John McCain VS Barack Obama

So the fighters have been announced and the date is set for the final showdown. The question is "Is America Ready?" So one of the candidates is "a little bit like Bush," and the other candidate is ready to bring in some "Change," do we really care? In my opinion the public has already chosen sides, the hard part is for either of these two candidates to maintain their audience's attention. More importantly both of these candidates are burdened with the possibility of inheriting an incredible seat of power and authority and it's accompanying responsibilities. Are these two candidates ready to embrace such power and responsibility? Are we as the general public, ready to give either one of these two candidates a chance to adjust into the presidency if elected? Are we ready for a black president? Are we open to "Change"?
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Female Athletes: Competing but still not Competitive

Skysports Link:"Womens Athletics"


Although this issue primarily deals with the state of English women's professional football (soccer as it is known here in the United States), this issue resounds across all fields of women's athletics across the world. Professional athletics is a massive industry involving plenty of money amounting in the millions if not billions. One common factor regardless of gender, that firmly establishes professional athletics as a viable investment, is its potential to entertain. The powerful, trash-talking, hard-edged version of any athletic endeavor found within the fields, gyms, or stadiums of mens professional athletics tend to have a much more prominent entertaining quality than womens sports. However, the imbalance starts at the very bottom, where girls are somehow weaned off the athletic field, not as a necessity but because of the lack of opportunities, and as a result women's athletics suffer in the long run. Now the United States seem to have a leg up over many other countries, as it already has produced some incredible athletes, primarily through college athletics. Some female athletes are simply phenoms, such as Serena and Venus Williams, albeit they had plenty of support from their father. But this is probably what sets U.S. apart from the rest of the world. Women have the opportunity to play at every level, whereas the rest of the world rely on special development structures functioning within the professional system to develop their female athletes. However, at the lowest level, the lack of facilities and support for development rings true worldwide. With the reintroduction of a revamped women's professional soccer league looming in the near future in the United States, will this venture prove to be a success or will it once again fail such as the now defunct WUSA? Future investments in womens professional athletics and womens athletics as a whole could be hanging on the line, depending on the success of Womens professional leagues worldwide.

Same Sex Marriage

MSNBC Link:"Clerks Seeks 1st Legal Gay Marriage Open"

With same sex marriage at the headlines of many news outlets, the technicalities being discussed can be so overwhelming and mundane to the point of boring many readers. MSNBC has presented this controversial and monumental subject with a much more interesting twist. They have presented the story of a Californian county clerk who happens to be seeking the 1st marriage license to be issued within his county for same sex marriage. This man, Stephen Weir, has been in charge of handing out marriage licenses for the past 18 years, but for once he is seeking the possibility of fulfilling his dream of marrying his partner. The most interesting aspect about Stephen Weir is the fact that he has served as a City Council member and as a Mayor, however due to his homosexuality and the fear of public perception, he has chosen to step down and become the county clerk. In my opinion it's important that homosexual men and women be granted this aspect of civil society. They are not doing anything or anyone harm, and yet they are stigmatized and treated seemingly as second-rate citizens because of their sexual orientation. Homosexual men and women should not have to live in fear of other people's ignorance. I'm pretty sure the world won't skip a beat if another group of people are able to claim married status on their taxes.

Iced Kaffiyeh

MSNBC Link:"Rachel Ray: Dunkin' Donuts"

It seems that living in a state of persistent political correctness can lead to even greater offense. Rachel Ray, food network television personality, is probably the most unlikely of victims because of our society's perceived notions of what political correctness is. Rachel Ray is not only a television personality but is also an endorser for Dunkin' Donuts. On one of her latest ads, an ad viewable only via the company's website and other web advertisement outlets, Rachel appears to be wearing a scarf, that looks very much like the kaffiyehs worn by men of Middle-eastern descent. Because of its ties to the Middle-east, the kaffiyehs have now become associated with Islamist extremist and terrorism. However, the MSNBC, article is clear to point out that Rachel Ray is in fact wearing a paisley print scarf. Dunkin' Donuts has now pulled the ads off the air. This event showcases the ingnorance generated by our societies keen sense of political correctness. It seems that we're so politically correct that we no longer bother to try and look further and study the reasons why something or someone should be approached carefully when it comes to accurate representation. Now an accessory has become an image of terror. Make sure grandma takes off her shawl before stepping out of the house, she might just be subjected to a cavity search.