My "Journo-less" Summer...So Far (Part 2 of 8)

This is the second installment for my personal journalism-related observations of the current summer season...as promised, here's a new television program that involves a familiar face from a "fake news" show:


2. Last Week Tonight with John Oliver:

Jon Stewart, Comedy Central's potentate of puerile political punditry, unleashed upon the American television viewing public yet another fake news presenter (Stephen Colbert being the first and Larry Wilmore waiting in the wings for his January 2015 debut when Colbert moves over to replace David Letterman on CBS) who appears to be more passionate and focused than the news anchor choices on television today.  Although this show started in April, I'm including it into this "summer-y" piece because, in its short run, it has quickly become my "must see" program.

The "Tsunami" of SOTU Coverage

Probably the only vantage point that wasn't shown on a wide variety of viewing options--from the floor of the US House of Representatives. (photo courtesy of WhiteHouse.gov)

Due to guidance provided within Article II and the Twentieth Amendment to the United States Constitution (thanks to The Daily Rundown's Chuck Todd for bringing that last item to light during the trivia question segment of Wednesday's show), political junkies like me love the latter part of January (or as late as mid-February as was the case in 2013) because that means that the annual President's State of the Union Address is right around the corner.  In a tradition that dates back to George Washington's address to Congress in 1790, the head of the executive branch provides the legislative branch with an update on the conditions within the nation for the upcoming year.  While switched to a written communication by Thomas Jefferson in 1801, the in-person version was resurrected by Woodrow Wilson in 1913 and he expanded it to include a blueprint for the administration's legislative agenda.  In 1934, Franklin D. Roosevelt helped brand this speech as the "State of the Union" and establish a permanent tradition for presidential presentations on Capitol Hill (1946 was the last year that a president--Harry Truman--did not appear in-person).

An "Old Dog" CAN Learn New Tricks!

[NOTE: this is another story that has taken way too long to post here--it was originally from February!] 

The Dayton Daily News dragged me into the "e-edition" world of newspaper reading.

First there were the introduction of symbols (cave paintings, petroglyphs, pictograms, and ideograms).  After writing and alphabets were developed, humans now had systems to document and record events.  Through smoke signals, drums, horns, runners, pigeons, lamps, telegraphy, radio and television, the dissemination of those events could now be more widely and, via those last three, almost instantaneously announced to a global audience.  The introduction of computers and internet-based communications exponentially enhanced this process to the point of almost reversing course and replicating the mediums it replaced.  Streaming audio and video have eliminated the temporal demands of radio and television programming.  Now, with devices and software interfaces to closely resemble the newspaper reading experience, another long-held tradition appears to be biting the dust.

Indy Visit

As you can see by the dearth of blog entries here, I've had some personal and professional issues that impacted the 'free' time I was anticipating last month.  However, one of the things I was planning on doing did happen last Friday when I paid a visit to Indianapolis to take in the sights and sounds of the Super Bowl's pre-game festivities.  Attending the NFL Experience and strolling through the city's Super Bowl Village were my first and, with the infrequency of games in northern US cities, probably last opportunities to do that in my lifetime.  It was expensive ($20 for parking, another $20 for admission to the convention center, an ATM demanding an $8 service charge to withdraw money) and crowded (an estimated 1.1 million visitors for the 10-day affair) but I feel that it was worth my time and effort to go.

Al Qaeda Propagandist Killed During US Drone Strike

Samir Khan, in Charlotte, NC in 2008 (courtesy Associated Press)

As someone who works in an intelligence-related profession, I have been trained not to talk about such subjects in a public forum.  When I first heard about the recent news concerning the killing of Anwar al-Awlaki, the American-born Islamic cleric who reportedly motivated militant Muslims to commit acts of terrorism against the United States, I had mixed feelings.  While the mission was a success (via the current campaign of using unmanned technology to undertake tasks considered extremely hazardous for humans), not bringing al-Awlaki to court to demonstrate America's adherence to the rule of law will make him a martyr in the eyes of his followers and does damage to our nation's image on the world stage.  This would be a good topic for an opinion piece pitting civil liberties against national security and I am not ready to post my personal positions here just yet.

A/V: "Occupy Wall Street" Movement Comes to Dayton

About two dozen boisterous protestors turned out for the anti-Wall Street rally

Two weeks and one day into the New York City protests against corporate greed in America, many cities across the country have begun to hold their own rallies in support of their efforts.  In the shadow of the Key Bank building in downtown Dayton, approximately 25 protesters took to the street this morning to let their voices be heard on this initiative to passing vehicles and pedestrians near Courthouse Square.

Happy Birthday NBC!

On this date in 1926, the National Broadcasting Company was formed by the Radio Corporation of America (RCA--remember them?) as the first major broadcast network in the United States (radio first, television added in 1938).  Headquartered in New York City's Rockefeller Plaza, NBC currently owns/operates 10 television stations and has a network of nearly 200 affiliates throughout the United States and its territories.