"Don't Ask, Don't Tell" to be repealed!!!

I was so pleased to read today that White House officials and leading congressional Democrats had reached an agreement on legislative language and a timetable for the repeal of the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. I wrote my junior theme on this issue because it had recently become a hot topic of debate, and all the information I found made me support the repeal of this bill. While it is still uncertain whether the deal has garnered enough votes to pass the House and Senate is still an exciting step forward for our nation's military. The plan is to unveil the proposal Tuesday morning. When the White House was asked for its official views on the matter, they quickly replied with their assent. Obama has been under pressure from gay rights activists since his inception due to his promise to repeal the law if he got into office. Although some, such as the Secretary of the Army, John McHugh, have been "effectively ignoring the policy" it is still nice to see the repeal made official.

Arizona- taking it too far?

We have been talking recently in class about the Arizona laws which were recently passed. Personally, I do not agree with these new laws as I think they contribute to racial profiling. Lizzie shared in class today the story about teachers being fired due to an accent, and so when I was looking through the news tonight I was amazed to find yet another story about Arizona...

In a letter dated May 20 to President Obama, Arizona Governor Janice Brewer requested helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles to help the Arizona government patrol the border. Maybe it's just me, but I think this is going too far to "provide the kind of support needed on the Arizona border." I understand that illegal immigration is an issue, and that our nation cannot support all of the people who want to immigrate to the United States. However, I feel that if it were easier or less time-consuming to become a legal immigrant people would not feel the need to cross the border illegally. I don't think that drones, helicopters, or more people manning the border are the solutions to this incredibly complicated problem. What do you think? Is there any way to solve this problem?

Women on submarines

Junior theme may be over, but as I was looking through the news today a story struck me because it was so related to my topic. I wrote about why minorities in the military have/still are receiving different treatment, and I focused on blacks and gays. Another focus that I considered was the role of women in the armed forces. Today I found a story about the first women to train to serve on submarines. For a long time submarine service has been off limits to women for a variety of reasons. Some might claim that there isn't enough room for male and female facilities while others will be more harsh, claiming simply that women can't cut it. It was recently announced that 11 women from the 2010 graduating class at the US Naval Academy had been accepted into the submarining program. People have called these women "trailblazers" but breaking gender barriers is far from these women's minds. "I am not doing this to be a trailblazer. I see us being just like our male counterparts, and I think we'll be accepted the same way." Claimed Marquette Reid. These women are tired of hearing excuses, and they simply want to be able to serve in the same ways that men have for quite some time. It doesn't seem like too much to ask. I am encouraged by the progress that these women are inspiring and hope that one day the military will be free of discrimination against minorities.

30 Days: Coal Mining in West Virginia

Today in class we watched an episode of 30 Days in which Morgan Spurlock returns to his home state of West Virginia to be a coal miner for 30 days. He learns the hardships of being a coal miner and living in a state where it is one of the best-paying jobs out there. I was extremely struck by some of the conditions that these men worked in; I knew it was bad, but I underestimated how old-fashioned a lot of the methods were. The thing that struck me the most, however, was the mountain-top removal process that they addressed for part of the episode. As one may guess, it is a method of mining where they literally take of the tops of mountains using explosives then collect the coal that is just below the surface. Perhaps it struck me because I wrote about mountain-top removal in my first blog post this year and how it was affecting people near St. Paul, Virginia. Some of the images were hard to look at because when I was in Virginia last summer I saw how beautiful that part of the country really is, and I saw first-hand how much mountain-top removal was destroying the natural environment there.
I know people talk a lot about "going green" and "reducing our carbon footprint" but how much can we change in a nation where 50% of our electricity comes from coal? We can use alternative energy sources such as solar and wind, but I don't know if it's possible to eliminate coal completely, especially because coal is so cheap and accessible in the US. I think more Americans need to be aware of where their power comes from and just how much they really are affecting the environment around them.

What do you think about alternate energy sources? Would it be possible to reduce the amount of mining and mountain-top removal in a country that relies so heavily on coal?

junior theme

Right now we are working on our big research paper of the year, junior theme. My topic focuses on the modern-day issue of gays in the military and their rights, and uses information about the rights of other minority groups such as women and blacks as background and historical references. I have been looking into the history of the rights of the various groups as I know very little on the topic, and found the book Unfriendly Fire by Nathaniel Frank. I also plan to watch Glory, a film about the US Civil War's first all black volunteer company. Hopefully this will help both with the recent events aspect and also with the historical part, but if anyone has any other suggestions for books, movies, or articles that would be greatly appreciated!!

Advertising

Recently in class we have been talking about advertising, and how much it has become integrated into our lives. Someone mentioned that they though advertising was a hoax so the question was posed, "Is advertising all lies?" I don't think that advertising is lies at all; it is simply an extremely carefully crafted (or perhaps constructed) truth or not the whole truth. My mom is in the marketing business so maybe I have a little more insight on what goes on before the advertisements are exposed to the world, and so I have learned just how much time is put into advertising. Take a magazine for example. Everything from the front cover shot to the last word on the final page has to be carefully examined to make sure it is exactly what the client wants because the companies do not make these magazines themselves. Instead, they send out what they want to a marketing agency, and continue to tweek it until it's exactly the way they want it. Just to put things in perspective, they start working on the Christmas editions at the beginning of the summer or earlier because the process of getting every last detail right takes so long. I don't think companies lie to their prospective customers because they now they could get sued for false advertising. However, companies have used to use words that will entice people in even if they aren't always true. For example, "as low as", "up to", and "approximately" to list just a few. All of these leave room for flexibility on the part of the company, making it unnecessary for them to say exactly what they mean.

What do you think about advertising? How much of it is the truth and how much of it isn't?

"Can talent outweigh size in Hollywood?"

After the Oscars last week, there was much talk about the rising actress, Gabourey Sidibe, and whether her weight will impact her future in the acting world. Some people think that in a town full of super skinny girls and women she will not fit in or be able to find work because there wont be roles that will fit her. Howard Stern asked, "What movie could she play in? You feel bad because everyone pretends that she's part of show business, and she's never going to be in another movie." I thought this was a rather harsh description. Robin Quivers also suggested that she look around at the Oscars and realize that no one there looked like her, but, again, I think this is an overly harsh criticism. I watched an interview of her on the red carpet, and I was blown away by how much energy and personality she brought to the stage in comparison to some of the other stars who looked downright bored. I think her personality will allow her to be cast in some great movies in the future. And I'm not the only one. Casting directors said that she has "irresistible charm, wit and confidence". To top it all off, she's got serious talent. I haven't seen the movie, but from everything I've heard it was downright amazing, and Sidibe had a difficult part. Rachel Tenner, a casting director, insisted that the star power Sidibe showed in Precious will be enough to push her past the presumptions about what type of role she can and cannot play.

I think this debate shows who we are as a nation; we are obsessed with the media, and although we claim to be accepting of diversity, we really aren't. The fact that her future was even questioned because of how she looks is unnerving. Does everyone have to fit in to some sort of mold to be successful?