Mind Torque

We faint, you decide

arcblatt — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 06:12:41 +0000

In a society where the relative precedes the absolute, we are the lines of reality and fantasy being blurred. I read today about how people are speculating if Barack Obama is the Messiah. What is most amazing to me is that there are factions within our society that truly believe this. The comparisons to JFK are staggering (just search about this on the web). The fact that there were orders to stop weapons screenings in one of Obama’s rallies should be sending alarms all over the place. Even in this, Obama and JFK can be compared. I believe that this is a design being implemented in front of our eyes. Just look for yourself at how many times people have “fainted” at an Obama rally. We can be easily duped, and Barack Obama’s presidency may be the culmination of many things that are definitely negative for “We the People.”

Equal Opportunity Employment?

arcblatt — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 04:26:36 +0000

As of late, watching the spectacle that is our political process has made me believe that fair employment practices do not apply anymore to our candidates. While some of them are constantly showered by the media’s glaring attention, others seem to be underappreciated or even ignored. Journalism.org is the Project for Excellence in Journalism’s website. Beyond the sordid punditry, this website is effective in keeping the record straight when it comes to journalism. According to Jurkowitz (2007), here are some very disgusting statistics:

Media Exposure by Candidate

	Main Newsmaker	Significant Presence	Total Percent of Campaign Stories
John McCain	25.0%	12.4%	37.4%
Barack Obama (D)	26.6	7.4	34.0
Hillary Clinton (D)	22.1	9.9	32.0
Mitt Romney (R)	11.1	10.2	21.3
Rudy Giulaini (R)	7.9	6.2	14.1
John Edwards (D)	5.5	1.7	7.2
Bill Clinton	2.0	4.0	6.0
Mike Huckabee (R)	1.0	1.0	2.0
Bill Richardson (D)	0	0.2	0.2
Ron Paul (R)	0	0	0
Total Number of Campaign Stories = 597

Top Overall Stories of the Week

Rank	Story	Percent of Newshole
1	2008 Campaign	51%
2	U.S. Economy	7
3	State of the Union	6
4	Kenya Elections and Violence	2
5	Afghanistan	2
6	Events in Iraq	2
7	Super Bowl	2
8	China	1
9	War on Terror	1
10	Pakistan	1

Media Exposure by Party

	% of Campaign Stories	Number of Campaign Stories
Mostly Democrats	46.1%	275
Mostly Republicans	41.9	250
Mix Democrats and Republicans	10.4	62
Other	1.7	10
Total	100.1%	597

For anyone alleging that there is no bias in the media, the aforementioned tables conclusively show the contrary. With this being said, how can we even remotely ensure that we are an equal opportunity employer? After all, aren’t “We the People” seeking to employ a well qualified candidate for the job position of President of the United States? We are not conducting fair interviews and we are not making decisions with all the information that we would truly require to select the best candidate. My perspective on this matter is that if such an interview process would take place in any given corporation, as a manager, we would have found ourselves unemployed and with a lawsuit for discrimination. “We the People” are the employers, but those conducting the interview process are controlling who gets employed.

Our process seems to be at such a low point that we are not even looking at the candidate’s resumes. We are only judging candidates by how “presidential” they look or what they said about a specific issue in a very specific moment. What are their credentials? What can they say about the issues facing this nation? Do they have a plan or are they waiting to get elected to then be told what to do? As a nation, “We the People” have forgotten the value of outrage. It certainly applies to this matter and wherever unfair situations like these occur. Think about it. Your vote is sacred, and it should only be given to support an ideal, not a personality. How do you feel when you go to a job interview? That is exactly how a political candidate should feel. No arrogance and no pretentions. While “We the People” don’t seem to be an equal opportunity employer, the hope must still remain that the nation will wake up and promptly move away from the destruction that disinformation brings.

Reference:

Jurkowitz Mark, (2007). McCain Wins the Coverage Battle as Media Move to Anoint Him. Project for Excellence in Journalism. Retrieved February 6, 2008, from http://www.journalism.org/node/9610

Only the Beginning

arcblatt — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 02:41:16 +0000

It certainly is a pleasure to write to as many people as this webpage can reach. Not only will I use this opportunity to develop articles for future postings, but I will also seek to “stir the pot” when it comes to controversial subjects that affect us as a community. For a very long time, I have observed that the nation is no longer rationalizing things that should be considered in a more careful way. Subjects like religion, politics, science and overall arts have been subjected to the shallow viewpoint of a mere entertainment spectacle. “We the People” have been limited to be clumsy spectators and dumbfounded enablers of a broken down system. At the minimum, this website intends to serve as an outlet of ideas and higher level discussions on matters that should be pertinent to every one of us. I look forward to sharing more insights and ideas in the days ahead. Thank you for your time. This is only the beginning, so please stay tuned.