TV Political Talk On 'Hardball'

This afternoon I switched on “Hardball” on MSNBC to catch up on some of the political happenings of the day. Joining the shows host, Chris Matthews, was Pat Buchanan who has become a regular commentator, once again, on MSNBC. There was also another lady on the show which I didn’t know and can’t recall her name at this time. The discussion today was based around President Bush’s public approval slide. Chris and Pat both blame all the problems in the Bush administration on the War in Iraq. While I believe the war is hurting President Bush, the real answer to the President’s problems are much deeper than a conflict which could turn into a civil war, unless the elected parties there form a government, soon.

While watching this debate today, I couldn’t help but think about why blogging has become so popular around the world. The major news media, including cable news programs, always try and make everything to do with politics so simplistic and easy. If politics were that easy, almost everyone that gets involved in them would be successful. Pat Buchanan was talking about how good the US economy is right now and he referred to the recent run up in the stock market. The truth is that the current US economy is good for big business people, but for the average working class family, events in the US and around the world are scaring them to death.

Yes, new jobs are being created in the US economy at a rapid pace, but these jobs are not the kind which pay well or offer good benefit packages. Those types of jobs are quickly leaving the US mainland and heading for places like India and China. The US economy is going great for those who own businesses or stock in companies, which are benefiting from the rush to globalization. What Pat Buchanan and Chris Matthews are missing here is the “fear factor” that millions of Americans are feeling right now. Especially, if they have a job that is considered mid-management professional or blue collar. There are millions of these people that see layoffs in the tens of thousands at GM and Ford and wonder how the US economy can be considered growing and expanding with this kind of bad news.

I believe the US economy is in a full-fledged sprint right now towards losing the middle class, which has enjoyed success in this country since it’s founding. The rich are getting richer, but in reality the poor are not getting poorer, yet. Their numbers are just increasing at a greater rate because the jobs which are being created after this globalization tread are paying much less than the jobs which they filled before. Most Americans want to work and will accept positions, which pay less and offer fewer benefits. This work ethic also causes the economy to appear better than it really is because most people will accept a lower paying job rather than going on welfare or standing in some unemployment line.

Millions of Americans are now relying on other sources of news and information rather than just trusting their local newspapers, one of the major broadcast networks or cable news shows like “Hardball”. What’s going on in the US economy isn’t simple and it’s getting kind of old listening to these Washington insiders who think they can find an answer to complex questions in a one hour cable news show each day. Sure there are simplistic people who watch these shows and believe they can solve the world’s problems with a few slight changes to public policy. The good news is that more and more Americans are starting to look deeper into these problems than just following the same old political rhetoric, which is funneled out by politicians and cable news shows each day.

The world is a complex place and simple solutions don’t exist or they would have already been implemented into public policy. Just remember that just because a bunch of jobs were created or the stock market is hitting new highs, doesn’t mean that the average American is benefiting from this good news.

Durham North Carolina DA - Duke Discrimination

I’ve been watching with interest the happenings at Duke University the past couple of weeks and the criminal charges against some of their students include rape. So far, I’ve come to the conclusion that either the alleged victim is a liar or the Duke students who are accused have the best legal representation in the world. Whether these charges are eventually proven or not, I believe the Durham NC District Attorney is mainly grandstanding right now to assure his victory in an upcoming election. This part of the story is disgusting to watch, but it goes on all the time in the US.

This whole debate about these Duke students allegedly raping this young woman is leading to other discussions, which need to take place. The biggest being “rape shield” laws that are common place in most of the 50 US states. These laws protect the identity of the accuser, but do nothing to protect the person being accused of a crime. To me, this is a double standard in our criminal justice system. If one party is protected from public scrutiny, then both should be shielded from media attention.

When these laws were first put into place, years ago; their main purpose was to encourage more women to report rape. However, the world has changed a great deal since these “rape shield” laws were first passed. Today, the sigma of being a rapist is just as great as being the alleged victim. Even if these Duke students are eventually found “not guilty” of this crime, the stigma of being charged with rape will follow them forever. It’s only fair that if one party involved in a criminal prosecution is protected from public identification, that all parties in the same case should be shielded, as well.

There have been experts on television the past couple of days who have said that the identities of these young boys don’t need to be shielded because they are already protected by the criminal justice system. Under the US system all suspects are considered “innocent until proven guilty”. That might be true in a literal since, but in reality most people are convicted in the court of public opinion long before they ever enter a courtroom. Also, any good criminal defense attorney knows that the only, for sure, way to get their client found “not guilty” is to prove they are innocent beyond any reasonable doubt.

If these charges are eventually dropped, most members of the news media will continue to shield this woman from public scrutiny. However, the names and faces of the people she accused will remain in the public domain forever. This double standard in our criminal justice system must be debated and some kind of solution found where both parties are protected from public exposure, at least, until the case is ultimately decided in a court of law.

Mumps Cases Spreading In Illinois School

When I was a kid, I remember those dreaded mumps that would pop up occasionally and make kids in my small Texas Panhandle school sick. It’s been years since I’ve heard much about this disease, but “mumps” are back and most of these new cases seem to have started in the state of Iowa. This latest outbreak has quickly spread to other states and is expected to get worse over the next three to four weeks. So far, about 1000 people have become sick with “mumps”.

Yesterday, an Illinois school who was hosting a track meet became afraid some of the Iowa students, which were participating, might infect other athletes at the track meet so they sent the Iowa track and field team back home. “Mumps” are a virus that is spread through coming into contact with infected people. When a person with the “mumps” coughs they spread this virus to other people in their general area.

There is a “mumps” vaccine available for those who have yet to be infected. The US federal government has rushed 25,000 doses of this vaccine to the effected states, all of which are in the Midwestern part of the country. Most of the people infected with “mumps”, so far, have been young and while no one wants to see children become ill. In a way, this is good news because younger people are better equipped to survive this disease than their older counterparts.

The symptoms of “mumps” are a high fever, feeling weak and tired and sever headaches. With time the bodies own immune system will win the battle with “mumps”, but this process could take as long as ten days to two weeks. This latest outbreak of “mumps” is a big concern to national health officials because in an average year, only 250 to 300 cases of “mumps” are seen in the entire United States. So far, over one thousands cases have been reported in only a few weeks time in this Midwest outbreak alone.

The states effected with cases of “mumps” so far include Iowa, Minnesota, Kansas, Illinois, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Missouri and Oklahoma. The problem with any outbreak of a contagious disease in the world today is the ease at which people travel from city to city and state to state. This disease travels with them wherever they go and the virus finds a new home in unsuspecting people along the way. A small number of people get infected with “mumps” and show no outward symptoms of the illness. However, they may still spread this disease to others which will become sick with the disease.

The advice of US health officials is to get vaccinated against the “mumps” if you live in one of the effected states. However, if you are already infected with this strain of "mumps", the vaccine won’t do you any good. It takes several weeks for the vaccine to build up to a point where the body recognized it and learns how to defeat the disease through a person’s own immune system. If you’re already feeling sick, see your doctor immediately for treatment. Most people survive “mumps”, so there is no need to panic. More than likely your doctor will recommend you stay in bed and treat the symptoms of the disease for a couple of weeks.