‘Don’t Tase me, bro’ incident: F
It was the Taser shot heard around the world. The infamous clip of a University of Florida student being tased has launched an outcry from students nationwide. While some aspects of the incident have managed to imbed themselves into the pop culture lexicon -†especially, "Don’t tase me, bro" and T-shirts -†it’s still a disturbing story to take in.
A UF student, who is known for having a history of promoting his own pranks and antics, was tased during a question-and-answer session with Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., on Monday. UF officials have said that the student refused to leave after his allotted time expired. UF police officers removed the student, but he resisted. The entire incident was videotaped.
Kerry is heard in the background saying, "That’s all right, let me answer his question." The student was pinned to the ground and he yelled, "Don’t tase me, bro" right before officers, well, tased him.
The event made Kerry seem aloof – a criticism that was touted by Republicans during his presidential bid. He tried to lighten the mood, but instead he came across as oblivious to the severity of the situation.
The investigation is ongoing and the two officers involved have been placed on leave.
The entire incident could be a veiled attempt to garner attention to this one individual. It’s fine to speak your find and incur the consequences. It’s good that he got his point across -†that’s what freedom of speech is about. If the UF officials wanted to silence him or quell the situation at the question-and-answer session, the tasering exacerbated the situation.
Dan Rather sues CBS: C
Former anchorman Dan Rather filed a lawsuit Wednesday against his former employer, CBS, citing that he was a "scapegoat" for a flawed story on President Bush’s National Guard records in 2004.
Rather claims CBS bullied him into publicly apologizing and to take personal blame for the factual errors -†and at $70 million, Rather means business.
After serving CBS for about 25 years, Rather does have to right to take on his former employer, it shows that he still has the spark of energy that many fell in love with.
But we have to ask ourselves: Is this a quick attempt at regaining his credibility as a journalist? Rather was not the narrator of the story; he was the journalist covering the piece. He did the footwork on checking up on facts and interviewing sources. A journalist knows that one’s credibility is always tied to the stories he or she writes.
Rather might be in the deep end, but at least he’s taking stance before he fades away.
