Rick Is Off The List

This semester my news consumptions habits changed. My courses are finally starting to be more related to what I will hopefully be doing in the future on a daily basis.

As a journalism student, it’s important to pay close attention to what veteran journalists do, the techniques they use and the way they communicate with the audience.

My TV set is the best tool I can use to learn from experienced journalists and I started watching a lot more news. I turn on the news when I’m about to go to sleep, I turn on the news in the mornings when I’m getting ready for work and in between whenever my hectic schedule permits.

One of the shows I started watching was Rick’s List. I was mainly attracted by the casual feel of it and the variety of subjects he would discuss. Another reason I liked the show was because Rick Sanchez is Cuban-American and to an extent I felt identified.

I liked the show so much that my parents started watching it too… until he was fired.

When my mom first told me about it Sanchez being fired from CNN I couldn’t believe it.

My Opinion:

A CNN source tells me that the real reason he was fired was because the ratings of the show were low.

Were his comments inappropriate?

Yes, I think he was inappropriate and unprofessional. If that’s his opinion about his management and members of the Jewish community he should’ve kept it to himself.

I also think that in general, we are becoming a society of hypersensitive individuals. What happened to freedom of speech? Is our hypersensitivity getting in the way? I understand that there are certain things that MUST be respected period. Yet I think that lately there has been a tendency to be very politically correct and by doing that we might hurt our own rights or the right another person has to express.

Listening Post at Sunset Tavern

I was not very excited about spending part of my Thursday evening at Sunset Tavern. Another day of the week would've been just fine, but Thursdays are Girl Planet Nights at the bar and I was NOT looking forward to hanging out the crowd.

I don't have anything against homosexuals, but not much in common either. I believe that a person's sexuality doesn't define who they are, but this community is unknown to me. I have one gay friend who makes me laugh all the time; we even check out guys together. But I've never had a lesbian friend. In fact, one day in my acting class I had to play the role of a lesbian and I completely freaked out.

I decided to put my preconceptions aside and go in with the purpose of learning something new about a community I know little about. It was ten minutes before 8:00p.m. when I got to Sunset Tavern. The place was not very busy but there were a couple of girls eating and playing pool. I felt out of place by myself and surrounded by strangers.

I went straight to the bar and asked for a Margarita (my favorite drink). There were two bartenders, a guy and a girl. The guy was the first one to approach me and take my order so I started talking to him. Jose was the name on his badge clipped to his green polo shirt.

He seemed very approachable and I started talking to him. The first thing I told him was the purpose for my visit. Jose found it interesting and introduced me to Laura, an active member of the lesbian community.

I soon found out that Laura and I had more things in common than I expected. She graduated from the university which I currently attend and has a Bachelor’s degree in communications.

She seemed a little hesitant about sharing her thoughts with me but as the conversation continued she offered to explain more about her story and the experiences in her community.

Laura recently "came out of the closet" and told her parents about her sexual preferences. She said she was afraid at first and tried to cover her feelings but as she grew older she realized that she had a strong attraction for women.

We exchanged phone numbers and I asked her to meet up at the bar for more another interview.

Mix of Girls and Baseball

This was my second visit to Sunset Tavern during Girl Planet Night. This week there was a bigger crowd. In addition to hosting Girl Planet Night, the bar also showed earlier on their flat screen televisions a baseball game, the New York Yankees against the Minnesota Twins.

The crowd was more of a mix in comparison to last week because of the game.

Last week I met Laura Martinez at the bar, she is an activist in the lesbian community and during this visit I was looking forward to talking a little more with her but she never went so I took the time to become more familiar with the place.

The bar advertises Girl Planet Night for “ladies who like ladies,” says Brandon Vargas, manager of the establishment.

I also learned that most of the management and the employees are gay.

Soledad O'Brien Interviews Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf

Hi guys,

I saw Soledad O'Brien interview Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf on Larry King Live.

I thought it was pretty interesting and wanted to share it with the class.

Video

Mosque Or No Mosque?

At the beginning of this year, in a discussion about politics, my friend brought up the news about a plan to build a mosque in lower Manhattan, very close to Ground Zero.

At first I thought he was exaggerating and using this fabricated story to prove his point. But to my surprise he wasn’t.

I was surprised by the news and it didn’t made sense to me. Why build a religious sanctuary for people who practice the same religion of the terrorists who killed about 3,000 Americans? Why two blocks away from Ground Zero? Who is behind this and what’s his/her agenda?

I’m sure this is what many Americans are also wondering.

After some research, I found the answer to my own questions.

What they are proposing to build is not only a mosque; it’s an Islamic community center. The center will have a swimming pool, an art center, a basketball court and yes, a mosque.

The project is going to cost an estimated of $100 million. The proposed site is 13-story building that used to be a Burlington Coat Factory before it was ironically damaged during 9/11.

Feisal Abdul Rauf, a.k.a. Imam Rauf is the person behind the project. He is an Egyptian-American author and activist who claims to want to improve relations between the West and the Muslim world.

My Opinion:

No, they shouldn’t build the mosque in that location. I wouldn’t oppose to the project if it was somewhere else, in fact, I would favor the project because it exercises freedom of religion, one of our most treasured rights.

But I’m not the only one that shares his opinion. According to a CNN poll, 68% of Americans are against plans of building the mosque, only 29% are in favor. In New York City, the percentage of people against the mosque goes down to 53%.

Something else I find interesting is that when someone refers to this project as a mosque, you immediate associate the word with terrorists who killed close to 3,000 Americans. On the other hand, when you think of “community center,” you think of a place in your neighborhood where people meet and seek some sort of assistance.

But my main concern is from where is Rauf going to find the funds for this project? So far he hasn’t given the media a definite answer and has repeatedly denied access to financial statements.