Media and politics: unhappy marriage that may do more harm than goo•
By MATTHEW MCCOMAS
Columnist
MDM337@PSU.EDU
When things go bad and arguments
ensue, people are usually blaming
politics, but should they be? We're
often led to believe that politics
are dishonest and evil, especially
a particular party, opposite of your
own personal choosing.
For the most part politicians do tell
you what you want and need to hear
to favor them. However, as intelligent
human beings, most of us have come
to expect that. Who do we believe
however? The media. We read, listen
and watch it every single day of our
lives. We find sources we like and
follow them like it's a religion. We do
have the luxury and ability to choose
which media outlets fit our beliefs
and values, but we generally do not
listen to other sources with the same
Colbert for President; satirist enters the presidential race
By MARUJA ROSARIO
Assistant Editor
MXR3OO@PSU.EDU
On Tuesday, Oct. 16, satirist
Stephen Colbert of The Colbert
Report appeared on his own program
and made an announcement that he
plans on running for the office of the
President.
Amid a shower of blue, red and
white balloons, he shouted, "I'm
doing it!" Colbert aims to get written
onto the ballot of the Presidential
Primaries in his native state of South
Carolina.
Naturally, one must take everything
Colbert says with a grain of salt.
But this latest move has everyone
questioning whether or not this man
is senous.
Upon doing research, I learned that
Harmful toxins
By ANNA USTILOVSKAYA
Columnist
AXUSOO6@PSU.EDU
It's been said that the city air has
tons of chemicals that are harmful to
the human body, but little do people
know just how harmful.
In a CNN.com report, Michelle
Hammond and Jerimiah Holland
were participants of a study which
measured their body's chemical
levels to those of their 18-month and
5-year-old children's. Through the
use of biomonitoring, in which blood
is drawn from the body in order to
measure the levels of industrial
chemicals, the couple found out that
their children had seven times as
much chemicals in their bodies than
National Insecurity:
By MARTY SANTALUCIA
Staff Reporter
MFSSO7S@PSU.EDU
My reason for writing National
Insecurity is to put a light on a
particular topic I feel has been
ignored and hopefully energizes
readers to examine the issue and act
on their findings. For this reason, I
have decided to up the controversy of
my piece one more time in an effort
to jolt a reaction out of this campus.
Last week, I came across something
truly disturbing. The front page
of last Monday's Patriot-News
featured a picture of former Senator
Rick Santorum and the headline
"Santorum to Discuss Radicalism in
Talk at Penn State". Having a vested
interest in the University mentioned,
I picked up a copy of the paper along
with my usual New York Times. The
article announced that Santorum
would be speaking at University
Park the following night as part of
Islamofascism Awareness Week.
Controversy arose from the fact
that Santorum and other speakers,
including Ann Coulter, would be
visiting 200 universities and not
necessarily discern between terrorists
and members of the Islamic religion.
Santorum is even quoted by the
Patriot-News as saying "You have to
describe the enemy as who they are...
They aren't Irish Catholics, they're
not Ukrainian Orthodox. They are
who they are and their faith is integral
ear. It should be up to the media,
news more specifically, to provide
us with accurate information. This
way each individual can be given
the same information, regardless of
which outlet they are tuned in to.
Politics and the media is an
interesting combination. The sad
news is that some decisions the
government makes are based on the
approval of American citizens. Now
of course the average American does
not have a direct vote as to whether
or not the United States should go
to war with Iran or pull troops out
of Iraq, but their voices are heard in
Washington.
This necessarily wouldn't be bad,
but information given to the public is
skewed, depending on which outlet
the "facts" are coming from. National
news stations or shows are heavily
biased and depending on which you
tend to agree with is the one you will
the state of South Carolina's only
statewide media outlet, ETV, has
formally invited Colbert to begin his
campaign on their airwaves. There
are also phone calls made from The
Colbert Report to the Democratic
Party headquarters in South Carolina
weeks before the announcement, but
headquarters took it as a joke.
Facebook has started a group
that already boasts of 1,000,000
members, and it only opened the
day of Colbert's announcement.
In comparison, it took an Obama
support group nine months to gain
381,000 members. A Comedy
Central poll has 80 percent of 27,000
people voting "yes" to putting
Colbert in office. And Colbert has
now taken to taping his show down
in South Carolina.
Nation, I have to ask you, what
enter the air, yet the government is slow to stop the damage
they did, according to the article
Toxins in the air that derive from
fumes produced by buses, cars and
even the material making up toys,
plasticizers, make up and kitchen
products, can cause harmful effects
on everyone, especially young
children, the article said.
This is why more and more kids are
being diagnosed with asthma, birth
defects and neurological disorders.
The harmful exposure results in a
greater burden for the human body
which forces people, according
to the report, to use more energy
to breathe and perform everyday
functions. In order to stay alive
nowadays, people have to eat more,
drink more and breathe in more air
to filter our bodies, thus resulting in
as to why they are doing what they
are doing." While the quotes further
clarified why Santorum is a former
Senator, nothing said in the paper
was all that far from his usual off
beat commentary. What I found
truly disturbing was what I found
when I looked into the organization
providing the Nittany Lions with the
distinguished honor of his speech.
Islamofascism Awareness Week is
merely one facet of the Terrorism
Awareness Project, a program put
together by the David Horowitz
Freedom Center. The vocabulary
alone conjures heart warming
images of the Forth of July, apple
pie, and wetting yourself every
time the evening news comes on
- feelings which only suggest those
one experiences when viewing their
website: www.terrorismawareness.
org. Here, the organization provides
browsers with several other "featured
presentations", including Jimmy
Carter's War Against the Jews,
Jihad, and The Islamic Mein Kampf
While I was certainly curious as to
what the recipient of the 2002 Nobel
Peace Prize and 39" President of the
United States had against the Jewish
people, Jihad looked much more
intriguing. Upon clicking the link,
my jaw actually dropped.
The combination of images and
quotes, all of which could easily
be real, was horrifying. For five
minutes, one is bombarded with
fire, blood, terrifying anti-Western
believe. Personally, I find myself on
the democratic side, but I'm not here
to tell you that President Bush is an
idiot and Clinton or Obama would
do a much better job. I'm also not
going to defend the president and his
republican party.
Politicians will always be accused
of possibly misleading Americans,
but the media needs to set a new
standard. Originally, media was
supposed to be for the people and
provide them with the most current
and accurate information. It was a
nice idea to think honesty would be
a value upheld by the media, but that
is not the case.
The information viewers are given
should not change from station to
station and show to show. If they are
opinion-based that is one thing, but
actual news is another, with no gray
areas in between. One station can't
tell the public that 150 troops were
is democracy becoming? While I
laughed when I saw the clip of his
announcement, the smile quickly
left my face. Because you all need to
look into the future with me at what
could be a very real problem.
Colbert wins South Carolina. He
runs as an Independent in order to
avoid getting backed by a party. He
urges his followers to write him on
the Presidential ballot. His followers,
keep in mind, got a bridge in
Hungary named after him, convinced
Ben and Jerry's to make a Colbert ice
cream flavor and stood at the border
between Washington and Canada
waving fish in order to get Colbert's
eagle to return back to the zoo.
Colbert campaigns hard and wins the
minds and hearts of young people.
Colbert wins the presidency.
Though I may be stretching a bit,
obesity which is rapidly growing in
America.
The CNN.com report said the most
common industrial chemicals being
detected in blood is polybrominated
diphenyl ethers (PBDE's) and
phthalates, which cause thyroid
dysfunction and neurological damage
in lab rats.
With this being a study under 10
years in the making, who's to say
what an 18-month-old child with two
to three times the level of the amount
of flame retardants found in lab rats,
is going to face?
It is, however, clear that those most
affected are children less than six
years of age because their immune
systems and vital organs are still in
the process of developing.
Santorum - and other di
demonstrations and, of course,
numerous photos of September
11th. Overwhelmingly, the feeling
throughout that and every other
presentation was that all Islamic
people are terrorists and out to kill
you. Other parts of the site feature
videos of beheadings and other
"brutal rituals" as well as lists of
suggested anti-Arab reading. One
`gallery' on the site even included
nearly 40 pictures of the September
11th terrorist attacks, in case anyone
forgot what those looked like.
Burrowing deeper into the, at times,
nauseating content of the site I nearly
lost track of the fact that not only
was a former US Senator receiving
money from and speaking on behalf
of these people, but also that he was
coming to Penn State.
Interpreting the relative silence
from the university is difficult.
My best estimate is that no one
really looked into the organization
behind Santorum's visit. I have
to believe that was the better
choice considering the subjects I
unintentionally came across while
researching this piece. Having
been voted out of office nearly a
year ago, Santorum is irrelevant
and who he is speaking for is not
something the public needs to worry
about. Regardless, the premise of an
extremist with controversial views
coming to speak at an American
university was reminiscent of the
September 24, 2007 question-
killed in battle, while another says
only 15 were. People get confused
and then make their decisions based
on who is saying it.
This misleading of information
causes people to reject or rally
behind an idea given to us by the
government.
If one show says we should attack
Iran because they have threatened to
bomb us first, some Americans will
get behind President Bush and push
for action.
Another show may say Iran has
requested peace and the people who
tune into that program will buy into
that statement. Those people will
then protest the idea of going to war
with Iran.
Of course the government has
the final say, via majority vote,
but if an issue brings about strong
enough emotions from the American
people, the government might vote
if anyone had the pull to make fun
of democracy it is Colbert. And if
he actually won the election, no
civilized country would ever look
at us with respect again. We fight
already to keep our respect with the
rest of the world, but a complete
mockery of our election process, the
very one we are fighting and dying
to put in Iraq, would destroy our
integrity and our pride as the great
United States.
All things considered, Colbert has
a point. This election has circled
around a lot of indecision over whom
to nominate for party tickets. Does
it matter if he's half black, that she's
a woman, or that he's a Mormon?
In throwing his hat into the ring,
he knows he does have national
approval, something almost none of
the other candidates can even pretend
Males in particular are in danger
since research has proven that the
prenatal exposure to phthalates
in males can result in testicular
dysfunctions and the abridgement of
space between the anus and genitals,
later resulting in infertility.
All this information really makes
you wonder why the government
isn't doing anything to stop this
chemical exposure.
Well, the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) has yet to mandate
companies to test their chemicals on
humans in order to see the damaging
effects it'll have.
According to the CNN.com report,
although the agency has the right to
require additional testing, it usually
only does so on 10 percent of the
and-answer session with Iranian
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
at Columbia University. To Senator
Santorum's credit, he is much more
rational than Ahmadinejad, although
their views on gays are probably
similar.
Both of these events, which featured
controversial speakers and views,
are extraordinarily valuable to
the American government and
way of life. While it is true that
Ahmadinejad is not protected
under our Constitution and the first
amendment, Columbia was right
to extend an invitation to him and
allow him to speak freely on their
campus.
As Ahmadinejad himself is a
controversial figure, many took to
the streets to protest. Among those
protesting, there were two basic
categories. The first group was
protesting Ahmadinejad's extremist
views and absurd claims. The other
group, I cannot help but feel missed
the point. These are the people
protesting Ahmadinejad solely
because he was being allowed to
speak on American soil and in an
American university.
What the first amendment,
specifically our freedom of
speech, provides us is a vehicle to
diversify our views and enhance
our principles by contrasting them
to other alternatives. Unfortunately,
because my deadline pre-dated
Senator Santorum's speech at
THE CAPITAL TIMES
accordingly. I know I don't want my
opinion to be swayed by what I hear.
I don't want one set of facts from
watching one show and another from
a different program.
Obviously some shows are meant
to be skewed and funny, for
entertainment purposes, but the real
news sources should just that: real.
Americans can tell the difference
between entertainment and news.
The problem is the media is no longer
making them different. Opinions are
being presented as facts and until
that changes people will continue to
get fired up about things they really
know nothing about.
It is up to the media to provide
us with consistent information.
Unfortunately I don't see that
happening in the future because of
the almighty dollar. It is nice to dream
and maybe someday the media can
be what it's supposed to be.
to claim. He mocks our country's
indecision and throws it in his face
that they are not working hard
enough to sway the voting public.
Yet even his fans think he might
have gone too far. Though a bunch
are all for Colbert 2008, just as
many feel Colbert is tampering with
something that he shouldn't touch.
They hope that he gives up shortly
after his primary election ends.
So Nation, no matter what
happens, something is to be said
about Colbert's brash attack on our
country's politics.
I will keep my eagle eyes on his
next few moves in the upcoming
weeks. And in the meantime, take
some time to look at the politics
yourself and see if you wouldn't find
yourself voting for Colbert come
November.
products, while approximately 1,500
new chemicals are discovered each
The EPA's response to this, the
report continued, is its voluntary
testing program in which chemical
manufacturers can submit their
products and the EPA will run tests
on the 3,000 most widely used
chemicals.
The only problem is that these tests
don't measure health problems that
result from these chemicals.
With annual birth rates averaging
14 every thousand people and
301,139,947 people living in
America, we can
only imagine how many of our
citizens are constantly being affected.
Something must be done.
rty words
University Park, I am unable to
comment directly on what he said
last Tuesday.
In the case of Ahmadinejad, one got
the opportunity to not only compare
their personal views with a differing
opinion, but that of an extremist.
Some may argue that having such
comments come from the platform
of a respected university validates
those perspectives or enables the
speaker to persuade and convert the
audience.
If an audience member was truly
converted by that single speech,
the individual was already going
in that direction and it was only a
matter of time. Others could use the
experience to further define where
they personally stood on issues
compared to one extreme. The
opportunity should have been seen
as a chance to expand ones own
educational experience, not bring
the ever-more-nebulous War on
Terror to U.S. soil.
Hosting these controversial guests is
a practice that should be encouraged
by student bodies across the country.
Under controlled circumstances,
they provide fascinating views
and occasionally a comment that
everyone can't help but laugh at.
So, regardless of this being a
week late, I would like to welcome
Senator Santorum and the Terrorism
Awareness Project to Penn State.
I look forward to disagreeing with
everything you have to say.
October 29, 2007
President's
Corner
By SAHAR SAFAEE
SGA Vice President
SVSSO33@PSU.EDU
What's Up Penn State!? Hope you
are all enjoying the last few months
of this semester! Go out and support
your Penn State Harrisburg Sport
Teams! Flag Football anyone? A
few events that are going on this
month are: the Date Auction Hosted
by the Black Student Union on
November and the dates will be
attending the International Dinner,
Hosted by International Affairs
Association, on November 3", open
to the public! So come out and
enjoy the festivities.
With this "wonderful" rainy
weather, and cold and flu season fast
approaching it can leave even the
most optimistic person in a gloomy
mood. So here is a song that keeps
me happy on a rainy day: Upside
Down by Jack Johnson:
I hope everyone is excited for the
winter break; it is a few weeks of
nothing but snowboarding, lounging
around, and hibernating. To make
sure that you stay in peak physical
health for the winter break here are
few rules to help you beat that pesky
flu:
*Wash your hands
frocluintlY
thoroughly. A quick
rinse won't do the trite
kill germs, communicative
disease experts recommend
washing with soap for 15 to
30 seconds-about as long as
it takes to hum a rollicking
verse of "Yankee Doodle
Dandy."
oKeep your hands
away from your face
to reduce the chance of
delivering viruses directly to
your eyes or nose. One study
found that people typically
touched their face fifteen
times in an hour.
iNgskoOriciin you're
getting your RDA for
vitamin I and other
antioxickints including A,
C and &complex vitamins
and minerals. These have
properties that enhance
immune response. Studies
on older mice have shown
that those with reduced
levels of vitamin E were more
susceptible to flu infection.
smo,, ke. Smoke
paralyzeilhe cilia, the
hoirlike cells lining the nose
and airways that sweep
incoming viruses away
before they can infect.
*Use tissues, not cloth
handkerchiefs, to reduce
spread of infection.
*Reduce Mess. Research
has shown that immune
responses are compromised
by stress.
*Get seven to nine
hours of sleep a night.
Chronic sleep deprivation
con reduce your immune
response.
'Reduce alcohol
consumption. Chronic
heavy drinkers suffer from
more colds and flu-and
their complications-than
others do, and even regular
moderate use of alcohol
can compromise immune
response.
Provided By Discovery
Health.
Peace,
Sahar Safaee