A Letter to: The Media

Dear News Providers,

While it is easy to point fingers at politicians, you are in no way blameless for the current state of affairs. Long ago the ideas of integrity and fact were replaced by speculation and entertainment, leaving a gaping hole in the system. Without an informed electorate, the governing officials aren't held accountable, and your shortcomings have enabled the inept to remain in power, grinding the process to a halt.

One reality of media, whether print, broadcast, or internet, is that producing content isn't free. That said, decisions have to be made based on both financial soundness and social needs. For example, 24-hour news networks do no one any good; you tend to lose money and we tend to lose the real content amidst the stories of celebrity scandal and generic puff pieces. If you only have the capability and means to give half and hour of quality news broadcasting, generally that is better than stretching it so think that the watery programming is not so much news but fluff with a fact broth.

Similarly, Internet news needs to embrace the medium instead of using it to accomplish things in the same way as its predecessors. Computers allow for the consumer and producer to be linked more closely than ever before, yet the article is still the staple for publication. Some writers go the extra step to bring their audiences into their work, but most just write it and let the moderators take care of the resulting trollfest. If the process of communication was more readily embraced by you, it could help us to become informed by making topics more approachable. By refusing to innovate, you have stifled our ability to use media wisely.

It also needs to be agreed that the news should constitute facts. Some people can be swayed when you use tidbits of truth to push opinion one way or another, a fault that doesn't solely rest on your shoulders, but that you initiate. When these people make mistakes because of your influence, those who aren't fooled blame you for not being responsible. News is fact, but using facts loosely to accomplish an end makes everyone look stupid, and reduces your credibility.

News also needs to be an unbiased as possible. Though you take pride on your stances, I'd consider it an embarrassment to every American journalist that most media networks wear their ideological slant like a badge instead of like a mark of shame that outs them for deceptive practiced intended to deceive the people. Granted, nothing can  be completely neutral, but the practice of displaying material that is clearly just to sway voters is appalling, and it shames me to see America embrace it.

Those points made, the worst thing that is happening now is that issues are being boiled down to two sides, and then presented as a dichotomy instead of having many different solutions. I'm not sure if the media brought about the idea of blue/red or left/right, or if it happened on Capitol Hill first. What I do know, is that the average person doesn't believe things to be black or white, but a shade of gray, and the outright refusal to produce content to inform and promote discussion is at best ignorant and at worst malicious. By feeding into the system, you have become a tool for the politician to assault the public's opinion instead of a place where the public can reasonably form one. It's easy to have two people who believe that an issue is either yes or no scream at each other because it entertains and requires little work. It's your duty to show the whole issue, from causes and predictions to cure and discussion. Boiling down the news into easily digestible tidbits isn't difficult, but it also creates something that can't be reasonably called news.

Not everything has to be complicated, and I enjoy being entertained as much as anyone, but it's time the media remembered what news is. News is anyone being able to understand what positions their government is taking, why it's taking them, and their options to either support or oppose decisions. The first amendment assured a free press for this use, and you have squandered it on Bill O'Reilly, Keith Olbermann, and Snooki, and it's time you remembered the press as a tool for starting discourse.

Thank you for your time,
A Concerned Citizen

A Letter to: Politicians

Dear Politicians,

I know that the way the system is set up makes it seem like you have to act certain ways to get reelected and become career politicians, but if that's your goal please step down. It might be a job, but there is more at stake, and to focus on that steady salary endangers American values and integrity. Real people and real lives are at stake with every decision you make, but sometimes you seem so disconnected from everything, I wonder whether or not you ever cared about the common man.

The founding fathers believed that public service was a great honor. I understand that jury duty and slaving for strangers seems like it sucks, but we would rather lose a weekend than our freedom. Jury duty comes as a letter that everyone gets; you volunteered to be a politician. Our public service is mandatory, takes us from our jobs, and pays $5 a day, which doesnt cover transportation, much less lunch, but it beats not having a trial by jury. Your salary is ten times the poverty line, not including the health plan, retirement benefits, miscellaneous perks, and guranteed vacation time, so when it comes time to do something hard, push through, then treat yourself to a five-star dinner on us.

That said, you are supposed to make the tough decisions, but plan more on making headlines than legislation. I'm sorry your constituents have conflicting interests, but you are in charge of finding compromise in these situations. When you walk out, name call, mud sling, politic, and posture every day, its hard to be confident in our legislative bodies. You just lose a campaign contributor or a few voters, we lose the ability to believe in our nation, and that is more harmful than any recession.

Please, get back to basics. Super congress might catch news feeds, but what is the factor that makes this necessary for the first time in US history? The party of six is easy to remember, but do you want to be remembered as the gang holding the house hostage? Interrupting television to give a speech is memorable, but was it impactful? You are part of American history now, for better or worse, but the choice is yours. Step up and take responsibility, or step down, because our votes indicated trust, and your inability to fulfill your obligations is simply unacceptable.

Thank you for your time,
A Concerned Citizen

Thanks Vans Shoes: The Most Awesome Hoodie Ever

If you have seen me during the winter, you will probably recognize this:

It says "Vans" in the middle

That's because this hoodie is the fucking shit. Info below the jumps.

Why does everone hate Chris Christie?

Today, Chris Christie woke up. He rolled over, had a bit of difficulty breathing, used his rescue inhaler, then went to the hospital because he was still having problems. Naturally, the news media jumped on this like a stripper on Braylon's dick, but what really surprised me was the way the people commenting on the news reacted.

Getting the Point: A How To

Recently, I have encountered some people who don't exactly get the point. It didn't make much sense to me how the Internet could have so much information freely available everywhere, and someone could still be so willfully ignorant. Then, it occurred to me that maybe it isn't easy to get what is going on sometimes. Maybe an over-saturation of opinions and speculation in the news has made it so that actually getting to the bottom of things is a daunting task.

So here is my breakdown of how to get the point every time. It isn't guranteed, but I think that it can help you get a better grasp on current events, and if you don't post things online, you can always deny you were wrong later.

The Drugs Amy Might Have Bought Pt. 3: Withdrawal

Amy Winehouse's family is now claiming that alcohol withdrawal may have led to her death, proving that speculation by asshats does not the truth make.

Below the jump: alcohol withdrawal is worse than heroin (science says so).

Missing the Point: How to be an Assclown Publicly [UPDATED: 28 Jul, 1:45pm]

Whether or not you are aware, I'm already pretty serious business in the blog world (look at how many people have already favorited me, my cock must be HUGE). That said, I'm debating some heavy hitters about some serious issues. If you want to follow it, I would probably click on THIS LINK RIGHT HERE.

Breakdown below the jump.

What I've been doing and where I've been

For the last few days I've been working on something different because I have lots of free time, so I made this. I explain what it is over here. After the jump is the first one ever, just for you, because I love you.

How to: Accomplish Anything

Image below the jump.

Solo for Dolo: The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

Before I had an interest in writing fiction and blogging, I wrote poetry for a number of years. Even those who are close to me don't know this, but prior to that I did some rapping. I was young, maybe thirteen or something, and 8 Mile was in theaters, so suburbia had suddenly turned into the projects, and we were all trying to get famous by talking about how difficult it is growing up in a two story home with a front and back yard.

Fast forward a long time, and through one of my best friends I was introduced to Solo For Dolo. Actually, I was introduced to his first album, The Truth for the Youth, and I liked it, but my car only had a radio so the album ended up ripped onto the hard drive and shelved for another few years. My friend was getting married, and I got to meet the man the legend, Solo himself.

I Tried to Sleep, But This Was Important

Just so you guys know, there weren't any terrorist attacks during Bush's term. Fox news just wanted to clear that up. Nothing below the jump.

The Drugs Amy Might Have Bought Pt. 2: She Might Not Have

Results of the initial autopsy on Amy Winehouse are in, with the current cause of death listed as, "Inconclusive." Since I have to give someone credit I will default to my usual Huffington Post link, although I do so only under the understanding that I wanted something that described her as having the disease known as drug addiction instead of a drug problem, but I guess that's a little too much to ask for.

Talking about politics

My friend posted something on his wall and I responded to it with a bit of attitude. Eventually, there were a few of us talking back and forth and I wrote a diatribe on American politics. Below is what I typed, unedited and unabashed. Thanks to the people who made this possible (I asked them if they wanted shout outs or their parts of the conversation posted, and am waiting on replies, so I will edit them in as I get them).

Five Sad Headlines (And How to Smile When You See Them)

It got a little football around here all of a sudden, right? Switching gears for a minute, I realized a lot of people get down when they read the news, because of "facts" or whatever. I can see how that would have an impact on people, but I take a different approach to news. Here are five headlines, and how to smile when you see them.

The Best: Rutgers Football Twitter Feeds

Today's athlete needs to worry about more than just what they do on the field. Fans like sport, but they love spectacle, and being able to talk on your twitter can get you onto a top ten list even with a career of mediocrity.

That said, I took the time to boil down the vast array of Rutgers Scarlet Knight feeds in order to get you to the best ones. Thank me later, it's no bigs.

You're Suspect: Breaking Down Fantasy Football Rankings

I'm going to kick off a few posts under the heading "You're Suspect," because these calls are questionable at best.

Now, let me explain how it works. I'm going to take the two most popular Fantasy League providers: Yahoo Sports and NFL.com, and Lester's Legends (who provides the rankings used over at Bleacher Report (my favorite sports site) and break it down to the top 5 wtf calls. After all, who is better trained to do this than a college dropout sitting around and drinking beer at his parents house at 4 a.m.

Tomorrow: Meat and Potatoes, RB's.

Thanks Matt Hasselbeck, From Coast to Coast

I was born and raised in the same small town for all twenty one years of my life so far, and most of my friends and family ask me, "Why do you like the Seahawks?" And to be honest, it really boils down to me playing Madden 2008 and choosing the team that was as middle of the pack as any other. Even then, it was uncommon for hear shouts of random explictives and the name Hasselbeck in response to anything going wrong. Essentially, he became a catch-all punching bag for any rage directed at the game.

I'm kind of a downer sometimes...

so here is something to make you smile.

The Drugs Amy Might Have Bought

Details are beginning to trickle down, and in a surprise turn of events, Amy Winehouse may have been using what some people would describe as "drugs" in order to get "high" on the day she died. Although the exact details are fuzzy until the autopsy is complete, it is believed she may have purchased cocaine, ketamine, and ecstasy. I read this and realized that she probably shouldn't have been doing those all at once, but I realized that each of them wouldn't kill you by themselves. That said, it appears that people on the Internet, reasonable as they are known for being are shitting a collective brick and either blaming her, the drugs, or just generally being confused. So today, let's just take a quick look at cocaine, ketamine, and ecstasy do to the human body.

That's Not What That Means: Boehner Cashes Out with Our Money

During budget negotiations over the past week, Speaker of the House John Boehner(R) made headlines by getting up and walking out of an active negotiation meeting, leaving the rest of the House and President Barack Obama to sit there. An unconfirmed report from this guy I know who sometimes looks at an intern says that the general attitude in Washington now is, "Why is he the speaker? If he was an average Representative we could have just moved on."

(What was supposed to be the) First post!

Firstly, I guess I should thank The Huffington Post and Politico for providing so much info on this whole situation. This is my first post, so thank you too, and I hope to do more "That's Not What That Means"...'s?, but I'm not sure if our politicians will say enough dumb shit.

[EDITED: 24 July 2011, I guess I didn't post it first, and changed the title to reflect that. I'm pretty good at this Internet thing]