Tossed Salad & Scrambled Eggs

You know, I've always been intrigued by political science. The name itself rings of an intriguing curve...political science: the science of politics. Once during my junior year in high school I borrowed a book from my United States History teacher on political science. When I cracked open the book, I was overwhelmed and quickly slammed it shut and just admired the pretty picture of the U.S. Capitol on the cover. Since then, I have kept a secure distance from politics and whenever it came time to vote for something, I would quickly assure my friends, family and co-workers that I would not be voting therefore I will not be bitching about this or that.

What a difference a few years can make.

I actually voted for the first time during Bill Clinton's campaign for re-election. And, after he was voted in for a second term, I started to bitch about this, that and the other. I felt American. I felt it was my right to bitch and moan even though I still kept a safe distance between me and my understanding of politics. Through all of this time I've learned that politics are not neccessarily kept within the Beltway in Washington, D.C. Politics takes many forms, in many facets of our lives; in all shapes and forms and descriptions of our life. Stephen King said it best when he stated that 'politics is just life with a lower case p.' So, how much I actually know about politics and how much did I think I did not know?

My interest in politics was re-born during last year's presidential campaign. The reason? Hmmm, one would think it was Barack Obama but it wasn't. It started during a 60 Minutes interview with Hilary Clinton. Now, I've always loved Hilary and have been a supporter for many years. Watching her and Obama debate was quite interesting in its own right as many of us thought that the Democratic Party was close to crumbling due to the horrific climb these two were trying to make in order to not only make history but to wrestle the government out of the hands of the careless Republicans. Anyway, during the interview I looked closely at Hilary and found a phoniness that was surprising and painful to watch. It was then that I became a Barack Obama supporter. Then, in the summer of 2008 something happened that set my interest at an all time high: the nomination of Sarah Palin as John McCain's running mate. Yes, I admit it: she grabbed me kicking and screaming into the political arena.

Now, I'm not going to sit here and re-enact the campaign because we all know what happened. And if you don't, man, you missed a really good time. I would suggest that you not only pay attention to your normal news source, but pay attention to some foreign news outlets and opposing networks, websites and blogs that you normally would not think about giving any time to. It makes thing interesting when one can get a full bite instead of tiny nibbles. Everyday I found myself on Huffington Post, MSNBC, and, yes, Fox News. The Charles Gibson, Katie Couric and Sean Hannity interviews of La Palin brought about surprising turns and insights...okay, and the first two were more entertaining once we learned that what little information Sarah Palin was offering was nothing more than Tina Fey being given the road to an Emmy nomination.

Long after the election and after the streets the world over were swept up after Obama's victory, I continued to frequent Huffington Post, MSNBC and Fox News. I wondered what Fox News would do once the Democrats have taken over the government. What I thought to be something of admitting that they had lost the election turned out to be nothing more than a bunch of crying babies, hate spewing and general unrest. Fox News, Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, Ann Coulter, Glenn Beck, etc.,  have taken it upon themselves to continue an agenda of division and fear-injection. Cleverly edited commentaries on the Fox News and Sean Hannity's show, Billo's continuous and outright lying, Ann Coulter's idiotic explainations of liberalism and Glenn Beck's almost comic Stooging of everything is doing nothing but inciting fear and feeding an already restless base of racism and hatred. And once all of this evidently pushes towards violence, these block heads can sit back in their million dollar homes, raise their hands and proclaim: "I had nothing to do with the actions of [place name here]."

I'm not saying that MSNBC is any better with their praising of President Obama (as i've seen chris matthews continuously interrupt some of his guests as fox news is greatly known for). However, there is one thing that MSNBC has over Fox: it does backup what it has to say. Fox usually just speaks whatever it is and let it float into the limp minds of those that follow its slanted view of journalism.

The Republican party has not learned anything. They continue to hop around with one foot in their mouths trying to fit the other on in. And if I was a backwood, down-home type of person that Hannity, Coulter, O'Reilly and Beck cater to, I wonder if one day I will be smart enough to branch out to other sources for news and information because one day I know I will kick myself in the ass due to the fact that they're laughing at me while I make them rich by purchasing their books and believing their poison. I mean, for Pete's sake, Glenn Beck happily wrote in one of his books about making out with his sister!!!

Social unrest has not only knocked on our doors, but it is sitting in our living rooms and enjoying a glass of iced tea. Hate crimes are on the rise. And with the new white male racism that seems to have come out of this circus the Republicans have created concerning Judge Sotomayor, you can bet that a ticking bomb is about to detonate. I just wish some of these people would take a step back and broaden their news and information horizons. But why should they when they are being told how to feel and what to think?