Wednesday, August 03, 2005

Some things on the news recently that have been weighing heavily on my mind:

First I am so happy that everyone on board the plane that crashed in Toronto is fine! They were all very fortunate.

Subway booths are closing down while the MTA says their is a 10 million surplus, which is going to security. Hello isn't having subway booths part of security? I guess the 10 million is for the extra officers checking bags. What if something God forbid happens on the subway track or in the subway. It's good to know that a clerk would be in the booth with a button to contact help or do something themselves.

As mentioned the police are checking bags after the two bombings in London. I guess they are hoping checking is a deterrent for terrorists to try that here. First checking bags isn't legal, and honestly doesn't make me feel safer. I don't want something terrible happening but I don't believe anything can unfortunately stop it. And I'm not being a defeatist. Someday I think there can be peace. Maybe some feel safer with the checking but I feel our civil liberties are more and more being taken away.

Senator Santorums book "It Takes a Family:Conservatism and the Common Good" states that both parents working is “selfish”. He is a senator with a comfortable income. His wife can opt to stay at home to be with their six children. I don’t think most everyday people opt for that and even if there are some who do, I personally don’t believe all children resent working parents. Both my parents had to work and I know my mom would have rather been a stay at home mother, but I don’t condemn her for having a job. I only remember the times she was there. I know she too had to work to put food on the table, pay bills and buy us things we needed. And why not pay stay at home mothers and father just like, people who commute to work are paid? Stay at home parents work equally as hard. Being a parents is also a very important job if not the most. The book further goes on to promote home schooling because the nation's public schools are in poor condition. Why not try to repair the public schools by putting more money into them, hiring more teachers, training them better, paying them better? No Senator Santorum rather run away from the problem. And I'm not saying everyone who home schools their child is making a bad choice. I just don't appreciate the senator looking down on public school education.

And come to think of it. Why does there have to be the competition about who stays at home and who works. Who looks one way, who looks the other, who can have children biologically and who can't.

I was pretty shocked to hear that radio stations are being paid by record labels to run certain artists more on the radio. I just don't think that's right. How does a singer feel good about themselves knowing the only reason their single and record is popular is because radio stations are being paid to solely promote them? How is that fair to other artists out there?

My friend Jennifer sent me a petition I hope you will also sign against John Roberts nomination as the newest supreme court justice. Even though he is elected doesn't mean that we cannot let our disapproval be heard. Click here.

If you get a chance please read some articles I had published at All Things Girls. It's a great publication and I recommend reading all their articles. I enjoy reading it and just wanted to see if someplace else besides my college paper and my two internships would take my writing. The articles are three movie reviews: The Terminal,
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants,and Mr. 3000.
And two cooking articles: Memories of My Mother's Kitchen and Cooking with Tofu. Thank you.

Song Stuck In My Head: "Higher Love" by Steve Winwood

5 comments:

foodiechickie said...

I love The Daily Show. Jon Stewart should run for President. And the creator of Family Guy should be VP. I don't understand how people who go into the political world do not care at all about helping people. Disgusting.

Mike said...

Missed this post yesterday. Good point about Senator Santorum. I think his point is a good one, he just comes off as very snobish in the way he explains it. I this most people would agree that having a parent at home is good for kids, but in most cases its not financially possible.

Now regarding checking bags on subways. I have three questions for you...

1) Are you opposed to having your bags and personal belongings searching at the airport?

2) Would you get a plane that didn't screen the passengers and luggage?

3) How many times have you had your bag searched on the subway? I asked Niel this last week and he said he never had his searched.

foodiechickie said...

I don't agree with his politics obviously, and yes does come off as a snob. Parents who stay at home should be helped. Raising a child is not regarded as important I guess. Giving large corporations tax breaks is on the other hand.

Yes.

Yes. Nothing is going to stop these people. It's not a deterent. They'll just find otherways to be asses. And little by little they are winning when our freedom is being taken away. They want us to live in fear. And by far meaning all these things for our own "protection" are really just ways for us to be afraid. Why should I let them win.

None yet. But I don't have to like it. It's illegal. And we are becoming more and more like the nations we are trying to help be a democracy.

Mike said...

I guess you can look at it two ways. Look at the Israeli airline El Al (sp?). They have some of the toughest, most thorough security for their airline, and it's one of, if not the safest airline. The reason their security is so tough is because they use their own security, not the standard run of the mill security guy who's making just above minimum wage.

So I see your point about how checking bags is not really efficient or a deterant if you don't have trained, skilled people doing it. But that being said, if Im on the subway, and I see some suspicious looking guy with a backpack, who's sweating and looks really nervous; I'd like a police office, or some type of security person around to check the guy out.

But I guess as long as terror groups continue to try to use freedom as a weapon against us, we'll see more and more of this.

foodiechickie said...

The example of what happened in London with the under cover cops worries me too.