Said bookmark. On a side note, isn't the new theme just exquisitely designed?

Five days ago, you could say I committed the gravest of social media sins by deleting my Facebook account.

I have yet to fully acclimate to my new, non-Facebook life.

For instance, if my Google Reader should run dry and my Twitter feed update slowly, I’m tempted to click on that Facebook bookmark. I want to click on it. The mouse goes to it, like a ship’s crew to the sound of a siren’s song.

Then I remember I deleted my account, and it all comes back to me.

Even though my use had decreased considerably, Facebook was a great way to pass the time. Facebook’s Statistics provide a staggering glimpse of the truly horrendous time suck that it actually is: “People spend over 500 billion minutes per month on Facebook.” I believe that’s all 400 million users. Divide out that number and you get a lot of time spent on one website.

Bored and nothing to read? Go read random Facebook status updates. Of course, most of the updates were mundane items that really didn’t add anything to my life. Instead of catching up on world affairs, I was reading passive-aggressive song lyrics and “Johnny likes rubber duckies, Madonna and Sports Illustrated.” This is one of the reasons I enjoy Twitter—many of the people I follow tweet interesting links to news and random tidbits of information that I would otherwise not find.

So far, I have received one email asking me what happened to my Facebook. The sender is not on Twitter, so they wouldn’t have known. Otherwise, not much activity on that front.

Not having an account has also made it difficult to look at specific pages on Facebook. This is what I fear will draw me to create a dummy account to view these pages. It’s why I haven’t deleted that bookmark. And it’s precisely because I haven’t deleted that bookmark that I keep gravitating to click on the link. In terms of my eye movements, it always goes first to my SMU email and then to Facebook. It’s a habit.

I need to rearrange my bookmarks. Or just delete the one in question. Because I know I made the right decision in deleting my Facebook.

Although perhaps going cold turkey wasn’t the best idea.

I keep getting emails from the Galveston Historical Society, I get emails about webinars, and then there’s the occasional PR pitch. But today’s email takes the cake.

Entitled “the estate tax,” it’s from a guy in Frisco who rails against the weathly:

These inheritance rich families, and their bankers, lawyers, and money managers are what is wrong with our government, economy, legal system, health care system, and environment today. They have used their wealth and power to buy our politicians and together they are getting away with murder, theft, and environmental destruction on a scale that threatens all of humanity. The $1 trillion dollar Saving & Loan Crisis bubble of the 80’s, the multi-trillion dollar tech bubble of the 90’s, the Enron bubble, Bush’s trillion dollar tax cuts for the rich, the multi-trillion dollar wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the current multi-trillion dollar financial bailout were all designed to transfer and concentrate wealth into the hands of fewer and fewer people. These trillion dollar scams have left the American people picking up the bills and scratching their heads wondering what the hell happened.

He goes on to say that our only option may be a French-type revolution, but even that probably wouldn’t work.

But the absolute best part was the ending:

Therefore, get ready to bend over and take it up your collective asses because it looks like we are going to let a few inheritance rich assholes and their stooges fuck us into an early grave so that they can have more wealth for themselves. But don’t worry, because we all get cake and ice cream afterwards.

Cake and ice cream? Yes please. Ok, maybe he was being sarcastic…

But how many of you will remember his email now? That’s effective (if slightly offensive to some) writing. The full email is after the jump, although I’ve omitted his last name.

Dear Meredith Shamburger,

The estate tax will go from 45% this year to 0% next year. Bush and the Republicans did this and Obama and the Democrats could fix it, but the silence from this administration is deafening. As a result, the potential exists for the transfers of trillions of dollars in tax-free wealth to a few inheritance rich unproductive people down in Texas and across the country in 2010. But don’t worry, there will be new jobs polishing the brass on these rich prick’s yachts.

The Forbes list of the richest Americans is bullshit. I know for a fact that one the richest families in America is not even on the list, any longer, when they should be at or near the top of the list. This family hides their enormous wealth from the public’s eyes because they know if the American people ever found out how much wealth they own, how they got their wealth, and the steps they have taken to protect and expand their wealth there would be major pubic outrage. This information could even inspire a French Revolution type public reaction, and it would certainly inspire voters to vote for a total change in our government’s leadership.

I personally know some of these inheritance rich people and I can tell you unequivocally they do not deserve to be handed all this wealth and power. In fact, they deserve to have most of their existing wealth and power taken away from them. Partly because of the decisions that have been made in their names, but mainly because of the fact that it is bad for the other 99.9% of the American people, bad for our economy, bad for our system of government, and bad for the environment.

These inheritance rich families, and their bankers, lawyers, and money managers are what is wrong with our government, economy, legal system, health care system, and environment today. They have used their wealth and power to buy our politicians and together they are getting away with murder, theft, and environmental destruction on a scale that threatens all of humanity. The $1 trillion dollar Saving & Loan Crisis bubble of the 80’s, the multi-trillion dollar tech bubble of the 90’s, the Enron bubble, Bush’s trillion dollar tax cuts for the rich, the multi-trillion dollar wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the current multi-trillion dollar financial bailout were all designed to transfer and concentrate wealth into the hands of fewer and fewer people. These trillion dollar scams have left the American people picking up the bills and scratching their heads wondering what the hell happened.

What happened, and what is continuing to happen, is the robbing of America and the murder of our constitutional democracy. The middle class is being squeezed down and the vast assets owned by the federal government — our collectively owned assets — are being looted. The kings have retaken control over our lives and they did so with the help of the money corrupted Republican and Democratic parties, in that order. We no longer live in democracy we live in an fascist oligarchy where the super rich along with our government leaders have conspired to gain more wealth and more power for themselves at our expense. They own you and they own your future because they own most of the $14 trillion in federal government debt. The American people are going to be expected to pay back this debt in full along with interest, and trust me when I tell you that these rich people know how to collect on a debt.

I wish I could give you some helpful advice on how to take back your government by voting, but I can’t. The new paperless voting computers and the rigged two party media debating system have me wondering if real change is even possible. Our only hope may be a French type revolution where we go around killing all the super rich people. But even the threat of that possibility is slim because the American people have been so weakened, dumbed down, and manipulated by the corporate owned media, bad diets, lying politicians, and absurd fantasies about life and death.

Therefore, get ready to bend over and take it up your collective asses because it looks like we are going to let a few inheritance rich assholes and their stooges fuck us into an early grave so that they can have more wealth for themselves. But don’t worry, because we all get cake and ice cream afterwards.

Sincerely,

Chris [last name omitted]

Chain mail is a phenomenon that I just don’t get. Whether it’s snail mail, e-mail or text message, it’s all Greek.

Why would a person forward chain mail? By chain mail, I mean those ridiculous messages that try to scare you by saying a ghost will come into your room at night and slash your throat if you don’t send this message to everyone in your contact list.

Do these people actually believe that little Sally Jo (who was murdered before e-mail was invented) will hunt you down because you didn’t hit forward? If the answer is yes, I’m scared for the future of our world.

We can’t just forget about the other types of chain messages: those funny jokes, the religious message, the sob story or the propaganda machine (Woodward and Bernstein called it “ratfucking”. I think this term needs to be brought back to the forefront). These other types of chain messages are far more annoying, and possibly dangerous. Read more about these after the jump.

The Joke

Jokes are pretty harmless, I’ll admit. But having to scroll down through all the forwards gets annoying. And most of the time, the joke is old and/or not funny. On the Meredith Scale of Chain Mail Evilness, it gets a 3.

The Evangelical Message

These may also be harmless (unless it takes the militant approach). But annoying? Yes. Granted, the senders don’t feel this way. Perhaps they think they’re “spreading God’s love” or standing up for what they believe in. I find them particularly annoying because they inspire momentary feelings of guilt and/or shame. Send this message to 40 people or you’re a bad Christian! Proclaim your love of Jesus!

Sometimes, I’d consider it. I mean, I don’t want these people to think I’m a godless heathen. Then I’d come to my senses. You are not a bad Christian if you don’t forward chain mail (though I would argue that you’re an annoying Bible-beating Christian if you do). On the Meredith Scale of Chain Mail Evilness, it gets a 8 (Meredith doesn’t believe in making people feel guilt or shame).

Ratfucking

Popular examples of this campaign technique include “Obama is a Muslim” and “Obama is not a natural-born U.S. citizen.” It’s disinformation purposely sent to you in an attempt to persuade you to vote the other way. It’s particularly effective with radical extremists (on either side) and people who don’t use their brains.

Rule #1 in looking at facts presented to you: WHERE DID THE INFORMATION COME FROM? I can’t stress this enough. Is it from a legitimate source, such as The New York Times (actual content, not an advertisement) or an academic journal (with real credentials and academics from real universities and such)? The birther movement was founded on people taking everything at face value and believing that everything is accurate (and devotion to Lou Dobbs). My advice? Become a fact-checker. I recommend Snopes.com. On the Meredith Scale of Chain Mail Evilness, it gets a 10, (see Lou Dobbs, birther issue and/or the “death panels”).

Sob Story

Millie was just minding her own business when the cancer struck. Please please please help her out by donating! Many times, this is a scam. If you don’t know the person, don’t concern yourself. Even if you do know the person (but not that well), don’t concern yourself. That may sound callous, but you can always donate to someone like the American Cancer Association or St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. There are too many people out there looking for some easy cash. Faking cancer? It’s happened. On the Meredith Scale of Chain Mail Evilness, it gets a 6.

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