Election 2008 and "The West Wing"

Today I read a hilarious but strangely eerie article about parallels between our current election and the last two seasons of the T.V series, "The West Wing". Four years ago, the writers of the show contacted David Axelrod, one of Obama's current chief strategists, and asked for information about Obama. Now, the similarities are astounding. The character, Jimmy Smits, is a Hispanic Congressional newcomer with two kids. He picks a Washington veteran as a running mate and refuses to advertise himself as a "brown candidate". Sounds familiar, no? It gets even crazier.

In "The West Wing", Mr. Smits' opponent is a old Senate dinosaur by the name of Vinick Alda who picks a side on an issue and sticks to it, refusing to pander to his constituents. His running mate is solidly conservative and Alda lacks in technological expertise. To further extend the coincidences, the writers wrote Mr. Smits as a Dylan fan, like Mr. Obama and the Phillies were even in the World Series.

I thought this article was really interesting because of the sheer number of coincidences that arose from this show. There was so much that the writers just happened to get right that it's just mindboggling.

In the end of the show, after a long election ordeal, Mr. Smits, the Democratic candidate emerges victorious. We can only hope that this is yet another parallel.

Stelter. Brian. "Following the Script - Obama, McCain and 'The West Wing'," New York Times 29 Oct 2008. 29 Oct 2008 http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/30/arts/television/30wing.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

New electives add fun, cut pressure

Today I read about Pelham Memorial High School, where 17 new electives were added to the curriculum this year. Among the new choices are classes such as; jewelery and metalsmithing, history of rock 'n' roll and military history. The school spent $125,000 in light of meeting No Child Left Behind standards to widen availiable course selections. Much of the demand for these courses is driven by parents and students looking to show well-roundedness in college resumes.

I think this is an interesting article because of the nation-wide trend of cutting electives in favor of core classes in order to meet standardized test scores. As a person who doesn't support No Child Left Behind, which I think was a short-sighted concept by the Bush Administration that doesn't factor in schools like Edina HS that can't do much better since they're already at the top, Pelham Memorial is a great example of what schools could be like with some real educational reform.

Hu. Winnie. "High Schools Add Electives to Cultivate Interests," New York Times 26 Oct 2008. 27 Oct 2008 http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/27/education/27electives.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

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Obama critic deported

Today I read an article describing an incident involving the Kenyan immigration authorities and a man from the US who wrote a book criticizing Senator Obama. The author, Jerome Corsi, was scheduled to present his book "The Obama Nation" in a Nairobi hotel. The book questions whether the candidate may be using drugs or be lying about his faith while secretly a Muslim. However, before he was able to start his presentation, Mr. Corsi was escorted back to the airport by Kenyan police. Corsi apparently broke no immigration laws. Senator Obama's approval rating in Kenya is 89%, partially owing to his Kenyan heritage.

While I support Senator Obama in the presidential race, I also believe that the actions taken by the Kenyan government are slightly extreme. I acknowledge that Kenyan laws differ from those in the United States but as an individual I don't believe that Mr. Corsi had to be returned to the states, silenced. This article made me appriciate our first amendment freedoms and also made me wonder what kind of race this would be if the government had control over the media. As our current administration is quite conservative, I think that the question is begged as to how much the liberal opinion might be suffocated without these civil liberties. Personally I don't think that we would have the same sort of presidential race at all, so I'm very glad to feel like my news isn't being as filtered as it might be in another part of the world.

Kanina, Wangul, Humphrey Malalo. "Kenya to deport U.S author of critical Obama book." Thompson Reuters 7 Oct 2008 7 Oct 2008 http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-politics/20081007/POLITICS-US-USA-POLITICS-CORSI/.

Blog Question 1 response

Homer was an outstanding writer and his works are among the most lasting in history, this however, does not mean that he radically modern in his views on women. While there are some great models of strong and confident women, these seem to be exceptions, rather than the rule. Penelope, the loyal wife of Odysseus is helpless to defend her home from the likes of her suitors and is left at their mercy, unable to assert herself because of her position as a mere female. This demonstrates to sheer domination that men had in Greek society. Even in her own house, Penelope was forbidden by rules of social decorum to establish authority over unruly strangers. Her son, Telemachus, is also helpless to oust the lawless suitors from the house of his father. Yet he still has command over his mother and on numerous occasions he bids her to go to her room and leave the affiars of the house to him. Even though Penelope is his mother and his elder, Telemachus' gender still gives him the status to issue orders to her.

Not only do the mortal women have less affluence than men, but the immortal women too are subject to a lower level of respect. Calypso complains of this injustice when told that she must release Odysseus from her caverns. She points out that the gods are allowed as many affairs and wives as they wish but when a goddess shows interest in a mortal, thwy are met with scandalized attitudes. Now, granted, if perhaps Caypso had picked a less prominant hero, she might have fared better. But the truth remains that she is forced to give up her love. The character of Circe can also be seen as a female who is portrayed in a dark sense. She is an immortal witch who turns Odysseus' men into swine, which is a rather unsubtle metaphor for the evils of women. Circe does turn the men back to human form and allows them to live with her in comfort, but as a character she does little but illustrate the obvious sexism within the story of the Odyssey.