Letters to the Editor
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Wow, AncientAssyrian Was Right.
What is it that you have against Obama? Eighteen senators sponsored the bill, including one who barely even knows what the Internet is, and you single out Obama for the photo and your derision?
What exactly would you like for them to do? Censor the Internet? I thought that was going to be what they must have suggested to receive such a sarcastic headline. But no, they suggested a very measured solution to the "dangerous" Internet-- asking people to learn about the ways the Internet could be dangerous and avoid them. A bill only asking people to acknowledge the problem rather than one that "does something" seems very appropriate to me given the modern uses of Internet technology and the First Amendment and all.
The senate sponsors all kinds of resolutions like these that do nothing more than acknowledge a problem, congratulate random people for mundane acts, or declare a day for pickle appreciation. I can only think that you took the time to highlight such a benign bill as another way to slam Obama and make something out of that Facebook nothing.
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Why is this bad?
Why do you think the internet is safe? The internet is dangerous for children in ways most parents don't know. Doesn't it make sense to have parents learn what the real dangers are, rather than just banning their kids from myspace? Isn't promoting internet safety awareness good? It appears every senator disagrees with you, as do I.
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This isn't funny anymore. At all.
When I was but a wee lad old school variety magazines often had a humor column based on readers submissions or the odd wire service story that was usually a collection of anecdotes concerning the foibles of people or the mundane day-to-day pitfalls of life. A little comic relief based in schadenfreude or, if we were honest, a little laugh at our own shortcomings.
This article about congressional reaction to the "dangers" of the internet might be just such a story, one of those of the "ain't-pollyticians-dumb" sort, if it wasn't the ONLY news ever coming out of Washington.
Because it IS the only news coming out of Washington or, rather, out of our political and media systems, especially since we endured the Republican "do-nothing" Congress of recent years. But it looks like the Democrats won't fail to disappoint.
Every shred of any kind of news about any of our members of Congress, either House, either side of the aisle; anything at all that comes from the lips of the current Administration, goddamn fucking ANYTHING. Any act they pass, any budget they enact, any response to what the rest of address as the Real World: Nonsense. Hysteria. Triangulation. Self-Justification.
Pardon Scooter Libby? What the FUCK!
My friends we have allowed a Bunch of Clowns to Commandeer the Ship of State. We've given them the Keys to the Family Car, We've Given Barney Fife all 6 bullets.
A Bunch of Clowns. Look at the field of presidential candidates, either party. Is this the best we've got? The constant pandering, the illogic, the subsumation of basic common sense in reaction to shit like this miracle of modern technology, the freaking internet?
The internet. Progress. Interactivity. The end of the one-way banality of television. A way to rebel against the dominance of the Main Stream Media, Advertising, the corporate dumbing-down of America. A two-way street, a way to establish dialogue between groups, nations.
And the clowns tumble and the Ringmaster screams "Danger, danger!" We must regulate, we must Clamp Down, "The children, the children!".
Oh, help us all.
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So who noticed but you?
Really, dude, you do have a reality problem.
Sure, it's mostly hot air. But the Internet is dangerous for kids, and for young teens, and for people finding dates and buying on eBay and doing banking and--
These are serious issues, all of them. Who is it hurting, Farhad? I think a real legislator would be holding back the ninnies who want to wipe all porn from the Net, but he'd have to be thinking about a secure alternative. Do you have a kid? Do you buy things on the net?
Or is it just hicks who are concerned about this stuff?
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Oh my god why do you employ this hack?
There are LOTS of "safety months" In fact, here's a link to one for trucks that cites the high death rate:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c108:S.+Con.+Res.+50:
That you're trying to politicize this just shows how empty your writing is. Unless you think the Senate is out to demonize trucks also.
Fact is, both trucks and the Internet are tools that can be dangerous. If you read the recommended actions, they're all sensible precautions any internet-savvy person would take to protect their kids from those "weirdos" who actually are out there. Or do you need to TiVO Dateline?
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Yoohoo, Manjoo. We get it. You hate Obama. Joan hates Obama. Debra Dickerson hates Obama and all the other blacks. Quick, someone call Al Sharpton!!
Good God, Salon.
We had to deal with today's inanities from Debra Dickerson, Salon's resident "Attack-Black" (loved that name from another LW), and now, we have yet another "something outta nothing" anti-Obama tirade from Farhad Manjoo, who is rapidly turning into Joan Walsh's anti-Obama lapdog.
As Taritac noted -- with 18 -- count them, 18 -- Senators sponsoring this bill, Farhad singles out Obama, and Salon puts Obama's picture on the article.
Yoohoo, Manjoo. We get it. You hate Obama. Joan hates Obama. Salon -- except perhaps for Walt -- hates Obama.
But isn't your blog supposed to be about technology, and not some sort of passive-aggressive opportunity for you to trash candidates?
Thanks, Taritac, for acknowledging what is becoming increasingly obvious -- Salon's decided attempts to gin up or pour fuel on the fire of absurd anti-Obama stories.
And Salon, you do realize that with this continued campaign against Obama, coupled with Debra Dickerson's continuing tirades against anything and everything black, people are starting to wonder if Salon has some sort of racism problem...
"Paging Al Sharpton...Paging Al Sharpton...come in, Al..."
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this is why I hate Lieberman
...and Gore... and now I find Obama's the same way? Crap. I'm gonna do more research into Obama's attitudes towards the internet and video games. I already know Hillary is anti-video-game. Is there a fucking liberal candidate who isn't a Luddite? Could you people please shoot yourselves in the foot some more? Cause, you know, it's not like the country's in crisis and we really need a Democrat in office and young, hip people are your friggin VOTING BASE or anything!