Obama Gives a Strong Showing, Yet Clinton Again Refuses to Face Reality

After a strong, decisive victory in North Carolina, Senator Obama displayed a strong showing in Indiana where he lost by a slim margin, despite the fact that Senator Clinton was heavily favored in the state. His strong showing in Indiana is yet another reason for fellow Democrats to rally behind him and make his nomination official. Senator Clinton, on the other hand, vows to push ahead, regardless of the odds against her. Even Senator Clinton's own aids admit her chances of winning are slim, especially considering her campaign is essentially broke and continued fund raising is not expected to bring anything substantial. Even Clinton's own campaign advisers refused to comment on whether or not Mrs. Clinton donated personal money to keep her chances alive. This is clearly a telling sign that the never say die senator must face reality and throw in the towel. Her chances have now realistically dropped from slim to none, to officially none, yet despite the betterment of the Democratic party, Mrs. Clinton is determined to push on. Hopefully, someone with influence will be able to persuade her otherwise, but for now it seems as though the primary will drag on until at least June, to the delight of Republicans and McCain supporters everywhere.

Obama Hopes to Steal Indiana and Seal the Deal

Senator Obama has won North Carolina, reports the New York Times. The victory is good news for the Obama camp, even though he was expected to win the state. The real battle however, is the Indiana primary which is also happening tonight. Clinton is reported to have a small lead at this point, with only a small percentage of precincts reporting. If Mr. Obama can manage to pull out the upset victory he would send a strong message to the super-delegates. Many political analysts believe if Obama can sweep North Carolina and Indiana, it will be enough to end what has turned into an exhausting primary that many expect will last until June. Hopefully, Mr. Obama will be able to turn things around in Indiana and bring some measure of closure to the Democratic party. Every day that Senators Obama and Clinton continue to compete, the Republicans and their nominee Senator McCain seem to be one step closer to the White House doors. I have my fingers crossed that with a little luck it can all end tonight, allowing Senator Obama to move put his full attention on the general election, which grows ever closer.

The New York Times: Helping Set the Gold Standard for Feedback Journalism

The New York Times is renowned throughout the country and even the world as one of the most well respected journalistic institutions as well as one of the largest news outlets both in print and online. Despite heavy criticism, much of it politically aimed against the rather liberal Times, many consider the New York Times to be the gold standard of quality journalism. Published daily, with online news articles updating 24 hours a day, the Times is an extremely efficient, informative tool that can be accessed for free by anyone with internet access and an e-mail account in order to register. The Times covers basically every topic, from local New York news to what is going on in the arts and entertainment industries, to international stories varying in all ranges from small to large breaking news that makes headlines. The front page always consists of current issues that revolve often around politics, especially for the last several months where there has been extensive election coverage from background stories about the candidates to current results detailing where things currently stand and predictions for the future.
Online journalism has quickly changed the way which readers can get their news and just as important how they choose to respond. The days of devoted readers writing letters to the editor still exist, but they are no longer the only way to communicate your views and thoughts about a news item. The Times allows for readers to post instant comments relating to certain stories and keep the dialogue going back and forth as other interested participants can join the conversation and add their two cents or if they prefer just view the list of comments and keep whatever they are thinking and feeling to themselves. Often times forums involving controversial issues can lead to negative attacks from frustrated bloggers who tend to forget the issue at hand and instead focus on the person who posted a comment. Conversations that head away from the issue at hand and more towards personal insults are never productive, even if they can occasionally be nice for a good laugh. Mostly they tend to frustrate other readers who could care less about someone’s personal beef with a person who they will never meet or know in real life. However, due to many factors largely contingent on the type of person who reads the Times, I have rarely read comments on a story that have disintegrated to the point of personal attacks. Of course, that is not to say everyone shares the same opinion, but instead of personal attacks bloggers on the Times will use concise, logical arguments to make their point. The worst comment I have read was in response to an editorial about the McCain story several weeks ago about his possible past associations with a female lobbyist. Two people got into it about whether or not the story was slandering McCain’s reputation. A few comments later and the pair began generalizing all democrats and republicans, with one making the comment that still stands out to me at the time; all republicans are selfish and only care about themselves and those in the same tax bracket. I remember thinking at the time what does that have to do with the story alleging McCain’s ties with a female lobbyist? But still the comments were a generalization about all republicans and not really a personal attack, even though the person they were aimed at was an obvious member of the Republican Party.
There are many possible reasons for the educated, factual and mostly always civil comments posted on the Times website. For one, the Times does not allow comments on many juicy, controversial stories. There is definitely a selection process into deciding what stories you can or cannot give instant feedback. How the system works I am unsure but without a button labeled comments before a story you cannot post a comment. There is, however, a section in top stories, which gives you a list of the top 10 blogged stories. The Times top 10 stories, in every category not just top 10 blogged; all revolve around stories of substance. Recently, most of the top 10 blogged stories have been about politics and more specifically the race between Obama and Clinton. This shows a strong political following from readers who care about the direction this country is heading and what we as Americans stand for. This is in strong contrast to a paper such as the New York Post, where many of the top 10 blogged stories are always involving some sort of sexual escapade or some scandal involving a celebrity. Using a paper such as the Post to judge what Americans find important will yield a totally different result than using the Times. It really goes a long way in showing the different type of reader that is attracted to that type of paper compared with the substance of Times articles.
This is largely why I attribute the trend of New York Times bloggers to the type of person who reads the Times and not necessarily the fact that there are only selected articles you can post comments on. The Times remains one of the most substantive news outlets still available today, which I believe is the reason comments come from educated citizens who still care about the actual news not some story that belongs on the check out line at the supermarket. In an age when even supposed reliable news networks such as CNN fall into the ratings happy trend of covering tabloid issues, such as what is going on with Britney Spears or Paris Hilton the Times stays true to the essence of being a “newspaper” and actually covering real news. Every day the front page is covered with headlines involving top political, economical and international issues, not gossipy celebrity rumors about who slept with whom or who has developed a major drug habit. It is for this reason that people who are fed up with major news networks covering stories that used to belong solely on Entertainment Tonight turn to the New York Times for their news. This accounts for the average reader being someone who cares about actual new stories and thus when they read a story of interest they post intellectual comments that tend to stay on topic and not stray towards negative or personal attacks. That is not to say that all comments are serious and humorless. Sarcasm is a major tool that many bloggers use to convey their point and perhaps also show how ridiculous they feel about a story. Personal attacks are rare, as the average reader tends not to stoop to the level of ridiculing another blogger, so in lieu of negativity many people use sarcasm as a way to show how absurd they feel an issue is. I also feel sarcasm and humor towards important issues is a way many younger readers tend to show their dissatisfaction following a pattern of political humor from programs such as the Daily Show or Colbert Report, which are mega-hits, especially with younger audiences such as college students. The Times has built a large, loyal following among the older generations who have used the Times as their source of news for their entire life. A perfect example of this would be my grandfather who used to read the Times every day, without fail, from cover to cover. However, similar to how many younger people have become involved in politics, I believe many have also begun to care about actual news and thus have gravitated towards the Times. Many of my friends from Umass, as well as my high school friends from Universities all over the country, set the Times as their homepage on the laptop and subscribe for free (free things are very popular with college students). This way they are able to get real news every time they use their computer. In fact, I begun using the Times as my homepage a few years ago, following the advice of one of my high school friends who advocated it as the best way to stay informed on the current, up to date issues that really matter. This was way before I had ever blogged myself or thought about using a blog as a way to share my opinion about a news item.
Reader feedback is changing the way journalism is used by dictating how news organizations portray their stories to readers. In fact, GoogleNews announced a new format for bloggers to comment on fresh stories, a clever ploy to increase popularity and compete with news giants like the Times. The story published by the Times on December 24 of last year by Noam Cohen expresses how the new format works. “The idea is simple: if you have been quoted in an article that appears on Google News, which presents links and summaries from 4,500 news sources, including the familiar big players, you can post a comment that will be paired with that article.” This vastly increases the levels of instant feedback journalists will receive and is a telling sign for the future. The days of letters to the editor are fast fading, as are the days of using a pen and paper to convey your feelings and frustrations. Accountability has always been a corner stone in the fundamentals of journalists everywhere, and now using the Internet as a medium to communicate, readers from all over the world can contribute their thoughts and beliefs instantly, making sure that concerned people everywhere can have their voices and ideas heard. The Times is the gold standard for intellectual, substantive journalism. As such, they are also setting the trend for productive, intellectual feedback helping the field of journalism improve and blossom to it fullest potential.

Controversial Indiana Supreme Court Ruling Questions Voter Identification Standards

The Indiana Supreme Court upheld an Indiana state law that requires all voters must provide valid photo I.D. in order to vote in the upcoming Indiana Democratic Primaries. The issue brings many questions into play about the standards of preventing voter fraud, as well as how prevalent voter fraud really is. Many democrats, such an New York Senator Chuck Schumer, believe the law is unfair, especially to poor, minority voters who often do not have a driver's license or another form of proper photo identification. Many of these affected voters are democrats. The reverse side of the argument believes it is imperative to have tough standards to ensure fair elections, without the risk of voters being allowed to cast multiple ballots. Personally, I believe it is important to make sure no one can vote twice or any way attempt to defraud the system of democracy that our country is built upon. However, this should not be done at the cost of alienating poor voters who have never had a driver's license, yet still care to vote for the candidate of their choice, without the hassle of being turned down at the voting polls. This is an issue that is bigger than just the state of Indiana. The issue of removing the risk of voter fraud, while at the same time not discouraging potential low income voters should be a national issue that can be agreed upon by everyone. Future elections should allow every eligible citizen to vote, without imposing undue burdens on them to prove their identity. National Voter I.D. cards provided free to everyone is a solution, however it is not quite that simple, especially considering the potential costs of a system of that nature and the large amount debt our government is currently in. What is clear, however, is that something must be done. At the very least it means bringing this issue into the national spotlight. No one wants a repeat of the horrendous debacles in Florida and Ohio that helped cement the national disaster that is George W. Bush's presidency.

Disaster strikes the Democratic party in the form of delusional politician Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clinton's victory in the Pennsylvania primary is the worst possible outcome for the Democratic party. She is still no closer to catching Senator Obama's lead in the delegate count, the super-delegate count or the popular vote. Instead, she is keeping her party wrapped up in an intense, increasingly more and more self-defeating primary race that only serves to give Republicans and their nominee Senator McCain more ammunition to use in the general election. It is inevitable Mr.Obama will pull out the nomination, the question just becomes when? When will Hillary finally come back to earth and realize she has no realistic chance, short of an act of god, to win? When will she give in and admit defeat? It is already almost May, and democrats need to rally around one candidate and start preparing for the general election, which is only several short months away. The best case scenario will be a sweep for Obama in the next two primaries coming up in two weeks, which should serve as cold hard slap of reality to Senator Clinton. Being realistic however, is clearly not part of Clinton's political strategy or she would have thrown in the towel long ago when it became evident to everyone following the primary that her defeat was not a matter of if, but a matter of when.

Forums provide multiple levels of communication

After spending a solid week blogging on a Masslive Forum, I was surprised at the different levels of communication that can spring forth from the large assortment of bloggers. Forums can act as another form of Instant Messaging, if the party you are blogging with is online and reading and responding to your messages as they are posted. Also, it could be compared to another form of e-mail, in the sense that you can check it whenever convenient, respond back at your leisure, and then log off until the next time you feel like chatting or checking the comments of others. Overall, forums are an excellent way to learn the viewpoints of other bloggers on a wide variety of issues, from sports to politics, or in the case of my forum, relationships.

Stoking the Blog Flames Not a Success

My strategy for writing a blog that would solicit the most comments from outside users was to pick a topic that was current and also of great public interest. Considering that this is election time I decided to focus on the intense primary battle between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Since I am an Obama fan I decided to write something that would support my candidate. However, I thought it over and realized that a negative attack towards a political candidate is more likely to generate controversy than giving praise towards one, so I decided to try and use some arguments from Obama supporters and write a blog about Clinton's refusal to admit defeat and how it was tearing the democratic party apart in a time when they need to start coming together to try and prepare for the general election this fall. I generally do believe Clinton is in fact tearing the party apart and her tactics to try and win have been shameless, such as telling the public she thinks McCain is a stronger candidate than Obama, which breaks the unwritten rule that you are not supposed say or do anything in a primary that will damage your party's chances in the main election. The overall message in my blog was something I actually believed in. However, to make my comments just a little more controversial I added a few sentences I don't necessarily believe in an attempt to generate more of a response to my blog post. For example I don't necessarily agree with my statement that she is only trying to win to make up for the humiliation she received during her days as first lady. After reading over my blog I was pretty satisfied that it would be of interest to anyone who followed politics, especially those who were Clinton supporters and would want to defend her via a comment on my blog. The biggest surprise to me in this assignment was the level of difficulty in trying to get my blog noticed. After being told MassLive forums were a good medium to showcase my posts, I signed up for an account enabling me to post comments and I added a link to my blog. I wasn't necessarily expecting to become the next blogging sensation overnight, but I at least thought one or two curious bloggers might give me a chance and check out my link. Perhaps, the extra step of clicking on a link turned potential bloggers away, but whatever the reason I received no comments. This leads me to believe that however important it is to write something controversial, even more essential is the ability to market and advertise your blog. In the ever-populated world of internet bloggers you must find a way to separate yourself from the masses and achieve your own identity as an internet personality.

Politics the source of most controversy on Washingtonpost.com

All top 5 of the most commented stories on Washingtonpost.com revolve around politics, and more specifically the primary race between Senators Obama and Clinton. The nation as a whole is transfixed by the competitive race and readers in Washington, the political capital of the country, are no exception. There are many reasons why this is such a popular story. This is the first election where either a woman or an African-American will have a realistic chance at becoming president of the United States of America. Also, the fierceness of the close race has led to many controversial battles between the two candidates which has put a lot of pressure on the Democratic party as a whole. The longer the race continues the worse shape the party will be in for the general election, which is a major cause for concern among all democrats. After suffering through the last 8 years of George W. in the White House, the last thing most democrats want is the continued in fighting of the party, which will only serve to hurt the candidate who is able to pull out the democratic nomination. All these reasons contribute at least a little to the vast array of comments about what most consider the most unique primary race in U.S. history.

Hillary Clinton is a Selfish Woman

Presidential candidate not to be Hillary Clinton is a selfish, greedy and now approaching delusional person for not graciously accepting defeat and dropping out of the Democratic primary. Does she really think she can still win? Mathematics and anyone who has followed politics for less time than a Bill Clinton study session with his female intern would tell you, NO! So why is she still running? While many plea for Mrs. Clinton to give up the nomination to Senator Obama, which will soon be his anyways, she is refusing to give up. She is instead deciding to waste millions more of her supporters money, while at the same time reducing the Democratic party to petty in-fighting for at least several more months, giving them less of a chance to win the main election (the one that actually counts) in November. Not that it will be a very big deal or anything, it's just the one that decides if we stay in Iraq for 100 more years and give Republicans another term to build on all the many successes of George W. Clearly, the esteemed Senator Clinton's greed for power, along with her insatiable need to achieve success in the face of the humiliation she received during her days as first lady, have clouded her ability to decide what is best for her party, and more importantly, the country as a whole. She must accept defeat, reverse her endorsement of McCain over Obama and just hope it isn't already too late.

My Call with Lynn Doyle

I called in to the CN8 program "It's your call with Lynn Doyle." I would consider an accurate description of the show to be the small blog that appears when you hit the info button on your remote, which reads, "A viewer call in show dealing with national news issues that impact local residents." I had even watched the show once or twice before when I was flipping through the channels, but never in its entirety. For this episode I had planned several possible questions involving the Clinton-Obama primary and the use of super delegates, who will most likely be deciding the outcome. I figured the election would have to be a topic that was discussed at some point in the hour long show, which runs from 9-10 pm. All my planning was thrown off however, when to celebrate Lynn Doyle's 11th anniversary episode the show decided to run a special entitled "50 and Fabulous." The entire episode was dedicated to viewers 50 years of age and older calling in to receive tips on how to look younger. The special guest of the evening was Charla Krupp, author of the book, "How not to look old." Clearly, my super delegate questions would have to be substituted in order to get my call taken and have a chance to appear on the air, live. My mom happens to be over 50 and she has a birthday coming up in a month, so I decided to try and get some advice on a gift I could give her to make her feel younger and happier. The number to call in is 1-877-CN8-Live. My first 4 calls all received a busy signal, but on the 5th, my call went through, which happened to be exactly when the show went to commercial. The number is displayed on the bottom of the screen during the broadcast and then disappears when the show goes to commercial, which probably means the volume of calls is drastically reduced and thus on my 5th try my call was picked up on the 2nd ring. I talked to a young sounding female who immediately asked me to hold. After only 3 minutes however, she was back and began to ask for my personal information. First she asked for my name, first and last. Next she asked where I was from. Finally she asked for my phone number. After taking down all this information she asked me what my question was. I told her I was looking for some advice on a gift for my mother who is over 50. I specifically wanted to know something I could give her for her birthday which would be unique and probably something she didn't already have that would also help her feel and look younger. The young woman on the phone thanked me for my question and said they had a screening producer who she would run the question by and then they would call me back if they were interested. Now to put the show into perspective, every caller was an older woman, with questions ranging from what to do with thinning hair, to what shoes to wear to not show your age (the woman had arthritis which affected how she walked). Clearly, I was already at a disadvantage, considering I doubt there were very many males calling in with questions about how to be 50 and fabulous. I thought perhaps it could work in my favor and maybe in order to gain some variety in the questions they would take a call from someone other than their base of 50 year old plus women. This was, however, not the case. I instead suffered through the hour listening to call after call about how to lessen the affects of wrinkles or properly pick out an outfit without overmatching, while my cell phone remained silent. I had been snubbed by the screening producer. Although I wasn't overly surprised my question wasn't considered, in the back of my mind I was thinking the producer might give me a shot. If anything just to switch things up, plus it would even demonstrate that their base reaches out to more viewers than just elderly women. Either way, although I was disappointed, I was at least able to gain some great tips to share with my mom, which should have her feeling and looking younger in no time!

Virginia Tech lawsuit settlement leads to controversy

A story today in the Times talks about how families of the victim's of the horrific Virginia Tech massacre were offered a settlement of $100,000. According to the article the story became public when an unhappy family decided not to keep the talks private and went to the A.P. The idea behind offering money to compensate a human life is definitely not anything new, however I still cringe every time I think about putting a dollar amount on a human life. Many people who commented on the story also felt the same way I do and made similar remarks. Other people thought the families should take the money if they needed it or start a foundation in their children's names. Another issue that many people brought up is if the school is even responsible at all. Overall, everyone agrees on the devastating degree of the tragedy, but as usual in our country when money is on the line matters become complicated and self interest takes precedence over anything and everything else.

The Irony of Spitzer

The recent sex scandal of New York Governor Eliot Spitzer is quite embarrassing. The married democratic apologized for his role and is obviously humiliated both publicly and privately; I can't imagine his wife being too happy. Just check out her picture on yesterday's NY Times homepage as her husband gives a press conference if you don't believe me, her facial expression tells you everything you need to know. However to add ultimate embarrassment to the scandal is the fact that human rights groups give credit to the disgraced Spitzer as being responsible for passing one of the toughest anti-sex trade laws in the country. Talk about irony. Perhaps next time the Governor proposes legislation he'll keep in mind his own personal life and maybe even think twice about keeping the two separate; especially nowadays with sex scandals being all the rage. At least to his credit he used a hotel. (Take a note Senator Craig).

Obama Loses!

Barack Obama has lost! Not the primary, just a single state, but however the fact remains he lost. The Illinois Senator had won 12 states in a row, prior to Senator Clinton winning Ohio, which she won by a pretty comfortable margin as well. The question then must be asked, what does this mean? Unfortunately the results of Texas are still pending at this late hour, but regardless of who wins because of the closeness of the race, Senator Clinton most likely will not be dropping out of the race. Personally, I was hoping for another Obama sweep which would have forced Clinton to give up as she really would have had no realistic chance to win the nomination. Instead, the race for the democratic nomination will probably go on for a long while more, and meanwhile the Republicans have secured their candidate in Mr. McCain. This gives the Republicans an advantage as they can freely bash democrats, without much of a response, due to the fact Clinton and Obama will still be busy duking it out with each other trying to determine a winner.

5 Letters to the Editor

One of my favorite letters to the editor was written in 1793 and is featured on page 27 of our Letters to the Editor text. It is titled "The Rights of Fish." The article goes to argue against the cruelty of fishing and angling. If the article was written in present times I wouldn't have given it a second thought, considering the large amounts of vegetarians and vegans nowadays who have eliminated meat from their diet and protest for the rights of animals on a regular basis. But considering this letter was written over 200 years ago, it is significant to note there were citizens who thought about the rights of animals and more specifically fish, which are not normally mentioned by animal rights activists even today. Instead most of the focus seems to be concerned with cattle and other livestock, which would be considered more conventional forms of food.
Another letter I found fascinating was from 1881 and was signed "Local Gossip." It is featured on page 54 in our text and the letter refers to a sleigh ride in which a Miss McKay was taken into custody by an ex-sheriff. The letter is very vague and, in my opinion, almost mysterious in the manner with which the lady is described; almost as a side story to the main point in the letter that the sleighing is excellent and everyone made it home safe on their ride. Everyone, apparently except for Miss McKay who was at first detained but then managed to outwit this "ex-sheriff" and escape. Many points in the story are unclear, leaving a lot for the reader to think about, which is one of the main reasons I found the letter so appealing.
A third favorite letter of mine is from page 44 and was written in 1848. It features a pretty extraordinary story about a failed panther attack on a small boy in the author's hometown. The panther was either very desperate or very brave and chased the boy all the way to his house, even charging at the door as the boy ran inside. Stories like these usually get embellished and often become greatly exaggerated, however they still make great reads and I am not alone in thinking so, as clearly the letter was chosen to be published for a reason.
Another letter I have to comment on for its utter ridiculousness is the letter on pages 138-139 about president Thomas Jefferson. The author of the letter claims Jefferson is plotting against the U.S. and than, to top everything, claims he mistook his nose for an apple dumpling and bit it off! The absurdness of this letter makes it remarkable that it was ever printed, regardless if it was 1807 or today.
Another letter I found to be quite hilarious also comes from the presidents section and was written about George Bush in 1992. The letter is on page 147. The author of the letter appears to be writing in a serious manner, especially considering he claims to be 85 years old. However, he seems to be making fun of the president claiming his family had to lay off some maids and chauffeur during the Great Depression and what a hardship this must have been for the family. This clearly seems like a playful jab at the then current president. If however, the author was not writing in jest, than in my opinion it just serves to make the letter that much more laughable.

Obama off to a good start tonight

Senator Obama has been predicted as the winner in Vermont, along with Senator McCain. McCain's victory comes as no surprise as he is also the predicted winner in Ohio and is expected to win the Republican nomination tonight. It is about time that the race is officially declared over because McCain has been expected to win the nomination for quite a while now. The Obama/Clinton race on the other-hand is still a deadlock as both candidates are still campaigning hard in a tight race, which could come to an end tonight if the Illinois Senator can pull out another sweep and carry the "delegate rich" states of Ohio and especially Texas. Mr. Obama has been holding the slight advantage due to his rolling momentum that has carried him since super Tuesday, and hopefully will be able to carry him again tonight.

Letter to Karin Wahl-Jorgansen

Dear Karin Wahl-Jorgansen,

I just finished reading your book "Journalists and the Public: Newsroom Culture, Letters to the Editor and Democracy." The book was assigned for my journalism class at U-mass, which is a class based primarily on the subject of feedback journalism. My professor said this was the first time he has used your book in one of his classes. In my opinion your book definitely illustrated your academic knowledge of the journalism field but I felt it had more of a textbook feel than it should have. Many students in the class were unhappy about the boring prose of most of your chapters as well its repetitiveness. I feel if you had used more personal examples and written in a more engaging style your book would have been more of a success in our classroom and overall as well. I'm sure, however, that with your strong knowledge of journalism your style can improve, especially as you hear reader feedback from students such as myself.

sincerely,


Jamaal Bollinger

At Least One Letter to the Editor is a Success

I learned today that my letter to the Daily Hampshire Gazette was a success and was published in the February 20 edition on Wednesday. I did not submit my letter until Tuesday night and was quite surprised that it ran in the next day's edition. Today is Sunday and I actually found out about my letter from my father when his wife happened to be reading Wednesday's paper and saw my letter to the editor. I was expecting an e-mail from the Gazette informing me they were going to run my letter, but I guess that is not their protocol. Either way I was surprised to hear my letter had been published because I had been checking letters to the Gazette every day, ironically except for Wednesday due to how late on Tuesday night I submitted my letter. In fact it was probably early Wednesday morning. Either way I'm glad my letter was run and it speaks volumes about how seriously the community is taking this issue of violence involving U-mass students and local residents.

Letters to the Editor

Recently I wrote two letters to the editors of two different newspapers; the New York Times and the Daily Hampshire Gazette. I chose to write my letter to the New York Times based on a very disturbing, but not surprising, editorial about our health care system and possible allegations of corruption within it. The editiorial talked about how the United Health Group allegedly uses faulty numbers to estimate the average co-payments patients make at their doctors office. The company that compiles the data for United Health Group is owned by them, and thus their loyaltie are, of course, to their parent company. Basically by using faulty numbers, health care prices become higher than they actually should be for all patients.
I feel the issue of health care, and badly needed health care reform, is one of the most important in our country. This recent information in the editorial about how the large scale health care corporations scam their patients is directly related to this issue. It is tough for patients to pay their health care bills even without their health care company paying less than they should during every doctors visit. The editorial also talked about how the New York Attorney General is trying to press legal actions against the United Health Group, which I believe is a good first step towards eliminating corruption in the health care system. However, it is still not enough. I thought that I would have a good chance to get my letter published by writing my letter to the editor and showing how outraged citizens are about this problem. It is a good medium to express that we will not tolerate being overcharged by wealthy corporations that do not need the money more than its average client. I also believed this was a good topic to write about because of its importance in the upcoming elections and its effect on almost everyone's life.
My second letter to the Daily Hampshire Gazette was in response to the recent violence across Amherst and especially involving Umass students. I decided to choose this topic because it affects me directly; I am a Umass student and I occasionaly attend parties where these violent episodes often take place. Because of the nature of this problem and its continued coverage in recent years, I thought this was a good way to get my letter published. I have lived in Amherst since Elementary school and now since I attend Umass, this issue was too important and too relevant for me to pass up on. Also I know many students are also frustrated by the recent violence and by writing about it, I could be a voice representing how many others also feel about the issue.

Obama slowly pulling head after impressive victory in Wisconsin

Senator Obama's impressive win in Wisconsin was just what his campaign could have hoped for leading up to the primaries next week in Texas and Ohio, which could end up deciding the Democratic nominee if Obama can keep his string of victories going. The Senator has now won 9 in a row including his victory on Tuesday, which included a nearly 60% winning margin in Wisconsin. Mrs. Clinton is by no means finished, but she must secure at least one victory next week if she is to still maintain a fighting chance. Caucasus were held in Hawaii, as well, where Obama is predicted as the winner. Results have not yet been announced in Mr. Obama's birth state, which most likely will result in win number 10 for the charismatic Senator who has really captivated the nation with his progressive politics and brilliant speeches.

Daily Hampshire Gazette letter to the Editor

Dear Editor,

All the recent reports of fights and altercations, involving mostly college age people, around the Amherst area present a troubling problem. Almost every incident seems to involve a party atmospheres where liquor is more than a little bit involved. Every year the University of Mass. takes steps to try and cut down on the number of violent incidents, including removing what was previously known as "Frat Row" and applying the students code of conduct to both on and off campus behavior. The annual "Hobart Hoedown" has been discontinued after its rather infamous riots several years back, yet despite all this, the violence seems to continue. Cutting down on parties and gatherings to try and reduce the number of conflicts is clearly not a fair option; the rest of the student body should not be punished for the acts of a few. Yet of course from the University's point of view, safety for its students is a paramount objective, especially when it has continually made national news for several different violent incidents over the past few years. There is no clear solution to this quite troubling problem. What is clear, however, is that if the violence continues to be such a major issue the University could be forced to take even more drastic measures, no matter how wildly unpopular they might be with the student body.

-Jamaal Bollinger

NY times letter to the Editor

Dear Editor,

Your February 18 editorial "A Rip off by Health Insurers" about the shortcomings of our health care system should serve as no surprise to anyone. In fact people should be outraged that such a corrupt system was ever even deemed ethical and allowed to exist in the first place. Allowing gigantic for-profit companies such as United Health Group to police themselves by actually owning the company that compiles the data used to charge patients rates is an unexplainable travesty that should result in more than just legal action against the corporations responsible. More importantly it should lead to a complete and total overhaul of our current and, clearly corrupt, health care system. It is past time for the government to stand up for the people and enact legislation against the greed of giant corporations which take advantage of a system that allows them to manipulate numbers, thus making health care virtually non affordable for the lower income families who need it most.


-Jamaal Bollinger

Amherst, Ma

Obama and Clinton looking ahead to Texas and Ohio

Senators Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton have primaries coming up tomorrow in Wisconsin and Hawaii, yet both candidates seem to be looking down the road to next week. Hawaii, Obama's birth state, is already considered a dead lock for him and most experts predict he will win quite heavily in Wisconsin, a state Hilary Clinton almost decided to bypass so she could instead focus on Texas and Ohio. If tomorrow goes as predicted, everything will come down to Texas and Ohio where there will be a huge number of delegates up for grabs, which could decidedly end the race if Mrs. Clinton cannot pull out at least one win.

Ohio and Texas loom on the Horizon for Senators Obama and Clinton

In two weeks Ohio and Texas could up deciding the outcome of the most diverse Presidential Primary in U.S. history. With Obama expected to win Wisconsin next week, all eyes now fall on the huge number of delegates up for grabs in Ohio and Texas. Losing Texas could mean the end for Senator Clinton in what could be her last big chance to swing momentum back in her favor. Republican front-runner John McCain has already started urging his party to unify around him and unless Senator Clinton can put a stop to her opponent's consecutive string of victories it can't be long until Mr. Obama does the same

Ohio and Texas now become the next Battleground

Ohio and Texas now become the next Battleground

Obama swings momentum in the Potomac Primary

Presidential hopeful Barack Obama took another big step today towards securing the Democratic nomination for president. Mr. Obama was projected by the Associated Press and every major news network as the winner in what is being called the Potomac Primary, which includes Virgina, Maryland and the District of Columbia. More importantly, he is swinging momentum his way in a tight primary race that is looking more and more like it could be headed for a photo finish. Increasing momentum is very important in a primary where both Senator Clinton and Senator Obama are well liked by many Democratic voters who could potentially end up deciding to vote for the candidate who they believe most likely to win. Fortunately, for Obama's camp he is looking more and more like that candidate.

Obama beats out Clinton

Presidential hopeful Barack Obama won a Grammy last night for his audiotape of his book edging out Bill Clinton who was also nominated. The victory could even be described as another Clinton loss to the Illlinois Senator after Obama also picked up another win against Hilary Clinton in the Democratic race for president in Maine. Hopefully the win over ex-president Clinton will be symbolic for what is to come over the other Clinton; Hilary. If his momentum keeps up Obama should be in for several more key victories this Tuesday as another round of elections should really heat up the Democratic primary this week.

Obama needs to win the democratic nomination

Hilary Clinton still maintains about a 100 delegate lead over Barack Obama, however, his camp believes he is still in a good position to take the nomination and I hope they are right.