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Greetings. You have to wonder what sorts of ethically-void young punks have gained control of the marketing departments at companies like Kraft. The latest indication of rotting slime between the ears where brains are supposed to be: Kraft's new "Road Kill" Gummi Candy, shaped like snakes, chickens, and squirrels that have been run over, complete with tread marks. Kraft even had animated headlights and animals on their Web site. Talk about sending the wrong message to children. Kraft now claims, "We didn't mean to offend anyone." It doesn't take a genius to figure out in advance that such lowbrow and misguided products are going to offend people. Perhaps the next time that I have to euthanize a suffering squirrel -- crushed by the jerks speeding past my house -- I'll consider shipping the road kill carcass to Kraft Corporate HQ. Then again, they'd probably think it was lunch. --Lauren-- |
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Greetings. I'm pleased to announce "DayThink" -- a new series of very brief (one-minute) MP3 audio features illuminating a wide range of relevant and important topics. Each day's feature will focus on one specific issue affecting our lives -- issues definitely worth thinking about. Many of these segments will deal directly with the impacts of technology on individuals and society. DayThink features can be accessed via the DayThink main page at: The debut segment is titled: "The Mother is Back!" and looks at the current round of telecom mergers and what they may mean for us all. A notification mailing list has been established that will send out a brief message to subscribers as each new feature becomes available (never more than one per day), including the segment title, a brief description, and a link to the feature audio itself that can be played at one's leisure. Subscriptions to that list can be established via: or by simply sending a note (no subject or body necessary) to: daythink-subscribe@vortex.com Thanks very much. --Lauren-- |
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Greetings. Remember how George W. Bush's father demonstrated his utter cluelessness to the lives of "ordinary" people when he was amazed by a common supermarket price scanner? Like father, like son. President Bush, Jr. has also shown (and not for the first time) that his world too is many lightyears distant from ours. We all know what it means when individuals have to work more than one job to make ends meet -- it means that they can't find decent fulltime employment, and it's anything but a healthy sign for the economy. Everybody understands this. Well, almost everybody. Watch this brief clip (Windows Media) where Jay Leno shows the current President Bush in Nebraska pitching social security "reform" to a single mother working three jobs. Gotta love those unscripted moments with the Prez. Thick as a brick. --Lauren-- |
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Greetings. There are two kinds of persons in our military. There are the brave, dedicated warriors who fight for their country and receive no pleasure in taking people's lives when necessary. They make up the overwhelming majority of our armed forces. Then there's the other kind -- like three-star Marine Lt. General James Mattis, who was recorded at a panel discussion saying, "It's fun to shoot some people!" and "I like brawling!" Regardless of the circumstances, anybody who gets enjoyment out of killing other human beings -- even the most vicious of enemies -- is unfit to wear the uniform of the U.S. military, and probably is in need of serious psychological help as well. Disgusting. --Lauren-- |
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Greetings. I'm no fan of the jury system as it exists here in the United States. As far as I'm concerned, it promotes manipulation, distortion, emotionalism over facts -- all manner of factors that detract from true justice. Jurors are frequently forced to make decisions based upon perversely limited information, with even jurors themselves often anguished at the resulting miscarriages of justice after the fact. And of course, jurors are purposely kept ignorant of their very wide decision-making discretion. My own experience has been that jurors and prospective jurors are often treated shabbily and bossed around much like the prisoners -- only without the shackles. Jury questionnaires play a particularly abusive role in many trials, with potential jurors required to answer all manner of highly personal questions to satisfy the whims of both prosecutors and defense attorneys (not mention both sides' jury consultants). The full text of the current Michael Jackson jury questionnaire (PDF) is an interesting example. But it pales in comparison to the O.J. Simpson murder trial questionnaire of a bit more than a decade ago. Already, the relative brevity of Jackson's questionnaire is becoming an issue given the high-profile nature of the case, with ramifications that may persist beyond the verdict. I obviously don't know if Jackson is innocent or guilty. But given the way our juries are forced to operate, the odds of getting to the truth either way in this case are probably no better than a flip of a coin -- and that's simply pitiful. --Lauren-- |
