Legal vs Illegal

We have all been raised to recognize the ill side effects of drug and to stay away from them because of their harsh side effects and their illegality. Is the government really doing a service by making these drugs, we all ready know to be bad, illegal to have and sell? I think making drugs illegal makes more problems than it is worth. The illegality has caused a powerful and dangerous black market.

Many dollars and hours of detective work are spent on investigating and keeping drugs of the streets. Most of all, many lives are ruined and lost because of the extremely profitable business of drugs. The government has made these dangerous drugs even more life threatening by making them illegal and allowing organized crime to be built around them. Making these drugs legal would take out the profitability and organized crime built up around these drugs.

Drug control should rely in the hands of the individual and be a product of good parenting.
This is another example of the government stepping beyond its bounds and making a problem worse by getting involved.

College Playoffs

I know it has been said a thousand times, but college needs playoffs. Playoffs would boost the ratings of college football and make its national champions more legitimate. Many of my friends complain they can get into college football because there is no playoff system. Its one bowl and thats it. One loss at the end of the season and your shot at the national title is history.

A playoff system would provide more finality and sense of accomplishment as well. The current system leaves many fans at a loss because their team was not the most popular. I feel that this has upset the football gods for far too long. I predict playoffs to be seen in the next 10 years.

Bad Press

We have all heard the news about Tiger Woods and his affairs, and Michael Phelps and his weed. Everyone looks down on these former role models for young athletes and say it is terrible how they have negatively influenced the youth of america. What they did was wrong and did not set a good example, but I think the general public is ignoring a big detail in those stories. If these controversies and evidence of role models gone bad is so damaging to today's youth than why is this information all over every TV screen?

At some point the media as well as the viewers have to start being somewhat responsible. If the stories about Phelps and Woods were bad for the American youth they should not have been published for the youth of America to see. This story would not be damaging at all if it was not reported, but no one is upset at reporters. If the news isn't doing any good or preventing bad, it should not be news. These stories are just sensless journalism.

Monopoly

I'm sure most people remember from American history the immoral practices of corrupt railroad companies of the early industrial revolution. This problem was solved through government regulation, where many laws were made to prevent immoral business practices. A little later in history antitrust acts are installed to prevent monopolies and market control. These seem to be good improvements that help the individual man as well as the economy overall. However, many businessmen and economists are skeptical of all these government regualtions and lack of "laissez faire".

As I said before Daniels seemed to imply these problems could be solved without government intervention, and the free market would prevail. While bad business practices create a demand for other companies with good practices, a high barrier to entry can make it unlikely another business will arise. This is especially true when monopolies can be built around products with inelastic demand, such as medicine or even water. Maybe certain products will need to be protected or social action will be required in this instance.

It is important to remember that capitalism relies on the human mechanism of reason to work. This means capitalism not only operates on people's desire to advance and better them selves given incentive, but also relies on people making smart decisions to progress. Every other system of economical and social concern stifles the individual's own reason and does not protect essential rights every person deserves. Other systems count on the goverment to make these decisions for the individual. I feel much more comfortable making these decisions for myself.

Unregulated Capitalism

I atteneded a a lecture by Eric Daniels at Thomas last night, where he provided a moral defense for unregualted capitalism. He states that capitalism's economic feasability is not usually contested, but rather labeled as immoral. He claims capitalism is not usually explained well on a moral basis and misunderstood even by the man who coined the term "Capitalism", Karl Marx.

In this lecture Daniel explains how Capitalism is the only system where the individual's rights can be upheld and protected. Daniel's also explains how the government should only be concerned with nation defense, policing, and judicial affairs. This government serves as a nuetral third party that can settle disputes and protect the people. Daniel's also entertained questions about how to found this government since people can not be taxed under free market economics. There are many suggestions for this mechanism, such as businesses paying for the government's services for settling disputes and charitable contributions from the public. Daniel's added if the people where not taxed and had a choice, the majority of people would be likely to pay for the government's sevices as long as they did a valuable service.

A question I did not get to pose was how the domination of monopolies can be prevented, such as the railroad tycoons of the 19th century.

Water!

Not sure if you heard the news, but yes there is water on the moon. It has been hinted at since the moon was first studied by NASA that water may exist on this desolate satellite. Even the Apollo mission detected trace amounts of water, but this was thought to be from contamination of the astronauts. This previously thought conquered rock has proven to still have a few tricks up its sleeve.

Now that water is found, what's next? With water comes life, so many doors are opened with this small (32 ounces per ton of moon surface), yet significant finding. If there is water on the moon then where else may water be, and what secrets still lye in our own solar system. I suspect there will be some surprising developments involving the moon in upcoming decades. These developments may lead to a chain reaction that decreases the need to look to a galaxy far, far away for "spatial adventure." I can only imagine what else is still unknown about our surroundings.

Here's an article if you want to know more:
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/090923-moon-water-discovery.html

Ode to BK

Burger King has all the great snacks,
If your mom loves you it is what she packs,
Breakfast, lunch, and even dinner,
Expect BK to be the winner.

Hamburgers, cheeseburgers, french fries galore,
Chicken sangwiches, cola, and grease for sure.
Ketchup or mayo, you be the boss,
They're both a great catch, just ask Randy Moss.

Don't be fooled by other fast food,
BK has class and sets the mood.
Ronald and Wendy may have their own offer,
But the King is on top because he has the Whopper.

Sweatshop

Whenever you hear the term "sweatshop" most people immediately think of inhumane child labor forced upon children in a third world country by a big company. It seems that "sweatshop" rightfully has a bad connotation. I recently heard some things that altered my perspective on US sweatshops, and should be considered before passing judgment.

The majority of workers in many sweatshops are 15 year-old girls. Many of their tasks do not fit National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) standards and injuries are common. For this reason many people despise the sweatshops and protest against them. However, most people do not consider the alternatives these children have. Many of these 15 year-old girls would have to turn to prostitution to survive, and in fact many did before the sweatshops were there. Besides the fact that prostitution has many more health, as well as psychological, hazards, the girls can make a better leaving at the sweatshops.

What about the other children? The other children could work at other non-US factories, make less money, and be subject to just as bad if not worse conditions. Many people do not think about why children in third world countries work in US sweatshops. It isn't because the US forces them to, it is because it is their best alternative.

Until these countries develop into a middle class society their children are forced to carry a terrible burden. The burden is not placed on the children by US sweatshops, but by the poor conditions of the country. I am not saying sweatshops are the answer to their problems, but they provide many of the children with a better alternative. Their pay is usually twice the local factory's pay. It is for this reason that people should help these children by developing their society into a productive economy, before trying to shut down the sweatshops.

Unfortunate

I thought this was unfortunately funny, so take a look at this website and play the video. If you take a close look you can see the losing team celebrating in the background before the game is over. But the best part is the guy who spikes the ball falls to his knees right in front of the camera.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/Vermont-football-team-wins-after-crazy-fumble-re?urn=nfl,193475

Buddhism

I'm sure you have many misleading one liners about Buddhism, "the world is empty", "there is no self", and "life is suffering". While all these things are true in Buddhism, they present an image to the American public that is not very accurate. These are lines taken out of context and require insight into the religion. I don't claim to be a Buddhist scholar or pretend to have the absolute say on this subject matter, but the following is what I believe.

"The world is empty" relies on the belief when you break everything down to their individual parts they are meaningless. "There is no self" is based on the belief that everything is changing and nothing is permanent. I think it is more beneficial in this case to state "there is no permanent self". To say "life is suffering" does not mean people are never happy. It means there is nothing that can supply one with permanent happiness they desire, and thus everyone is left unsatisfied and suffering.

This is a good example of how first glances are not always very accurate.

The Rise of Depression

It was brought to my attention that one third of the American population is on antidepressants. This was shocking to me since I thought when I was growing up that depression is rare and only effects a small part of the population. However, one third is very significant. So I then think, is this because more and more people are becoming depressed in an increasing sedentary life style and unsatisfactory 9-5 desk jobs? This seems plausible, that depression is becoming more common because of the unsatisfactory lives people live. Maybe too many people are living for a monotary value and leading empty lives. This maybe true, but I think there is a better explanation for this unexpected statistic.

More and more people are coming forward and talking about their problems now that it is culturally acceptable. It is the common believe in the present that sharing your feelings is good. In the generations before us, your feelings were better off ignored because you had more important things to worry about. So, with this change in public mentality it isn't as surprising of a statistic. Before you were crazy if you saw a psychiatrist, but now the psychiatrist is being viewed more as a regular doctor for average people with problems. This makes more sense since we all have problems. Why not go to a profession for advice?

Some say many patients are over medication, but I believe this is a small percentage of the population. Most of the antidepressants are perscribed to the benefit of people who aren't as happy as they could be do to countless reasons (once again, not because they are crazy). The bright side of this statistis is that most people who need help are actually getting it instead of being pushed aside.

Tweener!

I can't believe this shot really happened. I was just talking about it with my room mate and the unheard of happened. This is definitely the best shot I have ever seen. Check it out and tell me if you have seen better and then send me a clip of it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37qyvTRVus8

A Noteworthy Post

My name is Doug and this is my first attempt at creating a personal blog. I will be striving to achieve noteworthy posts that will attract positive attention, and even spark curiosity. These noteworthy posts will probably be random and whatever I happen to be thinking of that minute, hour, day, week, etc. With that being said, I will propose my first topic.

Is Walmart a threat to the US economy?

This question was first posed to me by the media, on talk shows, the news, and even South Park. A considerable amount of people across the country seemed to think Walmart was in some way "evil" and was actually hurting the US economy as well as the American people. I didn't think about it much until my friend brought it up after he had seen a video accusing Walmart of many negative economic effects. He showed me part of the video and we discussed it afterwards.

The main arguements from the movie were as follows:
1. Walmart puts small businesses out of business and lowers nearby property values
2. Walmart does not provide most of its employees with health care plans
3. Outsourcing

My friend agreed with the movie that these were all bad business practices. However, when I saw the movie I didn't see many facts or unexplainable "evils" Walmart may have commited. Most of the movie appeared to be emotional appeal, and not much economics.

The way I see it, Walmart, being a very successful business, will inevidably put small businesses out of business. I feel bad for the small business owners, but that is business. I don't see why Walmart not providing their workers with health care is an outrage either. If people do not like these conditions, they shouldn't work for Walmart. Also, there are many government programs that offer health care plans to those in need. Finally the most controversial topic, outsourcing. This is the most complicated matter, and unfortunately I can not give a well rounded answer to this. I realize outsourcing hurts the low skilled labor force in the short run, but I'm not sure how it effects the US economy. It may cause more of the American public to go school and better themselves, or it might just make others poorer. Even if outsourcing is proven to be a problem, I don't think Walmart is necessarily solely to blame. If foreign labor and imports were hurting the US economy, could tarrifs on these services not be imposed by the government?

Even though I don't think there is anything wrong with Walmart I respect those who despise it and refuse to shop there. I think they are being responsible consumers and standing up for what they believe in. However, I have my doubts about those who think Walmart is terrible and continue to shop there. If you think Walmart is detrimental, doesn't it make sense that you are part of the problem by continuing shopping or working there? I wonder what percentage of people who are against Walmart still support it economically...