June 26, 2009 | Mourn the Dead Later

“Mourn the dead later. Right now, the best thing we can do is get this ship into the fight.”—William Adama

Yesterday seemed to be a very down day. People dying and all that. You may have heard it blasted ad absurdum on the news. Or what makes for news networks in this FUBARed country.

Well, I hate to break it to a lot of ya, but there are people who die every day and do not have the luxury of having their lives looked back upon on some Gods-forskaen 24 hour news network.

What disgusts me more than anything else is how the sensationalist media harps on Michael Jackson, yet ignores the larger issues this world faces: nuclear weapons proliferation, life-changing bills being passed by Congress, various crises over seas, and a government that seems more out of control than it was under the George W. Bush Dick Cheney administration. And while the rest of us go out and stimulate the economy by buying Michael Jackson’s CDs or mp3s from iTunes, we should mourn the dead later and pay attention to what’s happening in the world.

And I know why this is… because we let it happen. We need to hold the media accountable for their actions. Support independent media that actually cares to report the news that affects us. The death of a pop star is worth reporting on an entertainment channel, and worth a brief mention on the news, but not the incessant attention that it is given.

So change the channel. Boycott advertisers. Do what you feel is right.

But most of all, pay attention, take care, and control.