Sports on Capitol Hill

Apparently Congress has nothing better to do than sit around arguing about federal legislation for steroid use……and the FBI has nothing better to do than interrogate Clemens. You’d never know that there’s a war going on…..or that the American Government is plummeting into a recession. I haven’t heard nearly as much about Stagflation as I have about steroids lately. I suppose this is just another disappointing example of what our society and culture has become. To me the problem seems incredibly superfluous and has no place being discussed as a federal issue. What is more unnerving is the fact that it’s become such a huge news topic. This is almost as aggravating as the media coverage of Paris Hilton’s arrest. I think if there needs to be federal legislation about anything it’s what can be taken as a serious news story and political issue. I’m sick of CNN coverage of pop-culture. It’s these kind of situations that make the rest of the world think American’s are a bunch of morons.

Stop the harassment

There’s currently an election for the 48th district seat on the New York state Senate. After a few minor problemsincluding Will Barclay winning his appeal to run on the independence line and forcing all machines to be switched in an exceptionally short amount of time, the polls are open…..and thank God. This campaign has been over the top and incredibly irritating with negative attack ads and finger pointing. To me, these ads simply demobilize the political process by “putting a bad taste in ones mouth” about both candidates. The daily television and radio ads claiming that Barclay only cares about money and Aubertine doesn’t care about anything are tiring.  As a student and worker in Oswego County, but resident in Cayuga, it has been exceedingly unnerving for me to watch and be harassed daily about a campaign that I have essentially no control in. Everywhere I go there are people standing in traffic holding signs, desperately trying to squeeze in some last-minute voters. Despite the misfortunate damaging effects of negative ads on John Kerry’s presidential campaign in 2004, it seems that negative campaigning is widely believed to work. 

“There’s this gut reaction that if a political advertisement is negative, it must have a deleterious affect on American politics,” says Goldstein. “Contrary to conventional wisdom, the more that people are exposed to negative advertising, the more they know, the more engaged they are and the more likely they are to vote.” http://www.news.wisc.edu/14606

One of the reasons why attack ads can hinder an election is because they sometimes become too personal.  It seems that citizens are more likely to want an ad that enlightens them to some previously unpercieved issues, but that’s it. The politician can be seen in a negative light for making bad decisions in his career, (or planning to), but should not be pointed at or chastised for matters that aren’t directly involved with the election. As for me, it seems that most politicians are beating a dead horse at the end of their campaigns and whether or not that encourages a person to veote is entirely up to them but it sure is aggravating.  

Obama v Clinton—who needs help?

It’s come to my attention that certain candidates in this election are more pro-participation than others. For reasons unbeknown to me, Hilary Clinton has not only one or two ways to help her campaign but several. From “hillblazers” to the standard “make phone calls and send out e-mails options, the Clinton campaign committee seems desperate for participation and most of it is geered toward the younger generation. This is especially interesting when one considers that most young people are behind Obama. Obama’s website is not nearly as pro-involvement.

Stupid Americans?

Call it patriotism, nationalism or ethnocentrism, (although America doesn’t have a clearly defined ethnicity) but we as Americans likely think that we are better in most areas than other countries. It’s this ignorance that is the very subject in question. Why is it that a young Japanese child can recite all of the presidents of the United States but a 30-year old American man cannot, let alone a young American child. My 14-year-old sister doesn’t know why we’re at war in Iraq, which isn’t that surprising as many “experts” can’t come to a clear answer either. It’s the sad truth, as over-educated as Americans are in comparison to the rest of the world, we are still shamefully ignorant. The problem does not seem to be the over-priced college system, ( apparently we are getting what we pay for) but the flawed high school system. Bill and Melinda Gates have been bringing this to people’s attention for years and what they have to say is shocking. Not only are we dealing with a flawed and under ambitious public school system but within it lies glaring social and economic inequalities. Many kids lose their chance at a good education and career before they even know they have one. Bill and Melinda Gates have established a philanthropist foundation to help raise awareness and help fight these inequalities. The United States Department of Education seems very good at sugar-coating and concealing these details. It’s near impossible to find new and compelling statistics on their international comparisons in education website. If we don’t fix the problem with k-12 education in high school then college won’t even matter. As we all know it is much easier to learn and retain information at a young age, therefore shouldn’t we as the competitive nation that we are, be trying harder and striving for higher standards in children’s education?

Respect Your Elders

I work in a pharmacy. I don’t mind my job. What I do mind is the part of my job that is not in it’s description. Insurance. Particularly Medicaid and Medicare part D. Before I delve into the specific factual details of these two plans I will lay out a preliminary “plain language”, introduction to the problems with these insurances. Perhaps I am not objective, but on a daily basis I see persons whom do not need government assistance receiving superfluous “medications” free of charge. Medicaid customers may have a copay of $1.00 on a $300.00 dollar drug but maintain the right to waive this copay, (something not possible to any other insured person). “Copay waivers”, tend to drive vehicles more expensive than yours or mine and participate in behavior that are not only expensive but further diminish their health and cause more cost on the tax-payers, (i.e. smoking and alcohol consumption). Not only do the majority of these people cheat the system, but they have a terrible attitude and are likely to yell at myself, the cashier and pharmacist for absolutely any problem. On the other side of the spectrum are the persons on Medicare. These senior citizens have worked their entire life only to have copays ranging from $3.00 all the way up to full price of a drug when they have a deductible. They pay for these drugs that are necessary for their survival from the tiny amount of social security and pensions that they receive. They are polite, they understand, they ask why and comprehend that apparently they have not given the government enough in their lifetime to be respected in old age. These older citizens are taking half of their medications and budgeting their money just to barely survive. Yet still, they do not complain,(too much). These senior citizens are bombarded with different plans for part D and have no one to turn to for answers. Who is to blame?

What American Products?

A professor of mine raised a few questions the other day that gave way to some interesting answers. He asked, “How many of you think about buying American products?”…….silence. He then asked, “Do any of you try to buy American cars, does that enter into your purchase at all. The general consensus was that we 20-somethings will all buy the most low-mileage and cheap vehicle we can (aside from the few people lucky enough to have their parents buy them a new car in which case they opted for a Honda, Toyota or similar, “foreign” vehicle.) He then asked how many of our grandparents would only buy Chevy or Ford. Those of us with parents roughly over the age of 75 raised our hands. My ww2 veteran grandfather practically disowned me when he learned where most of my electronics came from. So what’s going on? Do we as a generation just not care about our economy or are our grandparents simply ignorant? I suspect the answer may be somewhere in between. We then explored the question, what if we wanted to buy all-American made products? Where would we go? The last TV manufacturing factory in America shut down years ago, most Chevy motors and transmissions are made in Asian countries, only 10 percent of a car has to be assembled in America to be considered American-made, and my Hondai is assembled somewhere in the Midwest, so what is an American product? Upon investigation I stumbled across several seemingly tacky and underdeveloped websites with an answer for that question. American made products can still be found. However, there is a nifty disclaimer on the side claiming that not all of these listings are 100% American. There are also vertically integrated apparel shops that claim to be sweat-shop free. One must wonder however, where the materials used to make these products come from. Or, if like Haynes tee-shirts made of 100% American cotton, the materials are spun in sweatshops over seas. I suppose the bigger question is whether or not any of this matters or if it’s simply a side-effect of globalization. As a post-industrialized nation, do we really want to have our society laboring away in factories (coal burning problems aside), when we have the resources to become a culture of educated experts instead?