Current Affairs [Thursday, September 5, 2013]

[professor-lyman.livejournal.com]

Josh looked up from his iPad as his students arrived in his non-Danger Shop classroom, but he went back to reading and drinking his coffee until they'd gotten themselves settled in.

"Sorry, I was just catching up on the latest out of Syria," he said with a light smile, putting his coffee down next to the cake that had inexplicably appeared on his chair when he'd arrived. "Welcome to Current Affairs, or as I guess should be made clear on this island, current affairs for the United States in September of 2013 where as far as I know, aliens, vampires and giant robots have not invaded. And I'd know: I worked in the White House for the last twelve years, so I've got a clearance so secret I can't even tell you the name of it and have the diplomatic rank equivalent to a four star general."

So there.

"Since you've signed up for this class, I'm gonna assume it's because you want become slightly more informed about the world around you than internet trolls on news sites who blame everything on Obama or Bush in poorly spelled all caps comments, and because of that, you're gonna have to do some reading. We had a team of interns at the White House who would go through all of the major newspapers and websites to put together daily clips for us to read. It looked something like this--" he pointed to a giant stack of papers on his desk, "--and we got it on our desks every morning. In addition, I read the Washington Post, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Chicago Tribune, the LA Times, and a couple of politically-centered papers as well: Roll Call, The Hill, the National Journal...and a bunch of blogs, too. I'm also following a number of news sites on Twitter, which is a great resource to plug into non-American source of news."

He paused. "I realize now that makes me seen a little obsessive, but my job as a professional political operative was to know this stuff, and to understand how what we were doing was being spun by the media. You only have to pick one source of news--or Buzzfeed and another source of news because every story can't be summarized with cat gifs and start reading it before class each week."

Josh glanced at the iPad again. "The Washington Post has a really handy article called 'Ten Things to Know Today.' I'll read off the issues and then we'll just go from there--ask me any questions you have, start a discussion with your classmates...I want you to mix it up and I expect people to clash on their opinions." His expression turned stern for a moment. "But please stay polite...ish." This was from a man who'd told a Senator to cram his legislative agenda up his ass, so Josh's definition of polite wasn't everyone's. He scanned the news. "Okay, we'll talk about eight of these because I can't think of anything I care about less than who Scarlett Johansen is marrying and sports isn't really the focus of this class. Everything else is fair game."

With that, he read off the other eight news snippets that are linked above because Jesus, Josh talks forever.

Comments

Sign in [9/5]

[professor-lyman.livejournal.com]

Wtf cakes.

Listen to the lecture [9/5]

[professor-lyman.livejournal.com]

Wonder how Josh got anything done between reading the news...

Your News Choices Today [9/5]

[professor-lyman.livejournal.com]

1. SYRIA: Obama, a proponent of restraint and global cooperation, is leading the charge for a military strike against Syria — against the objections of most major U.S. allies. Why?

2. OHIO REVIEWING KIDNAPPER’S SUICIDE: The state prison system wants to find out how Ariel Castro managed to hang himself with a bedsheet while in protective custody.

3. WHY SUMMIT HAS A DIFFERENT FEEL: Economic matters normally dominate the G-20 summit. This year, though, Syria’s civil war is eclipsing those issues.

4. EXPLORING STICKER PRICE OF HEALTH CARE LAW: A study finds monthly premiums for a 40-year-old buying a mid-range plan will average close to $330 and nearly $615 for a 60-year-old.

5. WHERE FUNNY MONEY IS FLOURISHING: Peru has overtaken Colombia as the world’s No. 1 counterfeiter of U.S. dollars.

6. N.H. PATIENT LIKELY DIED OF RARE BRAIN DISEASE: Officials believe there’s a remote chance up to 13 others in multiple states were also exposed to the fatal illness through surgical equipment.

7. WHAT MORE AMERICANS ARE WORRYING ABOUT: Privacy concerns are on the rise, with 50 percent of U.S. Internet users saying they’re leery of the amount of information available about them online, a survey shows.

8. THEN: 2-WAY WRIST RADIO; NOW: SAMSUNG SMARTWATCH: Decades ago, Dick Tracy sported a wristwatch-like device he could talk into like a phone. The technology that once seemed futuristic will be available by Christmas (and Josh wants one).

Pick a topic to discuss and toss out your opinion about it!

Talk to Josh!

[professor-lyman.livejournal.com]

He's still looking for a TA if you want to end up putting together press clippings for the class and to be called Donna...

OOC

[professor-lyman.livejournal.com]

Josh Lyman, throwing his hat into the ring for the teal deer favorite again...