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Show W- Monday, October 13,2008 - . ; • • .-<•- THE SIGNPOST EDITORIAL Signpost Viewpoint Celebrity 24/7 SAKAH PAHN swots The love-hate relationship of a private life made public Has anyone seen the latest babyphoto hype? You know, when it all starts with just a cute little "confirmation of pregnancy." Those rumors are always, and quickly, followed by the tabloid headline "(father of said fetus) walks out on (mother of said fetus)!" Those are then chased by an avalanche of interviews and magazine articles until the baby is actually born, and then it is born in a country other than the United States (guess our health care isn't good enough). Who knew that such a little addition to the world could bring along so much commotion with its conception? But, the question must be asked: Who actually cares? Sure, it's pretty awesome that a baby is being born. We like to hear about their weight and what they look like and who had one. They are innocent, soft, sweet-smelling balls of warmth that everyone loves to look at and hold. Mind you, most of us would not like to see said ball attached to a breast. That's why we have this amazing invention called the blanket. Blankets are a scarce resource, especially with today's economy. Anyway, how many of us actually want to see Angelina breastfeeding? Or, anyone, for that matter? Of course, some credit should go the fact that her nipple isn't showing, and she is virtually fully clothed. But, in all honesty, who wants to see that? Sure, it's a beautiful thing that she has children and is nourishing them, but was it not just as beautiful to see her and her whole family all together? The truth is, we already saw those pictures, and the magazines paid a hefty price to get them. It's not enough, evidently. As soon as the spotlight drops off them, they must open fire and bombard media to bring themselves back onto the radar screen. Like Russia. Another thing: Why is it so beautiful for Jolie to pose like this, but so inappropriate for Miley Cyrus to show a little back in her Vogue photo shoot? If any other regular woman had done this, people would be saying, "Wow. That's trashy." But for Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, it's beautiful. I think they pay people to think that way. It's a conspiracy. Some people don't know that some restaurants will actually ask nursing women to leave because they are breastfeeding. They aren't showing their breast. They cover themselves with a blanket. But we don't want to offend anyone, do we? What is more inspiring and raw in beauty than seeing a new mother without any makeup, her hair undone, holding her brand-new baby in her arms? That is more beautiful than seeing any celebrity breastfeeding. f I 1 £ i Out of right field: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, during Angelina's last pregnancy. A photo of Jolie breastfeeding will grace the cover of "W Magazine/' and has already sparked discussion among Jolie's fans. But no, celebrities have been deemed gorgeous people. Therefore, any skin they show, no matter what they are doing, is considered attractive. Except when Britney shaved her head. For some reason, that was not deemed attractive. Let's not forget Janet's wardrobe malfunction either, that was entirely scandalous. But now, it seems the terms of being scandalous have changed. So why does Hollywood complain so much that people won't leave them alone? Because as soon as they stop taking pictures (or paying the parents to take pictures), they do something else to draw attention to themselves. Should we honestly feel bad? The next time Hollywood complains "Oh, so much paparazzi!" and (as Lindsay Lohan once sang in her song 'Rumors') "Why can't they just let me live?" they should remember these photos. They should also remember that they are famous. And for some reason, people actually like to look at pictures of people they don't and will never know. Celebrities chose to be famous. They chose this career for their life. Or, since they always play the victim, are they just a casualty of pure, senseless luck? we in Comment on this story at wsusignpost.com. WEBER STATE UNIVERSITY Jessica Schreifels Frances Kelsey Heidi LeBaron Jon McBride 626-7121 626-7614 626-7655 626-7983 Catherine Mortimer 626-6358 Ashley Salvador 626-7624 Tricell Taylor 626-7621 Samantha Neri 626-7105 Allison Hess 626-7499 Shelley Hart 626-6359 Georgia Edwards 626-7974 -The Signpost is published Monday, Wednesday and Friday during fall and spring semesters. Subscription is $18 a semester. First newspaper copy free, each additional copy SO. 50. •The Signpost is a student publication, written, edited, and drafted by Weber Stale University students. Sludent fees fund the printing of this publication. Opinions or positions voiced are not necessarily endorsed by the university. Vie Signpost welcomes letters to the editor. Letters must include name, address, telephone number, relationship to staff, and the writer's signature. -The Signpost reserves the right to edit for reasons of space and libel and also reserves the right to refuse to print any letter. Letters should not exceed 350 words. Bring letters to the editorial office in the Student Union 401, or mail to: The Signpost, Weber State University, Ogden, Utah 84408-2110. Attn:Jessica Schreifels. E-mail thesignpost@weber.edu tread legally "/ do not agree , - punishing with a word Daron Nelson T h . f . yousay,butl Signpost columnist not to say w\\\ defend to that political Freedom of speech is one of the greatest rights that we enjoy. The ability to articulate one's own opinions is a basic fundamental human right. The fact that one's words will cause offense to someone else is almost always guaranteed. Going out of our way to avoid simply offending some small portion of the minority is becoming more and more the norm in our society, and is totally ridiculous. Political correctness, if left out of control and left to follow its current path, will eat away at our freedoms of speech, education, and security. Most people who know me well think of me as either a nice, funny guy or as some type of jerk. I usually tend to say what I'm thinking and my wife often reminds me to turn up my thought-to-mouth filter. I have offended and continue to offend many people. Yetlwillbethefirsttoadmitthatlcan get offended. Nothing makes my blood boil like a group of activists burning the flag that I have defended. I am appalled when I see people parading around a sacred building degrading what I hold most dear. I will never go out as far as publicly demeaning others' holy observances - I look on those who do, as tasteless-yet we must be careful where f . f correctness the death your " sp^d" a right to say it great deal -Voltaire of creativity The names that some inventive people have come up with in order to avoid offending someone are quite remarkable. I just wish they were shorter. I find it much easier to call someone a big, fat liar than a size-enhanced, gravityweight advocating precision adjuster. It is credited to Voltaire, the philosopher from France (of all places) for saying, "I do not agree with a word you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." While we may strongly disagree with someone's views, we should not look to our government or our courts to silence them. We should rather convince them of the error of their ways, or use our freedom to convince everyone within earshot that those we disagree with are so far out of touch that the only logical choice is to listen to us and follow our ideals. In the classic "Fahrenheit 451" we are given a fictionalized example of how major censorship can begin as one fireman tells another, "The people in this book, this play, this TV serial are not meant to represent actual painters, cartographers, mechanics anywhere. The bigger your market the less you handle controversy, remember that! All the minor minor minorities with their navels to be kept clean. Authors full of evil thought lock up your typewriters. They did" Will we follow Bradbury's dark premonitions of the future? If the political correctness monitors have their way and find ways to remove passages from literature, they will get boring. The more boring the books get, the less some people will read. Is it hard to imagine a world where people are obsessed with always having an earpiece connecting them to cyberspace? Activists and protestors will continue to belittle and degrade that which gives them the right to do so. Some will go out of their way to offend anyone. They may bum flags, degrade holy practices, and preach anarchy, all-the-while claiming their rights to do so. Others will attempt to take away the value of education and strip our power to keep ourselves safe, all in the name of protecting other's rights. As they do so, we, as a society, should call them unpatriotic and do all we can to disprove their foolish actions and opinions, as is our right. Disagreements of speech and print should be kept to speech and print. When that line is crossed, the books begin to bum and the smoky scent of socialism creeps into our homes. Comment on this story at wsusignpost. com. What grinds my gears: By Jordan Ringler 1 HE SIGNPOST Editor in chief Managing Editor News Editor Sports Editor Photo Editor Business Editor Features Editor A&E Editor Adviser Ad Manager Office Manager Politically Corrected SOL'KCt: PtOPLt.COM The Office' replaced by VP debates! How could you NBC?! Dvvight Schrute like a deprived crack addict. It was absolutely horrible! Matt Cerrish While I understand the importance of the "game" we call our Presidential Elections, Signpost and why it is necessary to broadcast the columnist debates, I can't find myselfwilling to sacrifice my favorite shows in order to watch "second A couple weeks ago, 1 sat down in my string" presidential candidates bicker over LoveSac at approximately 8 p.m. on a issues that have already been beat to death Thursday night with an expensive box of by the "starters." A full 30-minute episode of "The Office" brownie bites and a soda in hand to partake provides the substance, humor and in my weekly devotion to my favorite television show, "The Office." After flipping awkward moments that I enjoy watching, on the TV and waiting patiently for my show while the Vice Presidential candidates to begin, I found that NBC was broadcasting provide me with little more than a couple the Vice Presidential Debates, rather than of stupid politicians pretending to argue "The Office," which was scheduled, as with each other. What a bore! And the normal, to appear. This really grinds my fact that Joe Biden is from Scranton, Pennsylvania, where the Dunder gears! How could NBC do this to America? Mifflin Paper Company's most We've all had anticipated television shows productive branch calls home, bumped on us before, possibly a result of doesn't make him an equal the inaccurate TV guides that come in our substitute to the awesome cast of local newspapers, or those lineups on our "The Office." But hey, at least Sarah satellite programs. However, before this Palin is hot. How about we moment, I had never had a preemption that truly and deeply upset me. A sacred trust nominate Steve Carrell between loyal viewer and TV network has and Rainn Wilson as been broken. I found myself tossing and our VP candidates? turning all night, craving my weekly fix of I'd rather watch them argue about office supplies and how to curb the rising cost of my expensive brownie bites, than watch Joe Biden and Sarah Palin discuss the never-ending issues such as health care, the economy and the war in Iraq. The likes of Carrell and Wilson would attract me to the debates far more than these chumps. NBC should at least include these guys in commercial breaks from the borefest that is Biden and Palin if they have the nerve to cancel one of the most celebrated shows of our time. So for those of you out there that love "The Office" or any other show that you devote yourself to weekly, I encourage you to stand up and fight! Fight for your right to an uninterrupted comedy or reality show! Fight for those cheesy soap operas and talent shows! We need to eliminate the overwhelming political bunk that blankets our favorite TV channels these days! With your help I hope to watch "The Office" without such unpleasant surprises as the joke that is our Presidential Elections. Comment on this story at wsusignpost.com. Alles, was uns begegnet, la&t Spuren zurCick. Alles tragt unmerklich zu unserer Bildungoei. Q Everything we encounter leaves traces behind. Everything contributes imperceptibly to our education. ES Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) October N A T I O N A L " -. arts humanities M ONTH |