Killing Craigslist

I can not believe that the best solution that the man could think of included persuading the head of Craigslist to close down the erotic section of the site. That makes about as much as sense as saying, "someone was killed in a Burger King parking lot, so we should close down all Burger King Parking lots." Not only is this is far from problem solving, it presents yet another problem... of the "Quick Fix America Syndrome". If you want to correct and long-term problem, the solution deserves time to really get down and dirty to clear up any residual messes so that the long-term problem does not return with a Godzilla-sized vengeance.

Take A Little Time To Clean Your Recyclables

Seriously

In what America considers to be, and uses as her own personal dumpsters, live people who spend their days cleaning out or recyclables.

We are definitely not the only ones who ship our recycling off to other countries, but from what I have recently experienced we are the only ones that dispose of our recyclables without cleaning them.

I spent a couple of years living in France and a couple in Germany and in both places, three things always took place with respect to recyclables: (1) they were placed into individual bins (i.e.: white glass, aluminum, paper, packaging, etc.); (2) the recyclables were not placed inside of bags that were of a different makeup (i.e.: putting plastic bottles inside of a paper bag); and (3) recyclables with perishable items were always cleaned prior to disposal. I asked over and over again, “Why is this necessary? We never do this in the U.S.,” this was always the response that I received.

Modern technology is still not able to clean and sort our recyclables one hundred percent. This is why people are required in order to take out recyclables out of packaging that may not be recycled the same way (if at all) and must empty out massive amounts of remains by hand prior to recycling the products. As Americans, we believe there is the magical place where garbage goes, never to return again. If you do not recycle, you need to start today. If you do recycle, take a little time to rinse out or completely use up whatever is inside of your recyclable materials.

Seriously.

...because balance is the key.

Let's balance the state of the economy, the environment and everything else…

Speak out for the environment. Even though we are told that actions speak louder than words, we continue to ignore the intense cries shooting out of the pores of mother earth, in order to indulge in our short-term conveniences.

Reuse. Reduce. Recycle. Just like your body holds the story of your life, mother earth holds the history of our actions and each person should defend, protect and nurture his/her temple as often as possible.

With regards to global warming, stop talking and heed the impassioned warnings flowing continuously out of the mouth of Al Gore, which all bog down to one thing…. Stop Talking and Do Something!

We are running out of time and when we are all drowning, burning, starving or any other number of slow torturous deaths that will be our rewards as a result of our actions, we will have no reason to complain and no one to blame but ourselves.

This piece of artwork is one of a series from my collection of the future of our environment. In our throw away society, I see the world filled with trees and other shrubbery made from garbage because we will not have any where else to put it. And “You don’t me” is one of many slogans that I painted onto my creation made out of other people’s garbage.

If you are rich enough to follow through with my next idea, than just do it: (1) create and organization and have the appropriate permits and what not so this is executed on excellent terms; (2) collect donations from your friends, I don’ care how, but just get it done (via parties and what not). (3) Then during a press conference, offer it to the U.S, economy as a gi-normous (combination of enormous and gigantic) donation to be used only to pay off the debt. Not money to bail out businesses that are stuck in the past. Not to continue raising the salaries of the CEOs and those two steps behind them. Not for anything else that sounds stupid. Only use these funds as a donation towards an immediate improvement in a shitty situation. And if you and your friends are still feeling generous, then donate to your hometown, city, and state. You should know what’s needed where you live.

Speaking of money in your hometowns, one great way to help out is to get involved in local grocers and make an abundance of healthy foods available to people in low income neighborhoods. Continue to talk about our obesity epidemic is the reason that it hasn’t changed.

Children, hell, people need to exercise daily. They need to have healthy eating lifestyles and they need to eat healthy foods. And every time that the economy goes in the crapper or more people find themselves on the lower end of the economic stick, they eat what fills them up. And in poor neighborhoods, frozen meals and fast foods are always affordable.

Say no to the Food Modernization and Safety Act of 2009. It not only targets organic farmers, but also makes it illegal to grow produce in your own backyard for the purpose of consumption.

Let's balance the state of the economy, the environment and everything else…

Short Summary of Last Night's American Idol Performances

Let me start by saying, either way this group will be going on tour and the singles that they are currently releasing already give most of them a better chance of having a music career since this exposure is hard not to see (even if you don't care).

Overall, last night's performances were just a non-eventful as most Hollywood films. I do enjoy Quentin Tarantino and his work and actually found him to be one of the more credible guest coaches on the show. He didn't hesitate to say, who his favorites were and give each singer constructuve criticism.

Performace order is as follows and the numbers refer to my rating on a scale of 1 to 7 (with 1 being the best) and a one-word summary of the contestant's performance:

Alison - engaging (3)
Anoop - soulful (5)
Adam - damn (1)
Matt - searching (7)
Danny - focused (6)
Kris - inspired (4)
Lil - Passionate (2)

What if...

What if …

Your partner didn’t like your pet. Would you get rid of the pet?

No. First of all, the pet should be introduced to the potential spouse long before s/he becomes a spouse. If the pet is new, then the couple should go pet shopping together. This question addresses an old family friend. If I hid my beloved pet from my beloved spouse, then what else could I be hiding? And if the pet is not found of the spouse that is a sign of potential marital issues (aside from the lying) that should be investigated sooner or later. How do I know this? I know this because pets adopt their owner’s stronger characteristics as their main characteristics. As long as the pet owner has been up front and honest with his/her new spouse, the threesome should have no issues living happily ever after.

Potential Laws

Unfortunately our tax dollars are attempting to work against the few ways that people are able to survive during these tough economic times.

There are many more bills that you should search for on your own, but HR-875 and S-425 are the two that I would like to focus on… for now.

In short, they seek to put organic farmers out of business and even prevent people from growing their own food in their own backyards for their own personal consumption. This is referred to as “The Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009.” Although, it has nothing to do with safety and everything to do with big business making more money, there are quite a few big wigs, who are really pushing for this bill. We need to push them with our own words.

If you have never taken the time to write to your representatives, congressmen, etc. now would be a wonderful time to do so, otherwise, this law will create a lot more lawbreakers.

Oversized Fast Food Epedemic

Obesity is an epidemic that is killing America. Although there are a plethora of causes that feed this disease, fast food remains at the core. According to David Zinczenko, “without more [understandable] warnings for consumers, we’ll see more sick, obese children” and adults alike plaguing our nation. He feels that obesity is destroying American consumers from the inside out. Even though what’s being consumed is more bad than good, it’s being considered nourishment because it’s cheap and fulfilling.

Obesity is an epidemic that is attacking American citizens at a younger and younger age. By the age of five, children have had so much fast food that their hearts are already exhibiting signs of disease. By the age of twenty, these same people are at risk for a heart attack. Just this year alone, I’ve personally heard of three people in their twenties that all appeared to be healthy and just had heart attacks and died. My friend, Joe, who had been active all of his life, had a heart attack and died while he was playing his weekly game of water polo.

Zinczenko discusses how cigarette packs and alcohol bottles carry applicable warnings for their side affects and that fast food should carry them as well. I don’t agree with this point. I hate the idea of putting warning labels on all that is bad (or good). If someone wants to know the specifics for dietary reasons, I think it should be available. Excess information is numbing to people. Everyone should be offered a very general understanding of nutrition at a young age. For instance, children should have a valid nutritional chart memorized. Gradually, each person should learn what he needs nutritionally in order to maintain, gain or lose weight in a healthy manner as it pertains to his body weight and choice of eating lifestyles.

It’s unfortunate that the unhealthy fast food is more readily available to the public than the healthy food. I’ve been a vegetarian for most of my life and if I don’t completely plan out everything I’m going to eat I starve. Eating is something that is fairly easy to monitor. It took me a few trials but I discovered that I like to eat four to five small meals a day and some snacks. There isn’t any place where I can run in and pick up ready-made vegetarian food at an inexpensive price. I’m not saying that vegetarianism is the way to a healthy America, but a healthy eating lifestyle needs to be enforced throughout the country otherwise obesity will emerge victorious.

In order to change the progress of this epidemic, I believe more energy should be shifted towards the children. In any given situation, people know that children are more likely to change their minds about something, learn a language so why not teach them to alter their eating habits. In France, obesity has begun to attack their youth. They implemented computer systems that have each student’s weight, height and other pertinent information included or their student body card. Before they can get lunch each day, they are required to construct a nourishing lunch. They did mention that this was expensive and risky but the government felt that it was worth it.

Food is not the only problem plaguing the youth. I teach dance and I have not only witnessed the increase of obese children in my classes but also seen it occurring in younger and younger children. I have teenagers that can hardly do two pushups and four-year-olds that will focus for an entire ballet class just to get McDonald’s as a reward. My own sister would much rather spend her hard-earned money on the latest diet then workout on a regular basis. This country spends more on diets than any other and coupled with eating poorly puts an even larger strain on the human body.

Even when America complained that fast food was unhealthy and demanded a healthier alternative, the fast food companies made more aesthetic changes than healthy ones. They began selling a larger variety of salad dressings and some companies even sold chicken in place of beef on the menu. This is all great, but the problem is that these same companies piled so many appealing (and again unhealthy) additives onto these healthy changes that the new products were worse for the consumer than the original.

Since no one with power is willing to invest in a healthy America, the children have taken it upon themselves to live healthier lives. They don’t need a warning label on this fast food, no one does. America just needs an alternative. Americans need fast food that truly is nutritious and healthy. This country doesn’t need grilled fatless children that is marinated in soy sauce or taco salads that come with chili on top.

The number of those that are just overweight is large than those that are obese. Also, the number of those that are well on their way to heart disease is larger than both groups combined. Not only do I agree with the children suing the fast food industry but I believe that anyone that has the opportunity to do so should become a plaintiff. David Zinczenko is correct regarding the availability of this inexpensive and filling food but I don’t think that warning labels on fast food will detour people from eating unhealthy.

I can’t believe that emergency vehicles are available in a super-size because the normal vehicles aren’t equipped to carry obese people. This is an additional charge because they come with a built-on forklift among other additives. There isn’t a quick fix for this epidemic; it’s been infecting consumers since the creation of the first fast food restaurant. I dare the powerful to overhaul these fast food eyesores and create fast, costly and healthy alternatives for the consumers. Most consumers wish they could eat healthier but don’t have the time nor the money to do so. If fast healthy alternatives were available as much as current fast food, I think that America would make the right choice.