Week #5, Blog #1

At 10:00pm on 9/30/08 Fox News is covering the congressional bailout negotiations between Democrats and Republicans and the Bush administration. The House of Representatives failed to pass the bill on Monday by a vote of 205-228. The Senate was slated to act following the House is they passed the bill Monday but they did not. House and Senate negotiators have been working throughout Monday evening and Tuesday.

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH) have announced that they will include some business tax provisions and raising the deposit insurance level from $100,000 to $250,000 in an effort to shore up the struggling economy. The only thing that raises doubt on if this proposal will pass the House is that House Democrats want to raise taxes elsewhere. Senate leaders are fairly sure that they have the votes to pass this measure in the Senate but the uncertainty still remains in the House of Representatives.

I think that Fox News is showing that this issue is going to be a big drag on the Federal checkbook. Most media sources are not covering the fact that these mortgages will be sold back and most if not all of the money will be recovered after the market has time to adjust. Fox News is not the only source that is leaving this information out but I think that the American people need to understand that the $700 billion price tag is a large amount of money but the bulk of that money is recoverable.

President Bush is providing leadership on this issue. He made this statement today from the White House and said, "I recognize this is a difficult vote for members of Congress, but the reality is we are in an urgent situation and the consequences will grow worse each day if we do not act."

I believe that Congress needs to get to work and quit stalling and act quickly so that the American economy does not sink further into a recession or even depression for that matter. Our economy is on the cliffs right now and the blame can be laid on the doorstep of the Congress and the President for not acting quickly enough and the media for using "scare tactics" to make the economic situation seem worse and more pressing than it is.

Week #4, Blog #3, Top 5 Issues

This week we have not heard about Sarah Palin as much as we have in recent weeks but Joe Biden has emerged from the background and is certainly giving us something to talk about. He has make two mistakes so far that Obama does not seem to support. He characterized a Democratic ad as "terrible." As well he said that the government should not bail out AIG and Obama said that he should have waited before making that statement, I'm sure to double-check how the boss was going to support or reject the legislation.

Congress has been developing bailout legislation this week for Wall-Street. It appears that the House Republican leader is telling his members to support the bill if their conscious will allow them to do so. The Senate Republicans are not herded as easily as House members but it appears that Budget Committee Ranknig Member Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH) is agreeing to the compromise and between him and Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL) who is the Ranking Member on the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, they are also supporting the final piece of legislation they have negotiated with the Democratic leadership and the President. McCain tried to make a move to appear seriously concerned about the financial crisis but even members of his own party agreed with Democrats that when he brought Presidential politics onto Capital Hill it only hampered and slowed down the progress of a final product.

McCain skipped a vote on a Continuing Resolution to fund the government through March 6, 2009 as to avoid a government shut-down even though he was in Washington when the vote was being held. Democrats are saying that he skipped the vote because it was a lose-lose situation. If he voted for the bill then he would have advocated the numerous earmarks that the bill included that he has long proposed. If he voted against the bill then he would be accused of trying to shut down the federal government at the time of a possible economic recession. Note that Obama also skipped the vote as did Joe Biden.

Top 5 Issues

1. Congress reaches agreement on bailout for Wall-Street.
2. 1st Presidential Debate
3. Biden's mouth earns him admonishment from Obama
4. Senator Ted Stevens trial has started
5. Possible Lame-Duck session for Congress following election

Week #4, Blog $2

The top news story that Fox News is reporting at 11:45 this evening (9/26/08) is that Barack Obama and John McCain debated tonight. These candidates lit each other up on issues dealing with the economy, to the War in Iraq, to earmarks. John McCain noted that Barack Obama has the most liberal voting record in the United States Senate and that it is hard to reach across the aisle when that is your claim to fame. McCain also noted that in his first Senate term Barack Obama has almost sought and received $1 billion worth of earmarks. McCain also noted that Obama did not support the surge of troops into Iraq last year, a policy that obviously worked.

Obama did not take this criticism laying down. He chided McCain on his comment in 2003 that the war was going to be quick and easy. Obama noted that McCain likes to think that the war started in 2007 when the surge was taking place and the fruits of our labor were being seen. McCain voted to authorize the war in 2003 and he was wrong. Obama also said that how can McCain say that he will control spending when he has voted for almost every Bush budget during the last eight years.

The consensus was that leaders on Capital Hill are close to an agreement arranging a financial bailout for Wall-Street. They note that leaders are working together, despite party differences for the good of the American people.

Columnist Charles Krauthammer said the debate probably ended in a “draw,” but that it could help McCain recover from the turmoil of the past two days.
“I’d be surprised if McCain gets a jump in the polls as a result of this,” he said, but “it does end the drama of the McCain week.”

I think that this is an accurate statement (above). McCain and Obama both made good points and this first debate did end in a tie. The American people will have two more chances to pick their candidate before the general election. These candidates have to be careful about what they say in the campaign because they both have a voting record in the United States Senate that the media and the American people can study and investigate. Fox News did cover more of the jabs to Obama from McCain then vice-versa.

Week #4, Blog #1

At 4:00pm on 9/23/08 Fox News is highlighting the fact that Joe Biden has made a second mistake in as many days of his views that don't reflect the news that Barack Obama wants him to portray to voters. The 1st comment which was yesterday dealt with criticizing a campaign ad against John McCain that said that he didn't know how to use a computer and was behind the times. The quote from Biden was, "“I thought that was terrible by the way. I did not know we did it and if I had anything to do with it, we would have never done it.”

The second comment that Obama did not taken a liking to was that the federal government should not bailout AIG and other financial institutions. Obama's response was, "I think … that in that situation, I think Joe should have waited, as well." Biden is turning out to be what we all know about him to be true from his time in the Senate and the Presidential debates in 1988 and 2008, that he says what he wants and does not follow in lock-step with a campaign view that he doesn't agree with. I think that maybe Obama is regretting selecting Biden as him running-mate instead of someone like perhaps, Hillary Clinton.

Fox News is framing this "slip of the tongue" by Joe Biden as an example of the lack of support for Barack Obama's main campaign themes that we are seeing out of Joe Biden. Surely we want to have a President and Vice-President who are on the same page and work well together and march to the same drummer. That is not what we are seeing out of the Democratic campaign at this time. Only time will tell, but I think that Barack Obama will eventually regret picking Senator Joe Biden (D-DE) as his running-mate.

Week #3, Blog #3, Top 5 Issues

This week we have not heard as much about Sarah Palin as we have in the last several weeks since John McCain's announcement of her as his Vice-Presidential running mate. I think that the media has beat this issue into the ground and now that we have new news such as the financial markets failing, then we have a new drum to beat.

Last week we heard a lot about Representative Charles Rangel (D-NY) and his tax evasion. This issue has also seemed to have disappeared.

Obama and McCain are still battling it out for who is the front-runner. Fox News has projected it as still a toss-up with no clear favorite at this point.

The financial markets collapse in this past week has really dominated the news coverage and any political discussion that you have with a teacher, family member, or classmate. When you have a situation like this in the greatest economy in the world you have to think about what this might mean for other countries who are not as lucky as we are to have the resources to bail out these institutions that are the centerpiece to our economy. As we witnessed with the sharp decreases in the stock market early in the week and then the rebounds at the end of the week we see that this action by the federal government seems to be looked at favorably by Wall Street. When we look at this issue we have to understand that this money will be paid back because these bailouts are in the forms of loans. There is no guarantee that the treasury will see any of this money repaid but that is the current intention.

The media has certainly capitalized on the scare tactics opportunities that this issue has presented itself. This is certainly the main issue for the week and will probably remain the top political issue in the weeks heading up the election.

Top 5 Issues

1. Financial Markets/Institutions failing
2. 2nd Stimulus Package vote fails in House
3. Representative Don Young (R-AK) wins Primary
4. Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) is heading to trail
5. Gas prices declining after Hurricane Ike

Week #3, Blog #2

At 6:30pm on 9/19/08 Fox News is heavily reporting that Barack Obama says said that we have been reckless with our federal budget and have increased our debt enormously. Although this is true he plans to add $50 billion to our debt if he is elected President because he plans to endorse and fund a United Nations program to eliminate poverty around the world by 2015. Joe Biden has also endorsed this plan.

In December 2007, Obama authored the Global Poverty Act which some critics say will cost about $845 billion. How in the world can we afford this? I don't see how he is complaining about our debt and how much of it there is but he only wants to add more it seems. I wish that he would quit talking about how much debt there is due to the Iraq War and the War of Terror. There is a massive difference to me between protecting our citizens, our country, and our way of life and eliminating poverty.

Look at this quote which I believe is where accurate. “It goes down a bureaucratic rat-hole, lining the pockets of people who are connected to the power structure, it’s basically a system to redistribute income from middle class people in the United States to rich people in poor countries. It never reaches those people who are living on a dollar a day.”

An Obama campaign spokeswoman said that the United States should give 0.7% of our Gross Domestic Product to developing nations. Does this mean our allies or countries that hate us? The mere possibility of an Obama administration scares me to death...

Week #3, Blog #1

At 10:50pm on 9/16/08 the top issue being discussed by Fox News is the $85 billion bailout of AIG by the federal government. This is an issue that is very important to the broader economy as a whole. AIG is an enormous investment banking company that controls mortgages to individual banks. If this company was to fail then it would send another single to the American people and the world that our economy was faltering. This $85 billion loan is perhaps a very small price to pay for the ramifications if AIG was to go belly-up. I think that the media is using this as a sort of scare tactic. They are showing that in light of Merill Lynch and Lemahn brothers shutting down their operations this week that our financial markets could not take another hit like this.

I think that this is a very good decision by the Federal Reserve to provide this loan. Without it, I think that we would continue to see a sharp decline in the stock market that is very close and resembles what was going on in 1929 when that bubble burst and lead to the Great Depression. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) noted this in a speech on the Senate floor today, that the lesson from 1929 should have kept us away from this road that we find ourselves on today. This speech can be found under Daily Issues of the Congressional Record dated for 9/16/08, under the Senate heading, debating Economic Policy at www.thomas.gov


How would we handle another Great Depression? Would we be able to survive with the modern conveniences that we are used to today? Would we be able to remain competitive within the global economy? Would we be able to fight off the terrorists and remain intact as a free democratic nation? I think that these are questions that we might have to answer at some point but hopefully with the wisdom and guidance of the Federal Reserve, Congress, and the President we can avoid this massive decline in our economic standing through-out the world.

Week #2 Summary of Top 5 Issues

1. 7th anniversary of 9/11/01
2. Congress Charles Rangel (D-NY) evading federal taxes on rental income
3. Sarah Palin (R-AK) dominating media attention compared to Joe Biden (D-DE)
4. Congress shores up Highway Trust Fund with $8 billion from general fund
5. Barack Obama (D-IL) stepping up attacks against John McCain (R-AZ)

Week #2, Blog #3

At 9:25 on the evening of 9/13/08 Fox News is headlining with three main news stories in the political world. This includes: Joe Biden stepping up the pace, Alan Greenspan slamming McCain's tax policy, and Florida's new voter registration law.

First off Sarah Palin has been on the cover of magazines and has been holding massive joint rallies with John McCain since the Republican National Convention has ended. This has put her on the fore-front of the American voters minds as they think about how will they cast their vote in November.

The Obama campaign has realized that Joe Biden is definitely playing fourth fiddle behind Barack Obama, Sarah Palin, and John McCain. The Obama campaign wants him to become more of an attack dog on McCain (whom he calls his friend) and work on courting white working class voters for November. They want him out there to combat the recent jump in the polls that McCain has enjoyed and many people attribute that rise from his selection of Sarah Palin to be his Vice-Presidential running-mate.

I think that this is something that has been developing for the last week or two and certainly is looking like a plus for McCain according to this article because the Obama camp is now running on the offensive since they have been lacking. I think that this is very accurate, the way that Fox News has portrayed this. This is a primary issue that has a conservative bias to it.

Another issue that has surfaced in that former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Alan Greensapan has come out against John McCain's tax policy unless it also contains some spending cuts. Greenspan says that the McCain policy could have a price tag of $3.3 trillion but the McCain camp says that figure is only $600 billion if you consider the renewal of the Bush tax cuts. McCain originally voted against the Bush tax cuts but he says now that he thinks that they should be renewed.

This issue has not really be emphasized by this media source. It doesn't look good for the conservative ticket so they are not pushing this too heavily. I agree that tax cuts must be coupled with spending cuts. I find that most people talk about low taxes and less government waste. McCain is planning on both.

After watching the debacle of the Florida Presidential vote in 2000, the Florida Secretary of State's office has been complying with a new voter registration law which is called "No Match, No Vote." All this means is that when the 400,000 new voters registered this year that meant that they cross checked their driver's licenses and their social security numbers with those respective databases. Out of the 400,000 new voters only about 1,500 had to be double checked. Isn't this a small price to pay to make sure that voters are who they say they are.

I think that this is something that Democrats are too bitter about and Fox News has covered this so that they can ensure that whatever happens in 2008 won't be blamed on a certain state again and that just because Obama loses they won't have anything to complain about. I think this is something that needed to be done after 2000 and many people agree that 2000 unfolded into a mess that should not have happened. Fox News has presented this as an important development.

Week #2, Blog #2

At 12:30 on 9/12/08 Fox News is currently covering the truce between Barack Obama and John McCain on what types of campaign ads they will be using. Barack Obama has not really responded to attacks by the McCain camp as fiercefuly as what the original attacks are. I think that this is just another attempt by Barack Obama to trick the American people into believing that John McCain should not be President. I personally do not care that McCain does not know how to use a computer or send an e-mail. That is not what being the Commander in Chief is about. Staffers can take care of that stuff but when it comes time for the tough decisions John McCain has a much better background than Obama to draw upon. Fox News is playing up this idea of campaign ads and what they should be like. No real spin on this issue.

Another article is that in an interview Alaska Governor Sarah Palin says that she is ready to step into the #1 job at any point if needed once her and McCain win the White House in November. I think that Fox News has decided that this is a very good story to show because they don't want Obama to win in November they would much rather have a McCain-Palin White House. This story is being spun towards the McCain supporters to show that Palin has what it needs and the experience to lead our troops and our country in battle if something were to happen to John McCain.

Joe Biden has also released his personal financial records. They are trying to show that although he has been in the Senate for 36 years he has not earned the amount of money that other members of the Senate has that have been there less time and some that have been there more. I personally don't care what kind of money he and his wife made in 2007, including both of their salaries and book royalties. That does not matter to me. Lets look at the nominee's record, let's argue the facts, and debate the issues. As a country we need to get past these childish issues and look at the real issues that are facing our country. No spin on this article was noted.

Week #2, Blog #1

At 11:20am on 9/11/08 Fox News is of course covering the 7th anniversary of the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks, the Congress Charles Rangel's tax evasion scheme, and Congress' moving money to shore up the Highway Trust Fund.

After 9/11/01 the American people came together in a unique way to show the world that you can harm our citizens, destroy our buildings, but you will never kill the resolve of the American people. Since seven years has past the resolve that we showed immediately after 9/11 has begun to fade. The ideas that were promoted when President Bush addressed Congress shortly after that fateful day are no longer what we are concerned about in this country. The big news is changing daily and although some feel that the passage of time has made 9/11 seem like a distant memory and the people behind it a distant threat, we as Americans must never forget the brave men and women who lost their lives that day while conducting America's business. Not only the citizens on those planes but the fire fighters, policemen, and first responders who put their own safety on the back-burner so that they could save others, we should never forget. Fox News has portrayed this as President Bush, Donald Rumsfield, Robert Gates, Dick Cheney, and mostly a Republican Congress worked immediately to secure our borders, our homeland, and our citizens.

This issue has been placed not just on the back-burner but off the stove entirely. We do not think about this issue as one of the biggest issues that we face as a country today. We are looking at the economy, energy, health care, and education. Terrorism is no longer as important as it was in the 2004 election or even the 2002 mid-term Congressional elections. Due to the fact that today is the 7th anniversary that is why this is a front line issue in today's news.

Another major news item is that Congressmen Charles Rangel (D-NY) did not pay federal income tax on the money that he received from renting property. Fox News has shown clips of the House Republican leader urging him to resign his chairmanship of the House Ways and Means Committee which is responsible for writing tax law and oversight of the IRS. The Republican leadership has issued a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi saying that you can not have someone under investigation by the same people that as a chairmen of a standing committee of Congress he is entitled to conduct oversight upon. This issue has been unfolding for several days and last night Congressmen Rangel and Congress Boehnar exchanged words on the House floor over this issue. Rangel insists that he has down nothing wrong but I believe that he should resign his chairmanship at least while the House Ethics Committee looks into this issue and makes a judgement on whether he has violated any House Ethics rules. Fox News is covering this item often because Rangel is a big figurehead for Democrats and this is a scandal.

Another issue that is in the news is that the Highway Trust Fund is broke and needs $8 billion in order for current projects that are underway in all 50 states to continue and not be shut down which means a loss of thousands upon thousands of construction jobs nationwide. Fox News is promoting that the Senate Republicans want to help this fund but they just want a way to pay for it instead of taking it out of the general fund/general revenue stream. They argue that they whole point of this trust fund is to pay for highway construction through gasoline taxes so that money does not have to come out of the general fund which can be used on discretionary spending. The media is portraying this as another example of Republicans watching what we spend and Democrats just throwing more money at the problem. This issue has just been briefly mentioned and is not forefront because if you polled Americans I am sure that this is something that they have little background knowledge about.

Week #1, Blog #3

At the late hour of 11:00pm on 9/7/08 Fox News is currently running a special on the life of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. Greta Van Susteren is certainly making the case as to why Sarah Palin will make a wonderful Vice-President serving alongside John McCain. She is showcasing her life as a mother and how she came to grow up with the Alaskan values of integrity and hard work. While airing this they also showed Barack Obama blasting her for talking about federal earmarks and how she told the federal government "thanks but no thanks" for the infamous Bridge to Nowhere. Obama is trying to spin this that she has requested an enormous amount of outrageous earmarks while she has been a mayor and a Governor. I think that the record is clear that Congress does maintain the power of the pursue and they can appropriate money as they see fit in their home states and districts. These projects should be well deserved and in reality tenure in Congress is how these projects are often rewarded. Alaska currently has the most senior republican member of the United States Senate on its team and the 8th most senior member of the 435 member House of Representatives. That is pretty good. When you look at the earmarks that Palin has been directly involved in, the total is not many. Obama on the other hand has requested a total of almost a billion dollars worth in just three years. I think that most taxpayers would say that he needs to put his foot in his mouth and call it a day.

Another issue that is prominent in this evenings news is that a new Gallup poll shows John McCain is leading Barack Obama for the first time by a 3 point margin. This is the first time that McCain has hit a 48%-45% margin since May and the first time that he has garnered a 48% lead. I think that since the Republican National Convention just ended I am sure that he is taking some momentum from that but I hope that the American people are starting to see that Barack Obama really is not the "change" that America needs, he is just more hot air and wants to throw more money at the problem instead of reforming the system so that it works better in a global economy. I believe that a lot of this comes from the running mate that he has chosen and how well she has performed thus far. I don't think that he could have chosen a better Vice-Presidential nominee because he needed someone that could support his maverick, reform type style and change Washington instead of just joining the game with the typical Washington type establishment.

Less than two months to election day...

Week #1, Blog #2

At 10:00pm on 9/6/08 Fox News is reporting heavily on Senator Barack Obama's statement that the McCain-Palin ticket is really not offering any change because McCain has been in Washington too long and Governor Sarah Palin does not have enough experience to know how to run the government. I don't see how Obama can say this when his running mate, Senator Joe Biden, has been in the Senate more than a decade longer than Senator McCain has. However, Obama says that Biden has not been changed by Washington and he can change Washington. How in the world can you say that just because he goes home everynight by train means that Washington hasn't changed him any? Not every Senator has that ability because their home state may be on the West Coast or Hawaii or Alaksa. I think that this is a poorly planned defense on behalf of the Obama campaign. I have heard others make this same arguement that I am because it is common sense. This media source has figured out that the Obama campaign is not contrasting ideas but instead throwing political motivated attacks across the asile while failing to do anything for the American people. This is certainly something that Fox News has reported on several times because it just goes to show that the Democratic campaign has nothing more to offer the American people than retoric... and then some more retoric.

Another issue that the media has focused on heavily is the probe into the role that Governor Sarah Palin played in trying to get her ex-brother-in-law fired from the Alaska State Troopers. This has been downplayed by this source because it is something that is just an allegation that probably does not have any real "teeth" and this is just another attemp to try to make this wonderful Vice-Presidential candidate look "to good to be true." Governor Palin has been a reformer and taken on the political establishment in Alaska. When someone is a maverick and goes after the "good ole boys" then yes someone is going to try to smear your name because that just goes to show that someone has been doing something. Usually when someones feathers gets ruffled then you know that government has accomplished at least something. Governor Palin is an excellent choice for Vice-President and I think that she will embody what our founding fathers envisioned when they wrote, "... we will govern by the consent of those we will govern." Governor Palin is a uniter and someone who will do great things for our country. I think that this media source has covered this story intensly also because it has many flaws that play into favor for the McCain-Palin ticket.

Week #1, Blog #1

At 12:30pm on 9/4/08 Fox News is extensively covering Governor Sarah Palin's address last night to the Republican National Convention. They are promoting her as someone who is going to be wonderful for our country and that she is a maverick and a reformer just like Senator John McCain. I agree with Fox News on this point that Sarah Palin will be a wonderful Vice-President of the United States. We need someone who is not all about Washington and someone that has executive experience.

In the last several days after disclosing that her teenage daughter is pregnant she has underwent tremendous criticism for her role as a mother. Fox News showed a clip of a member of Congress saying, "If she can not run her family then how can she run an entire country?" I feel that this is a inaccurate statement and one that should not have been made. Parents do not always have power over what their children do so you can not hold them entirely responsible for stupid mistakes.

My family does keep up to date with politics and since I talked to my parents this morning about her address last night they also agree that she did a very good job of laying down the issues and how she plans to attack them in January. I think that we agreed on this point because as children we often hold the same political beliefs as our parents. However; when I listened to other people talk about the election they make comments that Barack Obama picked Joe Biden so that he could bring some experience to the ticket. John McCain however picked Sarah Palin because she believes in the same causes as he does and has a proven track record of reform while mayor and Governor.

Other issues that Fox News is covering is Hurricane season. I heard Congressmen John Spratt (D-SC), House Budget Committee Chairman say that since the hurricane was going to hit at the beginning of the Republican National Convention that meant that God wanted the Democrats to win the election. This comment was totally out of touch with mainstream Americans and Fox News portrayed this while covering the interview with Representative John Spratt (D-SC).

Another issue that Fox News has breaking news of is that the Mayor of Detroit will resign after pleading guilty to sexual misconduct charges and pleaded no contest to assaulting a police officer. Fox News has noted that this issue has plagued the city for months and has cast a shadow over the city government. I have seen this story from time to time over the last several months and I believe that the mayor should have resigned immediately. If we are a public official and are under investigation for multiple charges then if you know that you are guilty you should have the decency to resign and let the people who you were elected to represent move on with a different leader.

The more important issue on the news this morning was how Governor Sarah Palin's address went over with the American people last night. Fox News is also having a field day with Congressmen John Spratt's statement about God showing the American people who he wanted to win the election by having a hurricane strike the Gulf of Mexico at the beginning of the Republican National Convention. The Mayor of Detroit resigning is another story that the media has jumped on. All three of these issues have dominated the news this morning/afternoon and Fox News is covering these issues most frequently.

Fox News Background

Fox News was launched on October 7, 1996 to 17 million cable subscribers. Throughout the late 1990's its audience share grew and in January 2005, it was predicted that 85 million households watched the news program. It is headquarted in New York City, New York and has several prominent slogans such as "We Report. You Decide"; "Fair and Balanced"; "The Most Powerful Name in News."

Critics believe that Fox News has a conservative spin on its reporting. It boosts television, radio, and online outlets to " spread the word to the people." Fox News not only broadcasts to American citizens it also contains an international audience.

Fox News has personalities such as Bill O'Reily, Sean Hannity, Alan Colmes, Greta Vann Susteren, Shepard Smith, and Brit Hume. With the help of the previously mentioned hosts Fox News leads the cable news market in the United States when looking at regular viewership. They average over 3.3 million viewers daily. During the 2004 Republican National Convention they had 7.3 million viewers nationally when President George W. Bush spoke.