Memes and Outrages
Dec. 23rd, 2003 01:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
elfsI'd believe this one:
Name: Thunder Cat
Secret Identity: Omaha Sternberg
Special Power: Somatic Stick
Transportation: Electric Bathtub
Weapon: Lightning Bolt
Costume: Leopard Skin Gauntlets
Sidekick: Igor
Nemesis: Cindy the Younger
Tragic Flaw: Fear of spiders
Favorite Food: Cheese
Except I know that she's not afraid of spiders.
The American Public Health Association had its big meeting this month, and A rep from the Center for Consumer Freedom lived to tell the tale. Among the many ideas floated to prevent obesity, age limits on food (Doritos presumably will be "adults only", like porn), taxes on high-fat foods, zoning controls that distinguish between "fast food" restaurants and others, and raising the price of even "slow food" restaurants because "they're too convenient." This isn't funny anymore.
In all the hoopla about the Supreme Court's rulings this month, one went by almost unnoticed: Maryland v. Pringle. What the Supremes said, in effect, was that if illegal drugs or weapons are found in a car and nobody claims them, everybody in the car goes to jail. This can be especially chilling to parents whose teenage kids may be riding with questionable friends.
Remember, you have a right to refuse a policeman's request to search your car. Unless the cop can already see contraband, he cannot require a search or conduct arrest.
"Crate a balance bean with masking tape." "Think about a time when your family work together." "Identify student strengthens and weaknesses." "Describe a fish with shinning scales." "Take children on a liter walk and discuss clean neighborhoods." "Site George Orwell's Animal Farm and use it to discuss the importance of rules."
The above is from the New York City Department of Education's Curriculum 2004-2005. Do you feel educated yet?
Lauren Lee got two "A"s in her classes at a public school, one in an honors-level geometry class. That would be good but Lauren doesn't go to public school. She transferred from her middle school to a private school. Her former school sent her records to her "designate" public school anyway, and most teachers dutifully recorded her as "incomplete" and "inattendent." But the school never contacted Lauren's mother about her truancy and two teachers gave her A-marks.
Still feeling educated?
In 1986, Alan Sears, now head of some Christian "ex-gay" movement, took some unauthorized letterhead from the office of the U.S. Attorney General, and wrote a letter to Southland Corp. Sears was, at the time, an assistant to the Attorney General's Commission on Pornography, which is how he acquired the letterhead. In the letter, he identified Southland (then owner of the 7-11 convenience store chain) as "a major distributor of pornography," and told Southland it could expect to be hearing from the Attorney General very soon.
Southland panicked. They yanked all the Playboy and Penthouse displays out of their stores. Well, the 7-11 corporation is thinking about bringing them back. And Family News in Focus doesn't want that to happen.
Yeah, okay, I'll still buy friends music for Yule.
Name: Thunder Cat
Secret Identity: Omaha Sternberg
Special Power: Somatic Stick
Transportation: Electric Bathtub
Weapon: Lightning Bolt
Costume: Leopard Skin Gauntlets
Sidekick: Igor
Nemesis: Cindy the Younger
Tragic Flaw: Fear of spiders
Favorite Food: Cheese
Except I know that she's not afraid of spiders.
The American Public Health Association had its big meeting this month, and A rep from the Center for Consumer Freedom lived to tell the tale. Among the many ideas floated to prevent obesity, age limits on food (Doritos presumably will be "adults only", like porn), taxes on high-fat foods, zoning controls that distinguish between "fast food" restaurants and others, and raising the price of even "slow food" restaurants because "they're too convenient." This isn't funny anymore.
In all the hoopla about the Supreme Court's rulings this month, one went by almost unnoticed: Maryland v. Pringle. What the Supremes said, in effect, was that if illegal drugs or weapons are found in a car and nobody claims them, everybody in the car goes to jail. This can be especially chilling to parents whose teenage kids may be riding with questionable friends.
Remember, you have a right to refuse a policeman's request to search your car. Unless the cop can already see contraband, he cannot require a search or conduct arrest.
"Crate a balance bean with masking tape." "Think about a time when your family work together." "Identify student strengthens and weaknesses." "Describe a fish with shinning scales." "Take children on a liter walk and discuss clean neighborhoods." "Site George Orwell's Animal Farm and use it to discuss the importance of rules."
The above is from the New York City Department of Education's Curriculum 2004-2005. Do you feel educated yet?
Lauren Lee got two "A"s in her classes at a public school, one in an honors-level geometry class. That would be good but Lauren doesn't go to public school. She transferred from her middle school to a private school. Her former school sent her records to her "designate" public school anyway, and most teachers dutifully recorded her as "incomplete" and "inattendent." But the school never contacted Lauren's mother about her truancy and two teachers gave her A-marks.
Still feeling educated?
In 1986, Alan Sears, now head of some Christian "ex-gay" movement, took some unauthorized letterhead from the office of the U.S. Attorney General, and wrote a letter to Southland Corp. Sears was, at the time, an assistant to the Attorney General's Commission on Pornography, which is how he acquired the letterhead. In the letter, he identified Southland (then owner of the 7-11 convenience store chain) as "a major distributor of pornography," and told Southland it could expect to be hearing from the Attorney General very soon.
Southland panicked. They yanked all the Playboy and Penthouse displays out of their stores. Well, the 7-11 corporation is thinking about bringing them back. And Family News in Focus doesn't want that to happen.
Yeah, okay, I'll still buy friends music for Yule.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2003-12-23 11:15 pm (UTC)This is really scary. Gave me pause and made me rethink my stance on tobacco regulations. I still think tobacco should be treated as a harmful substance, but only because others smoking in my presence hurts ME, not just them. Eating is not in this category, and only harms the overindulger themselves. Of course, then rationalizations could be made that it does indeed harm others when you think about the health effects that are caused by obesity and the fact that the medical industry is being used to treat many of them. In essence, people who over-eat are one of a number of direct causes for rising health insurance rates.
An interesting thought experiment. I guess in my ideal world, I think that people should be allowed to smoke, eat, do drugs, whatever, as long as they hurt no one else in the doing. the real dilemma, of course, is where to draw the line at when it hurts others. Overeating only directly harms the person eating, but indirectly, causes expense to others. The same can be argued about drugs, or tobacco (if only smoked when not around other people). If one is being totally logical, they could argue that the fault is actually with the medical and insurance communities for covering expenses related to "voluntary" medical problems that could be cured by prevention. This, of course, opens the slippery slope of other medical problems that insurance covers - dentistry, sports injuries, etc.
Where does the line get drawn?
no subject
Date: 2003-12-26 08:34 pm (UTC)My big beef right now is the cost associated with pregnancy. There's a voluntary medical condition that is a HUGE expense for other members of the insurance plan. The worst of all is fertility treatments. I recently read a post by a new mother who was bragging -- bragging -- that her premature triplets (a common result with fertility drugs) ran up expenses of upwards of two million dollars, all covered by her insurance. No wonder my HMO was more than happy to pick up the tab for my vasectomy!
Jeremy
no subject
Date: 2003-12-24 02:34 am (UTC)