Impact of Elections

Being an election year it will be interesting to see how the democrats treat the issue of domestic spying as we move closer to november. As many people know, President Bush's approval rating is at an alltime low in the 30% range. This is also one of the worst presidential approval ratings in history, and even his own party is quickly turning on him. Though the issue of domestic spying has taken a back burner to immigration policy right now, I think that the democrats will make a major push to get it back in the news this coming fall. To continue to try and push it to the front page now will only further wear out the issue in the eyes of the Americans public, but if the issue can be kept in the back of people's minds until this fall it could be an effective campaigning tool. The democrats are looking to take over the majority in congress and depending on the how the republicans work their campaigns I think they have an excellent chance. However, depending on how the issue of immigration plays out the democrats may use that as their chisel to pull the republican party apart instead, the issue of domestic spying may not have to be brought back up. This in and of itself is a great example of everything that is wrong with american politics haha. What should be a major issue of concern for people, whether or not their government is illegally spying on them, will not be properly addressed unless it can make the media money and thus whether or not it can win politicians elections... Though I am normally not one to say so, perhaps the founders original idea of only allowing people thoroughly educated on political issues to vote wasn't as bad as I once thought... If nothing else maybe the comment I just made will encourage some feedback on everything else i have said

Lack of coverage...

For the last couple of weeks I have kind of sat back to observe the news to see how the coverage of the issue of domestic spying has changed over the last few weeks. Coverage on the topic has decreased significantly, as seems to be the pattern with media coverage of prominant topics. Issues have a shelf life and not a very long one, no matter how controversial. Issues such as imigration and the impending fall elections have taken over center stage. I have become increasingly convinced that American's have the shortest attention span of any people in the world! Today's hot button issue is tomorrows 3 line article in the back of the local paper and all the while people have no real idea what is going on with their government. Such a realization brings up the on going proverbial question of what came first, "the chicken or the egg?" Have american's brought about infotainment or is this something they have adapted to because it is the only way news is presented to them? Immigration is the topic of the day. With hundreds of thousands of people protesting each day, this topic is bound to make front page news pushing aside all of yesterdays old headlines. But why is it that tens of thousands are taking to the streets to protest a restriction on immigration but no such similar protest was organized to ban domestic spying? So perhaps it is that people really do care more about immigration law...either way the issue of domestic spying has taken a definate back burner position to more timely headlining stories

Bush defends his surveillance program

Of course President Bush is going to defend his own program, which he authorized to protect the American people not impede on people's liberties. With the investigation underway and the possibility that the media coverage could increase, President Bush will probably start publicly talking about the program and trying to spark support. This article on CNN covers how Bush supports his program and has nothing to apologize for. If you read the article it does not give much information nor does it give anything other than opinion. You may see the companies agenda, when, the opening of the article is a person opposing not only the presidents spy program but everything he is doing. Later there is a short clip of an individual supporting the president. I find it more than a coincidence that while the media should be talking about the conference and what was being said they are talking about protesters. When you analyze what is being said the agenda and framing can be revealed.

Elections are coming, politicians are moving

Do we want another attack. We need are politicians to be leaders that protect and look out for US citizens, not their personal careers. Remember that all people in congress are politicians first and leaders second. With elections in the near these members on congress are going to try to draw attention to themselves and distance themselves from other political candidates. This means that they are going to attack Bush and the administration due to their low approval rating. In a brief article on Fox News we can see the politicians using the media to spread their message to the public. Orrin Hatch R-Utah made a statement to Democrats "Quit trying to score political points." I take this as a statement that implies the message of, stop trying to use the media the further your political agenda. This is a serious issue and creating controversy in the media does not give the viewer an accurate implication of the issue, just your personal agenda. I believe that the Democrats feel that they need to make a move to try to even out the partisanship in Congress. I feel that the Republicans are playing defense and are trying not to loose the positions. This is going to be interesting to see how the politicians use the domestic spying issue in the media in the near future.

dirty bomber does he have rights...

In the LA times yesterday (4/4/06), I found an article regarding civil rights and the rights to a fair trial. This case was considered a "landmark in the area of presidential powers and civil liberties during war time". I’ve chosen this topic because I believe that it relates to the constitutionality of domestic spying and areas of presidential powers during wartime. The article has been written explaining the unchecked powers of the executive branch. Jose Padilla is the man in question, as well; he is on trial for his attempts to make a nuclear weapon. Padilla is also a known al Qaeda operative living in the United States. My first question is, if your working with a known terror organization, should you loose your constitutional rights for committing treason. Furthermore, I would like to know more about this topic. Why dose the media (LA Times) not reveal more about this topic. For instance, was Padilla caught with this so-called dirty bomb, or was he just thought to have plans to assemble it?

Spying issue may be resurficing?

An article CNN mentions how a special group, appointed by the House Intelligence Committee, will be conducting oversight into the eavesdropping program. In my opinion, this back burner issue will start coming back to the surface as new information is gathered. There may be a hidden agenda here by the Bush administration. I believe that the Bush administration is giving the media the status quos, and leaking the information to them as they feel necessary. The Bush administration is basically dictating to the media what to provide as news to the American public. The Bush administration has been hesitant to give briefings to congress, using his War Time Power, on the spying issue and hesitant to give detailed briefings to the full committee. This is a smart move by not allowing the media the grab and run with information that could hurt the president's approval rating. As previously mentioned, without a government source backing the allegations it is hard to give the public the information as legitimate news. Now that the Bush administration is being closely watched with an eagle's eye view, they are gladly providing briefings and giving the information to the media. This may be a ploy to increase approval ratings and prove to the United States people that he has done nothing wrong. Again, he has not been brought to trial nor has he been impeached. I believe that there has been no investigative journalism because the issue is of extreme importnace and being looked into by Congress and major law enforcement agencies. I feel like I am on repeat but we will have to see what comes about the investigations.

media info back burner

I have touched the last few times on issues of domestic spying in my attempts to blog my heart out. I am currently attending a class that tries to analyize media and politics. (amazing class... this class has really broaden my horizon, and further my crossfire abilities). To tell you the truth, I have been astonished to see so many issues in the news, some really important, some not so important, but it seems that if news does not sell, no matter the content, just seem to not make head lines or even mainstreem media. I see domestic spying as a huge issue, I can not understand why issues like this will not be taken seriously. In class, there is a lot of talk regarding why these topics just seem to fall out of the lime light. One idea that seems to be the dedicated "reason/fualt", is that president bush does not want these issue to be bought up because they will hurt his approval rating. (I don't buy that). If this was the case, then why would left slanted news shows not exploit these topics. If you see this with your bloggs, tell me what you think, and tell me why you think the media does this.

Government vs. Media

Domestic issues such as immigration reform and budget deficits have put the domestic spying controversy surrounding Bush into the background, on the news. The government and media are constantly competing with what information to give to the public. It seems as though the Bush Administration is winning the battle over what is deemed as important in the news. The media is covering more immediate news like the protesters against the immigration bill and the War in Iraq. The president's approval rating obviously is low and the domestic spying controversy was not helping his behalf. In complete speculation, I believe that the administration pushed extremely hard to put this situation on the back burner and possibly increase the president's approval rating. I believe that the president is extremely concerned with his approval rating and with only a few years left in his term the administration will try to increase his ratings. The president is pushing for his approval rating to increase to protect his legacy, what ever that may be. No president wants to leave office with the lowest approval rating ever. Just remember that the issue will get the attention it deserves when the controversy returns, but for now, it seems as the law is not being breached, till next time late...

Political cartoon's

http://www.eskimo.com/~roger/humor/cartoon-nsa-0002.jpg
I have been looking around today, and for many weeks, on issues of cartoons that are political. I have seen a funny issue with cartoons, I have linked this cartoon because of its content in regards to our topic. First off, political issues are easy ways of exploiting some one for little issues or soft topic issues. I feel that there is a link between soft politics and political cartoon's, which is made me feel that cartoon are a vital way to circulate these issues under the cloke. In the last two weeks or so, I can in no way shape or form find an article in the news on this so call domestic spying. It almost seems that this issue is either dead or better yet has gone under ground to help soften the issues regarding the presidential approval rating.

entertaimement in the media

Here is a comic I found on the internet I find pretty funny. This comic shows a clip of how the NSA performs there policy issues. I find this funny because the Bush administration has been secretive with their performance; however, this clip is obviously not accurate and does not give any factual information. This comic is used to entertain and not inform, but while entertaining has the ability to influence public opinion. Over time these subtle cartoon's can slowly help impact the viewer’s opinion. While I think it has the ability to influence opinion over time I also believe that it has no major impact on public opinion. The average laymen may take this cartoon out of context and more seriously than intended. These comics are used to attract the viewer and give entertainment not inform on the public. This is a comedic cartoon that stereotypes the Bush administrations as lying to the public and being too secretive. This is all part of the process that can subtly influence public opinion, if constantly showing one side. There also is the problem with pictures being interpreted in more than one way, which can be different from the intended meaning.

Media coverage on Domestic Spying

When looking at an article on Fox News regarding the domestic spying topic, we can see some subtleties in the media coverage that I find interesting. I believe that the topic has been placed on the back burner behind the War in Iraq and other issues. In my opinion, I believe that the media will not cover or slander the topic because government officials are hesitant to speak out on the wiretapping until the investigation is finalized and all facts are known. With many government officials waiting for the investigation to be over the media has no government source behind the allegations, which the media depends on so heavily. This articles main point is how most members of Congress want to wait until the investigation is over. Yes, Bush should be held responsible if he broke the law, but there is no concrete evidence to show that he did. Let’s remember that even Bush is innocent until proven guilty. Everyone needs to slow down on the allegations until the investigation is over. The Fox News article shows how D-Senator Feingold has no support, even from democratic members of Congress, about taking immediate action but instead waiting until the Senate Intelligence Committee finish's the investigation on the President's wiretapping programs. The article gives implications that it is more or less a waiting game, which gets me thinking whether or not this is what the government/White house Officials want. Again, without strong support from the government the media will hold back coverage, which is exactly what the Bush's administration wants. A top Democrat, Senator Durbin, has even announced that the investigation is not over and to wait for all necessary information. I believe that we will see a major increase in coverage as soon as more information comes out and there is something for the Democrats to spin as illegal. Till next time...