A Degree in Political Science

The husband and I talk politics and government policies. Hangdog loves to discuss his time in the service during WWII. The Belle had an opinion on everything political. Wonder where the husband got that gene?

Geography is not my strong suit. But I have this compulsion to understand an issue and the locale. Just like my need to have a dictionary close by, I have gigantic maps -- one of the US and one of the world. (I actually bought them for the baby but ended up stealing them to my office.)

When I was in Journalism school, we were encouraged to have a second major. Journalism training teaches you to research, interview and hopefully, write in a coherent fashion. It does not make you an expert in anything with the possible exception of annoying people with questions.

For my second major, I chose Political Science. And, I loved it. We studied different regimes, here and abroad. We studied countries and how their governments have changed. This was 25+ years ago so we spent a lot of time on the USSR. We also studied quite a bit about the Middle East.

Fast forward 25 years. Most of these countries have changed names and boundaries. Some have been released from Communism. Some have become more communistic. The Middle East looks and acts like nothing I learned in college.

I watched the news this morning. I got out my gigantic maps. I am not educated in political science but I have a degree that says I am.

Internet and The Media

At a recent conference I attended, one of the topics was the impact of the Internet on mainstream media. I was astounded.



I can't quote the statistics but the majority of people (under 60) get their news from the Internet. Blogs were the impetus for the downfall of Don Imus and Dan Rather. They exposed the Rush Limbaugh fiasco. The tradional media outlets are scrambling. Instead of reporting the news, they now need to provide perspective and commentary. We've already read the news. Now, tell us what it means.



As a journalist and writer, I find this fascinating.

I'm addicted to it all. The traditional news, the blogs, Court TV, Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, and more. When I was in Journalism school, we were required to read 5 newspapers each day. (There was no Internet; there was no cable.) We had a daily quiz about current events and you never knew which news source it would come from. Here's a sick part of my personality -- I loved it! Bring it on! That's probably the only reason I graduated from Journalism school -- I was really good at the current events quizzes.

I'm constantly trying to discuss current events with the oldies. I also make the Baby do little pop quizzes. When Reagan's funeral was on television, I dragged him out of bed and made him watch. With every pan of the camera, I was saying, "Who's that?" He needs to know the leaders of other countries, our cabinet members, past leaders, etc. He yawned a lot.

Do you think he knows who's buried in Grant's tomb?