So, as the title implies, I was on The Michael Medved Show this afternoon, nervously speaking - about a non-political subject, surprisingly. The topic being discussed was a recent study that showed that kids admitted, anonymously, to cheating in school, among other things.

I always appreciate Michael's takes on certain issues as he can debate better than any other talk radio host with his plethora of facts and historical anecdotes handy.

Here is the full audio, starting with Michael's lengthy introduction, then my call and his his thoughts:



My thoughts on the subject were two-fold - First, the definition of cheating has changed over the years. Back in the 1940s, when the Army had a cheating scandal with the football team, it was due to cadets in the afternoon class finding out what the questions were to the test given to the morning class. I'm unaware of any student who doesn't ask their classmates what to expect on upcoming tests.

Second, many of the teachers are unfortunately lazy. Year after year, they use the same test for classes. The majority of them at least change numbers around to make it somewhat different, but once those tests are available to the entire university, they can't expect students to not find out and use it to their advantage.

So while I didn't get my point across as eloquently as I would have preferred, cheating depends on how you define it. Getting the test and answers beforehand and then using that for an advantage is cheating. So is passing notes, texting, and talking to other students when the teacher isn't looking. However, gathering as much information as possible to succeed is simply smart.

Michael has a good explanation, in that the majority of students today are in a highly competitive battle for good jobs. Years ago, most students simply got a job out of high school, while a small percentage went on to college. So much is focused on having a high GPA and good grades that students will do anything, morality aside, to succeed.

This is essentially a preview of my upcoming video on Purple States. I know I'm jumping around quite a bit throughout, but the video is simply responding to a predetermined questions asked by the Purple States crew. Rather than list each question, everything just freeflows. Comments and thoughts are always welcomed...

Unfortunately, we’re driving right down the road to a depression. The economic challenges being faced make it harder on all of us. I’ve been very lucky so far, but the little things are what add up – Not going out to eat or to the movies as frequently; passing up an item you want in the store - because you don’t need it.

The state of Michigan is in a unique position with such a heavy reliance on the automotive industry, which also puts us at the forefront of talks in the news with the proposed bailout of the big three. This makes it a very interesting – yet very scary time for our state. What bothers me the most is not just the home foreclosures or creeping unemployment rate, but the reduction and taking away of benefits and insurance from retirees who’ve been promised care, only to have the terms changed when they need it most.

As I mentioned, Michigan relies heavily on the automotive industry. Unless this changes, or the auto companies come up with a newer, more efficient business model, then the economy here will remain as is.

The cause of the economic crisis can’t be pinpointed to one particular item, industry, state or even country as everything is being felt on a global level. On a local level, our woes are due to the automotive industry’s troubles. First, the business model of the big three is flawed. If it wasn't, then foreign automakers would also be having the same financial issues of this magnitude, which they are not. We can argue back and forth on what the actual causes are, but the fact is very simple that throwing money at companies who have a proven track record of losing money and making bad decisions won't simply cause that to do a 180 and become a profitable company.

The proponents of the bailout typically have a vested interest, by working for, or being affiliated with the automotive industry. The disturbing part is that local politicians, who took a stance against the financial bailout, have shown to have no backbone by supporting one for the automotive industry simply for a power grab to garner more votes from the local workers.

A bankruptcy to any of the big three would be a major blow to both Michigan, and the country in the short term. In the long term, it would allow them to restructure and do things the right way as has been the case with the airlines. Filing for bankruptcy doesn't mean everyone loses their jobs, contrary to what many would have us believe.

Let's not kid ourselves here either - the financial bailout, which was opposed by the majority of Americans, opened Pandora’s Box on this. Not only has the original bailout been a debacle beyond most of our worst fears, but there has been practically no oversight on it as well. The proposed intent of the bailout was to help stimulate the economy and assist with lending, but the major beneficiaries of the bailout have used that money to consolidate and purchase other banks, still making it very hard to get loans. The executives of the big three made a huge mistake by going to Congress on private planes and then holding out a tin cup asking for change.

The auto-makers aren't all to blame however, as the government has a role in this as well. The efficiency standards for fuel and the pressure placed on the auto-makers has made business much harder. In addition, there are extremely efficient cars that the big three produce in Europe and Asia that aren't able to be imported here for various reasons.

The auto industry is in shambles, but can be compared to an operation to remove cancer. You can go through the procedure to remove cancer - which will be painful - but it sure beats dying, which is exactly what will happen if they don't file for bankruptcy. There comes a point where people need to be allowed to fail, otherwise they won’t learn from the past mistakes, since they’ll have Uncle Sam to prop them up at the first signs of trouble.

Giving individuals a tax rebate check doesn’t help to solve the problem either, since they money is coming from loans to the government, as evidenced by our massive and growing national debt. Rather, lowering the tax rates to give long term incentives to the market would be a better solution. A rebate check is simply a short term fix, that when gone, leaves the consumer wanting more like a junkie.

As far as the media is concerned, they’ve proved that they can’t be trusted. That isn’t to say that bloggers and the internet media are the answer either. All people should research the issues independently and double check the sources they are given. This may seem a bit surprising coming from someone with a blog, but most of us can’t be trusted any more than the media. Bloggers cover the most extreme sides of issues and do things like distributing chain emails that have been proven to be false and focusing on issues of no merit, such as the legitimacy of birth certificates and events that occurred over twenty years ago.

A short time ago, illegal immigration was one of the hot topics. With the economic meltdown being experienced now, there are much larger issues at hand. Is anyone going to try and argue that illegals are responsible for poor lending practices by the mortgage companies, or that they caused the big three to pay their workers a rate drastically higher than the competitors? Illegal immigration isn’t a necessary evil or anything like that. The mere fact that the name is illegal immigration, by definition, shows us that it is wrong. Once we’ve gotten the major issues taken care of, we can focus on issues such as that.

Well, I've been away for some time - busy with family, work and other important non-internet blogging related things. I wanted to announce however that I've been invited and accepted an offer to work alongside Purple States, in a non-partisan role as the Michigan correspondent to discuss issues facing us today. I've just finished shooting the first video regarding the economy - with some wonderful assistance from my wife, and they'll be putting the production gloss on it shortly, with it scheduled to air on the 26th. I'm sure they'll do a great job with the footage, and I'll update if there are any changes. You can check out the Purple States fine work at http://www.purplestates.tv

This doesn't mean I'm leaving the site or anything, if you really care! I'll be posting more on the video as it comes. Thanks for stopping by,

Anthony

A couple recent articles have me scratching my head. First, I know that many people are excited about the aspect of an Obama presidency, both in and out of the country. However, it seems that many folks are being caught up in sheer emotions and not looking at things from a big picture viewpoint.'

Barack Obama can be the best President, worst President or somewhere in-between, and he'll be in the history books simply for being the first African-American elected to the highest office in the country.

As with many famous individuals and great accomplishments, there is a surge of babies being named after President-elect Obama because of his historic victory in the 2008 election. Name your child what you feel is appropriate, for whatever reason. But shouldn't we make sure he's a good President first? I'm not saying that he will, but lets say he turns into some sort of pariah - there aren't too many babies named after other world leaders like Hitler. Please note that I don't believe Obama will be a fascist dictator, but the point is clearly that he could be someone who is extremely popular at first, that is remembered in not so nice terms in history. Let him prove that he's worth his salt before canonizing him as the next Saint.

In a similar story, a Kansas McDonald's is supporting plans to push forward a national holiday for Barack Obama, tied in with the 200th anniversary of President Lincoln's birth. Once again, he's done nothing to warrant this sort of attention. Let him serve out his four year term, and if the American public chooses, eight years, and then judge him on his merits. We already have a holiday called President's Day which takes into consideration all leaders in our country's great history. Putting one above that to have a day alone, before even starting the job, is rather foolhardy. With all due respect to President Elect Obama - There are other men in the office of President who are more deserving of a holiday of their own - namely George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Yes, I know they both had separate holidays which were subsequently rolled into President's Day due to a new holiday celebrating Martin Luther King Jr, but things need to be looked at from a historical perspective, not from blind emotions running wild.

I suspect all of the hoopla surrounding an Obama victory will die down, only to be picked up around Inauguration Day. Once Inauguration Day comes to pass, it'll be time for the new administration to roll up their sleeves and concentrate on the issues at hand. God willing, I was wrong and we'll fix the major economic issues while maintaining the integrity of our country and the spirit in which is was founded.

Good ol' Chris Matthews. The elation of some on the left is beyond any hope of redemption - that is if those members are in the media. As a journalist, a certain sense of integrity is needed. That's where the line is drawn between being someone who reports the news, and someone who gives opinions. Reporters, and commentators. Chris Matthews, throughout the 2008 campaign, has clearly gone full bore into the commentators category. It wasn't over when he felt a thrill going up his leg, not by a long shot. The agenda of Matthews is more apparent than ever with his latest comments this morning:
No sir, your job is not to make sure that Obama succeeds, but rather that he, along with other politicians, are held to a standard which is beneficial to the country, rather than a specific political party or ideology. By making such an absurd statement, he removes any impartiality and takes away whatever credibility he had remaining during the next administration. This is because, no matter how fair he actually is, the stigma of him rooting for a particular side and going as far to claim it is his job to, essentially, give the new President a constant stream of good PR is not something that any thinking person can accept.

Chris Matthews obviously wants to voice his opinion loudly at every opportunity, but should face reality and call a spade a spade - he's stopped being a reporter much long ago and donned the commentator hat.

Barack Obama has won the Presidency tonight. Tomorrow starts a new day, and while Obama is not in office until January, we'll start with a clean slate, but keep a close eye on things. So for tonight, congrats Mr. Obama.

Some of us are disappointed (an understatement) but realistically know down deep the Republicans couldn't do anything this year. My head is kept high and I'm optimistic for 2010 and 2012. My hope is that my fellow conservatives stay somewhat normal rather than turning into the rabid fringe groups that the left has become.

There's other news culminating tonight. First, one of the best journalists is retiring after this election - that being Brit Hume. Second, as the election comes to a close, so does my favorite channel on XM - POTUS 08.

My wife expects things to settle down politically after the election. It may for some time, but I don't see that happening with a Democratic President and Congress.

I'm holding out a slim bit of hope that Obama moves toward the center and also doesn't get the opportunity to destroy the Supreme Court. Keep the chin up conservatives - with a full Democratic majority, they'll be unable (although they'll try) to blame problems on Bush in four years.

Will Obama keep the promise to withdraw from Iraq, and will that change any sentiment towards us from the Middle East? In addition, with the extreme budget shortfalls and a $1 trillion deficit slated for next year's budget, can he really keep any of the campaign promises? Will he send out checks to all of us, or once elected, will he realize that the cost is too high? Will the fairness doctrine be reinstated, thereby removing any conservative voice of dissent? Finally, will Joe Biden's comments on Obama being challenged come true.

This election, in my opinion, was won on three basic principles:

1 - The media was in the tank for Obama, as all independent studies have shown, and just as much against anything Republican
2 - Obama was able to in essence, buy the Presidency with the shrewd move to bypass public financing, regardless of promises broken.
3 - The Obama campaign was run much more efficiently than the McCain one. There was a clear strategy by the Democrats, where the Republicans simply hoped that McCain could be enough of a Maverick to defeat the Democrats in this election.

It will be interesting how the media reports the reasons for the election results. The major talk I've heard is that it will be blamed on Sarah Palin, attempting to trash her as much as possible, since they know she is an upcoming major player in the Republican Party and can stop her before she gets rolling.

On a state level, it appears that my home state has voted to allow medical marijuana and to expand stem cell research for public funding, both of which I opposed. Going further down on a local level, the results haven't come in yet, but there weren't any major issues on the ballot, although some of the township races could be close.

To my Democrat friends - Congrats again on the victory. Understand the mistakes Republicans made of being too cocky. Having a majority in both the legislative and executive branches ensures you'll be blamed for everything. Remember those who blamed Bush for 9/11 even though he wasn't even in office for a full year. The media will have a short honeymoon, but Americans will expect substantial changes and be extremely watchful.

I'll be posting some thoughts via twitter throughout the night...

http://twitter.com/anthonyfuller

The polls are about to close in some states in a few minutes, so here's how I think it'll play out tonight.

I recently caught an interview given by Senator Chuck Schumer this morning and it was really telling. While most of the focus today is naturally on the election, most of that is just filler until after we get some exit polls and even those are suspect.

The focus of Schumer that I noticed was two-fold. First, he was speaking on the issue of secret union ballots, in a bill called the "Employee Free Choice Act" even though it is nothing of the sort. What the employee free choice act does, in a nutshell, takes away the secret ballot for joining a union, removing anominimity and allowing intimidation from union organizers. Schumer's argument was that union membership was at an extremely low level of six percent of the private sector and that by passing this act, it would place things on an even playing field.

The problem is that Schumer's logic involves a belief that union membership is a positive thing. Unfortunately, as the automotive companies will attest, the unions are at least partly responsible for the problems that are present. Playing games to force workers to join a union doesn't offer the choice Americans want or need. Unions have served their purpose in the past, but like many parts of government, have become corrupt and top heavy. The only positive thing about the bill is that sixty votes are required for it to pass, which is not impossible, but is looking unlikely unless the Democrats have a trick up their sleeve. Obama was an original co-sponsor of the bill, so barring an act of God, a veto would not occur.

The second issue Schumer touched on was that of the fairness doctrine. On the surface, it sounds fair - holders of broadcast licenses (network TV and terrestrial radio) are required to present opposing viewpoints to arguments to maintain a balance. The focus however is finely tuned to look at conservative talk radio. Most people know that the media presents a left leaning bias - only those on the far reaches will disagree. However, the only opposing viewpoints that will occur will not be on the network TV, but the talk radio circuit, in a move to crush dissenting arguments. Fox News, and the other cable networks are safe - for now - because they are on pay cable TV. Presumably, shows on XM or Sirius would be exempt as well.

Once again, the Schumer logic isn't that logical. Both sides of the issue have arguments which can be made for or against the fairness doctrine. Chuck Schumer's argument was that the same people opposing the fairness doctrine are those who oppose pornography on TV, and therefore should have a uniform block on things, as he claims to have. Huh? Dissenting political speech is nothing like pornography and is comparing apples to oranges.

Ah...Halloween. A wonderful time of ghosts and goblins. Children dressed up as their favorite mass-marketed television, movie and comic book characters. Trick or treating for as much candy as possible, and telling scary stories at night...

This is a story about three kids. Eight year old twins Billy and Katie, dressed up as Batman and a princess, respectively. Their older brother, sixteen year old Roger, is dressed up as...a teenager.

Billy and Katie are mapping out strategies to get as much candy as possible. Roger, on the other hand, simply wants to get some free candy. He's young enough to still want the spoils of Halloween treasure each year, but old enough for dressing up in a costume to be beneath him.

As the night progresses, Billy and Katie are reaping the rewards of trick or treating with bags close to overflowing and Roger has a paltry handful from his nonchallant attitude. Towards the end of the evening they arrive at nice Mr. Obama's house. Mr. Obama is very generous to the three children. At first, the kids are all happy. Then Mr. Obama notices the discrepancy in the children's bags.

Mr. Obama proceeds to remove candy from Billy's and Katie's bags and place the candy in Roger's bag. "There, now everyone's equal," exclaims, Mr. Obama. Roger is ecstatic. Billy and Katie...not so much.

The story is fiction, but the analogy is spot-on with the direction this country is most likely headed in. We're being pushed in a direction in which hard work is punished, and idleness is rewarded. This isn't the American Dream as was intended, but a twisted version of it. For all the discussion regarding socialism, the policies are very similar:

All socialists advocate the creation of an egalitarian society, in which wealth and power are distributed more evenly.

In addition, the actions in this country are eeriely close to the predictions of the father of communism, Karl Marx:

...Socialism would be achieved via class struggle and a proletarian revolution which represents the transitional stage between capitalism and communism.

America deserves better in the coming years, although whether that happens is yet to be seen.