Journal 1-7 Max Bardowell 10-29-07

Progress

Answer to last entry’s question: Three.

I have always believed that we, as a nation, need a very progressive president, not necessary with any strong political alliances, but a very progressive and innovative mentality about running the nation and developing policies to better the people. Our nation cannot be held down by traditionalist mindsets any longer. We must break free from the tyranny of repetition. We must challenge the established practices and question the current methods of both our politicians and our diplomats. Only then can we move forward. This ideology unfortunately tends to favor a more Democratic viewpoint as opposed to a Republican one, however, it will take the united strength of both parties to create the kind of progressive change that is needed to drastically jumpstart the heart of our governmental systems.

Fortunately, the change has already started. With the flourishing growth of the internet and the inclusion of it and youtube into the presidential spectrum, we are seeing both technology and intuitive new ways of leveling the presidential races enter into our political fields. Still, we must not forget that to sacrifice the needs of the people to force a mindset committed to progression will not create lasting change. It is imperative that at the end of the day we still remember that a politician can consider himself truly victorious if he has only succeeded in making one single person’s day a little brighter. In the end, it’s all about helping others, together, with the strength of a unified government and a devoted populous.

Question: What is the definition of progression?

Journal 1-6 Max Bardowell 10-20-07

For The Greater Good

Answer to last entry’s question: There is some debate over which publication was the first newspaper because the definition of a newspaper has been flexible. In ancient Rome, acta diurna, or government announcement bulletins, were made public by Julius Caesar. They were carved on stone or metal and posted in public places. During the Tang dynasty in China (618-906), the Kai Yuan Za Bao also published government news; it was painted on silk and mostly read by government officials. However, the World Association of Newspapers recognizes Johann Carolus’s Relation aller Fürnemmen und gedenckwürdigen Historie, published in 1605, as the world’s first newspaper. The Dutch Courante uyt Italien, Duytslandt, &c. of 1618 is also considered by some to be the first modern newspaper since the Relation looks more like a book than what is now considered a newspaper. The newspaper Opregte Haarlemsche Courant from Harlem, first published in 1656, is considered by some to be the oldest continuously published newspaper, though it was forced to merge with the newspaper Haarlems Dagblad in 1942 by the German occupier. Since then the Harlems Dagblad appears with the subtitle Oprechte Haerlemse Courant 1656 and considers itself to be the oldest still-publishing newspaper in the world.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newspaper

The world is, with each passing day, becoming more and more volatile. This is not due to an increase of violence; in fact the world has certainly seen worse times. Entire continents and cultures have warred for millennia, and every time a border manifests itself regardless of whether it is linguistic, geographical, religious, or cultural, it soon grows red hot with conflict. Unity on a global scale seems impossible, while unity within a smaller social or cultural group is relatively common, thus we have many small groups of devoted followers all thrown in together, and the results are present in every daily international news headline. It seems that human nature dictates that we fight and die for our principles, consequently we find both our greatest strength and our greatest weakness. But the world has always operated in this way. So why is the world more dangerous? The world is more volatile, simply because it has grown smaller.

While this carries a certain seed of optimism, humanity does not easily cooperate under the same roof. We will undoubtedly soon find ourselves in situations when we must resort to the justification that it was done for the greater good. A worthy example is the Iran- Contra incident, as Lt. Col. Oliver North was forced to make questionable decisions based on the hope that his actions benefited the grater good, in this case the good being the hostages kept prisoner in Iran. But, is this in fact a truly justifiable founding principle for our culture? Can we hide our morals under the sheen of this generalized statement? What actions are we willing to take in order to protect American lives? These are questions which we will have to answer in the coming years if we are to maintain both our moral conscience and our national security. How far are we willing to go?

Question: How many hostages did North’s actions truly save?

Journal 1-5 Max Bardowell 10-15-07

"Outfoxed" An Industry in Uproar

Answer to Last Entry’s Question:

• medianation.umb.edu
• mediamatters.org
• newswatch.org
• mediaresearch.org

I was very intrigued by the flow of discussion that too place in the class after the completion of the “Outfoxed” documentary. Not only did the class talk about the nature of corruption and bias in the media, but the conversation reached a new level of complexity when we began to look at the debate from an industry wide perspective and began to apply the logic of the “pendulum effect” to the circumstances of the issue. The class reasoned that Fox’s allegiances to the conservative mindset will eventually force change within the information industry. The public will confront the issue and realize that perhaps the press needs more balanced perspectives, causing them to shift their viewing to other, more respectable news organizations. This would then become a perfect example of what a truly magnificent self-maintaining and self-regulating machine the industry is, as each boundary and standard is governed by the eyes of the people themselves and thus constantly buffeted by both change and innovation. The people never stop advancing. We are too impatient to stagnate. While I do not believe that advocates of ethical journalism should ever stop keeping news organizations in check, I do believe that the system itself will eventually correct any flaws through a consensual determination to change it by the people. They will simply stop watching. We are a proud group, and much of the American public is disgusted by lies and indecency. That fact alone should ensure that our press will remain, on the whole, a pure source of information.

Question: How long have newspapers been in existence?

Journal 1-4 Max Bardowell 10-7-07

Unethical Media Editing Practices


Answer to Last Entry's Question: While I couldn’t find an exact listing of government sponsored charities, I did find a list of the largest charities by revenue. Please donate.

Mayo Foundation

YMCAs in the United States

United Way

Cleveland Clinic Foundation

Catholic Charities USA

American National Red Cross

Salvation Army

Goodwill Industries International

New York-Presbyterian Hospital

The Arc of the United States

http://www.forbes.com/2005/11/18/largest-charities-ratings_05charities_land.html



Over the past weeks of reviewing documentaries and national news media clips, a new question has begun to evolve: What is reality? It seems to me that much of the information that reaches us through mainstream media is tainted, each image presented with a systematic intent, every word laced with bias and diverted focus.

We are a nation troubled by the same laws that secure our freedoms. Free Speech. Freedom of the Press. Right to assembly. All provide us with the necessary tools to maintain an effective form of democracy, and yet, these same freedoms, if corrupted, can threaten to destroy us as easily as the rigors of oppressed freedom. A war rages beneath the surface of mass media, and the American public is caught in the cross fires of a hundred firefights. While many media releases are altered, these techniques were not as much stumbled upon as they were investigated and uncovered through countless hours of analysis and scrutiny by many experts in the communications field. The sophistication of the various altering techniques is matched only by that of the systems developed to stop them. Using advanced tools such as digital manipulation detecting computer algorithms and vast research databanks full of previous media editing infractions, these media “watchdogs” have been able to see through the petty methods that lace a once honorable field.

Hopefully, with a devotion to the ideas of our constitution, without mutilating them to serve as functions of profitability, we will learn that all our stories and narratives ever need to sell is, in fact, the one most compelling motivator of inspiration and wonder on the planet after all: Truth.


Question: What are some popular media “Watchdog” websites?

Journal 1-3 Max Bardowell 10/2/07

“It’s a Wonderful World.”


Answer to Last Entry's Question: Moore was brought up Roman Catholic and attended St. John's Elementary School for primary school, as well as a Diocesan seminary at age 14. He then attended Davison High School, where he was active in both drama and debate, graduating in 1972.


After dropping out of the University of Michigan-Flint (where he wrote for the student newspaper The Michigan Times) and working for a day at the General Motors plant, at 22 he founded the alternative weekly magazine The Flint Voice, which soon changed its name to The Michigan Voice as it expanded to cover the entire state, which Moore later regretted. In 1986, when Moore became the editor of Mother Jones, a liberal political magazine, he moved to California and The Michigan Voice was shut down. Moore stayed at the magazine for only a short while, before working for Ralph Nader.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Moore#Biography



The messages displayed in Michael Moore’s “Its a wonderful world” montage bring into light the question of whether the United States should have the right to, in essence, police the world. This is not a newly created question, as shortly after the enduring success of the Iraq War became doubted, many had lasting emotional feelings as to whether the US can “meddle” in the affairs of other countries, and the debate carried over into the subsequent elections and has now permeated the critical arguments against the foreign policy of the Bush administration. Historically though, the US, and the world for that matter, has followed the established patterns of a pendulum in full swing, and perhaps the next administration to come to power will no longer take an active role in the preservation of US interests abroad, whether they be the preservation of human rights or the security of national natural resource reserves. It is nearly impossible to predict whether adopting the “isolationism” methodology of Washington will prove in the best interests of the US, but I will dare to predict what its impact will be around the world.

We are a species of extreme contradiction, a people laced with paradox, and that fact seems to define us far more readily than the alternative. Across the breadth of our history, the same neighbors we warred with last century have become this century’s economic allies. Those we live side by side with in one country we call enemies in others. The religion that drives one man to his knees in servitude is the heresy of another. Conflict exists in the same trailing moments as peace. The spinning, ignited filaments of our collective conscious can not be contained in a single line of pulsing life. We are beings of motion, we are not creatures of limit, always an unnatural fusion of many lives, many ideals. We seem to thrive on the defiance of natural law, the rejection of the balance and harmony instilled upon us by this world. It gives us our humanity. As much as we struggle and slaughter and convert, we do need each other. As much as the US’s interference in the world is debated, we do many good things. To remove that desire to bolster another’s spirit is to sin against our most basic instincts. We can not stop helping. It is as solid in our minds as the bedrock of this earth, and it must be preserved at all costs. So, no matter how much the nation changes this election year, hold on to that thought, cling, like the thirsty, high-mountain plant, to the folds of its logic, the pathos embedded in its message. It is our identity. It makes us whole.

Question: What are the top ten charities sponsored by the US Government?