The iPINIONS Journal
Commentaries on the Global Events of 2012—Volume VIII
by
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Excerpt from Twitter Rant 2 What is surprising, however, is that erstwhile pillars of Western civilization are taking to Twitter like hood rats to crack. Most notable among them are former GE Chairman Jack Welch and News Corp Chairman Rupert Murdoch. For there can be no doubt that, but for their Twitter addiction, the world would never have known that Welch is a right-wing nutjob who thinks Obama’s “Chicago guys” cooked macro-economic numbers to boost his re-election; or that Murdoch is a closet Zionist who thinks the self-hating “Jewish-owned press” is anti-Israel in its coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. So just imagine what this portends for public debate—having politicians and corporate CEOs compete with entertainers and wannabe celebrities to see who can attract the most twits with their mindless tweets on everything from public policy to daily gossip. Given this, you might that think I’d be somewhat ambivalent—since the banality of Twitter merely reinforcing the intellectually and socially bankrupt nature of celebrities like Kim and Chris is probably outweighed by the benefit of it outing as ignorant jerks internationally revered men like Welch and Murdoch; not to mention Donald Trump. Except that getting self-interested attention seems to be the prevailing reason for tweeting. And every twittering twit in the twitterverse seems to think that the only way to get it is to be as obnoxious, incendiary, or bellicose as possible. This is why I firmly believe that Twitter has about as much redeeming value as Twinkies. And it’s why I think the mainstream media are no better than Hostess in this respect. Because the contrived tweets of self-promoting buffoons like Trump (i.e., junk commentary) would never enter public consciousness, let alone public discourse, if networks like FOX did not routinely report them as BREAKING NEWS. Granted, I can’t be too bothered by the way this is dumbing down public discourse if I’m compelled to publish these rants only once every three years. All the same, here’s to Twitter going the way of Twinkies (i.e., into bankruptcy) before my next three-year rant is due.
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About the Book
From the spectacle that is the U.S. presidential election to the London Olympics to the Secret-Service sex scandal to rising tensions between China and Japan and to Superstorm Sandy, The iPINIONS Journal takes a look at it all.
In this eighth volume of political commentaries, author Anthony Livingston Hall examines an eclectic mix of worldwide topics that became a part of 2012. Insightful and often humorous, Hall discusses the topics of the day, including the political ménage a trois involving the French president, his ex-wife, and current consort; the Miami Heat’s dream team come true; the fall from grace of CIA director General David Petraeus; the costly comeuppance of Lance Armstrong; the fiscal cliff; Twitter no better than Twinkies; deaths of famous people; the mysterious vigil for Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez; and more.
Through this collection of lively and thought-provoking commentaries, Hall, an unsparing, equal-opportunity critic, provides a refreshing worldview of the global events of 2012.
About the Author
Anthony L. Hall is a Washington-based lawyer who is licensed to practice in a number of foreign jurisdictions. He is also a syndicated columnist and the author of The iPINIONS Journal, a weblog of commentaries that provide a refreshing take on current events. He lives in Arlington, Virginia. Visit him online at: http://ipjn.com