. The suffering companies have already cut thousands of jobs due to low car sales throughout the country, GM has made 11,000 layoffs this year.  Congress was also asked to think of the trickle down effect, meaning the effect that the bankruptcy of the three companies would have on smaller businesses that rely on them for their supply or their business. But even though this money may be able to help the three car companies, it does not eliminate the possibility for failure. 

christie 

the national security team

The appointments are thus:

Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates to remain as Secretary of Defense.
Eric Holder as Attorney General.
Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.
Susan Rice as Ambassador to the United Nations.
General Jim Jones, USMC (Ret) as National Security Adviser.

Janet Napolitano, governor of Arizona, has recently gathered such prestigious awards as one of the Top five governors in America (Time Magazine) and one of America's top women leaders (Newsweek). In recognition of these national accomplishments in addition to the many advances she's made as the Arizona governor (not to mention making a historically conservative state take a more liberal stance), Barack Obama has chosen her to assume the role of Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. With her innovative problem solving skills, Napolitano will no doubt do a great job in her new position, but there are definitely many Arizonans who fear the progress she has made as governor might head in a different direction.

Hillary Clinton (the biggest celebrity pick on the team) was presented with the dilemma of either resuming her role as one of the nation's most recognized and successful senators or becoming the Secretary of State and taking on the public face around the world of the Obama administration. The choice ultimately came down to the position that Clinton thought she would have the greatest influence over public policy. Although Clinton was quickly rising in the Senate (and gaining more and more acclaim) the opportunity to be the Secretary of State was evidently too great to pass up. Some will still no doubt argue over her decision of the Executive branch over the Legislative branch and the future implications of her decision.

Bingo Words:
• Hope
• Togetherness(unity)
• Community
• Safety and security
• Global Leadership

Order of Sections:
• Economy
o Community in crisis but solution is at hand
o Cut taxes for poor and 95% of Americans
o Universal mortgage credit- protect peoples homes
o Add jobs-(auto manufacturers)
o Green sector jobs- innovative new job creation
• Trade- want to trade ideas
o Export American brilliance-marketplace of ideas
o Free trade must be fair- free and fair
o Amend NAFTA

Immigration also needs reform

• Immigration
o Work with Mexico to promote economic development in order to decrease/eliminate push factors for immigration
o Fix bureaucracy-up the number of legal immigrants
• He believes that immigrants are people
• Immigration is not a virus
o Increasing border patrol including technology- SAFETY
Border safety transition into Foreign Policy

• Foreign Policy
o War in Iraq –time table, decrease troops
o Leads to Afghanistan
o Leads to diplomatic relations
• Wants to strengthen NATO to guard new threats
• Open discussions
• Reassertion of global leadership
Transition into Energy-need to lead the world in leadership in energy

• Global Leadership
o Education
o Health Care
o Energy Development
• Education
o Goal: lead the world in creativity, achievement, and success
o 21st century education- students able to lead the world
• Early Childhood
• K-12
 NCLB reform
o Higher Education
• College tuition credits

• Health Care
o All kids are insured
o Everyone can be covered even with pre existing condition
o Can keep old healthcare if you like it
o Save Americans money
o All Americans healthy if planet is healthy
• Energy
o Climate Change
• Petroleum Oil
• Pollution
• Inefficiency
• Solutions

US-Iraq Security Pact Poll

The US and Iraqi parliament have been debating on whether a joint US-Iraq Security Pact should be signed by December 31, when the UN mandate governing troops in Iraq expires.
Here is a run down of the 24 page pact:

Article 4: All military operations undertaken in Iraq must be conducted with the agreement of the Iraqi government and should be "fully coordinated" with Iraqi authorities through a joint U.S.-Iraqi committee. However, U.S. and Iraqi forces have the right to "legitimate self defence within Iraq" as defined by international law.

Article 12: Iraq will have the right to prosecute U.S. troops and associated civilians for "grave premeditated felonies" committed "outside agreed facilities and areas and outside duty status." Should they be arrested however, they must be handed over to U.S. custody for the duration of the investigation and trial, and U.S. forces are responsible for certifying whether the alleged crime took place while the individual was on "duty status."

No such immunity is extended to private security contractors, over whom the agreement grants Iraq the "primary right to exercise jurisdiction."

Article 15: The U.S. military must present Iraqi authorities with a list of all items being imported for the use of the troops or U.S. security contractors.

Iraqi authorities have the right to request that U.S. forces "open in their presence any container in which such items are being imported in order to verify its contents." But Iraq must "honor the security requirements" of U.S. troops and, if requested, conduct the inspections in U.S. facilities.

This does not extend to parcels imported by civilians or to U.S. mail, which will be "exempt from inspection, search, and seizure by Iraqi authorities, except for non-official mail that may be subject to electronic observation."

Article 22: U.S. forces cannot detain anyone, except for its own Soldiers and associated civilians, without Iraqi permission, and all detainees must be handed over to Iraqi authorities within 24 hours of their detention.

Once the agreement enters into force the U.S. military will turn over all the information it has on detainees being held in Iraq. Iraqi judges will then issue arrest warrants for those they suspect have committed crimes and they will be transferred to Iraqi custody. All other detainees will be released in a "safe and orderly manner," unless otherwise requested by the Iraqi government.

The agreement allows Iraqi authorities to "request assistance" from the United States in arresting or detaining wanted individuals.

U.S. forces will not be allowed to search houses or other "real-estate properties" without an Iraqi search warrant and "full coordination" with the Iraqi government, except in combat situations.

Article 24: All U.S. forces must withdraw from Iraqi territory no later than Dec. 31, 2011. The pact itself also expires at the end of that day.

All U.S. combat forces will withdraw from "Iraqi cities, villages, and localities" once Iraqi security forces assume "full responsibility for security" -- but no later than June 30, 2009.

Iraq can demand that all U.S. forces withdraw at any time, and the United States can unilaterally withdraw the troops at any time.

Article 26: Regarding Iraq's finances, the agreement recognizes the protections granted to the Development Fund of Iraq by an executive order from the U.S. president that prevents the funds from being awarded to anyone who files lawsuits against Iraq. The agreement says the United States will "remain fully and actively engaged" with the Iraqi government with respect to the continuation of the protections.

The United States also commits to helping Iraq secure an extension of UN Security Council protections granted to petroleum and natural gas revenues.

Article 27: "Iraqi land, sea, and air shall not be used as a launching pad or transit point for attacks against other countries."

Article 30: The agreement is effective for three years, but can be terminated by either party with one year's written notice.

The agreement can be amended "only with the official agreement of the parties in writing and in accordance with the constitutional procedures in effect in both countries."

Excuse my poor blogging etiquette...the last post was by Bennett and the title of the piece is "Media Madness"

Journalists and the media as a whole have independently assumed the role as “gate-keepers” (according to Larry Sabato’s Feeding Frenzy). Yet strangely enough, for the most part, Americans have let the media outlets of the world attain this position of power. The influence of the media has evolved greatly over the years, but consequently with this evolution costs are almost as readily apparent as the benefits. Media, although it tries to remain unbiased, generally creates a fissure between the American people. As the proverb goes, “There are always two sides to a story,” and in many peoples’ opinions, one news source cannot effectively report both sides. Furthermore when this issue is compounded by the new waves of journalist who Sander Vanocur, a veteran ABC colleague, says express “the quality of the avenging angel” (Sabato, 575) and are too dominated by their own personal agendas, the democratic nature of the American people begins to scream. The opinions and the editorial pieces of the Joe Six-packs of the world need to be heard to…don’t they? Some people think that they do and therefore bloggomania has ensued. Whether or not you want to tune into what some (such as Boston Globe’s Alex Beam) refer to as “Blogistan, the Internet-based journalistic medium where no thought goes unpublished, no long-out-of-print book goes unhawked, and no fellow ‘blogger,’ no matter how outré, goes un-praised,” (Anderson, 602) (I just love the irony of bashing blogging while I’m writing a blog myself) or what others feel is the only medium of responsible journalism, blogs are quickly becoming the preferred mode of media in the United States. But even blogs have their own fair share of adverse effects. What I’m trying to get at is that media is an entirely flawed entity floating amidst the people of America. It has its occasional moments of brilliance and usefulness such as during the Watergate Scandal, yet additional successes of the media since that historic event have been few and far between, causing more turmoil than benefit. A trend seems to have been developed over the past thirty years, a trend which will be very interesting to research and see if it repeats itself. This cycle of which I speak is thus: an unbelievable triumph of media occurs (i.e. Watergate), attempted emulation of such a success fails miserably, failures continue to manifest themselves, then the common people need to resort to alternate forums for their unbiased information, the effect of entirely unbiased and unchallenged information isolates select Americans, finally resulting in a re-emergence of quality national media and the cycle that follows.

Katherine Graham was the owner of the iconic Washington Post newspaper. Her continued fame has been the result of her paper’s unwavering pursuit in uncovering what Graham believed to be “an unprecedented effort to subvert the political process. (Something she describes as) a pervasive, indiscriminate use of power and authority from an administration with a passion for secrecy and deception and an astounding lack of regard for the normal constraints of democratic politics.” (Graham, 571) This “something” was the Watergate scandal, and (pardon my French) but that is one hell of an accusation. It was this brooding intensity that propelled the staff of the Post, specifically the two young, budding journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, to pursue the story with an unprecedented passion. Yet, as Graham describes, even with the paper upholding strict guidelines such as, “every bit of information attributed to an unnamed source had to be supported by at least one other, independent source,” (Graham, 565) people including a pretty important one, the President and his entire staff, still were pissed off. Attorney General John Mitchell was even quoted saying, “JEEEEEESUS…All that crap, you’re putting it in the paper?” (Graham, 564). The staff of the Washington Post persisted through various threats and subpoenas and with firm emphasis on accuracy; they published a series stories, clearly incriminating multiple White House representatives, which were so widely read that “people actually began waiting in the alley outside (the) building for the first edition of the paper,” (Graham, 569). This was the pinnacle of investigatory journalism. Woodward and Bernstein provided the foundation for a new breed of journalists: young and ruthless reporters who would go to far-reaching limits to turn a story. The interesting problem though is this: most situations since Watergate haven’t called for such qualities of in-your-face journalism. You see, the issue was (as Graham said) “the role of luck was essential in Watergate,” (Graham, 573). I find it difficult to ever declare the word “essential” an understatement, but this is one scenario in which I can make such an assertion. Luck was utterly vital and incomprehensibly available to The Washington Post in regards to Watergate. It was if God himself handcrafted the Watergate Scandal, placed it upon a golden platter and served it to The Washington Post for dinner (with a side of potatoes-why…I don’t know). I’m not trying to downplay the great amount of effort Bernstein and Woodward went through to turn the story but seriously they were unbelievably lucky. Literally a million different scenarios went the right way for the newspaper staff, beginning with the guard discovering the taped door at the Watergate building, the police sending an undercover cop car that was miraculously in the area, and listless more occurrences. Watergate was a rare glimpse of seamless media coverage by one agency, yet those who tried to emulate reporters such as Bernstein and Woodward failed to recognize the amazing amount of luck required for the “perfect story”, so this new breed of reporters attempted to turn out the same stories but they lacked all the content and accuracy of the Watergate stories, resulting in a phase Larry Sabato has termed the “Feeding Frenzy.”

Sabato has compared this new wave of journalists looking to land a Hollywood documentary (such as Bernstein and Woodward) to frenzied fools. Frenzy describes “some kind of disorderly, compulsive, or agitated activity that is muscular and instinctive, not cerebral and thoughtful,” (Sabato, 576) and, when applied to journalists, it critiques the fact that the press “has become obsessed with gossip rather than governance” (Sabato, 576). Basically, journalists enter a violent and aggressive mode in order to track down the most interesting and controversial, yet generally irrelevant stories. This mentality of “If it bleeds try to kill it” (Sabato, 577), in our “brave new world of omnipresent journalism” (Sabato, 577) has debased our journalists into to sharks who become so overwhelmed by the “kill” that the lose sight of all their inhibitions. The result of such maverick reporting exhibits a sad truth. Some of the people most qualified for leadership positions in the government simply do not run because of the prospect of getting torn apart by the media for any previous miss-steps. Furthermore, since the media has adopted the position of “gate-keeper”, the American public becomes restricted by these unfounded stories to the point that they don’t even realize the news they are listening to is completely irrelevant. In efforts to reverse this trend, we have become oh so fond of the blog.

Blogs provide the medium appropriate for all kinds of thoughts in any way, shape, or form. It is the mystery meat of the lunchroom—anything and everything is mashed together all in one place, the internet. The issues and opinions not so evident in the national media are readily abundant in many of the millions of blogs that exist today. But some people such as legal theorist Cass Sunstein believe the political blog-sites could lead to a “cyber-balkanization” (Anderson, 603). This means that since people can customize their own communications, they might only read the news that they care about. Conversely, some argue that this idea of “virtual cocooning” is irrelevant because the primary purpose of blogs is criticizing the opposing thoughts of others. This argument isn’t completely sound, though, because although people might see opposing viewpoints on some issues, they may avoid entire other issues that aren’t appealing, making the bloggers uninformed.

Media is a flawed necessity. We need it, but it can never fully fit our needs. Something will always be left out, some opinions will always overpower others, and the personal customization of news will always leave us ignorant. The Watergate scandal set a precedent for investigatory journalism when a precedent shouldn’t have been set. Instead the work of The Washington Post should have just been admired for what it was: a lot of skill, but even more luck. We can’t control luck; therefore we cannot control good stories, so all we are left with only the continuing cycle of unjust media reports and unsatisfied needs.

A New Transition in Media and its Influence

    The transition in the style in which new is presented through the media has changed its influence and involvement in politics. Beginning with the dramatic news coverage of the Watergate Scandal, led by the Washing Post, and continuing through the internet citizen-blogging phenomenon that sprung out of the turn of the century, the publishing voice has morphed into an information free-for-all in which the journalist becomes the “gatekeeper” (as mentioned in Larry Sabato’s Feeding Frenzy) for politicians and the young, internet-browser becomes a publisher.


    Katharine Graham, the owner and publisher of the Washington Post during Watergate, in her Personal History, recounts what became the launch of a new wave for journalistic media. As Graham guides her reader through the edge-of-the-seat story of her two young and ambitious reporters, Woodward and Bernstein, from their pairing and coverage of the break-in trial all the way through President Nixon’s resignation, two qualities of the Post’s news coverage ring with importance: the required confirmation of sources and information and the ultimate influence the press acquired through such a publicized investigation.


    Graham was adamant in that “the role of the Post in all of this [Watergate Scandal] was simply to report the news” (Graham, 571). She knew that any misinformation would discredit both the paper and her reporters. The staff of the Post took a big chance investigating the case so deeply, especially with their growing enemies empowered by government, so it was vital to the paper that their news was accurate. For this reason, Graham instituted the “two-sources” policy where by checking every bit of information with at least a second source before it was printed the reporting team “handle[d] the story with more than the usual scrupulous attention to fairness and detail” (Graham, 565). The stories produced, although contradictory, were reliable, and became what Harry Rosenfeld described as “the longest-running newspaper stories with the least amount of errors that I have ever experienced or will ever experience” (Graham, 566). The accurate approach to reporting brought about a wave of new age, investigative journalism, and it also brought a strengthened voice to the media.


    The growing influence of the press in politics in Graham’s experience with Watergate is represented through both the demand for the paper and the threats from the government. The Post’s continuous articles and investigation of Watergate were confirmed with the discovery of President Nixon’s tapes. As soon as people were convinced of the paper’s credibility, its popular influence sky-rocketed: “After the discovery of the tapes, people actually began waiting the alley outside our building for the first edition of the paper, giving additional meaning to the phrase ‘hot off the presses’” (Graham, 569). The more convincing evidence of the press’s ultimate influence in politics, however, is portrayed through threats from government officials. First, Nixon made threats against the Post itself: “It’s going to have its problems…the Post is going to have damnable, damnable problems out of this one. They have a television station…and they’re going to have to get it renewed…the game has to be played awfully rough” (Graham, 565). Then, the Attorney General at the time, John Mitchell, was on the phone with reporter Bernstein and physically threatened Katharine Graham, blaming her for the printings on Watergate: “All that crap you’re putting in the paper? It’s all been denied, Katie Graham’s gonna get her tit caught in a big fat wringer if that’s published. Good Christ!” (Graham, 564). The new and increasing influence of the press hanging over the shoulder of politicians that was ignited by the coverage of Watergate is represented in Graham’s increased fear for her paper. She remarks, “I’d lived with White House anger before, but I had never seen anything remotely like the kind of fury and heat I was feeling targeted at us now” (Graham, 567). Graham, in the moment, could feel the building influence of the media on politics. The Post’s integrity in its reporting and in not giving-in to threats shifted the paper away from government sway and towards an influential position.


    This shift in the media’s power to influentially critique politicians created a new and youthful attraction to the field of journalism. Graham hit it on the head when she commented, “the story [of Watergate] had all the ingredients for major drama: suspense, embattled people on both sides, right and wrong, law and order, good and bad” (Graham, 571). The Post’s accomplishments glorified the life of a reporter and, therefore, brought about even a further switch in the journalist’s voice.


    In Larry Sabato’s Feeding Frenzy, Sabato comments negatively on this transition. His argument centers around the irony in the shift from the carefully reported Watergate Scandal which sparked a movement into drama-based reporting with a youthful and unskilled mob-culture that is now associated with journalism, and also, that this style pushes good people away from politics. Sabato argues, “Ever since Watergate, government scandals have paraded across the television set in a roll call so lengthy and numbing that they are inseparable in the public consciousness” (Sabato, 576). His writing insists “gossip has always been the drug of choice for journalists” and, “without convincing proof,” journalists cover politics as “ ‘Entertainment Tonight’ reporters cover Hollywood” (Sabato, 576). His “feeding frenzy” refers to the intimidating media mob of the video age where “a critical mass of journalists leap to cover the same embarrassing or scandalous subject and pursue it intensely, often excessively, and sometimes uncontrollably,” not unlike piranhas set lose on a piece of meat (Sabato, 577). Sabato blames the press’s conduct on the impact of the Watergate Scandal. He claims, “Watergate shifted the orientation of journalism…toward prescription––helping to set the campaign’s (and society’s) agendas by focusing attention on the candidates’ shortcomings as well as certain social problems” (Sabato, 579). His concern is that because of the glorification of the newsroom and a new interest in investigating candidates’ personal lives, the media-politics relationship is getting out of hand. He fears that because the media has risen “the price of power…dramatically” (Sabato, 581), talented individuals are scared away from politics and only power-hungry leaders remain. Indeed journalists play an important new role in presenting political candidates and social issues to the public. Unelected and sometimes inaccurate, society has given much influence to these individuals.


    Recently, however, the concern has switched to the influence of even less-educated, less-qualified publishing individuals. In Brian Anderson’s article South Park Conservatives, he analyzes the new influence of the Internet on media and its influence on politics through the culture of blogging. Anderson describes blogs as having created a “brand-new media sphere” void of “the gatekeepers’ power to determine (a) what’s important and (b) the range of acceptable opinion” (Anderson, 600). It seems as though such blogs would not find a place in the world of influential media, but because they have become a more radical response to officially published, more left wing news, blogs have become the radical citizens means of discussion and expression. A veteran reporter from the Washington Post remarked, “If Hitler were alive today, he’d have his own blog” (Anderson, 602), for the purpose of commenting on blogs’ place as a tool for extreme radicals, especially right wing. Anderson also suggests the possibility of “virtual cocooning” (Anderson, 603). The possibility is that web browsers only access blogs and websites that agree only with their point-of-view, and, therefore, they become “intellectually lazy” (Anderson, 603) and avoid seeking unbiased reporting. In conclusion, Anderson is in favor of blogs because he believes that blogging has become the most democratic way of reporting.


    The recent progression of media’s impact on politics and society is both positive and negative. It would be hypocritical for me to argue that blogging is always done by unmindful and radical citizens whose agendas are to increase virtual cocooning because I am, in fact, blogging intellectually. However, the ability for slander and gossip to play such a dominating role in politics because of the emphasis given to it by the media is an issue. The recent election has again proven that the media’s endorsement of a political candidate is overwhelmingly influential. The youth has involved itself both in the media and in politics. I welcome and cherish a youthful, rebellious, and critical voice in the media, and it is just a matter of accuracy and credibility that could be addressed. As long as the Internet continues, so will blogs, and it is our job as a country to increase the quality of education so that all citizens understand their chosen point-of-view. We must embrace this new form of expression and use it wisely, to our advantage; however, these articles are a good reminder for us to pick up a newspaper as to not be deceived by the mass of information on our web browsers.

-Rachel Rosenberg