No news here

I just wanted to post this story because it seemed rather ridiculous. I was searching for unethical news, but instead found news that had absolutely no information. Below is the link.

Newsleader story

Where Are the "I Voted" Stickers?

Voters Were Not Guaranteed a Sticker to Prove They Voted Today

The perks of getting an "I Voted" sticker are many.  There was promised free doughnuts, coffee, ice cream, or chicken sandwiches for anyone who sported the sticker.  But for some, even when doing their national duty, that option wasn't available.

This can be seen as a hinderance, or a more positive sign that voters really decided to turn out this year, like the voter in the above YouTube video.  

The polls were open early this morning, and there was a rush to get to the booths.  More locations had been opened for the anticipated record breaking turnout for the 2008 election. There were reports of waits from four to six hours in some locations.  Like in the Clayton, North Carolina polls, as seen below, they were opened closed at various times but the trend of voting this year was definitely high.  

MSU freshman Cory King, 18, of Willard, Mo., was definitely disappointed with this lack of stickers.  He sarcastically said that "people might think [he was] a terrorist now."

Either there was not enough communication about how many stickers were needed, or there was just an amazing unforseen turnout of voters.  Whatever the case, I think it can be considered a good thing that we ran out of stickers.  And if you really voted, you probably could technically still get free food, because I'm pretty sure it's against the law to bribe people to vote.  

Guided Assignment 10/29/08

From the press release given to us the week of October 27th, we were given the task of finding the information that could be turned into a story, branching from that particular news.

I would take this story in the direction that the local car markets have been suffering, because I think that would be huge in relevance to our community. I would gear toward the customers thinking about trading or selling their larger vehicles, because it's a bad time to do so. The NADA appraisal guide is great for finding that accurate information needed, but that's not all to the story we're given in the release. There could be stories about hybrids surging over SUVs, or the demise of the large vehicle industry altogether.

This goes to show that there is always more to be found, and our job as reporters is to look deeper than the surface and get people info that really applies to them.

VP's

As election day comes frighteningly near, I have to say that I'm concerned that no matter who wins, there will be some sort of repercussion. I know this is terribly generalizing, but we do have to think to ourselves, "If the president dies, who do we want to take over?" So which is more likely to die while in office? To me, the jury's still out. I had heard talk (just talk, I can't find a source to prove this) of an enthused McCain supporter yelling out at a rally, "Shoot Obama!" I also heard from one of my college professors that McCain has a one and six chance of dying while in office from a heart attack...I have no idea how close to accurate these speculations are, and don't want to think about them being true. I just think our country needs to take that into account as well.

Chapter 12

Robert Redford. His well-known name brings to mind many mainstream movies. Words associated with the actor might also include director, producer, and writer.  Yet Redford doesn't typically bring to mind the word, "environmentalist," until recent years.  

At the upcoming news conference, Redford will be discussing environmental issues, which is an active part of his life. My goal is to research how he's involved with those issues before he gives his speech. This information will be needed if I'm going to report on this conference.

Robert Redford's participation begins with a long line of accomplishments, some of which include:

• lobbying for the Clean Water Clean Air act in the 1970's 
  
• holding international conferences for global warming in the 1980's
• campaigning for pro-environment Democratic politicians in the 1990's

According to the Environmental News and Commentary website, Redford is becoming irate about George W. Bush's plans for the environment.  

"The Bush administration has advocated the most destructive policies I've seen in the more than three decades I've been working on these matters," said Redford.  The movie star has done much word with solar energy in the 1970's, and pushing more efficient energy is one agenda that pushes a personal button with Redford.  He even made a short film on the solar power issue called "The Solar Film" which took him two years to develop.  

Although he is very concerned, he also blatantly stated that he is a hypocrite, because of his love for racing cars.  He thinks using SUVs are only justifiable when used in the country, not in urban areas.  

Redford's newer film, "Lions for Lambs" is also politically centered, but on a different area: the war in Iraq.  This just points out that he is obviously a very concerned citizen, and very

politically involved.  

"The fundamental question [is]: What are we going to develop for our survival and what are we going to preserve for our survival?" Redford said in an interview with PBS. 

Redford has designed a state of the art environmentally friendly "Green Building," which was one of the first pushes toward our country being conscious about "going green." 

Inflation

Considering wages can be amazing when you look at what our society live on in the past compared to what we consider the minimum standard of living now. Inflation has a huge impact on our daily lives, so to look at that we need to compare previous wages with current wages, keeping inflation in mind.

This exercise is particularly relevant to us now because of the teetering state that our economy is in. In 1938, the federal minimum wage was 25 cents. In 1968 it was $1.60. Currently it is up to $6.55 per hour, and will be $7.25 by July, 24, 2009.

Using the "Inflation Calculator" from the site Dollar Times, I found that the 25 cent minimum wage from 1938 has the same buying power as $3.72 in 2008.

The $1.60 wage in 1968 translates into a whopping $9.90 in 2008.

A story that could be written straight from these statistics could go a number of ways. The fact that 1938's standard of living was $3.72 could be something discussed in a story of how the Great Depression affected our culture, and how presently we're not that bad off.

Another story coming from the $9.90 converted wage from 1968, could be about inflation and how it affects our nation. There could be discussion of how the economy has suffered over the past few years, by looking at how 1968 translates into our market values.

Sources

Sources for my questions to the below questions to ask Claire McCaskill:

1. Documents that state her past dealings with illegal immigrants; immigrants from her family, from a background check or family lineage documents
2. Proposals on illegal immigration laws, and how she has sided with them.
3. Any history of prisoners in her family, from prison documents or police records.
4. Democratic vote records

1. Statements of her party's ideals and her public statement of issues.
2. Laws currently on immigration
3. Documents of how Washington currently spends money on illegal immigration issues
4. Other documented issues she is very adamant about, both supporting and against.
5. Proposed laws on illegal immigration and how Claire has voted.