Murphy

It's been a while since I posted to this blog.  Quite honestly I am not happy that I got away from my mission last semester.  So this semester, I am requiring my students to blog about anything and everything that matters.  Tonight, I have been surrounded by my cat Murphy who likes to sit near the keyboard.  So this blog is for her.

Peace Out!

Why I love Nascar-thanks Nela

I love nascar because they wreck all the time.

An interesting time in America

Most media outlets called the passage of last night's healthcare reform bill historic. And whether you agree or disagree with its premise, historic it was. But now what? Opponents, and there are many, are certainly angered at the fact that congress ignored public opinion polls that showed most people didn't approve of the healthcare bill. Some have vowed to urge Republican lawmakers to repeal the measure. But somehow this seems misguided. Others are vowing to make their voices heard at the ballot box in November which is perhaps a more practical strategy.

In any event, the Democrats and President Obama are soaking up a moment a century in the making. When President Obama signs the bill into law tomorrow, soon 30 million uninsured Americans will now have a government safety net.

Reform To Think About

I have read many editorials and articles regarding California's budget mess. We can argue about many issues but one thing is clear; the state is out of money. The lack of a healthy budget is preventing students at COC from taking many sections that normally would be available. The school is being compensated by Sacramento to keep those sections afloat. In an effort to stabalize COC's own financial defecit many departments are being asked to not offer summer classes. Is there any hope that in the future the clouds may lift? Not unless the state can generate additional revenue (higher taxes), or find a way to reform the way pensions are distributed. Here is an interesting take from a newspaper in Pasadena. Click on the link and feel free to post a response.

Follow Cougar News

Just a reminder, you can get the latest campus, and Santa Clarita news at www.cougarnews.com

A Message To My Students

What an amazing tool the internet can be. You can research a term paper, collect facts for an essay, buy a favorite book or follow your community and world with an endless amount of informative websites. It wasn't all that long ago, that we were limited by what we would hear on the TV, radio or newspaper. But now you literally have the globe at your fingertips. Over the next several weeks, I would like you, to share some of your passions while at the same time, stay informed by following the latest stories that shape our world. That's why I have asked you to create and maintain a blog so that you and your classmates can help each other usher in the amazing power of the internet and New Media Journalism. I would like you to update and maintain your blog a couple of times a week. I would like you to post an original opinion on something media related once every seven days and to also share links or copy and paste articles that you find interesting. In the future, I will require every student who participates in MEA 225 or MEA 230 to do the same. Consider yourselves the trailblazers and good luck!

Dave Brill
Program Coordinator
New Media Journalism
Media Entertainment Arts
College of the Canyons