Pledge to stop negative ads...I don't think so!

With only about a week till election day, California Governor candidates, Meg Whitman and Jerry Brown, sat down to an interview with Matt Lauer. Current Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, was also there. He has not really endorsed either candidate yet, but is probably going for Meg Whitman since they are both Republicans. They sat down for a little chat about who they were, what they stood for, etc... Towards the end of the interview, Matt Lauer asked if they could stop the negative ads and focus more on the positive ones. Both candidates kinda laughed it off and said they would kind of, sort of stop. However, Matt Lauer asked them to shake on it. That is when Arnold came in and said that there was probably someone freaking out backstage about the issue and they could not commit to something in front of an audience. 

This just goes to show what we have been talking about in class. Negative ads is something we are pretty much never going to get rid of in the world of politics. They are the ones candidates rely on to slam the opposite candidate. We have said that positive ads don't really do much good at the end of the race. Voting is just days away and candidates are desperate to get their messages out there. For the uneducated masses, negative ads really can sway people's vote. It's unfortunate, but how can candidates be expected to not do them? What do you guys think?

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/27/us/politics/27calif.html?ref=politics

Oh Sharron Angle, must you keep talking?

I think many have run across the above ad from Sharron Angle. The series of ads has been deemed controversial by many Hispanic and Republican groups because they stereotype Mexicans as the only undocumented worker group. It was also stereotyping the typical immigrant as if there were not 20+ countries below Mexico. There have been many arguments that this ad was just plain biased and trying to scare the typical uneducated voter about this issue. Yesterday, she spoke to Latino students at a high school and answered questions about this supposed bias. In the video below, she said that she didn't know what a illegal immigrant looked like. "She said that quite frankly some of them (Hispanics) looked Asian.



I can see why many Republican groups are not supporting her statements. She clearly does not have a mouth-filter. Next thing she's going to say is "you all look alike". I mean really! She was trying to make a point that we are all in a melting pot, blah, blah, blah. I really don't think this is a good way to get support from the largest minority group in the country. The use of this type of propaganda can certainly sway some voters, but completely alienate others. Especially when followed up with these types of comments. Many Hispanic people have already said that the Republican party are creating the perfect formula to alienate Latinos for a long time. She could have just admitted to creating a biased ad, instead of sticking her foot further up her mouth. This whole thing is just ridiculous. This woman is ridiculous.

Justice Done for Luis Ramirez

In July 2009, the two men above, Derrick M. Donchak and Brandon J. Piekarsky, along with two others, did one of the most horrible things a human being can do. They murdered Luis Ramirez by beating him to death. They kicked Ramirez in the head repeatedly after being down. When they accomplished their task, they tried to cover up the crime. When they were caught, the two men said it was a drunken fight fueled by testosterone and alcohol. A state court acquitted them of the charges. Today, Luis Ramirez finally got justice because these two horrible individuals were found guilty (by an all white jury). The judge denied bail and they could face up to life in prison. 

Well, Mr. Donchak and Mr. Piekarsky, I am thrilled that you both got what you deserved, but that is not going to bring back Mr. Ramirez. The hate crime these "men" committed was fueled by anti-immigrant sentiment because they did not want him living in their neighborhood. Mr. Ramirez left behind a wife and two daughters. They are now fatherless because of the anti-immigrant sentiment that is spreading like wild-fire across the country. Regardless of what one believes when it come to immigration, murder is murder and NO human being has the right to take it away from another. The mother of Mr. Donchak cried and said" Don't worry, we will appeal".  Yeah, okay. Let's go ahead and appeal this monstrosity.  

This is how they left him before he died two days later:

Even our Georgia State Representative, John Yates, advocates a "Shoot to Kill" policy on the border so that immigrants won't come here anymore because they won't want to risk their lives. Sure, let's go around killing people. I wonder why people are taking matters into their own hands like the above situation. Hmmm, wait I know. If people continue to believe these types of things, then there will be a lot more people being beat to death due to intolerance and hate. People need to wake up and see that immigration and being HUMAN are two different things that cannot be mixed together. All I know is that all these hate crimes against all kinds of people (gays, immigrants) are getting out of hand and people need to wake up. 

http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/10/14/pennsylvania.hate.crime/index.html?hpt=T1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5oXVu5VfA8

Losing the Votes

The New York candidate for governor, Carl Paladino, criticized his opponent, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, for walking during the gay pride parade. He also did it in response to the arrest of 8 men in a gay hate crime. He said that we should not be teaching our children that homosexuality is the right way to go. He said we should promote getting married and having kids as the successful thing to do. He also mentioned that we should not be setting this example on our kids and schools. Well, Mr. Paladino this is exactly why kids are hanging themselves all over the country. We are teaching our kids and future generations to be accepting of gays so that hate crimes and bullying stop. I guess that gay people can't be successful, get married, or have kids? It's not okay to be spreading these types of messages to young people. The message should be of acceptance and love. He should not be criticizing his opponent either because he wants everyone to be equal. Plus, is it ever a good to isolate a specific group and risk losing their votes? With what we have learned of the mass media and their power, I think this story can certainly steer gay voters from voting for him in the gubernatorial election. 

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/10/10/new.york.paladino.gays/index.html?hpt=T2

Obama Clinton 2012 Ticket?

Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward states that the Obama Clinton 2012 ticket is a strong possibility and it "on the table."He makes a good point that Obama will need the Latino, women, and elderly support that Clinton had during her campaign for the presidency in 2008. So does that mean Joe Biden is out? I mean if it a possibility I can see why they would go for it. If Obama wants to be reelected, he will definitely need all the extra support. He mentioned that this would definitely lead into the 2016 elections where Clinton might possibly run again for the Presidency. He states that people around the world react to her as not just the secretary of state, but also as a possible president one day. What do you guys think of the likelihood of all these things being true?

Ellen speaks out!

A few days ago,  Tyler Clementi committed suicide by jumping off by the George Washington Bridge. He did it because his roommate posted a video of him having a sexual encounter with a man. After finding out, Tyler killed himself. Now, I don't want to talk about this issue, but I wanted to bring it up because his death has prompted a lot of outrage and concern for bullying not to mention discrimination.
In the video above, Ellen Degeneres spoke out against bullying and even gave a message to troubled teens about where they can get help. This is a prime example of someone like Ellen can use her media power, i.e show, and her image as a celebrity for good. She said she was heart broken over this and expressed deep concern for gay teens now who feel like death is the only way out of bullying. Bullying is a serious problem in the U.S and many people do not care about it enough until their kid jumps of a bridge or hangs themselves. I wish this was the kind of commentary news stations had when they are discussing his story. The ignorance of people is fueled even more by our own laws i.e Prop 8.....how can we expect children to be more open to everyone when many of our government laws discriminate against gays? I just had to post this because I thought it was great of ellen to bring attention to the issue from another light.