Song Day

I thought that music appreciation day was very interesting because we might not know anything about the people in our class but it made me realize how much one song cold change he way I think about a person and how much one song could mean to someone. The song that I enjoyed the most during the presentations was the song about the WWII Japanese prisoners because I felt like it was the most touching. 

Steve Jackson's visit

When Steve Jackson visited our class and gave us a lecture on truth it was interesting. It was interesting to see someone else’s point of view on truth and what truth really is. I really enjoyed it because he seemed like he knew a lot about the issue. 

Pope's visit

The coverage of the Pope’s visit was relatively good. There were many articles from different sources that helped show different points of view on issues that he had. Even though people may not be catholic the pope’s visit was beneficial in the understanding of other people.  

Extra credit PR graduate

I went and saw the panel of central graduates and I thought that it was very insightful. They talked a lot about resumes and what to put on them. They also talked about what employers are looking for when they look for new employees. I also learned that you don't necessarily have to do what your major was. 

NYT Editorial torture

This article was very insightful to me because even though it was bias it agreed with my opinions of Mr. Bush, as the author would say. He spoke a lot about wire the bad decisions that he made as well as adding in his illegal operations such as wire tapping.

Culture

Culture is a common value and group norm system, to which all members of a society agree with and abide by. It is how everyone relates to each other in different cultures with food, traditions, religion, etc.

T.V.

From CNN: New campaign finance reports show Barack Obama entered April with $51 million in the bank to mount his campaign for the White House.

From CNN: President Bush met with South Korean president to talk about nuclear weapons program.

From CNN: John McCain’s campaign sent supporters a fundraising e-mail Friday that claims Hamas approves of Democrat Barack Obama’s foreign policy vision.

From CNN: John McCain released his own tax information but did not release his wife is an heiress of a beer making company.

From CNN: Hilary Clinton made fun of her own problem solving skills on the Colbert Report this last Thursday.

From Fox News: McCain spoke about and condemned Obama’s connect with the radical activist Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.”

From Fox News: Obama recently stated that anyone is better than Bush when talking about John McCain.

From Fox News: The Clinton campaign is running a new PA connecting Obama to taking 2 million dollars from lobbyists.

From Fox News: “While my opponent says one thing and his campaign does another, you can count on me to tell you where I stand, and you can count on me to tell you very specifically the solutions that I offer for America,” Hilary Said when talking about Obama going negative after a bad debate.

From Fox News: John McCain claimed that cutting the taxes will boost the economy.

Magazines

From Slate Magazine; Hilary’s Praise-Obama Tour; By John Dickerson:
Clinton mentions Osama’s remarks at every appearance and is even is
putting it in the middle of campaign posters. People say it is only
helping McCain assuming Obama wins the nomination.

From Slate Magazine; Big Snob Little Snob; By John Dickerson: There are
many things wrong with Obama’s remarks such at the one pointed at
small-town America “[I]t's not surprising then they get bitter, they
cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or
anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain
their frustrations.”

From USA TODAY; McCain endorses federal shield law for reporters; April
14, 2008: Monday McCain said he would support a federal shield law for
reporters. McCain told a meeting of the Associated Press that he is
"willing to invest in the press a very solemn trust that in the use of
confidential sources, you will not do more harm than good, whether it
comes to the security of the nation or the reputation of good people."

From USA Today; Slate on the Clinton marriage:
Politics=passion=permanence; By Mark Memmott and Jill Lawrence:
Henneberger concludes after much reporting that the Clintons' passion
for politics sustains their marriage and predicts they will stay
married, whether she wins or loses the Democratic nomination and the
presidency.

From USA Today; Obama: 'I will never walk away from the larger point I
was trying to make'; By Jill Lawrence: "If John McCain wants to turn
this election into a contest about which party is out of touch with the
struggles and the hopes of working America, that's a debate I’m happy to
have," Obama added. "In fact, I think that's a debate we need to have.
Because I believe that the real insult to the millions of hard-working
Americans out there would be a continuation of the economic agenda that
has dominated Washington for far too long."

From TIME; Who needs a poverty Czar?; By Michael Gruwald; April 14,
2008: On the anniversary of Martin Luther Kings death Hillary Clinton
made a comment to cabinet-level poverty czar who will be "solely and
fully devoted to ending poverty as we know it in America."

From TIME; Has McCain Flip-Flopped on torture?; By Michael Scheer; April
14, 2008: Being a prisoner of war one of John McCain’s biggest issues is
torture in war. Some people think he changes his stance on the issue too
much.

From Slate Magazine; Fair Weather Wolverine; By S.V. Date: Hilary
Clinton is counting every vote and she is urging fellow democrats to do
so too after winning Michigan.

From The Week Daily; Mocking Hilary: Both Obama and Hilary are help the
republican party by mocking each other and putting each other down so
much that if either one wins the republican will still look better.

Culture

Culture is who we are. It is what makes us the people we are. It includes the traditions and people we surround ourselves with. 

Magazines

Reflective Question

1. Prime Rate is a term applied in many countries to a reference interest rate used by banks. The term originally indicated the rate of interest at which banks lent to their most favored customers, though this is no longer always the case. Some variable interest rates may be expressed as a percentage above or below prime rate (Wikipedia). Prime rate is important because it is going down.

2. Tibet is a plateau region in Central Asia and the home to the indigenous Tibetan people. With an average elevation of 4,900 metres (16,000 ft), it is the highest region on Earth and is commonly referred to as the "Roof of the World."(Wikipedia) China on Tuesday slammed pro-Tibetan activists in Paris and London who disrupted the Olympic torch relay and lashed out at Washington for interfering in its rule of the Himalayan region.(CNN)

3. Colombia Trade Agreement- the U.S.-Colombia TPA is a tremendous opportunity for U.S. exporters. It will give U.S. companies improved access to a strong market and improve the business climate in Colombia as the country enacts the necessary domestic legal and business reforms required to implement the Agreement. This is important in the news because President Bush is pushing this issue.

4. Iraqi military, militia, U.S. military -- who's who in the Green Zone?- The International Zone (formerly known as the Green Zone) is the heavily guarded diplomatic/government area of closed-off streets in central Baghdad where US occupation authorities live and work. The Green Zone in the central city includes the main palaces of former President Saddam Hussein. The area houses the civilian ruling authority run by the Americans and British and the offices of major US consulting companies. The U.S. Military is running the Green Zone.

5. Benedict XVI- Pope; he want to bring the message of hope to the people of the U.S. in his upcoming trip here.

New York Times Article Sources

Rice Eyeing Ticket? That’s News to McCain

By Elisabeth Bumiller

· ABC programming

· Dan Senor, former military spokesman

· Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform

From Bloomberg.com; Clinton Leads Obama in Pennsylvania as Electorate Split by Race; April 2, 2008:

Hillary Clinton leads Obama among Pennsylvanian Democrats. Also polls found that Clinton does better then Republican John McCain in Pennsylvania and two other swing states.

From Associated Press; Obama Endorsed by Lee Hamilton; April 2, 2008:

Former Indiana Rep. Lee Hamilton endorsed Sen. Barack Obama for president. Hamilton praised his ability to transcend partisan division and calls his foreign policy outlook “pragmatic, visionary, and tough.”

From Reuters; Can John McCain win if U.S. has recession?; April 2, 2008:

Analysts and historians say that if there is a recession usually a democrat wins the election; especially since Bush is a republican and people tend to blame a whole party for a bad economy.

From Yahoo.com; Obama, Clinton woo unions in Pa.; April 2, 2008:

Barack told PA unions that he will fight the types of deals struck by the Clinton and Bush Administrations. Both Obama and Clinton portrayed themselves as labor’s best friend.

From AOL.com; McCain Compiles list of running Mates; April 2, 2008:

A month after clinching the GOP Running mate McCain says he’s “getting together a list of names” of potential running mates. He won’t hint who is on his list.

From AOL.com; Obama widens lead over Clinton in poll; April 1, 2008:

Barack leads Clinton by 10 percentage points in the battle over the democratic nomination. This is the biggest lead of the year and right at the time that his supporters are urging Clinton to get out of the race.

From AOL.com; McCain says many Americans too cynical; April 2, 2008:

McCain says many Americans are too cynical about their country. He says their idea of liberty? "The right to choose among competing brands of designer coffee."

From AOL.com; Bill Clinton Urges Critics to ‘Chill Out’; April 2, 2008:

Former President Bill Clinton, stumping for his wife in California, tells those calling on Hillary Rodham Clinton to abandon her bid for the White House to "chill out and let everybody have their say."

From AOL.com; Obama Says Clinton Should Stay in the Race; April 2, 2008:

Barack down plays fears expressed by democrats for dividing the party and helping to GOP. Obama says "My attitude is that Senator Clinton can run as long as she wants."

From AOL.com; Pennsylvania Senator endorses Obama; April 2, 2008:

PA Sen. Bob Casey endorses Democrat Barack Obama, a move that could help the presidential candidate make inroads with white working-class voters