Author: admin

Evils of Censorship Important to Understand; Destruction of Free Speech is Top Priority of Police State.

The evils of censorship are a direct assault to the civil rights of the citizens of the United States of America as guaranteed by the United States Constitution. Censorship is a way for the government of the United States to suppress people’s ability to freely express their ideas.

The suppression of the expression of free thought will lead to the actual repression of the thoughts themselves. Censorship sends the wrong message to the public, it makes people feel that it does not make any sense for them to be creative, because their full ideas will not stand a chance of being fully released.

There are many occurrences throughout society that show the extents of the evils of censorship. While various entities encourage censorship in one sense or another, the final determination is always left with the government. There are many reasons for censorship, but none of these reasons are grounds for the action, the determination of what should or should not be viewed, should be left to the individual doing the viewing, or for minors, should be left to the parents to determine.

The use of censorship not only limits the expression of the person being censored, but also limits the free will of the person who chooses to view or not view the particular media being censored.

[From Evils of Censorship – The Evils of Censorship Equals Destruction of Free Speech | Truth-It]

Stephanie Smith, a children’s dance instructor, thought she had a stomach virus. The aches and cramping were tolerable that first day, and she finished her classes.

[From Woman’s Shattered Life Shows Ground Beef Inspection Flaws – NYTimes.com]

Prices of your favorite grocery items are skyrocketing, but you probably don’t know it. Many companies are using a sneaky way to raise prices without driving customers to less expensive brands: they are shrinking their packaging. A jar of Skippy peanut butter, for example, is the same height and circumference it has always been, but now has a hidden, inward “dimple” on the bottom that decreases the amount the jar holds by two ounces. Boxes of breakfast cereal appear to be the same height and width they’ve always been, but manufacturers have reduced the boxes’ depth from front to back, decreasing the amount of cereal they hold. Rolls of Scott toilet tissue contain the same number of sheets as always (1,000), but the length of each sheet has been cut from 4 to 3.7 inches. A “six ounce” can of Starkist Tuna now holds just five ounces. When asked about the shrinkage, most companies point to higher costs for ingredients, manufacturing and fuel. Dan Howard, a marketing professor at Southern Methodist University, says the only way consumers can fight back against this sneaky way of increasing costs is to refuse to buy from manufacturers who engage in this deceptive tactic.

[From Sneaky manufacturers shrink packaging, while keeping prices the same | Center for Media and Democracy]

There are really only a few tricks to writing properly for the web. If you know how to write, you are already 95% of the way there.

These are some of the more common mistakes that I’ve seen in web copy and some tricks that I use every day to write effectively, from e-mails to site pages.

You don’t need to be an English major to understand any of this advice either. It is written in plain English that everyone can understand.

These are tips based on my own experience and education as a writer, and particularly as a writer specializing in the web.

If you’ve got some tips of your own feel free to share them in the comments section.

[From 20 Tips on How to Write for the Web | Webdesigner Depot]

It’s one thing when Fox News personalities say things that are totally loony; this happens at least once a day, if not at least once an hour.

It’s another thing entirely when Fox News Channel itself puts out advertising that is so obviously demonstrably false as to be discredited within minutes. That doesn’t happen quite as often, but it did just now. The above poster is part of an advertising campaign by Fox to try and claim that they are the only balanced news outlet out there, because they were the only one who covered the anti-Obama rallies on 9/12. The problem? Just about every mainstream news outlet covered them, including all the networks they claim didn’t. Want proof? Here:

[From The Daily Background » Epic Fox News Fail]

Recently, Americans have begun taking a stand for some of their most fervently held beliefs. Let’s see what they’ve had to say!

[From Dribbleglass.com–The Illiterate Minority]

Nicholas “Net Neutrality” Deleon here with truly shocking news: six Republican senators have tacked on an amendment to an appropriations bill that would block the FCC’s attempt to make Net Neutrality a reality. So remember, kids: when you think of a free and open Internet, don’t think of the GOP. It’s not your friend here.

The Senators involved are: Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas; Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas; Sen. Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina; Sen. John Ensign of Nevada; Sen. John Thune of South Dakota; and Sen. David Vitter of Louisiana.

It literally took two seconds to look up these guys’ top contributors, and you’ll be absolutely shocked at the findings. Guess who is Sen Brownback’s top donor this cycle? AT&T at a cool $11,000 so far! Sen. Brownback? Oh my, looks like AT&T has given him some $35,000 thus far! And what about that Vitter gentleman? Yeah, AT&T has given him $19,500 this cycle.

So that’s three out of the six senators who have a huge financial incentive to see to it that AT&T doesn’t have to play nice by the Net Neutrality rules.

You folks are free to draw your own conclusions, but if I were you I’d make a cool Twitter hashtag like “#ATTSENATORS.” I’m sure I’m not the only person who finds it a little bit suspicious that three of the senators who have attached their name to the amendment are sucking at the teat of AT&T.

But whatever. It’s just the Internet. Who cares about that?

[From AT&T linked to GOP senators who have proposed anti-Net Neutrality bill in Congress. Pretend to be shocked, please.]

News Anchors Can’t Stop Laughing Watching Paris Model Fall Twice On Runway (VIDEO)

[From News Anchors Can’t Stop Laughing Watching Paris Model Fall Twice On Runway (VIDEO)]

I don’t know what kind of world we live in where an inventor is coming up with a) new ways to shape bars of soap b) a device that increases the efficiency of me pulling on my weener for the sake of hygiene c) a package for said product with copywriting that displaces all my $.99 jokes.

[From Weener Kleener Soap Ring (SFW) – Cleaner – Gizmodo]

O’REILLY: The public option now is done. We discussed this, it’s not going to happen. But you say that this little marketplace that they’re going to set up, whereby the federal government would subsidize insurance for some Americans, that is, in your opinion, a public option?

OWCHARENKO: Well, it has massive new federal regulation. So you don’t necessarily need a public option if the federal government is going to control and regulate the type of health insurance that Americans can buy.

O’REILLY: But you know, I want that, Ms. Owcharenko. I want that. I want, not for personally for me, but for working Americans, to have a option, that if they don’t like their health insurance, if it’s too expensive, they can’t afford it, if the government can cobble together a cheaper insurance policy that gives the same benefits, I see that as a plus for the folks.

[From Bill O’Reilly Backs Public Option (VIDEO)]

The South Carolina Supreme Court has ordered an insurance company to pay $10 million for wrongly revoking the insurance policy of a 17-year-old college student after he tested positive for HIV. The court called the 2002 decision by the insurance company “reprehensible.”

That appears to be the most an insurance company has ever been ordered to pay in a case involving the practice known as rescission, in which insurance companies retroactively cancel coverage for policyholders based on alleged misstatements – sometimes right after diagnoses of life-threatening diseases.

The ruling emerges from a conservative Southern state with one of the most pro-business climates in the country. And it comes as progressive Democrats on Capitol Hill are pressing for health care reforms, such as a public insurance option, that reflect wariness about the private insurance industry’s motives.

The Supreme Court on Monday upheld a lower court’s verdict against Fortis Insurance, now known as Assurant. The trial jury had awarded the former college student, Jerome Mitchell, $15 million in punitive damages; the Supreme Court reduced that amount by $5 million.

[From Insurance Company Must Pay $10 Million For Revoking Policy Of Teen With HIV]