Your Media Cocktail
Welcome to a view of the news and cultural trends that affect our lives.
Our approach is to take a giant step back from the media canvas and provide a balanced, transparent point of view. By sharing openly we hope to provide a springboard for you to engage AND participate in the process of seeking the truth.
We look forward to your insights, ideas and participation. You are always welcome to make comments and spread the word so we all grow through being informed.
Super-Storm Sandy May Spark Sense of Unity as Election Looms
The big story of Hurricane Sandy, along with the terrible damage, is that it is the first time that a natural disaster has hit America on or near a presidential election.
It’s the aftermath of a perfect storm of the likes that the U.S. has not had to cope with on Election Day. Will people in the populous Northeast be unable to vote? Will local officials decide to delay voting? Will the Democratic rich Northeast vote be suppressed possibly increasing chances that Republicans might pick up a state or two that was never thought possible? The swing state of Virginia has been hit, especially the Northeast portion, thus possibly putting Virginia in the Romney column. (more…)
Myth: An Individual Can NOT Make a Difference: SHATTERED!
“No one has ever before leapt from such a height. No parachute jump will have ever lasted so long. No man has ever broken the sound barrier in free fall.”
~Werner Jessner/Red Bulletin Magazine
What seemed to be impossible is now a reality. Enter Felix Baumgartner: the Austrian skydiver who made history Oct. 14, 2012 when he jumped 24 miles down to Earth from the stratosphere. A single human being shattered the myth that an individual can no longer make a difference.
The cost to achieve the impossible is greater than one would imagine. Even “Fearless” Felix himself did not realize what would be involved as he explained in an interview with Red Bulletin Magazine:
Many would call Felix’s personal accomplishment incredible, inspiring and amazing. Yet, what he personally engaged to create as an individual evolved into a team effort, that not only affected his life, but all the lives of the people involved, including 8 million YouTube viewers who watched live and the world at large through the flurry of social media. What started as a single idea, shattered world records for humans, technology and global social interaction.
Yet with this amazing human accomplishment staring us square in the face, we still hear the common belief of the myth repeated over and over: I can’t make a difference; I have no power over what is happening; We’re all powerless and there’s nothing anyone can do about it… It’s out of my control; and perhaps the granddaddy of them all: It’s not my responsibility.
Why is this myth embedded in our culture today? (more…)
The Next Great Social Network is Closer than You Think: Socialism 2.0
The age of social networks is now fully embedded in the lives of Americans everywhere. It’s hard to imagine our world without the power of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterist, just to name a few of the leading social networks permeating the very fiber of our society.
Now imagine taking the power of Social Networking to the NEXT level… Socialism 2.0: A society supported through free money for food, clothing, housing, childcare, healthcare — and now cell phones with service! To good to be true you say? The truth is, all of this exists NOW! So what is the real cost for all of these incredible FREE goods and services. The answer is more diabolical than you may imagine: Our Freedom.
How is this happening? (more…)
The Presidential Debates – You Make the Call NOT the NFL Replacement Refs
Welcome to the first edition of a blog from SmarterStory.com: a full service integrated communications firm located in Fort Lauderdale and Chicago, with a Tallahassee office soon to be opened. We will analyze the news and cultural trends from a fresh, informed and at times provocative viewpoint.
With more than 63 million viewers tuned in to the first 2012 presidential debate, much punditry has been dedicated to not only the performance of Obama and Romney, the two men who would be King, but also on the role of moderator Jim Lehrer. Lehrer, a PBS journalist considered the dean of debate moderators, was entrusted with the job of referee for round one, a heavyweight best of three matches for the four-year title of the leader of the free world.
The consensus of the chattering class: He got steamrolled by the candidates—hardly able to get a word in edgewise. Lehrer did get the debate started on time but that was about it.
He was nervous—almost lost in the melee. Sound familiar to a recent controversy? He seemed to be like an NFL replacement ref—befuddled, losing control and out of his element.
In a debate this important does a moderator really moderate? Do rules in a debate mean anything? The famous Lincoln-Douglas Debates of 1858 had a timekeeper, but not a set of rules.
Did Lehrer miss any critical calls that helped determine the outcome of the debate, as did the replacement referees who missed calls and cost the Green Bay Packers a game?
The thing about debate winners and losers is the “my guy always wins in the morning after analysis” by campaigners and spinsters alike. This time there was no disagreement. Both sides said Romney slaughtered the president. (more…)
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