Day: 1/16/2012

Rupert Murdoch Tweets Up A Storm For SOPA

Posted by on January 16, 2012 at 2:05 pm. NO Comments :

New Twitter user, Rupert Murdoch, has been busily cramming his support for the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) into 140 characters. His advocacy for SOPA is a thinly disguised scheme to squeeze out more profits for his company at the expense of free speech and a vibrant, innovative Internet environment. His latest use of social media to advance his personal interests began with a Tweet aimed at President Obama:

Murdoch Tweet

Now Murdoch is attacking “Silicon Valley paymasters” as thieves. Whatever happened to the valiant, capitalist, entrepreneurs who represented the high principles of free market patriotism? All that goes away if you challenge Murdoch’s control over any aspect of his perceived empire. And Google has long been an enemy of Murdoch’s. His next Tweet targets Google directly for advertising and lobbying:

Murdoch Tweet

This is an ironic complaint since it is pretty much the News Corp business model. Murdoch’s Fox Nation is almost entirely comprised of “stolen” content. He aggregates news stories from other sources, slaps his logo on them, and sells his advertising. As for lobbying, Since 2003 News Corp has spent about $45 million dollars on lobbying – twice what Google has spent. Murdoch’s frenzy to out spend, and out maneuver, Google must be having an effect on his mental state, because this next Tweet descends into incoherence:

Murdoch Tweet

Well, who isn’t angry at Optus (the second largest telecommunications company in Australia)? Like most telecom entities it is just another giant corporate … oh … Hang on there. Apparently Murdoch meant POTUS (President of the United States). But that doesn’t make any sense because the only people angry with Obama over SOPA are the opponents of the bill. Maybe backing censors and opponents of free speech is another of the frequent miscalculations by Murdoch. He would be well advised to defer to Obama who recently addressed this issue saying:

“We will not support legislation that reduces freedom of expression, increases cybersecurity risk, or undermines the dynamic, innovative global internet.”

But if Murdoch wants to continue supporting SOPA and Tweeting his lame, self-serving thoughts on the matter, the Internet community will welcome his participation in a free and open dialog, even though he wouldn’t return the favor.

Religious Extremists Are Indoctrinating Our Children

Posted by on January 16, 2012 at 11:52 am. 1 Comments :

Over the weekend there was a horrifying display of propaganda broadcast into the homes of unsuspecting football fans. It was disguised as an advertisement and brazenly exploited young children in pursuit of an evil plot to brainwash America with the demonic dogma of a foreign, middle-eastern religious cult. Just watch it…

Ghastly, isn’t it? It was broadcast during the NFL Playoff game between the Denver Broncos and the New England Patriots. It must have so angered God that he declined to bless Broncos QuarterPastor Tim Tebow with another divine victory. And take a look at the response from the righteous folks at Fox Nation:

Fox Nation Comments

Oh…Wait a minute. Those were actually comments posted in response to a video produced by MoveOn.org in support of the Contract for the American Dream. Here is that video that inspired the Fox Nationalists to slander the MoveOn kids as Nazis.

Personally, I think all these kids are just too darned cute to be real and must be in a pact with Satan. Nevertheless, surely it must be just as bad when a religious organization employs kids to market their spiritual philosophy as it is when another organization does so to advance social and economic justice. No doubt the Fox Nationalists will shortly post an article decrying a “New Low: Focus on the Family Indoctrinating Children,” just as they did when MoveOn released their video.

Fox Nation Indoctrinating Children

Will The Fox News/GOP Debate Remember Martin Luther King Today In South Carolina?

Posted by on January 16, 2012 at 10:12 am. 2 Comments :

Today America is celebrating the birthday of Martin Luther King. It is a fitting tribute to one of the nation’s most revered advocates of freedom and justice for all.

Today is also the day that Fox News has chosen to broadcast a Republican presidential primary debate from the state of South Carolina. The obvious question arises as to whether either the Fox moderators or the candidates will take the opportunity to recognize what this day represents.

Will any of them note that South Carolina was the last state to recognize the day as a national holiday? Prior to May 2, 2000, state employees could choose between celebrating Martin Luther King Day or one of three Confederate holidays.

Will any of them note that the The U.S. Justice Department is currently challenging South Carolina’s voter ID law as being in violation of the 1965 voting rights act, which outlawed discriminatory practices that prevented blacks from voting?

Will any of them note that the Confederate flag still flies over the South Carolina state capital?

These are all matters that Dr. King would have considered significant. If Fox wants to schedule a GOP political event on a day of remembrance for a national hero, they ought to take steps to express respect for the meaning this day holds for all Americans. And that means addressing the still unresolved issues of race that plague our country, particularly in places like South Carolina. Failure to do so would be an egregious insult and an affirmation of the reputation for racial insensitivity for which both Fox News and the GOP are well known.