Porn and Politics

State Legislator shows nude image during presentation

State legislator Matthew Barrett (D-Ohio) woke up sleepy high school students when his lecture displayed an image of a nude woman instead of his civics lesson. Upon investigation, it was revealed that the memory drive on which his presentation was stored contained directories for both the presentation and nude photos, according to USA Today.

The image got a few laughs from the high school audience, but Barrett claims he's innocent, saying the drive was a gift from another legislator and he has no clue where the images came from.

Whether the image showed up as an act of sabotage or out of carelessness is open to discussion. However, a state representative with an entire directory of lewd images on a memory drive reflects poorly on the state and the nation. Surely government employees are paid enough to afford a separate drive to house their wildest fetishes, should they be inclined. America holds their elected officials to a high moral standard, even though the scandals of Bill Clinton and Mark Foley rocked those foundations.

Not a lot of attention is being paid to this Democratic debacle, but voters are likely to be reminded of it during re-election campaigns. While the media is quick to condemn a Republican's private pleasures when they're discovered, they sometimes defend the Democrats by downplaying it as part a personal rights issue.

Whether it's a roommate or a Republican, don't be too quick to pass judgment on another; sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, and sometimes a surprise memory drive photo is just an unlucky high school accident.

Wi-Fi in the sky

Alaska Airlines tries to get Internet access on flights

Travelers may have to add lagging Internet connections to the jet lag they're accustomed to. Alaska Airlines is experimenting with in-flight Internet access via satellite. If testing goes well, Alaska Airlines will be the first American airline to have Internet access.

Part of the reason no flights have done this before is because the service is expensive; for instance, when Boeing tried to offer the service before 9/11, the rate was $10 for the first hour, or $27 for 24 hours, according to the Marketing Pilgrim. Not enough airlines signed on for the service, so the project was dropped.

Airlines may be testing this service to divert attention away from the fact that their flights are delayed or cancelled. Customers pay hundreds or thousands of dollars for tickets and then are forced to wait in long lines and have no guarantee that their luggage will arrive safely. If their flight takes off hours behind schedule, if it takes off at all, there's no reason they shouldn't be able to spend time in the air taking care of business by surfing the Web.

But the airline's attempt at in-flight Internet access is part of a much more disturbing trend: people today are so dependent on their computers that they can't be away from the screen between takeoff and landing.

Part of travel is to get away from it all, and that includes the Internet. Flights are a time to sleep, catch up on reading or watch an in-flight movie, not e-mail friends and say, "guess where I am right now." The Internet is everywhere, from hotspots to hotels. No passenger will adversely suffer if they're forced to read an in-flight magazine instead of their e-mail.

In the air or on the ground, computers are a vital part of a student's life, whether for school work or hanging out with friends. Virtual reality has replaced reality, but there is one way students can combat this.

Students can log off and get away from their computer so that when they come back, they have an exciting story to tell those that sat there reading an away message and waiting for their return.