Irony

File this story under 35 years too late.

Ted Kennedy attempts to rescue someone from the water. Suppose Mary Jo Kopechne is spinning in her grave somewhere near Chappaquiddick?

Kicking a Dead Horse

Dan Rather believes Bill Clinton to be a honest man..

During an exchange on "The O'Reilly Factor" May 15, 2001:

Bill O'Reilly: "I want to ask you flat out, do you think President Clinton is a honest man?"

Dan Rather: "Yes, I think he's a honest man."

O'Reilly: "Even though he lied to Jim Lehrer's face about the Lewinsky case?"

Rather: "Who among us has not lied about something?"

O'Reilly: "Well, I don't lie to anybody's face on national television. I don't think you have, have you?"

Rather: "I don't think I ever have. I hope I never. But, look, it's one thing-"

O'Reilly: "How can you say he's a honest guy then?"

Ready for the punch line...

Rather: "Well, because I think he is. I think at core he's a honest person. I know you have a different view. I know that you consider it sort of astonishing anybody would say so, but I think you can be a honest person and lie about any number of things."

You "can be a honest person and lie about about any number of things." No, technically you can't Mr. Rather. Honesty is defined by Webster's dictionary as "free from fraud." Lie is defined as "to make a false statement."

And this man lead the CBS news department and the thoughts of millions of Americans for decades. Sure, O'Reilly is biased, but the O'Reilly Factor is a show about opinions, Rather was suppose to be telling us the facts. Trust no one in the press. You should also go to the O'Reilly Factor transcripts for this show to make sure I am not lying to you. However, understand I, unlike Mr. Rather, do not believe you can tell a lie and still be considered honest.

A Gaming Revolution

Ever since Super Mario Bros. on the NES I have been addicted to video games. I have owned the Atari 2600, NES, Super NES, original Gameboy, Gameboy Pocket, Gameboy Color, Gameboy Advance, Gameboy Advance SP, Nintendo 64, Playstation, Gamecube, XBOX and Nintendo DS. It goes without saying I spend a great deal of money when the new systems are released. Nintendo can count on about $400-$500 from a little town in Iowa every time there game designers produce a new console. However, lately the excitement of gaming has dwindled for me. I still like a good game, but recently we have been hit with an overabundance of sequels. Shiny, new graphics, but the gameplay is exactly the same as the first 4 versions of the game.

Sure, I will play the newest Zelda and Mario Kart no matter how much it resembles the previous games, but that doesn't hold true for other games. I am tried of the cookie cutter games on the market. Nintendo must have understood my frustration, because they are changing the way we play console video games. With the Nintendo Revolution (current code name) you will have a greater control of the action on the screen. The new controller resembles a TV remote. However, by simply moving the controller around it affects the action in the game. For example, to strafe in a FPS, you might till the controller to the left or right. In Star Wars games you could wield it like a lightsaber. In golf or tennis games it could be the club or the racket. In football games you might be able to simulate throwing the football. The possibilities are endless. Of course, the controller will be able to function as a normal, conventional controller if the games dictate it.

I always enjoy the cutting edge graphics in a game, but this change in mechanics has me more excited about gaming than I have been in years. To be sure, I will own a Xbox 360 to make sure I am able to play some of the great third party games that don't want to make use of the new Revolution controller. Nintendo fanboy or not, the Revolution has begun and I am excited to see where it takes us.

Lost Minds

The US has become very "red" and "blue" in the last five years. The belief that either you are a tax money spending liberal or a tree killing conservative has seemed to back everyone into a corner. Most media outlets would have you believe it is due to the Bush administration. The "recklessness abandon" by which they govern the country is said to have created a polarized country. I would offer a different view. The problems in this country generally start and end with the media. I believe the media is a step behind and a day too slow. Most media organizations operate in a coded idea of what makes a Democrat and a Republican. Never deviate. Never use common sense. We all have beliefs that make up our character and dictate how we move through our everyday lives. Those beliefs generally align you with one of the major political parties. However, not everytime. For example, you can be a Republican and believe in environmental issues and you can be a Democrat and believe in reserved fiscal spending. This is a concept the media just can't handle.

The media is unable to cut and paste different ideas from each party and place them alongside the ideals of a competing party. They fan the flames of the ideological differences to keep the public buying more papers and watching more ads. And far too often the media gives you half the story. So, I propose a change in the way politics is viewed in this country. Don't let the sound and images on TV or the words and print in the newspapers do your thinking for you.

If you don't believe the war in Iraq is the right war at the right time, know why you feel that way. If you do believe the war in Iraq is the right war, have the facts or the individual knowledge to back it up. Was Wategate a scandal? Why? Did Nixon authorize it or just cover it up? Does the quote "I am not a criminal" attributed to Nixon apply to Watergate or another issue during his presidency? What was the Iran/Contra scandal? Was Oliver North a criminal or Hero? Was Vietnam a fight worth fighting? Did we leave too soon? Did you get both sides of the argument in high school? Is having sex with an intern a crime if you lie about it in a court of law?

We all know the sound bites. The reasons we stop flipping through the channels to stay on Fox News, CNN or NBC a little longer to hear the rest of story. The problem is that the sound bites are becoming the news. Everyone is taking the cliff notes version of the story, as told to you by someone you do not know or know their agenda, as the truth. Just because Dan Rather or Katie Couric decides to run a story doesn't make it true, relevant or even important.

Certainly a little, tiny blog on the internet isn't going to change the world. However, it will be my outlet to scream about the things I witness in the world. If I get political I will attempt to back up my position with facts or I will simply list it as an opinion. Your job is to make sure I am right before believing me.

I created this blog as a forum for my thoughts. I will not post only political rants or I would go crazy. Besides the last thing I want to become is that old man that complains about everything in the world...my friends probably already think I am headed down that path. There will be album reviews, funny ironies found throughout the world, video game reviews, movie reviews and general thoughts that pop into my head. Your comments are welcomed as well as your views. It is the discourse of ideas and opinions that truly accomplish things, not the hollow droning of network TV or Gannett publishing.