So, I’ve just recently read a rather disturbing article in the New York Times that outlines how the Department of Education had been paying a journalist to promote the No Child Left Behind Act on in his writings and interviews on various media programs.

So, now the current administration has stooped to bribery & trickery to tout their initiatives. Not surprising, after all the other shit they’ve pulled. I could rattle off quite a list, but I’m sure most of you reading this are familiar with Bush’s crimes and transgressions. This takes us a step closer to government controlled media. Hmmm…. Where have I heard of government controlled media before… let me think…. Could it be China? The former Soviet Union? Countries where the governments have resorted to stealing the voice of the public and replacing it with their own? Our government has not gone that far, but they have become like Saruman, hiring Wormtongue to whisper in the ear of King Denethor to spread his ideas and sphere of control (Sorry for the Lord of the Rings reference, but you had to see it coming).

It sickens me, this misuse of media. Trying to bend the public’s will their way with a bombardment of slick advertising campaigns, subliminally insinuating their agenda into your subconscious, like any other advertiser out there desperate to part a fool and his money. Only they are out to part you with you free will. The subversive techniques being employed by our elected officials is shocking. They have even put out video press releases using actors playing journalists to introduce and promote their agenda.

Can we even trust the media? Can I listen to the news or read an article, and not have to wonder, “Is somebody paying him to express this point of view?” And if so, whom? If a journalists opinion and the reach of their words are for sale, then we are all in for a shitload of trouble. Free speech isn’t free at all when there’s been a cash transaction involved. Part of the media’s responsibility is to act as a watchdog. Keeping us informed of the world around us, especially when it comes to what our government is up to. And I stress that it is “our” government. A government that was established by the people, of the people, and for the people. It should be our voices that are speaking, and the governments ears that are listening when it comes to public policy. Not the other way around.

I apologize for an unusually serious rant… but I felt I had to get it off of my chest, and this is a topic that has serious consequences for all Americans. When it comes to a news source, know your dealer.


Now, here…. Go figure out what your pirate name is:

http://www.fidius.org/quiz/pirate/


Fuck war,
Turd

When someone first suggested I start a blog, I initially scoffed at the idea. I mean, there’s probably billions of these things floating around in cyberspace, and I really pay no attention to them, whatsoever. But, on the off-chance that people might actually read this crap, I decided to give it a go. Because I’ve always been a sucker for an audience. Let me start by introducing myself. I’m Turd Ferguson. And I love goats. Not in the physical sense, mind you, but in a totally platonic, yet highly respectful, manner. If I were to be reincarnated as another earthly creature, it would be a goat. Most likely a mountain goat, but a regular old farmyard billy goat would be just as bitchin’. Either that, or a house cat, since they got it pretty damn easy.

I’m not from Athens, but I’ve been there a few times, and it’s a lovely place, once you get over the eery sense of being rather isolated. I am somewhat of a musician, though, even though I don’t currently play in a band or on my own. More of a tinker, at the moment. My ultimate goal is to write TV commercial jingles that are so catchy they make people want to vomit. The kind that just sticks to the inside of your head like scrambled eggs stick to an iron skillet. So catchy that you would have to physically remove it, by beating your head against a blunt object until those particular brain cells that are internally singing the jingle are traumatized and die.

It’s a bit late for a disclaimer, but if you are one of those people who take everything seriously, you are not going to like this blog one bit. Some parts will be deadly serious, but most won’t be, and I’ll leave the reader to decide which is which.

In the meantime, please check out this site, shown to me by a friend:



www.menwholooklikekennyrogers.com



Fuck War,
Turd