The Most Annoying Commercial

And the award for the most annoying commercial of summer 2011 goes to .... T-Mobile's "Best Plan Ever" campaign.

This campaign features two commercials. One has a family showing the T-Mobile spokeswoman all the electronic devices they must carry with them because they cannot get these services on their current phone plan. The other shows the spokeswoman walking against a white background while images fly around her.

Let's analyze what these commercials have to say about society.

Commercial one: Family can't go anywhere without their devices. But T-Mobile has a solution for all their problems -- with the four G network, the family can get Internet and e-mail straight to their phone no matter where they go.

Call me old fashioned, maybe even down right grumpy, but what is wrong with using your cell phone for phone calls? I even find text messaging obnoxious. Do we really need to be updating Facebook and Twitter constantly or watching movies while we're on the bus?

How about waiting until we're at home or in the office to answer e-mails? Too many people can't cut that invisible cord between themselves and their devices. Being online all the time does not mean you are a more social person or that you interact better with others or even that you are a more informed person. It just means you're Internet and tech savvy.

Also, what sort of damage is it doing to someone's eyes to be staring at a tiny phone screen for extended periods of time to surf the web or watch a movie? Staring at small images or print can cause tremendous eye strain and have lasting effects.

Commercial two: Spokeswoman is surrounded by flying images. Again, T-Mobile fills the consumers' needs by offering a network which allows for Internet access any where. The flying images represent nothing more than information overload and ties back into the message the first commercial sends. We must have access to the Internet no matter where we go. Many people already are addicted to Facebook and Twitter. Why feed into that addiction? Why give Americans just another thing to shorten their attention spans?

T-Mobile may counter this argument by saying it is simply providing consumers with what they demand. But really, if you think about it, how many of us had Internet on our phones five years ago?

How many of us even had cell phones a decade ago? We waited until we were at home or at work to get online and our lives were no worse because of it. We don't need updates on Twitter about how long you're waiting in line at the grocery store.

What commercials annoy you?

8/30 Tuesday Poll: How Do You Get Your News?

This week's Tuesday poll question is how do you get your news?

The results of last week's poll are below.

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world's leading questionnaire tool.

Last week's question: Do you believe life exists on other planets in the universe?

Results: Yes 50%, No 25%, Unsure 25%

DuPont Chemical Has Unintentional Consequences

Thousands of evergreen trees across seven states are dying. You might suppose such an event would be caused by a biological pathogen, an insect infestation or a natural disaster. But instead, the cause is man made -- the chemical Imprelis manufactured by DuPont.

Imprelis is not intended to kill trees. It was manufactured to kill weeds and was sold to landscapers. After the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency received enough complaints from landscapers earlier this month it issued a order forbidding DuPont the sell, use and distribute the chemical.

But it's too little too late for some. Not only are some neighborhoods impacted by the loss of the evergreens, but tree farmers have lost a substantial amount of revenue, revenue that can't be quickly replaced.

This story is a cautionary tale. All new chemicals need to be thoroughly tested to discover what impact they will have on the environment before being put on the market. Who knows what other unintentional consequences Imprelis and similar chemicals can cause?

I Couldn't Have Said It Better

Politicians and political pundits argue about it all the time: America's debt and where we will find the addition funds to pay off such a huge deficit. Unless you've been living under a rock, you're already aware of how one half of the group wants to raise taxes on the rich whereas the other half of the group does not. No matter what side of the aisle your opinion lies, the fact of the matter is the gap between the nation's poorest citizens and its richest is the largest it has been since the Roaring 20s. Somehow, I don't think that income gap was what the Founding Fathers had in mind when they were envisioning the future of the nation they created.

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart touched on this subject during its Aug. 18 episode. Stewart's commentary is the best I have seen on the subject. What do you think of the clip below?

The Daily Show - World of Class Warfare - The Poor's Free Ride Is Over
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

8/23 Tuesday Poll: Do You Believe in Life on Other Planets in the Universe?

Welcome to the first P.O.V. poll of the week. 

Every Tuesday, I will post a poll question.  This week's question:  Do you believe in life on other planets in the universe?

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world's leading questionnaire tool.

Poll results will be published next week.

The Women's Movement is Hurt by Women

The worst enemy of the women's rights movement is women.

Take, for example, a post from August on the blog site The Stir entitled "Fox News Pundit Thinks Maternity Leave is a 'Racket'". The post was meant to be about the publicized debate between Fox News anchors Megyn Kelly and Mike Gallagher over maternity leave. Indeed that is the subject of what blogger Jeanne Sager wrote. She ended her post by asking, "Do you agree with Gallagher?"

There were 108 responses and while many of them where about the commentator's opinion on Gallagher, many more were about the value of women in the workplace. One poster commented, "....but maternity leave and motherhood in general is part of what makes women less valuable as employees and less desirable job candidates.

"Competitive companies and results-oriented managers will choose a man for a position over an equally qualified female, because they know they're less likely to lose the employee for any length of time for maternity leave and the subsequent 'my kids are sick'-leave."

That same poster later when on to say, "I assure you, as an ambitious, results-driven manager in several companies, I made the choice to hire a man over a woman on more than one occasion, when skill sets, education and experience were comparable."

Another woman, who claimed she had a masters degree, commented, "Maternity leave is a ridiculous concept from it's (sic) inception. If you are a woman - MAKE A CHOICE! Either you want a career OR you want a family. Stop trying to 'do everything' for yourself while shortchanging everyone else- especially your children!"

So what do these women and others like them say about life for women in America? I have observed that the greatest prejudice against women today comes not from old men who were raised during a different time or from old fashioned ladies, who remember a time when a woman wasn't required to work. No, the greatest prejudice today comes from other women and generally women who are middle age or younger.

These women pass judgment on other women simply because they are women. The women who are quoted above, for example, are judging women based upon their reproductive capability. One is assuming the fact a woman has children, or even the potential to have children, makes her less of a desirable job candidate.

She even claims it is legal for her to discriminate against women this way. The second poster is making the assumption that a woman who works neglects her children. Not only is this inviting an argument from many hard-working career women, but it also assumes that a father's role in a child's life is not as important as a woman's. By saying a woman must have either a family or a career but not both, she is saying men can have both, and men can have both because men aren't as valuable at home. This woman does a great disservice to both sexes.

It is women such as this who prevent true equality between the sexes. They are women who believe men are more valuable in the workplace than women. They are women who believe women are more valuable at home than men.

In reality, both men and women are valuable, contributing members of society. Women can be just as hard working and dedicated employees as men. Conversely, a man can be just as nurturing and loving of a parent as a woman.

True equality will only come when women, especially, realize both sexes have strengths and weaknesses and both sexes are valuable because of their strengths and weaknesses.

Truth is in the Eye of the Beholder

Hidden symbols, secrets kept hidden by the Vatican, Knights Templar, the Holy Grail.

No, this isn't the plot to Dan Brown's latest novel. It's Syfy's summer mini series Legend Quest.

Legend Quest follows the adventures of historian and Scottish Knights Templar Ashley Cowie as he travels the world looking for evidence history's legends actually do exist. He's accompanied by his field producer, Kinga Philipps, whose only function on screen appears to be as Cowie's companion. Five of the six hour long episodes feature two legends.

Cowie is energetic and enjoyable to watch. However, his scientific method is a bit questionable. As a historian, he should be objective in his views, basing his claims on tangible evidence such as historical records and archeological finds. Instead, he bases them on myths, legends and a hunch. Moreover, Cowie goes into each case believing the legend to be true no matter how silly or scientifically inaccurate.

Every case is a prime example of how if someone believes hard enough that something is true he will find evidence to support it. Cowie comes away from every case either not finding what he went searching for or finding some piece of evidence he can only speculate is the object he wanted, he just can't prove it, yet he comes away feeling satisfied with his discoveries. The majority of his evidence comes in the form of mysterious symbols, mainly Knights Templar symbols (which is no surprise considering he is a member) and the word-of-mouth testimony of local experts. Cowie travels the world based only on the direction a symbol is pointing or the advice of a stranger.

Let's just say for a moment, the legendary objects Cowie is seeking actually existed. What is to say they still exist, especially objects that are hundreds, if not thousands of years old, especially if as Cowie claims they have been transported great distances and hidden by numerous people?

All in all, Legend Quest has an intriguing premise and a likable host, but there is a reason why this show airs on Syfy and not History; because Cowie's claims have not been historically or scientifically proven.

Legend Quest's season finale aired Aug. 18. Full episodes can be viewed on Syfy.com.