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Guest Features...
The Politics of News
Channon Christian, 21, and Christopher Newsom, 23, were out on a dinner date in Knoxville, Tenn., on January 6, when they were car jacked, kidnapped, raped, tortured, sexually mutilated, and killed. Despite the press's taste for dramatic crimes, even crimes that do not involve missing blondes in Aruba, the story got almost no publicity. Conservative bloggers, who are beginning to buzz about the case, think they know why: the couple was white and the five suspects arrested in the case are black.
Sicko - The Future of American Healthcare
Let me start by saying I’ve never been a Michael Moore fan. Being a libertarian Conservative all my voting life, I’ve always been opposed to “Socialized” medicine. However, firsthand experience in the healthcare business for the last 17 years has shown me that our system of health care (much like our tax system and education system) is broken beyond repair.
Taliban Infiltrates South Dakota Legislature
Where are the last vestiges of Afghanistan’s Taliban leaders hiding? Are they cowering in caves near the Pakistani border? Perhaps they own a condo complex in Karachi. More likely they are on a Dude Ranch in America’s Heartland.
Internet, Politics and Advocacy
Online political advocacy campaign has transformed electoral politics. By lowering the financial barriers setting aside traditional grassroots tactics and community strategies to enter into the national political election debate, the Internet has energized activists and given rise to new voices and new forms of news and commentary. While the Internet has become an integral part of campaign infrastructure, it has also spawned the rise of bloggers and other alternative media, empowering thousands of new political actors and providing an important antidote to years of declining civic participation. In the last election, there was also a record number of small online donors to political campaigns, diluting but not eliminating the influence of big money in politics.
Good News for Goofballs
I've found that there's a gap in the set of self-help and how-to books available. Sure, there are books to improve your outlook, and boost your self-esteem. If you want to learn to cook, or start a business, or patent your idea for self-buttering waffles, there are books to help you. And if you happen to be a dummy -- well, there are entire shelves at the local Barnes and Nobles devoted to you. Dummies can learn about using computers, and performing home colonoscopies, and operating complicated voting machinery, among others. But there aren't any books to help you cope with actually being a dummy. Until now. And that's where I've stepped in to fill the void, with a set of suggestions I'm calling 'How to Survive as an Idiot'.
The Mismaking of a President
Looking at the beginning of Bush’s young adult life, there are already important indications of tendencies to “tune out of reality.' Bush himself admits to “drinking too much” and described his life as the “nomadic” times of an “irresponsible youth.”
The Perks of Global Warming
Marya Mannes once wrote, “The earth we abuse and the living things we kill will, in the end, take their revenge; for in exploiting their presence we are diminishing our future.” Obviously Ms. Mannes preferred the status quo - health, sanity, logic, blah, blah, blah. Why? Green House Roulette is so much more intriguing.
Free Speech Nazis
In their rush to fight racism, Rev. Jesse Jackson and Rev. Al Sharpton are quick to condemn white speakers for use of unacceptable language. Is this type of attitude dangerous to our fundamental right of free speech? Recently Reverend Jesse Jackson and Reverend Al Sharpton have struck a blow against freedom of speech by attacking radio host Don Imus for a brief, supposedly racial, comment. They made enough noise so that the "politically correct" media fired Imus.
Justice Serves All? - Perhaps, none, but definitely ONE
Scooter Libby was sentenced to 30 months in prison. Is it possible that he will not have to serve time due to a challenge to the U.S. Constitution? For lack of a better word it will suffice to say the justice system in the U.S. totally sucks. It is biased, prejudiced and unfair.
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