Heleni Smith

Happy New Year!

2012-01-02T18:11:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas

2011-12-26T11:57:00.001-05:00

One Day

2011-08-25T19:18:00.002-04:00

"That was a memorable day to me, for it made great changes in me. But, it is the same with any life. Imagine one selected day struck out of it, and think how different its course would have been. Pause you who read this, and think for a moment of the long chain of iron or gold, of thorns or flowers, that would never have bound you, but for the formation of the first link on one memorable day."
- Charles Dickens, Great Expectations

Blue Lagoon

2011-08-23T19:09:00.003-04:00

Tο πλοίο θα σαλπάρει το βραδάκι
Πάρε το μετρό για Πειραιά
Μέσα στο γλυκό καλοκαιράκι
να πάμε κρουαζιέρα στα νησιά

Στο κύμα θ' αρμενίζει το βαπόρι
τ' αγέρι θα μάς παίρνει τα μαλλιά
Θα γίνουμε στον έρωτα μαστόροι
κι οι σκέψεις θα πετάξουν σαν πουλιά

Α, α, κρουαζιέρα θα σε πάω
A, α, γιατί σε νοιάζομαι και σ' αγαπάω
A, α, Mύκονο και Σαντορίνη
A, α, σαν ερωτευμένοι πιγκουίνοι

Άσε τον παλιόκοσμο να σκούζει
σε πλαζ, εστιατόρια, πανσιόν
Εμείς με σλίπιγκ μπαγκ και με καρπούζι
θα κάνουμε το γύρο τον νησιών

Γυμνοί θα κολυμπάμε στ' ακρογιάλια
Τον ήλιο θ' αντικρίζουμε ανφάς
Θα σ' έχω σαν κινέζικη βεντάλια
και στο γραφείο δε θα ξαναπάς

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-08T21:56:00.004-04:00

Happy Mother's day to all the mothers out there, and especially to mine!

Heleni Smith - Twitter
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Heleni Smith – Shopping Recommendations
Heleni Smith – Travel Blog
Heleni Smith – Cavafy Tribute

Happy Cinqo de Mayo

2011-05-05T08:23:00.007-04:00

Enjoy an abundance of guacamole, everyone!

Heleni Smith - Etsy
Heleni Smith – Status Updates
Heleni Smith – Travelling
Heleni Smith – Tribute
Heleni Smith – Flavors.me
Heleni Smith – Twitter

For-Profits vs Non-Profits

2011-05-01T10:48:00.004-04:00

The debate on whether all healthcare institutions should be non-profit evokes many complex and topical issues. What needs to be examined is whether non-profit hospitals are inherently better than for-profit hospitals, and whether there is enough evidence-based data to support policies dictating ownership.

Not only have the business models of both ownership styles become more and more similar, there has also been a growing number of switches in ownership status between for-profits and nonprofits. The direction of the switches doesn’t suggest a preference for either ownership style. Research suggests that it is not a difference in objectives that dictates these decisions, but rather a strategic analysis of the environment in which the organization operates.

While nonprofits are hailed for their charity work, it is actually a byproduct of their exclusion from paying taxes. Many studies show that often nonprofits do not provide charity comparable to their tax savings, and that for-profits actually give back more in the form by being subjected to taxes. For-profits’ societal contribution occurs within the strict rules of the US tax code, while non-profits operate under more arbitrary conditions which has exposed them to many suits.

Another advantage that for-profits have is the ability to raise more capital through private investors and the stock market. As a result, many nonprofits that have found themselves in financial troubles have been rescued by financially healthier for-profit organizations.

Heleni Smith Dailymotion

Heleni Smith - Etsy
Heleni Smith – Status Updates
Heleni Smith – Travelling
Heleni Smith – Tribute

Happy Easter!

2011-04-23T11:39:00.002-04:00

Happy Easter by Heleni Smith

Evolution of Medicaid

2011-04-18T13:36:00.005-04:00

Medicaid has faced many obstacles since its 1965 enactment. As a program that was originally viewed as a “lousy program for poor people,” it has managed to not only survive for over 4 decades, but it has become an instrumental part of Obama’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in providing coverage for the uninsured. The program’s resilience lays in the way it is financed and the way it is implemented.

While Medicaid costs $350 billion a year, the financial burden is divided among the states and the federal government. Each state has a special agreement with the federal government on what percentage of the Medicaid bill each pays. The federal government pays from 50% to 80%, depending on the state. The poorer a state is, the more the federal government contributes. This severely lessens the financial burden states face when making Medicaid decisions. This also allows for states and the federal government to spend more when the economy is good, and to cut back when the economy slows down.

Medicaid is administered by the states. This allows for various Medicaid programs across the United States that are tailored to a state’s idiosyncrasies. This flexibility has allowed for structural creativity on a state level, thus avoiding many of the hurdles faced with federal run programs. Its beneficiaries have grown beyond the nation’s poor due to the ambiguous eligibility boundaries set by the federal government. Each state has an autonomy that allows it to turn Medicaid into whatever the state’s population needs.

While the first two decades of Medicaid proved tumultuous, with various disagreements on eligibility caps, during the mid 80’s and 90’s it experienced a rapid growth thus moving it from a program for poor people into a program for low wage and low middle class people. This was mostly due to various state mandates to increase eligibility caps. Also, Medicaid started expanding its coverage of pregnant woman in an effort to deal with the rising problems of infant mortality and high risk pregnancies. This gave Medicaid great political capital, thus making it hard for republicans to legislatively act out on their oppositions to the program’s expansion.

Clinton’s presidency also greatly advanced Medicaid through the enactment of the SCHIP programs. These programs were meant to provide insurance to children and gave states $40 billion to spend in 10 years. Clinton gave the states the option of creating new plans or expanding through Medicaid. This gave Medicaid even more leverage, thus adding to its resilience. By the end of the 1990’s, Medicaid and SCHIP spending accounted for 16% of the nation’s healthcare bill.

Another reason Medicaid has done so well is that it has had a more seamless transition into managed care than Medicare did. This is greatly attributed to the fact that Medicaid is an amalgamation of federal rules and state specific policies, thus allowing for states to more efficiently negotiate with managed care plans.

Medicaid is now facing pressure to lower costs and increase eligibility criteria. It can deal with these pressures by raising eligibility to cover most children through family coverage. It can also raise eligibility while lowering costs by allowing uninsured individuals to buy into Medicaid. If their income disqualifies them from automatic enrollment, they could pay a premium in order to receive its benefits. This would increase eligibility without adding on extra costs, and could potentially generate enough revenue to make Medicaid as a whole more affordable.
Heleni Smith – Last Fm
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Poetry Corner by Heleni Smith

2011-04-11T20:35:00.001-04:00

Heleni Smith Lensmaster

2011-04-07T08:28:00.001-04:00

Heleni Smith – Lensmaster

Heleni Smith – Cruise Food

Pictures of the amazing food we had on our last family cruise.

Government Shutdown

2011-04-07T08:13:00.001-04:00

Heleni Smith – Related Articles

Check out the following interesting article on the impending government shutdown:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/07/government-shutdown-obama-no-budget-deal_n_845928.html

Budget Proposals by Heleni Smith

2011-04-04T15:04:00.001-04:00

Heleni Smith – Budget Proposals

Republican Representative Paul Ryan, the new chairman of the House Budget Committee, is set to reveal his 2012 budget proposal this upcoming week. The proposal’s anticipated $4 trillion cuts on federal spending include dramatic changes to both Medicare and Medicaid. The Medicare changes would affect everyone bellow the age of 55 by converting the program into a premium support system. This means that by the time the aforementioned individuals reach the age of 65, Medicare will no longer exist in its current form. Participants would have to choose a private insurance coverage for which the government would pay the first $15,000 of premiums. Poorer or less healthy individuals would receive more money. Ryan claims that Medicare is unsustainable in its current form and that these changes are necessary. Opponents to Ryan’s proposal argue that health costs will rise at a higher rate than the proposed government subsidies, thus leaving many elderly with inadequate coverage. As far as Medicaid, Ryan is proposing that the program turn into a block grant program in order to rein in state spending.

ACOs Continued by Heleni Smith

2011-03-30T23:31:00.000-04:00

Heleni Smith Writings
Heleni Smith Blog

As a Public Health graduate student, I’m often asked to elaborate on ACOs. While the catchy acronym has graced many newspaper titles, the public is still hazy on what an ACO would actually accomplish. The best analogy for an ACO comes from Harold Miller, president and CEO of the Network for Regional Healthcare Improvement and executive director of the Center for Healthcare Quality & Payment Reform in Pittsburgh. He compares healthcare and ACOs to SONY and television sets. When someone decides to buy a new tv, they buy the entire product in one place. ACOs will attempt to do the same with healthcare. Instead of going to different institutions for various medical needs, patients will be able rely on a one-stop-shop. This will incentivize all stake holders partaking in healthcare to cooperate and reduce costs. This will also tackle the redundancy often observed through unnecessary repetition of exams. ACOs will be launched for Medicare beneficiaries as well as private insurance beneficiaries in January of 2012. Proponents of the creation of ACOs point to the fact that it will lead to cost reduction in Medicare which is a big driver behind the current deficit. While the fee-for-service system will still be in place, savings-sharing incentives will encourage cost reduction and quality improvement.

ACOs by Heleni Smith

2011-03-28T19:13:00.005-04:00

Heleni Smith Writings
Heleni Smith Blog

ACOs have been generating alot of media buzz in the last few months, although the concept is still a bit foggy to many people. Here is a brief explanation of what an ACO is:
An Accountable Care Organization (ACO) is an entity created in order to tackle healthcare quality and rising costs issues. The main purpose of their creation is to simultaneously address payment methods and delivery reform. ACOs are generally a local entity comprised of at least physicians (primary and specialists) and hospitals that are responsible for the full spectrum of care for specific beneficiaries. ACOs provide financial incentives such as shared savings and bonuses for meeting certain predetermined quality measurements.

Health Insurance Brokers Update by Heleni Smith

2011-03-16T18:14:00.001-04:00

Healthcare reform has many stakeholders beyond government and providers. Case in point-health insurance brokers. Insurance brokers are becoming more vocal about the possible ramifications that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act might have on them and are taking their trepidations to congress and state legislatures. Their main concern revolves around maintaining their commissions as well as guaranteeing a position in the new healthcare landscape. There is debate around the effect insurance brokers have on overall premiums. Brokers are hoping to play an integral part in the creation of health insurance exchanges which will take effect in 2014. States seem to be divided on this issue. Iowa and Minnesota have both introduced bills that safeguard the future of brokers, while Maryland and the District of Columbia are drafting bills that would negate the use of brokers. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners is lobbying legislation on the national level that would exclude brokers’ commissions from the new 20% cap on health insurance administrative cap.

Heleni Smith Health Insurance Brokers Update

ERISA and Health Reform by Heleni Smith

2011-03-14T10:42:00.001-04:00

ERISA and Health Reform by Heleni Smith

While the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) was enacted in order to protect employee benefits, it has unwittingly hindered patient rights by restricting the legislation states can enact in relation to employer sponsored health plans. This becomes an even more critical side effect with the enactment of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Should Congress amend ERISA in order to allow for states to freely experiment with health care reform?

Introduction

ERISA was enacted in 1974 in order to protect pension plans and create a national set of standards for the administration of employee benefit plans. The uniformity of pension plans would eliminate the legislative variation between states, thus protecting employers and employees. ERISA’s authority over health benefits has been ambiguous, mostly because of Section 514 which includes the preemption clause and the deemer clause.

Due to this ambiguity, many state initiatives have been either stalled or completely derailed because of an ERISA challenge. Examples of this include Maryland’s “Fair Share Act” and California’s “Health Care Security and Cost Reduction Act”. With the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act enactment, addressing the ERISA preemption problem becomes an even more critical issue in order to allow states to experiment with new programs. Steps need to be taken to either amend ERISA or have the Courts produce a comprehensive ruling.

Continue at...
ERISA and Health Reform by Heleni Smith

Cruise Food!

2011-03-14T10:13:00.001-04:00

Thinking about taking a cruise? The food alone is worth it. Check out the photo album of the culinary highlights of my last cruise.

Heleni Smith Cruise

Heleni Smith Public Health Corner

2011-03-14T10:02:00.000-04:00

Public Health Corner Heleni Smith

Updates on Health Reform Suits by Heleni Smith

2011-03-13T18:19:00.000-04:00

Updates on Health Reform Suits by Heleni Smith
Public Health Blog by Heleni Smith

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta has agreed to hasten the appeal on the Florida ruling regarding the health reform bill. The Justice Department commented that the expedition of the appeal is warranted due to the nature of the ruling and the fact that it involved twenty-six states. The federal government will have to file its papers by April 4th, while the state of Florida has until May 4th.

So many articles, so little time by Heleni Smith

2011-03-12T16:12:00.002-05:00

Surfing the net has become part of our daily routine, but how much of that browsing leads us to topics we are actually interested in? Here are a couple of sites I use that allow you to customize your tastes and then deliver articles based on your ratings.

Health Articles and Posts Found by Heleni Smith

Interesting Posts found on Reddit by Heleni Smith

Cooking Basics by Heleni Smith

2011-03-12T15:39:00.003-05:00

Cooking Basics by Heleni Smith

Cooking by Heleni Smith

Check out my blog with tips for beginner cooks. From pasta to stuffed pepper recipes!

Bon appetit!

Heleni Smith Page

2011-03-11T14:55:00.003-05:00

Heleni Smith Wordpress Page
Heleni Smith Flavors.me

Check out my new webpage on wordpress and flavors.me. You can make one for yourself too!

Heleni Smith on Huffington Post

2011-03-11T14:51:00.001-05:00

Heleni Smith on Huffington Post

Join the scintillating discussion on the Huffington Poost website. Real people talking about real issues!

Check out travel pictures by Heleni Smith

2011-03-11T14:47:00.002-05:00

Heleni Smith Flickr

Here is a preview from my backpacking trip through Europe. 15 countries in 2 months. Thanks!

Health Law Waivers by Heleni Smith

2011-03-11T00:29:00.003-05:00

Bio for the blog entry’s writer Heleni Smith

Waivers by Heleni Smith

House Republican Mike Rogers from Michigan introduced a bill that would allow individuals to request waivers from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act requirements. Currently, similar waivers exist for employers and unions. Companies that have already received waivers include McDonald’s. The waivers would also apply to the health insurance mandate which is set to take effect in 2014.

Block Grants by Heleni Smith

2011-03-09T23:03:00.002-05:00

Block Grants by Heleni Smith

A popular item on the republican agenda is turning Medicaid into a block grant program. While this is generating a lot of discussion, it is not the first time the issue has been addressed. President Ronald Regan and President George W. Bush both tried to implement the same changes. What exactly is a block grant program? Let’s begin with a few clarifications. Medicaid is an entitlement program-if an individual meets the eligibility criteria then he or she is guaranteed a spot in the program. It is currently administered by the states and financed by both federal and state government. The government has agreed to co-finance Medicaid as long as states cover specific groups of people, for example children. Switching to block grant financing would restrict the states’ ability to rack up the bill. The federal government would provide annual lump sums, and it would be up to the states to allocate them efficiently. Extra costs would then be the sole responsibility of the states. The democratic opposition fears that such a switch would lead to Medicaid being unable to maintain its current number of enrollees, let alone add more as the health reform bill suggests. If put to a vote, block grants would likely make it through the House, but fail to make it through the Senate.

Mandate Struggles by Heleni Smith

2011-03-08T16:24:00.001-05:00

Heleni Smith Public Health Corner

Heleni Smith Blogspot

The current lawsuits brought against the health reform law are attacking the constitutionality of one of its provisions-the individual mandate. The mandate states that by in 2014, every individual will have to purchase health insurance or be subjected to a monetary penalty. The law also lacks a severability clause; if one part of the bill gets struck down as unconstitutional then the entire bill cannot stand. Congress argued that it had the power to impose the mandate due to the commerce clause which allows it to regulate commerce between states. Under this clause, Congress expressed that it had the power to impose a penalty on uninsured individuals because their inactivity was jeopardizing the health insurance industry. Advocates of the unconstitutionality of the mandate argue that Congress cannot impose penalties on inactivity. While some argue that a penalty is just a another form of taxation-which Congress has the authority to levy-others believe that taxes and penalties are very different. While this seems to be boiling down to semantics, it will be eventually resolved in the Supreme Court.

Medicaid Struggles by Heleni Smith

2011-03-07T22:22:00.001-05:00

Heleni Smith Blogspot

Heleni Smith Public Health Corner

State budgets are struggling to support their increasing Medicaid bill. Medicaid is an interesting program in that it is administered by the states and funded by both state and federal government. This allows for flexibility in how Medicaid is administered as well as fine-tuning to an individual state’s idiosyncrasies. Various approaches are being taken to address the issue ranging from tightening eligibility requirements to turning Medicaid into a block grant program. These approaches are being met with mixed reviews. For example, Arizona health providers argue that decreasing eligibility will lead to an influx of patients in the emergency room while republican supporters argue that while there will be some negative impact, it will be outweighed by the savings.

Health Reform Update by Heleni Smith

2011-03-07T22:05:00.000-05:00

Florida Judge fast-tracks appeal

The Florida federal judge who ruled that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional is trying to speed up the process by ordering that any requests for an expedited appeal be filled with seven days. While the judge had stated that his ruling should be viewed as an injunction, the implementation of the law did not seize. Instead, the Obama administration requested that he clarify his original ruling. The judge responded this past Thursday with a 20 page order requesting that the administration goes ahead with the appeal. Appeals from other similar cases are currently pending appeal.

Organ Donation by Heleni Smith

2011-03-07T22:04:00.000-05:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/06/opinion/06longo.html?hp

Interesting article written by a death row inmate on organ donation. Such a shame to see so many potentially viable organs go to waste.

Public Health Corner: by Heleni Smith

2011-03-07T19:49:00.001-05:00

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act addresses a multitude of health issues ranging from pay for performance initiatives to the creation of health insurance exchanges. For the latest updates on the health reform saga, please visit my Public Health Corner tumblr page for updates on health reform. Brought to you by a public health graduate student. Thanks!

Heleni Smith: Postcards from Paris

2011-03-07T19:47:00.002-05:00

Heleni Smith - Postcards From Paris

When Americans arrive in France, jet lag is not the only obstacle they have to overcome. There is a certain stigma that accompanies their passports known as the American stereotype.

When I decided to study abroad in Paris, I knew I would inevitably come across situations in which my nationality would be counted as a fault. I just hoped I wouldn't spend more time trying to improve the American image than I would trying to improve my French.

Many French people think of Americans as materialistic and culturally void, according to Julian Cruz, a 22-year-old French student. "They have a reputation of focusing on image instead of substance," he said.

Harsh as this may sound, the stereotype seems to feed off the mainstream television shows and movies that make their way across the Atlantic and paint the picture of what an American is on their screens.

"When I think of California, I think built and tanned. When I think of New York, I think Sex and the City," said Cruz. "When I think of Florida, I think of sex, drugs and cosmetic surgery, because of Nip/Tuck."

Julien Debrulle, a 23-year-old French student, believes the stereotype portrays Americans as being uninformed and rich, but with bad taste.

"They seem to know more about celebrities than they do about the world," she said.
When it comes to culture, Debrulle said, the term "American" implies lower quality.
"French people say they'll go see an American movie when they don't want to think," she said.

Dotti Sinnott, an American student studying in Paris, believes the image works both ways.

"Before I came here, people were warning me that the French aren't going to like me because I am American," Sinnott said. She believes that it is part of their culture not to be very open and welcoming at first, and that is the impression American tourists leave with.

"Once you've lived here and gotten to know them, you realize they are not really like that - they warm up," she said.

So, is this a case of one impression feeding another and turning into a self-fulfilling prophecy? Just as all Americans are not uneducated, fat and loud, the French are not all beret-wearing, baguette-eating snobs.

Neither Cruz nor Debrulle would apply the stereotype to Americans they have actually met, they said. In the same way, I have only experienced cold shoulders and dirty looks in routine and impersonal interactions, such as crowded metros and grocery lines.

When traveling to a foreign country, Americans should keep in mind that their actions formulate their image. Even though there are many negative qualities that accompany the stereotype right now, Americans should not go on the defense. Instead, they should see it as an opportunity and a challenge to improve their image around the world.

As I walk past the crowded Starbucks every morning, or discuss the latest episode of Lost with French classmates, I realize that American culture isn't being shunned - it is being turned into a guilty pleasure. The stereotype may exist, but it can be shaped and eventually reversed by interactions between the two nationalities - which, despite their differences, have a lot of common ground where the gap can be bridged.

Heleni Smith

2011-03-07T19:46:00.000-05:00

For all the people that are interested in doing a semester abroad, here is an article I wrote about my experience in Paris. Additionally, here is a good website where students from abroad have been sharing their experiences. Please feel free to post about your studying abroad experiences! Thank you!

http://www.usforacle.com/2.6026/postcards-from-paris-1.618407

http://www.studentsineurope.com/

Many thanks to the French and American students!

2010-11-11T14:21:00.000-05:00

We appreciate your participation and we wish you
the best of luck!

BLOG 8: Our last blog! A historic or political figure!

2010-11-01T13:58:00.003-04:00

I am sure you all have a political or historic figure that has affected your thinking or your life or your community and society. Please share him/her with us!
A good link for historic figures is here

BLOG 7: PACKS (Pacte civil de solidarité)

2010-10-25T12:22:00.003-04:00

More and more people are becoming skeptical of the institution of marriage. The high divorce rates on the one hand, (55% in Sweden, 45% in the US, 38% in France), increasing numbers of single parenthood on the other (in 2007, in the US 40% of babies were born to single moms), financial stress that complicates the rearing of children, infidelity becoming more common (20% of men and 15% of women under 35 reported cheating), the no-fault divorce making the process easy and cheap, all have contributed to a fear of tying the knot, here, in the UK, and in Korea.

Well, is there an alternative besides cohabitation? The answer is coming from France in a package called PACKS (Pacte civil de solidarité). As you have probably guessed, it is a civil union. The law was enacted to allow gay couples have some of the benefits of a marriage but it soon attracted the heterosexual population as well. The contents of the legislation allow the two partners to become contractants and organize their common life. They do it by registering a common declaration to the court in which they state their address in France or abroad. The contractants agree to mutual help while they are jointly responsible for debts occurred because of household expenses. They are eligible for tax benefits after three years while the tenant’s lease may transfer to the other partner if one leaves or dies. Also health benefits are transferable to the partner.

How do you dissolve it? Simply by filing a common statement, or after a three month delay at the request of one partner. No lawyers involved, no legal fees, no lengthy processes.

How popular is it? The number has grown from 6,000 in 1999, to 140,000 in 2008. It is a half solution to marriage, it offers some of the benefits and removes the costs of a long term commitment.

What is your opinion on the new form of union?

BLOG 6: Your future: optimism vs. pessimism

2010-10-18T10:30:00.005-04:00

In December 2008, in the midst of the deepest recession ever, the Financial Times conducted an optimism-pessimism survey in the U.S. , Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. In the European countries the majority (over 60%) were pessimistic about their personal economic future. In the U.S., most were still optimistic. Regarding the economic prospects of their countries, 83% of the French were pessimistic, followed by 70% the British. However in the US the pessimism rate over national economics reached a 52%.

I have always wondered if the numbers were correct. Are Americans more optimistic than Europeans? Although we are in no position to take the answers of our French and American group and generalize, still it is interesting to know what you think and feel.

Are you optimistic or pessimistic about your future and why?

Photo from http://www.oceanhippie.net/thumbs.php?gal=1157

BLOG 5: YOUR TYPICAL DAY

2010-10-11T08:49:00.001-04:00

Are our daily lives similar? Or do we differ dramatically? Please choose a typical day and write a detailed diary. Don't just include your appointments but all the little things that you experience, like, dislike and have to resolve as the day unfolds. From the moment you wake up to the moment you go to sleep.

BLOG 4: llegal Immigration: Amnesty or deportation?

2010-10-04T07:48:00.001-04:00

Illegal immigration continues to be a controversial and divisive topic, not only in the United States, but throughout the world. The debate over how to deal with the problem has focused on either legalization or deportation. The supporters of legalization point to the fact that borders are almost impossible to patrol due to their size and the existence of alternative routes whereas the native citizens embrace illegal immigration when it suits their needs. If you haven’t employed an illegal, probably you know someone who has. Furthermore they assert that amnesty is the right path. For who among us will condone the forceful separation of parents and children? Finally they point to the fact that immigrants, when they become legal, they contribute to our taxes.

The other side insists that illegal immigrants draw on the welfare system while they have broken the law and they should be deported. Of course that may happen only after they get arrested. Which may be a challenge given that in the US we have close to 11 million illegals and in France from 200,000-400,000.

What do you think the policy should be in your country? Legalization/Amnesty or deportation?.

Please answer by Sunday October 10.

Blog 3: State-funded programs in both countries.

2010-09-26T23:03:00.002-04:00

Please visit the site "The welfare state" (http://www2.rgu.ac.uk/publicpolicy/introduction/wstate.htm) and give us your thoughts on an aspect of the "Social Protection" system that your country employs. For example, how do you feel about your social security or pensions program? Are they too generous or should they be limited? How about welfare services? Are they adequate, less than adequate or abused? What about your health system? Are you satisfied or dissatisfied? Are you happy with the public education system or would you like to see changes? Or you may discuss whatever topic falls under the umbrella of "state-funded" program.

Please remember that this week's discussion will end next Sunday evening (October 3).

Have a great week!

Blogs 1 and 2: Hello Grenoble and Tampa

2010-09-13T06:27:00.001-04:00

Hello everyone!

We are all excited with this trans-Atlantic project and we look forward to hearing from all of you.
You can start the week by describing your impressions of ech other's countries! It's alright if you haven't been there yet... I am sure you still have some ideas...correct and incorrect! :))

This week we post our perceptions/ideas of the other country and next week we ask each other more specific questions for clarifications.

Exchange with French students : mutual impressions about each otherʼs cultures

2010-06-28T03:16:00.015-04:00

Hi everyone !

I'm François Chappuis, I teach English in France, more precisely in Grenoble, a lovely city ringed by mountains (the Alps).

In my school, we are about 300 students, they are specialised in different fields such as industrial design, industrial maintenance, automatism, electrotechnics... They also attend more conventional courses like maths, physics, history, geography, French, English....Their age range from 15 to 25. When (if!) they passed their examinations, they either look for a job or carry on their studies (BA, MA, engineering school...)

Here is my school website :

http://www.cfai-dauphine.fr/fr/etablissements/moirans-vie-cfai.html (sorry this is not a blingual website...yet !)

With Professor Athena Smith, we set a project whose description is this:

The blog will serve the forum for an exchange on mutual impressions about each otherʼs cultures that hopefully will lead to an intercultural understanding, possible creation of friendships and an exchange visit in the future. Each week, you are expected to answer the question posted by either professor in no less than 200 words and comment on another studentʼs answer in no less than 50 words. The programme is divided into 6 weeks of which you will be informed in due time. The programme will start mid-September.

I'm (and especially my students) looking forward to exchanging views on each other's cultures!'

François Chappuis

THANK YOU!

2010-04-20T17:22:00.006-04:00

Photo found at http://www.rotaryddd.com/Portals/0/thank_you_note.png

Thank you everyone for your posts! You spiced up the course!
As we are approaching the end of the semester, I wish all of you the best of luck.

And congratulations to jtannebe who managed to be the first one to post on most blogs... :)

Our last blog! Prostitution in the US, Netherlands and Sweden.

2010-04-11T13:19:00.004-04:00

The debate on whether prostitution is a victimless crime and whether it should be regulated or legalized has raged on for decades. One side asserts that prostitutes inflict harm on themselves and therefore the crime is victimless. The other side protests that they may also inflict harm on the client through STD. Well, the first side points, the client does know the danger before going, doesn’t he? And what about when the client transmits the STD? Yes, but, the second side reloads, society does suffer through the acceptance of loose morals… What morals are we talking about, the first side snaps, when we have legalized pornography? And how can a free society legislate the sexual behavior between consenting adults? We should legislate, the second side retorts, because money is changing hands… Men are buying women... "Not women" the first side answers, merely their services.... and so on and so on and so on….

Most of the debate however is based on ideological approaches to a sensitive matter while cherry picking the statistics that suit the particular ideology. This is why it is useful to not only look at some facts but also some alternative models in the western world. In the US the evidence demonstrates that prostitution is rarely a career choice. The majority of those working as prostitutes are street youth who more frequently report histories of childhood abuse, particularly sexual abuse. More than 50% have been forced into the sex trade. Sexual and physical violence are common, while the risks for AIDSand the probability for mental disorders are very high. Street prostitutes are also more likely to be abusers of crack cocaine, and heavily identify with street life. Girls typically become prostitutes at age 13 or 14 with close to 90% of them wanting to escape the work. The mortality rate for prostitutes is 200 times that of women of similar age and race.

The grim statistics seem to support the argument against legalization. Not so fast, the legalization side protests, because –as they claim- legalization will bring down the violence against prostitutes. Plus, what is the point of criminalizing the oldest profession on earth since men will always seek out their services?

This is where the war against prostitution resembles the war on drugs. They both have concentrated on the supply side having ignored the huge demand side that keeps the supply going. How do you deal with that?

So here are some alternative models. In the Netherlands prostitution involving Dutch or other EU citizens is a legal occupation, and most prostitutes work in brothels or sex clubs that require a permit. The reason why the legalization applies to EU citizens is the trafficking problem many countries face, with kidnapped or lured girls from Easter Europe or Asia brought into the country as sex slaves and forced to work underground.

The Swedes have moved away from total legalization and concentrated on battling the demand side. According to the "Sex Purchase Act" passed in 1999 it is illegal to buy sexual services. The law punishes the client only but not the prostitute as the act is considered a form of violence and exploitation against women. The client may be punished by fines or up to six months in prison, plus the humiliation of public exposure. Although accurate statistics can not be found, some estimate the number of prostitutes in Sweden to have dropped by 40%. Traffickers avoid Sweden since the clients are hesitant and according to Nicholas Krstof the bottom line is that if you want to rape a 13-year-old girl imported from Eastern Europe, you’ll have a much easier time in Amsterdam than in Stockholm.

Three different models on a multi-dimensional social problem. Your thoughts?

Euthanasia

2010-04-03T20:01:00.003-04:00

It was three years ago almost to the day that French public opinion was deeply divided over the trial of Dr. Laurence Tramois, a 35 year-old physician, who with the assistance of Nurse Chantal Chanel gave a lethal injection to the 65-year-old Paulette Druais, a terminally ill cancer patient. Dr Tramois said that she decided to resort to a lethal injection after Druais had told her that she did not want to die "in filth” and after Druais's family had backed her decision. However hospital managers had taken the pair to court as euthanasia is illegal in France. More than 2,000 health professionals signed a petition to support the doctor and the nurse, while they also called for the legalization of euthanasia. The court found the doctor guilty but gave her only a one-year suspended jail term while the nurse was acquitted. The debate over euthanasia still rages in France. They point to Belgium and Netherlands that have legalized euthanasia. Supporters demand the right to a dignified death. Opponents point to the sanctity of life. Supporters retort back by pointing to the abuse of the medical technology to prolong death. Opponents point to the potential of abuse. Supporters emphasize the safeguards that both Belgium and Netherlands have adopted. The Dutch Euthanasia Act states that euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide are not punishable if the informed patient request it, if the suffering is unbearable and hopeless, if the alternatives have been explained to the patient and if the doctor reports the request to a review committee. Opponents point to the rise in the number of cases, that reached 2,500 in 2009.

The fervor of the division is such that one would believe that euthanasia is a recent social ethical dilemma. Not so. In ancient Greece and Rome, before the coming of Christianity, attitudes toward infanticide, euthanasia, and suicide were permissive. During the pre-medieval Christian era, medical ethics accepted euthanasia, while during the Middle Ages the Church tapered the practice off and treated any form of suicide or “self murder” as deeply sinful. In the 18th century, during Enlightenment, scholars attacked the church's authoritative teaching on all matters, including euthanasia and suicide, but the matter was treated with gross indifference. In the US, during the 19th century, when morphine was isolated, Samuel Williams, began to advocate the use of analgesics not only to alleviate terminal pain, but to intentionally terminate one’s life. In 1938, Charles Potter founded the National Society for the Legalization of Euthanasia and in the 1970s, the debate made it to the Senate floor, focusing on 'the brutal irony of medical miracles,' which prolonged the dying process only to diminish patient dignity and quality of life. In the 1990s, the US Congress passed the Patient Self-Determination Act, requiring hospitals that receive federal funds to tell patients that they have a right to demand or refuse treatment.

Fast forward to March 2010 and the debate resurfaces in the UK. Early in the year, Kay Gilderdale was cleared of attempted murder for helping her 31-year-old daughter, Lynn, to commit suicide following years of suffering from the chronic fatigue syndrome ME. At the same time Frances Inglis, who killed her 22-year-old son by heroin injection believing he was left in a "living hell" after severe brain damage in a road accident, was found guilty of murder and sentenced to a minimum of nine years in jail. The main difference between the two cases was that in the Gilderdale case the daughter’s wish was clearly demonstrated, while in the Inglis case, the son, being in a vegetative state, could not express any wish. Two months later, the famous author, Sir Terry Pratchett, called for the establishment of euthanasia tribunals to give sufferers from incurable diseases the right to medical help to end their lives. Sir Pratchett became an advocate after he was diagnosed with an early form of Alzheimer’s. "It is not nice and I do not wish to be there for the endgame… If granny walks up to the tribunal and bangs her walking stick on the table and says 'Look, I've really had enough, I hate this bloody disease, and I'd like to die thank you very much young man', I don't see why anyone should stand in her way… The tribunal would be acting for the good of society as well as that of the applicant – and ensure they are of sound and informed mind, firm in their purpose, suffering from a life-threatening and incurable disease and not under the influence of a third party.”

The newspapers smelled blood and ran their polls. In February 2010, of more than 1,000 people interviewed for BBC, 73% believed friends or relatives should be able to assist the suicide of a terminally ill loved one. A YouGov poll of 2,053 people for the Telegraph showed 80% saying that relatives should not be prosecuted, and 75% backing a change in the law.

Would you back such a measure?

Don't Ask, Don't Tell.

2010-03-21T17:00:00.003-04:00

One of the most controversial topics has been the move to repeal the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" policy regarding the military service of gays and bisexual persons. Adoption of the DADT followed a long history of banning gays from the military. For a good part of the 20th century gays were discharged as “undesirables” once their orientation became known. However if they had committed homosexual acts while in service the discharge usually became “dishonorable.”

Then we had the brutal murder of the gay U.S. Navy petty officer Allen R. Schindler, Jr. Schindler had often reported anti-gay harassment to his chain of command citing comments from shipmates such as "There's a faggot on this ship and he should die". While en route to Japan, Schindler made a personal prank announcement "2-Q-T-2-B-S-T-R-8” (too cute to be straight) on secured lines and was put on restrictive leave. Once in Nagasaki, Terry M. Helvey, a member of the ship's weather department, stomped Schindler to death in a toilet, crushing his head, breaking his ribs and cutting off his penis. The brutality of the murder prompted President Clinton to adopt “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” under which a gay person may serve as long as he does not reveal his sexual orientation. What happens however if others find out? You were still discharged. The bottom line was that gays were undesirable in the US military. Since 1994, 13,500 service members have been fired under the DADT policy.

Fast-forward to 2009, in the midst of the war on terror. Stephen Benjamin wrote a column in the NYT reporting on the lack of qualified translators (from Arabic to English) in the Armed Forces. He stated that cables went untranslated on Sept. 10, 2001, a crucial date in our history. And in 2007, the American Embassy in Baghdad had nearly 1,000 personnel, but only a handful of fluent Arabic speakers. In March of that year, Benjamin, who had graduated in the top 10% of the Defense Language Institute, was let go after his sexual orientation was revealed. He was not the first. In 2006, a decorated sergeant and Arabic language specialist was also dismissed from the U.S. Army under the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Although the number of those competent gay translators who were fired is not fully disclosed, one thing remains indisputable. The military is spending millions in training new translators, hoping that they will all turn out to be heterosexual.

Recently the DADT policy has come under attack. The arguments from both sides are interesting. Those supporting the DADT policy say that the situation is not that black or white. They point to certain elements of significant risk. When you are called to defend your country while living and rooming in close quarters with others, overall effectiveness depends on mutual trust and uncomplicated camaraderie that should not be disturbed. Moreover, allowing gays in the military, -the pro DADT side asserts- may encourage enlistment of gays that hope to find partners easier, something that might provoke even higher levels of homophobia among heterosexuals. Furthermore, when people are sent into combat, we make sure that men and women do not fight next to each other in order to avoid complicating emotional situations. When we allow gays to serve, we endanger the overall effectiveness, if indeed there is a sexual/emotional bond between the soldiers.

Those who support the repeal of DADT counter-assert that many emergency occupations require their members to live in close proximity (emergency services, oil rig workers) and gays are not barred from those. They also add that opposition to gays in the military is based on the problems caused by homophobia, which is perpetuated by the ban. Once gays are allowed to serve and demonstrate their effectiveness, the homophobia will diminish. Finally, they claim, emotional bonds (both heterosexual and homosexual) may strengthen moral and not weaken it.

Both sides continue to exchange heated arguments as we speak. Needless to say no argument from either side can be upheld or dismissed by scientific research on the matter. The Congress is called to make a decision to repeal DADT or maintain it. The verdict is still out.

How would you advise them on the matter?

Price-tag partnerships

2010-03-14T18:33:00.003-04:00

Last summer an ad in the personal section of Craiglist was posted by a young Neworker, “spectacularly beautiful” according to her own assessment, who was looking for a husband in the half a million yearly salary range. She confessed that she was through with potential husbands making a quarter of million as they could not help her move to Central Park West. An investor banker answered that he thought about the offer but decided to pass it since her beauty would be fading with time, unlike his wealth, making her a "depreciating asset" as he succinctly put it.

If you think that the lady on the Craiglist is an exception, I am afraid you are wrong. A survey by Prince & Associates revealed that two-thirds of women and half of the men were "very" or "extremely" willing to marry for money. On average men and women said they would marry for $1.5 million. The going rate was $1.1 million for women in their 30s, and $2.2 million for women in their 40s, while men set the bar lower. Men in their 20s wanted $1 million and men in their 40s $1.4 million. Furthermore, among the women in their 20s who said they would marry for money, 71% also added that they expected to get divorced. Among men in their 40s, the rate was 27%.

Do you think we are moving towards price-tag partnerships? What aspects in the other person might convince you to proceed with a long-term commitment?

Internet-based exams

2010-03-07T10:22:00.001-05:00

Schooling and exams have come a long way. When I was a high school student in Greece, memorization was the key to success. It did not matter if you did not understand it. As long as you could recite, you could pass with flying colors. I suffered my first serious cultural shock when I came to the US for my university studies and the grade was not just based on the old classical closed book exams but also on research papers. Room to breathe I had thought. And as I found out, lots to learn as well when you are involved in your own research.

Fast-forward in the 21st century and we have new learning assessment debates. My Balkan country of origin is still hooked on memorization. In the US high schools teachers have started open book exams and internet based exams if the course matter is appropriate. Last spring, Danish high school students were allowed for the first time to use internet during finals (watch this short video). According the Danish officials, if the internet is such a great part of daily life, it should be incorporated in the classroom and in examinations. Sanne Yde Schmidt, project director at Greve, said: “If we're going to be a modern school and teach them things that are relevant for them in modern life, we have to teach them how to use the internet.” The Minister for education Bertel Haarder, added: “Our exams have to reflect daily life in the classroom and daily life in the classroom has to reflect life in society. The internet is indispensible, including in the exam situation. I’m sure that is would be a matter of very few years when most European countries will be on the same line.”

How about cheating? Emailing the questions to other students is not possible because messaging and emailing have been disabled. Other forms of cheating are not considered serious threats as the students are under the pressure of time and they are also trusted to demonstrate integrity and dignity.

Some teachers do not appear willing to shift away from the old closed-book exam. This is the only way that tests studying they say. Some have shifted to open-notes exams, believing that students who are forced to write, also learn. Allowing internet use, other add, tests your ability to analyze and synthesize information. And they emphasize that testing should be a learning experience as well.

Think back into your high school experience and your college days. What types of assessments (exams, research papers, blogging, presentations, debates) enabled you to retain the knowledge the longest and assist you in developing critical thinking? Which combination of assessments would you suggest if you were a professor? Please take the poll on the right so we can have an aggregate picture!

Parental Consent for Abortion

2010-02-28T13:00:00.016-05:00

The US has the highest teen pregnancy rates in the industrialized world. As you can see in the charts, the differences are stark. Yes, we do need more education and yes we do need more parental guidance. But if the teen decides to get an abortion, should she need parental consent as she is underage? Such consent is mandatory in 24 US. Most of the statutes apply to girls younger than 18 and provide for a court bypass procedure in case the girl is not able to involve her parents. Also most statutes include exceptions for medical emergencies.

On the one hand, supporters of the “required consent” camp, say that abortion is a form of medical procedure and as such parental consent should be required. The same way that parental consent is required for ear piercing, tattoos and appendectomies. Moreover, parents have the right to know what’s going on with their children’s lives. And others add that there is always the possibility that when parents find out, may offer support and long term help and thus avert the abortion.

Not so, the opponents of the measure assert. Parental consent is not legally required to have a baby. Why should it be different with the decision not to have one? And although parents may have the right to know what’s going on with their kids’ lives, what happens when the girl chooses abortion and the parents oppose it? Whose will should prevail? And don’t we make things worse –they ask- when we postpone the abortion by requiring an extra legal process to take place?

For the requirements in every state, you may go here You will see that some states have chosen a mid-solution. They require “parent notification.” If you are under 18, you have to tell your parents but you don’t need their consent.

What are your thoughts on the parental consent requirement?

Unwanted Fatherhood

2010-02-21T17:55:00.001-05:00

Yes, abortion is a controversial matter but mostly because the sides fight over the rights of the fetus. There is a minority however that tries to campaign for the rights of the father. Why, they ask, the woman may have a say over the future of her pregnancy and a man may not? So far, court decisions have sided against paternal involvement in the decision process. In 1978, in the UK, William Paton attempted to stop his separated wife from having an abortion but the judge ruled against him. He took the case to the European Court of Human Rights which also ruled in favor of the wife. Similarly, in 1989, Jean-Guy Tremblay in Canada, tried to stop his girlfriend from having an abortion. The Supreme Court of the country ruled that there was no precedent for a man’s right to protect a potential progeny. And so on and so on.

Here comes a 25-year old programmer from Michigan, who says that if men are not allowed to protect a potential progeny, they should not have to pay child support either if the pregnancy occurred against the men’s will. The young programmer says that his former girlfriend assured him she could have no children and knew he did not want any. When she got pregnant, he offered to pay for the abortion or give up the baby for adoption. The girlfriend instead sued him for a $500 per month child support payment. And as you can guess, she won.

Think about it. Women have all the rights not to become parents. They may choose to abort, or give up the baby for adoption, or simply leave the baby at a hospital. The law is explicit that women are entitled to avoid unwanted parenthood. Why aren’t men protected similarly? Indeed the National Center for Men has drafted a proposition called “Roe v. Wade for men” which gives men the right, when faced with unwanted parenthood, to resort to a “financial abortion”. If the pregnancy occurred against their will, and if it is early in pregnancy, then, they would like to have the right to be released from any future financial responsibilities. "When it comes to reproduction in America today, women have rights and men merely have responsibilities" (Glenn Sacks, 2008, quoted here.)

It’s only fair the National Center for Men says.

What do you say? (Don’t debate the abortion issue please. The question focuses on men’s rights.)

Individual vs. the group

2010-02-14T15:31:00.002-05:00

Although close to 14% of school districts have reported having a uniforms policy, the idea has been hotly debated. On the one hand, supporters claim that it bridges some differences between poor and more affluent students. Also they point to the lack of worrying over what to wear, something that promotes efficiency and boosts a unitary school spirit. School administrators finally spend less time on enforcing a dress code. On the other hand, opponents point to the cost of purchasing a uniform which may impose an extra burden on parents (although a donation program is alleviating the burden).But most importantly they lament over the loss of individualism and the reign of group mentality.

Not so, protest the supporters. They point to other countries, like Japan, where the majority of schools have enforced a uniform policy and the debate is almost non-existent. They also refer to the case of the snowboarder Kazuhiro Kokubo in the Vancouver Winter Olympics. Play the video and look at the way the young athlete on the left wears his clothes. In the end of the video he is apologizing as his appearance caused uproar back in Japan. The Ski Association of Japan stated that “It is not the way the Japanese delegation should dress themselves while taxpayers' money is spent on them" and debated whether to kick Kokubo out of the Games altogether. You see, the idea that one should be punished for offending the group is not difficult to swallow. The Japanese Olympic Committee however decided to only ban him from participating in the opening ceremonies and allow him to compete later in his event.

Consequently, the supporters assert, adherence to group rules becomes more important if taxpayers are paying for it. Therefore, school uniforms, are fair game.

How do you feel about it? Would you go along or oppose it?

Vote on the 2011 federal budget

2010-02-07T16:43:00.002-05:00

As the debate for universal health coverage inflamed moods and while half truths were thrown back and forth from all sides, one argument that struck me as peculiar was “I am not paying for your health care.” It did take me aback for a moment because it came from a seventy-year old man. Whose health care the tax payer is financing to a serious extent at least. Let us not forget that 80% of our budget in 2008 was financed by the tax payer and the rest by borrowing. Which will have to be paid back by the future tax payers. Everything is traced back to our pockets in other words.

Allocation of tax money has been hottly debated across countries. In some, the electorate acts on a collective sentiment of shared responsibilities and rights. In others, the electorate has chosen a more individualistic approach. For example, visitors to northern European countries are struck by the extent of social benefits. And the level of taxation of course. They even have universal child care as decades ago the Swedish government realized that if it were to capitalize fully on the female part of their labor market, they had better offer a sound solution to the babysitting problem. (The centers BTW open at 6:30, stay open for 12 hours and accept children older than one year of age.) Their social benefits include secure pensions, universal everything… decent housing for the elderly and significant unemployment benefits.How much tax do they pay? Higher than ours. For a family with one wage-earner and two children, only Iceland and Ireland have a lower income tax burden than the U.S, whereas Sweden, Turkey, France and Poland impose the greatest tax burdens on families. It is my understanding however that property tax has not been co assessed so the US tax rates are probably higher.

But before you jump condemning those darn “socialist” countries, remember one basic thing that many politicians forget when they blast at them. The electorate in these countries voted in such a system. Blasting their system is equal to insulting millions of Europeans and Canadians for thinking differently. And as we learned, ethnocentrism usually spreads blindness…

So, we have two different worlds, two different systems. The electorate in the US is reluctant towards a stronger safety net and they still debate the use of their tax dollars. However, much of the debating is missing focus since we lack concrete proposals on where to economize from. Fighting fraud and waste is good rhetoric but it won’t get you far since no bureaucratic system is immune to these ills. Suggesting certain cuts from a certain sector and reallocating them to another (even the one that pays back our debt) seems far more constructive. So here is the proposed budget for 2011.

How would you re-split the pie? And why? To have again a total picture please vote on the right which sector you think should face most of the cuts. Then vote again which sector the saved monies should go to.

Who knows? Maybe your representatives are reading us! :)

Medical Marijuana

2010-01-31T14:32:00.006-05:00

Certain states have legalized the medical use of marijuana while some others are expected to pass similar measures. As arguments for or against are flying to and fro, today, in Oakland, a new 15,000 s.f. warehouse called iGrow opens up to sell all you will need for medicinal marijuana cultivation. The managers have hired a doctor on site to provide you with the necessary cannabis card and whatever you need to grow the stuff (except for the seeds of course). On site technicians will happily demonstrate how you can set up a “farm house” in your home, how to proceed with the hydroponic cultivation, advise on the nutrients you will need and assist with weekly maintenance. The cost may rise to $1000 for an eight-plant system, and if you use half of the harvest you may sell the rest to a dispensary for a maximum of $12,000. Today’s opening will attract national media attention while three City Council members are expected to attend along with the leaders of the cannabis industry in the region.

Oakland residents voted last summer to regulate and tax “cannabis businesses” and have allowed the operation of four licensed dispensaries. That was hardly a “revolutionary act” within the realm of world history. Marijuana’s legitimate use goes back thousands of years. In 2737 BC the Chinese Emperor Shen Neng prescribed the plant for treating gout, rheumatism and poor memory. Various Hindu sects used it a stress-relief medication. Ancient physicians in Asia, Middle East and Africa distributed it for all sorts of ailments. In late 18th century America marijuana was prescribed for incontinence and sexually transmitted diseases. But in the early 20th century, with 2-5% of the American population addicted to morphine contained in medications like “The People's Healing Liniment for Man or Beast" the Food and Drug Administration was created to regulate marijuana use through the medical establishment. What we call today “medical use” in other words.

In 1914, the Harrison Act imposed a heavy tax on non-medical uses of the drug and punished anyone who obtained it without paying the tax. In 1937 the Marijuana Tax Act criminalized non-medical use while the 1950 Boggs Act and Narcotics Control Act established mandatory sentences for marijuana possessors and distributors. As times relaxed, in 1996 California became the first state to legalize medical marijuana and since then a number of states adopted similar measures. The arguments from both sides are serious. Critics point to the underground marijuana industry (in LA alone it is estimated that 1000 illegal shops are in operation), while supporters point to the plant’s qualities as a safe pain reliever, especially in severe illnesses such as multiple sclerosis, cancer and AIDS. Critics counter-attack by disputing the medical benefits when they are contrasted with possible health risks and consider the drug as “gate opener” to more potent narcotics. Supporters point to the lack of strong data that could support the latter argument and point to the prison population (the largest in the world), a quarter of which is imprisoned for drug-related crimes (In 2000 for example half of the convictions for possession led to a prison or jail term, while two-thirds of the trafficking convictions did).

Fast forward and back to Oakland. Watch the video Marijuana Superstore Opens. Would you support a similar measure for Florida? Post your opinion and then take a poll on the right so we can have an overall reflection of the students' attitude.

PACS

2010-01-24T20:17:00.006-05:00

How do you dissolve it? Simply by filing a common statement, or after a three month delay at the request of one partner. No lawyers involved, no legal fees, no lengthy processes.

Dropping out

2010-01-17T10:38:00.002-05:00

Kids all over the country are entering high schools in greater numbers than ever. The free public secondary education has encouraged everyone to attend, study, and shift towards a more prosperous future. Fifteen year olds with radiating faces squeeze on the benches outside the cafeterias obsessed with sports, cars and stuff…. Average kids. Many from middle class or working class background, not excelling but not failing either, are defined by their common optimism and liveliness. Two years later, you visit these high schools again and only a couple of them are on that bench. The rest have melted away by a common fate, that seems to trap mostly boys.

Jay Green (Leaving Boys Behind: Public High School Graduation Rates )reported that in 2003, nationally 72% of girls graduated compared with 65% of boys while the gap is larger in minority students. The graduation rate for Black female students exceeded that of their male counterparts by eleven percentage points, while the difference for Hispanics was nine percentage points. When it comes to college, 57% of students are women and the ratio is expected to rise to 75% in 2020 ( here is the whole article).

The consequences are dire. According to The Consequences of Dropping Out of High School male dropouts of all races were 47 times more likely to be incarcerated than their peers of a similar age who had graduated from a four-year college or university. In 2008 the unemployment rate for the nation’s high school drop outs reached a staggering 54%. In other words only 46% were employed. The employment rate for high school graduates was 68%, 79% for young adults who had completed 1-3 years of post-secondary schooling, and 87% for college graduates. And since the drop-out phenomenon afflicts more males than females, the consequences are more severe for boys. According to the same report, their mean cumulative earnings from ages 18-64 have seriously declined, along with their marriage rates, home ownership rates, and their tax contributions (this is where it becomes your problem as well). At the same time, the imprisonment rates rose. Young high school dropouts were 63 times more likely to end up in jail than young college graduates. In 2009 according to the NYT, on any given day, one in 10 young male high school dropouts is incarcerated, compared to one in 35 young male high school graduates.

In the first chapter we discussed the power of society in shaping individual behavior, a process not that obvious to the untrained eye. Some students voiced their opposition to the concept, pointing to the power of individual will to shape fate. But again, is it possible that this power is socially encouraged or discouraged? A philosophical labyrinth many would say… depending on the situation others would add…and everyone would have a point. A good one as a matter of fact. However, we have to try and gain an insight. Surveys may reveal some common characteristics and provide the macro level of analysis but the insiders’ assessments are our zoom lens. You have probably observed kids (mostly boys) in high school drop out. How do you explain this phenomenon?

WELCOME

2010-01-01T20:23:00.002-05:00

"Advice is seldom welcome, and those who need it the most, like it the least."

Autumn thoughts

2009-11-01T19:40:00.007-05:00

I stare at them trying to guess the future. Their future.

I like the cocky confidence, the cheerful humility, the moments of intense concentration and awe despite the constant texting.

The way they change their names from Cody to Fabulous and then Fabio. The optimism when faced with depressing challenges. Amanda’s bravery. Jimmy’s ascent from the projects. Stan’s regression. Pat’s jokes about her teen pregnancy while acing. And Jenny, who explained that “youth is wasted on the young” before dropping out.

I stare at them and I reflect on my past of hesitations and silence.

And of good luck.

So glad I found you.

Our last blog: Thoughts on gratitude.

2009-04-12T20:31:00.010-04:00

Some have jokingly recommended that we celebrate Thanksgiving daily in order to improve our health. No pills, no diets, no exercises. Just a long-term positive emotion can be the key to long-term health, as old philosophy and recent research seem to suggest. The ancient philosopher Epicurus considered gratitude a chief prerequisite to happiness, the same way that ingratitude was the chief path to misery. The wise man believed that those who have the power to bury unhappy memories are able to reach happiness. Fools, on the other hand, recall the past just to regret it. They torture themselves with recollection of past mistakes.

Recently psychologists and mental health professionals have been assessing the relationship between gratitude and happiness. It looks like that eternally grateful people score higher on indicators of health, as they seem to be taking better care of themselves. Gratitude also fights stress, a leading cause of illness and responsible for 90% of doctor’s visits. Furthermore, grateful people are more optimistic and optimism seems to boost the immune system. The impact is even more significant on those whose immune system has been compromised or those who are preparing for a stressful event like taking an exam or undergoing surgery. And finally, gratitude appears to lessen the pain of a tragic loss as the sense of belonging may increase and somewhat compensate for the loss.

It may not be easy to feel gratitude, many will retort. Look at the poor in India and their low levels of satisfaction. Correct, but what about the low levels of satisfaction among the very affluent in the developed countries? In October 2008 I listened to David Whyte, a poet and corporate consultant speak of the toxic mentality of CEOs who were miserable because they were making $2-5 million a year and not $6-10.

Well, who appears to be happy then? Mostly, middle class folks. Especially those who rose from poverty.

How can we cultivate a culture of gratitude? It has been suggested that we keep a journal. We write down a list of blessings and ask to what extent we take those for granted. Keep a record of past problematic situations and how we dealt with them. Through resolving these situations, did we benefit by learning something? Keep a record of places you visited and carried a message for you. Keep the memory alive by posting it on a blog. Look for the good side of people and focus on that. Did someone do something for you? Thank them silently if you have not already done this in person. Or simply, as you go to bed, make a few mental entries of things you are grateful for.

I'll give you four entries of mine.
I am grateful for the students who showed resilience, fought the odds and are in school. They are my role-models.
I am grateful I visited Omaha Beach in Normandy. I was reminded of the precious gift of freedom, which was handed to my generation on a silver platter. (I wrote about this trip here)
I am grateful I did not have an accident today.
I am grateful you took the time to write on this blog and allowed me to get to know you a bit better. I thank you.

Back to you. Do you think that keeping a "gratitude journal" makes any sense or is gratitude an overated feeling? If you were to make a few mental entries of things you are grateful for, what would they be?

Affirmative action to close the gender gap?

2009-04-05T20:25:00.007-04:00

We seem to be approaching an enrollment ratio of 58% females to 42% males. However, as more men drop out during college than women, around graduation time the ratio will be a disturbing 60 to 40.The gap is even evident in our high schools as more girls graduate and more boys drop out.

"So what?" many girls wonder. Well, it does matter. As we tend to marry within our group, most people seek out partners with a similar educational background. And although men are more likely to date a woman with less education, women do not appear to be willing to lower the bar. So in ten years from now, where will the husbands come from? Another country maybe? International dating sites? What about the future organizations depending on educated personnel? How badly will be men outnumbered?

Many institutions simply ignore the disparity. Administrators are not likely to admit that the gap is a problem. For example, Stephen Farmer, director of undergraduate admissions at the University of North Carolina, where the males constitute 41% of the college’s populations, said: “We really have made no attempt to balance the class. We are gender blind in applications." Are other administrators trying to address the situation through some sort of affirmative action? Many say it would be politically incorrect. Also illegal, as Sarah Karnasiewicz reported in the article “The campus crusade for guys.” In 1999, a woman filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the University of Georgia in Athens, after it was revealed that the school had attempted to balance gender on campus by awarding preference to male applicants. The university responded that it was trying to reverse male flight from campus before it "became something bad." The judge however did not agree and ruled that "the desire to 'help out' men who are not earning baccalaureate degrees in the same numbers as women ... [was] far from persuasive."

This is how it works with public institutions. But when it comes to private ones, the law is fuzzy and the needs of the institutions serious. If they tolerate a 70/30 ratio how attractive will the college be to prospective students? Nancy Gibbs cited (TIME, 2008, April 3) a U.S. News & World Report according to which the admissions rate of men at the College of William and Mary was 12% higher than that of women--because "even women who enroll ... expect to see men on campus. It's not the College of Mary and Mary; it's the College of William and Mary."

So there you have it. Affirmative action to close the gender gap is translated into turning down female applicants with better qualifications than males. Some consider it a necessary reaction of a society addressing disparities. Others are fiercely opposing it. Your thoughts?

Your next vacation....

2009-03-29T18:40:00.012-04:00

The environmentalists around the globe are hailing Saturday’s “turn-off the lights for a full hour” a huge success as hundreds of millions of people from an Antarctic research base to the Pyramids of Egypt, from the Acropolis in Athens to Malaysia's landmark Petronas Twin Towers, from Times Square in NYC to Rome's ancient Colosseum, turned off the lights from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) announced a few hours ago that nations have a mandate to deal with climate change. Yvo de Boer, the United Nations Climate Change Secretariat interpreted the event as a mandate for an ambitious course to fight global warming. Representatives of 190 nations launched talks in Bonn last week, designed to culminate in Copenhagen in December, aiming at a new agreement to curb greenhouse gases beyond 2012, when provisions under the Kyoto Protocol expire.

So, what are these greenhouse gases exactly? Chemical compounds in the atmosphere act as “greenhouse gases” allowing sunlight to enter the atmosphere freely. When sunlight hits the Earth’s surface, some of it bounces back in space as infrared radiation. Or heat. According to the ENERGY INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION, greenhouse gases absorb this infrared radiation and trap the heat in the atmosphere. The agency explains some of these gases are found in nature (water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide), while others are human-made (industrial gases for example). The concern over the possible effects on the earth’s environment has fuelled a movement for sustainable development that aims at satisfying human needs without compromising the power of future generations to satisfy theirs.

Within this movement towards sustainable development, mass tourism with its excesses has come under attack while sustainable tourism is being embraced. Sustainable tourism is mainly comprised of agrotourism and ecotourism. Agrotourism means that you visit an agricultural area, stay in local guest houses, eat the local food and observe or even participate in the local rural activities. That is your vacation. No populated beaches (unless the farming area is close to sea), no big resort hotels, no your typical city night-life, fewer green house emissions. Ecotourism is visiting a beautiful natural site on which you impose the minimum damage. A gorge, a lake, a mountain, a river. Small guest houses, local cuisine, quietness, emphasis on preserving the nature, participation in sports the site facilitates (river/kayak, mountains/paragliding). Again, no noise, no urban life style, no resort facilities. Again, fewer green house emissions.

Simple stuff. Not for everyone. Unless of course it becomes fashionable.

If you were to go on a vacation, would you opt for mass tourism with its comforts or would you consider agrotourism/ ecotourism?

Write a note to the Pope

2009-03-21T17:49:00.013-04:00

AIDS has extracted a heavy toll in the developing world and especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. Let’s look at the numbers: Over 42 million people are living with HIV/AIDS, and 74% of the infected are in sub-Saharan Africa. By the year 2010, Ethiopia, Nigeria, China, India, and Russia with 40% of the world's population will add 50 to 75 million infected people to the worldwide pool of HIV sufferers. According to the previously mentioned site, there are 14,000 new infections every day, 95% of which in developing countries. The young are paying a heavy price as the UN estimates that the number of orphans exceeds 14 million while by 2010 it will have reached 25 million.

Within this setting, last week, Pope Benedict XVI, while making his first visit to Africa, re-emphasized the Catholic Church’s position on the use of condoms: "The problem of HIV/AIDS cannot be overcome with mere slogans. If the soul is lacking, if Africans do not help one another, the scourge cannot be resolved by distributing condoms; quite the contrary, we risk worsening the problem." Needless to say, the reaction was strong.

Many agreed with the Pope. They say that condoms alone can not solve the problem that has reached endemic dimensions in certain countries. A change of practices, intensified sex education, an emphasis on monogamy, eradication of certain traditions and dispelling myths are necessary steps for alleviating the situation. What’s more, they have been proven to be the right steps as one can see in Uganda.

However, the second part of his statement has drawn heavy criticism. Major newspaper editorials spoke of an unscientific statement, a myth, a scare tactic, that should not have been employed by the head of the Catholic church. The Vatican immediately issued a statement to explain that condoms probably give a false sense of security and therefore abstinence was the only way of prevention. Rebecca Hodes, of the Treatment Action Campaign in South Africa, answered that opposition to condoms conveys that religious dogma is more important than the lives of Africans. The Pontiff emphasized that abstinence and fidelity, not condoms, were the means to tackle the epidemic.

So, would you like to drop a line to the Pontiff? To agree or disagree, to make a point or ask a question? Do so in your usual polite and diplomatic way! At the end of the week I will forward a sample of comments to his Holiness.

PACS: Civil unions for straight couples

2009-03-09T11:24:00.012-04:00

A friend of mine, let’s call him Jack, who lives in Paris, France, emailed me that he has decided to tie the knot –so to speak as it turned out- with his girlfriend, Marie, whom he had been living with for five years. Jack moved to Paris after a messy divorce in the US, during which he lost a substantial amount of money to his ex.

Why do I say “so to speak?”

Because the couple did not opt for the traditional marriage but rather for a “civil union” solution, the one we have been reading in the news concerning gay couples. It took 15 minutes in front of a judge and they got their Civil Solidarity Pact (PACS) which gives them a half-way status between living together and getting married.

“Why did you choose such a half-solution? It must be a handful of people opting for this kind of thing” I sort of guessed in an uneducated manner. I understood that the law had been drafted mainly for gays, but since the language was rather ambiguous, it was also adopted by a few straight couples. “Not that few” Jack corrected me. Close to 150,000 couples chose it last year I was informed. It has an air of independence, it has incorporated financial advantages, and it is easier to terminate than a traditional marriage, Jack continued, obviously beaming on the other end.
“It sounds like a substitute for marriage” I pressed.
“But it is” Jack explained. “Don’t you love it?... This is how I declare my independence from society’s rules, expectations. Not to mention the mess of divorce. If either one of us wants to end it, I or Marie, go to the court, declare our wish in writing, and we are done. Neither one has any rights on the other person’s property or money.”

So I decided to do a bit more research on this PACS half-solution. I found that although it was designed for gay couples, 90% of "solidarity pacts" a year are now being made between people of the opposite sex. Indeed, as Jack said, it can be ended with a simple letter from either partner. And indeed it provides near-identical financial and benefits as marriage, like joint tax returns and qualification for deductions. However evaluation of this plan remains difficult as various privacy laws prohibit the collection of statistics on this particular arrangement.

As we observe the collapse of the nuclear family and the rising number of single parents, I wonder whether we are heading towards a PACS alternative in this country too.

Do you think the circumstances are ripe for such a shift in the US? Would you personally support it or oppose it?

Abortion increase in young girls

2009-03-02T13:01:00.008-05:00

The number of abortions among girls aged under 16 rose by 10% to 4,376 in 2007, official figures for England and Wales show.

In the under 14s, abortions rose by 21% from 135 in 2006 to 163 last year.
The number of abortions in all women rose by 2.5% to reach an all time high of almost 200,000.
Government advisers called for high quality sex education at school and investment in contraception services for young people.

Scotland has also seen a rise in the number of abortions with figures published in May showing there were 13,703 carried out in 2007 compared with 13,163 in 2006.
The number of abortions carried out has been rising ever since the 1967 Abortion Act - with just over 22,000 terminations in the first year.
In the past decade, the number of abortions in the under 16s has risen by 27%.
But at the same time the teenage pregnancy rate has fallen.

If you want to read the whole article click here http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7462934.stm

DO YOU SUPPORT OR OPPOSE ABORTION?

TIME FOR FEEDBACK AND EXTRA CREDIT!!!!

2009-02-22T09:44:00.009-05:00

Please read the text on the right about the definition on students success. Give it some thought and vote on all three polls. Email the link to your friends at HCC and ask them to vote as well. Write on the possible answers you have chosen. What does "student success" mean to you and why? Put some extra effort into this and you will get extra credit for this post!

License to parent

2009-02-15T16:55:00.015-05:00

While last week the US press was busy reporting on the Octuplet mother, the British press was buzzing with the story of a 13 year-old boy who became a father. Alfie Patten, was 12 when the baby was conceived (his girlfriend, Chantelle Steadman, was 15) and was quoted as saying “it would be good to have a baby…I didn't think about how we would afford it. ... I didn't know what it would be like to be a dad. I will be good, though, and care for it." Chantelle, told the newspapers that they wanted to "prove to everyone" that they could give Maisie a "great future" and also expressed her commitment to stay in school.

Former Conservative party leader Iain Duncan Smith, who runs the Centre for Social Justice think tank, described the birth as another case of "broken Britain" where "Anything goes…It's not being accusative; it's about pointing out the complete collapse in some parts of society of any sense of what's right and wrong… There is no opprobrium any more about behavior, and quite often, children witness behavior that's aggressive, violent, rude and sexual. It's as if no one is saying this is wrong." The Times reported that during the last ten years more than 40 other boys younger than 14 had fathered children. At the same time Tony Kerridge, a health specialist of Marie Stopes International, spoke of the need for better education and added that "We have got the social aspect of young girls in the UK seeing having a baby as a route to getting their own place."

And thus, some commentators started discussing the licensing thesis, advanced by Hugh LaFollette, a philosophy professor at East Tennessee State University, who called for the adoption of a parenting license through administering competence tests. You can't become a parent unless you pass certain competence tests. If you do become a parent without asking for a license, you will have to take these tests after the birth of the child, and if you fail, the child will be taken from you until you improve. LaFollette believes that although such testing may not be accurate and may prove unjust to some prospective parents, the benefits should outweigh the costs. Naturally, many people objected: “People have a right to having children, as they have the right to free speech and religion.” LaFollette answered that freedom of speech does not make slander acceptable nor does freedom of religion make human sacrifice legal.

Peg Tittle, professor of applied ethics put it as follows: “"We already license pilots, salesmen, scuba divers, plumbers, electricians, teachers, veterinarians, cab drivers, soil testers and television repairmen. ... Are our TV sets and toilets more important to us than our children?.. Then again, wait a minute -- we have set a bar for parents: adoptive/foster parents. Those would-be parents have to prove their competence. Why do we cling to the irrational belief that biological parents are automatically competent -- in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary? We have, without justification, a double standard.”

Pierre Lemieux attacked the concept. He wrote: “It is not clear if, in LaFollette's scheme, a license would be required before conceiving a child, or only for keeping and rearing the baby. LaFollette claims that enforcement problems are not insurmountable. ‘We might not punish parents at all,’ he adds, ‘we might just remove the children and put them up for adoption.’ Of course, laws are ultimately enforced by armed men, and scenes similar to agents with fully automatic weapons seizing Elian Gonzalez would be repeated. Usually, though, parents would let a social worker ‘peacefully’ take their children away because they know that they have no chance against the SWAT team. So, with a few exceptions, the tyranny would be soft and quiet -- tyranny with an invisible hand.”

What do you think? Do we need a license for parenthood or is it a form of tyranny?

With the rising cost of health care, should age play a factor?

2009-02-08T21:00:00.008-05:00

By JoNel Aleccia
Health writer
msnbc.com

At 102, Thelma Vette likes to whiz around her Littleton, Colo., retirement center in an electric wheelchair, bright red and outfitted with a joystick.

She certainly can walk if she wants to, and often does, thanks to the total knee replacement surgery she had two years ago, when she was merely 100...

Read the rest at here

The article poses this question:"In a country where health care costs are fast outpacing the ability to pay, and where it’s feared that the federal Medicare program could fail within a decade, should doctors perform surgery on the elderly just because they can? Or are limited resources better reserved for younger people who will benefit longer?"

What do you think?

The doctrine of alimony in today's society

2009-02-01T16:17:00.007-05:00

Alimony (not to be confused with child support) is an established doctrine in divorce cases, designed to maintain the standard of living of a dependent spouse at levels maintained during the marriage. The ideological basis has been that marriage is a social and economic contract between two people whose obligations do not end with a divorce. The same ideological basis has been applied to couples who simply have lived together. The most famous case, that of the late Lee Marvin led to the adoption of the term “palimony.” When the famous Hollywood actor split with his live-in partner Michelle after 6 years of co-habitation, the court awarded her $104,000 for "rehabilitation purposes" but denied her community property claim for one-half of the $3.6 million which Marvin had earned during that period. Later, the decision was reversed, but in the meantime it had created new grounds for questioning the concept of “alimony” or “palimony” according to which the primary wage-earner should be obliged to maintain the standard of living of the other partner.

In the past, the law benefited mostly women as they were the dependent spouse but as women have been involved in the work force far more intensely than in the past and since often they are the prime wage–earners, the alimony doctrine has hit them as hard as it has hit men. Now that it has, we have started hearing all sorts of complains about the unfairness of the doctrine. In the Forbes article Women Increasingly Paying Alimony we read the story of Kim Shamsky, a 47-year-old business owner who pays her ex, a 65-year-old retired Major League Baseball player, thousands per month in temporary spousal support (they don’t have any kids). It looks like that she built her business on her own without his assistance. She is so frustrated that she has started printing T-shirts with the word “PRENUP” in the front.

The percentage of alimony recipients who are male has risen to 3.6% from 2001-2006 from 2.4%, in the previous five-year period, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That percentage is likely to rise even more given that more and more primary wage-earners are female. In 2005 wives out earned their husbands in 33% of all families, up from 28.2% the decade before.

The alimony doctrine has come under attack, most often when women have to foot the bill. Controversy has also arisen over the way alimony is implemented. We have rehabilitative alimony which lasts until the receiving spouse is either financially independent or enters into a cohabiting relationship with another person. But we also have lifetime alimony that has led many spouses complain that their ex is simply freeloading on money they have not earned.

Recently the story of Dr. Richard Batista has attracted media attention. While married, he donated a kidney to his wife. Now that they are getting divorced, he demands $1.5 million in compensation for the kidney. Or as he said in a Larry King interview, he wants the court to co-assess the donated organ when the judge decides on alimony payments. One suspects that he has resorted to that demand to lower the potential alimony payment to his ex (given that he is a successful surgeon).

So the question is: Would you demand alimony from your ex if he/she were the prime wage earner? (Do not confuse it with child support, the two doctrines are totally different).

Are Kidneys a Commodity?

2009-01-25T19:50:00.010-05:00

By Jerry Adler, Newsweek, May 26, 2008

Lloyd Cohen thinks people should have the right to buy or sell organs, an idea reviled by docs.

As of last Wednesday at 5:44 p.m., according to the minute-by-minute count on the Web site of the United Network for Organ Sharing, there were 75,629 people awaiting kidney transplants in the United States. Here's roughly what we can expect to happen over the next 12 months, based on the experience of recent years. About 10,000 of them will receive transplants from deceased strangers, awarded by UNOS roughly in order of waiting time. An additional 6,000 or so on the waiting list will get a transplant from a living donor, almost invariably a close friend or relative. About 5,000 will either die or become too sick to qualify for a transplant. Most of the rest will still be waiting a year from now. They might want to consider talking to ....

Please read the rest of the article here

Do you agree with Dr. Cohen or not and why?

Feminism: Women's Rights or Wrong for Women?

2008-11-30T21:55:00.007-05:00

Feminism is defined as a doctrine advocating social, political, economic, and all other rights of women equal to those of men. An organized movement centralized around the belief in equality of the sexes. Hence feminists are individuals who advocate for equal rights for women. Although feminism has a text book definition, it seems to have taken on 2 distinct meanings by society as a whole.

On one hand feminism is seen as an evolution of women’s rights. Feminism has been noted as an emergence of women as leaders, contributors, and strong persons of value in our society. People, who understand that women can handle the same tasks, responsibilities, and achievements as men can, and are taking steps to ensure that women have the opportunities they deserve. A group that has been oppressed marginalized, and subordinate, that promotes for rights equal to standards of rights for men. Often times feminism is understood as a celebration of equal rights for both genders (or sexes), as both men and women can support equal rights and be against sexism.
On the other hand, feminism is seen as a digres

sion for women and spawn of hatred toward men. To many, feminism is a means for women to congregate with other women in efforts to overthrow men. A movement that fights for women to be at the leading helm of society due to being wiser, more civil, and rational than men. People that are causing ideals and principles like femininity, chivalry, and courtesy to be lost or forgotten by enforcing equitable treatment of both men and women. In addition, many also consider feminism as a rebellion against God’s authority; being that men should rule over their wives and feminism seeks for women to be in control.
As illustrated in this topic, feminism has taken on distinctly opposing views in the eyes of society. Feminism is also a concept that is growing rapidly, whether good or bad, in the way that it affects more and more of everyday citizens. The label of ‘feminist’ has drawn on various connotations that affect students at a school, colleagues in a workplace, or even members on a sports team. The opposing views many times spill over to demonstrated acts of discrimination, from either perspective, in attempt for pro-feminism or anti-feminism ideology to prevail. There are more and more increased altercations on the concept of feminism as more and more women start make their marks in various facets of life previously dominated by men. Although we currently see women succeeding and achieving in areas of sports, politics, and economic success, we still seem to face a discrepancy on what feminism is, and if it actually benefits women or in turn does more to harm women.
--Taurean Wong

Is feminism as practiced today good or bad for both sexes? And children as well, not just women? What do you think?

Evolution of Digital Play

2008-11-23T13:54:00.005-05:00

At the Electronic Entertainment Expo in 2008, one of the biggest gaming press events of the year, Nintendo was the laughing stock of the show. Many gamers pointed and laughed at the gaming giant while others sulked at the announcements. So, what was the big announcement that made Nintendo look like a stumbling fool? It was the announcement of Wii Music and Wii Sports Resorts (a sequel to the game that took everyone by storm). To anyone outside the gaming loop they might look at these gamers in a weird way (a.k.a. “what are you, stupid?”)

So maybe I started off with a tangent, but the point of this is the creation of what Malstrom calls, in his article "Why Wii Music is Genius", digital play . It probably existed before, yet I don’t think it dawned on me until I saw Wii Music. Most “music” game we play are not about playing music, but rather keeping rhythm to a song. The idea of Wii Music is to play music with the Wii remote without the ability to mess up. In that sense, you can enjoy playing and creating music without taking a lot of time (and, potentially, money) to play a song. See, this is what the “gamers” gawked at. “Oh, there is no way to mess up. It’s a baby game.” “Who would want to play a game that is that easy.” Of course, if I told a normal person on the street that there was a way to play music without learning an instrument they would probable thing I’m crazy. That is the point. To enjoy playing music, without a sense of easy or hard.

The idea here is Digital Play. This is what the Wii is about. It’s not really a videogame as we normally see them, but instead a tool to do things we can’t normally do. It may be hard to stay fit in this day and age, or even go to the gym every day. So what does Nintendo make? Wii fit, a game about trying to stay fit. We might not always be able to go out and play a sport (especially boxing). What does Nintendo make? Wii Sports, a game where you use the Wii remote to play games. Does it make sense? Nintendo is moving games from being for basement dwellers to something anyone can enjoy.

It wasn’t until 2006 when you could say your grandmother plays video games without people wanting to put you in an institution. Now, it’s is not necessarily escapism that games are focused with; it is an extension of what we can do. This is digital play. It’s putting real life into a virtual form. We don’t need a masters to enjoy sometime, something videogames have had a problem breaking out of. No need to buy an instrument when Wii Music has sixty. They become an extension of what we can do. It gives you a opportunity one could not have without this kind of technology. It becomes mainstream, and can do things that would be outside the sphere of our normal lives.

Let me paint a picture for you.
http://www.irwebcasting.com/081002/52/5232b47438/lijasf39ho8w_hi.html
I don’t think you all will sit though a 30 minutes video (and you’ll probably get sick of "My Grandfather Clock"). At about 25:33, Miyamoto (the game’s creator) says something disturbing (to me at least). He says, “What if I had this game as a child. How much would my interest in music have changed if I had such an experience with music during music class in my kindergarten or elementary school days.” This hits the nail on the head. Can “digital play” model people? Can our lives be altered to access to this kind of resources? In the same vein, can we solve the weight problem in this country if we introduce children to fitness (via a game like Wii Fit)? Could video games be like the internet and give use access to a whole plethora of resources?

CAN DIGITAL PLAY SHAPE OUR LIVES? CAN IT GIVE US THINGS NOT THOUGHT POSSIBLE? CAN OTHER CONSUMER ELECTRONICS DO THIS?

The Obligation of Unwanted Fatherhood

2008-11-16T19:11:00.007-05:00

The following is an excerpt from an article from the Boston news on-line at http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2006/03/23/the_obligation_of_unwanted_fatherhood/

A 25-year-old computer programmer in Michigan, Dubay wants to know why it is only women who have "reproductive rights." He is upset about having to pay child support for a baby he never wanted. Not only did his former girlfriend know he didn't want children, says Dubay, she had told him she was infertile. When she got pregnant nonetheless, he asked her to get an abortion or place the baby for adoption. She decided instead to keep her child and secured a court order requiring him to pay $500 a month in support.

Not fair, Dubay complains. His ex-girlfriend chose to become a mother. It was her choice not to have an abortion, her choice to carry the baby to term, her choice not to have the child adopted. She even had the option, under the "baby safe haven" laws most states have enacted, to simply leave her newborn at a hospital or police station. Roe v. Wade gives her and all women the right - the constitutional right! - to avoid parenthood and its responsibilities. Dubay argues that he should have the same right, and has filed a federal lawsuit that his supporters are calling "Roe v. Wade for men." Drafted by the National Center for Men, it contends that as a matter of equal rights, men who don't want a child should be permitted, early in pregnancy, to get "a financial abortion" releasing them from any future responsibility to the baby.

Does Dubay have a point? Of course. Contemporary American society does send very mixed messages about sex and the sexes. For women, the decision to have sex is the first of a series of choices, including the choice to abort a pregnancy - or, if she prefers, to give birth and collect child support from the father. For men, legal choices end with the decision to have sex. If conception takes place, he can be forced to accept the abortion of a baby he wants - or to spend at least the next 18 years turning over a chunk of his income to support a child he didn't want.

Do you feel that a man should be responsible for parenthood of a child no matter what? Even if he was told by the woman she was sterile?

California Law: Allow men into shelters

2008-11-09T18:07:00.004-05:00

An article I recently found brought up something that has bothered me for a long time, but has finally started to make some ground work to equality when a Californian judge ruled that California's exclusion of men from domestic violence violates men's constitutional equal protection rights. In 2007, Sacramento Superior Court Judge Lloyd Connelly dismissed the case of four male victims of domestic violence, ruling that men are not entitled to equal protection regarding domestic violence because they statistically are not similarly situated with women. Today the Court of Appeal reversed that decision.

The story was brought more to light with the tale of young Maegan and her father David. David was disabled, and could not make money, and Maegan was 11 years old. Many times they had called shelters and programs for help, and were told that they do not help men. This might be part of the rule that boys 12 and older are not allowed in shelters with their mothers, while the daughters of any age are. If a mother goes to a shelter, her choice is to send the boy to an orphanage, or to go home to the abuse. We have a crisis in our country, and this is case is a fine step in paving the road to repairing it.

In the case of Maegan and her father, the case proved even more of what the actual problem is, as stated by the article, “During the 1995 shotgun incident, Ruth called the police after David wrestled the shotgun away from her. Maegan yelled to her mom, "Tell the truth!" and Ruth told the police she wanted them to come because she wanted to kill her husband. Nevertheless, when the police arrived and David opened the door to let them in, the officers immediately grabbed him by the wrist, wrestled him to the ground, and handcuffed him. They only un-cuffed him after Maegan told them that it was her mother who had the gun.” If the police decided to not listen to the daughter, his wife would, at that point, now have been free to go to one of the shelters because he now had a record of abuse; however, that wasn’t the case, and even after the police arrested her David still was not able to use any of the services. He often was told, “"we don't help men.” Even when his daughter called, desperate to get help, WEAVE said they do not help men, and that men are the perpetrators of domestic violence, not the victims.

This is just one example, while almost nobody would ever say that shelters do not do good work for women, they seem to cut the line at the other half of taxpayers who might need to use their services. This lawsuit, and case, may just be the inroads that our country needs to take a big bite out of the domestic abuse problem. Next would be the rest of the states allowing men to use their facilities, and this would even allow boys not to be sent to a foster home and being split up, again, after his mother and sisters run from an abusive situation. Imagine what this would do to the poor child, and family altogether. He just was taken from abuse, needs his family more than ever, and is told because he is a boy he has to go somewhere else because he is too dangerous to his mother and sisters. The very system that is setup to protect people is hurting them and destroying young boys. Now, with this, we have precedent that might allow some inroads in such laws as V.A.W.A. to maybe realize that men can be hurt as well, and sometimes need protection. It is truly a great step to real equality.

To read more on this article, go here.
Also: The actual court documents

I tried to find a spiffy picture, but alas none that would be appropriate.

Question: What do you think about the current state of our nations domestic violence support shelters, and ways to improve it?

Where there's smoke there's fire.

2008-11-02T19:08:00.005-05:00

Pasco County looks at changing hiring
polices that would effectively ban hiring people
who smoke in attempts to create a smoke free
work force.

The Suncoast Pasco News ran an article stating the following: Dade City, among others is looking into the idea of banning the hiring of those who smoke cigarettes and creating a program for those who are currently on their payroll to kick the habit.

This has been presented as an attempt to lower their health insurance cost which it certainly will accomplish. It will also clean up the county vehicles; anyone who does not smoke and who has gotten into a vehicle of a smoker knows what I am talking about. But there are other benefits as well including less missed time due to health reasons. The article went on to say smokers use medical insurance benefits 50% more often than non-smokers.

Two sheriff offices in Pasco and Pinellas counties have already implemented such bans and seem to have been successful. Many other places of employment are looking at ways to reduce their health insurance cost as well. Given the state of the economy, more and more companies and governmental employers are looking at ways to reduce costs and one can not blame them.

There may be, however, an underlying problem with this type of policy. The EEOC states that an employer can not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, gender, religious belief, sexual orientation, creed, disability, age, appearance, etc. etc. but cigarette smoking is not listed. However, neither is the consumption of alcohol. Though many companies can and do drug test their employees or potential employees and utilize the information gained as criteria for employment, cigarettes and alcohol are not included. They are only testing for drugs and we must remember that drugs are illegal. Although testing of cigarette usage is very new, it seems to be on the rise and one of the latest attempt to save a dollar, yet it remains a legal substance.

If the goal is saving money, why stop at cigarette smokers. Why not include those who consume alcohol. I think everyone can agree that those who drink are more apt to miss work from a hangover than those who don’t. They are more likely to develop liver problems. Not to mention, if they happen to be driving a company vehicle and have a drink. You would not run that risk with someone who never drinks alcohol. And then there those that are overweight. Recent information has suggested that people who are morbidly obese are actually at a higher risk of health problems than those who smoke. Should employers have the right to demand that people lose weight? Remember this is about saving money, but at what cost.

Currently it is legal to drink and smoke cigarettes and there are those who over indulge when it comes to food. However, it would seem that in the name of saving a few dollars, people may have to change their lives in order to retain employment. While this seems like a win-win, I am not so sure it is.

Some time ago, perhaps twenty to thirty years, the anit-smoking movement began and now we all can safely belittle and look down at smokers. I think that’s fine but what happens when it becomes one of your vices. What if an anti-alcohol movement comes along. You may be forced into a position of having to gives up one of your vices so that you may retain your job or be eligible for employment. It may seem that your particular vice is safe but think again. Less than thirty years ago, cigarette smoking was the in thing.
Today one is ostracized for such behavior. Will alcohol be next?

Should employers be allowed to utilize smoking as criteria for employment? Furthermore, would you be okay with employers or potential employers utilizing alcohol as a criteria for employment and using the same argument? How far into our personal lives should employers be allowed to delve?

Thoughts on the status of the black male

2008-10-26T15:45:00.005-04:00

The following posting was based on the article "The black man... an endangered species" by Tiffany Chiles, published in DONDIVA, 2008.

There are so many areas that we, the black men are referred to as “unknown.” Society has been discounting the black man for hundreds of years and he has literally become unknown. We’ve lost a generation of black males to the streets, gangs, drugs, unemployment, violence, crime and broken homes. The question that we need to ask ourselves is will we allow the next generation to be lost or taken from us as well.

A quarter of black Americans live below the federal poverty level, a rate about twice the national rate. More than a third of all black children live in poverty, and almost two thirds grow up in homes without both parents. In some cities, more than half of all black boys do not finish high school, and by the time they are in their 30’s almost 6 in10 black high school drop outs will have spent time in prison. Half of all black men in their 20’s are jobless. The typical black household earns only about 60% of the earning of white households and has a net worth only about 10% of that of whites. The HIV/AIDS rate is highest for black Americans and blacks are more often the victims of inadequate healthcare. In 2008 the government has been enforcing drug laws that put young poor black men and women at a higher risk of incarceration. Two generations ago, you could go through a phase, get in trouble with the law, get involved with drugs for a minute, hustle a little dope until something happened to scare you straight. Today, you no longer have the opportunity to learn from your mistakes or be scared straight. Due to harsh Federal and State drug laws you mess up the first time and it could men a lengthy prison sentence. And that one prison sentence could affect the rest of your life and the rest of your family. You are the unknown. You can’t vote, you can’t get a job, you can’t get a grant or financial aid for school, you can’t live in public housing (not even with your momma), and you can’t get health care. You can’t support yourself or your family. The only thing you can do is exactly what the system knows you will do, commit more crimes to survive. This is why the recidivism rate amongst blacks is so high. For first time offenders, the rate of re-incarceration can be as high as 15%, for individuals with prior criminal history it can be almost 40%. These individuals don’t want to commit any crimes and be at risk of going back to jail but they feel they have no choice, it’s do what you do best or starve. The choice thereafter becomes instinctive. They are trying to survive in a society that wants to keep them unknown.

While we do believe that people in prison are a danger in society, there is something gravely wrong when there is a 2.2 million people in jail and almost 1 million of them are black, when the fact is that black people make up only 13 percent of societies makeup on a whole. If you as a parent have been incarcerated, your children are 6 times more likely to go to jail because you did. Most minorities know someone who knows someone that is in jail, that’s been to jail, or that’s been to jail themselves. Conversations about inmates in prison seem normal to us. Prison in the black community has lost its negative stigma. In 2007 the Bureau of Justice reported that the leading cause of death among black males ages 16 to 34 was black on black homicide. Today’s youth are disrespectful and wreckless as many participate in criminal activities for some feeling of acceptance and family. It is probable that their fathers aren’t in the home because he has either purposely disappeared, been violently killed or incarcerated. In 2008 it’s a sad truth but one in three is likely.

The black man is disappearing from existence in record numbers. They are being lost to poverty, HIV, violence, death, and incarceration. We cannot continue to treat these problems like many of us do our personal problems- we ignore them. We have already lost our fathers, brothers and men, we don’t want our children to be lost as well.

How do you perceive the black man of today? What can be done to bridge the gap between the races?

Cutting funds from FARC budget

2008-10-19T19:07:00.005-04:00

(Note: Child in this article is a term meaning to range from kids to adults)

In 2007 state legislators voted to slice millions of dollars from FARC’s (Florida Association for Retarded Citizens) budget. The money that was given to FARC was distributed to families that had children with disabilities. The legislators devised a plan to divide the 31,000 people that are registered in FARC’s homes and community care programs into 4 groups (or tiers) and cap the amount of money that is given to them. The group that they are placed into is depending on the level of need they have and their previous payment records. As it stands right now the tiers are as follow. Tier 1: with no benefit limit has 3,261 people; tier 2: with a cap of $55,000 limit has 4,643 people; tier 3: with a cap of $35,000 has 7,053 people; and finally tier 4: with a cap of $35,000 has 14,460 people.

Before legislators decided to place them into groups, payments to families were based on what each mentally disabled child needed, as determined by medical assessments; there was no cap on the amount that was given to the families, it was all dependent on the child’s needs. Under the new system, only those with serious disabilities will continue to receive unlimited benefits. The others will be limited to between $15,000 and $55,000 per year. It depends on which group the child is put in.

One example of this is that according to the Tampa Tribune’s article on October 2, 2008, a family was receiving $60,000 a year to pay for services, medical, and other necessities that their daughter needed. However due to the new system, the amount of financial help that they were receiving is being cut in half.

Many parents can no longer support their child with disabilities. The article states that if a parent feels that they can no longer take care of their child then they can ask the state to put them in a group home. But when the state does that the taxpayers ultimately pay more. At home they were learning to live on their own through a program called “One step closer to Independence.” Through this program they were learning to do things on their own. Examples would be cooking, cleaning, and other necessities. One of the other programs that they can do is a day program through PARC (Pinellas association for retarded people) which shows people with mental disabilities how to work. They do jobs like putting together small boxes for medical companies. As a result of this program less money is needed to take care of them in the long run because they learn how to work and thrive on their own. This program is a tremendous success, however when they are placed in these group homes, the program is terminated for them and they become reliant on the people around them.

What are your thought on cutting funds from the Florida Association for Retarded Citizens budget?

Reparations

2008-10-12T14:46:00.008-04:00

Reparations, or compensation in different forms, mainly monetarily, are often used in our society to appease a certain entity. Whether it be one nation to another such as Germany to the Allies after World War I, forcing them to pay a total of 132 billion marks in war reparations or The Reparations Agreement between Israel and West Germany, forcing Germany to pay out a total of three billion marks to Israel over 14 years. Or even one nation to an individual or group of people such as Germany and German corporations being made responsible for paying out reparations to Jewish individuals in other countries via certain programs, which some sources say will have reached roughly 50 billion dollars by the year 2020. In 1988 the U.S. government approved the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 which provided reparations to Japanese-Americans held in interment camps during World War II of which totaled $1.6 billion, roughly 20,000 per person. Reparations date as far back as Rome, and remain a popular trend of compensation for many.

In Christopher Phillips Six Questions of Socrates he delves into the subject of reparations on a more present event. The September 11^th attacks and the way the donation funds were divvied up to the families of the survivors. One of the participants in his dialogue goes on to say

“It said that they’re calculating who gets how much based on how much their future earnings would have been. That means the family of a man or woman who died, and who’d been making lots of money, is going to get a lot more from the funds than families of poor people who were victims.”

Phillips further points out that The New Yorker reported “High end families-those who stand to get the most from the fund-were particularly ‘infuriated’ by the formula, because it limits how much they could get from the fund.” At what point did these families have the right to complain about the donations they were receiving? Did they have the right at all?

Descendents of slaves have also been asking for reparations for some time to compensate for the free and forced labor during those times, in which many argue has helped make America what it is today. A powerful argument indeed, and a just one at that. Should this generation be forced to pay for another’s mistakes? Especially seeing how far society has come since those times?

Does war reparations imposed on countries hurt them in the long run? Take Iraq for example, after 1991 a total of $53 billion in war reparations was to be paid out to various countries and individuals. The website, VCNC.org brings up an interesting point, “The war reparations being paid are for damage inflicted by Suddam Hussein’s regime, which no longer exists.” Which will ultimately “prevent the Iraqi people from rebuilding their country,” and ultimately increasing (as we have witnessed) the presence of coalition forces and entities in helping to rebuild Iraq. At what point should a simple forgiveness be issued in order to give a nation the chance to right its wrongs and rebuild?

How do you feel about reparations? Should Germany or other countries/organizations continue to pay out these reparations? Should people be given money or other forms of reparation?

Legalization of Marijuana

2008-10-04T22:25:00.014-04:00

Next month the state of Michigan is going to vote on a proposal to allow doctors to recommend marijuana for patients with cancer, glaucoma, HIV, AIDS and other conditions. Such patients would register with the state and then will be able to legally buy, grow and use small amounts of marijuana to relieve pain, nausea, appetite loss and other symptoms. Although polls show a 67% approval rate for the proposal, the measure is opposed by Gov. Jennifer Granholm, a Democrat, and Attorney General Mike Cox, a Republican.

Michigan is not the first state to opt for legalization. In 1996 California and Arizona approved using marijuana for medical purposes as well while the court system had to deal with the reactions to the measure. Californian law allowed doctors to prescribe marijuana for almost any pain or ailment while it also legalized its cultivation, not just the possession. However, after the measure passed, America's “drug czar” of the time, retired four-star general Barry McCaffrey, warned physicians not to violate federal law by prescribing marijuana. His warning was rejected by a group of California physicians who filed suit claiming that their rights to advise their patients were being violated. In the case of Arizona, voters even approved of the medical use of heroin and LSD. The unprecedented referendum results fuelled a debate over who should be controlling our drug laws. The federal government or the state voters?

The legalization of marijuana raises other broad questions for both supporters and opponents. Will legalization for medical use undermine the seemingly endless federal war on drugs by cultivating greater tolerance of marijuana and other drugs? Could it be the back door to an all-out legalization of marijuana and probably other drugs as well? Finally, some doctors wonder “Is it really good medicine?”

The issue became a complicated one in various states that had adopted the measure. In Massachusetts, the Department of Public Health issued new rules allowing people with doctor-certified conditions to avoid state prosecution. Similar steps were taken in other states that had legalized marijuana use, such as Louisiana, Virginia and Ohio. At the same time a new debate sprang across the country, focusing on our policy regarding drug use with many supporting legalization for any use, many opposing it, and others wondering as to the criteria that dictated legalization of alcohol and nicotine on one hand, and criminalization of marijuana and other narcotics on the other. If you click on this NYT article you will see the addictiveness ratings of nicotine, heroin,cocaine, alcohol, caffeine and marijuana.

Who do you think should control the drug laws? The federal government or the state voters?
How do you feel towards legalizing cannabis for medical or recreational use?

Amendment 8

2008-09-28T19:57:00.007-04:00

A year ago, budget shortfalls hit higher education particularly hard, and the public universities had to fight with the Legislature over the power to raise tuition and freeze freshman enrollment. Community colleges were also affected as Gov. Charlie Crist, proposed to reduce their state funding by at least 4%, or about $43.5 million, at a time when enrollments increased 7.2% across 28 campuses last fall. The cuts — a direct result of the housing downturn—also collided with counter-cyclical enrollment cycles of community colleges. During good times, people work and enrollment is down. During bad times, enrollment rates increase. And this is when the state comes in and says “sorry… but …”

Community Colleges expect the problem to get worse after the Board of Governors’ vote to freeze freshman enrollment at four-year universities at last fall’s level. With the number of new high school graduates increasing, community colleges are the only solution to many students as the university system had a total enrollment of 282,134 in 2005.

And this is how Amendment 8 was introduced. On Nov. 4, when –hopefully- all of you exercise your right to vote, you will see Amendment 8, placed on the ballot by the Florida Taxation and Budget Reform Commission. Its title is “Local Option Community College Funding.” Amendment 8 will allow counties to raise their sales tax in order to increase community college funding. Allan Bense, chairman of that committee, has explained the amendment. "“What Amendment 8 does, it basically provides another way for community colleges to raise money. If this amendment passes, then every community college will have the option of having a local referendum to increase the sales tax by up to a half cent. Now, if a community college is located in more than one county, all of those counties would have to participate and it would have to pass in all three counties.”

If the voters approve of the local option sales tax, it would have to be reauthorized every five years. Bense said that among his 24 colleagues on the Taxation and Budget Reform Commission, support for putting Amendment 8 on the ballot was very strong.

“I think it was unanimous. Frankly, I think it was about the only unanimous vote that we had. The members of the commission were of many conservatives, many liberals, from South Florida, from North Florida, but clearly I think all 25 agreed that the needs that our community college system has and the great job it does in educating students is important and we felt this would help that mission.”

However, not everyone is happy with it. It has been criticized as “regressive.” A regressive tax rate decreases as the amount subject to taxation increases, and therefore it imposes a greater burden on lower-income families. Also, if passed in certain counties and not in others, certain colleges would get extra funding, and others would not. The Board of Trustees of Manatee Community College has voted to oppose it while St Petersburg College supports it.

What are your thoughts on Amendment 8? Do you believe we need it or not?

Abstinence vs. Contraceptives

2008-09-21T19:05:00.007-04:00

Abstinence vs. Contraceptives
Is pregnancy a gift from God?
Teen promiscuity is a serious issue and it is a known fact that most religious groups have always deemed it as an act that lacked moral direction. They have asserted that the children who become pregnant out of wedlock have had no moral compass from their parents to prevent such behavior. The issue proposed is that the notion of abstinence is somehow the best way for parents and their children to deal with sexual urges. They not only forego the use of contraceptives but some actively campaign against it. When Jamie Spears, the notable 16-year old became pregnant, some were probably thinking because of the Hollywood lifestyle and being raised by a single mom fit into this low or no moral pattern of behavior for her pregnancy. But not only is there no whispering campaign amongst the religious groups about no moral compass with Bristol Palin but they are coming to her defense in droves and are in praise of the family values they can defend in such a case that she has chosen to keep the baby.
If the best moral compass established by parents has less influence on the active hormones of the young teens than does the oft uncontrollable emotion of "love" and the innate sexual drive that their Creator built into every living species, then the real question is what we can do to prepare our children of the future.
In the United States, teen pregnancy is a growing concern. In 2001 UNICEF reported that the United States teenage birthrate was higher than any other country involved. The U.S. tied Hungary for the most abortions. This was in spite of the fact that girls in the U.S. were not the most sexually active. Denmark held that title. But, its teenage birthrate was one-sixth of ours, and its teenage abortion rate was half of ours.
Abstinence-only education seems to be winding down with a study finding that it didn’t work. States are opting out of it. Parents don’t like it either. According to one, 65 percent of parents of high school students said that federal money “should be used to fund more comprehensive sex education programs that include information on how to obtain and use condoms and other contraceptives.”
Which do you support abstinence or contraceptives?
Who should be responsible to enforce this choice?
Labels: Abstinence vs. Contraceptives

Childhood Cancer

2008-09-13T13:09:00.005-04:00

There are many children in this world who are faced with fighting cancer. I am one of those children. My name is Amanda Hingson and at the age of seventeen I was diagnosed with osteosarcoma. This is a type of bone cancer common is teenage boys in their joints. I had a golf ball size tumor growing from my spine to my ribs. It is highly uncommon for this type of cancer to be in the spine; my doctors were extremely shocked to find this out. Cancer has taken a lot of lives in this world but it knew it would not take mine. There are many ways to treat cancers; I was treated by having two back surgeries and chemotherapy treatments.

My first back surgery was in January of 2005. The doctor removed all the visible parts of the tumor and that back side of four of my ribs. The surgery took about two hours. I recovered well with the help of my loving family and friends. The surgery left a large L shape scar down my back. I was released from the hospital about a week and a half after surgery. At the time I did not know this surgery would be the easiest part of my treatment.

Two weeks later I was told I had cancer. My life changed completely. I met with my oncology doctors at All Children’s Cancer center. It is an amazing hospital. The Doctors told me they had made up a protocol of my chemo treatments and I would be starting next week. By this time I was extremely scared. I went through my treatments like a champ. I was the oldest child in my wing. Every other cancer patient was no older than fifteen and most were under ten. Seeing this broke my heart; however, it changed my look on life. I received different treatments for about two months. I did lose my hair and continually was sick but nothing compared for what was to come.

After those two months of chemo I went to Moffit to have my second back surgery. During this surgery I had the T-8, T-9, and T-10 of my spine removed. I now have a medal rod and six screws in my back. The surgeries did not scare me. I knew I was strong and was not going to let a disease take anything away from me. Three days after my surgery I was up and walking around. About a week and a half after my surgery I was sent home. I was out of chemo treatments for about a month and a half. In that month I did as much as I could with my friends.

Last I went back into chemotherapy treatments. I had received treatments for six months. The treatments got worse as I proceeded with them. I continued to lose weight, not eat, and just stay in my bed. The nurses were always caring and understanding though. At the end of October of 2005 I received a three day treatment. This means I have drugs pumped into me for three days straight. After the treatment I was feeling okay. I was sent home for two days then brought back to the hospital because my blood count was zero, my kidneys were shutting down, and I had a soar throat tat kept me from talking. I was put in an isolation room. I was in the hospital from November first until November twenty-eighth. That whole time I did not eat anything. The doctors had me on a nutrients IV but I just vomited it back up. I did not get out of bed but to use the bathroom. Yes I did spend my worst Thanksgiving in the hospital. I dropped down to ninety pounds. When my blood count finally went back up I was sent home on homecare upon my request. After that treatment I was supposed to get the exact same treatment two weeks later. There were 5 more treatments in my protocol but I decided that I would rather let cancer kill me than chemo. My mother left the choice in my hands to quit chemo or not. At this time all the cancer was removed from my body and the treatments were a precaution to make sure the cancer would not come back. After two weeks of home care I told my doctors I would not be returning to finish out my treatment.

I am now twenty years only and going to college. I am following my heart now. When I chose to stop treatments I have no regrets. I did have a reoccurrence in my lung but it posed no threat. It was easily removed. I am going to school to become a child life therapist. Once I graduate I will work at a hospital with cancer patients helping them cope with their illness. I now volunteer at the hospital that treated me. There is nothing in this world that makes me happier than seeing the smiling faces of the young kids fighting cancer.

What are your thoughts on health issues? How can we promote better health for all Americans?

Lawmaker Hopes to End Ban on Gay Adooption in Florida

2008-09-07T20:06:00.009-04:00

A Florida state senator has introduced a bill that would reverse a 30-year law that bars gay and lesbian couples from adopting children. Sen. Nan Rich's proposed measure would instruct judges to consider the child's best interest when placing them in a permanent home, according to WFOR, a South Florida CBS TV affiliate. A gay friend or relative would be considered as an adoptive parent if they were the child's legal guardian when the parents died.
Please read the rest at http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid52818.asp

Do you agree with the proposed legislation to allow gay and lesbian couples to adopt children? Or do you agree to maintain the current prohibition against gay couples?

Clayton schools in Atlanta lose accreditation

2008-08-30T21:12:00.007-04:00

The process of accreditation in the US is used to ensure that schools and institutions of higher learning comply with nationally set standards of learning and administration in order to enhance continuous satisfaction of the requirements set by the accreditation organizations.

This is why it is very important to check the accreditation status of a college you intend to go to. Usually the college site mentions whether the institution is accredited by a regional organization recognized by the Department of Education. There are six regional accrediting organizations in the U.S. that review degree-granting nonprofit and for-profit institutions within their regions. Attending a non-accredited institution carries certain perils as the credits are not transferable and potential employees will not take such diplomas seriously. Bottom line is that some colleges claim various types of accreditation, however regional accreditation is the one you should be looking for. So before applying, go to Accreditation agencies and see which regional agency covers your state. Then check out the college you are interested in.

Recently HCC went through its re-accreditation process and passed with flying colors. Not even one recommendation!

However, not every college or school district is as well prepared. Last Thursday the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) accreditation agency revoked the accreditation of Atlanta’s Clayton County school district that serves a student population of 50,000. Although the district had received a set of 9 recommendations since last February, it had only complied with one. The report has cited as causes a "dysfunctional" school board and a flawed system among other things.

The problem of the impending revocation had been known for six months and about 2000 students had already moved to other school districts. However, registration in another district entailed physical residence which forced those who could move, to do so. The process along with the reputed reasons for the loss of accreditation could drive property values even further down. The seniors who remained face a dire situation as their diploma will not be worth the paper it will be printed on. In other words no college will admit them nor will they qualify for any loans or financial assistance. Some local colleges have accommodated some students through a dual registration system hoping that eventually an accredited high school diploma will be issued, which SACS has assured will have retroactive value.

Other problems springing from the loss of accreditation include district losses of pre-kindergarten funding, teachers losing benefits if they transfer to other school systems and the state not counting Clayton County schools-sponsored professional development toward teachers’ recertification.

The story from Clayton, has spurred a discussion about the problems afflicting many high schools with complaints about administration, teachers, students, parents’ lack of involvement and facilities. However, the most reliable witnesses are always the students. When you look back to your high school days, what were the best and/or the worst impressions?

OMAHA BEACH: D-DAY

2008-07-19T10:58:00.018-04:00

We arrived in Omaha Beach on May 26, when Memorial Day was observed. Changing weather from grieving cloudy to grateful bright sunshine, all within hours. Breathtaking scenery of long strips of sand, high cliffs in the distance, long forgotten muddy bunkers along the beach, a man in a cart pulled by a horse in the still quietness.

The American cemetery covering 172 acres of land and overlooking the beach and the English Channel, is the resting place to 9,387 American soldiers who were killed during the D-day landings, on June 6, 1944. The largest sea-borne invasion in history involving almost 3 million troops. The day on which the battle of Normandy began, a battle that led to the continent’s liberation from the Nazis.

The battle, code-named “Operation Overlord” lasted until August 25, 1944. It began with airborne paratrooper and glider landings, air attacks and navy bombardments that culminated on the amphibious attack of D-Day. Forty-seven Allied Divisions totaling 140,000 troops were involved, carried by 6,900 vessels, while 4,100 landing craft, 12,000 aircraft and 1,000 transport planes flew in the paratroopers. The dead from the Allied Forces totaled 53,000, the wounded were more than 150,000 and the missing in action 18,000. The German casualties approached 200,000 while another 200,000 were captured.

It is the dead soldiers, most in their late teens, early twenties, buried in tombs facing home, towards the west, that hold the day still. Many tombs have a cross, some David’s star, a few unidentified, “Known but to God.” Kids like Orin Saddler, Earlie Gabriel, Charles Smith and Bernard Coordes. Born during the false prosperity of the 20’s, hit by the economic collapse of the 30’s, raised by reading anti-war literature like “Gone with the wind”, “All quiet in the western front” and “Farewell to arms.” They never dreamt of throwing grenades, just baseballs. Never believed they would have to shoot at other young men, just a few animals on an occasional hunting trip. It had not crossed their minds they would end up holding the broken bodies of their dying comrades on the muddy Normandy beaches, just those of their girls under the starry skies back home.

But when the call came, they took on the challenge. They fought with all they had, they fought well and they won. These kids and all the soldiers that fought the Nazis were indeed the greatest generation. They did the job for the rest of us. I know that my generation has done nothing to deserve the freedom we enjoy. It was handed to us on a silver platter. And this is why it saddens me to see how many of my fellow Europeans refuse to share this gift with others.

Kids like Orin, Charles, Earlie and Bernard made it possible for my family to exist. It is for them this trip was taken. With deep grief and immense gratitude.

Have a great summer everyone!

2008-04-27T12:46:00.005-04:00

It was a pleasure sharing this semester with all of you. Through your posts I got to know you a bit better and you taught me a lot.
I know that many of you are graduating and moving on to other universities, some close, some far away.
So, what I have to say to you is this:
Go! Do it! And do it well!

God bless you all!

OUR LAST POST FOR THIS SEMESTER

2008-04-20T13:22:00.010-04:00

Suspects in video beating could get life in prison

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/04/10/girl.fights/

(CNN) -- Eight Florida teenagers -- six of them girls -- will be tried as adults and could be sentenced to life in prison for their alleged roles in the videotaped beating of another teen, the state attorney's office said Thursday.

You may read the whole story at

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/04/10/girl.fights/

Do you think girls' violent behavior is on the rise? And what are your thoughts on teens being tried as adults?

US high school dropout rate: high, but how high?

2008-04-13T19:03:00.010-04:00

US high school dropout rate: high, but how high?

By Gail Russell Chaddock Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
WASHINGTON

The national dropout rate is notoriously hard to pin down, and the latest effort to do so - showing alarmingly low graduation rates in some parts of America - is likely to intensify the statistics wars.
Nearly 1 in 3 high school students in the Class of 2006 will not graduate this year, the Editorial Projects in Education (EDE) Research Center reported Tuesday. ....

You may read the whole story at http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0621/p03s02-ussc.htm

What is the problem with our school system so that that one in every three students will drop out of high school?

Beyond America’s Original Sin

2008-04-03T12:08:00.026-04:00

March 20, 2008
Op-Ed Columnist
Beyond America’s Original Sin
By ROGER COHEN

There are things you come to believe and things you carry in your blood. In my case, having spent part of my childhood in apartheid South Africa, I bear my measure of shame.
As a child, experience is wordless but no less powerful for that. How vast, how shimmering, was Muizenberg beach, near Cape Town, with all that glistening white skin spread across the golden sand!
The scrawny blacks were elsewhere, swimming off the rocks in a filthy harbor, and I watched from my grandfather’s house and I wondered.
Once, a black nanny took me out across the road to a parapet above a rail track beside that harbor. “You wouldn’t want me to drop you,” she said. ....

You may read the whole article at

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/20/opinion/20cohen.html?_r=2&hp&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

Do you observe any types of segregation or discrimination on any of the following lines? Race, ethnicity,religion,age,sexuality,disabilities...?
Please share personal experiences if you wish.

Prozac, used by 40m people, does not work say scientists

2008-03-30T20:33:00.010-04:00

Prozac, used by 40m people, does not work say scientists

Analysis of unseen trials and other data concludes it is no better than placebo

Full text: the PLoS paper

Sarah Boseley, health editor
The Guardian,
Tuesday February 26 2008

A single Prozac capsule. Photograph: Alamy

Prozac, the bestselling antidepressant taken by 40 million people worldwide, does not work and nor do similar drugs in the same class, according to a major review released today.

The study examined all available data on the drugs, including results from clinical trials that the manufacturers chose not to publish at the time. The trials compared the effect on patients taking the drugs with those given a placebo or sugar pill. ...

You may read the whole article at

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/feb/26/mentalhealth.medicalresearch

If a would-be drug dealer sells his customers what they think is ecstasy, but only gives them sugar pills will they still get high? And is such a "pusher" breaking the law?
Also, do you think that it is possible that other medications besides Prozac that are out in the market are ineffective? If so, please feel free to discuss your thought on the subject.

Prostitution

2008-03-16T22:47:00.008-04:00

DO AS HE SAID

By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF

March 13, 2008

New York Times

The last time I saw Eliot Spitzer, he encouraged me to write about his work involving prostitution. So here goes.

The governor buttonholed me because he wanted credit for passage of a tough state law against sex trafficking. Frankly, he deserves credit, for the law took the innovative step of cracking down on johns by increasing penalties.

The big worry now among those working to stop trafficking is that the Spitzer scandal will add to perceptions of prostitution as a “victimless crime.” On my blog, www.nytimes.com/ontheground, one person named “Carmen” argued, “if a man can hire a pro to help improve his golf, why not let him hire a pro to help improve his sex?”

Another poster, who identified herself as a former prostitute in Australia, said she had “never felt exploited or trapped” and added, “It was one of the best jobs I’ve ever had.”

Yet the evidence is overwhelming that, in the United States, prostitution is only very rarely just another career choice. Studies suggest that up to two-thirds of prostitutes have been sexually abused as girls, a majority have drug dependencies or mental illnesses, one-third have been threatened with death by pimps, and almost half have attempted suicide.

Melissa Farley, a psychologist who has written extensively about the subject, says that girls typically become prostitutes at age 13 or 14. She conducted a study finding that 89 percent of prostitutes urgently wanted to escape the work, and that two-thirds have post-traumatic stress disorder — not a problem for even the most frustrated burger-flipper.

The mortality data for prostitutes is staggering. The American Journal of Epidemiology published a meticulous study finding that the “workplace homicide rate for prostitutes” is 51 times that of the next most dangerous occupation for women, working in a liquor store. The average age of death of the prostitutes in the study was 34.

......
You may read the whole article at
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/13/opinion/13kristof.html?hp

Which approach (if any) do you agree with the most?

Homeschool vs. Public Education

2008-03-09T21:04:00.007-04:00

The advantages of home schooling versus public education have been debated for ages and have been a great cause of concern among parents. Parents keen on ascertaining a bright future for their children should dwell on the details of both home schooling and public education, scrutinize them thoroughly, before opting for any one of the two.

The Advantages Of Home Schooling

* The crucial advantage of home schooling is its flexibility. You can select the lessons to perfectly complement your child’s learning aptitude.

...
You may read the whole article at http://www.homeschoolinkwell.com/home-schooling-versus-public-education.html

Which method of education do you think is best and why?

Freedom of Ignorance

2008-03-02T19:08:00.018-05:00

FREEDOM OF IGNORANCE

Steven Derocher, February 27, 2008

Tolerance seems to be losing its popularity. We see evidence of this in the acts of violence and hate toward religious institutions across the world. However, some still espouse this vanishing virtue. One such individual is Krister Stendahl. He is the dean of Harvard Divinity School. He also spent a few years as the Lutheran bishop of Stockholm. In a meeting with the press in Sweden, Stendahl outlined three principles that he thought should govern our discussions of the religious beliefs of other people:

“(1) If you want to know what others believe, ask them. Don't ask their critics or their enemies. (2) When looking at the religious faith of others, compare your best with their best, not their worst with your best. (3) Always leave room for ‘holy envy.’"

Krister Stendahl is not of my religion. In fact, Lutherans have a great many differences with my faith. However, he encourages understanding and open-mindedness. This non-judgmental attitude has helped me appreciate Lutherans’ beliefs, as well as the beliefs of others. When I want to know what Lutherans believe, I will ask a Lutheran. When I want to know what Jews believe, I will ask a Jew. If I want to know what a skeptic believes, I will ask a skeptic. And upon comparing doctrine, as Stendahl suggests, I will compare bests with bests. This leads to “holy envy,” or, in other words, sincere appreciation of another’s convictions.

François Voltaire taught, “Love truth, but pardon error.” I can appreciate this conviction, and it appears to be illustrative of Voltaire’s “best.” In my consideration of his life’s work, I choose ignore the fact that he was a known skeptic, often leaving little room for “holy envy.” He once said, “Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd, and bloody religion that has ever infected the world.” This is an obviously unfair statement. His biased, narrow-minded conclusion borders on absurdity. In this instance, Voltaire’s observation certainly could have been more generous.

According to a survey conducted by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), 10 percent of Americans said they believe Muslims worship a moon god. CAIR also reported nearly 2,000 complaints of harassment, violence and discriminatory treatment in 2005, which was a 30 percent increase from incidents reported in the U.S. in 2004. This, says CAIR spokesman Ibrahim Hooper, is largely due to a “negative and politically charged environment on the Internet and talk radio.” Keep in mind these statistics can only be gathered from the discriminatory acts that are reported. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/18/AR2006091800597.html)

Again, I am not Muslim. And again, their doctrine varies from that of my own religion. But I don’t have to be Muslim or even a member of CAIR to see the connection between false propaganda and discrimination.* I cannot understand how anyone would feel justified in believing things about a group they didn’t hear from one of its members. By this same gullible logic I would rather take my Suzuki to a Ford dealership for difficult repairs than I would to the Suzuki dealership. Perpetuating the intolerant ignorance would be just the same as then referring everyone else to the Ford dealership, trash talking the Suzuki dealership in the process.

I fear that too often we would rather agree with those most like us than think for ourselves. Such “mob mentality” is hardly ever founded on reality. When people look to popular opinion for accuracy, trustworthiness is weakened. James A. Haught wrote an essay entitled “Breaking the Last Taboo” over eleven years ago. He begins by citing numerous well-known writers and philosophers. All of the quotations are anti-religion in nature. It almost seems that he takes an innocent, neutral stand, as if to say, “Here is the evidence. I’m just giving you the impartial facts from society’s greatest minds.” As if this wasn’t enough to prove ignorant prejudice, he goes on to contrast these noble opinions with “Christianity’s” worst and darkest deeds. What a perfect example of “comparing bests with worsts!”
There is nothing to be gained from intolerance. Those who feel the need to circulate their opinions about the world should seek thorough understanding.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uum0FUMdejE

Please watch the following before commenting on this article:

Both sides on gay adoption cite concern for children

2008-02-24T14:47:00.010-05:00

By Andrea Stone, USA TODAY

When Harold Birtcher and his partner, Thom O'Reilly, decided to adopt a child three years ago, Ohio officials told the men only one of them could become the legal parent. In Ohio, same-sex partners are barred from joint adoption.

So the men, who have been together for 25 years, went to Oregon to jointly adopt Michael, now 10. The boy had been beaten and sexually abused, O'Reilly says, and refused to hug anyone for most of his four years in foster care.
....

You may read the whole article at
http://usatoday.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?action=cpt&title=USATODAY.com+-+Both+sides+on+gay+adoption+cite+concern+for+children&expire=&urlID=17284478&fb=Y&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.usatoday.com%2Fnews%2Fnation%2F2006-02-20-gay-adoption-foster_x.ht
Do you support or oppose gay adoption?

The immigrants they scorn

2008-02-17T22:15:00.013-05:00

Feb. 13, 2008 12:00 AM

While some presidential candidates try to score political points by playing into apprehension about immigration, the immigrants they vilify are busy sustaining the American economy.Immigrants play a crucial role in our nation's academic, medical and high-tech sectors.
.......

You may read the whole article at
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/articles/0213pastor13.html
Should illegal immigrants be given an amnesty or should they be deported?

Link: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/articles/0213pastor13.html

Abortion rates same whether legal or not

2008-02-07T14:21:00.003-05:00

Abortion rates same whether legal or not

Study: Rich, poor countries have equal statistics; half of procedures unsafe

LONDON - Women are just as likely to get an abortion in countries where it is outlawed as they are in countries where it is legal, according to research published Friday.
In a study examining abortion trends from 1995 to 2003, experts also found that abortion rates are virtually equal in rich and poor countries, and that half of all abortions worldwide are unsafe.
....
You may read the whole article at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21255186/

Are you pro-life or pro-choice and why?

The Fight For the Right to Die

2008-02-03T22:48:00.003-05:00

Last Updated June 11, 2007
CBC News
Sue Rodriguez fought the law prohibiting assisted suicide all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada, but lost. (CP Photo) In 1992, Sue Rodriguez forced the right-to-die debate into the spotlight in Canada. In a video statement played to members of Parliament, the Victoria woman, diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease in 1991, asked lawmakers to change the law banning assisted suicide.
...

You may read the whole article at http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/assistedsuicide/

"Do you support legislation that legalizes assisted suicide or do you oppose it?"

Tampa Officer, Teen Helper Attacked During Investigation

2008-01-28T17:12:00.003-05:00

Tampa Officer, Teen Helper Attacked During Investigation

By THOMAS W. KRAUSE and CLAUDIA DoCAMPO, The Tampa Tribune News Channel 8 Published: December 26, 2007

TAMPA - A Tampa police officer and a teenage member of the police Explorer program were attacked while investigating a possible burglary Monday night. Both were hit over the head with a police baton during a struggle outside a vacant house at 312 Floribraska Ave., according to police reports. Fernando Lopez, who lives next door to the vacant house, said he was cooking a holiday meal with his mother when he saw a young man and woman bend back some bars on the house and crawl in through a window. "I knocked on the window and said, 'Get out of there; I'm going to call the police,'" Lopez said Tuesday. .....

You may read the whole article at

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2007/dec/26/me-man-jailed-after-officer-hit-bitten/?news-breaking
What are your thoughts on the Police Explorer Program?

"Guarding Deaths Door"

2008-01-21T22:45:00.002-05:00

On March 20, a man named Keith Clay died in Texas. His death was largely unremarkable except for one thing: he was the 300th person executed in Texas since the U.S. Supreme Court reauthorized capital punishment in 1976. One need not ignore the savagery of his crimes--prosecutors said Clay stood by while a friend murdered a father and his two kids on Christmas Eve 1993, 11 days before Clay himself butchered a store clerk--to pause at his execution. Three hundred is an impressive milestone, not only because it exceeds the number of executions in the next five top death-penalty states combined, but also because it was reached so quickly. It took nearly two decades for Texas to consummate its first 100 death sentences after 1976--but only five more years to pass 200 and just three after that to hit 300. (The total has since climbed to 306.)
.....

You may read the rest of this article at http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1005201,00.html.

What do you think of the death penalty?

Intelligent Design vs. Evolution

2008-01-12T18:01:00.003-05:00

Wednesday, Aug. 03, 2005
Fanning the Controversy Over 'Intelligent Design'
By Matthew Cooper/Washington

A light-hearted White House conversation with representatives of Texas newspapers may have opened a new controversy for President George W. Bush. The President laughed when Knight-Ridder�s Ron Hutcheson asked for Mr. Bush�s "personal views" about the theory of "intelligent design", which religious activists advocate should be taught in U.S. schools as an alternative to theories of evolution. After joking that the reporter was "doing a fine job of dragging me back to the past," to his days as governor of Texas, Bush said: "Then, I said that, first of all, that decision should be made to local school districts, but I felt like both sides ought to be properly taught...�
�

....

You may read the whole article at

http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1089733,00.html

Do you think Intelligent Design should be taught in our schools?

Have a great Christmas and a terrific new year!

2007-12-11T08:35:00.001-05:00

We'll be back mid January.

:)) A MUST READ ON THE BENEFITS OF CULTURAL RELATIVISM: Seeing the World from Iran's Point of View

:(( Judge Sarah Bradley decided not to jail nine men guilty of gang raping a 10-year-old girl in an Aboriginal community. In her ruling she told the rapists that the 10-year old "probably agreed to have sex with all of you".