Branding Iron Editorial
| Written by Charlie Wheeler |
| Wednesday, 05 November 2008 09:16 |
|
I write this column on Nov. 4: Election Day. At the moment, I am quite literally on my way out the door to go vote for our next president of the United States of America. The sad and horrid truth about this day is that I don’t know who I want to vote for!
If it were up to me, I’d skip the next four years so that I never had to know who our next catastrophe was going to be. I’m not even sure I want to vote.
However, I think I’m in the right zone. I don’t think anybody should know who they’re voting for today. At least, I don’t think you should know until you see the name on the ballot, and the little voice in your head goes, “Ah crap, what the hell; better than the other guy/girl.”
If anyone “knows for a fact” who they’re voting for, then I think either they know a bunch more than me about this election, or they only care about whether or not we get a black president this time.
We undecided voters are the true patriots of this country.
|
| Read more... |
|
| Written by Matt Willford |
| Friday, 31 October 2008 09:53 |
|
I was walking the other day and I looked across the street and saw a lady walking her dog. I watched the dog walking for a minute and it seemed happy. Then I wondered what it would like to be an animal such as dog. Right before I was going to continue on and forget about the dog, it started to defecate on the sidewalk. These kinds of things I just can’t turn away from. Then its owner picked up the droppings and kept on walking. Man, maybe it is cool to be a dog.
Although there are some cool things about being a pet, overall I don’t think it’s that cool. Actually it kind of seems more like a burden than anything. I don’t think a human could go through the type of standards that we impose on pets. A dog that wants to make it in the pet world can’t be grumpy one.
If he lives in a pound he has to pass the temper test to be considered for adoption. I don’t think most humans can pass a temper test. Let’s say a guy is sitting down at a restaurant eating. If you go up to this guy and start poking him in the face with a stick, he’s going to snap and may even bite you. Does anything happen to this guy? No. Now if a dog does this, nobody wants him as a pet and will likely be put down. If only that dog knew how to play the game.
Now there are some good opportunities out there for dogs. If they are ambitious they don’t have to be pets. There are plenty of good jobs out there such as seeing eye dogs, search and rescue dogs and also sales and marketing. But what are these dogs getting out of it? Are they getting a good compensation package like health care, a dental plan, and most importantly, retirement? These are necessary things today’s dog really has to think about. It isn’t about just putting in your time and relying on drawing social security later on. Those days are over. Things are more complex now.
I’m always stuck with wondering how much more of our guff these dogs and other pets are going to take from us humans. With the possibility of our economy not recovering that leaves us at a vulnerable time. It’s important that we don’t let ourselves stay vulnerable. All it takes for our pets is to rise up and try to overthrow the human organization. The only thing “Old Major” (from Animal Farm) did wrong in my opinion was he picked the wrong model of government to follow. He was close, real close. All the animal kingdom needs is a John Adams type and then I think we will have some problems.
I don’t see the animal kingdom ever rising up against us, but then again you never know. Great Britain thought they could control the colonies of early America forever, but we rose up and fought back didn’t we? Just don’t tell any of your pets about any early American history and don’t let them sit around watching the Planet of the Apes movies all day. We cannot give them any ideas. They already have us cleaning up after them going to the bathroom, what else will they force us into?
Emailthe author
|
| Written by Seth Ellsworth |
| Thursday, 30 October 2008 09:04 |
|
I continue to see letters reacting to Noelle Lopez’s columns that express their displeasure in how she portrays women. Clearly these people are unable to understand sarcasm.
Maybe they pick up the Branding Iron every day and expect hard-hitting journalism all the time. Or, maybe they just don’t know how to detect something so-far-over-the-top-ridiculous.
Maybe if they would actually read between the lines instead of casting a superficial glance, they’d understand that the column is all in good fun and not telling people that they are sluts.
I am not saying people should not disagree with her or even take offense, but I think people would find if they took the column for what it was instead of a serious advice column they might find there isn’t really a fight to be had.
Seth Ellsworth
UW Graduate 2005
|
|
| Written by Samantha Getz |
| Thursday, 30 October 2008 09:01 |
If you liked the TV series “Sex and the City,” then HBO has a new addiction for you. According to www.new.com.au (a Web site presenting news from supposedly “all angles”), the new sitcom is supposed to be a cross between “Friends” and “Ugly Betty.” Rumor has it that the show will feature blonde Hollywood starlets struggling to make it big. Did I mention that Britney Spears, Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan would play the main characters?
This sitcom screams disaster. The intent of the show is ruined by the large fact that HBO forgot to take this into consideration: didn’t these stars already make it big? Isn’t Britney Spears a well-known pop star, Paris Hilton a hotel heir and Lindsay Lohan an actress? In addition, didn’t they ruin their reputations by being part of various scandals through the years? HBO should not give these celebrities another opportunity to prove to society that they could be credible. Let’s take a look at the facts.
Britney Spears started out as the “Hit Me Baby One More Time” princess of 1999. She lead the pop world into a blonde bimbo dive as fellow vocalists Christina Aguilera, Jessica Simpson and Mandy Moore followed close behind. Things were going well for Spears; that is until her purely innocent act hit the fan. Since then she has damaged her reputation by performing in poorly reviewed movies, divorcing and annulling marriages, having outlandish methods of raising her kids and shaving her head. Obviously, Spears is no longer in the right frame of mind to claim additional stardom by playing the “struggling singer” in HBO’s new sitcom.
Paris Hilton made her name by being a celebrity debutante. She had to earn her GED after violating school rules in Connecticut. Later in life, she endured a publicized jail sentence in 2007 for driving under the influence. She is a stand-up member of the TV industry, obviously, because of her performance in the TV show “The Simple Life” alongside Nicole Richie. Her controversial sex tape was the talk of the country and her attendance of various nightclubs has won her a party-girl reputation. Hilton should not be given any more chances to increase her stardom, or her ego.
Lindsay Lohan rose to stardom through her roles in “The Parent Trap,” “Mean Girls” and “A Prairie Home Companion.” The music business allowed her to record three albums, none of which earned her a standing reputation as a pop star. She is now a leader on the celebrity party scene. Lohan checked herself into rehab in 2007 and then pleaded guilty seven months later to driving under the influence of cocaine. Altogether, she has had three attempts at rehabilitation. Maybe Lohan should spend more time rebuilding her sober self before she is given any roles to redeem her celebrity self.
So maybe I’m wrong and all three of these blonde, scandalous females should be given the chance to redeem themselves for any bad reputations earned over the years. Maybe we should give them yet another chance. Besides, how hard can it be for three blonde bimbos to play three blonde bimbos?
Email the author
|
| Written by Wiley Combs |
| Wednesday, 29 October 2008 09:35 |
If you voted for Nader during the last presidential election, you probably received your share of lumps from Kerry supporters for “skewing the vote,” and putting King George back in office for another four years. This seems disrespectful, implying that you ignored the real choice for president in favor of your “joke” candidate. You might just be disappointed enough in the failure to elect the Green Party candidate that you’ve decided to vote plain-Jane this election.
Don’t fret! Ralph’s at it once again, and this time it looks like he’s really got a chance! Okay, so maybe he’ll just get 5 percent of the vote, like usual, and gracefully thank his cadre of loyal voters. But that’s still something, right?
By now, you may have decided that I’m some sort of an extremist element seeking to unbalance a precariously two-sided system. If so, that is surprisingly insightful and I give you much credit for your evaluation. When considering the vague and convenient definitions of our two-party political system, I might even claim to be a patriot, as some extremists are likely to do.
|
| Read more... |
|
|
|
|
<< Start < Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next > End >>
|
| Page 8 of 21 |