More Money, Less Votes

      Although it comes as no surprise that California voters re-elected incumbent Barbara Boxer for the Senate and Jerry Brown for governor, it is shocking to point out the money that was thrown around in this election. I freely admit that I am one of 5 Republicans who live in California, but despite this, I was not a fan of Meg Whitman. I do believe that this state needs a savvy, business-minded individual to run state government, but alas, Meg was not the answer to California's prayers. However, she did highlight an important trend in politics: more money does not mean more votes. 
      Meg, ex-CEO of Ebay, spent more than $142 million of her OWN money for this campaign, while Brown laughed all the way to Sacramento. Although this may be due to the fact that California is a liberal state, many political critics say this will be a trend that we see for years to come. Voters are not apt to elect politicians with loads of money because "large wealth and the perception of being “out of touch” with the plight of the average American is a liability". In times of economic instability, voters are not impressed with politicians who can afford to spend $140 million on an election; they want their elected representatives to understand what it means to have financial woes. 
       While California may never elect the types of individuals that I would like, I was very pleased to see the Republicans gain control of the House . There is nothing better than sending a message loud and clear to the White House. That, after all, is the beauty of a democracy.

Humor Comes In Two Hues: Red or Blue

     In a world where comedy used to be nonpartisan and enjoyed by all members of the political spectrum, it appears those days are over. In the past, political satirists prided themselves on hiding their political preferences from their audience; however, in recent times, they are no longer hiding their true colors. According to the Washington Wire, Jon Stewart & David Letterman sport blue jumpsuits under their normal suit-and-tie garb while Jay Leno and Jimmy Fallon look better in red. What gave them away?

     The Center of Media and Public Affairs found that 3 out of every 5 jokes coming from Stewart & Letterman were aimed at making fun of the Republican party, while the opposite was true for Leno & Fallon. While this may not be "news" for avid television watchers, the true impact will be on the polarizing effect it will have on network TV. Since news is already polarized (Republicans=Fox News, Democrats=CNN/MSNBC), it is safe to say that comedy will be too. Stewart's show is featured on Comedy Central, while Leno & Fallon both have shows on NBC. I find this unfortunate....comedy is something that should be free of partisanship. We certainly get enough politics in our day to day life, can't humor be left out of it!?
      While the comedians may differ on political ideologies, they agree on who should receive the brunt of their jokes: President Obama. According to the study, Obama received the majority of jokes from both sets of commentators, with Sarah Palin (totally deserving), George W. Bush (also not a shocker), and Joe Biden finishing the list. So while our country remains divided on various political issues, it appears we can all unite when it comes to making fun of our country's leadership. God Bless America.

     

iPhone>All Other Smartphones

           After seeing the movie “The Social Network” this past weekend—which chronicles the events leading up to the creation of Facebook—I began thinking more and more about the concept of intellectual property. At what point in the idea process does something belong to you? In the movie, Zuckerberg (the creator of Facebook) is accused of stealing the idea of Facebook from his Harvard peers. While most critics agree that Zuckerberg indeed “stole” the idea, I find myself surprised at how strongly I disagree. In a world where individuals have ample resources available at their fingertips via the Internet, how does one idea ever truly belong to one person? While ideas are hard to compartmentalize, the emergence of patents aim to protect a company that relies on technology and innovation to maintain competitive advantage.

            According to Apple, Motorola has stolen their idea of multi-touch technology. However, unlike the case of Facebook, Apple has patents to protect their competitive edge in the smartphone market. Apple is suing Motorola for violating 3 patents that deal specifically with multi-touch surfaces, claiming that their smartphone products like the Droid are a direct copy of the technology featured in Apple’s leading product, the iPhone.

            Since I am an iPhone user, I don’t think Apple has anything to worry about. The iPhone is clearly superior to all Motorola products, even if they DO feature multi-touch technology. It will be interesting to see how the courts interpret the case, and the outcome will largely shape intellectual property cases in the future. 

Shout Out To Mommy!

     Since my mom works for the domestic airline Virgin America, I have to give her a shout out on my blog. If you haven't flown with Virgin yet, you HAVE to--I promise you won't be disappointed. The fleet of aircrafts are all brand new, and the employees actually want to provide great customer service. Which is why I was not surprised to see the long list of carriers who made the "America's Meanest Airlines": US Airways, American Airlines, and United to name a few.
    
     There's no reason not to travel comfortably, so next time you need to fly, fly Virgin!

It's Settled: Blondes DO Have More Fun

           While I have been a blonde my entire life (all 21 years of it), I’ve always toyed with the idea of dying my hair darker. I always assumed that brunettes were taken more seriously than blondes in terms of intelligence and wit, which is something that appealed to me. According to the Lithuanian company Olialia, this is not the case.

            The company, who is planning to open a resort on one of the lovely islands in the Maldives, has one requirement for all potential employees: you MUST have blonde hair.

I’m not kidding.

            Not only must all of the employees of the resort have blonde hair, but Olialia mandates that the crew operating the aircraft that brings visitors to the island (including pilots) be blonde too. According to the managing director of the company (who is also blonde…SHOCKER), the company does not discriminate. She states, “But we find that when women with dark hair work here, they are surrounded by all these beautiful blonds, so eventually they end up going blond too.” The managing director goes on to further say that the company is looking to change the stereotype associated with blondes and intelligence, stating "Our girls are very smart and they have degrees."

           While I appreciate Olialia's plight to free blondes from a stereotype that is vastly self-inflicted, the task of serving margaritas in scantily-clad bikinis to over-aged men on a remote island may not do the trick.

            

It's All About ME!

          I have a confession to make: my first word as a child was not “mommy”, or “dada”, but “MINE". And apparently I am part of a larger movement in my generation that encourages self-centeredness and shuns empathy. According to a study conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan, college students are 40% less empathetic than they were 30 years ago. The article highlights a harsh reality of people growing up in today’s cutthroat world—“today’s students are generally less likely to describe themselves as ‘soft-hearted’ or to have ‘tender, concerned feelings’ for others. They are more likely, meanwhile, to admit that ‘other people’s misfortunes’ usually don’t disturb them”.

            In another article published by the University of Michigan, the author coins the term “Generation Me” for students my age, and further claims that we are the “most self-centered, narcissistic, competitive, confident and individualistic [generation] in recent history”. So what do we attribute to this? Bad parenting?

            Not quite. I believe this is a direct result of the world we grew up in; we are a byproduct of the competitive, individualistic environment that surrounds us at all times. In a world where students need to find the cure to cancer to get into college, we learn to put “blinders” on that allows us to focus solely on ourselves, and achieving personal goals at any cost. Does this mean we are inherently bad people?

            No. But these traits of our generation will drastically affect the workplace; it will be harder for individuals to work in teams, listen to one another, and collaborate. It also means that professionals will do whatever it takes to get what they want, no matter if it is at another’s expense (because we don’t care, remember?).

            So for all of you college students, watch out. It’s a tough world out there.

Not All Universities Are Created Equal

              With the cost of tuition steadily increasing year to year, universities are looking for ways to differentiate themselves from competitors (except Harvard). In a world where adding value is a critical success factor, schools are adapting performance measures that do just that: numerically show how the institution “adds value” to students. This movement started in 2006 when the Secretary of Education under the Bush administration chastised schools for “relying on their reputations…and not measuring whether their students are actually learning”. Since then, schools have made drastic changes to increase their academic efficiency.

                For example, one school utilizes a metric that analyzes a professor’s salary on a per student basis. The results were astonishing—some untenured professors made less than $100 per student while other professors who only taught a few small classes made upward of $20,000 per student. Metrics like this one illustrate the operating inefficiencies of academia.

                While critics say that the increase in productivity will be at the expense of what makes a university truly unique, I do believe that universities should be run more efficiently than they currently are. With public colleges being faced with budget cuts, operating effectiveness will be the key to survival.  A student deserves to know what kind of value a university will provide—I would hope it is included in tuition.