The Day of Silence + Class Board Speeches = ?!?!

I have always been an avid supporter of LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transexual) rights. I am a believer in homosexual marriage and I believe love is a powerful emotion that no one has the right to control. Whether that love is between a man and a woman or two men, love is the same emotion in everyone. Although I unfortunately have had conflicts with being in GSA (Gay Straight Alliance) at our school, I have always participated in the annual Day of Silence. The Day of Silence, in April of every year, is a movement against anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying, and harassment in schools! Supporters of GSA everywhere do not speak for the entire day, demonstrating their acceptance of LGBT equality with straight men and women everywhere.

I read through the day of silence website prior to April 14th, and immediately I knew it was a cause I was willing to support. I have a few gay friends, and it hasn't changed anything I think about them, or the way I act around them. My mom has a few homosexual colleagues that I have known over the years and many of them are like family to me. So when I hear stories of harassment against homosexuals, or anyoen who LGBT for that matter, I am immediately dumbfounded and embarassed, frustrated and confused!

So in my support, I bought a Day of Silence t-shirt and awaited the day. I read up on some LGBT harassment and it drove me even more to participate. According to one article, "Students who know of a school policy specifically prohibiting harassment based on sexual orientation are 19% less likely to be harassed based on sexual orientation and 25% more likely to feel safe at school." So schools are taking action.

This is why I became so angry: as a member of student government, I was required to give a campaign speech last Friday for the entire class. The class board speeches were scheduled on the Day of Silence. After appealing to the head of Student Activities, I was still upset to find that no one was willing to change the date of the board speeches. I was upset that I was not going to be able to be silent to support my feelings about LGBT rights and equality.

And although you may think to yourself, why, if my opinions about gay rights are so strong, did I still make my speech? Because if I become a member of student government, I will be put in a leadership position. With this power, I can then take the responsibility to create a more welcoming and equal environment in our school.

So yes, my Day of Silence was anything but silent. However, my opinions stay where they are. The Day of Silence was and still is an amazing cause, and I hope that in the future I can help make our student body aware. And maybe, just maybe, even the majority of GBN can be silent one day of the year.

The video below is a Public Service Announcement for the Day of Silence. Hopefully if I have not made my opinions clear or convincing, this video will persuade you that the Day of Silence is a good cause!

Space Shuttle Discovery Makes a New Launch Today

Today, the space shuttle Discovery was launched! I would never have realized this had happened unless I had happened to read the headline on CNN. com today. I believe the simple fact that I had heard nothing about the space launch says a lot about the prominence of space travel in our society right now.

Discovery was launched this evening for the international space station. According to the article from CNN, Discovery is bringing supplies to the space station. On this past Wednesday, a hydrogen leak had been detected on the ship, which delayed the initial launch of the shuttle. All repairs are going well so far.

Discovery is also bringing the supplies needed to expand the crew on the space station, which NASA is planning to double from 3 crew members to 6. Supplies are also being brought to repair a machine on the station that converts urine into drinkable water. (WHAT! Who knew there was a machine that does that! Seems a bit unsanitary...)

According to another news article, the crew being sent to the space station are going to install more solar-energy equipment.

I remember that when I was younger, space launches and space travel, as well as other dealings with NASA, were highly publicized within my school and within the news. Why has universal knowledge of what is going on in space research declined so rapidly in recent time? It makes me sad that there are so many fantastic achievements and updates in the world of space travel and engineering, and that the nation is distracted from such accomplishments. 

Images found 

http://news.cnet.com/8301-11386_3-10196685-76.html

and

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH.space/03/15/shuttle.launch/index.html

Divorce is Deadly?

A new study has shown that divorces can actually hurt a women's health. However, the study has shown that it only affects middle aged women, not men, and only women of that age group. Health concerns that have been linked to marital trouble include high blood pressure, excess belly fat, and other health risks that promote a woman's risk for heart attack, stroke, and diabetes.

In this study, a professor from the University of Utah professor took 276 couples and tried to discover whether the main cause for these health problems was depression directly caused by marital troubles. The research showed that middle age women are more likely to become depressed than other women. The only health effects that were found in the men of the couples were the depressive emotional conditions, which hadn't affected their physical health.

The study also did not prove that getting a divorce would allow a woman to escape the health risks of marital trouble, for divorces often cause further depressive symptoms.

This article discusses the symptoms of depression, which plagues over 14 million Americans today. The symptoms of high blood pressure, anxiety, and other moods were common results of the study done about marriages.

So what does this mean? Further studies will continue to research married couples and how marital trouble affects the mind and body. The question is: how can we make these studies more accurate and more applicable to our modern day society? Will we in the future have to take more aspects of marriage into consideration, or possibly incorporate same sex marriages?

And will this affect divorce rates in our modern day society? Science, once again, is coming closer and closer to controlling even the romance in our lives!

Image found: http://www.ktbotanicals.com/images/Depression.jpg

and

http://uscmediareligion.org/images/upload/Marriage.jpg

Flu Shots: Do they really work?

Before this weekend, the only time I have ever gotten the flu was the one year I got a flu shot. Therefore, I haven't gotten a flu shot since, which as been about five years. But today, when the doctor told me that I had contracted influenza, he said ti was because I didn't have a flu shot. Bored and sick at home, I decided to do some research to see how effective the flu shot really is.

This first WebMD article discussed the effectiveness in the 2007-2008 flu season. It said the vaccine was only 44% effective for that flu season and that two of the three components of the vaccination did not match the strains of the influenza virus that plagued most Americans. However, the 44% effectiveness is still better than the 0% effectiveness of no vaccination at all.

The second article I found was extremely helpful. It answered some important, commonly asked questions about the flu vaccination and how it effective it is. The article stated that is important to get a flu shot every year because it reduces the risk one has of getting the flu during the annual flu season, which is usually from November to April. The vaccine takes two weeks to become effective, which may have explained why I had gotten the flu five years ago, I may have been vaccinated to late into the flu season. Also, when asked if one can still get influenza after being vaccinated, the article states, "If the viruses in the vaccine and the influenza viruses circulating in the community are closely matched, vaccine effectiveness is higher. If they are not closely matched, vaccine effectiveness can be reduced. However, it is important to remember that even when the viruses are not closely matched, the vaccine can still protect many people and prevent flu-related complications."

So, moral of the story? Get a flu vaccine. Because, although not always effective, being vaccinated lowers the risk and is better than being completely prone to influenza, like I always have been. 

And if this doesn't convince you enough, take a look at this PSA (public service announcent) From the American Lung Association. (found http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRvnL5_og8g)

14 Children: Was it ethical?

When I wake up in the mornings, the first thing I do is go downstairs to eat breakfast. I sit in front of the TV with the Chicago news station on, but I tend to doze off and not pay attention. However, the other day I was intrigued by a certain news story.

Earlier this week, a woman from Southern California gave birth to octuplets! She had six boys and two girls, and it was only the second time in American history that a woman has and octuplets that have lived more than several hours after birth. Doctors are saying that the babies are in good condition, and they are expected to live although they must stay in the hospital for a few more weeks. 

When I heard about this miraculous happening, I was at first overjoyed thinking that the babies survived! However, new information was disclosed to the media and public recently. In this Yahoo news article, the public found out that the woman already had six kids before her recent births!!! This has spun a media chaos and an immediate medical ethics controversy.

Some doctors say that it is not their role to decide how big one's family should be, while others are completely appalled by the fact that a doctor would administer fertility drugs, and plant multiple embryos (yes it was invetro fertilization) in a woman who already had six kids!

I understand both viewpoints. A doctor cannot refuse a patient if the patient wishes to have more children. However, this woman was almost 100,000 dollars in debt, and I can't imagine that will be helped with her new grand total of children adding up to 14. The father has been identified, but it hasn't been disclosed whether he is present in the lives of the children, since the woman lives at home with her parents in a single-story house.

I just honestly hope this woman will be able to take care of children, and if that is the case, I wish them a healthy lifestyle!

And in this CBS news article, the father of the mom of these children only wanted one more kid! So is this really an ethical controversy and can the other doctors of America do anything about it?

Picture courtesy of http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/45415000/jpg/_45415810_006788823-1.jpg

My New Music Discovery

Apparently I am extremely behind on the Internet's capabilities. After receiving some extremely generous iTunes giftcards, I am newly obsessed with the growing music compilation on my computer. However, I can never create sufficient playlists of the same types of music.

So, of course, when confused, I allowed myself to Google and find an answer. And what do I find but.. Internet Radio! 

I was so confused yet fascinated. How can there be an Internet Radio and how successful would it be? I was directed to Pandora, a free Internet site that uses the Music Genome Project to create personal playlists. You type in a favorite song or artist, and the site creates a playlist of songs that have common characteristics as the one you searched. After typing in Jack Johnson, the site gave me a complete looping playlist of acoustic chill music that is from artists like Jason Mraz, Jack Johnson, Matt Nathanson, and others. I am absolutely amazed by the quality of the music and the convenience of the site. 

After talking to some of my other friends, apparently they already knew about Internet Radio! However, although it is evident that I am way behind on my new discovery, I remain dumbfounded.. and completely obsessed!

-Image found through Google images from the following site: http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0007GAEVW.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

True Love Becomes Scientific?

My homepage on my Safari internet is CNN.com, and usually I take a few minutes each day to browse any interesting articles. However, the article I found one night is the most fascinating one I have seen yet. 

It states that it has now been scientifically proven that a person can find love with another that indeed lasts a lifetime. They tested couples with brain scans, and detected their levels of passion for their partner. These were the certain chemical reactions that were occurring in the brains of the test subjects.

I can't say if this is a bunch of baloney, because I honestly don't even know! However, if this really true, it does make me wonder what other aspects of our social lives will one day be controlled and detected by scientific means...

Image found through Google Images from: www.lovespeaks.net/images/colourful-hearts-candyheart-love1.jpg