Voter ID Law

While I already wrote my article on this, I wanted to express what I personally felt about these laws and how they will affect all of America.

I would like to state, first and foremost, that this is not a bipartisan issue. This should not be Republicans vs. Democrats, despite the overwhelming amount of ID laws being passed by republican congresses. If the situation were to reverse, and the Democrats were desperately drying to get their candidate elected, if the supreme court lets these laws stand, Democrats will do the exact same thing.

These laws are infringing on one of the things we hold most dear in America, our vote, and restricting who can vote, even if only through subtle and minute ways, is a recipe for disaster. And while voter ID laws do have their place, the way Connecticut is doing it makes the most sense. They are offering free voter ID's that will be valid basically for the purpose of voting only (possibly other government documents) and are implementing it AFTER the election. This way, people have at least two whole years before the next round of federal elections to acquire one of these free ID's, instead of taxing the DMV's way over what they could possibly do to get photo ID's for the thousands who would need it in the next month.

My Relationship to the News

I am a child of my time: I certainly grew up in a digital era and my relationship with the news reflects that. I get the vast majority of my information about the world around me from the internet, and even the TV news that I watch is usually streamed (I don't even have a cable hookup in my dorm).
For the most part, I receive my news from two different people, Brian Williams and Jon Stewart (and by extension Stephen Colbert). While I usually watch Williams because that is the network my family would always turn on at dinner time, Jon Stewart was something I picked up on my own. While he hooked me with his political humor, what struck me was how topical he was and how what he was actually saying was really informative. But what struck home that this "comedy show" could and should be taken seriously is when the 9/11 first responders were not being granted health care by the government despite the medical ailments the had due to their heroic actions. And almost no one was covering it. But Stewart brought on a group of first responders and did an interview with them that nearly single-handedly helped that bill pass through congress. My uncle was nearly killed in the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon (a lucky traffic jam saved his life, his office was completely destroyed) so this may hit a little closer to home for that, but on that day Jon Stewart earned my trust as an established Journalist and my respect as a human being.
My relationship with journalism is a little different from most, in that I first got into through my photography and the writing came after. I view things from that angle a lot of the time, and putting together an article that didn't belong in the entertainment section was difficult for me at least at the beginning of this semester, probably because of all the time I spent as entertainment editor of my high schools paper. My ideal goal is to eventually become a photo-journalist who travels the world taking pictures of serene landscapes exotic animals and even more exotic cultures. The life of a behind-the-desk journalist doesn't really appeal to me very much (though, granted, I don't think it appeals to many others, either), and a job as either a photographer for a paper/online publication/ photographer in general would be fine.

Iran Duped by The Onion

Well its 6:18 in the morning and its no time like the present to crank out a post.or two

http://www.wmur.com/news/national/The-Onion-dupes-Iran-s-news-agency/-/9857926/16781434/-/9wg2o4z/-/index.html

This lovely article comes from WMUR, and shows the hilarious situation of an Iranian news agency thinking that the onion was a legitimate news source. Several US news outlets have also fallen into this trap, Fox news a notable offender, putting an article of theirs on the front page of the Fox website, with equally hilarious results. This is the reason you always check your sources, because this can happen to anybody if they aren't careful, and if you are caught posting something like an onion story about Ahmadinejad is more popular with white Americans than Barack Obama, you will probably never be taken seriously again.

Local Teenager Saves Life

Two local residents, a teenager and a police captain, are being hailed as heroes today for saving the life of an 80-year-old man stalled on the train tracks.

James Laboke, 17, was on his way to work when he spotted a running car sitting on the train tracks, the driver slumped over the steering wheel. Laboke ran 100 yards to the police station to warm someone of the impending accident.

“I never thought about it, I just knew I couldn’t let that man get crused by a train,” Laboke later said.

A mile down the road, Captain Paradiso was sitting in her cruiser when she got the call on the radio about an abandoned vehicle. She arrived on the scene as the train was rapidly approaching the stalled car. “I knew there was no time. I had to do something,” said Paradiso. According to chief Paul, she accelerated and rammed the car out of the way with her cruiser, as the 40 mph train barreled by 30 seconds later.

The man in the stalled car, Francois Truffaut, a tourist from Quebec City, Canada, is a diabetic. “I don’t remember a thing,” said Truffaut. The police report suggested that Truffaut may have gone into insulin shock while on the tracks, which may have led to his unconscious state.

After the incident Laboke immediately went to his work, and not even late, spoke nothing of what he had just done to anyone. His boss, Champaigne, only heard of the news when a reporter called. “It doesn’t surprise me at all,” said Champaigne. “That young man is one of my most responsible employees. He’s just a great kid.”

Car Crashes on Mile Hill Road

Two teens were hospitalized Tuesday after a serious car crash on Mile Hill Road. The driver was able to walk away from the crash, leaving the two passengers trapped in the car until rescuers arrived.

The driver, Jamie Peterson, was driving two unnamed females in his white Mustang. At approximately 9 p.m., the car suddenly picked up speed and flipped off the side of the dirt road.

Josie M. Crandall, a resident of 27 Mile Hill Road, witnessed the Mustang travelling at fast speeds just before the crash.

“I’ve never seen a car going so fast on this road. It’s a dirt road, and it’s really easy to lose control,” said Crandall.

Tom Carroll, Jr., 17, was driving behind the car before it flipped. “I thought the worst, they were flying,” said Carroll. Carroll was the first to arrive on scene and told police he found three empty beer cans underneath the car.

Rescuers used the Jaws of Life to free the two girls. After 45 minutes, the girls were rushed to Memorial Hospital in Belmont, where one of them was airlifted to Mass. General Hospital.

What is News?

News is what the fourth estate generally interests itself in (if it is doing its job correctly). Mostly its just a series of facts that create a story, and that story has some spin or angle put on it by the writer, that then gets parred and edited by an Editor, which at some point is delivered to you, the viewer/reader/user. That is the news in a nutshell, congruent facts comprising of a story that interest an individual. Other, more strict definitions of news exist, such as only stories that are not fluff pieces or only the most sophisticated stories, but I prefer to have a broad definition because what each person considers "newsworthy" is a matter of personal opinion.

Cameron Neilley marvels at his own "news"

Improv Anonymous’ First Show: A Smashing Success

James Conklan, the new Improv Director, improvising a diddly on the guitar last semester 

By Cameron Johnson

Last Thursday, UNH's one and only Improv Comedy Troupe Improv Anonymous held their first official show of the new semester, with many of the same familiar faces from last year. With games such as Slow-motion Olympics, involving a made-up sport (by audience suggestion) and two commentators responding to the actions of two other improv performers pantomiming the sport in slow motion; and ABC, a game were two performers had to create a scene, with the restriction that each new sentence must start with the next letter of the alphabet. They had the audience in uproarious laughter the whole night, culminating in the final game where even the audience was allowed to join in. “[The show] was fantastic,” said Keisha Warriner, a Sophomore, “not all the jokes were to my humor but [on a whole] it was very funny.”  When asked about how the group could be so cohesive, and what made them so enjoyable, Dan Shine, a member of the group, responded “Improv Anonymous is easily one of the best groups on campus: it’s fun, laid back, and a very loving group, and we have a lot of fun.” The group announced the new leaders of the group, Parker Callahan and James Conklin as director and production manager respectively. In addition to this news, Parker announced that the improv auditions would be held on Tuesday, the 4^th at the MUB entertainment Center, at 7:45. Prospective member Nate Landolt, was very excited about the idea of joining the group. “I love improv and have done it four years” said Landolt, a Freshman, “at first I thought I would get into acting, but [improv] was more free form and allowed me to express myself.” Improv Anonymous has shows every Thursday at 9:00 in the Entertainment Center of the MUB, but the line grows quickly, so it is wise to show up at least 45 minutes to an hour early.