Fortunately for those of us who make our living in the WRITING ARTS, or THE WRITING OBSESSION, a recent court case has made a major IMPACT on A WAY OF LIFE. Fox News sued comedian/author Al Franken over his use of the Fox trademarked slogan FAIR AND BALANCED, which of course Fox is neither. "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right," is Franken's new book attacking the conservative right wing. Fox contended that people might be tricked into thinking the book was SPONSORED by Fox since the cover includes the trademarked words " FAIR AND BALANCED " and a picture of Bill O'Reilly, the network's TOP anchor. GET REAL, Fox. The Judge tossed it! BRAVO! A KNOCKDOWN by Franken and for ONE REASON ONLY! The judge said it was "wholly without merit."

But since I'm ALWAYS THINKING NIGHT & DAY, YES I AM, that is THINKING THINGS to write about, I decided to look into how many of our words have been trademarked (ALL CAPS IN THIS COLUMN) by corporate America while the American people have been asleep at the wheel. WHY? WHY NOT? While many of us have been living and working in the WIRED WORLD, our ENLIGHTENED PLANET has been loosing possession of THE WRITE STUFF, our very language. ADVERTISNG IS NOT A GAME. Owning our very words has become the CURRENCY OF THE NEW ECONOMY. WE SUPPLY DEMAND, THE POWER TO PROFIT from our LEGAL VOICE - to the TECHNOLOGY YOU CAN SEE, that is words, our very means of expression!

But how did we start loosing this TERRITORY? IT STARTS WITH YOU, dear reader. Too much time CARING ABOUT OUR KIDS, the FUTURE, or just DINING OUT AT HOME? MOST OF US lives on a FAST TRACK: LIVE WORK PLAY, WATCH THIS TV, BE COMFORTABLE, ah, that is what they want you to do. Corporate America says EXPECT THE WORLD FROM US, but really, IT'S NOT ABOUT YOU at all. They figure THINK AHEAD, BE AHEAD, STAY AHEAD. DO WHAT COMES NATURALLY! Control the language, and they control our lives! It's their STRATEGIC ROAD MAP. While the URBAN MAJORITY sweats and slaves just to make ends meet, MARKETING EXPERTS ON THE FRONTLINE are creating new BRAND TERRITORY to MAKE AN IMPRESSION on you, to get your SIGNATURE on the dotted line, and your hard earned money.

Put simply, IT'S INFORMATION, IT'S ADVERTISING, IT'S EFFECTIVE! But YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE BLIND to this MONSTER MEDIA ALCHEMY. INTELLIGENCE MATTERS, doesn't it? YOU DECIDE. LEAVE YOUR MARK. Don't support these companies that suffer from MILLIONAIRE MADNESS. It's time to PRESERVE RESTORE some dignity and KEEP AMERICA ROLLING, CARRYING THE FAMILIAR INTO THE FUTURE. VALUE AMERICA and KEEP MEDIA empires OUT OF YOUR MIND.

Here is your new GUERRILLA GUIDE, A VISION OF TECHNOLOGY that can UNDERMIND and IMPACT those that are using THE ART OF ADVERTISING, THE SCIENCE OF MARKETING to short your FINANCIAL CIRCUIT. You need to develop a new STATE OF AWARNESS. ARE YOU IN? It's time to LEAD WITH KNOWLEDGE; forget the TECHNOBRANDING that makes a MELLOW MIND. If we are going to raise BETTER KIDS FOR TOMORROW, they need to know whom their FRIENDS AND FOES are. LET FREEDOM RING. Let them know THE SPIRIT OF AMERICAN STYLE lives, that is to DREAM IT, LIVE IT, OWN IT! We know it's GONNA HAPPEN. No more STOCK ANSWERS. IT'S WHAT YOU BRING TO THE TABLE that counts. WHY SETTLE FOR LESS. While the battle is SET, PEOPLE VS THE PROS, it's our collective FIGHT FOR LIFE, and we know that our STRENGTH COMES FROM WITHIN. We are ALIVE & KICKING and WE THE PEOPLE MAKE THE DIFFERENCE. In the end, we are HELPING BUILD A SMALLER, WISER WORLD. We will have ANSWERS AT THE SPEED OF THOUGHT, IMAGINATION AT WORK as our PICTURES & EMOTIONS present a FRESH VISION for INNOVATIONS FOR LIVING and WORK THAT MATTERS, UNITED PEOPLE WITH POSSIBILITIES and proving that PEOPLEPOWER can put IDEAS IN ACTION.

So it is time for FRESH BEGINNINGS, no more TOTALLY COMMERCIAL living. It's a time to CELEBRATE COMMUNITY for MOST OF US. TOGETHER WE GROW. WE ARE ALL NEW YORKERS and Trojans with ONE TRUE VOICE. Our CHALLENGE is to create THE NEW TRADITION, where our IDEAS COME ACROSS, and VISION DELIVERED while LEVERAGING THE LUXURIES OF LIFE, which is ALL VALUE NO FRILLS. IT'S THE RIGHT THING TO DO. Let's face it, KNOWLEDGE MATTERS.

Where do WE get this new CLEAN AIR. FRESH IDEAS, this CREATIVITY TO GO? From our HUMAN SPIRIT and KNOWLEDGE ON CALL, which is CREATIVTY SECURED. THE ONLY SOURCE NEEDED PERIOD.

WE ARE READY TO RUMBLE.

Heritage on the Hudson appears every Tuesday in the Troy (NY) Record newspaper.
Copyright 2000, Don Rittner