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Politricks: A treatise on big government

Posted by: nakedraygun | October 4, 2014 | No Comment |

“A government big enough to give you everything you want, is big enough to take away everything you have.” – Thomas Jefferson

Since the disastrous administration of former President George W. Bush, the public at large seems to be tired of republicans and everything they stand for. The simple fact is that more and more people in our country are turning to big government to solve their problems, and have been doing so since W’s run ended. Most appear to be fed up with the role of the state – or the lack thereof – and want leaders like President Barack Obama to step in and magically fix the situation with his infinitely deep pockets and his abundance of blank checks. Obama has been riding on these tickets and sentiments like a surfer rides a wave, for several years now, ever since he first took office, and it looks as though he shows no sign of stopping. In one speech he delivered, he even went as far as to say that he wants to “make big government cool again.”

Despite a few reasonable examples (FDR, for one), the question everyone must stop and answer is this: when was big government ever cool?

The unavoidable truth of the matter is that big government might not be the answer we need in this day and age. It is easy to admit that at certain times – during a serious depression, during an international crisis, or during a weakening middle class – big government serves a purpose and seems to do good for society. However, in a society where a recession is showing signs of recovery, the housing market is growing again, and the middle class is expanding, it is the opinion of this reporter that increasing the size and scope of the government may be a bad choice. And I’m being nice.

What we can’t escape from is that three-fourths of the time big government is not the answer. What should be made clear is that big government can be the enemy of liberty, prosperity, and harmony, because it attempts to impose restrictions, regulations, and (dare i say it!) taxes on people who, nine times out of ten, do not want to be disturbed and can’t afford them.

For the sake of clarity, this blog has simplified the popular conservative reasoning on big government down to a handful of major points. Here, listed below, are four reasons big government is bad, ineffective, and unnecessary, especially in the present day political situation.

Excessive government spending…

disenfranchises private growth
requires destructive taxation
causes deficits and debt
and violates the constitution

So, time to get started.

1.) Excessive government intervention limits private growth because it directly interferes with the private sector of the United States’ economy. When restrictions are placed on big business owners, small business owners, and even 12-year-old Joe Blow’s Lemonade Stand, it has a negative impact on many aspects our economy, particularly corporate creativity – AKA, progress.What this means is that when the government interferes with businesses, it limits what is possible for a corporation to do. If this happens, competition between businesses slows down and new products are not made because businesses have no incentive to come up with “the next big thing.” For instance, if the government were to ad extra taxes to Apple Computers iPhone sold, then Apple would have no incentive to create a bigger screen to beat out the Samsung Galaxy S phone. To sum it up briefly, government intervention limits progress due to the fact that it takes away the incentive (money) to create something better than what is already out there. Competition is the source of progress, and when it is limited, progress is slowed.

2.) Excessive government intervention requires destructive taxation because when a government is more apparent in people’s live, it needs to take more of their money. When average citizens are taxed off their feet, the incentive to work goes down because a person’s right to make a decent buck is suddenly hindered. What happens next? The economy slows. When people live in a society where money is scarce and no one wants to buy anything, consumerism suffers – which means stores don’t make money, businesses can’t flourish, and the whole structure of capitalism goes in the crapper. If a government is small, it is very easy to have a good tax system. In other words, if a government is big, with a bloated public sector, it is very easy to have an onerous tax system.

3.) Excessive government intervention causes deficits and debt because an invasive, overbearing, and omnipresent state spends more money. Democrats (ahem, socialists if you’re thinking of Obama) routinely spend more money than they collect from tax payers. The result is disastrous: a country digs a hole, gets stuck in quicksand, or suffocates from a lack of oxygen (money). In a time like today’s, spending money is like trying to get out of that hole by digging deeper. Or like trying to escape that quicksand by swimming through it. Or, like trying to get that oxygen by holding one’s breath. What cannot be contested here is that spending money while you have none is a bad idea. The nation’s situation will prosper if our government lets the people live their lives without it’s intervention, because they will work harder, spend more, and in effect directly benefit the economy.

4.) Excessive government intervention violates the constitution because the founding fathers wanted a country free from tyranny – tyranny abroad, and, tyranny at home. The point being made here is that when the government gets too big, it becomes despotic and authoritative – the opposite of what the founding fathers wanted. The current size and scope of the U.S. government is inconsistent with the system created by the founding fathers, and their intentions should be taken more seriously.

In conclusion, what America needs today is a businessman – someone who knows how to balance a checkbook and balance a budget. Even though the president is technically not responsible for the economy, a politician like Romney might be a better option because the United States is not in need of another FDR. Even FDR cancelled some of his own reform policies at the end of the New Deal because he “feared he was creating a society dependent upon working for the government.” The country, in fact, is in need of leader who knows how to run a business; a leader who knows when to spend money, when not to, and when to let the people live with minimal government interference. In essence, we need a leader who’s reminiscent of our forefathers, one who’s dedicated to the celebration of the individual first (one of our country’s founding principles) – not the group.

under: Comm 455
Tags: association, authoritarianism, big government, clasical liberal, conservative, democrat, free, individual liberty, liberal, libertarian, limited government, Media., middle-of-the-road, philosophy, political arena, Politics, representation, republican, socialism, taxes, the future, third parties, ticket-splitting, voluntary

Early newspapers and their stars

Posted by: kasibumgarner | September 30, 2014 | No Comment |

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Ernst_graf_von_mansfeld.jpg

With the rise of print as a medium of distribution, resources to share information such as newspapers, pamphlets and books became much easier to access. This change not only began to keep the public more informed on current events, but also prominent individuals who were involved in them. Prior to this shift, the only household names were those of royalty or leaders in the church.

Peter Ernst, Count von Mansfeld, better known as Count Ernst Mansfeld, was a German mercenary who was a leader of the Protestant side of the Thirty Years War. Although defeated early in his efforts in 1619 at the Battle of Sablat, he continued to push for the cause and would eventually lead his troops to victory. The events of the Thirty Years War were covered extensively in English newsbooks, and between 1622 and early 1624, Count Ernst Mansfeld was mentioned in nearly two thirds of their titles.

With this emphasis on Count Ernst Mansfeld in the news coverage of the War, it comes as no surprise that he was well known among members of the public. When he visited London in 1624, he was hailed as a hero. As he walked through the streets, he was followed by cheering crowds.

The increase in the velocity of news being shared during this time period allowed for names like Count Ernst Mansfeld to be brought to the public’s attention. He would be one of the first of many names that would become prominent in the public eye because of this change.

Its effects can still be seen today in our news coverage, with names such as Casey Anthony, Bill Gates and Kim Kardashian, who bring up instant feelings, thoughts and opinions for each of us. Though some find the spotlight more reluctantly than others, news has a funny way of creating celebrities through its stories that has lasted to the present day.

under: Comm 455
Tags: Comm 455, count ernst mansfeld, kasibumgarner, media stars, Newspaper, Thirty Years War

Television: the new coffeehouse?

Posted by: evansp12 | September 30, 2014 | No Comment |

As I spoke about in my first post regarding the history of coffeehouses, their purpose has changed over the years. However, I wanted to delve deeper into what replaced the purpose these meeting grounds once served.

We know that when coffeehouses first arose in the 1700s, they were primarily a forum for spoken news. A very prominent platform for spoken news, I might add. People — mostly men, and often of importance — would gather daily to shout and share the news of the day. From politics to war to local crime, everything and anything was said.

Coffeehouses were even specifically targeted toward one certain subject. One may be geared toward the arts, another toward politics, and yet another toward economics. The speakers would often hop from house to house throughout the day.

One coffeehouse in Rome, called “Cafe Greco”, was dedicated to certain artists including Goethe and Wagner.

A coffeehouse in France, “Cafe de Flore”, attracted intellectuals including writers, publishers and filmmakers.

So thus we ask, where did this tradition go?

My answer: we got busy.

As our society progresses, time becomes more and more valuable. And as the world grows and new inventions are created each day, we find more and more things to fill our time.

In result, we have turned to multitasking in order to complete all we wish to do in a day. We no longer have time to casually discuss the news for hours on end while relaxing over a cup of joe.

Therefore people have turned to other sources for news. And most importantly, sources they can either access on the run or while completing other tasks. Sources that are fast and instant

According to a recent study, The most highly accessed device among American people used to gather news is the television. This is largely because this allows the people to listen to the news — and get that more personal form of spoken news — while also doing other things, such as work, cooking, cleaning, etc.

The television, much like these old coffeehouses, presents numerous perspectives on the news as well as a variety of shows geared toward specific subjects: politics, local news, entertainment news, and so on.

The television also presents the news in a spoken form, similar to that presented in the coffeehouses, just in a less personal way.

This is the trend all forms of news have followed over the years. It has become less personal and more commercialized. Today the purpose is to be short and to the point, as concise as possible, and to go along with the fast paced lifestyle of the average person in our modern world.

Consequently, coffeehouses now supplement this lifestyle. They have become a place where one can quickly fuel up to continue go- go- going with their busy day; cell phone in hand, ear buds in, listening to the days news podcast, scrolling through their news feeds and glancing at numerous news outlet applications, while also replying to emails, adding appointments to calendars, and searching the web for a new restaurant to try for dinner.

under: Comm 455, Local news
Tags: Coffeehouses, History of News, Media., Spoken news, Television

Hong Kong communicates through FireChat

Posted by: kponcian | September 30, 2014 | No Comment |

From the tipao to modern-day, China has a history of censorship.

It was only over 2000 years ago that the tipao was the main source of news, exclusively for the elite. Now news and communication has expanded to anyone capable of buying a smart phone, even those under censorship.

In modern-day Hong Kong, minor protests ensued last August when the Chinese government announced it candidates for Hong Kong’s first seemingly democratic mayoral election in 2017 would be thoroughly investigated by Beijing. Those opposed fear that mainland China will never allow Hong Kong to live under a true democracy.

According to the article, “These protests grew to tens of thousands this past week after some were arrested and others pepper-sprayed, resulting in the largest demonstrations Hong Kong has seen in years.”

And this issue has caused many protesters to suspect that authorities would shut down some cell networks in the city. Consequently, they have begun chatting on FireChat, an app that doesn’t require a central network connection.

The service allows for anonymous chatting with groups of people nearby, and the connection works on Android and iOS via a Bluetooth or Wi-Fi connection.

However, the app has some pitfalls in privacy and security.

“People need to understand that this is not a tool to communicate anything that would put them in a harmful situation if it were to be discovered by somebody who’s hostile,” Christophe Daligault, vice president of sales and marketing for the company that developed FireChat said.

Once again, the people’s thirst for communication and news thrives through word of mouth. But can apps like these overcome an authority determined to control the media?

under: Comm 455
Tags: China, communication, Kponcian, technology, word-of-mouth

How safe is the world?

Posted by: rachelshubin | September 30, 2014 | No Comment |

Safety in numbers, safety measures, security. Americans take these words for granted, but we really should be paying more attention to these safety precautions.

A big story in the news last week was the man who jumped the White House fence and ran inside. It came out that the intruder, Omar Gonzalez, got deeper into the White House than previously thought. The Secret Service is taking a major blow to their security protocols since the intruder had ammunition on him.

It leaves people with a bad taste in their mouth as this situation is a matter of national security. If they are ill equipped to handle a possible catastrophe within the White House, how are they going to handle the bigger issues plaguing our nation?

Just today I was on a ferry boat cruising on the Delaware Bay when an announcement about unattended baggage was announced. I shrugged the announcement off initially, as it is not an uncommon occurrence on the ferry. But I become concerned when I realized the luggage was at the table next to me. I thought immediately, that I didn’t quite remember what the man sitting there had looked like — if it had been a situation where I needed to provide identifying details, I would not have been able to.

It turns out, that the man came back and had a chat with the ferry official. The official told him that he couldn’t just wander off without his luggage. If he hadn’t returned when he did, they would have made one more announcement before cordoning off the area and calling the police to investigate.

Image from Google.

This situation made me realize how unaware I was of my surroundings, and essentially how important it is to always have an eye out for anything that looks suspicious. Amtrak is right to have their motto about safety to be “see something, say something.”

under: Comm 455

the most radical founder of them all: Thomas Paine

Posted by: brianjblend | September 29, 2014 | No Comment |

Thomas Paine was an influential British American political theorist who authored one of the most influential essays in American history known as Common Sense. The pamphlet, written in 1776, inspired Patriots to declare independence from Britain. His ideas were entrenched in Enlightenment-era classical liberalism and were the prevailing ideology behind the patriotic cause.

With the help of Benjamin Franklin, Paine emigrated to the colonies from his hometown of Thetford, England in 1774. Although not born of the English colonies, Paine believed that the colonies were ripe for his ideas of republicanism and revolution. During the course of the American Revolution, Paine wrote a pro-revolutionary pamphlet series titled The American Crisis in which he stoked the fires of liberty.

Following the signing of the Treaty of Paris, and the colonies’ victory over Britain, Paine headed to France to participate in the stirrings of the revolution there. In 1791 he wrote the Rights of Man, which was a defense of the French Revolution against its critics. His attacks on critics such as Edmund Burke let to his conviction in abstensia by the British Parliament. Two years later, Paine was arrested and imprisoned in Paris for his opposition to the more radical elements of the French National Assembly during the Reign of Terror.

Paine eventually escaped France and returned to the United States where he was once hailed as a hero. However, the American public had turned on him for his latest work the Age of Reason in which he criticized Christian doctrine. Paine also envisioned early progressive ideas in his work Agrarian Justice where he argued for the introduction of a guaranteed minimum income. Paine died in 1809 in social isolation for his radical ideas and only six people attended his funeral.

under: Comm 455
Tags: americanrevolution, History, Journalism, thomaspaine

A brief history of the first American magazine

Posted by: bbukovic | September 29, 2014 | No Comment |

Magazines are publications that run on a regular schedule and are funded by subscription rates. The first magazine ever printed was published in Germany in the late 17th century. Less than 100 years later, with the idea of the magazine haven taken off as a form of journalism, a younger Ben Franklin decided to embrace the idea and set out to publish the first magazine in the American Colonies.

Franklin’s intended magazine was to be titled The General Magazine, and Historical Chronicle for all the British Plantations in America and was to be issued in Philadelphia. However, Franklin was beat out by three days, when on February 13, 1741 Andrew Bradford published in Boston his American Magazine, or Monthly View of the Political State of the British Colonies.

Image from: http://books.google.com/books/about/The_American_Magazine_Or.html?id=l6AKAQAAIAAJ

Bradford’s publication only lasted three months, and Franklin’s six. They lasted for such brief stints because they simply did not have a large reader base, nor did they have adequate transportation to distribute them effectively.

Magazines continued to struggle to make their way in America after these two initial fails. It was not until 1843, when The Economist began running that magazines were finally established as an accepted form of journalism among the American public.

under: Comm 455
Tags: Ben Franklin, bridgetbukovich, History, magazine

The isis strategy

Posted by: hasanspall | September 29, 2014 | No Comment |

Isis is a militant terrorist group that aims to create an Islamic state across Sunni areas of Iraq and Syria. Recently, they have been sending threats to the US and Britain whilst expanding their extremist group bigger and more globally than ever before. But how are they doing this? Propaganda.

http://www.understandglobalization.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/globalization.jpg

Isis is using sophisticated strategies to spread their rebellious movement. They have been latching on to subjects with huge amounts of interest so their message can expand more rapidly. An example of this is when they latched on to the Scottish independence referendum because it was so widely popular at the time. Other forms of distribution is the use of twitter, Facebook and YouTube videos that are terrifying.

Isis distributes videos of their message by using popular subject hashtags and forums. These videos are not amateur made or look like some guy picked up a camera and started recording, no. These videos are well produced and thought out that when watched captivate an audience by striking qualities of valuable news such as conflict, emotional appeal and being unusual.

Whatever Isis is doing, it’s working. Not only is the US having trouble with combating Isis’s efforts to spread their message, but also I believe the US is being outdone. The Isis’s propaganda is outpacing US counter efforts.

under: Comm 455
Tags: Comm 455, global, hasanspall, isis, Propaganda

When beheadings become headlines: The terrorists are winning

Posted by: sruffin | September 29, 2014 | No Comment |

Modern war reporting fuels war at home.

We’ve all seen the videos.

Bald, sullen faced men sporting shackles, orange jumpsuits and fearful eyes. Next to them, knife wielding beasts, dressed in black and holding an executioner’s stance. The videos end the same– a knife to the throat and the end of a life.

This is not a scene from a horror movie or an incessant nightmare. This scene is ripped from the headlines and showcases the spoils of war–and war reporting.

War reporting is a double edged sword. On one hand, it exposes the gruesome realities of war and allows the public to access information about war that may otherwise be hidden. On the other hand, it exposes the gruesome realities of war and allows the public to access information about war that may otherwise be hidden.

This access creates tension and raises questions. Is the public really ready to see war for what it is? Are journalists really prepared to report from the war zone? As of late, war reporting is tantamount to serving in the combat zone. Journalists aren’t trained in battle or armed with guns; their pens are their swords and their nerves of steel, their armor.

The beheadings of journalists are now news staples, leading the nation into a moral equivalent of a civil war. While some view paying off terrorists in exchange for reporters (and other hostages) as a feasible option, others view it as a cop-out of sorts. When we negotiate with terrorists, the terrorists are winning.

But this is not their fight. It is the fight of the war reporter, the bruised and jaded war reporter who does his/her job with an obscene amount of bravery. Their dedication to the public’s right to know oftentimes dwarfs their fear and relationship to danger.

When a war reporter is shackled, kneeling and staring death in the face, the terrorists are not winning. They are parading their foul confidence, but they are not winning.

The war reporters, (the wounded and weary war reporters) are winning. And we, who reap the benefits of their diligent labor, are winning too.

under: Comm 455
Tags: Comm 455, War Reporting

Harassment of women journalists online

Posted by: zainaz | September 29, 2014 | No Comment |

Harassing women online has always existed. However, it has gotten significantly worse in the past few months.

[PAX East] Exposing The Harassment Female Gamers Receive Online

According to the Huffington Post, someone with the username “headlessfemalepig” was tweeting many women journalists on twitter. Though the twitter account was deleted ASAP, many journalists noted the tweets. Some tweets were as followed:

“I am 36 years old, I did 12 years for ‘manslaughter’, I killed a woman… Happy to say we live in the same state. I’m looking you up, and when I find you, I’m going to rape you and remove your head.”

“You are going to die and I am the one who is going to kill you. I promise you this.”

http://www.psmag.com/navigation/health-and-behavior/women-arent-welcome-internet-72170/

Many women journalists have been scared away from posting their views online because of people like “headlessfemalepig.” Some people don’t realize how big of a problem this really is and why we should address it and give it more attention.

According to the Pew Center, threats are directed far more at women than at men. Many men still have the mindset of hundreds of years ago when it was mainly men who spoke up about their opinions. So now those people are targeting women journalists for spreading what is on their minds online.

under: Comm 455
Tags: women in the media, Women Journalists, zainazaheer

Feature: life, loss, and the letters BORF writes to your children

Posted by: nakedraygun | September 28, 2014 | No Comment |

We’ve all seen it. On telephone booths. In subway tunnels. Sprawled across street signs. Such a phenomenon seems almost inescapable. Since its explosion in the 1970s, the increasing popularity of graffiti as an art form has won commercial success for its artists and earned a legitimate presence in pop culture and the contemporary art world.

There have been many great graffiti artists. Cool Disco Dan. Poster Boy. Banksy. Many fought the government or society or “the Man.” Many sprayed their paint cans for peace, justice or even equal rights. BUT, some dared to stencil for the salvation of our minds, for the redemption of our psyche, and for the freeing of our consciousness. In a world that seems to do anything but help the innocent, these few can be seen as saviors of humanity, as liberators.

Enter John Tsombikos. AKA BORF.

Tsombikos, at the age of 19, spent three months in jail for a graffiti campaign that lasted from 2004 to 2005, during which he carried out one of the most popular attacks on DC’s (not to mention, the world’s) social scene. BORF, Tsombikos’ tag name, turned into a normal part of the public’s life as he began regularly painting his way across the city’s concrete walls. This four letter word eventually became ubiquitous around the Northwest quadrant of Washington, and ranged from simple tagging to complete sentences to two-color stencils to the massive defacement of an overhead exit sign on the Roosevelt Bridge. Aside from DC alone, his graffiti is also reported to have appeared in New York, San Francisco, Raleigh, Rome, and other places.

So what can you say? The kid’s prolific.

But, what else is there to know about Tstombikos? What makes him tick? What inspired his operation, and what was he fighting for? What, if anything, is the meaning of BORF?

“The truth is, BORF means a lot of things,” Tsombikos said, as he gently poked at his vegan salad while being interviewed on a patio beside Deli Italiano, a local hot spot in his hometown of Great Falls, VA. “Part of it was my way of coping with the suicide of my best friend in high school, Bobby Fisher. I don’t want to make him out to be a victim or make him sound helpless or anything, but he was a true casualty of society.”

Tsombikos pulled a fork full of salad up to his mouth and took a bite. He chewed for a minute, then got back to what he was saying. “In this crazy world of ours, where all men are supposed to have six-packs, where women are urged to weigh 100 lbs, and where everyone dreams of owning a house, a picket fence, and 2.5 kids, it’s kind of hard not to get depressed,” he said, swallowing. “We’re all jacked in, you see, and some people are too innocent or good-natured to deal with that. In other words, we’re all subliminally mindfucked by American culture, and particularly the media. Bobby saw this and it tortured him.”

Tsombikos put his fork down and took a big swig of his coconut juice. He wiped his mouth with a napkin, then continued. “Through graffiti, I was simultaneously coping with Bobby’s death while getting revenge on the system,” he added. “The term is culture-jamming.”

Culture jamming is a tactic used by rebels like Tsombikos to disrupt or subvert media culture and it’s mainstream institutions, and in particular, to sabotage corporate advertising.

With his salad nearly gone, and his juice halfway finished, he started up again.

“My message was simple, yet remarkably complex. It was a word without a definition. While most people think they have their lives figured out, or think they understand everything, I wanted to confuse them. I wanted to give them something that would wake them up, pull them out of the system, and make them go ‘what the fuck?'”

Because confusion was one of the main staples of Tsombikos’ crusade, people began to pay attention. “His shit was everywhere,” says Lennox Greeley, a Georgetown University student, friend of Tsombikos, and long-time DC resident. “I’d see it on the way to class, on the way to work, on the way to dinner. Most of what he said made no sense, but it was funny.”

So, what did BORF say?

Some of the things Tsombikos tagged were as follows. “BORF is not caught. BORF is many. BORF is none. BORF is waiting for you in your car. BORF is in your pockets. BORF is running through your veins. BORF is naive. BORF is good for your liver. BORF is controlling your thoughts. BORF is everywhere. BORF is the war on boredom. BORF annihilates. BORF hates school.” And of course, a personal favorite of Tstombikos, “BORF writes letters to your children.”

“Think what you want,” Greeley asserted, grinning, “but BORF had a sense of humor.”

Tsombikos took his hands and smeared them on his paint-stained jeans. He finished his salad and his juice, and seemed satisfied. “I guess when it all comes down to it, BORF was my way of making a difference in the world. I wanted to have an impact, to provoke a change,” he went on to say, maintaining eye contact. “You’d be surprised what one man can do.”

Indeed, BORF, indeed.

under: Comm 455
Tags: "the man", Art, borf, change, children, crime, culture, culture jamming, DC, defacement, graffiti, identity, influence, John Tsombikos, life, mainstream, Media., public property, society, street art, sumbliminal, tagging, the government, the system

Revolution creates freer press

Posted by: kasibumgarner | September 23, 2014 | No Comment |

https://flic.kr/p/i6BQpp

Prior to the Revolution in 1789, press in France was heavily controlled. Reporters/writers who ignored these regulations and published seditious or defamatory material were quickly subject to consequences, increasing from public flogging on the first offense to the death penalty for any following.

Jack Richard Censer discusses these conditions in his book Press and Politics in Pre-revolutionary France and says that although they’re not ideal, they helped to create the uprise that lead to the Revolution. The longer that these limitations existed, the more the French public wanted to push against them and call for change.

Periodicals began to circle, sharing opinions of the public rather than those influenced by the king and his ministry. This information helped to fuel the fire that was already beginning to build and lead to the French Revolution.

The Revolution lead to a lot of important changes in France, from the structure of government to the public’s frame of thinking. One that isn’t discussed as often that is just as, if not more, important is the freedom that the French press gained. With the dissolve of the previous government structure, the regulations were lifted, creating a “press revolution” and allowing reporters to share public opinions and other information more freely.

under: Comm 455
Tags: Comm 455, French Press, French Revolution, kasibumgarner, News

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