Does Anybody Really Care?

Now that we don't really have to think about Georgia politics again until late October when the automated calls start coming to remind us there will be an election soon we don't have to worry about the issues concerning Georgia. It's important to note that the two main candidates running for governor don't seem to be that concerned with the issues either. Roy Barnes has been running a few campaign ads on TV, and why talk about something you would actually like to accomplish in the state if elected when you can just talk how your main opponent has had some corruption issues. I suppose that is important, but a campaign should consist of more than that. I assume that Nathan Deal's main campaign attack will be the fact of how Barnes did a terrible job as governor before so why would you give him another chance. As a matter of fact I heard a radio commercial this morning from some PAC about how Roy has been going around the state on an apology tour just like Obama did earlier on in his presidency. It informs that Roy's tour is about apologizing for his bad job as governor. This commercial was not endorsed by Deal's campaign, but I'm sure he will air similar ads. The commercial ended by saying that "Roy Barnes is worse than Obama." I'm no Obama fan, but I have to say that line was kind of ridiculous because it's not really a fair comparison. I know the demagoguery will be the main talking point, but would it kill them to slide in a sentence or two about something that could possibly one day help Georgians. Of course come November most people will again be entrenched with who they think is the best person for the job that actual issues to most won't be relevant because it's as simple as Republican vs. Democrat. That was quite a primary from the Republicans this year. I especially enjoyed one of the debates on GPB between Deal and Handel. When they would get a question about whatever the typical response was something along the lines of, "I will make better the whatever issue, and I'm better than my opponent and my opponent won't be the best person to deal with this." There was no real solution about helping the education situation that is plaguing the state currently. No mention of getting rid of the state income tax. It's almost like all they care about is getting elected. Johnny Isakson will enjoy what will pretty much be an automatic reelection. This is even though he voted for Bush's bailouts and has been an easy party line vote for Republicans. It seems also like he's just content to be in the Senate without being a true constitutional leader. I'm sick of people saying  "I'm voting for the lesser of two evils", or "he/she may not be the ideal candidate, but they're better than the other guy." Remember come November there will be a third option. You can vote Libertarian, and don't give that terrible line, "I don't want to waste my vote," or "I would, but they don't have a chance." Vote for someone who really has principle. Vote for real change; really send a message to politicians. Voting for someone because he's not someone else isn't going to help Georgia or the nation.

Here are a few links to get you thinking:
http://www.votemonds.com/
http://www.donovanforsenate.com/
http://www.lp.org/states/Georgia

About this mosque

The issue with the Islamic community center/mosque has become one of the biggest and most controversial issues of the year in the past month or so. Even though it has been planned to be built for months it for some reason has just recently become this outrageous thing. I'm not sure when or who ignited the fire of the mosque issue, but it grew and spread quickly. Now it's discussed on every TV and radio talk show everyday. Politicians in New York and every other state in country are using it in campaigning and for political leverage. Honestly, I am tired of it being controversial because there is nothing that can be done that will stop it. I do not like thw fact that a candidate for office inside and outside of New York may win this November because they have denounced it and/or proclaimed that it should not be built. It shouldn't be a campaign issue outside of New York, and I don't really think it should there either. Yes, I understand the controversy about the mosque. However, I don't think that this Islamic center is being built to praise the terrorists that attacked America. It's not like Al Qaeda is building a memorial there. Considering this is a country that has a constitution based on natural rights there is freedom of religion in America. The people that are building the community center have done nothing illegal, and they have every right to build there if they want to. There is nothing anyone can do that will stop it from being built on the basis of them being Muslims. The property belongs to them therefore they have property rights, and the property cannot be taken away from them. As long as they are in compliance with New York City zoning laws then there is no constitutional violation that should take place. The fact that saying this is disrespectful is making a generalization that Muslims are ok with what happened, and that is simply not true. America should be able to show that our enemy isn't Islam, but some radical ideologues that don't represent an entire religion. I liked what Jon Stewart had to say on the issue, and I think he did well to explain why America can't over react to this situation. Even though he is the host of "comedy show" he decides to be serious sometimes, and for most of this segment he is and he does a good job of explaining why most people aren't acting the way they should. It is unfortunate this issue has become what it has, but America has to be a country that values its constitution.


http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-august-19-2010/extremist-makeover---homeland-edition?xrs=share_copy

How Real Should Reality TV Be?

http://livefeed.hollywoodreporter.com/2010/08/g4-hurt-locker-reality-show.html

Is putting a camera crew with a dangerous unit in Afghanistan a good thing? I don't think that war should provide a lot of entertainment value to people especially while that war is still going on. War movies have been big moneymakers for Hollywood for  many years. I don't think that is a bad thing because they can provide entertainment and a good insight into our history, but they are still just movies. Even movies based on true stories do not contain the complete truth. I don't want this to take away from the seriousness of these wars more than it already has been. At times it seems easy to forget that the wars are going on because depending on the day they are less reported on than they were after they first started. Currently as I am writing this there is not a front page story on either CNN or Fox News about Iraq or Afghanistan. I saw The Hurt Locker, and I did think it was a good movie. However, I didn't find it that entertaining, but I thought it was good because it was very intense. One reason I probably didn't enjoy it as much along with the reason I'm not completely on board with this new show is because I have a cousin that served in Iraq in the Navy on the Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD). That movie felt almost too real for me to watch and to think about that one of the people in the movie could have been my cousin. And actually this new show plans to follow Navy EODs in Afghanistan, and there is a chance that my cousin could be deployed to Afghanistan. That means that he could possibly be on that show depending on when filming takes place. Honestly, I think that there is a bigger issue to this. I no longer agree with the foreign policy that is being and has been conducted in the Middle East. I think there is more harm being done than good.  I won't go into all of that now though. The show could have positive factors because maybe people will see what is really going on there, and they would think about it more. After seeing The Hurt Locker I thought the troops should be brought home more than I did before seeing it. It was another reason for me to think that because I was given a good visual instead of reading an article on the internet or listening to a reporter just talk about it. It did give insight to what can happen there on a daily basis. The main thing that I could have against this show is that it could demean what American soldiers are and what they're are doing. I completely understand that TV channels are going to put shows on TV that will get ratings and make money. I do not disagree with that philosophy at all; I would just like to see this done for the right reasons. Something like this should not be a gimmick because our troops deserve better than that.

Blog and twitter are created

Here is my blog for mass media and politics. You can follow me on twitter at twitter.com/philpuckett .