A lot of media coverage in today's world deals with celebrity scandals. People find enjoyment out of reading of the exploits of other peoples lives and how they messed up and are going to pay for it. Celebrity scandals are a waste of media coverage and can tarnish a persons image.
Recently has been the well known Tiger Woods scandal where he possibly had two affairs going on. Now people are all in an uproar over him and cheating on his wife. Let him and his family solve their problems on their own. It's not like he doesn't have enough to worry about being professional and having to uphold his status as the worlds best golfer.
Everyone deserves a little bit of privacy. Let them live their lives and carry on with what they do. It is no where near as big of a deal when your boss at work is having an affair with the secretary. Why should it be any different if they have a well known name? Let everyone live their life without criticizing them and worry about the problems in your own life. No one is perfect anyways.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Is Baseball Still America's Past Time?
In the most recent years football fans have skyrocketed while baseball fans have dwindled. America's past time seems to be getting over shadowed by the much larger fan base of football. Even with all the publicity of football, is baseball still Americas past time?
Football fans say that it is now Americas new past time. They believe that now because there is a larger fan base that they have taken over as the new past time. Also they say that it is harder in football to use illegal substances. Sure they can still use steroids, but they need to have a hard workout and stay in good shape. One other thing they love to poke at is no salary cap in baseball. Everyone loves to blame the Yankees for being so good on the salary they pay their players. Even though they have all these reasons, baseball is still Americas past time.
Baseball has been around in America since 1846 when it was first invented by Alexander Cartwright. Ever since then it has been the most popular sport in America and still is a big deal 150 years later. Football hasn't been around anywhere near as long and not as many memories. Baseball has stood the test of time and has earned it's spot. Also football is a one day a week commitment. Baseball has 162 games in the regular season and football has only 16. Also they only have commercials in between innings and pitching changes, not specially allowed times and shows for commercialism. Baseball is still the great American past time.
Football fans say that it is now Americas new past time. They believe that now because there is a larger fan base that they have taken over as the new past time. Also they say that it is harder in football to use illegal substances. Sure they can still use steroids, but they need to have a hard workout and stay in good shape. One other thing they love to poke at is no salary cap in baseball. Everyone loves to blame the Yankees for being so good on the salary they pay their players. Even though they have all these reasons, baseball is still Americas past time.
Baseball has been around in America since 1846 when it was first invented by Alexander Cartwright. Ever since then it has been the most popular sport in America and still is a big deal 150 years later. Football hasn't been around anywhere near as long and not as many memories. Baseball has stood the test of time and has earned it's spot. Also football is a one day a week commitment. Baseball has 162 games in the regular season and football has only 16. Also they only have commercials in between innings and pitching changes, not specially allowed times and shows for commercialism. Baseball is still the great American past time.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Brewers Pitchers are Choking
Recently the Brewers have made a complete turnaround. They used to be one of the worst teams in the league and now are contending to make the playoffs. But recently they have had one huge problem, their pitching. They have had games blown wide open because of their pitching. The only real encouragement where we felt safe is if we were up by a couple of runs and they pulled the other pitcher and start playing "Hells Bells". It was Trevor Time.
Last year the Brewers pitching staff was horrendous. The lowest starting pitcher ERA was their ace, Yovani Gallardo at 3.73. That is horrible for an ace if you want to contend. Ideally you want your ace to be at least lower 2's. The next starters were even worse. Braden Looper was next with a 5.22 ERA. That was pathetic. We need to get some better pitchers and quick.
One thing we could do maybe is try and get Ben Sheets back now that he has recovered from surgery. Hopefully he can stay healthy and we can improve. Also there is a possibility for us to get Jared Washburn. He would be a great asset to us in the near future having a veteran with a younger team.
Finally I think that in a couple of years our draft picks will pull through. The Brewers have one of the best farm systems in the league because of Doug Melvin. We need time to let some our younger players like Braun and Prince develop so we can get some older leadership. They will they hopefully provide a good example for the younger members. If all works out in a couple of years we will be contending for the World Series. Go Brewers!
Last year the Brewers pitching staff was horrendous. The lowest starting pitcher ERA was their ace, Yovani Gallardo at 3.73. That is horrible for an ace if you want to contend. Ideally you want your ace to be at least lower 2's. The next starters were even worse. Braden Looper was next with a 5.22 ERA. That was pathetic. We need to get some better pitchers and quick.
One thing we could do maybe is try and get Ben Sheets back now that he has recovered from surgery. Hopefully he can stay healthy and we can improve. Also there is a possibility for us to get Jared Washburn. He would be a great asset to us in the near future having a veteran with a younger team.
Finally I think that in a couple of years our draft picks will pull through. The Brewers have one of the best farm systems in the league because of Doug Melvin. We need time to let some our younger players like Braun and Prince develop so we can get some older leadership. They will they hopefully provide a good example for the younger members. If all works out in a couple of years we will be contending for the World Series. Go Brewers!
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Offshore Drilling?
Recently gas prices have gone way up. A couple of years ago it was a lot lower then it spiked to two and now everyone is complaining. Should the U.S. drill offshore in order to lower gas prices?
Scientists don't actually know how much oil there is along our coasts in the first place. Some estimate a very little, others more, but an agreed upon figure remains elusive. Furthermore, conservative and liberal economists alike acknowledge that it will likely be around 10 years before the first drops of offshore oil will actually start entering into the economy. Also, not until 2030 will, if there really is enough oil down there in the first place, will there be enough oil being produced to actually have a noticeable effect on the economy. Converted into dollars, that effect should be somewhere around only 3 or 4 cents per gallon of gas. Is the potential/inevitable environmental damage worth that no matter how great or small it is?
Over the month of July offshore drilling has bounded its way onto the main stage of the 2008 presidential contest. As Americans feel the burden of $4+ gas prices, presidential hopeful John McCain has done an effective job of shifting the focus to offshore drilling, which has proven to be his strongest method of shifting the polls as American's are looking for a way to easy there gas pump melancholy. McCain has clasped on to the idea of offshore drilling with the purpose of gaining traction in the polls. And who can blame him for it, he's trying to win an election and it's a smart campaign move. But a smart campaign move is all it really is. Offshore drilling is really an unimportant issue that will have minimal long term effects on the economy whether it is passed or not. At best, it will only damage the environment a little bit, it will lower unemployment by 0.02 percent, and ten years from now it will cause gas prices to be only $8.00 per gallon instead of $8.04. On the flip side, if we go doom and gloom and imagine things don't go so well, we could be looking at a number of environmental issues including dying coral reefs, severe damage to local ecosystems, inedible fish, thus killing off the fishing industry, really ugly oil spills from hurricanes or negligence that could take years to clean up, and lastly, a crippled tourist industry. Both outcomes are equally likely, and the actual outcome would probably be somewhere in the middle.
Scientists don't actually know how much oil there is along our coasts in the first place. Some estimate a very little, others more, but an agreed upon figure remains elusive. Furthermore, conservative and liberal economists alike acknowledge that it will likely be around 10 years before the first drops of offshore oil will actually start entering into the economy. Also, not until 2030 will, if there really is enough oil down there in the first place, will there be enough oil being produced to actually have a noticeable effect on the economy. Converted into dollars, that effect should be somewhere around only 3 or 4 cents per gallon of gas. Is the potential/inevitable environmental damage worth that no matter how great or small it is?
Over the month of July offshore drilling has bounded its way onto the main stage of the 2008 presidential contest. As Americans feel the burden of $4+ gas prices, presidential hopeful John McCain has done an effective job of shifting the focus to offshore drilling, which has proven to be his strongest method of shifting the polls as American's are looking for a way to easy there gas pump melancholy. McCain has clasped on to the idea of offshore drilling with the purpose of gaining traction in the polls. And who can blame him for it, he's trying to win an election and it's a smart campaign move. But a smart campaign move is all it really is. Offshore drilling is really an unimportant issue that will have minimal long term effects on the economy whether it is passed or not. At best, it will only damage the environment a little bit, it will lower unemployment by 0.02 percent, and ten years from now it will cause gas prices to be only $8.00 per gallon instead of $8.04. On the flip side, if we go doom and gloom and imagine things don't go so well, we could be looking at a number of environmental issues including dying coral reefs, severe damage to local ecosystems, inedible fish, thus killing off the fishing industry, really ugly oil spills from hurricanes or negligence that could take years to clean up, and lastly, a crippled tourist industry. Both outcomes are equally likely, and the actual outcome would probably be somewhere in the middle.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Violence in Video Games
Ever since I can remember video games have been a part of our lives for some kids. Most of us have owned or played a video game one time in their life. Some kids have a hard time imagining growing up without them. Video games first started off very innocent with Pong and Pacman. Now we have games like Grand Theft Auto, Call of Duty, and Gears of War. Do these violent games really affect us kids in our actions?
Those who have been trying to push this use some examples from kids who go and shoot up schools. Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold launched an assault on Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, murdering 13 and wounding 23 before turning the guns on themselves. Some blamed the attack on them playing the game, Doom. Also when they did a study and all the violent kids had a habit of playing violent video games. This seems like a huge generalization to me.
Most of the guys I know play video games. It is a thing we do to have fun and enjoy ourselves with friends. Just because my friend and I would become avid Gears of War players with blood and guts flying all over the place after we use a chainsaw on our latest victim. This action alone does nothing for changing our behavior. I used to be very laid back when it came to most things and not aggressive. That all changed when I joined wrestling. Most of the violence related to video games happens because it is a plan of action for the kid. When the Columbine kids were getting picked on at school they got fed up with it. So they created a hypothetical situation in Doom to plan it out. The video game wasn't the problem it was what was in their minds.
Those who have been trying to push this use some examples from kids who go and shoot up schools. Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold launched an assault on Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, murdering 13 and wounding 23 before turning the guns on themselves. Some blamed the attack on them playing the game, Doom. Also when they did a study and all the violent kids had a habit of playing violent video games. This seems like a huge generalization to me.
Most of the guys I know play video games. It is a thing we do to have fun and enjoy ourselves with friends. Just because my friend and I would become avid Gears of War players with blood and guts flying all over the place after we use a chainsaw on our latest victim. This action alone does nothing for changing our behavior. I used to be very laid back when it came to most things and not aggressive. That all changed when I joined wrestling. Most of the violence related to video games happens because it is a plan of action for the kid. When the Columbine kids were getting picked on at school they got fed up with it. So they created a hypothetical situation in Doom to plan it out. The video game wasn't the problem it was what was in their minds.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Twitter Benching Athletes
Coaches recently have been reading some players blogs to see some of their true feelings about the team. Recently for the Jets have had an instance recently with player David Clowney. Clowney wrote: "1 play in the 1st Half, 4 plays in the 2nd half . . . A bit disappointed about my playing time but very happy and satisfied about the win." This comment is pretty tame compared to some others. Texas Tech Marlon Williams was more harsh in his tweet about his coach not being able to make his own meetings. Because of this tweet, the team isn't allowed to use facebook, twitter, myspace, or the like. This is a little too harsh for a tweet.
According to the coaches all their actions are justified for the benefit of the team. With Clowney, Coach Ryan was not happy when he heard the comment and told Clowney as soon as possible. According to Ryan it was not in the interest of the team and was a very selfish comment. The Texas coach suspended his player because Twitter users are, "a bunch of narcissists that want to sit and type stuff about themselves all the time. We'll put mirrors in their lockers if that's necessary but they don't have to Twitter."
Most people don't use facebook or twitter to have everyone glorify themselves.Some use it to get rid of frustration, recreation, or fun. The Tech coach was not right in that everyone is narcissistic. Also the Jet coach went too far when Clowney was frustrated with his playing time and saying it publicly. Sure I have know people who have had their frustrations with their playing time and they aren't afraid to voice it. There is no problem with being disappointed. I have no problem with them benching players if they find evidence on Facebook if it is unnecessary. Even the Tech player was frustrated with his coach and kept it contained enough that it wasn't the worst possible. Most coaches just overact and bench the player.
According to the coaches all their actions are justified for the benefit of the team. With Clowney, Coach Ryan was not happy when he heard the comment and told Clowney as soon as possible. According to Ryan it was not in the interest of the team and was a very selfish comment. The Texas coach suspended his player because Twitter users are, "a bunch of narcissists that want to sit and type stuff about themselves all the time. We'll put mirrors in their lockers if that's necessary but they don't have to Twitter."
Most people don't use facebook or twitter to have everyone glorify themselves.Some use it to get rid of frustration, recreation, or fun. The Tech coach was not right in that everyone is narcissistic. Also the Jet coach went too far when Clowney was frustrated with his playing time and saying it publicly. Sure I have know people who have had their frustrations with their playing time and they aren't afraid to voice it. There is no problem with being disappointed. I have no problem with them benching players if they find evidence on Facebook if it is unnecessary. Even the Tech player was frustrated with his coach and kept it contained enough that it wasn't the worst possible. Most coaches just overact and bench the player.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Should the drinking age be lowered?
Ever since Wisconsin was the last state to up the drinking age to 21 because of threats of cut funding, there has been a fight for bringing the drinking age back to 18. My parents remember back in college they would sometimes go out on a date to the bar and have fun. Memories like this have lead some parents to push for lowering the drinking age and there isn't much opposition from teens.
Drinking is only a problem in excess. When you turn 18 you are considered an adult and able to make your own decisions. Why can't you also choose how much to drink? You can go to jail for as long as any other adult but you can't have alcohol without getting and underage ticket. Some U.S. students go over to Canada because the drinking age over there is 18. Sarah Rafson a University of Toronto junior say that sure there are drunken college parties in this city. But she swears she sees fewer instances of her peers slamming down drink after drink than she does in the United States. Her own birthday celebration in November, the day she sipped her first legal drop of alcohol, stopped at a couple of drinks, and she says she's been a light drinker since. "It's legal," she said. "It's no big deal." Most kids just get a kick out of it being illegal and the thrill it brings especially if the cops come and they have to run. Lowering it would maybe make it less likely for them to drink heavily.
Then again there are those out there who say that since the drinking age has been lowered, there have been less deaths. But how do they know that they just aren't doing a better job at preventing kids from drinking and driving. Also now we have a taxi system in some states where they will take you from the bar back home so you don't have to drive. MADD has been more prevalent and working. There are also those out there who think we aren't responsible enough to drink till 21. Either way you look at it there probably won't be a change for a while.
Drinking is only a problem in excess. When you turn 18 you are considered an adult and able to make your own decisions. Why can't you also choose how much to drink? You can go to jail for as long as any other adult but you can't have alcohol without getting and underage ticket. Some U.S. students go over to Canada because the drinking age over there is 18. Sarah Rafson a University of Toronto junior say that sure there are drunken college parties in this city. But she swears she sees fewer instances of her peers slamming down drink after drink than she does in the United States. Her own birthday celebration in November, the day she sipped her first legal drop of alcohol, stopped at a couple of drinks, and she says she's been a light drinker since. "It's legal," she said. "It's no big deal." Most kids just get a kick out of it being illegal and the thrill it brings especially if the cops come and they have to run. Lowering it would maybe make it less likely for them to drink heavily.
Then again there are those out there who say that since the drinking age has been lowered, there have been less deaths. But how do they know that they just aren't doing a better job at preventing kids from drinking and driving. Also now we have a taxi system in some states where they will take you from the bar back home so you don't have to drive. MADD has been more prevalent and working. There are also those out there who think we aren't responsible enough to drink till 21. Either way you look at it there probably won't be a change for a while.
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