Academic Rants

To Tell the Truth Here is the latest bit of news: Americans over fifty are in a constant state of distress. They have witnessed the deterioration of a time worn tradition of believing what they consider to be the news. And, as the nation is confronted by new types of political challenges, older Americans are confronted with the challenges of what to believe or not believe as the truth. Older generations now select news channels in search of sources that they can trust or believe have some degree of honesty. Surprisingly, this idea of truthfulness in news reporting is not having the same impact on younger Americans. In fact, studies reveal that many younger Americans do not read newspapers or watch the nightly news on broadcast or cable television. Recent events have highlighted that some younger citizens obtain information that they consider news from Internet based sources or shared mass-media. The idea of an unbiased truth has vanished. How did this happen, and what are the

A New World Order I often question the decisions made by American presidents and their administrations.   It is something that started as soon as I began voting and taking my citizenship seriously.   I think that all Americans, regardless of political affiliation, should question our politicians and vote for the best people and platforms not solely for party or self-interest. My parents never saw politics or politicians in the same way. One was a life long Republican and the other was a life long Democrat.   Yet, the Democratic parent usually voted for Republicans, and the Republican parent typically voted Democratic.   They only voted for the same candidate twice. So my voting patterns were not based on discussions in our household, but rather constant research.   While I applauded Richard Nixon for going to China and Russia, I was disappointed in him because of Watergate.  T he president embarrassed himself and the nation.   In contrast, I felt compelled to root for George