I've Seen the Light and It's Stupid

Stupid Media…

The media is the sole source of idiocy and stupidity in America. Former prisoner of war, Private Jessica Lynch was medically discharged from the Army recently and still there is media attention upon her. Not because of the fact that she is a former POW, but now the media is making a big deal about her because they were making a big deal about her. Doesn’t make sense to you, does it? Since her story came to their attention, the media has portrayed her as the poster child of our conflict in Iraq; as America’s new sweetheart. But as the details of her capture and release came to light, more and more stories of her being over-hyped have begun appearing.

Countless Americans went over to Iraq and some did not come back. Some were also unfortunate enough to have been prisoners of war. But yet, the media didn’t choose to talk about any of them other than a brief mention on the nightly news or worse, as a name scrolling along tiny tickertapes at the bottom of TV screens. Instead they singled out one private in the United States Army and focused on her. And now people are calling her over-hyped? Whose fault is that? She enlisted in our nation’s military, that’s more than what most people can say. She went over to Iraq, that’s definitely more than what most people can say. She was a prisoner of war, a status that few people have lived to tell about. She did her duty for this country, but yet she is being criticized for what the media did to her. The men and women of the United States armed forces defend this country and its ideals, including the right to a free press. The least the media can do is use that right properly.

Can’t We All Share?

For college kids MP3s have been the greatest thing invented since Ramen noodles. Both are cheap, quick, and vital for those late night study sessions. But if Congress has its way, MP3s might no longer be cheap and quick. You could get yourself landed in prison for five years and have a fine of $250,000 imposed for uploading a single file to a peer-to-peer network. The Recording Industry Association of America, the RIAA, intends to file its first wave of lawsuits against file traders this week. In fact, you can check if you’re one of the RIAA’s Most Wanted by going to this website: http://www.eff.org/IP/P2P/riaasubpoenas/

Why is everyone so anti-sharing? We have been taught as small children that we need to share, but I guess as we grow up and get rich beyond our wildest dreams… sharing is one of things that gets bought out. The RIAA is nothing more than a big bully trying to steal file-sharers’ lunch money. Even the world’s largest music company, Universal Music Group, has conceded somewhat to the age of digital music by dropping the prices of new CDs to around $10. They understand that we college kids are poor. But the good old RIAA just doesn’t want to give up. They want to continue to line their pockets, by pushing their weight around and threatening the little guys with lawsuits. College campuses across the country have been feeling the RIAA’s wrath and have banned peer-to-peer network sharing. Taking away our downloading is like taking away our Ramen, it isn’t fair and it isn’t right.

If my biology classes have UIC have taught me anything, it’s taught me that it’s survival of the fittest in today’s world. And if you don’t evolve to adapt to the times, then you will become extinct. The RIAA is an evolutionary dinosaur is an age of free information brought upon by the existence of the internet. 60 million Americans sharing MP3s and other files can’t possibly be wrong.

Stupid Commercialism…

Ever watch TV and suddenly the credits at the end suddenly shrink and a promo for a new soon-to-be cancelled TV show takes its place? As if it isn’t enough that commercials seem to take up more of a time slot than the actual TV show does, even the credits are shrunk to make room for more. It’s an injustice to anyone that actually does work on those shows. They’re not going to get recognized for their work, all because some washed up, former comedian has a new show. What’s more annoying is that sometimes the credits are the best part to the show. Sometimes the final punch line is delivered when the credits start rolling because the show itself was cut short due to the immense amount of commercials, but I miss the joke because the credits were shrunk to the size of my GPA. Now if you’re going to excuse me, I’m going to go watch some commercials… maybe there be a good TV show interrupting them.