News Roundup Special: The U.S. Is Messing with the Media

Hello, readers! This news roundup is jammed packed because it deals with several aspects of the media: The Internet, broadcast TV, the size of multimedia corporations, and deregulation. All of the following stories have been developing for weeks but not all have been discussed on this blog — until now.

Blog Update (November 27, 2017)

Hey guys. I just wanted to post something today, but there’s not much time for a bigger blog post. But November is drawing to a close, so I wanted to use the opportunity to share a list of topics.

Famous Sayings: #89 — ‘Hope Springs Eternal’

November 24, 2017

Hope springs eternal in the human breast: Man never is, but always to be blest …

Alexander Pope was England’s first full-time professional writer. When he wrote “Hope springs eternal,” he was expressing the people were part of a greater plan. This image was cropped from a portrait displayed by the National Portrait Gallery (Creative Commons License 3.0).

It’s the day after Thanksgiving, so I hope those who celebrated it enjoyed their day.

The month of November is also coming to a close, so we’re drawing ever closer to more holidays, include the New Year. There are certainly hopes that 2018 will be nicer to us than 2017 was.

So yes, hope springs eternal.

Net Neutrality Update (November 21, 2017)

So, today, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai announced his plan to gut net neutrality. He’s a day early and now we wait until December 14 for the full FCC to vote on the matter.

Famous Sayings: #88 — ‘Four Score and Seven Years Ago …’

November 17, 2017

Four score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal…

As many of us know, the following words came from Abraham Lincoln, the 16^th President of the United States, in what became known as the Gettysburg Address. He spoke these words at the dedication of the Gettysburg cemetery for fallen soldiers on November 19, 1863.

In The speech, Lincoln also said the following words:

The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here …

But the Gettysburg Address soon became the most notable speech Lincoln ever gave.

The Rift on the Left: The Future of the Democratic Party

“Looking good, Mr. Carter.” On November 7, Lee Carter won his race for the 50th legislative District in Virginia. If the leaders are receptive, candidates like him could be the future of the Democratic Party. However, he got where he is with no help from national party.

Admittedly, I have been pretty hard on the Democratic Party in the last few posts. To be quite honest, I didn’t set out to be this negative, but as I looked into the party — and more information became available as time passed — it made me angrier than I’d thought it would. However, I still have the same purpose and getting through the most painful parts of the series allowed me to look into the future of the Democratic Party.

Now, it is obvious that the Democrats have an uphill climb. They need to contend with the deficits they have with the Republicans — in terms of the number of seats held by members of each of the major parties, and in terms of money. Also, the Democrats have to deal with infighting among people in their ranks and resolve the ongoing war the party has with the left.

It’s that last part that has hurt the party most of all. But more importantly, it has hurt Americans. And this is the fight that will perhaps decide the Democrats’ fate in — in more ways than one.

Since my last post in this series there have been some positive developments to discuss. But there are also some things I believe will help Democrats and progressive to capitalize on this momentum and make even more gains in 2018 and beyond.

Is There Still a Way for Us to Stop Pai and His Agenda?

Why does this guy always look like a douchenozzle? I defy anyone to find a picture where he doesn’t. I have no respect for this pro-corporate FCC chair because his agenda is against the wishes of most Americans.

This is very late, but I just need to make a quick post about net neutrality and more. Early last month, the U.S. Senate had to vote to reconfirm Ajit Pai’s horrible self for a new five-year term at the Federal Communications Commission, which would retroactively begin in July 2016. This leaves the door open for more horsesh— for Pai to continue with his agenda, as horrible and pro-corporate as it is.

Famous Sayings: #87 — ‘Dishonorable Discharge’

November 11, 2017

He left the Army with a dishonorable discharge, so it’s hard for him to find work.

Bowe Bergdahl was recently given a Dishonorable Discharge from the U.S. Army because he deserted his post in Afghanistan in 2009.

Tomorrow is Veteran’s day, but the phrase we’ll be looking at deals with shame. This might seem like an inappropriate way to honor military veterans, but this phrase also deals with the somber news from this week and earlier this month. In particular, there were two people in the news who were dishonorably discharged from the United States military and this presents an opportunity to learn about military discharges and their implications.

I May Have Solved One Computer Problem (More Remain)

My computer still sucks, but I might have more time with it than I thought.

Well, it looks like I may have solved one computer problem, although there is still room to worry.

The Rift on the Left: The Current State of the Democratic Party

No, it’s not fine.

What can I say about the current state of the Democratic Party? Oh, boy …

In late July 2017, the Democratic National Committee’s Deputy Vice Chair of Civic Engagement Frank Spencer spoke during a #DNCTakeBack news conference at Politicon. Mr. Spencer took around ten minutes clarifying some parts of the Democrats’ “bold” new platform. Spencer said that the party had listened to the people and would thus promote a populist platform. During the question and answer section, Spencer admitted that the Democrats tried to run as centrists largely because the party’s donors wouldn’t let the party’s candidates run on populist issues.

As it turns out, that news conference in Pasadena, CA was a fake one. It was staged by The Yes Men, with the help of grassroots activists, for a bipartisan audience of 100 people. Andy Bichlaum of the parody duo played the part of a DNC representative who came to talk about the Democrats’ “A Better Deal,” the platform the party had released a week prior.

Bichlaum had a few people going for a while. Yet sadly, in telling people things they wanted to hear, he made a commentary on the sad state of affairs in “the party of the people.”

With that in mind, Let’s review some things I have already talked about in this series, while discussing what has transpired over the past year-and a half.