Let me be the first to say that yesterday was a day filled with both useless and (occasionally) somewhat meaningful news. Firstly, the fact that President Obama signed the wrong date in the guest book at Westminster Abbey. Albeit the man signed “European style”; however, but he dated it “24 May 2008”. That was three years ago. I found this story with a picture at Politico. All I can say is, wow, that man has some serious jet lag. He should consider a nap before continuing with any other conversations with anyone in Great Britain.
Another apparently newsworthy story that has so much to do with politics is that it was Oprah Winfrey’s last show. All of Oprah Winfrey’s major political moments have been highlighted on the Huffington Post. Who can forget the time she had important candidates on the show like current president, Barak Obama. Is Oprah really that important?!?!?! These last two articles that I stumbled upon are prime examples of the media trying to influence what they want the world to think was important. Don’t get me wrong…a lot of the stories that they put out are really important, but some of the really mundane, trivial things that they report on…ugh. Some of it’s cute, but when it comes to trying to make really little things something as big as World War III starting…it gets kind of irritating. Yes, Oprah is a famous, important person, even a caring person, but is she really that important to show up under the political news? (Wanna know a secret…promise not to tell…the answer is no.)
Anyway, something important was reported on recently and that is the allegations made against (insert drumroll here) JOHN EDWARDS! Ok, so this isn’t really a surprising story. Edwards was in an extramarital affair with Rielle Hunter whilst still married to his wife, Elizabeth Edwards. The New York Times reports that charges have come up against him stating that he illegally used campaign funds to cover up his affair. Now, let me start by saying I hate cheaters. Having an affair is the most disrespectful and just plain cruelest thing that a person can do to another. Now that I have established that this man is among the scum of the earth for doing this to his wife (really, it doesn’t matter who one’s significant other is… or how they act… it is just plain wrong), I’m glad that some kind of charges are coming up against him. If you are willing to lie to the person in the world that you are supposed to be closest to, who’s to say that you’re not covering up something else. I don’t know if he actually did it or not, but his past actions need to investigated.
So moving onto an actual piece of news that affects us all. Yesterday, Congress approved a four year extension of the Patriot Act. Now we all know that a lot of people have problems with the Patriot Act because of some violations of civil liberties (*cough*…privacy…). A majority of the Patriot Act is permanent federal law, but two temporary provisions (that had to deal with the whole privacy issue) were due to expire tonight at midnight. According to USA Today, after debating it, both liberals and conservatives gave up on trying to change any of the impediments to our civil liberties. Before I continue…here is a fun fact. Did you know that even if the people reading our emails, texts, and listening to our calls pick up on the fact that terrorists are not calling each other that they have to listen to the whole thing anyway? Here’s another one. The government has a bunch of the cell phone numbers of known terrorists, and if your number is close to one of those, they most likely have tapped into your conversations. My dad’s house and cell phone number were pretty close to Osama Bin Laden’s old pay as you go phone. Now, I am ALL for safety and national security. I applaud the man and women that have been working hard to keep us safe. They are doing their job, and they are doing it well. However, I find the concept just a smidgen creepy. The thought that someone could be listening to what you are saying is just kind of (*shudders*) creepy (for the lack of a better word). I find it best if you try to strike up a conversation with the third party listening to your conversation. So the next time you pick up the phone to talk to someone, make sure you take the time to say “hi” to the NSA team member listening to your conversation.
Well, the world is becoming quiet-ish once again and I must retire for the evening. So, as I have been saying for the past several posts…keep ticking and stay informed!!!!!
These lonely little articles are begging for you to read them:
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