William F. Buckley

William Buckley contributed to the way we talk about political affairs by not being afraid to discuss the issues or his views on the issues. Buckley created "Firing Line," which was the first of many debate shows to air on television. Buckley was witty, personable and intelligent and many people, both liberal and conservative, were happy to discuss political issues with him. I feel that he could compete very well in today's multimedia world, and given that he was the first to create televised debating, he most likely would adapt to the new forms of media that have come about in the last ten years. My only fear is that he might be more harshly criticized for his very opinionated right wing views in present day than he was thirty some years ago (ex. the tattooing of HIV/AIDS infected individuals in an attempt to stop it's spread...this seems like a bit of a throw back to Nazi Germany to me...) His opinionated stance on the issues, his eloquence, and his lifelong quest for knowledge are all qualities that would very likely help one in their own career.

Obama plagerized?

The facts regarding this contoversial plagerisam accusation are as follows: Senator Obama did, in fact, paraphrase the words and ideas of his friend Governer Deval Patrick (whether we can call that plagerism in this situation is questionable). The Senator had even used this line in a prior speech and accredited it to Governer Patrick. Obama and Patrick also use the same campaign wizard, David Axelrod, to help them draft their speeches, so it comes as no suprise that their may be similarities in the content.
The ethical principles involved in the case seem to me to be very hazy. Is it ethical to hire someone to write a speech for you and allow the general public to believe that these are your words. I believe it is. It may be dishonest on some level, but I do not believe it is unethical. I feel that it is more unethical to use this sort of desperation to slander another candidiate. I find it interestingly ironic that the supposed plagerized paragraph included the phrase "just words." To me, that says it all. They are in fact just words!!! It should be the message behind the words that we, as voters, try to analyse...not the words themselves.
I feel that the issues in this case speak for themselves. Senator Obama is not the first, nor will he be the last to borrow a good quote ('just words') from another individual. As a candidate I feel that he was well within the realm of what is appropriate and I feel that his oppostion is being quite petty to exaggerate the issue as she did. As a speechwriter, I feel that it would be my job to create an effective and powerful speech. There is a certain sense of commonality between state and national government and what we as voters want to hear from those who represent us. As a reporter I would like to believe I would be more interested in the candidates views on the issues, and getting that information out to the masses, not quibble over the repetition of words.

His Girl Friday in Real Time

1:24 Black and white

1:25 Always smoking-Smoking is portrayed as cool. Smoking is also something one does when stressed and the high intensity of the job makes for high stress all the time.

1:25 Fast talking- Again, helps portray the high stress and high intensity of the job.

1:26 Hilde Johnson: "Oh!... How you have messed up my life! What am I going to do?" She's blaming Grant's character for her following her dream/heart so that she doesn't feel so bad about not conforming to the stereotypical female gender role of marriage and family.

1:29 Walter Burns: "You're going to let a women come between us after all we've been through?!?" It was a funny quote because of the love triangle that evolves in the movie.

1:31 Hilde: "I've got a right to carry a gun if I want to!" She's a tough broad and that makes her really cool, but she's also proper and dainty looking. The gender stereotypes of the time were crushed by her character.

1:33 Walter: "Excuse me madam are you refering to me?" --I like the use of language here. It's kinda like in 'Gone With the Wind.'

1:37 Hilde: "Oh you'd hang your own mother to be re-elected and you know it!" The quick wit on the part of Roselyn's character is a nice touch because you don't expect the female lead in an older film to be so brazen. More often they are weepy and sensitive and fainting on cue etc.

1:39 Walter: "Look honey, when you walk out that door part of me is going with you..." Again, a great quote that signifies the times and reminds me of the old 'Casablanca'/'Gone With the Wind' use of language.