As President Barack Obama forwards his political policies with little or nothing to show for it thus far, the bandwagon of hope and change is beginning to lose riders. The latests numbers for cable news ratings now show Fox News as the only TV news outlet to increase viewership since the election one year ago.

As the most effective critics of Obama’s obviously left-leaning agenda, Fox News has received an unusual amount of exposure to the public eye during the seemingly endless debate over universal healthcare.

Despite democratic smears and even White House opposition, Fox News now has the ten most popular cable news programs on television according to left-wing blog, The Huffington Post. Even when President Obama speaks out against Fox News by ever-so-subtly referring to them as “a certain news organization”, Fox’s ratings continue to skyrocket with no signs of falling.

It’s no secret that most major news outlets in America identify with the Democratic Party far more often than not, nor is Fox’s benefit to the Republican Party a secret. The overall quality of the news however, is better on Fox simply because they are able to ask questions that would never be asked on CNN or MSNBC because the answers to these questions benefit conservative thought.

The reason people get upset about the viewpoints of Fox’s four openly conservative programs is because the beliefs held by Bill O’Reilly, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, and Greta van Susteren are unprecedented in national news. The reason it works so well is because they all make sure both sides of the story have representation. Yes, they are bias, but every topic they cover is accompanied by a liberal ready to argue the other side. Honest representation of both sides of the aisle is just not something that can be expected from CNN. The ratings speak for themselves.

The people who believe Fox is unfair are the people who have become accustomed to the liberal media and just aren’t sure what to do with themselves when confronted with conflicting ideals. Fox is fair, and even if they weren’t, since when are conservatives not allowed to watch TV? The overflow of liberal programming on television is the real injustice. It is not a coincidence that the generation that propelled our President into office watches an average of 70 hours a week of television. (It’s not Fox News)

I don’t see Fox changing their game plan anytime soon. They have proven that Obama could give them the cold shoulder or go on The O’Reilly Factor every single night, “Fair and Balanced” reporting is all the American people are asking for.

Dear colleagues, friends, and casual observers,

We currently live in a time of increasing economic hardships, as you well know.   We live in a time that sees tuition rising higher and higher, and higher.  We also live in a time that sees student disgust with this upward trend.  But sadly, we find ourselves lacking the necessary coordination, collaboration, solidarity and camaraderie necessary to stand up against this gross violation of principle.  Together, as a collective student body, as one university student body spanning the entirety of the United States, we not only can resist, but shall.

The situation in California is a bit more somber than here in Indiana, at least for now.  Tuition is being raised by 32% for in-state students.  Protests have erupted, students have organized, and the fight ensues.  However, I am a firm believer that we, as university students at IU, have a responsibility and obligation (if not a moral one) to express solidarity and support for our colleagues in California (for the fact of the matter is that tuition, whether we like it or not, will rise, and rise again, here in Bloomington.) The best chance we have to curtail this malignant growth is through inter-university collaboration. For starters, we must conduct constructive dialogue amongst ourselves and reach out to our student government, IUSA, to support us (This begins by sharing your ideas below…)

When we are able to express ourselves fully with university students in California, the statement will be made and we will have a chance to defend ourselves, and our rights, before it is too late.

The fight in California is our fight as well.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/20/education/20tuition.html

Once again, Mr. Obama is being faulted for bowing to a foreign leader.  Here is the video of our president briefly genuflecting to Emperor Akihito of Japan.

Barack Obama bows to Japan’s Emperor Akihito

All the president is doing is showing his respect for another culture’s traditions.  I happen to believe that many traditions are antiquated nonsense, such as saying “god bless you” after someone sneezes, but a diplomatic rendezvous with one of the world’s most powerful leaders is not the best platform to assert your views on outdated conventions.

Critics of Obama’s graceful curtsy can call it a sign of weakness all they want; it only shows how cripplingly insecure they really are.  I doubt the president’s momentary bending at waist will trigger a massive overthrow of the United States government.

“He bowed to the emperor? That’s the sign we’ve been waiting for! Bust out the nukes boys.”

Respectfully bowing is the very least of our worries.  If another country wanted to destroy our nation, I’m sure we’ve given them plenty of other, more relevant reasons, such as the two wars we are currently fighting, or the career of Nicolas Cage.  And let’s not forget the hand-holding stroll through a park former President Bush took with Saudi King Abdullah.  At least Obama didn’t treat the emperor like a nursing home resident.

So I think our country is going to be just fine.  No Pearl Harbor 2 (Pearl Harder), and no more Pokemon designed to secretly poison our youth against us.  After all, this country did nuke the hell out of two Japanese cities not that long ago – the least we can do is be a little nice.

As we sit in the comfortable confines of our humble abodes, let’s reflect, for just a quick minute, on the situation of fellow university students  in the country of Honduras. The film is called La joven revolución Hondureña (the young Honduran revolution), written by Johannes Wilm, who “went to Honduras to film the opposition to the coup in early August 2009, and he happened to be there on the 5th of August, when police clashed with 3000 students in the National Autonomous University of Honduras.” (http://upsidedownworld.org).  Enjoy, reflect, and ponder.  But ultimately let us begin to conduct a constructive dialogue on how we, as university students not experiencing political oppression and intolerance, can work with university students in Honduras to help and perpetuate their ends.

The Young Honduran Revolution

As 2009 draws to a close, Newsweek has compiled a list of the top-ten most important innovations of the last ten years. Check them out online:

http://2010.newsweek.com/top-10/unknown-in-1999-indispensable-now/chipotle.html

Their list includes Wikipedia, YouTube and – my personal favorite – Chipotle.

But, I think they left a couple out. Here are my addendums:

1) Facebook
2) iPod
3) “google” officially becomes a verb
4) the Blackberry
5) High-definition TV

What does you guys think are the defining developments of the last ten years? What did they leave out?

Although the lethargic state of the economy has given good reason for recent concerns about funding in higher education, I am a bit troubled to find so much of the present focus in academics on money – state funding, staying with and ahead of regional economic changes, and competing for the best scholarships and fellowships, and, quite recently, requesting donations from IU staff.

The President of Marquette University Robert Wild got things right when he stated, “the bottom line is quality education, and it’s more than simply professional training.  It’s also training people in ethical values, training people to be contributors to the society in which we live.” I agree completely.

I have been more indelibly affected and shaped by professors’ lectures, ethics, encouragement, and gentle example than by academic programming, correct ethnic proportion, or economic planning.  Though I realize the importance of financial funding and allocating (where would I be without grants and scholarships?), I would not say that my education experience has been formed primarily by them.  Money may get students into colleges and keep them there, but research-oriented, caring professors and nurturing academic environments, a la Tuskegee, is what makes professionals, entrepreneurs, and leaders out of students once they are there. Even in this economy, it is important for us to remember that education is about people, not money.

An article on CNN came out, stating that “More than 100,000 cases of cancer each year are caused by excess body fat,” putting a quantifiable number on obesity cancer cases.

Obesity, as we all know, is bad for you due to other major health problems like heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, as well as low self-esteem and self-confidence. I was thinking a lot about the obesity crisis in our country, and I think that part of the problem really comes down to the way we make choices here. Everyone knows that eating fruits and veggies and exercising is healtheir than sitting on a couch and eating chips. With newer technologies and increased globalization, we have more choices than ever, but perhaps with this plethora of options, we haven’t been adquately prepared to make the right and healthy choices. I’d put this in another file of health education, something needing much more reform if we want people to make choices that seem simple and easy for their health.

Click here to see the article: http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/11/05/obesity.cancer.link/index.html

I’ve seen a disproportionate number of middle-aged persons on campus this weekend.
Don’t get me wrong. I don’t have anything against the older generation. I just don’t see them that much in Bloomington.
We’re a college town, remember?
Apparently, the influx of people over 40 is a result of an IU initiative: Parent’s weekend.
That explains it.
To be honest, I love when the university tries to organize such events. Nothing is quite so endearing.
While attempting to bridge the generational gap, such efforts tend to emphasize how big the difference really is. And it brings a lot of smiles and giggles.
For a humorous look at one aspect of the generational divide, check this out:
http://www.theonion.com/content/node/27667

Just when one would imagine that the comedy pinata, Glenn Beck, had been busted, John Stewart makes a few insightful connections.

11/3 Project

Well, gay marriage has now lost in all 31 states that it has been popularly voted on, and this is how one gay activist in Maine is responding…

In a defiant speech to several hundred lingering supporters, No on 1 campaign manager Jesse Connolly pledged that his side “will not quit until we know where every single one of these votes lives.”

Gay marriage activists in other states already “know where every single one of these voters lives,” and they publish that information online at sites like Know Thy Neighbor, address and all, presumably so that they can “go neighbor-to-neighbor” and “be aggressive personally,” as one of the founders of the site said.

The website lists people who signed petitions against gay marriage.

(I’m wondering if they’re planning to launch a website exposing people who signed petitions against McCarthyism.)

Their strategy of pissing off the 53% of the electorate who voted against them in order to get in the good graces of that majority will probably work well to win gay marriage in the future, because after the majority of voters who voted against them is demonized, I’m sure they will feel sympathetic to the attackers and want to change their vote.

But seriously, if they do want to win marriage through intimidation, they should probably pass a Card Check provision for state referendums so that they can eliminate the secret ballot, otherwise it will be hard for them to intimidate enough people in private to not vote for it.

On the other hand, if they project positive images of gay couples and show their role in society and try to convince their opponents as to why their wrong, maybe they will actually change their minds, but what has happened after each gay marriage loss is that the activists just ratchet up the same intimidation tactics that lost last time.