Dear right-wing media pundit,
I saw/heard you yesterday on TV/radio, talking about how the “mainstream” media are generally a bunch of left-wing hucksters who couldn’t tell an unbiased story if their life depended on it.
You are half right about that. They are a bunch of left-wing hucksters. But that very fact means they are not mainstream, so why refer to them as such?
The left-wing of American politics only dominates the Democrat party and the traditional media. They are not in the mainstream of political thought, and should not be treated as such. Any reference to them as “mainstream” makes their ideas appear mainstream, even if they aren’t. Consequently, every time a lefty reporter is called mainstream, it makes someone in the center look extreme.
That’s inaccurate, and as pundits, we should strive for accuracy. The accurate name for traditional media is Big Media, because they are simply that. They are not mainstream.
Sincerely,
Matthew Scott Maynard
P.S. Yes, this does have something to do with my intitials. So what?
NZ Bear is twiddling with the ecosystem algorithms, so I’m sitting down in the multicellular microorganism land. Grrr.
I shouldn’t gripe. The drop of 7 levels in the course of two weeks without a corresponding drop in daily traffic is disheartening, but at least there’s an explanation for it. And I’m thankful for NZ Bear, as web programming is a difficult and time consuming endeavor, with little thanks given to the programmer. So thanks NZ Bear, I appreciate your work.
As far as this blog goes, as soon as the ratings are stabilized, I’ll post the Unknown Blog of the week feature.
Courtesy of Best of the Web comes this story, where the President of the ASU Student Body, Yaser Alamoodi, wants to make it possible to punish students who pose for Playboy. To quote:
I don’t want the name of ASU to be a joke anymore,
It’s not so much the name that’s the joke, its the basketball team.
Anyway, beyond the obvious, there is the historical nature of this story. What Alamoodi is calling for is a return to a time when colleges were free to do this anyway. Anyone remember Forrest Gump? Jenny was expelled for posing for Playboy. She acted shamefully and was treated accordingly, as the university didn’t want to be associated with her anymore. Nowadays that behavior practically brings a scholarship with it.
But Alamoodi misses the point. It isn’t enough for college governments to oppose the lewd behavior of students, the students must oppose it as well. If people will feel bad for posing naked, they won’t pose naked. If they feel they can gain popularity, riches, or some other benefit, no rule passed by anyone will stop them. If you want to stop people from posing for Playboy and redeem the name of your university (good luck on that one), you have to get them to not want to do it. It’s not enough to just put artificial barriers in their way. They have to have the heart to avoid Playboy.
That’s not easy to come by nowadays. But it can be done.
The government of Canadia has fallen. Time to invade. Initiate Operation: Canadian Bacon.
The President was in town yesterday, laying out his plan for securing the border. Color me definitely so-so about his proposals. Michelle is definitely unimpressed. It seems, at first glance, like everything else he’s proposed, only tougher on the employers and non-mexican illegals.
I still don’t get something: how is a guest worker program different from amnesty? Do they have to do service to the country, perhaps in the military or the Peace Corps? Do they have to learn the English language? I don’t get it.
The push for increased technology sounds good, but too many people put too much faith in products that are too little engineered. Relying on technology to solve problems is short-sighted, as we are dealing with a human problem, not a technology one.
I suggest the following:
- Seal the border by putting up a real fence, not just an empty stretch of land that is marked in some places but not in others.
- Find illegals and give them the option of becoming citizens, learning English, and serving our country, or returning to Mexico. They’ve broken our laws, therefore there must be some punishment. It doesn’t need to be harsh, as they just want a job, and have no malice in their hearts. But they need to realize there are consequences for crossing our border illegally.
- Enforce the law against companies that hire illegals.
- Expidite deportation of non-Mexican illegals. We are at war. We have to recognize the need for securing ourselves against those who wish us harm.
If you’re going to have laws, they need to be enforced. These points allow us to not only encourage people to come here and become part of our culture, but also allow us to discourage people from breaking the law. A lack of respect for the law is the root of this problem. Encouraging that respect, with both a carrot and a stick, will solve it.
In Rainbow Six, Tom Clancy wrote the story of a group of eco-terrorists who used Middle East and European terrorists to rob banks in order to advance their agenda. In The Teeth of the Tiger, the terrorists collaborated with drug lords in order to get guns and get across the border. In Debt of Honor he had a 747 crash into the Congress building.
Now US News & World Report is reporting that jihadists are using organized crime tactics to get cash, including robbing banks.
Clancy has a gift of prophecy that’s more than a little creepy, I think.
Randy Cunningham has quit the House of Representatives over a graft scandal. Good. Its good to have accountability in government officials, and I am thankful that he was found out, exposed, and left his office. In voluntarily resigning his seat, he separates himself from further damage to the Republican party.
The left has already started calling this situation emblematic of the “culture of corruption” in the Republican party. That may make for a nice sound bite, but it is hardly unique to the Republicans. One need only mention the names Dan Rostenkowski (House Post Office problems), Jim Wright (nepotism), Bill Clinton (lying under oath), and Joe Biden (plagiarism) to show that the problem of corruption is not only on one side of the aisle. I have a question for those on the left who would throw stones: how come our side is the one that repeatedly says “I was wrong”, while your side repeatedly says “It was wrong”?
Indeed, this incident should show why it is a good idea to elect to high office people who have a reverence for moral law, like, say, born-again Christians. Their respect for God and His law restrains their actions despite temptations.
Oh, such teasers. Not even a title yet, though, and I’m already lining up to buy. I’m hopeless.
I just hope it’s not the British version of one of his other books.
Happy birthday to me
Happy birthday to me
I’m one year from the big three-oh
Happy birthday to me
I’m taking a short blogging break this Thanksgiving weekend, with regular blogging resuming Sunday or Monday. Thank you for your patience.