Media Watch

If your computer’s acting up today, showing errors or shutting off completely, it might be infected with “Sasser”, a worm that hit computers this weekend. It does not use email to propagate, but it copies itself onto random vulnerable computers directly. Industry analysts suggest Sasser may have started in Russia. Microsoft is offering 250-thousand dollars in reward money for the identity of the author. Last year’s Blaster worm cost companies millions to fight, but Sasser may not have it so easy, due to acute awareness of such threats. In fact, Microsoft released a patch more than two weeks before the worm struck, that protects Windows computers from the worm. Speculation abounds that the very act of publishing a patch alerts would-be hackers and inspires attacks. The best defense against such threats? Keep your security patches up to date, use anti-virus software and put a firewall between you and the Internet.

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I want to tell an Iraqi person how I feel as an American. I am naive. I learned about America in text books. I learned about the world from text books. I have been given so much by our society and have put back so little in comparison. I volunteered for our military service as a promise and comitment to defend freedom, liberty and our American values. Luckily, I was not asked to fight in any war. I am truly a lucky individual. I was born into and inherited the principles of The New World, a place where freedom was born. We are not an old European country. We make no apologies for that. We are America! We are the United State of America. We are free people because our fathers and forefathers fought and died to establish it and maintain it. Freedom and liberty were gifts left by generations past. We came here to escape many injustices and built a land that is the envy of people of many lands. I am proud of my heriatage and I couldn't imagine living in another.

I was reading THE JEFFERSON MUZZLES the other day and it brought back a Dr. Phil quote from a couple years ago that has stuck with me, and it goes to the heart of secrecy. The thing that protects our liberties and freedoms most of all is the free speech principles of the First Amendment, which is responsible for keeping the government out in the open for all to observe, and thereby keeping it honest. If the government is permitted to operate under a veil, then it will most certainly be corrupt. One of the underlying themes of our form of government is distrust. Maintain a healthy distrust for the government, because when you start to trust it to provide for you, it will take away from you. Freedoms, liberties and money. But wait. That's already happening!

When a popular voice tells a lie, the passive majority among us will begin to promote it until it is perceived as the truth. Inundate sheep with manure long enough and they'll wallow in it. Case in point: A recent poll indicated most people believed weapons of mass destruction were found in Iraq and that the dictator had indeed been linked to the 9-11 terrorists. While facts showed otherwise, popular media, through vague and ambiguous "analysis", propagated those perceptions. Walter Cronkite was once quoted as saying, "The news is what I saw the news is."  That seemingly arrogant remark has been taken several steps further by today's so-called news organizations.  Just because you report it, people do believe it.  There are a growing number of "analysts" who purport to be "journalists", and while news and commentary were once divided, today, opinion-based content is pervasive in popular media. Diane Sawyer was on Lett

How long will Clear Channel tolerate my style of broadcasting?  When will Mark Mays announce a zero-tolerance policy against the likes of me and my standards?  When will " href="http://www.greaseman.org/wp_19970515.html" target="_blank">Greaseman " be heard in our market?

While the movie 1 (and I know you know to which I'm referring) and gay marriage 2 dominate the headlines, what isn't being covered?  Mel Gibson was apparently try to make a great movie, and I think he managed to do that.  1 Opponents of the film sound as though they want to hear themselves talk, and those who favor it are quite passionate in their remarks.  2 Regarding Bush's assertion that a constitutional amendment is needed, the Federal Government needs to get a life.  Now can the media move on and begin covering the news?