Media Frenzy on the Economy

There is a media frenzy over the financial crisis that America is facing and it's almost tantamount to Chicken Little screaming that the sky is falling but people are actually listening to the main stream media. You can not turn on a news magazine talk show and not here opinions from the host that are just that… OPINION! These people that sit in the chairs that stare into a camera or talk into a microphone and just babble on based on what they think are by no means financial experts. And yet, America is listening and the belts of the folks still with good jobs at great wages are listening as if these news reporters or “entertainment news anchors” are their Sunday morning preacher declaring the Rapture just after this paid advertisement. And those belts all across America are tightening by people tuning in day after day on the financial crisis news. It becomes a self induced prophecy of our economy. All of the networks are bashing people over the current economic crisis and not a one is innocent…

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For the record I don’t believe political polls but I believe in people that will speak honestly when it comes to their feeling about the current economic situation here in the states. People talk money and vote money when you come right down to it. In elections, they look at the money proposed on campaign promises as somebody else that is spending the money that really is not their money, but in the general economy polls, it is their money and their jobs. Wallets and personal checking accounts come into play.

Over at Breitbart.Com they have this to say about the media frenzy and its influence on the overall economy…

Poll: 77% of Americans Blame Media for Making Economic Crisis Worse

Jan 1 11:09 AM US/Eastern

- New Poll Conducted by Opinion Research Corporation -
NEW YORK, Jan. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Seventy-seven percent of Americans believe that the U.S. media is making the economic situation worse by projecting fear into people's minds.

The majority of those surveyed feel that the financial press, by focusing on and embellishing negative news, is damaging consumer confidence and damping investment, making a difficult situation much worse. The poll was conducted via telephone, December 4 - 7.

The US survey of 1000 adults was conducted by Opinion Research Corporation and is statistically representative of the total U.S. population. The survey question: "Do you think the financial press is making the economic crisis worse by projecting fear into people's minds?" While the overall response indicated that 77% of Americans answered YES, here are highlights of note: Household Incomes: $25k - $35k -- 79% answered YES $35k - $50k -- 88% answered YES $50k - $75k -- 76% answered YES $75k - more -- 78% answered YES Demographics: 85% of young adults (18-24 yrs old) answered YES 77% of males and females alike answered YES 65% of blacks answered YES. - Breitbart.com

I stopped watching Fox News after they defended and justified the price of gasoline at the pump hitting almost five bucks a gallon so I can’t say what Fox News and their talking heads are doing on this subject but I can say that I do watch MSNBC in the morning and at night. Morning Joe is a joke with non expert experts that claim to know the ins and outs of the economy and declare their words to be gospel before the real experts come on and give their opinions. I’ve literally watched as Mike Barnicle, a frequent contributor espoused on what is wrong with Detroit and the automakers and he has no clue what it takes to actually build a U.S. made car! He probably drives a friging Toyota! The same man was there spouting off on the problems of Wall Street but he wasn’t demanding as much from those criminals as he was of the working man or woman on the production lines at GM, Ford, or Chrysler?

My point is, just because you are a reporter does not make you an expert on every financial issue. But they sure as hell can scare the hell out of many people with their self righteous pompous attitude that is fed into our living rooms. Mind you, I’m not just talking about MSNBC either and their talking heads. All of the networks have the same hype built news magazines and I don’t mean to single out Mike Barnicle or MSNBC.

If I were contacted for this poll I would have more than positively stated that the media is starting a stampede against the economy simply because fear sells better than hope on television or the radio. Fluffy kitten stories are not news people want to hear. Drama, anger, fear, and corruption is what draws viewers and listeners.

There is a real danger in the media today, that danger is when reporters and hosts of a television or radio program for entertainment purposes are taken as fact based voices for the majority of the populous in America. These people are selling just air time and the facts may be further from the actual truth.

Whom would you trust more? Zbigniew Brzezinski a former Secretary of State and real life expert on foreign affairs or Joe Scarborough TV News show host? How about Rep. Barney Frank who has worked on real Banking Legislation change for decades or Bill O’Reilly, an extremely volatile and contraversial entertainment news personality? In each case the news entertainer maligned or tried their best to discredit the expert because they are the shows host. That is Yellow Journalism on television at its best. That sells better airtime than the actual truth that is kind of boring and ho hum news.

Thank you Memeorandum for the news tip...

Papamoka

Tim Russert, the Gold Standard of Journalism

With the sudden passing of Tim Russert I find myself in the same company of many of the friends he worked so closely with. His presence on our nations televisions was that of the friendly and jovial uncle that just loved politics simply because it was a competition of the best available candidates for our times. His style and grace when confronting political figures called them to task where others would have given them a pass. Honestly, I feel like my brother or my closest Uncle has died. His passing is very personal to me and I’m just a political blogger.

Tim brought to journalism what no other person could in today’s media hubbub, the truth. Politicians love to hide behind the real story and yet he alone called them to task and dared to ask the questions that nobody else could find the guts to even think of asking. His secret was a relentless pursuit of the truth in politics and for that I thank him from the bottom of my heart. If you were a guest of Tim Russert on Meet the Press then there would be no softball pitches coming across the plate. That kind of journalism he left to the people dreaming of being a real political reporter that found themselves swooned by the politician.

Tim Russert was not about fluff pieces and feeling the love to anyone that dared to sit in the hot seat of Meet the Press. What perplexes the media institution that he built is the fact that anyone wanting an interview with him had better be ready to face all the facts no matter how ugly they were. And yet, politician after politician would seek him out knowing the gauntlet they would have to face. Facts do not lie, Tim never hid those facts from his guest and in the long run the truth or an inkling of it was established during his broadcast of Meet the Press.

One of the things I admired most about Tim Russert was his devotion to friends in the business. He never forgot his friends during the bad times they each faced. From Mike Barnicle during his alleged plagiarism debacle at the Boston Globe to Don Imus and his Rutgers girls basketball disgrace. While the rest of the press, politicians, and people that were supposed to befriends were running fast and furious, Tim stood by his friends, backed them and supported them. In the media business friends are for the most part there only as long as you shine, Tim was there during the dark days lighting a candle of light for a friend who thought the world had forsaken them. That was just who he was. His friends were for life, his love of people unquestionable, and his deeds quietly done because he was at the heart of his being just a man that loved people.

On many occasions while listening to Imus in the Morning over the years Tim would be on and dog the I Man on how his little boy was doing in between talking about political issues of the day. Tim was never impressed with the fact that Imus in the Morning was listened to by millions of people, that wasn’t the important part of the friendship. The Imus family little boy that looked up to his mom and dad was the key figure in the relationship. In every friendship that Tim had, the kids were the ones that made many of them call him simply Uncle Tim.

When he wrote of his hard working father in Big Russ and Me, it reminded me of the many trials my own family had faced over the years. No family is perfect and here was the moderator of one of the longest running news broadcast in our nations history telling the story of his dad. It inspired millions in more ways than he will ever know. Evidenced by the follow up book from many of the people that read about his life with Big Russ. In my mind, Tim gave the fathers of this nation and many others something to live up to with actions as a dad rather than just words. The old saying of anyone can be a father but it takes hard work and faith to be a dad was the Russert credo.

It’s a dark day for political reporting just knowing that the extreme grasp that Tim Russert had on politics is lost. There is not in my mind anyone that can fill his shoes and do what he did with the shear simplicity that he was able to do so effortlessly. His broadcast seemed almost like watching a figure skating routine and the scores garnished depended on how the person in the hot seat replied. The more squirming the higher the score.

My personal condolences to the Russert family and to all of his many friends including his viewers on many of the broadcasts he participated in. His quick wit and sharp mind will be missed.

God bless and keep you close Tim Russert. We can only hope to carry on with the same integrity that you brought to journalism.

Papamoka

Other sites talking about this…

MSNBC
CNN

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Tim Russert Death

Tim Russert from Meet the Press and the NBC MSNBC News Chief has passed away at 58. He was an amazing man and an inspirational character in the news. In all the years of my life I have never seen a person that was able to get to the truth in politics so clearly.

My heart felt prayers are with his family and many friends around the media. His many friends great and small, I’m sure are saddened at the loss of a man with such kind greatness.

He was one in a million and will be sorely missed. God bless you Tim Russert…

Papamoka

Electing a President has begun

Thankfully, the rising sun in the east will gradually warm our nation to hope over desperation with the eventual replacement of King George in the White House. No offense to all our British friends intended. Here in America, since 9/11, we have been living under a dictator that even an election that replaced political leadership in both houses of Congress did not deter the President. Signing statements continue and future generations will see his laws stricken down as un-constitutional.

History will prove out that George Bush was the worst President of all time simply because he thought he was omnipotent and without question. He is the third rail of Republican politics and you do not see too many advertisements with him hugging the candidates from his own political party do you? He is the equivalent to the persona non grate in the (stolen) election of Al Gore for President where Bill Clinton could not step on the welcome mat because he was never invited. While Bill Clinton sold out the respect of the office he served, George W. Bush sold out his nation to the highest bidder. No matter what good they each have or had done as President, the perception is the rule.

We as a nation need hope and for that matter many of the current candidates for President do not deserve even remotely the chance at serving in an office that represents you and I to the world. If you want to send your sons and daughters off to war for the next eight plus years then by all means vote for a candidate that thinks King George is right! Make sure you have a huge cemetery plot picked out because any war in the Middle East will take a couple thousand years to settle. History is funny that way. Fight them there or fight them here works till there is nobody left here to send there. It’s a fanatical religious war that has been going on since the times of Jesus Christ and it is not going to end any time soon. Supporting our military to protect our shores and not some desert goat grazing argument between feuding tribes is questionable with some of these candidates for President. Top three MSM dictated winners from both parties are clueless but rhetoric buys votes.

Who has a plan that makes sense to get our nation back to what matters at home? You have to ask yourself if your opinion can be bought and if so for what price? Can your vote be bought in one breath and your rights sold in the next sales pitch as an American citizen? You can read in the papers every single day the amount of self esteem that the big three of each party are willing to sell. Character is replaced by what you want to hear but the truth is not. The truth never goes away no matter how you try to bob and weave around it. It’s like serving fried fish for dinner on Friday. Somehow it still lingers in the house on Monday. How can you vote for a person that is supposed to support all of the American people when they blow off one states voters to fight for another states on yet another day?

It’s amazing how the comparison of many of the top three leaders advertisements is so much like buying sliced deli meats at the supermarket. You can buy the mass produced product that was sliced months ago with a use buy date or you can vote for quality deli meat that you saw sliced and delivered to your hand one on one. It isn’t pre packaged and you have to buy what they tell you that you need, you can pick what you want. The top three in both parties are those pretty packages of meat and the rest are sliced to your liking as an American. I recommend custom cut slices and only the amount I need.

This post is being written during the Iowa Caucus, I have no clue who will come out the winner or loser in the race for President but I can hope that the folks of Iowa saw through the sales pitch of the top three from each party and tossed them all to the curb. That may not be what happens but it is the process that has begun to replace the Dictator in Chief. That I am truly thankful for.

Papamoka

Cross posted at Michael Linn Jones and Bring IT ON!

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Iowa, New Hampshire and Biden News

Seeing how all of the main stream media television is for the most part delegating Joe Biden’s run for President to the last sentence in every single news broadcast then I guess it is up to the “New Media” to really report the facts. Joe Biden is forming a wave of support and frankly I do not believe that even his own campaign knows that the Biden Tsunami is coming. Much like a Tsunami, the tremors and shocks of the earthquake from all over the United States on the internet and all the blogs supporting him will hit Iowa alone on January 3rd.

Could I offer you a list of blogs writers that are supporting Joe Biden? I can think of four not including myself that have thrown up videos, did posts on or mentioned him as the only person worth voting for in the next Presidential election. That is just my little part of the blogging world. We are breaking three thousand visitors a month here at Papamoka Straight Talk. This is all free media and advertising for Joe Biden, we are not getting paid for this effort and we do not want his money. That is not the case with every single newspaper or television station in Iowa or New Hampshire. You can tell by the major evening news stations that Biden is not spending his hard earned campaign donations with them. “Oh and Joe Biden was in Iowa today.” HUH?

Here is what is really happening according to the Joe Biden camp…

The estimated 250 people at Biden's campaign rally cheered and waved signs, manufactured and homemade, in a scene more typical of the events of Democratic front-runners. "Ladies and gentlemen, I'm gonna shock the hell out of you," Biden said over the din of a cheering crowd Saturday night in an uncharacteristically short speech. He spent less time selling himself and more time answering questions from the audience.

In a working-class city with a strong Irish and Catholic influence, Biden appeals to people, said Teri Goodmann, Iowa co-chairwoman for Biden's campaign. "In spite of people's desire to have the first African-American, the first woman, the first Hispanic, the reality of our lives is that we have a tremendous demand right now in this job for someone who has experience in foreign relations," she said." - Des Moines Register

Then there is this one…

Take, for example, the Joe Biden event I attended last night in Council Bluffs, about ten minutes after I drove out of the Omaha airport. At least 150, maybe 200 people gathered in an Elks Lodge, during the dinner hour, on a week night with the thermometer reading 18 degrees to hear...Joe Biden! And it was vintage Biden....This went on for two hours and came to an end only when Brother Jim had to literally drag the candidate to a waiting car. At no point did the audience grow restless or bored. After each answer, five or six more hands shot up. The interest was avid and, in fact, Biden's biggest applause line of the night had nothing to do with the usual sort of pandering, bur rather when he vowed that in a Biden administration he would outlaw all forms of torture." - Huffington Post

And then this…

To complicate matters today, the ground in central Iowa was blanketed with snow by early morning, and the highways surrounding Des Moines were littered with cars that had slid off the road. But about 100 people crowded into a public library meeting room to listen to Biden speak.

"He's an honest, good man. He tells it like it is," said Glenda McIntire of Waukee, Iowa. She said she's a long-time supporter. "It's been uphill all the way, but the first time we met here we probably had 15 people. When I see him in person I get revved up again." - Guardian Unlimited (UK)

Or this on the MSM just ignoring Biden even exists...

Immediately after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto the front page story in the Washington Post about Pakistan and the presidential campaign did not even mention Joe Biden, the only candidate who seriously distinguished himself on the Pakistan crisis.

Upon reflection, the Washington Post editorial page, which has supported Bush on the Iraq war as Pravda supported Leonid Brezhnev, followed up with a lead editorial on candidates and Pakistan, which, incredibly, did not even acknowledge of Joe Biden.

Here is why the major media, including the daily newspapers, has lost such credibility with the American people and in the case of insider print media, so many subscribers who moved their business to internet sites, including this one. - The Liberal Journal

This is going to be an uphill battle to get the word out for Joe Biden by January 3rd but it is not a mountain. We can all do this and if you can’t stand the main stream appointed front runners on the Democrat side of the process then by all means speak up loud and clear. One of the things that I love about Biden besides all of his life experience, political experience and personal candor is the where the majority of the money for his campaign is coming from. Ten bucks here, fifteen bucks here and twenty bucks from over here. There are not to many thousand dollar a plate dinners scheduled in his past or current campaign. That speaks volumes as to whom is really behind the Biden campaign and it isn’t Wall Street or special interest groups. I’m off to box up a couple of dozen rolls of paper towels for the Biden Tsunami in Iowa and New Hampshire.

Bloggers for Biden, leave a link in the comment section and I’ll toss up a Bloggers for Biden list in the sidebar of this site. And for those of you who think the other candidates running for President are not scared of Joe Biden then you have to see this amazing video from YouTube.



Catch the wave and surf it out all the way to the White House in 2009! Four out of five Dentist recommend Joe Biden. Bill Gates will pay you $1000 if you forward this post to ten friends. And some guy in Africa is willing to give me a piece of the action on $30,000,000 from his deceased fathers uncle who was some big wig in the government and all the money he embezzled we can split. Okay, I made up the Dentist thing, the Gates payment and the millions from Africa but you can believe in Joe Biden. That is a sure thing! Check him out at Joebiden.com

Papamoka

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Patriots vs. Giants Simulcast!

There is a roar full of cheer coming from every household in Worcester, Mass-a-two-sticks from the latest news that the fans in this city will actually be able to watch the home team on television. Anyone with a Charter Communications cable subscription was going to be blacked out for Saturday nights game against the Giants. That was Not a good thing when it comes to all of the die hard New England Patriots fans in the second largest city in the region.

Over at the Washington Post they have the latest news on where to tune in for the last game of the season to see if the Pat’s can win a perfect season…

Pats-Giants Game to be Simulcast on NBC, CBS

The Saturday night game in which the New England Patriots will be trying to set an NFL record by finishing the regular season with an undefeated record will be simulcast on CBS and NBC, the NFL has just announced.

Originally the 8:15 p.m. game against the Giants in East Rutherford, N.J., was scheduled to be carried only on the NFL Network. Because of a dispute with Time Warner and Comcast, that network is available in fewer than 40 percent of the nation's homes that have televisions.

"We have taken this extraordinary step because it is in the best interest of our fans," Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a written statement. "What we have seen for the past year is a very strong consumer demand for NFL Network. We appreciate CBS and NBC delivering the NFL Network telecast on Saturday night to the broad audience that deserves to see this potentially historic game. Our commitment to the NFL Network is stronger than ever."

This will be the first three-network simulcast in NFL history and is the first simulcast of any kind for the NFL since Super Bowl I (between the AFL and NFL) on CBS and NBC on Jan. 15, 1967. - Mark Maske, Washington Post

Thank you dear God in heaven, thank you Senator Kerry, thank you Bob Kraft Macaroni and Cheese… Sorry, I was in deep prayer there. This blackout was a very large, huge, even gigantic problem for all of the fans that have been supporting the Patriots. Having the Pat’s last game of the season blocked on your own television is like telling a crack or heroine addict not to touch your stash and locking it up in a glass case right in front of them.

I don’t care how the NFL Network and NBC and CBS worked out this deal, I’m freaking loving it! I have to run. I have to find five Tom Brady OFFICIAL NFL shirts for a five year old, a seven year old, a ten year old, a twelve year old and a seventeen year old girl. Papamoka is having a mega football party at his house this Saturday and my five girls and I are watching it right here at home. WoooooHOOOOO!

Speaking of excitement. This is for football enthusiast fans of the Patriots. Today they also announced that they have to lay down new sod in the end zones at Gillette Stadium. Apparently, there was to much MOSS IN IT!!!

GO PAT’S!

Papamoka

Back to my prayers, thank you for Tom Brady, thank you for Bill Belichick, thank you for Randy Moss and Teddy Bruschi #54…

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Politcal Polling

First question in the poll... Would you vote for a political candidate for President based on just a television advertisement? And Why?

Second question, do you trust the mains stream media when reporting on all of the candidates? And Why?

Vote away in the comments...

Papamoka

Running for President

America is putting up the best that she has to offer for President of this great land and the money needed to do so is disgusting. Hundreds of millions of dollars will be raised and spent to get somebody behind the desk at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Every main stream media site is telling the voters who are the front runner while they ignore the candidates that don’t have the big bucks that will pay for air time on their network.

It isn’t the greatest job in the world but it supposedly is the most powerful job in the world. The pay as an executive isn’t anything to brag about when you have to rub elbows with the likes of other CEO’s and corporate America executives. There is no stock to cash out, there are no golden parachutes to bail you out if you screw up and end up being kicked out. Matter of fact the downside if you totally screw up is taught in your nations schools on who you should not grow up to be.

Although I voted for Mitt Romney for Governor, I could not vote for him for President. Mitt Romney has more or less bought Senator John Kerry’s flip flops in a yard sale after the last election. Pick and issue and he has either flipped or flopped. I’ll wait while you Google Search it. Waiting, waiting, waiting… Glad you are back.

Although Rudi Giuliani was the Mayor of New York City, and he did get the city through the horror that was 9/11, that does not make him Presidential material. Rudi just has to fade away and do his corporate security thingy that he has made millions off of telling people who to be scared of and how to defeat them. Doesn’t that ring a bell to the current occupant of the White House?

Hillary Clinton is running as if she is the Queen of the Democrats and you had better not vote against the Clinton machine. With a political campaign war chest that would choke a Wall Street banker she is running like she owns the majority of Democrats that vote already. Excuse me Hillary?

LAS VEGAS - Democratic presidential hopeful Bill Richardson said Saturday that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is "acting as if she's won" the nomination. – Yahoo News

Money does not buy votes in New Hampshire and Iowa. For that matter when you state that you will not campaign in Michigan because the state moved up the primary vote and yet you will not remove your name from the ballot is two faced and spineless. Double speak is the Clinton campaign. Play to the middle and play it till you win it. She might want to visit Mitt and see if he has a couple of flip flops he can spare.

If the election of our President is equal to a set amount of money in the bank then our election process is broken. Our election process should not be decided on who has the most money to spend on advertising on the MSM networks. With our nation so heavily divided on so many issues the election could be tossed out the window once more and decided by the Supreme Court. Who voted for them to serve?

Maybe, just maybe, it is time to have publicly funded elections instead of special interest funded elections through political campaigns. Maybe, just maybe, then the voters will elect a President that deserves the job.

Then again Fox News or MSNBC has Rudi or Hillary as the next President. Have you voted yet? I know that I haven’t.

Papamoka

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Semper Fi is not just Republican

Picture courtesy of the White House.gov

Given the times and our nations conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan I am constantly finding myself thinking of our citizens in uniform and in our military. I’m proud of them for doing what they were trained to do. Our military is something that every American should be proud of. Not because you are of one political party or the other but for the fact that they are everyone’s children. In that sense then they are my children as well.

I read the news, watch the television version of the news and every single day the body count goes up for the war in Iraq. It isn’t just a body count, those are people reduced down to a number. Our children that are being killed and shipped home for burial is a personal fact of life when in service to our nation in the military to their families. It disgusts me that they are just a number in the grand scheme of things when it comes to Iraq. I hate the fact that people use the deaths our military men and woman that have died as just another statistic.

My political thoughts run to the liberal side of the aisle but my heart is with my upbringing and a father that was proud to serve his nation in two wars. At no point in my upbringing was it ever suggested or inferred to bash our men and woman in uniform. At no point in my transition from child to man was it insisted that I serve in the military. Real men, like my father, who fought in the bloodiest conflicts during World War II, know what war does to a person. He never wanted any of his children to join the military but he was very proud of his own service to his nation.

Dad never spoke of his personal experience during the war until his later years. Alzheimer’s and dementia took him from me but I wonder if the horror he spoke of is just as bad as our kids serving in Iraq and Afghanistan today? I’m pretty confident that it is but then again he never spoke of it his entire life with me till then. His stories were graphic and very intense and his tears and emotion of keeping it all bottled up for all of those years showed in the sorrow of his face and the anger that he could not have saved more lives. As a medic attached to the Marines he was known as Doc, many of the men he promised to take care of did not make it out alive. He felt that he broke the promise to dozens if not hundreds of men that he considered his brothers. For most of his adult life he could not fall asleep unless he took a Sominex or some other sleep inducing pill.

I wonder how much conflict is coming home with our children in uniform in Iraq and Afghanistan that are wounded or rotating out? I worry about them and if they can ever get back their lives in America. My heart goes out to all veterans because war is hell. Veterans of battle only talk to other veterans of battle for a reason, they don’t want to recall the intensity of their service and pass it on to their children. World War II veterans are classic cases of this point. They know the experience and yet they do not talk about it for a reason. Many friends, many brothers in service died horribly.

Our nation is blessed with a military that is not of any political party. All of the men and woman in service are there for a reason and a purpose and that is to serve America first. Their orders come from a civilian government and they follow the civilian government orders. They serve proud and they serve with the bravest and brightest that America has.

Over in Europe there are mass graves for our military sons and daughters killed in combat. In the battles to come in the Middle East there will be no burial grounds for American soldiers. That is a thought to think about when people tell you that you can fight them here or over there. Sound bites are nice but somebody just died and they should never be just a number. That person was someone’s child or someone’s husband or mother. They died for America and not for any political thought or ideology.

My personal thought is that if our fallen soldiers are not good enough to be buried on Arab soil then they should not be fighting for your freedom.

Papamoka

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Moderate Voters and the Presidency

Picture courtesy of the White House

Having seen the last two Presidential elections decided by the narrowest of margins one could conclude that our nation is truly divided. The days of your standard Democrat or Republican are long gone and that may just be a good thing. Unlike the days of old when people voted a straight party ticket, the times and the instant media has changed that constant. Our votes are no longer assumed to be in any political party’s camp just because we are from any particular nationality or religious group.

When I first registered to vote decades ago, I asked my father how I should vote. I was just an eighteen year old kid and I had no clue as to what voting was about other than the fact that it was really important that I do it and that my father and I would go to the polls together. His reply was exactly what he was taught as a young man from Irish immigrant parents. “You vote for the Democrats and you vote for the ones that have Irish last names.” There were no issues other than nationality involved and I’m sure many people grew up with and voted with the same ideology.

Today, voting is very different. Elections are very different and so are the candidates. It almost seems like the gene pool has gone wrong and most of if not all of them have lost touch with the you and me part of the equation of American politics. Being a politician in a national race is more of a business than it is about serving your country. At times I honestly believe the heart of the process was railroaded and gobbled up by the millionaire club in a hostile takeover. Think quick and ask yourself who doesn’t have a campaign war chest under one hundred million dollars that is being taken seriously because of the media imposed selection process?

Our nations main stream media is following the money trail of the campaign war chest’s and to put it simply it is a business decision. They tell the American people who they assume are morons who has the best message from each political party because the advertising dollars flow from the top down. Advertising checks are cashed and candidate A from party Z gets coverage. Any candidates with no dollars to toss down the bottomless pit of the main stream media are ostracized from political coverage. It’s just business for the MSM but the ultimate loser is the American voter because the message of all the candidates is lost in the search for advertising dollars by the MSM that is in your home every single day.

Is that what the process of electing a President has become. I’ve heard it time and time again, if any candidate does not have one hundred million dollars to spend they will never see the office of President. What happened to voting for a candidate for what they stand for other than the almighty dollar? This makes me think that there is indeed a price tag on the four year lease at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue! Dollars talk and what America really needs walks.

Getting back to assuming you have my vote and you will not till I pull the lever or fill in the ballot to vote. It amazes me and bothers me that certain political parties claim ownership of any organization of people in America. I was reading a piece on line where they talked about the Republicans Party thinking that they owned or could count on Evangelical’s in our nation staying true and voting a straight Republican vote. Then there was another post claiming that Democrats owned or could count on our nations labor and Unions to stay true to the blue vote.

How do they figure they have anyone’s vote? Evangelical’s are pissed off for the most part because our nation’s leaders have not been the people they said they were. God and country became God and what is in it for me or do as I say and not what I do. Our nation’s Unions are pissed off because our leaders no longer support organized labor unless there is an election coming up. Telling the public what you want to hear and doing it are two different things during a campaign. Promises are made and actions afterward are two very different things.

I truly fear that America will never be able to elect an honest man or woman to the highest office in the land because his or her soul has already been sold out to the highest bidder. I’m still voting though! There is always hope.

Which one of these jerks is Irish? O'Bama, that sounds Irish…

Papamoka

Our Nation Once had Leaders

Picture Courtesy of Fred08

In politics today it is more of public opinion and stardom than it is about what you actually can achieve once elected. Fred Thompson proved that fact by wiping out what was said by the debaters at the actual Republican Presidential debate with his five minutes of fame on Jay Leno last night. Welcome to the elections run by timing and an audience larger than a boring political debate.

I give Fred the actor prop’s for knowing how the tube works and how the mains stream media works. Fred announced his Republican bid for the Presidency to an audience of ten to twenty million viewers. Over at the debate they were lucky to have seven million viewers. Scales of justice and the main stream media proved out today who really won the debate and he wasn’t even there!

Some folks say that Freddy is a horrible public speaker and some say that he isn’t about the presenting of the idea as much as he is about getting the battle won to make the message law. Others say he could not handle the non stop back stabbing that is our nations gentleman halls of government.

That fact perplexes me? Why did he quit the Senate? Did he or did he not say that nothing could be accomplished in Washington, D.C.?

If I were given the choice of anyone opposing Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barrack Obama, Bill Richardson, Joe Biden or John Edwards then I would definitely cast my ballot for the Democrat over Fred the actor Thompson. Better air time on the networks does not make you fit to lead. It only makes you television savvy.

I was listening to talk radio today and they were pointing out the leaders of the election and I was sickened by the fact that they were declaring certain people the only ones that could win. I’m not saying that Fred Thompson is out of the running but does anyone know what he really stands for? All of the contenders on both sides have spoken and been heard. How can you say that somebody out of the blue might steal the race? You can’t!

This race for President has not even started yet and the people are not paying enough attention to it yet. I’m following it as best I can and even I think it is to early to declare the White House for any party. The people will decide that fact when the votes are counted in 2008.

Leaders of our nation are born through life trials and not by the offices they have served in or held. Our nations Presidency is not decided by the media, it is decided by one vote cast by many people that becomes the office of President.

Papamoka

Bush Colonoscopy Findings

Just a few things that might just show up on President Bush’s Colonoscopy…

The section of the Constitution that clearly defines the wording “Do as you damn well please. Washington was supposed to be a King!”

The secret location that Dick Cheney has been hiding in every time the rest of the nation has been in peril.

All of those old signs that used to be in the back window of cars that said “Baby on Board” that were replaced with "My Son is a Marine".

Dick Cheney’s gold watch from Haliburton along with fifteen other solid gold watches from Haliburton engraved with "We love Dick" since he took office.

Top secret plans to invade New Mexico that had to be scrapped when it was discovered by the CIA that they were actually a State. Nasty notes about Bill Richardson were deemed to confidential to repeat.

Global positioning marking systems to clarify where President Bush ass and his elbow are at all times. The units were found to be defective. Who'd of thunk that?

One set of drapes with Dick Cheney’s initials stitched in over the seal of the President.

450,000 imaginary troops that invaded Iraq and the war was won in under 90 days. “Mission Accomplished”. No banners dictating such were found on the cellular level.

Donald Rumsfeld’s real plan to invade Iraq with just ten troops armed with 450,000 X-Boxes.

368,922 beer bottle caps of a brew only made in Wyoming but with a Washington D.C. five cent deposit return printed on them. This finding was sent to the RNC for further anlaysis.

The missing fifth Dentist in that four out of five Dentist survey.

Last but not least 12 million guest workers luggage that just didn’t make it back home.

All kidding aside, I’m hoping that he will get a clean bill of health. If he has been able to stuff so much bull up our ass I’m sure that his own ass has more than enough room for lots more.

I wish this man no ill will and I hope and pray that our President comes through this procedure with flying colors. Colon Cancer is a serious issue in America and after you reach a certain age you should think about having this procedure done. Prevention of Colon Cancer is only done through the procedure our nations President is going to have done. I hope and pray that he can walk away from the procedure with a clean bill of health.

Papamoka

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Virginia Tech Murders and Massacre

With all the hype from the main stream media they are forgetting the children murdered by this idiot and madman. Probing into why he did what he did is redundant if you splash his picture over and over all over the media. What about the kids that died? What about their damn pictures on NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, MSNBC or FOX? What about them and the future they ultimately had posted and talked about on the networks?

With this latest media hype on the death of these college kids is a substantial critical price in boasting all the unknown facts of their killer. Why the media chooses to make the murderer the headline is beyond me? Nobody should be talking about this monster and hoping to even remotely understand what was in his mind and why he committed this horrible crime against the students of Virginia Tech. The kid was freaking nuts and totally out of control. His desire for attention is so graciously being granted every single time his face is slammed up on the television by all of the major networks.

I don’t even own a hand gun or a rifle so I have no dog to hunt in the argument of gun owners rights. I am however a firm believer in the second amendment to the Constitution. This murderer followed the laws of the land to obtain his fire arms used in this crime. He broke no laws in getting the guns as far as I know and what the main stream media reported. This crime against America is not about gun ownership. If he wanted to get a gun to do this horrific crime then he could have had access to them from a multitude of avenues available across America and in every city that are illegal.

One of my friends stated in deference to what happened that if the rest of the students had fire arms then they probably would have taken him out before he fired his third shot! That is a thought to think about.

The main stream media should let the families of the dead grieve as they will need to do and leave it at that. Stop glorifying the murderer of these poor children of Virginia Tech. If it was attention he wanted then he got it with more than I can stomach from the Main Stream Media!

NBC was lacking clear judgment when they repeatedly aired this monsters rant. Their decision over at NBC to air the video that the monster mailed off to them in-between his killing rampage just shows a total lack of respect for all the innocent lives lost at Virginia Tech.

The following is a list of known victims from The Virginia Tech website...

Virginia Tech – In Memoriam

We Remember

Ross Abdallah Alameddine
James Christopher Bishop
Brian Roy Bluhm
Ryan Christopher Clark
Austin Michelle Cloyd
Jocelyne Couture-Nowak
Kevin P. Granata
Matthew Gregory Gwaltney
Caitlin Millar Hammaren
Jeremy Michael Herbstritt
Emily Jane Hilscher
Jarrett Lee Lane
Matthew Joseph La Porte
Henry J. Lee
Liviu Librescu
Partahi Mamora Halomoan Lumbantoruan
Lauren Ashley McCain
Daniel Patrick O'Neil
J. Ortiz-Ortiz
Minal Hiralal Panchal
Daniel Alejandro Perez
Erin Nicole Peterson
Michael Steven Pohle, Jr.
Julia Kathleen Pryde
Mary Karen Read
Reema Joseph Samaha
Waleed Mohamed Shaalan
Leslie Geraldine Sherman
Maxine Shelly Turner
Nicole White

The preceding victims have been positively identified, and their next of kin notified. Names of all 32 victims will be added as they become available. – Virginia Tech

I am thankful to the Virginia Tech site for not listing the murderer amongst the victims. My thoughts and prayers will be with the many families and friends that lost a loved one at Virginia Tech.

Papamoka

Books on Virginia Tech... My apologies to the families for having to pay the bills...

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Virginia Tech Massacre Hits Home in Mass.

Picture Courtesy of The Boston Herald

My heart and soul are praying for all the parents that have already received the call that their baby was a victim of the madman at Virginia Tech. There is no way to express my sorrow to the many Mothers and Fathers and the rest of the families or friends of the victims for what happened at Virginia Tech.

I’m shocked, disgusted, outraged, and fearful for our nation’s youth. America is no longer that safe haven where apple pies and a Chevrolet are the norm. Sending our sons and daughters away to college is never going to be the same again. What was once a right of passage for a young adult became many parents all across America’s nightmare? I will be praying for all of the families of this devastating event in our nation’s history and praying that it can never happen again.

The Boston Herald has this to say about the Mother in Saugus that lost her son…

Saugus mother mourns son,
By Joe Dwinell, Jessica Van Sack, Laurel J. Sweet, Jessica Heslam/ Dave Wedge, Michael Givens and Anita DavisTuesday, April 17, 2007

The bloodiest shooting rampage in the nation’s history has claimed the life of a promising young Saugus man, a sophomore gunned down in his morning French class at Virginia Tech.

“I just got word he was of the ones killed in the classroom,” said a sobbing Lynnette Alameddine moments after a chaplain called with word that her 20-year-old son, Ross Alameddine, was among the dead. She was too grief-stricken to speak further.

Earlier last night, the tormented Saugus mother was waiting by her phone. She spent hours calling police and hospitals, which she said were unresponsive to her frantic pleas for information. – The Boston Herald

I’ll be thinking of the families over the weeks to come. This is not and should not be a political issue for people to talk about now. Many families have lost so much and for no logical reason.

It would be wise for the mainstream media to not so quickly lay blame and I am just as guilty of it from my previous post. That was my gut reaction and I apologize to anyone offended.

What is your gut reaction to this horrible event?

Papamoka

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