Think!

On Tuesday, New York became the first city in America to ban the use of trans-fat in restaurants. The Board of Health approved the ban unanimously after hearing testimony from several experts explaining that trans-fat is clearly linked to heart disease and clogged arteries, and appeals from many city residents, including a six year old girl that asked the board to help her stay healthy and keep her out of the hospital. Some consumer rights activists praised the decision, saying that businesses only added the trans-fat in the 60s to give products a longer shelf life and to cut financial corners. All of these things may well be true, but I guess I missed the two memos: the one explaining the Constitutional Amendment that gives the government the power to tell us what we can and cannot eat, and the other making it the government’s responsibility to keep people healthy by protecting them from their own stupidity.

Keep reading →

Last week U.S. District Judge James Robertson ruled that the government must change the nation’s currency in order to give the blind and visually impaired a way to distinguish among the bills. According to Robinson, the currency violates the Rehabiliation Act which prevents discrimination on basis of disability in government programs. Noting that the US is the only country that prints all paper currency in uniform size and color, some suggestions made by Robinson included making bills of larger denomination larger in size, color distinguishing features, or raised numbers. The govenment was given ten days to appeal the ruling or thirty to start working on the problem. While I do believe that we could all benefit from this program, as there have certainly been times for one reason or another I could no longer see well enough to distinguish the numbers, is our money really discriminatory or is it just another example of how life is sometimes unfair? Is there even a difference?
Keep reading →

In what was apparently Kansas’s first HIV-exposure case, 30-year-old Robert W. Richardson II was sentenced to 32 months in prison and 56 months probation in connection with exposing three women to HIV. It was said that jurors in the case were disgusted by Richardson’s deception with the women, particularly his assertion that his health problems were caused by a heart condition. Richardson maintains that he had been truthful by saying he had a “HAART” condition, or Highly Active Anti-Retroviral Therapy, which is a common name for one form of HIV treatment. While I hardly think anyone would argue that Richardson’s actions were not deplorable, shouldn’t these women accept some responsibility for their own actions?
Keep reading →

Though I rarely watch television, I was rather shocked the other day when I saw Rosie O’Donnell accusing Kelly Ripa of being homophobic. During an episode of Live with Regis and Kelly, Clay Aiken served as a guest host. After Clay put his hand over Kelly’s mouth, she responded by saying “I don’t know where that hand has been.” The next day, Rosie O’Donnell labeled her a homophobe on national television. If you have not seen the video, take a look for yourself.

Have we really gotten to the point that being upset that someone put their hand across your mouth is considered homophobia? Give me break.
Keep reading →

What better way is there to spread freedom and democracy than to incrementally take it away from people that already have it?

Always championing new tools in the Global War on Terror, the Bush administration said on Monday that immigrants arrested on suspicion of terrorism may be held indefinitely and may not challenge their imprisonment in civilian courts. The Justice Department has filed papers explaining that a new anti-terrorism law signed last month to hold detainees at Guatanamo Bay also applies to foreigners captured on US soil. This means that non-citizens—like Ali Saleh Kahlah Al-Marri a citizen of Qatar, who was a student in the US when he was arrested in 2001—who are in the country legally, can be labeled enemy combatants and basically stripped of basic rights afforded to most anyone. This of course makes perfect sense, because what better way is there to spread freedom and democracy than to incrementally take it away from people that already have it?
Keep reading →

Affirmative action programs that let people move up the ladder for no other reason than their gender and skin color are lazy and insulting.

Through all the tears of joy or sorrow this morning, many of you might have missed the news that voters in Michigan scrapped affirmative action in their state. The state voted yes to referendum two which bans public institutions from “using affirmative action programs that give preferential treatment to groups or individuals based on their race, gender, color, ethnicity, or national origin for public employment, education, or contracting purposes.” At the same time, it added gender as a protected class to the provision of the constitution already in place prohibiting discrimination on basis of race, color, or national origin. It was a long and often bitter fight, but in the end, the voters of Michigan did the right thing. Affirmative action programs that let people move up the ladder for no other reason than the color of their skin or gender are perhaps among the laziest and insulting solutions to diversity problems in America that anyone has ever come up with. Moreover, they are quite possibly blatantly discriminatory themselves.

Keep reading →

If you really stop and think about it, is female circumcision really all that different from dental braces?

In the first female circumcision female circumcision case in US History, Khalid Adem was found guilty of mutilating his then two-year old daughter and sentenced to ten years in prison. Many activists, who view the practice as an attempt to rob women of sexual pleasure, lauded the decision as an advance in women’s rights. While this may be the case, it could also be America’s latest addition in our ongoing quest of cultural imperialism. If you really stop and think about it, is female circumcision really all that different from dental braces?

Keep reading →

In an abrupt departure from the rulings denying marriage equality in California, New York, and Washington, the Supreme Court of New Jersey unanimously held yesterday that homosexual couples are entitled to the same legal rights and financial benefits as their heterosexual counterparts. The 4 to 3 decision, however, reveals that the justices split on what should happen next. The majority ruled that the legislature has 180 days to decide whether the unions would be called marriage or something else, while the minority, who interestingly enough was completely appointed by Republicans, maintains that there is no reason to call it anything other than marriage. In many ways the decision was a very wise one. The far right can hardly try to politicize this decision to mobilize its base because the court took a position that reflects the attitude of most Americans; that homosexual couples should have all the same rights, but that it should not be called marriage. Regardless, this is a great day in the Gay Rights Movement. Or is it?
Keep reading →

A lot has been going on in the wonderful world of America. First we had Republicans blaming each other for their losses in the November elections before the elections have even occurred. Then we had the always scandalous Madonna causing trouble by adopting a baby from Malawi when she has not lived in the country for the length of time required by law. Of course, don’t forget the expositor of “even though I had my fifteen minutes of fame and got a free, first-class, international flight because I confessed to a murder I did not commit, I am still going to monopolize the airwaves some more by moving to Atlanta and saying I want to return to teaching and there is nothing you can do about it because even though I am a creep I am not a registered sex offender”; John Mark Karr.

Keep reading →

And just when I was starting to wonder how long it would take for something big enough to happen to divert the media’s attention away from the Foley scandal, we get a little wake up call from North Korea essentially saying to the world, “Look at me, I’ve got nukes!” by testing a nuclear weapon. While nearly every country except Iran has condemned the act, and the UN Security Council promises to take action, many are left worrying what this all means. North Korea became only the eighth country, and arguably the most unstable, in history to explicitly acknowlege its nuclear capabilities. Because the country is so isolated, and many doubt its capability to launch long range missiles, the greater concern seems to be to whom North Korea would sell its nuclear technology and how this will all change the situation in the Pacific. Will Japan finally strengthen its Army as it has been reticent to do since World War II? Will China finally turn its back on North Korea? Many things are uncertain, but with the US already fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, few believe it is possible to spread our forces any further. Keep reading →