More Swine Flu

As a precautionary measure to protect children against swine flu, many schools are sending out emails, making parents and children aware, and some are even closing for a small period of time. Lourdes Lee Valeriano, one blog author, has a daughter in school and is "heartened by the attention the schools are giving the issue—and the matter-of-fact way they’re going about it." I agree with Valeriano. I think that it is very important for schools to be careful, but I like that they are doing so in a calm manner. The last thing we need is all of the children becoming paranoid about dying from swine flu. I think that the media should have the same attitude as the school systems. It does no good to anyone for the media to cause fear about swine flu. I think they chould be informative, but calm, which is opposite of what they are doing. Just googling swin flu news, I found many articles that contradicted each other. It seems that none of them really have any facts and all the news is based off of rumors. Its as if America is crowded around a campfire and all the news stations are taking turns telling a scary story, but each one has to exaggerate the numbers a little more in order to top the last one. Who knows how many people have contracted the disease or how many have died? I do know, however, that most cases in America have been treated, so Im just gonna relax. There are other things on my mind. Afterall, finals are in one week.

Read the blog at http://www.businessweek.com/careers/workingparents/blog/archives/2009/04/swine_flu_what.html

Calm Down

Every where you look there is an article or news story warning everyone that the swine flu could become a huge pandemic and is very dangerous. I understand that swine flu could be deadly and cold be easily spread, but I feel like normal people are over reacting. Im not talking about politicians, they are doing their job; they have to be prepared for anything so it makes sense that they are taking every precaution. However, it appears that the average person is freaking out about a huge pandemic that hasn't even started. There are no reported deaths form swine flu in the United States, yet still people are panicking. I think that Jay Gordon had it right in his blog when he stated that "This virus is being made to sound mysterious because the diagnoses are being made in scattered areas. This should merely highlight the fact that tens or hundreds of thousands of people with bad colds might have this same virus, are getting better and what we really need to do is wash our hands, get rest, stay well-hydrated and stay calm." I think everyone needs to relax and just take Mr. Gordon's advice of staying clean. I also think the government needs to promote this idea and help to relax the public. People look to the government to know how to act in different situations, so if government officials are calm, the American people will do the same.

Read one of the many articles at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/richard-walden/swine-flu-outbreak-precau_b_191609.html

and Jay Gordon's blog at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jay-gordon/tamiflurumsfeldh1n1-redux_b_191606.html

I thought you werent supposed to have a brain...

There is a huge controversy right now surrounding the Miss USA Pageant. Apparently it is a huge deal that Miss California is conservative and is willing to defend her beliefs and morals. She should be ashamed! How dare someone not support gay marriage at an event that according to one blog writer is watched by "just women and gay men." I don't understand what all the fuss is about. There is nothing wrong with answering a question honestly. I am proud that she had the courage to tell millions of people her stance on a controversial issue even though it cost her the crown. I think that the writer of the blog also agrees, but decided to use sarcasm in his blog to get his point across. Basically, its a beauty pageant. A beauty queen has a mind of her own. I know that this is really a huge issue, especially since its a conservative mind of her own, but I think everyone just needs to leave the poor girl alone. Aren't there other things to worry about?

Read the article at http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,517599,00.html

and the blog at http://www.celebitchy.com/47309/miss_california_opposes_gay_marriage_pageant-loving_gay_men_revolt/

Kill the Senile!

Apparently when grandma becomes senile, she needs to commit suicide because she will be too much of a burden to us. Um....really? This argument could be made for anyone; the mentally challenged, the handicap, even younger siblings when they are in the "terrible twos" stage! This is one of the dumbest suggestions I have heard in a while, but what was even more shocking was that people actually agree with this statement! On one blog site, a man claims that it is worth it to kill the senile because it is better for the economy; we shouldn't "Waste" money on people who aren't entirely there mentally. What was even more shocking was that the majority of the comments that were left on the site agreed with the blogger! It seems that everyone forgets that one day they will be old as well. I guess when the economy goes to hell, so do morals. Lets not forget that suicide is a sin, but I guess I can't really expect any of these people to understand that. After all, it is the atheist blog. I just think that it is so selfish to kill people who are "burdens." People think that the death penalty is wrong, but its acceptable to kill people who are ill? This just doesn't make any sense to me. I feel sorry for the parents and grandparents of these people. The moment they get old, there will either be a hit man after them, or they will be shipped off to a nursing home. Thank you mom for bringing me into this world, but I can no longer handle mental illness. I'm afraid ill have to let (or make) you go.

You can read the blog at http://atheistnexus.org/group/atheistnews/forum/topics/senile-have-a-duty-to-die

and here is the article under discussion http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article1713716.ece

Deja Vu

Just in case you havn't heard (I dont know how it is possible not to have heard), there have been more than 800 "tea parties" around the country today to protest the federal government's taxation, spending, and debt. Kinda reminds me of another tea party... The Obama Administration has raised taxes, increased spending, and printed more money when there isn't enough to do what he wants. The problem is that he is using the tax payer's money to pay off business' debts. So we are funding the largest government takeover of private industry. Karl Marx would be so proud! The American people are extremely upset and they are making sure that the government knows about it. I dont know why everyone is so angry; socialism has worked for countless other countries...The Soviet Union...China....oh wait, Im sorry it hasn't worked. Maybe that news needs to be spread to Washington, more specifically, the White House. Well, Obama certainly has brought change..

Michell Malkin has a few different articles about this on her blog at http://michellemalkin.com/2009/04/15/massive-tax-day-tea-party-usa/

and you can read one of the many articles about this at http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D97J48IO2.html

Promises Promises....

I found the song "Promises Promises" by Naked Eyes going through my head as I read through a couple articles concerning President Obama. The first article was over the highly criticized eavesdropping programs of George W. Bush's terms. Apparently Obama was just kidding, its not such a bad idea to listen in on everyone's phone conversations. Calm down everyone. I have the explanation. Its a double standard; you see when Bush did it, it was "undermining the constitution", but when performed under Obama, it is "lawful and necessary." I know, what a relief. The second article is referring to the promise that "no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase. Not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes." The tax on tobacco has just been raised 62 cents to make it $1.01. Sure "Government and private research has found that smoking rates are higher among people of low income," but this is important. Yeah sorry they were just trying to get elected....No wait! My mistake, Obama wouldn't lie to the American people like that, its all for our own good. By raising the tax, he can now afford to give health insurance to all children because it turns out he can't raise taxes on the wealthy enough to do that. Also, this will just help everyone stop smoking. Personally, I dont care if the government listens in on my conversations; I have nothing to hide. I also dont smoke so the new tax doesnt affect me, but I do think that it is wrong for the government to say one thing and do the exact opposite. Well, President Obama did promise change right?


For the article about eavesdropping http://www.foxnews.com/politics/first100days/2009/04/13/obama-administration-upholds-terrorist-surveillance-secrecy-rules/

For the one about taxes http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090401/ap_on_go_pr_wh/obama_tax_promise

And just for kicks, the song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJP2PH8WKaI

We Need More Pollution!

There is yet another proposal to stop global warming that apparently the Obama administration is really taking into consideration. We must shoot pollution particles into the upper atmosphere to reflect the sun's rays. Yes, pollution particles. I don't know if firing pollution into the atmosphere is the best plan to stop the theory of global warming. This plan seems very drastic. I thought we were supposed to reduce pollution....are we not? I guess we can risk the possibility of soaring greenhouse gasses if it will prevent this theory from possibly destroying us all. So, shall I pollute more to help out? I figure they need as much pollution as they can get. Isn't the upper atmosphere pretty big?

Check it out at http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,513242,00.html

Media Coverage of Lost Soldiers

When George H. W. Bush was president, a law was enacted to prevent the media from covering the return of U.S. military personnel who were killed in combat. The law was created as a way to protect the families of those killed. The Obama administration has altered the law; leaving it up to the family to decide whether they wanted to allow news cameras into the ceremony. It was thought that the ban was enacted to shield the public from the cost of war. I dont think that this is true. All the media does is report the negative aspects of every war. Take the war in Iraq for example, all people hear about is how many bombs have gone off and how many soldiers and civilians have been killed. The media never reports on how many schools have been reopened or how people are now able to return to work without fear of bombings. The news makes sure that the American people know how many U. S. soldiers have been killed every month of the war. I dont think that the changes made to the ban are wrong. I agree that the families should be able to decide whether they want the media at the ceremony, but I think that the reasons for why the ban was enacted in the first place is incorrect. I believe that it was created to protect the families. The news already reports enough negative material, does it really need any more?