Sites that I visit-end of July edition

The African American Environmentalist Association is a blog that I visit from time to time. On a very basic level, it debunks the unspoken conventional wisdom that Blacks are not concerned with environmental issues. I appreciate the effort the author has taken time to provide a blog that is informative and topical.

And though I hate that I feel I need to to say this, but those who are not African American can also get a lot out this blog as well.

You heard it here....

According to AlterNet, the Marines are using MySpace to recruit.

That's right. MySpace.com

The article can be found here: Marines recruiting on MySpace.

You can't say that the Marines don't ignore something that works. MySpace has become, even more than Friendster, the online networking tool of choice, especially among certain demographics-the very demographics that recruiters salivate over. Not only do members become friends of Suzy and Trey, they also add to their friends list record companies, magazines, religious groups, bars, colleges, and social causes. Through blogging, chat and bulletins, like minded friends engage in info sharing and bonding. The perceived safety of this sharing in a place like MySpace, turns this into a marketers' (and recruiters) pot of gold.

The Marines figured out how to recruit using new media and that they have a profile on MySpace, is not something that I find particularly insidious. Again, marketers have already beaten them to the punch with profiles and ads and contests tailored to entice the magical demographic into spending their money (which is often times their parents' money).

My only beef with the recruiters for the Marines-with the armed forces in general-is that they are upfront about what it really means to be a soldier and that you are essentially okay with sacrificing your life whenever it is asked of you. It is not something that you do for 4-6 years and then you get money to go to college. I am not cool with tying service as a soldier with being a "real man" (although that has been around forever).

I am also not cool with what I perceive as the preying upon the poor and the troubled that recruiters engage in. Heck, I welcome them to recruit at Harvard and Stanford and Yale and Berkeley. Why should the poor kids have all the advantages of becoming the pride of their nation and making the noble sacrifice?

I also echo the sentiment that went around in 2003 that those in Congress who support the current war in Iraq, should march their children who are of age down to the armed forces recruitment offices and have them sign up. In case someone comes up with the excuse that they only have daughters, it will please them to know that except for certain combat roles, the military is open to women also.

I would be interested to know what the yield of recuits would be for the Marines from their MySpace site.

Yet another random thought

In my comment to a post about interracial dating, I actually posted the lyrics of "Happiness Is" from "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown."

For me, it says all I think needs to be said about the issue.

MySpace humor

Enough said.

http://www.myspacehumor.com/

What Tarot Card are you....

This was so interesting that I had to post it twice.

You Are The Devil

You don't represent evil, but you do represent the animalistic side of humans. You demonstrate what happens when we listen to our first instincts. At times you tend to be materialistic and hedonistic, giving in to temptation. Admit it, you're guilty of acting first - and forgetting to think later! Your fortune: Right now, you may be having a difficult time as a result of choices you have made. You need to think about what's important in your life, and discover what chains you down. It is the time to acknowledge your faults and take steps to overcome them. It's also the time to let go of any fears or inhibitions that are holding you back.

What Tarot Card Are You?

McChronicles: Drive Thru Experience Blog

Again, the McChronicles gives me yet another reason to check it out regularly. They located a blog about McDonalds drive thru experiences but noticed that it was intended to trend towards the negative. They made the observation that "negative" does not always yield "positive" and well, the entry and the comments can be found here:

McChronicles: Drive Thru Experience Blog

What would John Adams have made of this Fourth of July?

What would the venerable John Adams, who more than anyone was responsible for the Continental Congress' acceptance of the Declaration of Independence and who celebrated the date of Independence (July 4) as much as he could before he died (Oddly enough on July 4), think of:

• The NASA shuttle launch that took place this past July 4th?
• Boston's annual "dash for space' closest to the Hatch Shell on the Esplanade?
• Retail stores being open on July 4?
• Hot dog eating contests taking place on July 4?
• Almanzo Wilder's father, James' observation that it was the "shovels and pickaxes that made America"?
• Enron chief Kenneth Lay's death?
• President G.W. Bush's trip to visit the troops in an "unnecessary war"?
• Steve Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith performing with the Keith Lockhart of the Boston Pops?
• the fact that the most popular song that is performed at the Boston Celebration being the 1812 Overture, which had more to do with France and Russia and less to do with the United States?
• The fact that the number one beer consumed was probably the beer that bears his cousin's name-Sam Adams?
• The fact that many American school children cannot spell 'Declaration of Independence' much less tell anyone that is listening what it is about beyond, "We hold these to be self evident" and " the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness"?
• The fact that his cousin Sam Adams is known more as a beer than for the work he did to found the country and for the state of Massachusetts?
• The fact that his wife Abigail would not have been allowed to bring her knitting needles onto the Esplanade? (Not that she would have...)
  
• That the USS Constitution-"Old Ironsides", one of the ships that he worked hard to have built based upon his belief that the United States needed a navy, is brought out for a spin around the harbor every July 4?
• That there are people who spend most of their lives reenacting the events of the "serious times" that he lived through?
• That he is a cartoon character on "Liberty's kids"?
• That the United States has so far survived 230 years (thought there would have been a bigger celebration for such a milestone)?
  
• That a gill of hard cider cannot be had anywhere on July 4?