Update on a previous post!

A few weeks ago I posted this about former USC student Holly Ashcraft who was accused of disposing of her two newborn children in the bathroom. Well as of today, December 6th, 2007 the murder charges have been dismissed in this case, an article found from Knbc. This is the fourth time in this case that the murder charges have been dropped.

Although judge in the case told Ashcraft that her behavior was "disturbing and disgusting", there was not enough evidence to convict her. Deputy District Attorney Frank Baratta says "our only remedy is appeal", but I feel that prosecutors should continue to go after Ashcraft until she is convicted. However, prosecutors at this time have not decided whether they will try and seek murder for the fifth time. Ashcraft remains free on $50,000 bail and is still facing charges of involuntary manslaughter and child abuse; her court date is set for January.

What is wrong with our court system? I feel that the American court system has failed it's citizens by letting this woman go without any consequences. Just think of the lives these children would be living today if their mother hadn't dumped them in a garbage bin. These children were not given the opportunity to live or even have a chance in life. Every time I hear about this case I get goosebumps, who could be this disturbed to carry out such heinous acts?
This woman isn't even forced into treatment for her psychiatric needs, which means that if she gets pregnant again she will do the same thing. As time goes on, I feel it will be more and more difficult to prosecute this woman. Prosecutors should exhaust all opportunities to prosecute this woman. Something needs to be done!

An Itchy Beauty Pageant

The glitz and glamour of beauty pageants. How beautiful all of the girls look with their make up done, hair teased and credit cards maxed out for these ball room gown type dresses. However a beauty pageant held in Puerto Rico last week mixed a little bit of cruelty and jealously into the mix. This article from Knbc4 reported how contestant Ingrid Marie Rivera's make up and evening gown was coated with pepper spray. Why would someone only choose to douse Rivera's dress and no one else in the pageant? Because she was the biggest competition of course.

Rivera was crowned Miss World Caribbean in 2005 and was the top contender for this pageant in Puerto Rico. Some might she was too much of a threat. Rivera showed no sign of panic on stage and was smiling the whole time. However right after she had to take off all of her clothes and cover her body in ice bags due to the swelling rash. To add to the frustration, one of Rivera's bags was stolen during the swimsuit competition.

Officials in San Juan are investigating the case by interviewing everyone involved in the pageant, hoping to find who was responsible. The super intendent of the Puerto Rico Police Department said "I know there's rivalry between the contestants, but never to that extent".

Despite her rash, Rivera won the pageant and will represent Puerto Rico in the Miss Universe Pageant.

Jealously has an ugly face and has been seen in countless sporting events like the Tonya Harding case in which she was involved in the conspiracy against competitor Nancy Kerrigan. It's amazing what competitors will do in order to sabotage their competition.

Another blog, McCarthy 101 did another twist on this story about beauty pageants and spoke about the pain of being beautiful by also including the recent death of Kanye West's mother after having plastic surgery. As quoted on her blog Cara writes

"I can understand the desire to win, but these tactics are too extreme, even in
the apparently nasty world of competitive pageantry. Why are women so dead set
on hating each other? Why is it that whenever I enter a room with women inside I
feel as if I’m being judged and inspected to find my flaws. As if, by
discovering what is wrong with me they can feel better about themselves. Its
absurd. We shouldn’t’ be our own worst enemy. We should be helping each other
out instead of pushing each other down."

It's amazing to see just how far some people will go to either get the perfect body or win a competition; an example of jealousy rearing it's ugly head.

Love At It's Finest

I am fascinated by human behavior, and how odd people may be sometimes. As most of you might have noticed, I find interesting articles that deal with random, stupid and eccentric things that people do for example, the parents stunting their child's growth, woman dumping her newborn child in a dumpster, and another woman taking a knife and doing a personal c-section on a pregnant woman who was having delusions that she was pregnant. For my next post I was searching the Internet and came upon this article from knbc4 with the headline reading "Police Say Man Bit Son's Lip Off". These articles that I find keep getting weirder and weirder.

Thy Chan, 26 year old resident of Lowell, Massachusetts was arrested for allegedly biting his 22 month old son's bottom lip off. The Police Superintendent Kenneth Lavallee told a local newspaper that officers were called to a Lowell Apartment complex after an unidentified person said a child's lip had been bitten off.

As the officers entered the apartment, they found a child covered in blood and found the bottom lip nearby. The officers gave the paramedics the bottom lip in hopes of reattaching it at the hospital. Chan was found upstairs in the apartment acting erratically, officers believe he may b under the influence of drugs. You think?!

Luckily the young child is okay, and is now being evaluated at Lowell General Hospital. It is not known if the lip has or can be attached. Also officers did not release the relation of the infant to Chan.

Chan is facing charges of mayhem, assault, battery on a child, and domestic assault. According to the Department of Social Services, the family has no prior convictions with this department.

Regardless of prior convictions with the law, this man should be put behind bars. I thought the incident of Ozzy Osbourne cutting the head off a bat was awful until I read this. It seems pretty frequent that we hear in the news how parents or guardians neglect their children whether they leave their child in a car on a hot summer day for hours on end or sexual abuse. Children and infants are a target because they are helpless and can't really defend themselves. Who knows what kind of drugs this man was on but he should be prosecuted to the highest degree. If it is released that Chan is the father of this child he should loose all custody. When bad things happen to children strangers say "where are the parents?", well in this case maybe having the child stay with the parents isn't the best idea.

A Bad Name for USC

Every once in awhile we hear in the news of a mother dropping off their newborn child at a safe spot such as a Firestation, hospital or a school with no questions asked within 72 hours of giving birth. Safe havens such as these give the option to indecisive mothers a chance to do something right for their baby and no one has to know. You have all probably read about the teen from The University of Southern California who gave birth to a child and dumped the baby in a trash bin behind a popular university restaurant (for all you USC students the 29th Street Cafe) in 2005, later found by a homeless man.

Holly Ashcraft, now 22 from Billings Montana is currently facing charges of involuntary manslaughter and child abuse for the alleged disposing of her newborn baby. This case has had a rollercoaster of decisions including first being charged three times for murder, having the case dismissed for lack of evidence, and today November 8th having her bail reduced by a judge. Seems to me that the authorities are going way to easy with this woman even though she has done this before. The prosecutors in this case continue to believe that Ashcraft's baby was born alive and she dumped it in the trash bin in order to get rid of her son while the defense lawyer, Mark Geragos, continues to argue that there is no evidence Ashcraft knew she was pregnant or that the baby was born alive. Also arguing that putting the child in a box in the dumpster was not intentional. What kind of defense is that?

It seems to me that this would be an easy case to prosecute. A year before the baby was found in the alley behind a restaurant, Holly gave birth to a child in a dormitory bathroom in 2004; she claims the baby was still born. Holly had gone to a nearby clinic after giving birth complaining of bleeding, and after having been examined the doctor could tell she had just given birth. When asked by authorities if she was pregnant, Holly first denied ever having been pregnant but later admitted that she had given birth in a bathroom. The remains of the first child have never been found and Ashcraft was never tried or charged in connection to that case.

As I read more and more information on this case the more appalled I get. First of all, who could do this twice and get away with it? How could a judge let this woman to continue to live free? But I must give some credit to her defense lawyer for coming up with some clever defense tactics.

Not only does this woman need a psychological evaluation but she needs to go to jail. She intentionally took the life of her two children and is not suffering any consequences. Holly continues to say she is not guilty. Only time will tell if Holly will ever have to go to jail. But it seems the longer this case continues, the more lenient the circumstances are for this woman.

Not Sleeping Makes You Fat and Dumb

Make your kids go to sleep at a reasonable hour or they’ll never go to college. Increasing SAT scores could be as wasy as just getting more sleep each night. Teens are tired these days, not just from piles of homework and extracurricular activities; they are just not getting enough sleep. Teens with dark circles under their eyes are in fashion these days. The reason for all of these high school students using their desks as a pillow is due to our wonderful sleep chemical known as Melatonin; “the main substance produced by the pineal gland, a small structure located between the cerebral hemispheres”. However a few changes in a teen’s typical daily schedule can lead to more positive effects both inside and out. Amazingly a recent study found that half of Americans just aren't getting enough snooze time, a true American division.

It’s just sleep. I’ll catch up on my sleep on the weekends, and sleep the day away. Well the solution is not that simple. When teens try to catch up on their sleep on the weekends, this leads to a change in sleep routine and throws off sleep patterns and restarting the whole process Monday morning, which leads to a harder time trying to fall asleep.

Let’s get technical. What is to blame for teen’s inability to go to bed before 10 pm? The answer is Melatonin, our brains sleep chemical which in turn makes us drowsy. You know that feeling when you can’t keep your eyes open? That’s our melatonin at its finest. When we’re sitting in darkness it triggers the pineal gland to secret melatonin. Once a child hits their teen years the melatonin begins to trigger later on in the evening compared with the 5-12 year olds whose melatonin kicks in at an earlier hour making it easier for younger children to fall asleep earlier at night.

Sleep? I’ll catch up when I’m dead.

Teens are busy and have a tons of activities on their plate including working a part time job, going to school, extra curricular activities and homework; which does not leave a lot of free time or even a social life. Even though teens in other generations have also been busy, teenagers today on average are sleeping an hour less than thirty years ago. Dr. Ana Krieger the director of the NYU Sleep Disorder Center believes “One hour less per night of sleep on a chronic basis can really make a different on the way the body works”. Therefore trying to catch up on sleep time during the weekends is just not enough.

In an article titled “Sweet Dreams Make for Smarter Teens” tells the schedule of fifteen year old, Henry Elliman who goes to sleep on average around 1 am and waking up around 7 am; therefore leaving only six hours of snooze time. A sufficient sleep time would be around eight and a half to nine and a half hours of sleep per night. Poor Henry feels the effects of his late nights in the classroom.

It is no wonder why sleeping affects one’s ability to take tests and do well in school. A University of Minnesota survey “found that A students slept an average of 15 minutes longer than B students, who in turn slept more than C students and so on”. Who knew an extra seventy five minutes per week could be so beneficial?

Teenagers who do not get enough sleep can impair one’s IQ as much as lead exposure. Sleep deprived teens are also at a greater risk for obesity, depression and cognitive delays. When you think about sleep affects almost every daily function including work, driving, learning and doing homework. If you don't get enough sleep it only leads to a domino effect of sluggishness, that continues until the body gets to rest. For all of you Red Bull fanatics or Starbucks junkies, guzzling down caffeine infused beverages doesn't disguise the problem.

Not only does sleep affect our mind abilities and functioning but it also contributes to regulating our metabolism. When it all comes down to it sleep = health, and one study found that 64% of Americans who were obese also reported not sleeping well.

So what’s the solution? Drug your kids with some sleeping pills? Lock them in their room and shut off the lights? The solution may be as simple as starting school just an hour later. In Edina, Minnesota a high school did just this, the school administrators pushed the school start time from 7:30 to 8:30. A sudden increase in the top SAT scores that year, from 1288 to 1500! Also teachers reported that students were more awake during the first few periods of the day. The increase can be attributed to extra pillow time, who would have thought?

Teens need a sufficient hours of sleep and it’s up to parents to educate their children on the importance of sleep. Parents can do their part by decreasing the amount of caffeine consumption in the home, eliminating exercise at night time and try to decrease television time before bed.

We all know that sleep is important, but more importantly is the number of hours we sleep at night. Just a few extra minutes a night can make a big difference in our attitudes, mental functioning, physical well being in the long run. Just think sleep a little longer, look, feel and think better than you would without those extra minutes!

When everything is said and done, don't take your sleep for granted. If youre looking for that raise at work or an increase in your test scores instead of bothering your boss and your teacher take it upon yourself to sleep more at night.

Since students are sleeping less does this mean that less students will be receiving packets of acceptance letters from prestigious schools such as Harvard, Yale or MIT? Probably not but it is still a serious issue. Should we rely on school board officials to push back school start time? No I don't think that will happen either. Instead of parents blaming teachers for too much homework, students should take the blame for the lack of sleep. High schools should be flaunting this information about more sleep equals higher test scores because that looks better for teachers and school administrators.

I think the world would be a different place if people just got enough rest.

What's a vegetable anyway?

Good news America, children are finally eating their vegetables! The bad news however approximately 40% of these vegetables in a kid’s diet are French Fries. School cafeterias are teaching their students that French Fries are a suitable vegetable. With each passing school lunch day, adolescents are getting fatter and fatter. Instead of providing nutritious options in the cafeteria for the growing youth, school districts sign into lucrative contracts with soda and chip companies in return of selling these snacks on campus. School board members must not know the definition of nutrition and only see dollar signs blinking in the distance. Take an Alka Seltzer to settle your stomachs, it gets worse.

But it tastes good so what is the difference?

The choices available to a child at school should not be diabetes with a side order of obesity, but rather sensible meals filled with more nutrition and less fat. According to the National School Lunch Program the average elementary school lunch has an average 738 calories. And that’s before the child grabs a Snickers from the vending machine, pushing the caloric intake past half the average daily calories. Even though taking your lunch in a brown bag/ lunch bag seems less glamorous than eating a school lunch, it is actually better for you and contains less fat; averaging 20.8 grams of fat for the sack lunch versus 31.1 grams of fat in the cafeteria lunch. The difference is a little less than 11 grams of fat, but over a week that’s almost 88 grams of fat! Calculate the amount of fat over an entire school year, the beginnings of obesity for a child.

Apparently school board leaders aren’t feeding their kids the food from school cafeterias.

It takes a combination effort of school officials, governmental funding and parents to take a stand. A child can’t speak for themselves because they are too busy stuffing their face with nutrition less lunch food, and washing it down with an ice cold sugary soda.

As for parents on the go who use fast food restaurants as a provider of meals can now be substituted by one touch microwavable meals, which are a little better for the body. A recent article on knbc.com titled “Microwave Food Can Beat Drive-Throughs” compared eating three meals a day on the go from fast food restaurants and compared it with eating readily prepared meals that are microwaveable from the grocery store. Both food options were convenient, quick and easy. In recent years the fat content of these microwaveable meals has decreased along with the lowering of milligrams of cholesterol and the amount of salt. With the decrease of fat grams has led packaged food makers actually paying attention to herbs and spices; who would have thought to put such things in food?

Our school cafeterias can do better. Simply teaching our kids the fundamentals of healthy eating is not enough; it must be put into action in the cafeterias. We teach our children the food pyramid and the necessity of fruits and vegetables, yet counter act these teachings with greasy pepperoni pizza and deep fried corn dogs being served during lunch time. With the recent development of healthier quick microwavable meals, these can be substituted for the high calorie cafeteria meals. These foods may be a little bit more expensive than the junk filled food currently being served but what is more important spending a little more money on nutritious meals or a tray of obesity?

So it's up to parents, school board leaders, cafeteria workers and government officials to fight for a well balanced meals in our schools. Let's trade those Doritos for some fabulous carrot sticks. Our children may not thank us in the beginning, but they will definitley thank us in the future.

You Won't Believe This...

We all want what we can't have. We have blonde hair we want brown hair and so on. In the case of Lisa Montgomery seen in this CNN.com article a woman went crazy with jealousy and did the unthinkable. I didn't actually believe the headline when I read it on CNN.com, "Woman convicted in case of baby cut from mother's womb". Of course I decided to read the article but I couldn't believe what I was reading.

On December 16th, 2004 Lisa Montgomery a dog breeder, 39 from a northwest Missouri town named Skidmore drove to 23 year old pregnant woman Bobbie Jo Stinnett's house went in with a knife, rope and umbilical chord clamp and used these tools in order to cut the unborn baby from it's mother's womb. This article did not state how many months pregnant Bobbie Jo was, but far enough along that the baby could survive outside the womb. After strangling and killing Stinnett, Montgomery cut the baby from the womb. Montgomery fled the house with the baby and left the pregnant woman for dead. She told investigators that as she drove away from the home she was "shaking and holding the baby and the cord at the same time".

In the trial for this case, Montgomery's defense lawyers believe that she was suffering from delusions when she killed the expectant mother. However the jury found Montgomery guilty and she was convicted of kidnapping resulting in death. The jurors deliberated for only four hours before making the decision and rejected the insanity defense presented by the defense lawyers. Not only did the prosecutors have a undeniable moral case on their hands, there was also substantial evidence that highlighted Montgomery's sane tactics to strangle and take the baby from the womb. Montgomery had spent months researching Cesarean sections online before carrying out her gruesome plan.

Montgomery, the mother of 4 had a tubal litigation in 1990 after the birth of her fourth child which prevented her from ever getting pregnant. Even though she had this procedure, Montgomery claimed she was pregnant several times, delusional? I think so.

I find it absolutely appalling that someone would carry out such a hateful crime. I hate to compare legal cases but this is just as disturbing if not more than the Lacey Peterson case a few years ago. Or even the case where the woman drowned her five children in a bath tub. Insane or not, I believe people who do crimes such as these should be put away for the rest of their lives. People who act like this are inhumane and lack any sense or morality. This crime highlights how twisted and psychotic some people are in this world.

Even though Bobbie Jo did not make it, her baby survived and is doing well. I hope Bobbie Jo's family finds some closure from the guilty verdict. Hopefully Montgomery will get the death penalty.

I will update as soon as the sentencing occurs.

Come on son, let me get you a rifle!

My psychology teacher for the class titled "Learning and Memory" said a very important and interesting statement when it comes to human behavior, "If you want to get attention, you're going to have to act crazy". School shootings have become more frequent and calling the people responsible for this shootings crazy is an understatement. Yesterday, Wednesday October 10th, a 14 year old named Asa Coon brought a gun to his school in Ohio and shot three students before killing himself. Not even 24 hours have gone by and another 14 year old student was arrested in Pennsylvania for planning a "Columbine like" school rampage, found in this article from CNN.

When police searched his home they found a 9mm rifle with a laser scope, air guns and even grenades. In addition to finding the weapons the boy had a hand painted Nazi flag and a video containing information about the Columbine shootings in 1999. What is even more shocking is that the boy's mother had purchased a rifle for her son from a gun show several weeks ago. In this case not only do I believe that the child should be prosecuted but also the parent for purchasing the weapon.

Where are the parents? Why would any sane parent buy their child a rifle? What is it about a school setting that would make a teenager want to bring a gun to school and shoot classmates? I believe it is a sense of power and the shock value. It seems that each school shooting that is carried out is worse than the ones proceeding it. District Attorney Bruce Castor said "It is my judgment that this individual considered that something to be glorified and was doing so". What twisted soul finds glory in plotting to hurt or kill other people?

More and more of these school shootings are occuring each year. When will parents or guardians get the hint to lock and hide weapons from their children? The 14 year old looked to the internet in order to learn how to use and make a grenade.
Government officials need to crack down on internet sites that display information on how to make bombs and grenades from household items. It seems that any young child with access to the internet could find these sites and make a grenade themselves.

So how many more school shootings or attempt at school shooting will it take for parents to get a clue and look for warning signs if their child is acting a little out of sorts?

Do Not Trespass

Separation of church and state is not black and white issue, but rather a large grey area that is continuously open for debate. For as long as the United States has been an independent nation from Britain, religion and politics has been a touchy issue. Politicians and clergy members’ alike try to distance the two as much as possible in order to further complicate certain issues. A trespass over these furry boundaries leads to additional problems. Even though church members and politicians pride themselves on this separation, there is definitely an overlap, how could there not be? One might not assume that religion and politics are similar but ironically there are many similarities between the two. Stated in this CNN.com article religion is such a dominate force in the United States, nearly 250 million are Christians. Many argue that the 2004 election was determined by Catholic voters who voted to reelect George W. Bush instead of Senator John Kerry. I had always learned about the separation of church and state through middle and high school, but when I read Stephen Mack’s entry titled “Wicked Paradox: The Cleric as Public Intellectual” it made me think even deeper on this trespassing over the boundaries, the overlap and how these fundamental ideas shape our nation and culture. It is important to understand the similarities to help one be aware of how they make decisions, specifically political ones, how they relate back to one’s conscience, which stems even farther back to religion.

Political and religious convictions are subjected to your influences, and therefore not innate. These influences include one’s parents or guardians, home life and most importantly one’s environment. These convictions are abstract and but hold a strong value. What is important to note about religion and politics is that one chooses to be a part of this group, it is not forced. Religion and politics involve several groups and broken down into subgroups. These groups are clumped by people who share similar values. Some of these groups that can be categorized for religion such as Christians, Jews, Muslim and Buddhists and politicians may be clumped into say Republicans, Democrats, Liberals and Independents. Even if one person has strong convictions, this one person is only one of many of that group, either political or religious. In addition, both politics and religious affiliations involve taking part, either physically, spiritually, and mentally or a combination. This notion is highlighted in Mack’s work

“Both religion and democracy draw the individual into a larger cosmic or social
order—then define obligations that go along with one’s place in that
order. Both in other words offer a vision of personal identity that is
derived from beliefs about how we should relate to everything around
us”

When thinking about the politics, rules and laws that is encompassed in our society, it’s important to think who put these laws into action. Laws which make up American society are formed and drafted by politicians. These laws reflect politicians’ moral convictions, and whether they believe something to be right or wrong, which involves their personal identity. Laws are reflected on ethics, and these ethics relate back to some moral issues that stem from religion. However, when one is involved in some type of religious institution this religion promotes one’s moral ideas through everyday life. This moral promotion ties decision making, moral development and religion together. Therefore a voters’ moral obligation will come into play when it comes to voting.

What is interesting is that some of the most heated debates facing our nation today involve a mixture of politics and religion. This article underscores important movements such as gay rights and abortion that are more complex than politicians taking one side or another. These topics in some way or another relate directly back to some type of religious authority whether it is the Bible or another religious code. The issue with abortion for example questions whether women should have the right to terminate a pregnancy. Different religions either promote or disagree with such ethical and moral issues and are interpreted by its followers. In addition the issue of gay marriage is facing the legal system today, a moral debate that is prominent in most religions. Once again politicians would vote on this issue in accordance with their moral convictions and what they interpret right from wrong. Both of these issues not only have a political affiliation when it comes to making the laws, but also have some religious affiliation due to people’s conscience. This conscience comes into play when making the decision which involves past experiences and one’s environment.

Religion and politics are ideas that make up an individual. When someone is making a decision upon who to vote for do you think that the person shields their moral convictions in order to make a decision? I think not. Policy makers, government officials and even our President are composed of a political side and a religious side, the extent of the religious side is only understood by that individual. It is impossible to make decisions with only half of your judgment, and not use your moral region that is reflected through the church. Just like you can’t measure how religious someone is, you can’t measure how much of a politician someone is. Just as everyone else is unique this carries over into political and church beliefs. Since our nation is a democracy which is run by the people, there has to be some cross over between politics and church. Individuals are comfortable with themselves which involves their religious and political views yet the idea of mixing church and state gets most people nervous. People get the most offended when one attacks their political stance and their religious issues and this will never change. As long as politics and religion exist, therefore forever, there will always be some type of trespassing over each others territory. Rather than trying to completely separate church and state, our politicians and religious community should learn to accept their similarities and acknowledge their boundaries.

What's a Public Intellectual Anyway?

Not everyone is a public intellectual nor does everyone want to be. As Stephen Mack wrote in his article “The “Decline” of Public Intellectuals?” public intellectuals are “A special class of academics and philosophically oriented writers who go outside their own discipline to comment on social and political issues”. Mack questions whether there is a decline of public intellectuals, but I beg to differ.

So who holds the crown as the number one intellectual? Well, everyone who is involved in public intellect has their own opinion but an interesting article on Noam Chomsky praises this seventy something man for his outspoken views on foreign policy. This Guardian Unlimited article has named Chomsky as the world top public intellectual. The New York Times has called him “arguably the most important intellectual alive” (Hypocrisy article). Not only has he been praised by one of the most distinguished and popular newspaper in the United States but the English daily The Guardian declared “Chomsky ranks with Marx, Shakespeare, and the Bible as one of the ten most quoted sources in the humanities—and is the only writer among them still alive” (Hypocrisy article). Being compared to the Bible and Shakespeare is pretty impressive. So who is this man and what has he done in order to be titled the world’s top public intellectual?

Noam Chomsky was born in 1978 in Pennsylvania to a mother whose family descended from Belarus and his father was born in Ukraine. After graduating high school, Chomsky attended the University of Pennsylvania majoring in philosophy and linguistics. Chomsky followed his undergraduate degree with a Ph.D in linguistics from the same university. Over the course of sixty years Chomsky has written 9 books many who have spent weeks on The New York Times Bestseller List, several book excerpts, and over one hundred articles ranging from the cold war to writing about intellectuals, you can see all of his articles here. Find and read one that interests you and see what you think.

With all of this praise, I must underscore the fact that like any outspoken individual all over the world that Noam Chomsky has harsh critics, specifically this article. Everyone believes that they have their own opinion and that this opinion is unique. Even though I am highlighting important aspects in the work of Noam Chomsky, considering myself outspoken I found myself agreeing with one of Chomsky’s critics on a very important issue facing our country today, the war on terrorism. Chomsky believes that the lives lost could not be compared to the lives that have been lost due to Third World conflicts that is related to United States foreign policy. Eh, I’m not quite sure how I feel about that. Even though I do not agree with one of Chomsky’s statements, I would find it almost impossible to agree with everything that a public intellectual had to say. Considered a left wing politician opens up the flood gates of criticism from opposing viewpoints, but who doesn’t criticize?

Therefore, being called the top public intellectual in the whole world is an honor. Mack believes that

"Our notions of the public intellectual need to focus less on who or what a
public intellectual is—and by extension, the qualifications for getting and
keeping the title. Instead, we need to be more concerned with the work
public intellectuals must do, irrespective of who happens to be doing it”
(Stephen Mack).

I wholeheartedly agree with this statement; the work is more important than the writer himself/herself. Since Chomsky continues to publish his thoughts in an open air market, this leads to massive criticism from religious leaders, politicians, parents, and almost anyone that you could imagine. With public intellectuals such as Noam Chomsky, Umberto Eco, Richard Dawkins, and Vaclav Havel (Chomsky’s runner up in the nomination) to name a few will continue the public intellectual torch. Stephen Mack writes in his article “arguing that independent public intellectuals are a dying breed”; I say that the world of public intellectuals are here to stay and with that comes a flow of criticism to accompany it. Mack states that the public intellectual job is “to keep the pot boiling”; not only does Noam Chomsky do this but up and coming intellectuals will do the same. As long as poignant events are occurring all over the world and people have an opinion public intellectuals will be in the shadows fighting to get their point across and fuel the fire.

As I rant and rave about the awards, accomplishments and the life of Noam Chomsky, what I really want to what Stephen Mack thinks of Mr. Chomsky.

Picture of Noam Chomsky found here.

Who Are We Kidding?

The Rise of Adolescent Obesity

“Our physiology tells us to eat whenever food is available. And now, food is always available.”
Amanda Spake

Americans live for convenience, whether it is valet parking, passing through a drive-thru or taking the elevator instead of climbing a flight of stairs. Our society has grown accustomed to this way of life, and our waistlines are agreeing with us. These conveniences make life easier and faster, but actually it is taking a larger toll than one might think. Due to the expanding waistlines of Americans, obesity has become one of our most prominent health problems. Over the years the average weight of men and women has increased across the country, and has spread to our children (The Future of Children 28 Subcription required). What is ironic about this epidemic is that it is preventable, but drastic measures need to be implemented in order to lower the staggering numbers. Studies have shown as many as “25 to 30 percent of children are affected (by obesity)” (Moran). According to the EMedicine Consumer Health, “Although obesity in children once was rare, it is now one of the most widespread medical problems in the US” (Obesity in Children). The consequences of a lifetime of bad eating habits can be devastating, both physically and mentally. There is a direct correlation with the steady increase in adolescent obesity and the increase of children eating more fast food meals (The Future of Children 29). Even though the United States provides an educational system with a stable environment in which a child can grow and thrive, our elementary schools are making the adolescent obesity problem even worse. The problem with adolescent obesity is underscored with the daily serving of unhealthy foods and snacks in America’s school cafeterias. Serving high fat foods in American elementary and middle schools is a contributing factor to the increase of child obesity. Not only do the adolescents today have a skewed perception of portion sizes, but the meals that are being consumed at school contain nearly half the daily calories for a normal diet. Parents may not realize that high fat and sugar content foods that are being served to their child while at school. With the constant elimination of physical education classes, working families resorting to fast food, and children unable to play outside to get exercise exacerbates the already growing problem. One clear solution to this problem is to eliminate these foods in the nation’s school cafeterias. But this may not be considered as easy for the schools who rely on funding from junk food and soda companies who pay to advertise (The Future of Children 34). If the schools eliminated these unhealthy meals, at least one meal a day would be consumed by school children that are rated nutritious and low in fat.

There are many factors that have lead to a surge in child obesity in the United States. Some factors include children spending less time playing outside, the never ending availability of sugary and salty snacks, and the number of two-parent and single parent working families who use fast food as a primary provider of meals, once again due to convenience. This rise in both parents working outside of the home equates to an increase “in the consumption both of food away from home and pre-prepared foods” (The Future of Children 30). Numerous studies have concluded that the child obesity rates are continuing to increase.

“Over the past two decades, the percentage of overweight children (Ages 6
through 11) has more than doubled, rising from 7 percent in 1980 to 15 percent
in 1999. For adolescents (Ages 12 through 19), the percentage of
overweight children has almost tripled during this same period, rising from 5
percent to 14 percent” (Salinsky).

Today, children are spending more time in front of the television rather than outside. The average television viewing time has increased and this may be due in part to the lack of supervision for adolescents when they get home from school since their parents are outside of the home working (The Future of Children 30). In addition, today more than ever before, many children can’t or don’t play outside (The Future of Children 31). Countless children live in unsafe neighborhoods where playing outside is limited (The Future of Children 33). If a child lives in a family where both parents work, a parent more than likely uses fast food restaurants as a means for their families’ dinner (The Future of Children 36). In addition, due to the recent shortage of school funds, some schools have completely taken away the Physical Education programs that were for some children their only time outdoors (New News). Specifically, President George W. Bush’s 2006 Budget Proposal calls for a nearly 19 million dollar cut to the Physical Education for Progress Program (New News). This program is essential in order for a school to get its outdoor and play equipment along with Physical Education teachers, “The PEP Program provides funds directly to schools for the purchase of sports/fitness equipment and for hiring/training of more Physical Education teachers” (New News). Even though these PE classes are only forty five minutes to an hour long, it provides kids with the daily exercise needed to stay healthy and in shape. However, when there are budget cuts, the first classes to be eliminated from the curriculum are fine arts classes and the physical education programs (New News). The National Association of Early Childhood Specialists in the State Departments of Education continues to stress the importance of recess which allows children to play outside and get some exercise (The Future of Children Article 35). Over the past decade the free play time allocated in elementary schools has dwindled “40 percent of elementary schools have reduced, deleted or are considering deleting recess since 1989, when 90 percent of schools had some form of recess” (The Future of Children Article 35). Since some adolescence live in bad areas that are unsafe to play outside, the recess and physical education classes might be the only time of day a child could run around and play. Without these physical education classes, the ever growing problem with adolescent obesity just continues to get worse.

One way to demonstrate healthy eating habits to adolescents would be to educate a child on how to read a food label, healthy portion sizes, the importance of healthy eating, and the importance of daily exercise. Every day kids in America attend their school for approximately eight hours in order to learn the basics such as math and reading. It is at school that children are educated in order to better their future. School administrators want to educate their students, but wouldn’t this include the fundamentals of healthy eating and exercise? In the classroom, one is taught about the food pyramid and how many servings of fruits and vegetables are needed each day in order to maintain a healthy diet. This should include the study of nutrition, which nutrients we should be eating and how many servings are right for a growing child (Smolin 1). At lunch however these teachings are reversed, food is often available that has little or no nutritional value such as potato chips, cookies, and soda. Children see these foods and want to satisfy their craving of sugar and salt. Most of the time snacks that are available in the vending machines have fat content with more than one serving, even though the packaging looks like it would be for single consumption (The Future of Children 31). Once again the idea of convenience comes into play; the children have a vending machine on campus. As a result, children and adolescents have a skewed idea of appropriate portion sizes (The Future of Children 31). Lisa Young and Marion Nestle researched 181 products over the past few years and have compared the potion sizes, “during the last half of the 1990s portion sizes increased more than sixty times” (The Future of Children 31). Due to the recent distortion of portion sizes, a child consumes more fat and sugar than is healthy for them, highlighting the distortion of portion sizes. Kids notice these delicious snacks in the vending machines available to them at any time, and are unable to recognize that they might just be acting on impulse, and they may not be actually hungry. Or a child would want to eat what tastes good but they have no idea the fat content in these foods or how it can significantly affect them in the future. A simple solution to this problem would be to eliminate all unhealthy snacks in vending machines and through cafeteria sales so that the child does not have access to them, therefore starting to eliminate the problem. However, completely banning unhealthy foods in elementary schools may be more difficult than one might think due to soda and snack companies paying schools to advertise and offer their products (The Future of Children 34). In most schools the cafeteria food program must be self supporting and the only way a school can continue is to allow certain companies to advertise on school grounds (The Future of Children 34). Therefore one must assume which is more important money or the health of our children?

Do parents really know on average how much fat, calories and saturated fat are contained in their local school cafeteria lunches? The answer is: Probably not. The numbers are surprising and would make one get sick to their stomachs. A study published in Preventative Medicine concluded that in fact children were eating an enormous amount of fat and calories while at school. “We estimated that the average student consumed about 26 grams of total fat at school, 30 percent more than the 20 grams recommended, and 14 percent more saturated fat than recommended” (Study: School Lunches Contain Too Much Fat). These numbers are astounding, parents have no idea how much fat their children are consuming while they are at school eating cafeteria lunches. Parents would be better off making a lunch at home for their child since it is usually lower in fat. “Bag lunches had an average of 20.8 grams of fat…compared to the 31.1 grams of fat for the cafeteria school lunch” (Study: School Lunches Contain Too Much Fat). Packing a daily lunch for a child could actually be more beneficial and healthier than one might think. There are many dangers of living a high fat diet; “Many international studies have indicated that there is a link between high-fat diets and increased death rates from hypertension, heart disease, stroke and some types of cancer” (Bean 56-57). Another study found in the article titled “The Future of Our Children” stated how there has been an increase in the average amount of calories in a lunch provided by the schools (Future of Children 34). For example in 1991-1992 the number of calories in an elementary school lunch was between around 715, compared with 1998-1999 where lunch had around 738 calories (Future of Children 34). The number of calories was even higher in middle school cafeterias with around 820 calories per school lunch (The Future of Children 34). In addition, a researcher named Diane Schanzenbach finds that a child who enters kindergarten and eat the regular school lunch, not from home, are about two percentage points “more likely to be overweight by the end of first grade” (Future of Children 34). If parents knew how much fat was contained in their child’s lunches, they might think twice while sending their child with lunch money.

It is no wonder why the children in America are continuing to get larger and weigh more than previous generations. One solution to this problem for the educational system would be to only sell healthy foods in the cafeteria and in vending machines. This would put our children on the right track to a fit lifestyle. “According to a survey of more than 200 schools conducted by the Center for Science in the Public Interest and released at a Washington D.C. news conference, seventy six percent of drinks and eighty five percent of snacks sold via school vending machines were of poor nutritional value.” (Unhealthy Foods in Bulk of School Vending Machine Choices Subscription required). With the ban of unhealthy foods in vending machines at schools along with physical education classes, our schools can start to target the causes of child obesity and begin to treat them. If only healthy foods were sold in America’s schools, our children would probably have no way to access and buy these unhealthy snacks that cause so many problems.
Since there has been such a surge of child obesity in America in past decades doctors have tried to come up with ways to deal with the problem. Specifically the American for Disease Control developed the Body Mass Index (BMI) to be used in charts to determine whether a child is obese or not (Young 644-653 Subscription Required). Doctors hope this new way to categorize obesity will help pediatricians diagnose obesity and begin to treat it.

Maintaining a healthy weight involves more than just eating right; rather it takes knowledge about weight control and the motivation to stay healthy (Health Status and Health Education 398 Subscription required). With help from parents and school administrators teaching good physical health in schools, our nation can fix this growing problem and significantly decrease childhood obesity. When parents want to take an active role in their child’s eating habits, encourage healthy eating and exercise, and demonstrate a way of healthy living, their children are more likely to follow their example and thrive. Not only does it take a school to change its policy, but also our culture, “It must be concluded that interventions at the family or school level will need to be matched by changes in the social and cultural context so that the benefits can be sustained and enhanced.” (Wasowicz Subscription required). It is important to note however that the rise in adolescent obesity is not due to one single factor, rather many factors that have led to the adolescent obesity statistics to spiral out of control. This problem starts with awareness and will take an activist society to change this significant problem to help better the lives of children in future generations. What is astonishing is that according to recent data it is possible to meet “the daily recommendations of three servings of fruits and vegetables for just 64 cents! (Future of Children) Come on elementary schools, parents, educators and advertising agencies, what are you thinking?!

Work Cited

"Study: School Lunches Contain Too Much Fat." Channel 3000. 9 Jan. 2003. www.wisctv.com. 11 Sept. 2007 http://www.channel3000.com/sh/health/stories/health-188010820030109-140140.html

Anderson, Patricia M., and Kristine F. Butcher. "The Future of Children." Childhood Obesity: Trends and Potential Causes 16 (2006): 28-37. JSTOR. 18 Sept 2007. Keyword: Childhood Obesity.

Bean, Susan, Judy Holden, and Stephen Turner. Eating for Good Health. New York: The
Reader's Digest Association, 1995. 56-57.

Bond, Shirley, Susan Jebb, and Gary Frost. Health and Healing: The Natural Way Diet
and Weight Control. New York: The Reader's Digest Association, Inc, 1997. 84-
85.

Jackson, Debra, Judy Mannix, Pat Faga, and Glenda McDonald. "Overweight and Obese
Children: Mothers' Strategy." Journal of Advanced Nursing 52.1 2005: 6-13.
EBSCOhost. 28 Nov. 2005. Keyword: Child Obesity.

Moran M.D, Rebecca. “Evaluation and Treatment of Child Obesity”.
15 Feb. 1999. American Family Physician. 14 Sep. 2007
http://www.aafp.org/afp/990215ap/861.html.

Phipard, Esther F. "The Health Status and Health Education of Negroes in the US."
Journal of Negro Education 18 (1949): 398-408. JSTOR. 12 Sept. 2007.
Keyword: School Nutrition.

Salinsky, Eileen, and Wakina Scott. Obesity in America: A Growing
Threat. 11 July 2003. The George Washington University. 15 Sep. 2007
http://www.nhpf.org/pdfs_bp/BP_Obesity_7-03.pdf>.

Smolin, Lori A., Richard J. Deckelbaum, and Mary B. Grosvenor. Nutrition for Sports
and Exercises. Philadelphia: Chelsea House, 2005.


Unknown, Author. New News. National Coalition for Promoting
Physical Activity. 10 Sep. 2007 .

to permanently stunt?

Most of you have heard the story of Ashley, a now 9 year old who stopped growing psychologically at 3 months old. Although Ashley continued to grow physically, her brain capacity is that of a 3 month old. Sadly, Ashley needs help with everything including eating, going to the bathroom and even sitting up. There are thousands of children all over the world who have similar capabilities as Ashley, but her parents made headlines over the past few months because they wanted to stunt their daughters growing process, which would allow her to stay the same size for the rest of her life.

This surgery is the first of its kind, allowing doctors to take Ashley's ovaries and breast buds to halt puberty. Her parents call her a "pillow angel" and want to stunt their daughter's puberty so they can take better care of their daughter. The idea in theory makes sense, but below the surface there is a more complicated issue. First is the idea of morals. Yes their daughter is handicapped and it has been stated by doctors that her condition will not improve. However, how could parents want their daughter to go under the knife just to help them out? Ashley cannot speak for herself, nor would she be able to comprehend what is being done to her. Her parents should let her develop normally. The most astonishing thing about this story is this type of surgery has never been done before. Therefore the doctors do not exactly know what the consequences may be. This surgery may make Ashley's condition worse. When it all comes down to it, this is a sad story and it's amazing that parents would agree to let their daughter have a voluntary surgery.

With all of the public attention being directed to this family I wonder what other whacked out parents around the world will choose to do this. Is stunting the growth of a physically and mentally handicapped person going to become the norm?

To watch a news story video on this article visit http://www.knbc.com/video/10665238/index.html