Joseph Curl trolls Obama and MCA

Posted on | May 8, 2012 | No Comments

Washington Post troll Joseph Curl decided to take it upon himself to use the death of Hip Hop’s Adam Yauch aka MCA of the pioneer group the Beastie Boys to take a jab at Obama. All class indeed. This is a glaring example of the fuel that feeds the fires of today’s highly polarized society, vitriolic commentary, and racially divisive and bigoted speech. How it must feel to live as a hate monger. I can’t imagine waking up thinking about how to use the recent passing of someone to take someone else down a peg and at the same time bring down the deceased at the same time. That’s very special.

Curl took to the Post to call out Obama for not commenting on the death of MCA. He cites some celebrities that spoke on the passing of Yauch and even a shout out from Senator Chuck Schumer. Yes THE Chuck Schumer. From New York state like MCA. Born in Brooklyn, like MCA.  Seems like there might be a bit more of a connection between the two of them. I just can’t pinpoint it. Shout out to Schumer though for the recognition. Good ol’ Joe also compares statements made by the White House on the passing of Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston while defiling them as well to make a point. His point?

The president took time from his busy schedule to comment on the passing of black musicians.

I see what you did there Joe. Now let me try. Ch-Check It Out. So Obama didn’t speak on the passing of MCA because he wasn’t black? Did you or any of your brood comment on the passing of important Hip Hop figures like Heavy D (2011), Guru (2010), Grandmaster Roc Raida (2009), or Mr. Magic (2009)? All very important Hip Hop figures, legends and icons. All the real deal. All died while Obama was in office. I don’t remember them getting any mentions from the White House, Obama, or You. Oh wait, I wasn’t following the rules of your game. I’m sorry, they are all black. Ok how about Nujabes (2010). Perhaps that Hip Hop icon doesn’t count because he’s Japanese. Well what about Eyedea (2010)? Did you give your condolences to him? The point is you are yapping about something you know nothing about in an attempt to make a bigoted and very stupid point.

Let’s play your game and take it a step further. Your by line says you covered Washington for a decade for the Post. So you would have covered it when there was a white president. Ok now to find a black, Hip Hop legend that passed away during that time. I think Jam Master Jay (2004) of Run DMC fits Hip Hop Legend in every sense of the phrase. Uh oh Joe, I’ve googled “Jam Master Jay” and “Joseph Curl” and there is only one single result that has the two names even together. Google. It. Yourself. If you are the Joseph Curl mentioned in the summary of that one result, you’ve got some explaining to do. In the meantime, you better check yourself before you wreck yourself. You have offended my family, and you have offended the Shaolin temple.

A few of Curl’s highlights of the trolling of Obama are to point out his half white status. Yes I said status, as he didn’t acquire that honor in the eyes of those like Curl, the Republican party and the rest of the conservatives until it looked like he was going to win the nomination and had a shot at winning. In a country historically known for a strict adherence to the one drop rule, Obama suddenly became “half white” when there was value to him apparently. Curl apparently wants to milk that value for whatever he can get out of it.

Now on to this disrespect to MCA himself. As a Hip Hopper, icon and humanitarian, one could easily make the assumption that Yauch would be uncomfortable with you using him as means to make a racially divisive and unnecessary point to get attention. You put a man that MSBC wrote “brought social consciousness to the Beastie Boys“, who MTV noted was “passionate about the cause of Tibetan freedom“, who the Huffington Post stated is “Remembered For Tibetan Activism, Freedom Concerts“ and NPR recognized as “the group’s most outspoken member on social justice issues“, in your twisted sense of smug vitriolic hate filled righteousness. According to Politico, you have reduced this man’s status to that of a “political football“.

Joseph Curl. You sir, are what the Internet calls a Troll.

Dammit, I’ve just broken the first rule of not feeding them. Again. Le sigh.

Additional:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/may/6/curl-hip-hop-legend-mca-passes-on-obama-says-not-a/
http://entertainment.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/04/11541676-mca-brought-social-consciousness-to-the-beastie-boys?lite
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1684520/beastie-boy-adam-yauch-career.jhtml
http://www.npr.org/blogs/therecord/2012/05/04/152053809/how-adam-yauch-grew-into-his-voice 
http://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2012/05/beastie-boy-adam-yauch-as-political-football-122660.html 
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/04/adam-yauch-dead-tibet_n_1478359.html

Obama Uses Humor To Make A Point on Fallon

Posted on | April 29, 2012 | No Comments

I’m sure we’ve all seen it by now, President Obama on the Jimmy Fallon show backed up by The Roots band as they Slow Jam the news. It’s been hailed by supporters of  Obama and  panned by his critics. Personally, I thought it was funny, entertaining, and informative.

Before sitting down for a more formal interview, President Obama shocked the audience after appearing from behind stage curtains, ready to “slow jam” with Jimmy Fallon and his band (Philadelphia’s hip hop sensation The Roots). Obama sang then talked the lead role, while Fallon and The Rootsoffered back up, on the tune of his plan to freeze interest rates for student loans. They were not shy about criticizing filibustering Republicans for standing in the way of his plan.

The slow jam the news segment highlighted a critical point in the economic policies and ideologies being argued by Obama and the Republicans. The point is one that is often brought up in discussions between my peers and myself yet I rarely hear on the news. That point is that the Republicans who oppose repealing the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy do so on the idea that basically they can’t afford to return to the previous tax rate they had even though they are the richest among us, Even though that percentage rate is about a 3% difference. But, apparently students and those with lesser incomes are able to afford increases across the board. This is a fundamental point of greedy and self interests that should be at the forefront of the discussion.

The reality in America and the discussion of that reality is the high cost of attaining a college education and the incredible amounts of debt students accumulate attaining their degree. Yet, with that very visible problem and common discourse being prevalent there is a proposal to increase the interest rate on student loans. It almost seems like it is a deliberate plan to hold down anyone other than the wealthy and at the same time America itself.

“Education is an economic issue when we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that countries that out-educate us today, they will out-compete us tomorrow.” –  President Barack Obama

However much you disagree with Barack Obama and his policies, that quote about education is an absolute truth. The United States cannot move forward by limiting or removing educational opportunities. By making education only attainable by the wealthy we are setting our country back and putting liberty on its knees.

How Am I Supposed To Pay All This Back They’re Coming For The Loans
What About My Future Family, Retirement And A Home
Come On Holmes, How Is Our Nation To Progress
If We Saddle The Hope For The Future With Crushing Debt
And No Way Out, With Jobs Going Overseas
We’ll Be So Played Out, A Country On It’s Knees
And We Can’t Not Be Educated It Works Even Less
So What Do We Do, Catch 22 With Worry And Stress
An Ignorant Population’s A Matter Of National Security
Which Makes This State One Of Irrational Absurdity
We Need Help Here, Like We Needed Healthcare
Or We’ll Have Bigger Problems In The Future With Welfare
Do You Care? – Timid – “I Want The Secret”

This is supposed to be the land of the free at the home of the brave not the land of greed at the home of those who can pay. The cost of getting an education should be going in the opposite direction. Education should be becoming more affordable. We become a stronger nation by having a more educated population. This fact is undebatable. The availability of education is the great equalizer of opportunity and progress. If this point has to be put in R&B form drummed out by ?uestlove, harmonized by Black Thought, narrated by Jimmy Fallon, and delivered by Barack Obama than so be it. It’s that important.

America is being outpaced in education. We were once among the leaders of education in the world and now we have fallen behind. As Obama pointed out, this is also an economic issue. As was referenced during the height of this recession and has been the case throughout, many of the available jobs are unfilled due to a lack of qualified candidates. If we continue this attack on education, that list of unfilled jobs will grow and eventually will have to be filled by qualified imported candidates or outsourced to other countries.

Yea I can dig it too.

Additional:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAFQIciWsF4
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/08/09/president-obama-higher-education-austin-we-are-not-playing-second-place
http://politic365.com/2012/04/29/why-republicans-hate-watching-obama-on-late-night/
Hip Hop artist, Timid, and Pace Professor offer tips to job seekers

Glenn Beck Trolls The Civil Rights Movement

Posted on | April 11, 2012 | No Comments

I struggled to decide whether or not to do this post because the number one rule of the Internet is “Don’t feed the trolls.” If there was a troll league Glenn Beck would be in the hall of fame. If there was a troll government Glenn Beck would be in its congress. If there were toll taking trolls Glenn Beck would be stationed at the Golden Gate Bridge. I think you get the idea. The problem with Beck’s trolling this time is the egregious nature of said troll duties. Glenn invokes the Civil Rights Movement and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in his troll efforts this time.

“We are the ones that have the righteous calling for the civil rights movement. We are the ones. When you try to say that Martin Luther King would have been there with the rapes and the murders and everything else with Occupy Wall Street, I’m sorry, you are wrong.” – Glenn Beck

What? So Glenn Beck, ultra conservative sufferer of perpetual mouth diarrhea, is trying to co-opt the Civil Rights movement and Dr. King for his personal insanity? Now if he was just a ranting lunatic on a street corner that would be one thing but this guy has a huge audience who will listen.

Now, I never knew Dr. King personally, however, I would be able to assume from what he worked towards and accomplished, combined with the fact that Dr. King contemporaries like Angela Davis has spoke at the protests, that he would be more in line with the Occupy movement than Beck wants you to believe. This practice of spin is widely utilized when trying to gain favor from your audience. Dr. King’s status and the Civil Rights Movement is largely regarded as a great part of America’s history by public opinion. Invoking that energy to support your argument would tend to liken you to the idea behind those times. The idea in this case is that Glenn Beck is on the side of the people and righteousness even though the truth is the conservatives were the one’s against Dr. King and all that the movement was trying to accomplish. We are forty plus years later though and now it’s a history that belongs to us all and obviously Troll Beck has no problem trying to cannibalize those ideals for his own ends.

Sorry but I’m not buying it.

In the words of Jay-Z, “We don’t believe you, you need more people!”

Additional:
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/04/10/beck-we-have-a-righteous-calling-to-lead-a-new-civil-rights-movement/
http://yourfaceisstupid.com/?p=175

Jeremy Lin SI Cover Begs To Be Meme

Posted on | February 23, 2012 | No Comments

If you aren’t aware of who Jeremy Lin is then you must be that guy living under the rock in the Geico commercial. Or his buddy living next to him. Jeremy’s Cinderella story has been everywhere. Linsanity has invigorated the New York Knicks and their fans as well as fans of basketball period, has caused some controversy from unfortunately worded headlines, and showed what can happen when perseverance and talent pays off.

Jeremy Lin’s moment in the limelight has garnered him two back to back Sports Illustrated covers, an honor only two other NBA stars, Dirk Nowitzki and Michael Jordan, have received. Good for you Jeremy.

That brings us to this. Jeremy Lin’s first Sports Illustrated cover. Look at that expression on Lin’s face and posture as he seems to say “Haha can’t catch me!” to his opponents. This picture is a meme waiting to happen. I can see Lin sprinting across water or maybe turned into a new phrase type meme in the spirit of the Most Interesting Man in the World or Joseph Ducreux. A new meme based around Jeremy Lin would certainly fit into all the Linsanity going on.

Yea, that’s Meme Gold right there.

Additional:
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/jeremy-lin-scores-second-straight-sports-illustrated-cover-183535272.html
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/cover/toc/11719/index.htm 

 

Supreme Court Unanimously Rules Police Need Warrants For GPS Tracking

Posted on | January 23, 2012 | No Comments

At last a bit of sanity. It seems that among the push for more  intrusions into citizen privacy there may be a few roadblocks on the path to our Orwellian future. The Supreme Court unanimously ruled that law enforcement must obtain a warrant before placing GPS tracking on people’s vehicles.

“We hold that the government’s installation of a GPS device on a target’s vehicle, and its use of that device to monitor the vehicle’s movements, constitutes a ‘search,’” Justice Antonin Scalia wrote.

Now this may seem like a no-brainer decision but so does the question of corporate personhood. Although the ruling was unanimous the reasoning behind it was not. The point is, the people got a win today. Freedom was upheld. Privacy was defended.

Since 9/11, law enforcement, the government and other investigative agencies and firms have been pushing the boundaries on privacy further and further. Certainly new technologies will continue to be created but that doesn’t mean our core principles have to be violated just because the ability to do so more easily is now there. Technology is supposed to aid us in our everyday life not threaten the rights and  civil liberties we’ve been fighting other countries under the notion of protecting.

It was also indicated then this decision may apply to other tracking situations. Being constantly tracked by way of cell phone has become another privacy concern as of late because of the revelation of embedded software by Carrier IQ. The Carrier IQ software could not only track a person’s location but also their keystrokes and text messages among other things.

Monday’s ruling applies directly to tracking devices that police install on a person’s car or other property. But five of the justices suggested in concurring statements that a warrant might similarly be required for high-tech tracking done through cellphones or other devices already equipped with GPS.

Again this can also be more good news. But at the same time the fact that these types of intrusions have to be defended and ultimately decided in the Supreme Court doesn’t bode well for other issues slipping by. NDAA  anyone?  These victories can be fought one case at a time but what needs to be dealt with is the atmosphere of paranoia, fear and lust for control that our society has to deal with that keeps bringing up these intrusive issues. Over the past decade we’ve been preyed upon by opportunistic self-serving fear mongers pushing the idea that the only way to protect us is to control us and monitor our every move. This has to change.

“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.” –   Benjamin Franklin

Additional:
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/01/scotus-gps-ruling/
http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/11pdf/10-1259.pdf 
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/judicial/story/2012-01-23/supreme-court-GPS/52754354/1
http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/199637-cellphone-tracking-company-meets-with-feds

Movie Revenues Fall Amongst Suckage Trend

Posted on | December 29, 2011 | No Comments

It’s the end of the year and a lot of facts and figures are coming out about what happened over the course of 2011. Reportedly movie revenue this year is the lowest it’s been since 1995. Renowned film critic Roger Ebert offered up a few reasons why he thinks the industry is seeing a 16 year low. Topping his list was the absence of any real blockbuster this year,  although I do believe Harry Potter did do good numbers. Ebert’s assessment is on point. He cited high ticket and refreshment prices and competition from streaming and mobile services among a few other things. There is one thing I would like to add to that list Roger. Movie and story quality has been steadily declining for years. A lot of movies rehash and repeat themes that we’ve seen so many times before. We can’t leave out the remake trend that we’ve all had to suffer through these past few years as well. Let’s also not forget when they do these remakes or adaptations or bring a historically known characters to the screen they tend to take artistic license with what fans already know, expect and love. Dammit Iceman was an original X-Man not in the same peer group as Rogue; yes I’m still holding on to that. To put it blatantly, a lot of recent movies have sucked.

Despite a strong summer in 2011 with hits like Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 and Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Hollywood could not have asked for a worse year at the box office. In fact, the numbers have not looked this bad since 1995.

I have a cousin who is one of those movie fanatics that if the movie is good he will see it three or four times in the movie theater during the course of its run. He even knows the names of the producer and director of a film. Yeah, one of those guys. Recent movies are so uninteresting that even he has probably only been to the theater a couple of times in the past six months. Hollywood has been looking at Chapter 11 in the creativity department for some time now.

Figures also came out for the top 10 most pirated movies of 2011. Topping that list was yet another installment in The Fast and The Furious series Fast Five with over 9 million downloads. Of course Hollywood and the MPAA will probably look at those numbers and see lost revenue. I can also agree that some of those downloads would have been from people who passed on seeing it in the theater because they were going to wait to download it. However, I don’t think it’s possible to look at that 9 million figure and correlate that with direct movie revenue. Other factors definitely come in to play. Perhaps the people who decided not to see it in the theater were only mildly interested in the movie to begin with and didn’t feel it was worth the ticket price that is commonly north of $10. I’m by no means saying that the theft of the film is justified, just other factors come into play.

I believe people still like the moviegoing experience. A night out for dinner and a movie is still considered a good time.  Case in point, the city I used to live in has a movie theater that shows movies after they’ve left the main first run theaters. So you can catch the latest movies there about three months after their release usually. This theater charges a ticket price of $1.50 on Saturday’s, one dollar on other days and $.50 on Tuesday. As you can imagine that place was popular among the people in the city. Saturday nights would routinely see lines around the block so to speak. People are interested in going to the movie theater but not interested in paying a premium for something mediocre.

The message I get is that Americans love the movies as much as ever. It’s the theaters that are losing their charm. Proof: theaters thrive that police their audiences, show a variety of titles and emphasize value-added features. The rest of the industry can’t depend forever on blockbusters to bail it out.

For all the Dances with Wolves and Pocahontas comparisons and criticisms of Avatar people came out-of-pocket to see that film. Quality does matter.

Ok, that might have been part of it.

Additional:
http://www.rogerebert.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20111228/COMMENTARY/111229973/
http://www.bgr.com/2011/12/29/top-10-most-pirated-movies-of-2011-revealed-as-ticket-sales-and-revenue-continue-to-decline/
http://thecelebritycafe.com/feature/movie-attendance-down-its-lowest-16-years-despite-harry-potter-twilight-and-transformers-12-
http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2011/12/28/bad_ass_movie_a_troubling_rip_off_of_the_epic_beard_man_video.html

Dr. Oz Vindicated On Apple Juice Arsenic Claims

Posted on | December 17, 2011 | No Comments

Remember when Dr. Oz  caused a huge controversy over arsenic levels in apple juice and the FDA and other medical professionals jumped down his throat? Oz was accused of various things the least of which was trying to cause a panic. The FDA  and others said that Oz’s method of testing for arsenic in apple juice was unscientific and therefore incorrect. They went on TV and said  he did not do the correct tests so his information was wrong. Dr. Oz stuck to his guns and refused to back down and now it turns out he was right.

Dr. Oz is all class in that clip. I was kind of hoping that he would stand on top of the desk grab his crotch and do several air thrusts while screaming “Suck it!” You don’t mess with Team Oprah. Kudos to Dr. Oz standing his ground in this matter. If anyone ever wonders why things are difficult to change, correct or fix this should be a classic example. Dr. Oz stood up for what he believed was an important concern and was ostracized for it. The FDA and the industry that produces apple juice attacked Dr. Oz first instead of conducting the tests to verify his findings. Big business is not interested in the health concerns of the customers if it’s going to force them to change a practice that may be less profitable for them. They are more interested in the profit than in producing and distributing a quality and safe product.

This is why industries need regulations because they won’t regulate themselves responsibly. The juice maker’s response, as paraphrased from the above clip, was that the government should set an acceptable limit of arsenic. A responsible company, one that cares about its products and customers, would look at those arsenic levels and take steps on their own to reduce the risks. As Dr. Oz pointed out when he first brought up this issue,  apple juice is something that is supposed to be healthy for our children and we give it to them under the assumption that it’s safe.

Findings of a Consumer Reports investigation about arsenic and lead levels in apple juice and grape juice have prompted the organization to call for government standards to limit consumers’ exposure to these toxins. - Consumer Reports tests juices for arsenic and lead

Anything that goes against standard practices in industry will first meet with the an attempt to discredit the presenter and the information. This is a problem. We should always stand on the side of caution especially when providing products that are distributed to the masses and even more so when it’s a part of our food supply. It’s the same with genetically modified foods. We have a right to know what is in the food that we are putting  in our mouths and  feeding to our children. A responsible company or industry would take it upon themselves to inform the public at large. That’s basic humanity. This is where the government’s responsibility to the people comes in to play. The government should always represent the interests of the people and make sure this type of information is disclosed.

Additional:
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/orange-juice-moms-secret-ingredient-worries/story?id=15154617#.TuwwGBVcKQS
http://news.consumerreports.org/safety/2011/11/consumer-reports-tests-juices-for-arsenic-and-lead.html
http://www.myfoxphilly.com/dpp/health/study-backs-dr.-oz’s-apple-juice-claim-

 

National Defense Authorization Act: The End of America?

Posted on | December 10, 2011 | No Comments

Wake up America!  You should all know by now about the The Feinstein Amendment 1031(e) .  At this point, the House and Senate have both passed their versions of the bill (H.R.1540 andS.1867), but they have disagreement on several provisions, including a provision opposed by the Obama Administration that would require the military to indefinitely detain terrorism suspects, including American citizens living in the U.S., without charge or trial.

Contrary to popular perception, the Obama Administration is not strongly opposed to the provisions in the bills that would authorize indefinite military detentions for U.S. citizens. Here’s what the Administration had to say in a Statement of Administrative Policy on the Senate bill:

Section 1031 attempts to expressly codify the detention authority that exists under the Authorization for Use of Military Force (Public Law 107-40) (the “AUMF”). The authorities granted by the AUMF, including the detention authority, are essential to our ability to protect the American people from the threat posed by al-Qa’ida and its associated forces, and have enabled us to confront the full range of threats this country faces from those organizations and individuals. Because the authorities codified in this section already exist, the Administration does not believe codification is necessary and poses some risk. After a decade of settled jurisprudence on detention authority, Congress must be careful not to open a whole new series of legal questions that will distract from our efforts to protect the country. While the current language minimizes many of those risks, future legislative action must ensure that the codification in statute of express military detention authority does not carry unintended consequences that could compromise our ability to protect the American people.

In other words, they’ll take it and recommend that Congress passes clarifying legislation in the future, which, of course, will never happen. What they oppose is the provision that would mandate that power be used for all terrorism suspects besides U.S. citizens. From the same statement:

The Administration strongly objects to the military custody provision of section 1032, which would appear to mandate military custody for a certain class of terrorism suspects.

As you can read for yourself here, Section 1031, affirming the “authority of the armed forces of the United States to detain covered persons…” does not contain an exemption for U.S. citizens. Section 1032, mandating the military detention authority be used for terrorism suspects, does, but that is the section that the Obama Administration says must be removed or else he will veto. The Administration has been stressing the need for flexibility in their powers to collect information and incapacitate terrorists, which likely means that they want to retain the power to detain suspects outside the context of war and the Geneva Convention protections that would apply. The secretive conference committee may still be able to overcome Obama’s veto threat while also codifying the power to indefinitely detain U.S. citizens without having to charge them or give them a trial.

 

I say again “WAKE UP AMERICA!”  or this could be your new home:
Haliburton Camps

Sign these petitions, Let your voice be heard and stop this nonsense now.

Change.prg’s petition is here:  http://www.change.org/petitions/stop-ndaa-section-1031-citizen-imprisonment-law-before-dec-13

The ACLU petition is here:  http://www.aclu.org/fixndaa

Flipboard for iPhone: From Nay to Yay

Posted on | December 9, 2011 | No Comments

So the big news in iPhone apps was that Flipboard was now available. While everyone was salivating to get their hands on Flipboard to the point of crashing the download server I was like “huh?” I had no idea what Flipboard was.

My cousin is a Mashable groupie and his father a news junkie. It was from both of them that I received a GChat and AIM message regarding the release. My cousin was dismayed that yet again his iPhone 3G was left out on the newest coolest stuff. I see a 4S in his future.

I checked out Flipboard and just didn’t see the point. I still don’t have the name right and refer to it as Flipbook on occasion. I asked my cousin what the point was. Why do I need it? Like Tumblr, I still don’t get the need. It looks cool and I want to like it but what does it do? He tried to explain that it was like a Reader of sorts that could also link with Twitter and Facebook. Like a social Feedburner hybrid with pictures? I told him that if I want to check Twitter I open up Twitter, Facebook is the same plus just reading the timeline kinda defeats the purpose if you can’t respond or post. Also I’m not a fan of linking all my accounts and giving all my info to all sorts of companies.

I need a reason. Like the iPad, great device but I haven’t found a use for it for me. I have a computer. I even got rid of my TV because it got no use next to my Mac Pro.

So I downloaded Flipboard, almost typed Flipbook again, to give it a test run. The website didn’t give me a clear enough explanation but I’m up for a test run of the latest free stuff. Note to self: delete Shadow Cities account.

The interface was intuitive enough. I chose some news feeds in a few categories; politics, tech and sites like Gizmodo and Mashable. Flipbook populated its squares almost instantly. I started flipping through the articles. Twenty minutes later I was still flipping and reading and emailing articles to people.

I get it.

I was flipping through articles much faster than loading a full blown web page. I normally browse through sites and read an article that looks interesting and then pass it on to my cousin, Facebook or Twitter. This was great. Did I mention I was laying in bed and it was 1 am?

I’m not sure how it selects the order of the articles or which to load but it’s a good way to check the latest news quickly.

So I found my use for it. Yes it’s basically like an RSS reader but visual; which helps. Every time you load it up it refreshes from the sites and you’ve got a new set of articles to flip through. It’s almost like having a new magazine issue every time you open it. Again, the visual aspect may be the reason because it’s not just a barrage of text. That’s what makes the Web much friendlier than, say, Usenet. The first thing I did in the morning when I woke up was reach for my iPhone and check Flipboard to see what’s new. This might become an Alec Baldwin type problem.

Seriously though, download Flipboard and check it out. I never used readers before and I still haven’t entered my Twitter or Facebook info but this will be a useful app to have. From the user experience I can assume though that it makes it easy to share the articles with those two services but paranoia is healthy. I may have to take a look at Tumblr now.

Additional:
http://flipboard.com
http://www.engadget.com/2011/12/07/flipboard-launches-on-iphone-ipod-touch-introduces-cover-stor/
http://macdailynews.com/2011/12/07/overwhelming-iphone-demand-crashes-flipboard-servers/ 

8-Year Old Elijah Tells Michelle Bachmann His Gay Mother Doesn’t Need Fixing

Posted on | December 6, 2011 | No Comments

There is a video quickly on its way to going viral of an eight-year-old boy, Elijah, confronting tea party candidate Michele Bachmann. Elijah, in line with his mother, wait for their turn to greet Bachmann. When the time comes, the boy’s mother gently coaxed him to speak with the candidate. In a barely audible voice, Elijah says to Michele Bachmann;  ”My mommy…Miss Bachmann, my mom is gay but she doesn’t need any fixing.”  What followed next is a confusing look from Bachmann that can be interpreted in several ways.

The opinion of this video is mixed. On one hand, there are those that are praising young Elijah for standing up to Bachmann’s bigotry in regards to her views on homosexual couples. Others are taking aim at the boy’s mother saying that she used her son in order to get a camera op of a dig at Bachmann. Supposedly it was Elijah that insisted upon confronting Bachmann according to Jennifer, the woman who took the video, in a statement to Chicago Now.

I was the person that recorded this; the mom uploaded.

Sexuality is only political because ignorant people have made it so. To some people, it’s a political stance– to his mom, and him, it’s a part of his life. He loves his mom and her partner.

Back to the story– I was standing in line with Elijah and his mom. His mom was going to say something to her, but she got nervous and told me she wanted to leave. We were about to step out of the line but Elijah cried out, “Nooo!” He grabbed onto her coat and pulled her back in the line, saying he wanted to talk to her.

When we got up to Michele, he got a little stage fright. His mom just didn’t want him to not say it because he was afraid, because she knew he would regret it if he didn’t. I used to do ballet as a child, and before performances, I’d want to no do it– my mom pushed me to perform. Afterwards, I’d run to her and tell her how happy I was. How is this any different? If we were shown a video of a child before a school play, or a recital, being pushed to perform and not give into stage fright, would we get the same reaction? My gut says no.

Okay wait, so it was okay for the mother who is the lesbian to back out of confronting Michelle Bachmann but when the son may not even completely understand what’s going on tries to do so it’s in his best interest to be urged on so he doesn’t regret it later? Lets be clear, Michele Bachmann is a crazy lady.  Seeing her confronted about her nonsense invokes feelings of the warm and fuzzy kind. But to be honest, I’m not sure that’s a totally believable back story. It makes more sense that the mother would have stronger opinions about homosexual issues, being that she is one, than an eight-year-old boy. It  would be more likely that he just sees her simply as mom and not a gay woman under attack by Bachmann. Not to say that eight year olds can’t have that level of wherewithal it’s just this story seems a bit flimsy.

Using your children to push your agenda and ideologies when you’re afraid to do so should be where that feeling of regret comes in. To Jennifer’s point about if this were a parent pushing a child to overcome stage fright, this may be a stage however this is no school play. The school play analogy doesn’t compare. The two adults made a conscious decision to go to Bachmann’s meet and greet in order to confront her so clearly this was their agenda not Elijah’s. Labeling him an activist is also a bit of a stretch.

In fairness to Michelle Bachmann, the look on her face could have either been one of confusion at being confronted about the sewage she spews and not knowing what to say  or realization that the mother most likely put her son up to this and being a bit  shocked that someone would do that.

Sometimes we tend to get a little overzealous when we are passionate about issues especially when we are looking to make a big impact with our point. I’m all for taking Michele Bachmann to task for the agenda she tries to push but while the idea was good the execution needed work.

Ran her out of her own speaking engagement. Now that’s a 10!

Additional:
http://www.chicagonow.com/whats-a-boy-to-do/2011/12/michelle-bachman-and-the-young-activist/
http://ohellnawlblog.com/newohnblog/2011/12/06/bad-mother-or-bad-bachmann-internet-at-odds-over-lgbt-mom-using-son-to-embarrass-michelle-bachmann/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2K8CGeC2M_U

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