Upheaval in College Football

Chaos has erupted in the college football world in a number of respects: Auburn has shocked everyone, escalating from being unranked in the preseason to being National Championship participants, Ohio State broke its two-season win streak, directly removing themselves from the BCS Championship picture, and Florida State's star quarterback and Heisman-hopeful, Jameis Winston, was found innocent in the conclusion of his dragged-out and agonizing rape case. However, above all these, ostensibly insurmountable anguish has broken out in college football's unofficial headquarters, Tuscaloosa, AL, as speculation that head coach Nick Saban will leave the Crimson Tide to coach the Texas Longhorns in Austin, TX has arisen.

Coach Saban is informal royalty in the state of Alabama. Under his tutelage, the Crimson Tide has won three of the last four National Champions and has brought in the nation's most highly coveted recruits.

The University of Texas' head coach, Mack Brown, used to be to Texas what Coach Saban is to Alabama. Though his pedigree is not as impressive as King Saban's, having only won one BCS Championship in his fifteen-year tenure with the Longhorns, he had always produced a top-five team that competed in prestigious Bowl Games.

This was, of course, until 2010, when the Longhorns would endure three consecutive losing seasons and fall from an empire to a conference punching bag. Naturally, Texas' athletic boosters are not thrilled about Brown and his Longhorn's descent from greatness, and many have requested for new leadership of the football program.

In response, UT's athletic director, Steve Patterson, saw fit to offer Alabama's Nick Saban a $10M-per-year contract (compared to his current $5.62M annual salary) to come to Austin to coach the Longhorns. There are reports of text messages between Saban and Patterson, along with accounts of Coach Saban's wife, Terry, house shopping in Texas' capital.

While Longhorn fans wait in anticipation for Mack Brown's replacement (with their fingers tightly crossed that it is, indeed, Coach Saban), Crimson Tide loyals are outraged at this prospect, and demand that the Alabama athletic program raise his pay to keep their King in Tuscaloosa.

Because I am an ardent Texas A&M fan, this fiasco directly impacts my fellow Aggies and me, but unfortunately, we face a lose-lose situation. If Coach Saban remains the Crimson Tide's head coach, Alabama will continue to reign supreme over the SEC and likely prevent my Aggies from experiencing any real success, and if he transfers to Austin, UT will likely become Texas' premiere football program again.

I personally prefer the latter, seeing as this would free up the SEC in some regards and would allow Texas A&M to thrive, absent of the Crimson thorn in its side. However, I think Coach Saban will stay in Tuscaloosa. Save being bored with his current empire and seeking to start over (much like how I feel when I beat the NCAA Football video game), he has no real reason to leave--and will have Hell to pay if he does. The man is already a multimillionaire, and is most likely looking at retirement if he plans on going anywhere. Additionally, much like Lebron James' shift from the Cleveland Cavaliers to the Miami Heat, if he moves to Austin for the money, his perceived winning-is-everything mentality will be forever tarnished.

And we all know how coaches feel about their images.

Source: http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2013/12/10/texas-longhorns-football-coach-mack-brown-status/3959029/

Misplaced Disapproval

President Obama has experienced significant nationwide criticism--reflected by a 9% drop in his national approval rating--mainly pertaining to the recent steps taken in implementing his administration's healthcare plan, the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. But is America's discontent with our Commander-in-Chief misplaced? I certainly think so. According to Fox News' article, "How Low Can It Go? ObamaCare Poll Numbers Drop -- Again," much of the public's main misgiving about Obamacare is its recent website malfunctions. I find that there are many other components of the Act that the American people could take issue with than its initial aesthetic problems.

It seems that yet again America's citizens are misinformed by the mass media. Outlets of all political preferences have been reporting on HealthCare.gov's malfunction, but what of Obamacare's effects on doctor's pay, taxation, and overall function within the government? Since mainstream media became widespread and readily available to virtually everyone, it appears that it has essentially determined the public's political opinions by only providing the most basic elements of issues. This is clearly a problem, but I personally see no legitimate alternative to remedy this epidemic of ignorance.

News, Fox. "How Low Can It Go? ObamaCare Poll Numbers Drop -- Again." Fox News. FOX News Network, 20 Nov. 2013. Web. 20 Nov. 2013.

Twitter Mania

Twitter has undeniably become the new king of social media. It allows people to share what they're doing and how they're feeling with the world in real time, and, unlike other outlets, to interact with celebrities on a personal level and be inundated with information from news sources. Twitter is fun, easy, and unique and, as a result, has experienced long-standing and exponentially increasing success.

The executives over at Twitter decided that they could best exploit Twitter's dominance by going public, and, a little over a week ago, did just that. In it's initial days, Twitter's stock values have soared, but many speculate as to whether this boom will continue--perhaps with good reason. After examining that Facebook bubble, some financial experts believe that Twitter will follow suit in Mark Zuckerberg's fall. Social media sites are only worth how many users it has, and declines of ostensible empires like Facebook occur when competitors push them out.

It is undeniable that social media sites' value entirely depends on their popularity, and Facebook's stock plummeted as it gradually became less desirable to the public, but what many do not consider is that Twitter has already battled the storms brought on by rival outlets--including Facebook. For example, when Facebook bought out Instagram, Twitter responded by developing Vine, which, too, continues to become favorable to its users. It appears that Twitter is more robust than many give it credit for, and I, personally, do not see why Twitter's stock will not maintain or even grow.

Dukes of Hazard

The stupidity of humanity never ceases to amaze me. This news report is certainly more benign that the ones we typically discuss, but man’s irrational behavior still led to someone getting hurt and another getting put in jail. I personally don’t know what to make of the situation. Obviously guns were in the hands of untrustworthy men, but was there some ulterior motive or are these guys just idiots? Whether these men got the idea to search for Bigfoot from Animal Planet or beef jerky commercials is irrelevant, the real question is why do humans persistently search for myths and legends when they have been almost conclusively proven to be nonexistent?

There is much speculation as to why we try to discover mythical creatures like the Loch Ness Monster, the Abominable Snowman, and, most recently, Bigfoot. Some claim that it has to do with our insatiable curiosity for the unknown, while others uphold that we are motivated by a pursuit of fame and notoriety. I, however, contend that we, personally, want these storybook characters to exist. We deeply desire to realize the fantastical tales we imagined as children and to wholeheartedly believe that there is more to life than what meets the eye. It is impossible to speak for the men involved in this recent debacle, but I think that our inner child—along with elements of escapism and thrill-of-the-hunt—that motivates us to embark on these senseless and fruitless quests.   

The NSA's At It Again

This past week, an international uproar erupted when it was revealed that the US’s NSA program has been spying on at least 35 world leaders, many being America’s own allies. I, unlike a majority of people who have caught wind of this conflict, do not take issue with the NSA’s recent snooping. Many may see this as betrayal, but I’m of the opinion that the federal government’s primary responsibility is to take every necessary measure to protect the American people from foreign enemies. Whether the NSA’s spying is essential in America’s military strategy is a different argument for others to have—I merely contend that the NSA acted within its rights in this case.

I personally see the snooping as an extension of national security. The American military and intelligence may be involved in foreign affairs such as the anarchy in Iraq and Syria to help benefit society as a whole, but they are also immersed in these conflicts to stay “in the know” regarding intentional issues. In this case, the NSA took a sneakier approach in investigating other country’s internal happenings, but a similar principle was exercised.

I’m not, however, a huge fan of the NSA as a result of its snooping on a number of innocent American citizens. The program claimed it was within its right provided by the Patriot Act (which, again, is a separate argument), but its domestic intrusion was essentially dismissed by the American people in a matter of weeks. I personally find it unreasonable to be more concerned with the NSA’s spying on foreign leaders than on the American people, but perhaps that’s just me.

Trying Times in Russia

It appears that last week’s Moscow migrant conflict is composed of both cultural and religious disagreements—a combination that could prove to be catastrophic for the Russian capital. At the risk of being religiously insensitive, it appears that the Muslim’s acts of insubordination were initially mildly passive, involving no bombings or hostages. However, this conflict came to a head when an advocacy group blamed these new Moscowans for the murder of an ethnic Russia, and a full out civil war broke out.

I find this civil disagreement to be so interesting because, though it involves an occasionally boisterous religion, no real radical behavior has been realized to date. Sure, someone was killed—not that this should be treated flippantly—but no churches or public transportation mediums have been bombed, and no terrorist threats have been made. This leads me to believe that this struggle is cultural, not unlike what we experience here in America. Both Moscow and the United States are melting pots of ethnicities, and issues like this are experienced every day. Whether it takes form as a gang shooting between the MS-13 and the Bloods in Los Angeles or the Westborough Baptist Church protesting military funerals in Arlington, cultural clashes occur in our homeland—a self-proclaimed peaceful nation—on a daily basis.

After examining this divergence in Moscow, I can’t help but wonder when the U.S. will attempt to make the kinds of immigration reforms Russia is seeking to implement soon. Opponents of American immigration reform make the classic argument that America was discovered and founded by immigrants and that everyone has the right to reside here if they go through the due legal process of nationalization. This is indisputable but misses the point. The exponential influx of illegal immigrants in America has caused, or, at least, perpetuated, a variety of issues in today’s society. Nationwide crime rates and the national debt have skyrocketed and jobs have been occupied by those who evade taxes and contribute little to society. I am all for foreigners legally coming to America for the opportunity for a better life—without this ability, I would not even be a citizen here—but illegal immigration is America’s version of the Moscow conflict. Changes must be made to both societies and only those who are willing to sacrifice the time and effort to migrate should be allowed to do so, and those who have neglected to be nationalized should excommunicated until they legitimately municipalize.

Works Cited

Baczynska, Gabriela, and Igor Belyatski. "Over 1,600 Migrants Rounded up after

Ethnic Riots in Moscow." Reuters. Thomson Reuters, 14 Oct. 2013. Web. 23

Oct. 2013

The Golden Age of Television

When considering the “Golden Age of Television,” shows considered today to be “oldies” initially came to my mind. Television shows such as M*A*S*H, I Love Lucy, and Happy Days—wholesome, family oriented, All-American, shows even—are classic, timeless programs that serve as fundamental building blocks for today’s television shows. However, upon reading the article, I came to realize that this is the reason that these programs are seen as “golden.” Like any pioneers in any industry, they are seen as timeless, but I find that archetypical TV shows are simply generational.

I took the liberty of calling my fourteen-year-old brother to ask him what he considered to be TV’s “Golden” programs. As I expected, he listed shows such as Boy Meets World, Even Stevens, and Lizzie McGuire. These are the shows that he grew up on in the early 2000’s, and, to him, were a key component of his childhood. Those programs, along with the likes of Full House, Spongebob Squarepants, and Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, are what are most reminiscent of my early years and, consequently, became a part of my developmental years and life as a whole.

People search for escapism when watching TV. Their “Golden Age” likely reflects which shows bring them life’s sweetest memories—for many, their childhoods or other times of simplicity and contentment. Though it is evident there are subliminal messages of racism, sexism, and political propaganda in television of all generations, people typically value TV shows for their surface components—their characters, plot lines, stories, and morals. After examining this subject extensively, I have concluded that the “Golden Age of Television” is, in fact, a number of ages, valued differently by each individual TV fanatics.