Veterans Day

Today is Veterans Day, and following Tuesday's Assembly we pause to honor the Vets. Check out the documentary below on the wonderful all-volunteer effort of Honor Flight Chicago, a mission to get living World War II Vets, members of the "Greatest Generation," to Washington, D.C. to see the World War II Memorial. From Census figures, the U.S, Veterans Administration estimates about 1,000 U.S. World War II veterans die every day.

Parades, memorials, flags, lapel pins and bands are important and appropriate to honor veterans. But what about policy? Linked below is a legislative update drafted by Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA). The grassroots interest group is tracking some bad 2010 New Veterans’ Unemployment On Track to Be Worse than 2009 and1 Suicide Every 36 Hours and some good One Big Step Forward, But Backlog Remains Staggeringly High Also notice, not much being talked about the repealing of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

For More: //iava.org/



Also to re-watch the WVHS Veterans Day Assembly ~ Nov. 9, 2010
Click Here

Blog any of your thoughts on Veterans Day, Veterans Policies or school patriotism here. Enjoy your day, and think about those who have served our country.












WVHS Veterans Day Assembly ~ Nov. 9, 2010
Click Here

Obama Backs U.N. Security Council Seat For India

President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama participate Monday in a wreath-laying ceremony at Raj Ghat, the memorial to independence leader Mahatma Gandhi, in New Delhi on November 8, 2010.

Was this big breaking international news? Is the UN Security Council still relevant? And does India deserve a seat at the table? Interesting to view the contrasting different opinions in the Youdia comment modes of the same story on NPR vs. Yahoo News. Guess which is more supportive of the President's endorsement and of India itself.
__________

(From NPR)

President Obama on Monday endorsed India's bid for a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council, saying in a speech in New Delhi that the U.S. and the South Asian nation have one of the "defining partnerships" of the 21st century.

The president's backing for the U.N. seat came in a speech to India's parliament on the third and final day of his visit.

"The just and sustainable international order that America seeks includes a United Nations that is efficient, effective, credible and legitimate," Obama told members of parliament.

"That is why I can say today - in the years ahead, I look forward to a reformed U.N. Security Council that includes India as a permanent member," he said to loud applause inside the colonnaded sandstone structure dating from the days of British rule in India.

But none of the five permanent members –- the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia and China -– is in any hurry to relinquish their veto-wielding seat on the Security Council, so as a practical matter, India would need to wait for a possible expansion of the council, which could take years to bring about.

//www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=131155914

The Redistricting Game: A way to keep a broken system from being 'fixed?'

Even though it comes at the end of our unit on Congress, here is a way for you to continue your education, win or lose, on the world of Congressional gerrymandering. Check it out and if any of you have any good ideas on how I might implement this in class, let me know.

The Redistricting Game is designed to educate, engage, and empower citizens around the issue of political redistricting. Currently, the political system in most states allows the state legislators themselves to draw the lines. This system is subject to a wide range of abuses and manipulations that encourage incumbents to draw districts which protect their seats rather than risk an open contest.

By exploring how the system works, as well as how open it is to abuse, The Redistricting Game allows players to experience the realities of one of the most important (yet least understood) aspects of our political system. The game provides a basic introduction to the redistricting system, allows players to explore the ways in which abuses can undermine the system, and provides info about reform initiatives - including a playable version of the Tanner Reform bill to demonstrate the ways that the system might be made more consistent with tenets of good governance. Beyond playing the game, the web site for The Redistricting Game provides a wealth of information about redistricting in every state as well as providing hands-on opportunities for civic engagement and political action.

The Redistricting Game was created at the USC Game Innovation Lab - part of the USC School of Cinematic Arts', Interactive Media Division.

Play the game here: http://www.redistrictinggame.org/index.php

"The Worst Person in the World?"

As most all of you scholars recognized during our Mass Media Analysis, the distinctions between news and political organizations continue to be blurred.

The debate continued last week, when MSNBC host Keith Olbermann was been placed on indefinite suspension without pay in the wake of a Politico report (11/5/10) that revealed Olbermann had donated $7,200 to three Democratic candidates, in violation of NBC's standards barring employees from making political contributions.

The Christian Science Montitor reports that Olbermann will be back on the air Tuesday, after a two program suspension for contributing to Democratic candidates during the 2010 election in violation of NBC News policy.

But the debate over what standards should apply to cable personalities who cover politics is likely to continue as the distinction between news and political organizations continues to blur.
“Neither Fox nor MSNBC is really a news organization, at least not in the traditional sense,” American Journalism Review editor Rem Rieder wrote Friday on his blog. “They preach to the converted, they fire up the base.”

As Mr. Rieder noted, “The situation is dicier in MSNBC’s case because of its relationship with NBC News, which remains in the news business.”

The suspension, which took effect Friday, triggered a sizable protest from Mr. Olbermann’s audience, MSNBC’s largest. An online petition calling for his return, organized by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, had gathered more than 300,000 signatures by Sunday, the Associated Press reported.

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Election-2010/Vox-News/2010/1108/Debate-on-politics-and-news-doesn-t-end-with-Olbermann-s-suspension

FAIR (Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting) reported on other blurred media/political contributions:

A journalist donating money to a political candidate raises obvious conflict of interest questions; at a minimum, such contributions should be disclosed on air. But if supporting politicians with money is a threat to journalistic independence, what are the standards for Olbermann's bosses at NBC, and at NBC's parent company General Electric?

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, GE made over $2 million in political contributions in the 2010 election cycle (most coming from the company's political action committee). The top recipient was Republican Senate candidate Rob Portman from Ohio. The company has also spent $32 million on lobbying this year, and contributed over $1 million to the successful "No on 24" campaign against a California ballot initiative aimed at eliminating tax loopholes for major corporations (New York Times, 11/1/10).

Comcast, the cable company currently looking to buy NBC, has dramatically increased its political giving, much of it to lawmakers who support the proposed merger (Bloomberg, 10/19/10). And while Fox News parent News Corp's $1 million donation to the Republican Governors Association caused a stir, GE had "given $245,000 to the Democratic governors and $205,000 to the Republican governors since last year," reported the Washington Post (8/18/10).

Olbermann's donations are in some ways comparable to fellow MSNBC host Joe Scarborough's $4,200 contribution to Republican candidate Derrick Kitts in 2006 (MSNBC.com, 7/15/07). When that was uncovered, though, NBC dismissed this as a problem, since Scarborough "hosts an opinion program and is not a news reporter." Olbermann, of course, is also an opinion journalist--but MSNBC seems to hold him to a different standard.

So what do you think? Is Olbermann a journalist? If yes/no should he be able to give to a political candidate. And finally, is the media liberal, or conservative? I guess we need to used the Watergate press catch phrase and just, "Follow the Money."

Quite a show at Naperville commission meeting

(From Naperville SUN)

Naperville Mayor and Liquor Commissioner A. George Pradel made no decision on the future of Show-Me’s on Thursday afternoon.

He and the rest of the liquor commission did, however, hear the concerns of residents from nearby neighborhoods of the restaurant and bar proposed for 1126 E. Ogden Ave.

Fifteen residents addressed the liquor commission, and another handful of letters from residents who could not attend were read opposing the issuance of a liquor license to the establishment.

“Must Naperville reinforce the idea that women are nothing more than sex objects?” said resident Jeanette Steiner.

Show-Me’s Girls — servers in short-shorts and tank tops — and the clientele they are likely to attract were an underlying current.

Most of the residents spoke in an effort to persuade the mayor against issuing the liquor license, but a small number simply encouraged restrictions to keep events at the restaurant and sports bar from getting out of hand.

“This is not a strip joint. It’s not a topless bar. It’s not where the patrons are all perverted and drive home drunk,” said resident Jon Burk, who advocated for restrictions against a beer garden, but otherwise welcomed the restaurant for the jobs and tax revenue it would bring.

Full Article at:

http://napervillesun.suntimes.com/news/2197792-418/liquor-restaurant-commission-pradel-residents.html

Do not forget, you need to cover one local governmental meeting this semester, and the Naperville Liquor Commission counts. Though, many of the meetings are not as interesting as this classic controversy.

How should Naperville govern, while trying to balance the Rights of Society (Naperville residents voicing their protest) v. the Right of the Individual (petitioner, who wants the permit to put their establishment on Ogden Avenue)?

What do you say? What do your parents say? Remember, in the Good Old Days not so long ago, Naperville was rated as the Best Place to Raise Children in the nation.

Another Biggert Victory

This site allows allows you to type in a member of Congress and see how many bills he/she has introduced, how many earmarks he/she have asked for and received. The site does not give its definition of earmarks, nor tell if the bills are for one's entire career (I suspect it is), but nonetheless, it is an interesting starting point.

Judy Biggert (R) our representative from the 13th District has just two bills to her credit. She was first elected in 1998. She won re-election Tuesday to a seventh term with 64% of the vote.

But she has given a big shout out to WVHS. I found the above video on the Warrior's Back-to-Back State Champion Women's Soccer Team Website. A couple of summers ago U.S. Rep. Judy Biggert gives her one-minute shout out to the Tribe. While we make fun of these "One-minute resolutions" legislatures use them to make constituents feel happy and proud. I did when I saw it.

http://www.c-spanvideo.org/videoLibrary/clip.php?appid=595320026

From my SoapBox, This just makes sense

Tell Senate Democrats: End the seniority system for committee chairs

This was posted by the CREDO Action progressive blog. Note the difference in current Senate rules for leadership (Committee Chairs).

At the beginning of the next Congress, Democrats need to be more like Republicans--at least in one specific way.

The Republican Party term limits its committee chairs in Congress, whereas Democrats award chairmanships based on seniority.

No wonder that Democrats are stuck with Senator Max Baucus as Chair of the pivotal Finance Committee and Joe Lieberman as Chair of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (to name two infuriating obstructionists).

The health care reform process shows why the seniority system is problematic and how it gives power to senators who are unaccountable to the rest of their caucus.

Baucus has been in the Senate since 1978, representing a state with a tiny share of the U.S. population. Not surprisingly, the drug and insurance industries are huge contributors.

And the result? Sen. Baucus, used his chairmanship to put the brakes on health care reform, with all sorts of nasty consequences.

And of course Joe Lieberman is notorious for grandstanding and using his position to undermine the rest of the Democratic caucus. He single-handedly blocked a Medicare buy-in provision in the health reform bill after agreeing to it in private negotiations with Majority Leader Harry Reid.

And Lieberman was able to do so with impunity because he doesn't need to worry about what the members of the Democratic caucus think about him. If his coveted position were subject to a secret vote, he'd have some motivation to avoid overtly antagonizing the Democrats.

Some members of the Democratic caucus have reportedly discussed putting chairmanships to a secret ballot vote every two years--that is to say, every two years, all the Democrats of the Senate would get to vote on whether committee chairs get to keep their seats. We think this is an excellent idea.

To sign their petition go to:

http://act.credoaction.com/campaign/end_seniority_system/