Whew! It's been a little bit too serious around here lately. Time for some comic relief. Let's take a look at some more crazy weight loss schemes. I recently read that 2/3 of Americans are now overweight or obese (though we all know 87% of all statistics are made up...haha). 
Let's cover….hmmm...the Cereal Diet! 

Because we all know that it's not that we're eating too much, it's just the food we're eating (do I need to state that the last sentence was dripping with sarcasm?). 
So, let's eat cereal instead. Oh, wait. This diet LIMITS food quantity down to healthy portion sizes. Guess it's not the magic cereal...it's just following a lower-calorie plan. 

For those who are interested:
1 serving cereal with low-fat/skim milk for breakfest
1 serving cereal with low-fat/skim milk for lunch
1 salad (lettuce, tomato, cucumber, carrots, onions, bell peppers) with 1 Tbsp. oil or dressing
6 oz. chicken breast, no skin, baked
& if you really want to indulge, you can have three of the following (mix & match): 1) serving cereal & milk; 2) serving fruit; 3) 1 oz. nuts; 4) 4 oz. lean turkey

Verdict: Well, since it basically involves cutting calories as a way to lose weight, it's at least logical. And if you happen to be a cereal fan it might be feasible. But since some sites flat-out recommend even the fatty or sugary cereal, I have to give it at least some stupidity. Plus the fact that one would have to say (with a straight face), "Yeah, I'm on the cereal diet"....
Stupidity Factor: 5 out of 10

The law isn't set up for those times everybody agrees it should be followed. 
The law is there for those times people don't want to abide by it. 

The rights of American citizens aren't documented for those times when we think we should give them those rights. 
The rights of American citizens are documented for those times when people don't want to grant those rights. 

The Boston bombing suspect, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, is an American citizen.1 Thus, he has rights. Yes, (if guilty, and he very probably is) he may be guilty of murder. He may even be guilty of an act of terrorism. But American citizens have rights. He cannot be treated as an enemy combatant. He cannot be questioned without a lawyer. And he certainly can't disappear into Guantanamo with brief little news clips released every six months or so, and America having no idea if he is being tortured, treated fairly, etc. 


These rights are not optional. 
We can't set them aside because of "special circumstances." 
The rights of American citizens are documented precisely FOR circumstances like this. When people want to take away a citizen's rights because of "circumstances" is when we must ensure that those rights are protected.  

I realize that this post won't be popular. I'm defending the rights of the Boston bombing suspect. But rights aren't optional. They apply to all citizens.


Sources:
1. Savage, C. (April 21, 2013). G.O.P. lawmakers push to have Boston suspect questioned as enemy combatant. The New York Times. Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/22/us/gop-lawmakers-push-to-hold-boston-suspect-as-enemy-combatant.html?pagewanted=all

I was watching the news the other day (yes, this was advertised on a news channel) and saw one of the most ridiculous products I've ever seen. 

Drum roll please......

.............(drum roll continuing)

The Perfect Polly Pet. A fake parakeet that chirps and moves "like the real thing" when you walk by it. Seriously. I refuse to post a link to the site on general principles. If you're crazy enough to want one, web search it.

I posted a picture from their website. 

Can anyone think of a single reason anyone in the world would want a fake bird (especially a cheap looking one) to chirp at them? 

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The rape case in Steubenville, Ohio. I'm not going to re-hash the details of what happened. The exact acts performed, when, and where have been well-publicized. That is not the focus of this post. 

Let's get a few things straight for anyone who is confused: 

1) If you have to carry a person  because they're unconscious, any sexual activity that occurs is rape. I don't care if she said 'yes' earlier in the night. I don't care if she's your girlfriend and you've had sex before. I don't care if you're drunk. And I really, really don't care if you're a football player. If a person is passed out and so unaware that you can urinate on her without reaction, any sexual activity that occurs is rape.  
 
2) If you receive a text, video, whatever of guys laughing, joking, and performing sexual acts on an unconscious girl, don't RE-SEND it. Report it to the police. 

3) If you're a reporter who has seen/heard/covered the story, and are reporting on the guilty verdict: you don't start the news story as follows:  "Harlow explained that it had been 'incredibly difficult' to watch 'as these two young men — who had such promising futures, star football players, very good students — literally watched as they believed their life fell apart.'” (2)(3)  Uh, how about it being incredibly difficult to hear about the treatment of a 16-yr old girl who was raped, had it documented, sent around the town, and posted on the internet. Perhaps we should mention that? Perhaps the follow-up of the apologies was all-right (one was genuine, the other scripted just to get it on the record that you made one). But you don't follow that with an explanation of how horrible and unfair it is being labeled as a sex offender is. Uh, that's why we register sex offenders. If you don't want registered...let's see...hmmm….hard to figure this one out...oh, yeah. Don't rape a unconscious girl.  

4) If you're anyone. You don't do the following:  "Some residents and others on social media blamed the girl, saying she put the football team in a bad light and put herself in a position to be violated." (4) Re-read that. Not "they doubt that it occurred"; not "possibly false charges"; not "faked pictures, texts, and videos posted on the internet." Blame can be appointed if someone is falsely accusing someone else. But PUTTING THE FOOTBALL TEAM IN A BAD LIGHT and PUT HERSELF IN A POSITION TO BE VIOLATED"!!! 


Sources: 
1. Common sense & decency
2. Edwards, D. (2013, March 17). CNN grieves the guilty verdict ruined 'promising' lives of Steubenville rapists. The Raw Story. Retrieved from: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/03/17/cnn-grieves-that-guilty-verdict-ruined-promising-lives-of-steubenville-rapists/
3. Ortberg, M. (2013, March 17). CNN reports on the 'promising future' of the Steubenville rapists, who are 'very good students.' Gawker. Retrieved from: http://gawker.com/5991003/cnn-reports-on-the-promising-future-of-the-steubenville-rapists-who-are-very-good-students
4. Macur, J. & Schweber, N. (2012, December 16). Rape case unfolds on web and splits city. The New York Times. Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/17/sports/high-school-football-rape-case-unfolds-online-and-divides-steubenville-ohio.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&

Some of my favorite—due to their ridiculousness—commercials are weight loss advertisements. You’ve probably heard of the major weight loss companies and plans: Weight Watchers, South Beach Diet, Atkins, and Nutrisystem.  I’m going to skip those and cover a few of the sillier, unbelievable, and outright ridiculous ones.  Below I’ll describe each diet according to the manufacturer’s…I’ll then give a little sarcastic commentary.  

And now, I introduce the...drumroll, please....The Cabbage-Soup Diet. 
There are various versions all over the internet, but the basics consist of cabbage soup & a 7-day diet plan with various restrictions. 

The cabbage soup recipe has (roughly, again, the recipe varies): 6 large green onions, 2 green peppers, 2 cans of tomatoes (diced or whole), 3 carrots, 1 container (10 oz. or so) mushrooms, 1 bunch of celery, head of cabbage, 1 package Lipton soup, 1 or 2 cubes of bouillon (optional), 48 oz low-sodium V-8 juice. Season to taste with pepper, parsley, curry, garlic powder, etc., but little to no salt. 

You can eat all the cabbage soup you want. Then day one is fruit, day 2 veggies, day 3...well, you get the idea.  All the diets end with "stuff, stuff, stuff" yourself so you don't get hungry. But, seriously, one can only eat so much cabbage soup. 

Verdict: Since it doesn't require a huge cost investment, I'll lower the stupidity factor on this one. Unless, of course, someone is crazy enough to pay money on one of the books (either online or real paper) on the cabbage soup diet. Then the factor gets 3 pts. added to it. Overall, eating a bunch of fruit and vegetables isn't a bad idea. Just the concept that cabbage is somehow magical is bad. Plus, I hate cabbage. 
Thus: 
Stupidity Factor: 4 out of 10


Please post letting me know which is your favorite and/or if you’ve got some other crazy ones!  

I found this elsewhere...so while I can't guarantee the person is exactly in scale in the image...the concept is accurate! 

If you want to get a really creepy, scary, shocked, I can't believe it feeling...go to the U.S. National Debt Clock and watch it tick up for a minute or so. For most us, the clock will to up in debt in one or two minutes than we'll see in a lifetime in income. 
http://www.usdebtclock.org/

Are today's children over-diagnosed? Are we, as a nation, slapping psychological disorder labels on children in cases where some old-fashioned discipline would fix any problems? 

Articles, blog posts, parental anecdotes, and- increasingly- tales from adults who were/were not treated as children for disorders they know they had, abound. Few have no opinion on this issue. Many have vehement opinions. Listed below are a few of those vehement opinions (I'm NOT advocating them, I'm listing them!):
1) Parents who medicate their children are abusive. 
2) Children are over-medicated because doctors are pushing pills because the drug companies give them incentives to do so. 
3) We simply recognize the disorders that have been around for decades (or centuries) and are now finally treating them. 
4) Some old-fashioned discipline (usually spanking) would solve any "attention problems." 

Whew! What a spectrum of belief. As a historian, I have to chuckle a little bit. A century ago, most children worked like little adults in order for the family to survive. Two and three hundred years ago, people had children because they provided another worker for the family. Of course, I'm speaking of general trends, not attempting to state this was the condition of all economic and social classes in all countries. However, it is undeniable that the idea of an idyllic "childhood" that must be protected is a fairly new invention. 

One "New York" writer advocates view #3 above, and (nicely) states that we shouldn't consider that children are over-medicated as this is clearly not the case, citing a suicidal 6-year old as her closing argument (Warner, 2010). But she doesn't really consider the other side of the argument...a couple of quotes from doctors and a couple of admittedly tragic cases are the meat of her argument. 

CNN gives a more balanced view, citing cases in which medication clearly are needed, but acknowledging that abuse is taking place (Park, 2011). 

The moral of this story?: people need to consider both (or all) sides of an argument. Just because you FEEL something is true or should be true doesn't mean that it actually is true. 

Now, your 2 cents worth: Do you think America's children today are over-medicated? 

 

References: 
Warner, J. (February 12, 2010). Pilloried: are too many kids medicated? New York: New & Features. Retrieved from: http://nymag.com/news/intelligencer/63832/

Park, M. (May 24, 2011). Little people, lots of pills: experts debate medicating kids. CNN Health. Retrieved from:  
http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/05/23/kids.overmedicated/index.html

"It's not the events of our lives that shape us, but our beliefs as to what those events mean." - Tony Robbins

"An ounce of action is worth a ton of theory." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

"A diplomat is a man who always remembers a woman's birthday but never remembers her age."- Robert Frost

“If you don’t have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?”- John Wooden

"Good, better, best. Never let it rest. Until your good is better and your better is best." - Tim Duncan


*Some quotes were found online/in old books/etc.; I cannot guarantee the authenticity of all quotes.