By Brett Westfall

Was it just me, or did the this year’s State of the Union Address feel more like campaign rally’s than ever before?

For as prolonged as any modern State of the Union Address is, I hoped there would be more to it regarding the many big issues facing America today. There was barely or no mention of gun control, climate issues, or funding issues to areas that greatly need it currently. Instead, we Americans are still stuck with the now political fight over a border wall in which may happen again. It’s almost if Pelosi V. Trump: Part 2 is about to hit our Televisions.

Trump did call for $500 million for childhood cancer research which was nice until you think about it. Harvey Cedars to the New York Times said, “President Trump’s call for $500 million to fight childhood cancer was greeted with deservedly loud applause. Does it not occur to anyone that he wants more than 10 times that amount for his wall? Here’s a deal we can all live with: $5.7 billion to fight childhood cancer, and $500 million for the wall.”

Instead of this political battle, what did the State of the Union Address mean? During the 20th century, the State of the Union Address meant what the President’s goals were to achieve as a nation and as one unified union, what are the issues that we can fix together. The address, according to Article 2 Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution states, “He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient;…” Read more on the U.S.A. Government Archives.

After this year’s constant political campaign and ‘not-so’ subtle shots towards many issues, here is my list of the Top 5 State of the Union Addresses that were influential and memorable, whether good or bad.

#5) Lyndon Johnson (1964; Transcript)

“Our aim is not only to relieve the symptom of poverty, but to cure it and, above all, to prevent it,” Johnson said.

Now a bit controversial due to abuse of many of the systems by some Americans, he helped the role of government be a factor in many key areas such as education and civil rights. But more importantly, what still has an affect today is that he helped push for the Job Corps, VISTA, food stamps, Medicare, Medicaid, and more. Because of the funding and push for legislation to help with these matters, they became huge in many people’s lives, some for the better and some for the worse. All in all, it was affective and legislation responded.

#4) George W. Bush (2003; Transcript)

 Oh, how could we forget. The weapons of mass destruction, a Presidency that was torn between influence of Cheney and Halliburton, backlash of issues from Clinton’s era, devastation on American soil from hurricanes to terrorist attacks, Iraq and allegedly waving to Stevie Wonder. But at least he had some amazing catch phrases and came up with some new words.

His Presidency was filled with some awful luck, this is true, but his State of the Union Address in 2003 has some implications towards certain countries which are still enemies to this day. He identified Iraq, Iran, and North Korea as “an axis of evil” and had “weapons of mass destruction.” Though stated before, but not going back on it, Bush again claimed there were weapons of mass destruction. No weapons of that sort were ever found in Iraq at the time of the war and none from Iran were used or discovered to that magnitude, and until recently, North Korea didn’t have the missiles that it does now.

After such turmoil and lies from plenty of President’s lips throughout the 20th century due to growing media coverage, America deserved some truth, but we were angry with reason. The terrorist attacks were enough for all of us to assume all of the surrounding areas around Afghanistan were to be taken as enemies. This speech will live as a precedent to have facts before you make an ‘ass’ of ‘u’ and ‘me.’

#3) James K. Polk (1848; Transcript)

From issues with Mexico to all the benefits of annexing Texas a few years back, James K. Polk’s speech showed how quick America was developing and gave a history at how fast things were getting done.

The most important quote from James K. Polk that directly affected American citizens was, “It was known that mines of the precious metals existed to a considerable extent in California at the time of its acquisition. Recent discoveries render it probable that these mines are more extensive and valuable than was anticipated.”

Ah, the Gold Rush. This speech and a picture of a man had tabloids and all news outlets to run stories that there were gold mines in abundance in California and even up to Oregon. How could it go wrong? In just over a decade California had registered over 300,000 people after having about 90,000. Insane and historic, California remains a highly populated state.

#2) Abraham Lincoln (1862; Transcript)

“Since your last annual assembling another year of health and bountiful harvests has passed, and while it has not pleased the Almighty to bless us with a return of peace, we can but press on, guided by the best light He gives us, trusting that in His own good time and wise way all will yet be well.”

I mean, come on, when you start a speech like that, how can you not also be labeled as one of the greatest poets or writers of all time. History is told by the victor and he certainly is on a majority of everyone’s list as one of the greatest presidents of all time.

Regarding his speech, he was sadly truthful, but it was necessary. He let the nation know northern men would die for this war to end old ideals and to not blame anyone or try to escape history, the time of war was upon the nation and he needed this speech for people everywhere to support his cause. He told it how it is, but in such a way that it set the precedent for other speeches to follow. Lincoln said, “The fiery trial through which we pass, will light us down, in honor or dishonor, to the latest generation…In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free. We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best hope of earth.”

#1) Franklin D. Roosevelt (1942; Transcript)

“…the Union was never more closely knit together—this country was never more deeply determined to face the solemn tasks before it.”

Nine State of the Union Addresses later and Roosevelt makes eternal history. Already an influential figure and knowing the fears that fall upon the world, as well as the attacks at Pearl Harbor and the war in the Pacific, he had a lot to go over. He had to be careful and strong-willed, and he was more than that.

The most influential and largest war in the documented history of our race was upon the growing nation. Jobs were to be focused upon helping the war effort in the west in the Pacific and possibly preparing for the east, Americans had a lot on their plate, just like the rest of the world.

With some of the strongest willed people in American history, thanks in large part of the hardships that Americans went through for a decade in the Great Depression, more work had to be done, but this time, for a true purpose. Sadly, it was war.

Roosevelt touched on all of the attacks from Japan and what is happening in Europe and what the American response would be in the coming years. Hitler’s conquest could potentially come to America and that added a fear factor to an already angry giant. We would be spending the years rationing, which wasn’t a big deal since the Great Depression was just ending, but more importantly, Americans would be using its industrial power to create some of the greatest militaristic advancements in abundance the world has ever seen.

My favorite lines from Roosevelt’s speech are:

“They know that victory for us means victory for freedom.

They know that victory for us means victory for the institution of democracy— the ideal of the family, the simple principles of common decency and humanity.

They know that victory for us means victory for religion.”

Analyzing a modern speech and fact checks can only go so far in the near future, but what of in a few years or in history. All that truly matters is how much influence a speech has in Americas own little, “Game of Thrones.”

President Trump’s 2019 State of the Union Address is too new to say much, but with political unrest and a constant war within congress, we shall see if this speech will influence enough legislation and people to truly do something about the issues he claimed were happening at Americas southern border.

My National Claim: Global Warming is real and affecting America

Global warming is happening and the numbers are everywhere, yet we still have deniers. No it doesn’t need to be ‘too late’ or extreme for deniers to realize that it is happening. We aren’t running out of fossil fuels or anything of that nature, the argument in question is if global warming is real because of the extreme temperatures and here are some sources with facts and links that may help you understand it better. To support my claim, I wanted to look at recent surveys and studies from reliable sources, news outlets, and scientific evidence from NASA and independent authors studying climate change issues.

A survey published in December 2018 by programs from Yale and George Mason University have recently concluded that most Americans now believe that global warming is happening by a 5 to 1 ratio. See more statistics now from their website: http://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/climate-change-in-the-american-mind-december-2018/

This past year, America’s carbon dioxide emissions rose by 3.4 percent and is the biggest increase in the past 8 years, according to Brad Plumer of the New York Times. Which is more strange since coal mines are continuing to shut down, but a huge source is how cold the winter months have been recently, so the use of oil and gas emissions for heating have gone up.

Plumer also stated that as United States manufacturing boomed, emissions from the nation’s industrial sectors that include steel, cement, chemicals and refineries increased by 5.7 percent. Here is the link to Plumer’s article from the New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/08/climate/greenhouse-gas-emissions-increase.html

Even in America currently, with a President that is a global warming denier, NASA updates its GISS Surface Temperature Analysis (GISTEMP) which consists of graphs and tables of temperatures so that they may effectively estimate surface temperature change in the future. To look at the shocking numbers and every different graph regarding the rising seasonal cycle or the global annual mean surface air temperature change click here: https://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/graphs/

A big reason for deniers early on is due to misinformation and confusion in the 90s and early 2000s were misunderstood numbers from global climate change and ozone depletion. Regarding equipment, funding for studies amongst climate change has never been all that good and equipment early on has caused naysayers to believe that the surface temperature record is just ‘guesses’ or constant corrections due to differing equipment at certain locations. Well, relatively recently, there are scientists who have used satellite data and more to come up with a global average trend and it is shocking at the recent years. Check it out: http://www.cru.uea.ac.uk/documents/421974/1295957/Info+sheet+%231.pdf/c612fc7e-babb-463c-b5e3-124ac76680c5

Lastly for now, what about “How is it so cold then still in the winters, where is this ‘global warming’ now?” Well one, simply based on seasons and Earth’s tilted axis that it revolves on, obviously you are going to have snow and winter seasons based on where you live in America. The difference, look at the extreme temperatures, especially in recent years. In a recent study from Nature Communications, there was another link to to a warmer Arctic that led to snowier winters, specifically in the Northeastern U.S. This is a huge deal because it has some inclination into bomb cyclones and polar vortexes. Link: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-02992-9

To summarize what the link to what the Nature Communications study found was to show how unusually cold temperatures in the Northern to Northeastern part of America coincide with lower precipitation in southern America with warming arctic weather. The study’s author’s even found how much plant life helps filter carbon dioxide out and how those plants aren’t able to pull in as much causing a setting, rising heat around the area.

This is just the start, but many of these links can help any denier begin to understand that global warming is real and it is right in front of your eyes. Just look at the research and help the lack of funding so we can better analyze these drastic weather patterns before it’s too late to understand the rising issues.

By Brett Westfall

A couple hours ago, BBC World News produced in article claiming Iran arrested 7,000 people in total in a crackdown last year over what Amnesty International calls a “shameless campaign of repression.”

From BBC’s article and Philip Luther, Amnesty’s Middle East and North Africa Director, he said, “From underpaid teachers to factory workers struggling to feed their families, those who have dared to demand their rights in Iran today have paid a heavy price.”

At least 26 protestors were killed and 9 died in custody. This is a shame.

The top three largest protesting groups that had the most people detained from over the past year in Iran were workers and trade unionists, religious minorities, and women’s rights defenders.

The trade unionists are feeling the affect of reimposed sanctions from the United States and government corruption so it does make since that there were so many that have been detained because plenty showed up to the rally. The religious minority group had issues on both sides with murders and violent protestors within religion, which this country and many others around the Middle East have dealt with for centuries. And lastly, a topic that has garnered a lot of attention in the western world with understandable reasons, women’s rights.

I am a big supporter of having equality around the board, I do not like to pick sides based on what is the best to gain popularity for supporting the “right” cause all for a publicity stunt. Though it seems to work for bigger businesses today, but that’s a different story. I believe that it shouldn’t matter your sex, your gender, or any other contributing factor, if you are best suited for a job and are the best candidate in the position to make a difference that betters the human race, do it. I believe women in those countries should have more rights to voice their ideas.

Understandably, religion is the main contributing factor as to why women must dress in the way they do, and an understandable respect as to why history and culture has been apart of the Middle East countries is not a question. Whether you believe in a diety or not, or just believe religion has done more good for society than bad, or whatever your reasons are, why is it that basic human rights are not given to these women? In all honesty, what religious testiment and/or government in the modern world today, would make that an argument to say that women legally are not allowed to do the same as men?

Yes, there are deniers and people who say women and men differ genetically… duh… but that doesn’t mean it would be a bad thing to see the right human being for a position. Maybe men are better at sports, maybe it depends on the sport, there are so many contributing factors that we can We shouldn’t thrust ourselves to push for women to take over everything just because that is what is talked about tremendously in media, but there are plenty of women out there who could do a job better than men could depending on experience and vice versa.

From the #MyStealthyFreedom movement which were women secretly taking off their hijabs in which was inadvertently started by Masih Alinejad. Alinejad was driving through the secluded mountain roads and wanted to feel the wind through her hair and encouraged other women to share their “secret moments of freedom.” She posted about this and people took notice and a movement was started. That is how radical and absurd that laws for women are in that country, though it could’ve made since hundreds and thousands of years ago, it’s a bit harder to claim some religious and government claims as reasonable now. I mean, come on, how does that make sense at all to cover up almost everything?

Simply put, use logical reasoning so we can better everyone in the world. We could have so many brilliant and strong women who could change plenty of issues or even add a new light on controversial subjects among the Middle Eastern countries that are repressed. Religion may be a contributing factor, but religions everywhere are changing just as the world is as well.

The two articles about the 7,000 arrests and Masih Alinejad from BBC will be linked below. Please leave a civil comment below if you would like to way in no matter the side you stand on.

Iranian women threw off the hijab- what happened next?: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-44040236

Iran arrested 7,000 in crackdown on dissent during 2018- Amnesty: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-46984649

A look into those individuals impacted by the partial government shutdown and not receiving a paychecks over a man-made, “fictitious emergency” shutdown.

Just under 1 million people haven’t had a paycheck or paychecks in over a month now. All because Donald Trump cannot get his concrete/steel border wall, which would be in-affective in today’s world. Rather, open the government back up and take those funds to change the systems in which people may abuse to stay here illegally. Not everyone is a bad, drug dealer from Mexico, and declaring a National Emergency, is a joke that doesn’t work with people in the modern world that have more information to the source material.

Everywhere, news outlets are reporting that bank creditors, telecom companies, utility companies are having to provide no-interest loans for people to just pay their bills. From those companies in which give bills, just think about that…

Sadly, the NFCC had to put out a national notice on literally how to contact Credit counselors and talk about issues. Even phone companies like Verizon are providing programs that state when they will pay their bill as a signed “promise.” All of these reasons would just add so much stress just to me, let alone I don’t even know how these people are affected.

Janna Herron of the USA Today wrote a recent article about the issues companies and people that are federally employed are having during this trying time that never needed to happen in this manner. Here is the link for those interested: https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/01/22/government-shutdown-2019-creditors-roll-out-help-federal-workers/2642924002/

One example from Herron’s article is Joel Rodriguez stating, “I’m 43 years old, and this is my first time calling a creditor to let them know I cannot pay,” said Rodriguez, who is married with two small children. “I have good credit. If I go bad on my credit, I could lose my job. I can’t let that happen.”

Herron said the Rodriguez’s mortgage company, Wells Fargo said one option would be to just skip the payment and add it onto the end of his mortgage. This is just sad.

For all these billions for the government to put up this wall, if we are looking at those who are federally employed, I say that this is just ridiculous. This isn’t the border issues of the 90s or something worse as if it’s a National Emergency to claim false facts that immigrants are just pouring over. This is about product (the ineffective wall) and not compromise. Democrats will agree to giving money to fix issues regarding immigration policies if you, Donald Trump would just agree that you are wrong here and will compromise to logical terms. If you want a monument, build one that inspires, not one that may keep a few bad people out, but ultimately will be as ineffective in the ways you are thinking because this is the modern age with technology as well as policies that allow these “bad hombres” to get in. Fix that first, then see about this wall of yours.

Open the government so people like Joel Rodriguez and the 800,000+ federal workers can be paid to keep this country flowing and to show they aren’t pawns. It is sad and this never had to happen. It’s time for these minor discrepancies to end and our American Citizens to be paid before there are major issues within payments to corporations.

By Brett Westfall

Words and phrases about the most random occurrences are spread everyday by social media, and it seems they don’t exactly mean the literal sense of the word. Such as “High Key,” which could mean the highest key on a piano, a location, or the most popular form that most people know it as today, being loud, proud, and/or frustrated about something. That is the same treatment to what the term “Global Warming” has become.

From Donald Trump’s Twitter feed, @realDonaldTrump on January 20, he tweeted, “Be careful and try staying in your house. Large parts of the Country are suffering from tremendous amounts of snow and near record setting cold. Amazing how big this system is. Wouldn’t be bad to have a little of that good old fashioned Global Warming right now!”

When I first viewed this tweet I thought he is just looking for a rue’s out of all the media outlets to keep spreading his name no matter what side they are on because he loves it. Then, I reconsidered the bigger issue in that way of thinking, since he has claimed that it is a myth since he is a traditional, big business man and could care less about the climate. He holds one of the highest, if not the, highest power in America and he is tweeting controversial stuff out constantly and the way he phrases his sentences, it makes it even more controversial.

This led to an article from Deana Paul of the Washington Post and led into more of the recent major popularization of the news media vs. politics. This article and President Trump’s tweet had me thinking that I have never truly researched much about global warming before. I have watched a few documentaries in school at all levels and read tag-lines of modern headlines with a few numbers that proved it is real so I just believed it was real. But I never have researched on a Nationwide or worldwide level for myself and tried to understand the arguments. Here is the Link to Deana Paul’s article from the Washington Post (Note, you may have a paywall to go through depending on how much you have recently viewed on their website): https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2019/01/20/dear-mr-president-thats-not-how-global-warming-works/?utm_term=.2855d69dc2d8

I decided to do some fact checking, not into what Donald Trump believes or doesn’t, but if by individual research, without just reading the headlines, if there is proof of global climate change that anyone if they took the time, would be able to research to believe that it real.

The history of what came about where scientists and others could prove readings of extreme weather and heat started rising was from Milutin Milankovitch (1879-1958). He used three orbital variations and calculated latitudinal differences in insolation all the way back for 600,000 years. He measured radiation changes in some latitudes and did most of his work that proved global climate change when he chose 65 degrees North as the most important latitude because that is where the ice sheets grew. In 1976, long after Milankovitch’s work was largely ignored, until authors and scientists studying Earth’s changes in geometry of it’s orbit before it was accepted. For more specific information, here is a link to NASA’s Earth Observatory: https://www.earthobservatory.nasa.gov/features/Milankovitch/milankovitch_3.php

It has been getting warmer each year, since the first recorded season cycle graph back in the 1880s and lately, when the seasons change and weather patterns differ, more extreme measures are happening. The first argument within, no sides attached here, recently “Global Warming” is truly global climate change and predictions and/or stats prove that because of the increased carbon dioxide or waste going into the air there have been more extremed recorded events like droughts, wildfires, heat waves, coastal storms, and more since the industrial revolution. For statistical proof of this, here is NASA’s GISTEMP Seasonal Cycle Graph: https://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/graphs/

Many tidbits of Peter Newell’s, Climate for Change: Non-State Actors and the Global Politics of the Greenhouse, could help the media vs. political standpoint of how global climate politics blew up and what we should analyze instead of argue. Some tidbits that I thought of after reading some parts of the book, Many conservative people around the 1990s who do believe in global warming think that it is good. This was mainly due to the fact that popular news media in the late 1980s and 1990s were also confused between ozone depletion and climate change. It makes it easy for the oil companies and other businesses to bank on this early confusion and called it fraud. Here is a link to preview the book as well as purchase this book if you are interested: https://books.google.com/books?id=ing21MGmh5UC

Yes, maybe the Earth is already in a heat cycle, but harmful emissions such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide are certainly enhancing the process in a negative way. Head to page 1 of the 2018 National Climate Assessment Report to begin to see an overview of the issues of what the harmful emissions humans are causing, including the regions of what on this Earth is affected. Check out the 2018 National Climate Assessment Report here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/apps/g/page/national/national-climate-assessment-report/1016/?tid=a_inl_manual

There have been recent reports of even livestock causing plenty, if not more emissions to the air rather than the coal or oil industry. Pigs, chickens, and the worst of all, cattle are huge causes of these greenhouse emissions. So it’s not primarily the humans fault? Wrong. We in America have around 95 million cattle. We have farmed these animals and turned them into the prime source of meat here in America for all types of restaurants. Being told this information, people still wouldn’t change their diets. Even just switching to more pork or chicken could benefit tremendously or best of all, not eating as much. Even switching diets to consume more vegetables and fruit, even though we have trained ourselves away from that stuff because it is true, food that is sugary, salty, and beefy tastes better so we go with it. This is America, and we are like the National Livestock and Meat Board’s slogan, “Beef: it’s what’s for dinner.” You don’t have to stop eating meat or anything of that matter to change your consumption of beef drastically. If we continue to overeat, we could focus our efforts on creating dishes out of more fruits and vegetables that taste good. It could lead to more farms containing agriculture and who knows what else. That all has a basis upon containing the greenhouse emissions based on regions. Here are two separate articles I read to help my understanding with these matters to find this information:

George Monbiot for The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/19/population-crisis-farm-animals-laying-waste-to-planet

Neal Barnard, contributor to the Huffington Post: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/neal-barnard-md/cowsnot-coalare-the-real-_b_5526979.html

I disagree with the fact that we can’t change our diets because we are ornery and believe we love it too much to change. We have changed the way we raise cattle so we have changed our dietary intake and are also breeding even more cows for the sake of food each year because of all the people who have stayed on an increasing amount of beef for generations, but would changing the diet a little bit at a time through a few generations to eat less beef really be that bad? We make fun of it because it’s who we are, we feel stronger that those countries that don’t, and other outdated reasons. But we didn’t become “America” because of our overeating diets, we did because we knew balance and strong-will into the right ideas for what would succeed and show our power. We can still do that, and once again with our minds. The world is looking for us as a world power for hope to do the same again, and we were almost there.

If these links to the history, the statistics, the political, farming and agriculture, and media agendas are not enough for you to begin to just believe that climate change is negatively affecting most of the world, then I urge you to continue researching. Maybe I am misled in my way of thinking. No matter your beliefs, I hope for your comments to be constructive and civil. I would love to hear all sides and ways of thinking that agree and differ!

By Brett Westfall

BBC and HBO are now fully co-producing at least two seasons with 8 episodes per season for Philip Pullman’s “His Dark Materials” trilogy. In America, we know the messy, sad adaptation of Pullman’s work called, “The Golden Compass” which was cinematically released in 2007. At the time, there was plenty of controversy surrounding Pullman’s storytelling and he being a self proclaimed Atheist. Backlash from the anti-sentiment towards Catholicism and how the themes from Pullman’s work differ from the film adaptation were some of the reasons “The Golden Compass” should be something to forget, especially since the tone was supposed to be for children, but then again, not really.

According to Peter White of “Deadline,” the series will star James McAvoy, Dafne Keen, Ruth Wilson and Lin-Manuel Miranda. More importantly, in my opinion, is that this series currently has Jack Thorne as a writer and Tom Hooper as a director. Click to see the report from Deadline.

If this series follows or even takes its time to develop longer that the trilogy, we could be in for another worldwide hit TV series from HBO, but primarily helmed by BBC, which could be better with the writers sticking closer to the source material. Hopefully the second time is the charm and audiences will get to TRULY grasp the fantasy affect that Pullman’s trilogy presented. Pullman’s trilogy consisted of The Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass . See HBO’s casting update on “His Dark Materials.”

Hopefully this won’t be blunt shade towards Catholicism against atheism, or a story that goes off the rails entirely from the source material again. I truly believe this series, with whom is on the staff, from top to bottom, will create an amazing entertainment feature that will help fantasy goers find something new since Game Of Thrones is set to end during the Summer of 2019 and a series regarding the prequel stories won’t be for a little while.

By Brett Westfall

1. Complex Pop Culture– I enjoy gossip and drama as much as the next person, just as long as I’m not involved directly in the issue. Whether this account’s feed shows celebrity drama to rumors of upcoming films, Complex Pop Culture has it all for the entertainment industry’s news. Link: @ComplexPop ‏
2. BBC Breaking News– As much as the national news has all been about Donald Trump, it seems BBC News’ Twitter feeds also add plenty of international news that just doesn’t seem to make it on other news feeds. It’s an untraditional and unique change to news that most Americans aren’t used to and it is interesting as well as informative. Link: @BBCBreaking ‏
3. Wall Street Journal– Over 16 million followers should be enough to follow this account no matter who you are. From Brexit backlash to more airspace for commercial use for toy drones, this feed truly has links to some great writers that can help better your understanding of the business world. Link: @WSJ ‏
4. TIME– Just as popular as the Wall Street Journal, TIME magazine’s Twitter feed slightly differs with less about business news to more of a worldview of issues and events. Personally, this one isn’t one I look at everyday, but it’s influential in understanding the impacts of the biggest moments in history. Link: @TIME ‏
5. CNN– 41+ million followers show how influential a 24/7 news network has truly become even just by the Twitter numbers alone. Everyone in the world knows the color scheme and the letter logo when you say the acronym, “CNN.” The nice thing about CNN’s Twitter feed is that after so many national posts, they will throw in at least one international big news story, a ‘feel-good’ story that may restore your faith in humanity, as well as a pop-culture or Hollywood story. It is basically my life-line to what is happening in the world today. Link: @CNN ‏
6. The New York Times– Not always national news and always adding a different angle than the main TV news stations, The New York Times Twitter feed is a more opinionated and/or creative approach to news. Plus, they relish the idea of commenting and adding your own opinion to their stories. They want to hear from you! Link: @nytimes ‏
7. The Washington Post– A very down to Earth newspaper and it shows from the feed. Yes, you’d think close by to the White House, these days the only focus would be upon what good ol’ Trump is up to, but the Washington Post keeps it relatively even on a unique batch and angles of different types of stories. Link: @washingtonpost ‏
8. The Academy– I mean, it’s the glits and glamour of the Oscars, the awkward moments, stars claiming they will do everything in their power to change things, blah, blah, blah. It’s still the marquee award show and still some of the best television and something that all actors and actresses strive for. It’s the MVP awards for thespians, writers, directors, producers, and everything in-between that goes into films. So why not follow it? Link: @TheAcademy ‏
9. Billionaire Mindset– This isn’t the most professional Twitter feed by any means. But if you have a professional Twitter account or even just want some motivation in your daily life, this feed is for you. Some of the content that is retweeted by this account might not be for all to see (depending on who is partnered with this account and all that other jazz). Link: @IntThings ‏
10. Omaha World Herald– Hey, considering I am in the midwest, I might as well follow one of the most popular papers in the midwest. It helps keep me updated with statewide news of Nebraska as well as throwing in a few national news segments for good measure. Link: @OWHnews