Bright Hall

Former Space Man Talks Politics, Accomplishments

Joshua Chaney — 2009-04-23T17:28:00+00:00

Filed under: Politics, Culture, The Economy, Muskingum College

Perhaps one of the most distinguished and certainly one of the most recognizable people in American history spoke humbly of his life accomplishments and reviewed Obama's first 100 days earlier this month.

On April 9, 2009 - 50 years ago this month - John Glenn was named a member of the Mercury 7, the United States' first astronauts. Glenn grew up in the village of New Concord - a small, college town in southeastern Ohio. He was a member of the village band and eventually a student at Muskingum College.

Since those days, his name has been one that is familiar to most anyone. He was a fighter pilot, a test pilot, one of America's first astronauts, the first man to orbit earth in space, an Ohio senator, a presidential candidate and later the oldest man to fly in space.

"It's hard for me to believe it's been that long," he said. "Part of that is because it seems to vivid to me."

One thing made clear by speaking with Glenn is his keen interest in politics and history. In fact, Glenn, a former Ohio Senator from 1974 to 1999, ran for president in 1984 but was unsuccessful. A close friend of the Kennedy family, Glenn was with Robert Kennedy when President John Kennedy was assassinated in Texas.

Glenn campaigned for Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry in 2004 and President Barack Obama in 2008. Glenn has said Obama is "doing an exceptional job" dealing with America's economic crisis.

"I can't speak with any certainty about the economy, because nobody knows what's going to happen, and I think we had to do something because this was the biggest drift down since the Great Depression."
Glenn's father was a plumber without work during those days. Eventually, Glenn explained, he found work through Roosevelt's Work Projects Administration program.

"There were things like that that really primed the pump and helped things and it took awhile," he said. "We didn't recover for many years after that"

Pundits have already started rating and reviewing Obama's first 100 days in office with mixed reviews.

"I think he had to do something and I certainly hope this works," Glenn said. "What he's doing to try and prime the pump now is running up an enormous national debt that we're going to have to deal with, but that's something I think he had to do. I don't think we could let this thing go the way it was. Even in just the last few weeks here I've noticed in the papers and magazines a lot of talk now about that this is a recovery that is starting and things like that and I certainly hope it's true."

Glenn's service was marked most notably for his work in foreign policy. While in office, Glenn was the chief author of the 1978 Nonproliferation Act and served as the chairman of the Committee on Governmental Affairs from 1987 until 1995, and sat on the Foreign Relations and Armed Services committees.

"I think his first foray into foreign policy in Europe and Turkey and those areas has been a big success from everything I can read," Glenn said.

Obama's effort to reduce the amount of nuclear weapons in the world "strikes a very responsive cord with me because that was one of the areas I worked very hard on all the time I was in the Senate, nuclear nonproliferation."

Glenn serves on Congressional Commission on the Strategic Posture of the United States, which he explained has met for more than a year, toured various nuclear development locations around the country, and is to decide whether or not the current military weaponry arsenal is adequate or can be adjusted.

Sen. Glenn is an adjunct professor of political science at the Ohio State University, where he helped establish the John Glenn School of Public Affairs, a wing he started in 1998 to encourage public service.

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Actress: Tea Protestors Were Redneck Racists

Joshua Chaney — 2009-04-17T23:17:00+00:00

Filed under: Politics, Culture, Media, Muskingum College

Don't like high taxes or runaway government spending? You're a dumb, redneck racist.

That's essentially what liberal actor Janeane Garofalo said on MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann last night. She was prompted to give a response on the Tea Party protests after Olbermann ranted on about the protesters "seething with hate." This from Olbermann, who essentially built an entire show around an hour-long, hate-filled rant about then president George W. Bush.

Olbermann still rants about Bush in a daily segment each on his show - 100 days after Bush left office, mind you. At what point is he forced to give it up? Still somehow - after Olbermann had finished his numerous immature references to male genitals, which he evidently thought were funny - Garofalo upstaged Olbermann on who could be the nuttiest hypocrite on stage.

"You know there is nothing more interesting than seeing a bunch of racists become confused and angry," she led off with. She went on to describe how none of the protesters could tell what the speakers were saying, or knew history at all.

"Let's be very honest about what this is about: It's not about bashing Democrats, it's not about taxes, they have no idea what the Boston Tea Party was about, they don't know their history at all. This was about hating a black man in the White House," she said pointing her finger. "This is racism straight up. That is nothing but a bunch of tea-bagging rednecks and there is no way around that."

She couldn't just leave it at that, no way! She had much more hate left before she would be ready to give up the floor.

"You can tell these type of right-wingers anything and they'll believe it except the truth. You tell them the truth and they become -- it's like showing Frankenstein's monster fire -- they become confused and angry and highly volatile...The limbic brain of a right-winger or Republican or conservative or your average white power activist. Their limbic brain is much larger in their head space than in a reasonable person and it's pushing against the frontal lobe so their synapses are misfiring."

There is nothing that can be done to fix conservatives -- or just people who think they pay too much in taxes, she said, because it's about racism.

If you are concerned about runaway government spending, you evidently are an uneducated, brain damaged, redneck, racist who is unable to decipher truth from fiction.

Paul Begala got a little worked up over the tea protests on Imus in the Morning Wednesday as well saying that Tax Day was "the proudest, most patriotic day for 99 percent of Americans, that we have all year."

Are 99 percent of Americans really going to think of tax day as the most patriotic day of the year? Not in this lifetime. What about real patriotic days like July 4th, Armistice Day, Veterans Day, Memorial Day, etc.?

Begala went on to a call tea partiers "Wimpy, whining weasels" who "don't love their country."

One thing is certain: Begala and Garofalo didn't seem to have a problem with whining throughout the past eight years.

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Brown University Faculty Votes To Hijack History

Joshua Chaney — 2009-04-14T21:50:00+00:00

Filed under: Culture, Breaking News, News, Brown University, Microtrends on Campus, American University, Muskingum College

An obsession with political correctness at American universities has rapidly become a national phenomenon in recent years. A few colleges have really taken it too far.

Brown University's faculty voted last week to rename Columbus Day "Fall Weekend" on the University's calendar, a move that apparently was in step with the wishes of students according to a poll by the college newspaper The Brown Daily Herald. The poll revealed a majority of students disapproved of continuing to call the holiday Columbus Day.

The decision came after weeks of pressure from student groups proposing change.

American University's Undergraduate Senate passed a similar resolution a few years ago declaring the holiday "Indigenous People's Day" instead.

Columbus Day is named of course after Christopher Columbus, the man incorrectly attributed with discovering North America. As we know today, Columbus was tied to the enslavement and abuse of native inhabitants of the West Indies. Columbus Day has been celebrated since 1971.
But really, Columbus Day? It seems strange that academics would be so willing to hijack history for the sake of an extremist obsession to purify it. Owning a history book doesn't give one the right to rewrite it, however. Columbus Day still exists as does U.S. history in its entirety - dark spots as well as bright.

The faculty might have instead used the day instead to ... oh, I dunno, teach? Since when is it an acceptable standard in American academia to ignore history instead of use its errors as a basis to teach and educate?

"Brown University made itself an example to the nation by carefully exploring its ties to the slave trade and using that process to promote greater understanding," Providence mayor David Cicilline, a 1983 graduate of Brown, said in a press release last week. But the decision to "simply erase the celebration of an incredibly significant moment in world history and Italian-American culture for the sake of political correctness does just the opposite," he added.

While Columbus might not be credited now with being the first person to discover America, many Italian-American organizations still credit Columbus, an Italian explorer, as a major historical influence on western civilization's introduction to a new part of the world.

Providence newspaper columnist Bob Kerr called the decision "detached," especially because of the large number of Italian descendants residing in Providence. Rush Limbaugh also opined on the decision, attacking the students who urged for the change.

One Brown student said Columbus is "undeserving of a holiday." Another said "what they teach us in elementary school is misleading - hero worshiping."

The decision was "a progressive step," he added.

I couldn't disagree more. The most feasible part of the students' argument is that Columbus wasn't deserving of the holiday in the first place. But what is certain is that the holiday is also is a yearly reminder of how far we've come. It provides a basis on which teachers can educate their students.

A much greater injustice is done in ignoring the sacrifices made at the hands of the ignorant. Their story deserves to be told, not swept under the rug and the best way to do that is for Columbus Day to remain untouched. It is not an elementary teacher's place to go all philosophical on an 8-year-old, and I don't think children are educated to idolize Columbus - at least I wasn't.

At a higher level of learning, the flaws of such individuals need to be observed and critiqued.

The decisions by both American University and Brown University were more accurately in step with those attempting to censor historical scars, and call it cliche, but those who ignore history are, indeed, destined to repeat it.

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ShamPOW!: Pitchman Arrested For Punching Prostitute

Joshua Chaney — 2009-03-28T12:57:00+00:00

Filed under: Culture, Odd News, Muskingum College

I wonder if we'll have to suffer through those ShamWow commercials anymore with the we-can't-do-this-all-day guy with the stylish headset on.

I'm going to guess ShamWow will come up with a new pitchman after Vince Shlomi -- the guy made famous with his obnoxious yet amazingly successful commercials pitching the highly absorbent towels -- was arrested for punching a prostitute at a South Beach hotel last month.

According to thesmokinggun.com, Shlomi hired the woman for "straight sex" for a one-time special price of $1,000.

Shlomi met Sasha Harris, according to an arrest affidavit, at a Miami Beach nightclub and subsequently retired with her to his room at the Setai hotel.

Shlomi told cops he paid Harris after she "propositioned him for straight sex." During the the 4 a.m. fight, Harris sustained facial fractures and lacerations all over her face, according to the affidavit.

Shlomi evidently found out that kissing with tongue was not included in the offer when he gave it a try and the prostitute latched onto his tongue and didn't let go until after he had repeatedly punched her.

Shlomi ran into the lobby of the hotel where security called police, who later found him bleeding from the mouth.

Originally, both parties were charged with aggravated battery, but prosecutors decided not to pursue charges on either. It is still unclear whether ShamWow will consider making blood absorbent bandages for oral use.

If they do, they might have to wait until Shlomi's "moneymaker" is healed up so he can pitch us that idea next.

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'White People With Blue Eyes' Caused Economic Crisis?

Joshua Chaney — 2009-03-28T09:42:00+00:00

Filed under: Culture, News, The Economy, Muskingum College

Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva recently blamed the global economic crisis on "white people with blue eyes," and said it was wrong that black and indigenous people should pay for white people's mistakes, the Financial Times reported.

Standing next to UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown at a joint press conference in Brasilia, Lula da Silva told reporters: "This crisis was caused by the irrational behaviour of white people with blue eyes, who before the crisis appeared to know everything and now demonstrate that they know nothing."

"I do not know any black or indigenous bankers so I can only say [it is wrong] that this part of mankind which is victimised more than any other should pay for the crisis," he added.

What a fun position Gordon Brown found himself in!

"I'm not going to attribute blame to any individuals," Brown said, probably wishing he would have skipped out on the Brazilian stop of his five-day tour of Europe, the United States and South America.

Brown's tour was in preparation for Thursday's G20 summit. Brown made a joint appeal for the world's biggest economies to pledge $100 billion to boost global trade.

Adding to his analysis of the economic crisis, Lula da Silva likened protectionism to addictive drugs.

"I compare protectionism to a drug," he said. "Why do people use drugs? Because they are in crisis and they think the drug will help them. But its effects pass quickly."

While not as shocking as the first pronouncement, this isn't winning a Nobel any time soon either. Such extreme statements also won't help Brazil's campaign for a bigger voice in international financial institutions like the International Monetary Fund and the Financial Stability Forum. At least until their president drastically alters his thinking.

And that might be the only positive development to come of all this.

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Obama Dances In Boring Press Conference

Joshua Chaney — 2009-03-24T22:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Politics, News, The Economy, Muskingum College

Who's sick of hearing the President blame all of his problems on the previous administration?

Evidently some in the press.

The answer to a tough question usual begins with an Obama answer along the following lines: "Well, I would say you have to remember, I inherited (insert any current national crisis or issue here)."

The president didn't disappoint in delivering that answer at a press conference in which he spent most of the night defending his $3.6 trillion budget, saying the budget "is inseparable from this recovery."

Overall, the press conference seemed dull, highlighted only by Obama's eloquence in dancing around each question, giving long-winded answers normally that had little - if any - to do with what was asked and usually ended with health care reform or green energy reform and green jobs.

CNN's Ed Henry and CBS' Chip Reid called the president on the hypocrisy. Asked on the question of whether his budget tramples wishes not to "pass on our problems to the next generation," Obama kicked off his answer by blaming President Bush and Congressional Republicans.

The following is a portion of the press conference transcript from CNN:

Reid: Thank you, Mr. President. At both of your town hall meetings in California last week, you said, quote, "I didn't run for president to pass on our problems to the next generation." But under your budget, the debt will increase $7 trillion over the next 10 years. The Congressional Budget Office says $9.3 trillion. And today on Capitol Hill, some Republicans called your budget, with all the spending on health care, education and environment, the most irresponsible budget in American history.

Obama: Yes.

Reid: Isn't that kind of debt exactly what you were talking about when you said "passing on our problems to the next generation"?

Obama: First of all, I suspect that some of those Republican critics have a short memory, because, as I recall, I'm inheriting a $1.3 trillion deficit, annual deficit, from them. That would be point number one.

Later...

Henry: Thank you. Mr. President. You spoke again at the top about your anger about AIG. You've been saying that for days now. But why is it that it seems Andrew Cuomo seems to be in New York getting more actual action on it?

And when you and Secretary Geithner first learned about this 10 days, two weeks ago, you didn't go public immediately with that outrage. You waited a few days. And then you went public after you realized Secretary Geithner really had no legal avenue to stop it.

And, more broadly, I just want to follow up on Chip and Jake. You've been very critical of President Bush doubling the national debt. And, to be fair, it's not just Republicans hitting you. Democrat Kent Conrad, as you know, said, quote, "When I look at this budget, I see the debt doubling again."

You keep saying that you've inherited a big fiscal mess. Do you worry, though, that your daughters, not to mention the next president, will be inheriting an even bigger fiscal mess if the spending goes out of control?

Obama: Of course I do, Ed, which is why we're doing everything we can to reduce that deficit.
Look, if this were easy, then, you know, we would have already had it done, and the budget would have been voted on, and everybody could go home. This is hard.

And the reason it's hard is because we've accumulated a structural deficit that's going to take a long time, and we're not going to be able to do it next year or the year after or three years from now. What we have to do is bend the curve on these deficit projections.

And the best way for us to do that is to reduce health care costs. That's not just my opinion. That's the opinion of almost every single person who has looked at our long-term fiscal situation...

Henry: But on AIG, why did you wait -- why did you wait days to come out and express that outrage? It seems like the action is coming out of New York and the attorney general's office. It took you days to come public with Secretary Geithner and say, "Look, we're outraged." Why did it take so long?

Obama: It took us a couple of days because I like to know what I'm talking about before I speak.

The president again used a hand-picked list of journalists to direct questions to, oddly leaving out many major print sources like Newsweek, Time, The New York Times and the Washington Post. In an obvious effort to fend off his teasers, Obama also chose to ditch the familiar glass teleprompters he often uses for a large flat screen television in the back of the room instead.

Defending a budget idea to reduce the tax deduction that wealthier families can take when the make charitable donations, Obama said it is "the right thing to do."

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Students Must Now Pay On Loans In College

Joshua Chaney — 2009-03-23T16:05:00+00:00

Filed under: Breaking News, Muskingum College

Despite the wave of political rhetoric flying around calling for an increase in college affordability and availability, both might have become ever harder for the average student borrower today.

Sallie Mae, the nation's largest private student lender, is replacing its signature loan with a shorter-term version that requires students to make interest payments while still being in school.

Sallie Mae's chief lending officer Jack Hewes claims the upside is that the cost of a private student loan will be cut by about 40 percent. Repayment terms are also cut from 15 to 30 years to now five to 15 years.

Another upside, is that despite being on a shorter term, the monthly bills upon graduation wouldn't rise dramatically because the interest payments students will make while in school would avoid negative amortization - or the loan balance growing because of deferred interest.

In 2006 - 2007, around 60 percent of bachelor's degree recipients borrowed to fund their education. The average debt per borrower rose 18 percent from $19,300 to $22,700 in 2007 and average debt per bachelor's degree recipient increased from $10,600 to $12,400.

Sallie Mae gives the following example of how the loans, to be available in the 2009-2010 school year, will work for a student borrowing $17,000 over two years:

For the first semester of freshman year, the student would pay $40 a month. That figure would rise each semester reaching $160 by the second semester of sophomore year. The $160 monthly payments would continue until graduation.

Once out of school, the student would owe only the principal of $17,000.

This would be paid off over the next six years at $328 a month. Under the previous setup, the student would have repaid the money over 15 years at $250 a month.

The new requirement will lower the total cost of the loan to $28,000, compared with the previous $45,000.

Why do this? The interest payments from students while they're in school improves cash flow for the company. The loans are also less risky because families that can't pay while in school are weeded out. The company expects its default rate to take a big drop. The last fiscal quarter, 4.5 percent of the company's private student loans defaulted.

The company predicts that it will issue between $5.5 billion and $6 billion - down from $6.3 billion last year.

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Obama Takes Friendly Fire From NY Times

Joshua Chaney — 2009-03-22T17:09:00+00:00

Filed under: Politics, Media, Muskingum College

You might have to see it to believe it.

A spread of the nation's top liberal columnists at the New York Times all took shots at Obama in the Times' Sunday edition. Even the editorials switched sides for the day, taking swipes at Obama's economic team and policies, Politico first reported on.

It might not be unusual for the Times to add a bit of friendly fire once in a while for good measure - and when they do, Obama and his team listen. Think back to when Tom Daschle withdrew from consideration a job as Health and Human Services Secretary over some issues with his taxes. That same day the Times ran a front page story and editorial on the problems Obama would face with a Daschle nomination.

This Sunday, however, many of the writers had penned their pieces on Obama.

Frank Rich wrote that until Obama "addresses the full depth of Americans' anger with his full arsenal of policy smarts and political gifts, his presidency and, worse, our economy will be paralyzed."

Larry Summers, a key Obama economic adviser, bared the brunt of Rich's attack. "Summers is so tone-deaf that he makes Geithner seem like Bobby Kennedy," Rich wrote.

Thomas Friedman, the Times' foreign affairs columnist focused his piece on the lack of "Inspirational leadership" in America these days.

Friedman aimed his fire not just at Obama, but definitely took swipes writing Obama "missed a huge teaching opportunity with A.I.G. The president should have stepped up, he should have gone on national TV and had the fireside chat with the country that is long overdue."

"That's a talk where he lays out exactly how deep the crisis we are in is, exactly how much sacrifice we're all going to have to make to get out of it, and then calls on those A.I.G. brokers - and everyone else who, in our rush to heal our banking system, may have gotten bonuses they did not deserve - and tells them that their president is asking them to return their bonuses 'for the sake of the country.'"

Maureen Dowd nearly suggested "the wrong Obama is in the White House" citing the impressive take-charge fashion of the First Lady.

"It's a time in America's history where we need less smooth jazz and more martial brass," she wrote.

The Times' liberal editorial page, even complained that Obama was sending some "confused and mixed signals" in some of his national security policies, including his policies on Guantanamo Bay.

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The Bonuses: Who Is To Blame?

Joshua Chaney — 2009-03-22T10:50:00+00:00

Filed under: Politics, The Economy, Muskingum College

It has come to light in the past few days that the Obama Administration pushed the Treasury Department to urge a change in the stimulus bill protecting the AIG bonuses that the country has become enraged over.

Yet Obama has walked away virtually unscathed; not many are blaming him. In listening to him speak, I almost expected him any minute to deflect blame in his usual way by blaming the Bush Administration, but that didn't happen. Obama said he "didn't write the contracts," but that the "buck stops here."

The president will announce a plan this week that seeks increased oversight on all executive pay for banks, Wall Street firms and possibly other companies. The House voted Thursday to place a 90 percent tax on the bonuses.

There is much more rage aimed at Chris Dodd, the Democratic senator from Connecticut and chairman of the Banking Committee, who has essentially said Obama's Treasury Department coerced him into making the change for "technical" reasons. If only he had known, he would have not made the change, he said.

If only he had known what he was doing. Great excuse, Senator.Dodd cinched a solid nomination in the flip flop Hall of Fall after he claimed Tuesday he had no connection to the change that allowed for the bonuses, and then Wednesday admitted he was the guilty one.

Dodd may be in serious trouble come election time. A Quinnipiac University poll taken before the AIG flap shows a potential seat opponent one point ahead of Dodd - and those results came before he admitted to playing a roll in this week's fiasco.

Some heat has been directed toward Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, who has already had a rocky start. Geithner, taking a page from Dodd's book, admitted his office pushed for the change, but said he had no idea about it up until last week. Several Republicans have called for his resignation, which he he has deflected. Obama has already said he wouldn't accept the resignation.

Democrats have said repeatedly that the lack of oversight by the previous administration has led to problems. It has got to be hard to deflect the blame onto Bush this time.

Whether we figure out who is to blame or not, the competition amongst politicians on who can express the most outrage will continue. Although it's hard to beat calling for the executives to quit or commit suicide and the whole sucking sound of "sphincters" tightening.

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Sex Industry: What Recession?

Joshua Chaney — 2009-03-16T21:48:00+00:00

Filed under: Culture, The Economy, Muskingum College

When times are tough, families are forced to buckle down and focus on the stuff they just can't live without. I'm talking the absolute essentials - food, shelter and, of course, sex.

In fact, some businesses in the skin industry say they do better in a bad economy. The owner of an Ohio-based condom manufacturer said business is better than ever.

"We're doing well," Brian Frank of Undercover Condoms told the Columbus Dispatch. "There's been some effect from the downturn, but overall we're still growing."

According to the Nielsen Co., sales of male contraceptives in food, drug and mass-merchandise stores increased 6.4 percent in the last 13 weeks of 2008 compared to 2007. The number of condoms also rose 2.4 percent during that same period. Sales in January followed the same trend, up 5.3 percent compared to the previous year.

Condom manufacturers attribute the correlation to people staying home and resorting to cheaper forms of "recreation," while also being reluctant to have more kids in uncertain times.Condoms aren't the only things selling strong. The porn industry made a whopping $12 billion in 2007 and some filmmakers attending the AVN Adult Entertainment Expo in Las Vegas in January said sales were up in December and January.

Nicholas Steele, CEO of Bluebird America, told Fox 5 in Las Vegas that his company shoots about 100 videos a month due to a steadily strong demand.

Outside of sex, being a dentist still pays well, one doctor says. Toothaches aren't waiting for more economically convenient times, even though clients are tending to opt out of more preventative procedures.

Cell phones and video games can be checked on that essentials list as well, it seems.

The nation's largest wireless provider, Verizon Wireless, is still running strong as well. Verizon's revenues are growing as more and more of its over 80 million customers send more photos, videos and text messages and run web applications.

Many video game companies are thriving as well. Despite the retail industry projecting the slowest Christmas sales growth in six years, the video game industry was on track to increase revenues by 30 percent in 2008.

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Teens Think Rihanna To Blame For Beating?

Joshua Chaney — 2009-03-14T18:29:00+00:00

Filed under: Pop Culture, Odd News, Muskingum College

Here's something that might blow your mind: Nearly half of 200 Boston teenagers interviewed actually said that Rihanna was to blame for the alleged beating she took from boyfriend Chris Brown.

And if you think the amount of failed marriages has risen, wait until these kids get married. Of those participating, 71 percent said that arguing is a normal part of a relationship and 41 percent said fighting is routine.

The results were part of a survey conducted by the Boston Health Commission and were found to be equally among boys and girls. The startling results clearly demonstrate a generation of youths who have grown insensitive, to domestic violence.

"I think you'd have to be pretty jaded if you weren't startled by it," said Casey Corcoran, director of the health commission's new Start Strong program.

Oprah Winfrey added her take on the couple's situation as well this week, warning women that "if a man hits you once he will hit you again."

Tyra Banks joined Oprah in the discussion and has interviewed both Rihanna and Brown separately on her own show. Both dealt with domestic violence in their homes when they were young, Banks said.

The latest rumors running around are that the two are not only back together again, but plan to cut a song together on love as well as co-author a book about domestic violence.

The couple was also seen recently spending time together at one of Sean "Diddy" Combs's homes, on Miami Beach's Star Island.

Brown faces two felony charges for his alleged beating of Rihanna and appeared, Thursday, in a Los Angeles court where his arraignment on charges of assault likely to cause great bodily injury and making criminal threats was postponed at his request.

Brown withdrew himself from the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award after the charges were filed.

The incident that produced the charges occurred early Feb 8. A police affidavit says the couple go into a fight after Rihanna found a text message from another female on Brown's phone.

Brown pulled his car over and tried to push his girlfriend out to no avail thanks to the seatbelt she was wearing, police said. Brown pushed Rihanna's head against the window, punched her with his right hand and then continued driving while hitting her repeatedly. The affidavit also states Brown bit Rihanna on the ear.

Brown remains free on $50,000 bail. If convicted he could get anywhere from probation to four years and eight months in state prison.

Rihanna's lawyer Donald Eltra told MTV that Rihanna will cooperate with the investigation.

"At this point, she is willing to do anything that the law requires her to do. ... If subpoenaed, she will testify," Etra said.

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Obameter: Finally Holding Obama Accountable

Joshua Chaney — 2009-03-09T14:55:00+00:00

Filed under: Politics, Featured Stories, News, Media, Muskingum College

Barack Obama asked to be held accountable for his decisions -- and one newspaper has taken steps to do just that.

Staffers with the St. Petersburg Times pored through hundreds of pages of Obama's speeches, TV appearances, position papers and his campaign website. From ending the War in Iraq to purchasing a new puppy for his daughters, the team found over 500 promises - large or small - and created the Obameter on their new Web site, PolitiFact.com.

The Obameter grades each promise on one of six levels: no action, in the works, stalled, promise broken, compromise, promise kept. Obviously, most currently fall in the "no action" column.

The staff has individually numbered each promise and runs the list through continuous checks in order to update their status. So far, Obama has kept 16 promises, compromised 7, broken 2 and has had 2 stalled.

The two promises Obama has managed to break already, according to PolitiFact.com, are his promise to allow five days of public comment before signing bills and creation of a $3,000 tax credit for companies that add jobs.

Another feature "meter" on the site is the Truth-O-Meter, which is described as a scorecard separating fact from fiction. It essentially takes statements by politicians of both parties and rates them on how true they really are.

Statements are also graded on different levels of how true they are including: true, mostly true, half true, barely true, false, pants on fire (uber false?).

The entire project, according to the site, is the help "find the truth in politics" and "assess the Obama presidency."

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Limbaugh at CPAC: 'We Can Take This Country Back'

Joshua Chaney — 2009-03-01T12:15:00+00:00

Filed under: Politics, National News, Muskingum College

Democrats want and need Rush Limbaugh to shut up - some argue that the Republicans do too.

And at a time when some Democrats are suggesting bringing back restrictions particularly targeting him, conservatives are embracing him - giving him what Fox News called an "immense" ovation before he began his keynote address at the Conservative Political Action Convention (CPAC).

What transpired was nothing short of a chest-beating, conservative pep rally.

The talk radio giant, made famous for various extreme suggestions such as wanting Obama to fail, reportedly roused the conservative audience to their feet several times.

"We can take this country back," Limbaugh told them. "All we need is to nominate the right candidate."

Limbaugh actually came on stage 15 minutes early and spoke an hour over his allotted time of 20 minutes. If you've heard him on the radio before, you can understand why. The guy could talk for days and days on end.

He began by defining what being a conservative means.

"We conservatives have not done a good enough job of just laying out basically who we are, because we make the mistake of assuming that people know. What they know is largely incorrect, based on the way we're portrayed in pop culture, in the drive-by media, by the Democrat party."

"We want every American to be the best he or she chooses to be. We recognize that we are all individuals. We love and revere our founding documents, the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. We believe that the preamble of the Constitution contains an inarguable truth, that we are all endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights, among them life, liberty freedom - and the pursuit of happiness."

In his speech, Limbaugh accused President Barack Obama of inspiring fear in Americans in order to push a "big government" agenda.

"He wants people in fear, angst and crisis, fearing the worst each and every day because that clears the decks for President Obama and his pals to come in with the answers, which are abject failures historically shown and demonstrated," Limbaugh said. "Doesn't matter. They'll have control of it when it's all over. And that's what they want."

"They see these inequalities, these inequities that capitalism produces. How do they try to fix it? Do they try to elevate those at the bottom? No, they try to tear down the people at the top."

Limbaugh went on to praise Obama as a gifted politician but said he's disappointed those talents are not being used to motivate the American people - instead, he said, it's just the opposite.

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Student, 20, Fighting For Right To Run For Office

Joshua Chaney — 2009-02-23T19:46:00+00:00

Filed under: US Elections, Politics, News, Muskingum College

Brett McClafferty, a now 20-year-old Cleveland State University student, came up one single solitary vote shy of becoming mayor - at the age of 19 - of Streetsboro, Ohio in May 2007.

Shortly after, city officials put a charter amendment on the November ballot of that year raising the legal age to run for mayor or council from 18 to 23. The amendment was approved by 59 percent of voters.

But now McClafferty is back and intends to run for city council. The law discriminates against young people, he said, and if the Portage County Board of Elections refuses to certify his candidacy he plans to file a federal lawsuit.

"I'd like to see the courts acknowledge this law is unconstitutional and arbitrary, McClafferty told the Akron Beacon Journal. "I think this is a fight for young people across the country. It's a slippery slope. If you acknowledge an age requirement is legitimate, there is no reason all municipalities can't start adopting them."

Proponents of the amendment in age requirement likely want to ensure candidates have more life experience. However, renewed access to and interest in politics, especially online, might mean that a college student has as much knowledge of government as your average 50-year-old.

A former president of the council who chaired the city's charter review commission told the Beacon Journal in 2007 that the commission's members decided on 23 because the age would give candidates five years to go to college, go to the military, or work for five years.

Ohio requires a person to be 18 to run for most state and local offices. The age of 18 affords citizens the right to vote, among many others.The minimum age required to serve as member of the house ranges from 18-25. About half require a minimum age of 21. About a third of states allow 18-year-olds to serve in the state senate, and 20 have a minimum age of 25. Five states require a minimum age of 30 to serve as state senator.

To serve as governor, most states require a minimum age of 30. Six states have no minimum age, three permit 18-year-olds and six require at least 25 years of age.

While challenges to the legal voting age have yielded success for 18-year-olds, for the most part past challenges to minimum age requirements have failed.

According to law.jrank.org, courts have found that holding office is not a fundamental right that states may not restrict. They've determined that age is a reasonable basis of discrimination to ensure that those serving in government possess the necessary maturity, experience, and competence to perform as effective representatives.

I would say there are many older people serving or that have served in public positions that don't possess some those qualities.

Avery Friedman, a Cleveland civil rights attorney, CNN legal correspondent and law professor, representing McClafferty, compared him to Rosa Parks.

"I see this as a citzen's struggle to overcome an unfair government obstacle," Friedman said. 'Whether Brett is the Rosa Parks of Streetsboro remains to be seen. Certainly, it's the same process. Rosa wanted to take a bus ride. He wants to be a candidate."

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Stimulus Signed, Sealed ... Delivered? Not For Years

Joshua Chaney — 2009-02-17T20:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Politics, Breaking News, News, The Economy, Muskingum College

MSNBC's David Shuster - a self-described neutral journalist - discussed President Obama's bill-signing ceremony on his extremely partisan show, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, with a segment called "Signed, Sealed, Delivered."

He even had the similarly titled Stevie Wonder song playing during the segment. It was rather cute.

The problem of course is that Obama's stimulus for the most part won't be "delivered" anytime soon.

Portions of the $787 billion stimulus bill, which the White House estimates will save or create 3.5 million jobs, will take years to effect the U.S. economy.
A report by the Congressional Budget Office - the same group that estimated the stimulus would hurt the U.S. economy more in the long run than doing nothing - found that less than half of the money allocated for infrastructure and other so-called discretionary programs would be spent before Oct. 1, 2010.

Economists are predicting that the package will be most effective to the economy in 2010, and Obama admitted that recovery would take some time.

He also suggested that more is to come. Before he signed the bill, he said the stimulus "doesn't constitute all we're going to have to do to turn our economy around."

On Wednesday, the president will travel to Arizona to to unveil his plan to spend more money helping millions of homeowners fend off home mortgage foreclosures.

"We owe it to ... every single American to act with a sense of urgency and common purpose," Obama said back in January. "We can't afford distractions and we can't afford delays..."

Urgency indeed. So urgent, in fact, that Obama waited four days and traveled over half way across the country to sign it.

Then again, if nothing is going to be delivered for years, why rush?

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Henrietta Hughes Says She's Not Milking The System

Joshua Chaney — 2009-02-14T15:06:00+00:00

Filed under: Featured Stories, News, The Economy, Muskingum College

After a brief, empassioned plea and a kiss on the cheek, Henrietta Hughes was dubbed the face of the economic/housing crisis.

Hughes is the lady who begged President Obama for a house at a town hall meeting this week. Obama promised to help and he sort of did. A staffer gave her a card and suggested she go through more of the bureaucratic mess she had been complaining about.

Instead, Chene Thompson, the wife of Republican State Representative Nick Thompson, came to save the day, giving Hughes the keys to her home and inviting both her and her son to live there rent free.

Not suprisingly, her entire life history is now being combed over meticulously.

In her plea, Hughes mentioned that she had reached a dead end with local government assistance and no local charities would help.

Tanya Johnson, director of We Care Outreach Ministry, a faith-based organization in Fort Myers, says that just ain't so!

For the last month, Johnson claims she offered Hughes permanent housing and a place to stay free for three months, but Hughes refused.

"We've extended a lot of services to her," Johnson said.

D'oh!Hughes said that's just not so. Johnson wanted $400 per month starting immediately, Hughes said, and with an income limited to an $800 per month disability check, plus an insurance and storage bill, that just wasn't doable.

"Where was I going to get $400 a month to give to her if I got these expenses,"Hughes told WINK News in Florida. Johnson stood by her claim.

Before her famous plea to savior Barack, Hughes and her unemployed son lived in Rochester, N.Y., according to a 2004 article in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.

In the article republished by Michelle Malkin, Corey Hughes, son of Henrietta and an unemployed computer programmer, received free medical attention for issues regarding his thyroid.

"I can't even get a job at Wendy's," Corey Hughes told the Democrat and Chronicle, but "I feel good. I'm thankful to God."

He wouldn't reveal the salary at the temp job he was working but did say he had no health insurance.

From the Democrat and Chronicle article:

He helps take care of his mother, a breast cancer survivor who says eve with Medicaid, she hasn't seen a doctor in more than a year because she can't afford to pay any percentage not covered by her insurance plan. Having Medicaid disqualifies her from pro bono services.

"There isn't many doctors that will see you if you don't have insurance," says Henrietta Hughes, 56. "There's doctors, just out of the compassion and goodness of his heart, that will give his service or her service, and I'm very grateful to God."

The face of the current economic crisis has been receiving government assistance since 2004 -- before the economic crisis began.

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Stimulate This, McCain Tells Obama

Joshua Chaney — 2009-02-07T16:47:00+00:00

Filed under: Politics, Breaking News, Muskingum College

Sen. John McCain had a few words for his formal rival in response to Obama's temper tantrum the night before: chill out.

Obama ditched his beloved teleprompter at a Democratic pep rally Thursday night In Williamsburg, VA, to instead mock Republicans criticism of the bill as just another spending bill saying, "What do you think a stimulus bill is? That's the whole point. No, seriously, that's the point."

Evidently still a bit high on himself from the big win and inauguration, Obama must have realized that there are really people who don't agree with him on absolutely everything. This whole being-president thing is a bit harder than he must have thought it would be.

McCain, in what was his first jab at Obama since the campaigning, responded sounding extra maverickey.

"The whole point, Mr. President, is to enact tax cuts and spending measures that truly stimulate the economy," McCain said. "There are billions and tens of billions of dollars in this bill which have no effect within three, four, five or more years, or ever. Or ever."

Obama also spoke Thursday of the necessity for Republicans (to borrow a line from Steve Winwood) to just roll with it, baby.

"Here's the point I'm making. This package is not going to be absolutely perfect and you can nit and you can pick," he said. "That's the game we all play here. What I'm saying is we can't afford to play that game. We've got to pull together."

Translation: There is indeed wasteful spending in this $1 trillion bill that you won't like. But instead of debating, I need you to submit and join my fan club of yes-sayers immediately. Afterall, I need to keep some of the promises I made during my campaign. I'm Barack Obama. Trust automatically I know what's best.

Most would probably rather see this thing debated and reviewed. Spending $1 trillion with the deficit we face probably shouldn't be a decision we make in a day -- or a week for that matter.

In fact the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office believes that Obama's stimulus package will actually hurt the economy more in the long run than if he would doing nothing.

That's not a typo -- the nonpartisan budgetary folks think spending $1 trillion will hurt more than spending $0.

Case closed? No way. The Democrats' proverbial runaway spending train is full steam ahead and Obama says you better jump on board before it's too late. It would seem there's no turning back.

Lets just hope the train doesn't jump the tracks.

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Chavez Celebrates 10 Years; Aims For Another 10 (or 20)

Joshua Chaney — 2009-02-02T14:12:00+00:00

Filed under: Culture, International News, News, Muskingum College

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez celebrated 10 years in office today and decided he wanted everyone else to celebrate with him.

So, at the last minute, he gave everyone else the day off, declaring a national holiday in the midst of a political battle for a Feb. 15 referendum on allowing him to run for a third-consecutive six-year term. Chavez, an outspoken hater of America and everything American, has said he wants to be president for decades to come.

The proposed referendum - that has been approved by the Venezuelan legislature - would amend five constitutional articles and would allow indefinite reelection not only of the president but of mayors and legislators nationwide as well."This great socialist victory is a very important sign," Chavez said after elections in November that gave a legislative majority to Chavez-supporting candidates. "For me, as president and leader of the Veneuelan socialist project, the people are telling me, 'Chavez, keep going along the same path.'"

Chavez' polarizing policies and appetite for political power has led to a decline in attraction to voters. His first attempt at a similar referendum came not long after his overwhelming reelection in 2007. That referendum failed by small margins.

His popularity has much come from his use of oil money to support food programs to his citizens and health care as well. The sustainability of such social policies is debatable due to the debts his state oil company has piled up in recent months.

The global economic conditions he blames (you guessed it!) on that oh so evil U.S. capitalist system.

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Phelps Apologizes For Marijuana Photo

Joshua Chaney — 2009-02-01T18:46:00+00:00

Filed under: Pop Culture, News, Muskingum College

U.S. Olympic hero Michael Phelps apologized today saying he exhibited "bad judgment" after a photo surfaced of him inhaling from a marijuana pipe.

Phelps, winner of eight gold medals at the Bejing Olympics, did not dispute the authenticity of the photo, published in News of the World. The British tabloid said the photo was taken at November house party on the campus of the University of South Carolina.

"I engaged in behavior which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment," Phelps said in a statement released by one of his agents to the Associated Press. "I'm 23 years old and despite the successes I've had in the pool, I acted in a youthful and inappropriate way, not in a manner people have come to expect from me. For this, I am sorry. I promise my fans and the public it will not happen again."

Information with the photo did not actually claim that Phelps was smoking pot (but I doubt he thought that was a fashionable pose) but a partygoer was quoted as saying Phelps was "out of control from the moment he got there."

The U.S. Olympic Committee also responded to the photo saying in a statement Phelps "is well aware of the responsibilities and accountability that come with setting a positive example for others, particularly young people. In this instance, regrettably, he failed to fulfill those responsibilities."

No action can be taken according to David Howman, executive director of the World Anti-Doping Agency. An athlete is subject to WADA sanctions only for a positive test that occurs during competition periods.

This wasn't the first time Phelps had to apologize for disappointing behavior, however.

In 2004, not long after winning gold in Athens at age 19, Phelps was arrested on a drunken driving charge. He pleaded guilty and apologized for the mistake.

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Blagojevich's Last Words As Governor: 'Sorry For What?'

Joshua Chaney — 2009-01-30T12:45:00+00:00

Filed under: Politics, News, Muskingum College

The guy is known to be a bit weird.

And Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich - former Governor, I should say - most certainly demonstrated further proof to that characterization when he broke his boycott of the impeachment hearings and pleaded for his job in an impassioned but at times, strange final statement yesterday afternoon.

He talked about his family, serving coffee to Sen. John Warner, who mistakenly thought he was a staffer, Warner's famous ex-wife, and colleges he didn't get into, all before state senators -- seemingly unamused -- voted unanimously to oust him for his position.

"There is no evidence before your body here that shows -- no evidence, zero -- that there was any wrongdoing by me as governor," he said.

When it comes to selling Obama's senate seat, he played it all down to typical politics. Come on, everyone expects cash or something in return for a political appointment right?
House prosecutor David Ellis gave Blagojevich credit for his speech but said he spoke "more about the evidence with Barbara Walters on 'The View' than he did in this chamber."

"When the camera's on, the governor's for the little guy, the little people. When the camera's off, what are his priorities?" Ellis asked. He added later, "Being governor is not a right. It's a privilege, and he's forfeited that privilege. I think the people of this state have had enough."

Blagojevich's lieutenant governor, Patrick Quinn, was later sworn in as the state's 41st governor vowing to change the state's image and clean up corruption.

"The ordeal is over," said Quinn. "In this moment, our hearts are hurt. And it's very important to know that we have a duty, a mission to restore the faith of the people of Illinois in the integrity of their government."

Before the vote and swearing-in, however, Blagojevich walked out of the silent chamber and darted to a big black Suburban where Chicago Sun-Times reporters asked him "why he didn't tell Illinoisans he was sorry for subjecting the state's 13 million residents to his choking legal and political problems, which have virtually shut down state government."

Blagojevich's response: "Sorry for what?"

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