Sugary Drink Ban

"The New York City Board of Health rubber stamped Mayor Michael Bloomberg's much maligned sugary drink regulation, banning the sale of beverages larger than 16 ounces in restaurants, movie theaters and food carts" (Forbes article, "Goodbye Big Gulps in Mayor Bloomberg's New York, Hello Big Government") Recently, there has been lots of opposition from New Yorkers about the newest ban on big drinks. The mayor says that his sugary drink ban will help reduce obesity in the city. I don't know if I agree with this. I remember seeing this issue brought up in a prompt that I had to write from the ACT essay section. The problem is that the ban will not stop people from buying sugary drinks, it will just make them have to pay more money to get more sugary drinks instead of drinking it all in one cup. I think that obesity in America is very serious and if the drinks have to take one for the team in order to help the wellbeing of the people, then I think it's fine. If there was a ban on the type of drinks inside the cups then that would be another issue, but this is just banning the size of the cups. This brings up the question, "How involved can the government get in our diets, and are the government's decisions reasonable when bans are announced." I will definitely be thinking about this next time I go grocery shopping or buying a sugary drink at McDonald's.

Are Political Parodies Helpful or Hurtful?

I saw an SNL skit that really got me thinking. There was a woman actress from the Huffington post who was being interviewed on the Weekend Update portion of SNL and she was so funny! I was laughing so hard, but a few hours after I watched the very controversial news skit, I began thinking. There are a lot of problems with political skits. One of the problems is that if the broadcast station, like NBC Studios, becomes too biased towards one of the presidential candidates, then the other candidate's followers will lose interest in the broadcast station. The station needs to keep their fan base, and the candidates need to keep their fan base. That is why political parodies can be good or bad. From an article that I found online from the Huffington Post itself, it read, "Appearances on late-night comedy programs have become an essential part of campaign strategy and, increasingly, political strategy more generally," and "The fact that the candidates go on "The Daily Show," SNL and the "Tonight Show" means they believe the shows have impact on the voters." These are pretty wise remarks because a lot of people do listen to these political parodies and enjoy them, but their influence is stronger than we all may think. For example, there was so much popular belief that Sarah Palin actually said, "I can see Russia from my house" when in reality, Tina Fey had played the Alaska governor and said this in a skit. I believe that these political parodies have as much weight to bring a candidate to success as they do to make a candidate lose his/ her chances at a win. I'm interested in seeing who will win the presidential election this coming November, and I'm excited to compare it to the SNL skit I have just seen in order to make assumptions to see if the skit worked towards one specific candidate or not. 

article referenced: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/21/saturday-night-live-political-skits_n_1901761.html

Tracking Devices in Teens Cell Phones

I had the biggest fight with my parents arguing about having a tracking device in my Iphone. They told me that it had been on even when I did not even know my phone had it. This was totally unfair in my opinion. Do kids in the 21st generation have the privacy rights that kids did 30 years ago? Not at all! 

I continued to argue that if I have a tracking on, then I never have to text my parents when I get anywhere, and I never have to tell them when I am coming home because they can obviously see if they check up on my tracking device. I even threatened once to leave my cell phone at home and use friend's phones so that I wouldn't feel like I am on some invisible electronic leash. It is a huge invasion of my privacy, and they say it is because they don't trust other people, not me. Well, no one could see where they were at every second of the day so I don't see why people need to watch me life my life. I don't know anyone else who has tracking on their phone, and I think it should be permanently taken off my phone right away. The worst part is that I know how to turn it off, but if I do, I will get in trouble. I never lost my parents trust, so how come I have to deal with being tracked all the time?

I'll never know. But if anyone ever needs me, no need calling or texting me, you can just track me to see where I'm at. 

Drug Testing Students

When we had a simulation letter read to us in class about the IHSA requiring student athletes to be drug tested when they are in season, my mind was blown!! I could not believe that something that extreme would happen at our school. I just feel like it would be unfair for only athletes or kids in extra-curricular activities would be targeted for the drug tests. Yes, drugs are illegal and the tests would help a lot of kids get on the right path if they are found using them, but still it is a significant invasion of our privacy. The tests would also show if someone was pregnant, had diabetes, or other things that bodily fluids indicate and someone may not want that to be public information. I don't think it's fair that they assume that everyone does these drugs they are looking for because they are supposed to have reasonable suspicion to even test someone in the first place. If all athletes specifically are made to take these tests then there will inevitably be people who drop out of their sports because the drugs or enhancers are more important than their sports career. I would be okay with being drug tested but I don't think it should be legal for the school to do in a random manner. Overall, this would cause a lot of anxiety around the school community and parents would get angry over the random drug tests on the students while the school ironically claims that they trust their students.