Extra credit post

In the book “True Enough” by Farhad Manjoo, Manjoo highlights how today’s society is used to living in a “Post-Fact Society” that feeds off of selective perception and selective exposure. What the hell does that mean, you might ask? Well, it means that during the past 10 years or so, we have sat down on our proverbial couches and let others dictate what is true and/or worth of our attention. Screw going out there for ourselves, getting both sides of the story and making an educated decision, we are too overworked and too stressed out to do that. Besides, 24 is on at nine and Entourage is on at 10, we can’t miss that. Selective perception is what we choose to see, while selective exposure is what others want us to see. These two terms are as different as night and day, but very similar at the same time.
Let’s take Obama’s first 100 days in office and how controversial his bailouts and tax plans have been for almost everybody in this country. If you only watch FOX News, then they will probably tell you that Obama is a socialist who is trying to turn the U.S into a communist country and we are all probably going to starve to death if he continues to do what he is doing.
This strikes me as eerily similar to what Manjoo points out in his book about the Swift Boat Veterans and Senator John Kerry in 2004. The Swift Boat Veterans ignored the vast majority of the facts, held on to a minor amount of speculative evidence against Kerry and rode that evidence until the end. Eventually, they got so much exposure that people watching from their couches fell under their spell and refused to hear any other side of the argument, eventually costing Kerry the election.
When it comes to Obama, if people only listen to what Rush Limbaugh has to say, then you have Texas trying to stage its own tea-party and Republican governor Rick Perry voicing empty threats about Texas seceding from the U.S if Obama continues to enforce his current policies.
First of all Mr. Perry, let me tell you that the 1860s and the Civil War are over and (NEWS FLASH) the North won. Stop encouraging empty protests, behaving like a child that had his favorite toy taken away and wants to run away from home and behave like an adult. Face the consequences, do what is best for your state and, if you feel it is necessary, voice your concerns to President Obama in a diplomatic and civilized manner. That is the best example you can give to your constituents. Present all possible options and don’t just expose them to the “Obama wants to screw us” point of view.
Manjoo says that if you spread enough photos of Britney Spears mistreating her baby, then someone somewhere will be comparing Spears to Adolf Hitler. Exaggerated? Yes, but not unrealistic.
We have all seen what has happened with widespread photos of Obama respecting other cultures and bowing down in Kenya, or accepting a book from Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez.
If enough people close their minds and choose to believe that Obama is a terrorist or a socialist, then Obama will always have to fight those perceptions throughout his presidency.
It is like when Manjoo mentions Philip Jayhan, who is convinced that one of the planes that crashed into the World Trade Center fired a missile just before making contact, that being the real reason that the building collapsed.
A journalist went over the tapes that Jayhan claims made him see the “revelation”, but he never saw what Jayhan claimed to see. Despite mounting evidence against his theory, Jayhan, like many others that think like him, will never waiver from what his selective perception leads him to believe, just like many Americans that believe that Obama is a terrorist/socialist/antichrist will probably go to their deathbeds sticking to their thinking.
It is a very sad reality we are living in, and it is even sadder to think about how history will look back at us. Will we be remembered for our technological advances and our resiliency, or will our grandchildren laugh at our ignorance and our efforts to avoid reality at all costs?

Best of Blogs 9

"Prose before Hos" wins the Martin Bater award for most original and hilarious blog title that I have seen this year.
The blog is very similar to the Miami Herald's political blog without the normal restrictions of the newspaper business, designed for a demographic that constantly lives on the go.It is brief but detailed at the same time and it provides interesting links that are easy to access by just clicking on the highlighted phrase.
The only thing I didn't like is that it is littered with advertisements everywhere, and that takes away from the overall quality of the product.
Link: http://www.prosebeforehos.com/

Best of Blogs 8

The Lonely Conservative made me think of one of my classmates and how she is our lonely conservative. The blog is well spread out with news that appeals to conservatives and backs what it says with videos or certain quotes that back up Lonely Conservative’s statements.
I like the blog’s original approach to content by not only putting the standard content online but also going above and beyond with add-ons such as “Links I like” (a “Best of…” of his or her own) and an interesting up to the minute graphic detailing the U.S National debt, the debt per citizen and the total U.S population. Even if you are a liberal, the blog’s detail and originality should draw your attention.
Link:
http://www.lonelyconservative.com/

Best of Blogs 7

Donklephant is a satirical political site much like “Jesus’ General” that greets you in a similar “subtle” manner. Just like “Jesus…” had the Jesus with the made-up American flag as its staple logo, Donklephant has great Discovery-channel like artwork of animals with the American flag in the background. Such inspirational and beautiful artwork is then followed by the website’s motto “Big teeth, Huge Ass, Surprisingly Reasonable.”
As inmature as the motto may be, the site’s content is surprisingly serious. The blog follows the “Works Every Time” layout with the headline, a good photo, and the text and the analysis of the topic at hand is serious and realistic.
Link: http://donklephant.com/

Best of Blogs 6

CNN’s “Political Ticker” is an outstanding blog that combines world-class writing, great art and good videos that let the readers get the full scoop of the situation with words and images. The recent Queen’s post is both informative in its writing and humanized by the video of Michelle Obama actually touching the Queen in the embrace. The comments section is also easily accessible, which allows for productive interactivity to take place. If the comments section isn’t visible, then half of the blog’s purpose is automatically destroyed.
Link: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/

Best of Blogs 5: Jesus' General

“Jesus’ General” is a hilarious blog about politics that won the Washington Post’s Honorable Mention award for “Class Clown” in its best politics blog competition in 2004.
First of all, the title of the blog is funny enough that as soon as you see it you can’t help but snicker and be curious to click it just to see what it’s about.
As soon as you enter, you see Jesus in front of a made-up American flag giving you a thumbs-up with a winning smile. That is either really offensive or very, very funny.
The blog itself is set up in a very smart way. You have up-to-date videos at the top of some blogs and very subversive writing in all the posts.
The blog also takes advantage of its popularity by flooding the right side of the screen with ads without letting it come in the way of the newsworthiness of the blog itself.
Link: http://patriotboy.blogspot.com/

Best of Blogs 4

I like the Miami Herald’s “Naked Politics” blog because, despite lacking any art, it applies to the needs of the demographic it is aiming for. Let’s face it, this blog’s audience isn’t college students like me who spend countless hours in the computer and demand detail, their audience is the 40-year-old male who would read this blog on the kitchen table during his five-minute breakfast before rushing off to work.
Not every blog needs to be flowery with pretty backgrounds and artistic photos. After all, this is supposed to be about the quality of the news being provided, not the Photoshop prowess of the politics beat guy. Brevity and clarity are very good as it remains consistent and sticks to the topic at hand. The blog also occasionally adds video to its posts, so it remains versatile as well.
Link: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2009/04/pruitt-wins-battle-with-victor-crist.html