State of the Union address versus satirical fake news

Jon Stewart at the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear CC 2.0

“If you watch the news and don't like it, then this is your counter program to the news.”
~ Jon Stewart ~

Today is not necessarily a slow news day as there are articles galore to read, ponder and discuss.

A favorite topic for the last several days seems to be predictions that pundits are making about the contents of President Obama’s State of the Union address tonight. Heady stuff indeed, if you happen to be a journalist and make the correct call.

Take your pick for suggested talking points; it could be the deficit, healthcare, jobs, Afghanistan, foreclosures, banking regulation – perhaps all of the above plus more - the list is pressing and seems endless.

Then again, maybe in light of so many national concerns we should turn our attention to something more frivolous.

The video below will momentarily take your mind off reality; it’s a satirical fake-news segment that was produced several months ago by The Onion, the Chicago-based tabloid and online news source, which often creates controversial news of its own.

In my humble opinion, I wish the problems facing our country were a bit more like this.

One Hundred Years from Today

How will historians of the future view us 100 years from today?

Since we are fast becoming a “Twittering,” sound bitten, Blackberry-carrying, social-networking-driven-society where RSS (really simple syndication) feeds chop up our daily diet of words and information, I have decided to leave my mark on this momentous day by providing a celebratory acrostic poem, which some chronicler of the century can easily digest.

An Inaugural Acrostic

Beginning
Against all odds
Repeating the oath of office as others have done before
Addressing the nation’s most pressing needs first
Changing the way Washington does business
Keeping promises and making new ones

Helping to create new jobs while protecting the environment
Understanding the plight of those less fortunate
Security within our borders and abroad
Supporting education and the arts
Energy independence
International diplomacy
National health care reform

Optimism
Bringing political parties together
Answering to the public with more transparency
Makeovers in banking, securities and commerce
All will sacrifice for the greater good