Health Care Reform

Since several people put down "health care" as an area of our society today that needs to be reformed the most, I decided to do a little research to find out what people are doing to change this area of our society. I found that Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar "is hosting a national summit on health care reform at the University of Minnesota" tomorrow (Article). They are calling the summit "Prescription for Reform," and its main goal is to find ways to improve and strengthen the health care system in the United States. The health care system is under review because with our current economic situation, many people cannot afford health care, especially those who have lost their jobs. What solution will they come up with at this conference? Will it actually be implement into our government? What effect would a change in the health care system have on our society?

The Self-Made Man a Myth?

I just opened my internet browser, and on my Google News homepage, one of the articles caught my eye because of its direct correlation to our discussion today about how Americans idolize those who "pull themselves up by their bootstraps". The article, entitled The Self-Made Man a Myth?, describes the best-selling author Malcolm Gladwell's new book, where he explores the idea of the self-made man through methods of out-of the-box thinking. He come to a conclusion that such a man does not exist. After we described all the characteristics of self-made men in class today and even came up with a large list of specific people, I found Gladwell's argument difficult to believe. Although he give legitimate examples and supports them, I do not think his warrents as described in the article are strong enough to disprove the common-belief in the self-made man. To me, it almost sounds like he is supporting the characteristics we listed on the board today.

His claim for why certain people were able to achieve great things is because there are things "you simply can't control" such as "luck"that are major factors in determining if one is successful. He gives the example of Bill Gates, somebody who as a class we listed on the board as being a self-made man, among other CEOs of major companiesto be sucessful men he was born in 1955. According to Gladwell, this was the optimum year to be born. The reason these men are sucessful "is not a coincidence. It has to do with the fact that the personal computer revolution happens in 1975 when they were 20 years old and that is the perfect age to be confronted with a revolution. Right? You don't have a family or kids or a mortgage. Your mind is wide open. You've got nothing at stake in the existing order of things and you can embrace some new paradigm."

I agree with Gladwell that these men did have good circumstances for sucess, but I disagree that these are not self-made men. They still were hard working, determined, came from humble beginings, and were risk-takers, all characterics that they instilled in themselves that allowed them to achieve great things.

What is the true definition of the self-made man? Does the self-made exist? Do Gladwell's warrants validate his arguement?

Progress in the World of Video Games?

Although I almost never play video games myself, I see my brothers and their friends frequently head down to our basement and turn on the Xbox. Yesterday, my mom and I were in the kitchen and she started complaining that all the boys ever do is play "Halo", and I began to wonder if video games really were a positive technological advancement, or if they are having a negative effect on people. This article describes some of the negative effects of gaming: the "central physiological systems in the body can be affected when you play violent games without your being aware of it." Video games can be almost anti-social and involve just sitting inactively in front of the television for hours on end. Wouldn't it be better just to play an "old-fashioned"board game or go out side and toss a ball around? Or perhaps have a family-bonding game night or touch football with the neighbors?
The average video-gamer would argue no, that these are things of the past. However, new advances in video game technology has allowed for video games that focus on personal fitness. "Exercise gaming" was introduced to the market through Wii Fit, a popular game that leads you in exercises while you stand on a weight sensitive mat, and then gives you feed back on your level of fitness. This is taking video-gaming in a new direction along with our health-conscious society. Recently EA Games announced that they will be introducing a rival game to Wii Fit in 2009. The EA sports president said of the game, "we have a real opportunity to redefine the home fitness experience with a more Western cardiovascular approach and exercises that will appeal to a diverse audience, getting people off the couch and into shape while interacting with our products in a way never before possible."
Exercise gaming is a very interesting advancement in the world of video games in an effort to incorporate more physical activity into people's lives. Is this progress??? How will the typical "gamer" receive this? Will this movement be successful?

The World's Reaction to President-Elect Obama

While viewing the pictures in class on Wednesday of the crowd's reaction to Obama's speech in Grant Park, words such as "excitement" and "pride" were used to describe the feelings portrayed by the pictures. Seeing the positive reaction of those in the United States made me wonder how the rest of the world received the election of Obama to be the next president of the United States. I found an article that described the world's reaction as "elation". According to the article, "in country after country, elation over Obama's victory was palpable, the hunger for a change of American leadership as strong outside the U.S. as in it." I was not surprised to see that there was such a positive reaction on a global scale. From London to China to Africa, people all around the world are looking to Obama to reestablish the US foreign policy for harmonious relations between the US and the world. Although this is quite a large feat, people still celebrated. I found the celbrations in Kenya, the country of Obama's late father, to be most interesting as described in this article. In honor of Obama's election, the Kenyan President declared Thursday a national holiday, "allowing celebrations to continue through the night and into a second day. " Obama's step-brother that lives in Kenya was carried down the streets with jubilation. Nelson Mandela, the first black president of South Africa, commended the President-elect, saying "Obama gave the world the courage to dream." Overall there has been a very positive reaction towards President-elect Obama thus far, and it will be interesting to see if this optimism is retained once his foreign policy is established. Are these countries excited because, in addition to history being made, they believe that Obama will do something to benefit them that has not been done in the past? Are they more excited for how it will affect the US or rather, their own country? Or perhaps both?

Early Voting

After we talked in class about early voting and how voting day is like a deadline, and candidates have until that day to campaign as much as they can, I became interested in how early voting is affecting our current election. I found an article in the New York Times about early voting. Now 32 states allow voters to cast their ballot early without a required excuse for dong so. Early voting has been very popular this year, with 30 percent to 35 percent of voters expected to participate this year compared to the 22 percent of voters that cast an early presidential ballot in 2004. This is due in part to how "user-friendly" early voting has become. Open in some states for twelve hours a day, early voting is available at a variety of convenient locations including at grocery stores and from the windows of their cars, "A.T.M. style". Others chose to vote early because, as one voter put it, "I thought I might as well do this, I wasn’t about to change my mind.” Many people have strong opinions about this election, and at this point in the campaign few things could change their predetermined candidate choice. Early voting is also a way for people to voice their opinion that would not have a chance to vote otherwise due to obligations such as long work hours. Although some view early voting as a "leap of faith" since there has been fraudulent voting in the past, it provides an opportunity for some people to vote whom would not have voted if there was not early voting. So far, more registered Democrats have cast their ballots than Republicans.