Rating Women, it's a huge NO!

I am looking at the cover of People Magazine right now and the cover reads, "Beyonce World's Most Beautiful Woman!" In this world beauty is something that so many girls love but do not understand. Beauty is not being skinny, having amazing skin, straight teeth, and straight silky hair. Beauty is the way you treat others, the respect you give yourself, and the life you chose to lead.
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The only reason we believe sex sells and all the fake forms of beauty listed above are perfect is because media shoves it down our throat everyday. Girls believe they need to look that way for someone to find them attractive, or that they be accepted by others if they are beautiful. These beliefs only lead to eating disorders and a distorted self image. We need to empower women and all forms of beauty, not try to fit them all into one mold.

Ever since I was young and still to this day I have seen beautiful women grace the covers of our Magazines. I remember seeing tan skin, with dark straight hair, perfect straight teeth and I made the relation that it did not look like me. It took a long time to embrace my pale skin and my curly frizzy hair. It may not be the prototype of today but it is ME. If I continued to believe that I would be more attractive with a tan and dark straight hair, I wouldn't know what I would really look like. I would no longer be unique.

The fact of these media messages is that it begins to ruin young women's minds. We don't need to be judging and rating each other. Women need to stick together and understand that we are unique and yet all very beautiful. The psychological issues that come along with young women looking up to beauty magazines is so destructive and so unnecessary. We don't need to push perfection anymore. It is a time for change and that should include this image we all have of "beautiful" women.

The War on Drugs

I agree with Courtney's view on our Drug War. Her article is titles " The War on Drugs, Really?" and is located here. The United States does spend too much money on a war that we do not see any change in. We also spend so much time fighting the legalization of marijuana when we have bigger and more important issues in this world. Yes, Marijuana does alter your state of mind but there is a very small chance of overdosing. The article also included the amount of money spent on this war. Our government spent about $15 billion dollars in 2010. One of their thoughts is that having drugs available and easy to get will keep us from being healthy and safe. I agree with the statement, but since I have been in middle school accessing drugs is not hard. I don't use them but I think everyone knows some way or another to get your hands on them and I don't see this ever changing.

What we should be doing and what Courtney wrote in her article is that we should be helping with the rehabilitation of drug offenders. Throwing someone in jail for possessing illegal substances is not going to stop them from using or going back to that life as soon as they get out. We use so much tax money keeping up prisons, and we should be using that money to help with the people who are addicted to drugs. If we could provide them with rehab there would be a much greater chance of them making a change in their life. They need help not time in jail and then thrown back to the sharks. Our jail system is where we could help the war on drugs yet it's going against it.

We ultimately need to spend our money fighting cocaine, heroin, and meth that is taking over our slums and find a way to help those who are arrested for possession. If we are not progressing in these areas we are waisting our money.

YES WOMEN WANT FREE CONTRACEPTIVES, THOSE THINGS ARE EXPENSIVE.

I believe that free contraceptives should be offered. I'm not looking at this as a religious point of view but from a financial perspective. Birth control is expensive, even if you have insurance. If the health care bill is passed there will not be a co-pay on any contraceptive or sterilization. This is going to give women control over their lives and this is huge for todays society.

Some women will not use birth control for the only purpose of saving money. As we all know being sexually active and not using an contraceptives equals having a baby. This is happening all the time, especially in our economy. If women can not afford birth control when they want it, how are they going to financially afford a child that was not planned for. This will most likely lead to a family living off of government support for a very long time, when we could just foot the contraceptive bill. The good that would come from this bill would be babies being welcomed into a prepared home, fewer abortions, and help with the environmental problems caused by overpopulation.

There are some people who do not believe in offering free contraceptives and mostly known would be Catholic bishops. It is know that the Catholic religion is very strict on taking contraceptives but we have to have our eyes open to what is happening in 2012. The fact is that almost half of all pregnancies are unintended. And more than ever teens are becoming pregnant. You would think that becoming pregnant as a teen would get you grounded, not a TV show. Now that being pregnant is in some way glamorized by potentially being on TV, we need to have contraceptives available and easily assessable.

We need to push for this regardless of your religion. If this is not passed it is going to cause more harm than good. Free contraceptives does not mean that you have to buy a perspiration or take them, it's helping this country.

Rush Limbaugh, L.R.A. , Kony, Disgusting.

CuriousLurker posted an article on Little Green Footballs blog titled "President Obama, Sandra Fluke, Rush Limbaugh, and the Lord’s Resistance Army". They go on to say how outrageous Rush Limbaugh's article was, posted here. Rush says that the war with the L.R.A. is basically inconvenient and a waste of our time. One point Limbaugh makes is that no one has heard of the L.R.A. This is not our problem, this is the Medias problem for not shedding light on it. Also, because a mass murderer and war lord is not popular does not make the situation a waste of our time or money.

Obama sent 100 soldiers to Uganda to help capture Joseph Kony who is the leader of the L.R.A. This is the first time we have ever deployed U.S. soldiers to fight when we were not in danger. This was done because the people of the United States raised awareness and wanted Kony stopped. This is how the U.S. is supposed to operate. Our Constitution has very clearly placed at the top "We the People", it's time for our actions to start matching up to our statements.

Curious Lurker calls Limbaugh a "repugnant buffoon" and I could not agree more. Limbaugh says, "[The] Lord's Resistance Army are Christians. They are fighting the Muslims in Sudan. And Obama has sent troops, United States troops to remove them from the battlefield, which means kill them. That's what the lingo means, "to help regional forces remove from the battlefield," meaning capture or kill." The L.R.A. are not Christians in the slightest, and they are not fighting Muslims in Sudan. The L.R.A. is not fighting for anything. Kony only wants to keep his power so he takes children from their families, makes them kill their parents, rape women, and kill others. The U.S. is not only about protecting us it's about doing what's right. We need to protect those who cannot protect themselves.

To understand the L.R.A. more you should watch the video linked here on YouTube. It is a 30 minute video but if you are hanging around on the computer and have the time, it will hopefully open your eyes and bring light to what is happening in the world.

As long as we stay interested on this topic he will be stopped, and as long as those like Limbaugh continue placing it on the back burner or posting outrageously false information we will allow Kony to continue murdering innocent human beings.

George Santyana said, "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it." There are some people do not believe in the Holocaust and they did not learn from it, now history repeats itself in Uganda and other parts of Africa and some still do not want to learn from it.

I agree with CuriousLurker and their claims about Rush Limbaugh. This article is meant for everyone, not only those who can vote, or own a large corporation. If we all stick together and push for something to be done, it will be done.

It's time to stop the addictions

Gary Stromberg is the author of the article "My life with drugs, rock 'n' roll and addiction" that is posted here under the Opinion tab on CNN.com. Gary Stromberg told his story of his life in the music industry and his drug abbuse. He related his experience to Whitney Houston's death, saying that "It's a pity that now, Whitney will not have the option I had."

It's great to hear Gary's story and know that he was lucky enough to get out when he did and hopefully reach others who are going down the same path. Addicts need constant encouragement and they need to hear success stories like Gary's.

Gary wants everyone to know that living a life of addiction is not worth it. What you and I may consider rock bottom, addicts do not. An addict can loose their loved ones, their job, their house, their health, and still believe that life is better while getting high. In order to stop the addiction it takes an immense amount of power and courage. Gary's story is a light that some addicts can hold onto and see what their life can be without drugs.

Gary tells us of the stories he has had on his wild ride to fame and riches. He tells us of a crystal bowl filled with cocaine that sat on a table in his office. His experience and his road travelled is the evidence in this article. We get to know his struggles and just how far he fell. He lost his job, all of his money, his home, his friends, and be blamed it on everything except for himself and the drugs.

In the end Gary was one of the lucky few who survive addiction. He now gets the gift of sobriety and life. And he is doing his best to give everyone else this gift. I believe his heart goes out to Whitney and he can relate to her life in a way I never can. I'm pleased to see this article on CNN and I hope that it will be a light for those with addictions or will help those who are close to someone who is an addict. We need to do something about the drugs in the United States, it's ruining too many lives. We are smart enough now in 2012 to know that it is not all fun and games.

Women.....are coming to a front line near you. Let's hope not.

An article in the Austin Statesman talks about the mixed reviews for female troops. The argument is over women being allowed closer to the front lines. In 1944 it was decided that women were allowed in the brigades; the farthest area from enemy lines. Now battalions are being opened up to women and they are much closer to the enemy. Some don't believe women are allowed close enough and wish that there was no ban on women in combat at all.

The fact is that men are physically more inclined than women. You honestly don't have to do much in order to figure that out. Try watching MTV's Battle of the EX's. Men will always have more strength than women and they will most likely have to help out the women in order to win. This may be carrying them on their back or even waiting behind so that the women will have an easier time and the man will use all of his strength to catch up.

In the line of combat if you are carrying electronics, equipment and 50 lbs. of water a woman is not going to keep up with a man. It would be dangerous for the whole group if a woman falls behind or they will have to make the decision to leave her behind. In training there are modifications for women and if they are out on the front lines there are no modifications. It's completely dangerous and I'm quite tired of women empowerment if you ask me. I think it's about knowing your strengths and keeping everyone safe rather than letting your ego run wild.

This article is important to read because it's about the ever changing roles in society. For women it's about rights and for men it's about serving with women. Either way it's important for both sexes.