America's Addiction

Whenever I go to my grandparents' house, I can't help but notice all the prescription pills they have on their kitchen table and in their fridge. I have gone over way too many times to count, but still the amount of orange bottles they own never ceases to amaze me. This got me into doing some research and what I found really grabbed my attention.

According to a 2010 report by the CDC (Center for Disease Control), almost half of all Americans take at least one prescribed medication. About a third use two or more, and close to one in ten take at least five. Not only that, but one in five children are on pills and a staggering nine out of ten senior citizens are taking prescription drugs. The types of medications that most of these groups are taking is also surprising:
for the older generations, cholesterol-lowering drugs are most common. For children, asthma and amphetamine stimulants are popular. And for the middle-aged, anti-depressants are the drugs of choice.

With obesity at an all-time high, organic foods becoming harder to find and more expensive, and prescription drug use through the roof, Americans need to seriously consider how the future of this country is at risk. With more and more people dying from health-related issues, many feel like pills will save them from the growing health epidemic. Due to modern medicine, doctors are issuing prescriptions like there's no tomorrow because they get royalties from prescription companies based on the number of prescriptions issued and units bought by the patient. Unfortunately, most Americans are too naive and uninformed to know how this drug circle works, so they blindly trust their doctors. Once these drug companies become richer, they have the money to lobby Congress and pressure them to pass drug company-friendly bills such as Obamacare which will further expand their businesses.

I am proud to say that I have only had about one or two prescriptions throughout my entire life due to some serious illnesses back in the day. Today, I rely on natural remedies for treatment during the rare occasion that I may become ill. I highly suggest that everyone else does the same unless, of course, your illness can only be treated properly with modern medicine. Natural and organic alternatives benefit your health, the environment and can help reduce the amount of impact that drug companies have on our daily lives. Everyone wins.

NObama 2012?

As I see more and more GOP debates on TV, I realize how badly the public wants Obama out of the White House as soon as possible. With an approval index of -23 (20% of people strongly agree with him, 43% strongly disagree), his days seem to be numbered as long as Republicans can choose a decent candidate. Based on conversations that I've held with people, the general leniency is toward Mitt Romney, Ron Paul, Herman Cain or Newt Gingrich as the GOP frontrunner.

Because Obama has not come through with many of his campaign promises, citizens are getting fed up. We (myself included) have had enough of the cluelessness that is driving this country into the ground. Obama's lack of experience in both the private and political sectors are coming back to haunt him. It took America three years to realize that the government can't spend its way out of a financial crisis. I certainly hope this isn't a lesson we'll forget anytime soon.

President Obama is kicking off a three-day trip to Western states to try to earn back some Hispanic support. Recently, polls have shown a drop in approval rating among Latino voters. They have been hit the hardest since this economic downturn started. In states like Nevada, where unemployment tops the nation at 13.4%, voters (Hispanics especially) are looking for a candidate who can stimulate the economy and provide jobs for them. If he plans on keeping up with the Republican field, Obama needs to persuade these key Western states that he in fact is the man who can help put the country back on track.

As Americans, we all realize the importance of voting. With the 2012 election just a year away, we now need to realize the importance of choosing the right candidate. Some of us will be old enough to vote when the election comes around. Therefore, I urge everyone who reads this post to continuously ponder who they would want running the country if the election would be held tomorrow. Our nation can't afford another unproductive and inexperienced leader.

New Sidewalk Converts Steps to Electricity

British engineers have developed a sidewalk that converts footsteps into electricity. The invention, set to debut at the 2012 London Summer Olympics, is causing quite the stir in the tech world. Engineers have formulated a way to transfer the kinetic energy from the impact of footsteps into small bursts of electricity to power nearby appliances such as street lamps and traffic lights. According to Laurence Kemball-Cook, the 25-year-old engineering graduate who developed the prototype during his final year of university in 2009, said that these slabs can store electricity for three days in its internal battery. Despite that each step only powers a regular street lamp for 30 seconds, this will certainly add up with crowds estimated to be in the millions during the summer games.

It seems like America is falling farther and farther behind in the manufacturing industry. With countries like Great Britain, China, Japan and Germany consistently leading the rest of the world in production of great new technologies, it's no wonder why America keeps falling deeper into debt. Not only are we not producing jobs to stimulate the economy, we simply aren't creating anything revolutionarily useful for the world (besides iPhones). If America were to return to the manufacturing powerhouse we used to be back in the days of the Industrial Revolution, we wouldn't have to worry about a collapsing economy and decreasing consumer confidence. Besides having other nations start taking us seriously again, we would bring jobs back to the American people and we wouldn't have to rely on other countries making our goods.

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Apple: The Definition of the American Dream

Looking back on Steve Jobs' life and the many accomplishments he achieved, I'm taken aback by how much it resembles the American Dream. This man started his business from ground zero and worked hard enough so it can become the single most valuable company in the world, worth around $343 billion.

Jobs, a college dropout, started Apple Computer, Inc. in 1976 along with Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne out of Jobs' garage in Silicon Valley, CA. Fast forward a few years and Apple's Macintosh  is a best-selling computer. Then in the '90s, Jobs was ousted as CEO and was unemployed for several months before starting a string of new companies including PIXAR Animation Studios, most notable for its productions of the Toy Story series, Monsters, Inc., The Incredibles and many other hit animated movies. After Apple took a plummet from its relevance in the technology world, Jobs was rehired and took the company to new heights with his involvement in inventions like the iPod, iPhone, iPad and MacBook projects. He now has his name on over 300 patents and his personal fortune is estimated at around $7 billion.

After starting a company out of a buddy's garage, Steve's persistence, dedication and stubborn attitude lead him to be one of the most iconic entrepreneurs of our time. The growth of his empire practically mirrors the American Dream. Although living the American Dream doesn't have to be creating a multi-national corporation, it does involve overcoming obstacles and being successful in the field that you have a passion for. For Steve Jobs, it was technology.

                                                      Steve Jobs with the iPhone 4 in 2010

CPS Still Fails Expectations (for the most part)

As many of us know, the Chicago Public School system has gone through a vast array of reforms. Ranging from teacher layoffs to a 90 minute extension of the school day, CPS has changed many aspects of their already failing system. A report published by the University of Chicago states that all these changes aren't improving the student performance in math and reading comprehension (at elementary and middle school levels) very much. Despite all this, high school performance is improving. Dropout rates have decreased and ACT scores/graduation rates have both improved. With murder rates on the rise, it doesn't surprise many that high school students have started to stay in school more. And with an extension of the school day, many CPS board members state that crime rates are likely to decrease. Only time will tell if the extra hour and a half will do much.

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