The nomination of a candidate as vastly under-qualified as Sarah Palin as McCain's Vice Presidential candidate is a blatant attempt by the Republican party to manipulate the sensationalistic mass media and an insult to the Women's Rights movement. Moreover, this places Palin in an interesting dilemma. Her original platform as governor was, in addition to reform promises, a commitment to advance Alaskan interests before national interests, but as the Vice Presidential candidate, she'll need to switch her priorities.¹ Can she do this without failing to keep her commitment to her home state?

Footnotes

The decision by the executives at MSNBC to remove Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews from the anchor position for the coverage of the 2008 U.S. presidential elections, and the New York Times' coverage of the decision¹, offers a contemporary example of how accurately Herman and Chomsky's Propaganda Model² reflects the state of mass media in the United States.

On 26 October 2007, I enjoyed the rare privilege of listening to the Dalai Lama in person in the Eliot Hall of Music on Purdue University's campus. In spite of the many security precautions, I unwittingly smuggled a recording device into the auditorium (I had forgotten that my Sansa has a built-in microphone and WAV recorder). Once I realized this, I decided to record the lecture for the sake of my friends who could not attend. The recording quality is extremely low-fidelity, and his holiness was not the easiest speaker to understand, even in person. The auditorium was full, so I was forced to hold the recorder in my hand for the duration of the lecture, resulting in many bumps and clicks.

An interesting article in The Christian Science Monitor reports that, in spite of the continued decline of the U.S. dollar, foreign tourism has dropped by two-million visitors in the U.S. while simultaneously rising globally by thirty-five million since 2000¹.

Amnesty International is encouraging concerned citizens throughout the Untied States to meet with their Congresspeople to discuss steps to shut down the illegal detention centres in Guantánamo Bay and elsewhere around the world. The plan they're proposing involves an immediate transfer of prisoners to proper facilities in the United States, prompt trials for the prisoners accused of crimes, release of the prisoners who will not be charged and legislation to prevent further abuses and incidents of torture. Go to the Signup Page to find a local delegation and join it. Even if no delegation is available in your area, you can still meet with your Representative and/or Senators to discuss the issue and share your concerns with them.