The (Not So) Latest
6/18/10: Texting while Driving — It's not Teenagers
Well, well, well.
For years we've been told we need more restrictions on teenaged drivers because they're the irresponsible ones. Teenagers will drive while talking on their cell phones or even while texting. They can't be trusted like adults.
The Pew Research Center finally did a study on the frequency of texting while driving. Guess what they found.
Of American adults who have experience texting, 47% admit they've texted while driving. For teenagers, the number is only 34%.
Furthermore, the Pew Research Center found that those older than 18 were "substantially more likely than teens to have talked on their cell phones while driving."
And we need more restrictions on which drivers??
Read the study for yourself.
Media coverage here.
6/15/10: Alarming Numbers on Overaged Drinking
Pop-quiz. Which of these numbers is the largest:
- American teenagers killed each year because they drove drunk.
- American teenagers killed each year by other teenagers driving drunk.
- American teenagers killed each year by people older than 21 driving drunk.
That's right. The answer is "C." Far more teenagers are killed each year by overaged drinking than by underaged.
We constantly hear politicians and reporters wail about the tragedies of teenagers driving drunk and about the need to get tough on teen drinking and to pass new restrictions on teen driving. But a new study published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs shows that drunk driving by adults is the 6th leading cause of teenaged deaths.
So why are the media so quiet about this? Now that we know the real threat to teenagers' lives, where are all the cries to "think of the children" and pass new legal restrictions to protect youth?
Once again we see that "protecting youth" is only a high priority when it involves stomping on young people's rights. When it might mean inconveniencing older people, however, restricting their access to alcohol or their access to cars, suddenly all that concern for young people's safety disappears like a mirage.
4/20/10: Old Content Made New
Our analysis of Disturbing Behavior has been substantially augmented to include coverage of the deleted scenes available on DVD. If you've only seen the theatrical release, you've missed a great movie. The biggest mystery is why MGM cut out the best stuff.
4/14/10: Happy Youth Rights Day!
Today is Youth Rights Day. About time.
The mainstream media, of course, are ignoring this and choosing instead to do stories about Teabaggers and who's paying what taxes. Predictable.
4/9/10: Losing Our Friend on the Court
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| John Paul Stevens
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For more than a decade, Justice John Paul Stevens has been the one friend youth have had on the U.S. Supreme Court. Stevens started off as one of the moderates on the Court. But in the years since President Ford appointed Stevens in 1975, all of the justices more youth-friendly than Stevens have been replaced. For the last two decades, Stevens has been the only justice left urging the others to recognize that the Bill of Rights protects all Americans, not just those in certain age-groups.
Stevens announced today that he is retiring.
In accordance with our Constitution, Pres. Obama will soon appoint Stevens' replacement. This is troubling because the last time Obama appopinted a Supreme Court justice, he picked Sonia Sotomayor, an opponent of youth rights. We cannot afford to have the only pro-youth voice on the Supreme Court replaced by another Sotomayor.
A ray of hope appeared today when President Obama said, "while we cannot replace Justice Stevens’ experience or wisdom, I will seek someone in the coming weeks with similar qualities — an independent mind, a record of excellence and integrity, a fierce dedication to the rule of law, and a keen understanding of how the law affects the daily lives of the American people."
We must do our part to ensure Obama keeps his promise to appoint someone similar to Stevens. Please contact President Obama's office and let the president know you are counting on him to appoint someone as strong on youth rights as Stevens has been. Also, contact your senators' offices — especially if you have a Senator on the Senate Judiciary Committee — and ask them to pledge their support for a candidate who shares Stevens' values and to reject any candidate who does not.
We cannot afford to let the Supreme Court turn any more hostile toward youth. Please, Pres. Obama, not another "douchebag."
3/17/10: New Research about Young People's Brains
A scientific study has now revealed that controlling parents cause brain damage. The Gunma University in Japan scanned the brains of 50 volunteers in their 20's and also asked a series of questions about each participant's relationship with his/her parents. They found that those who grow up with controlling parents tend to have a less-developed prefrontal cortex.
Our media have been harping on a study showing that under-aged drinking affects brain development. I have a weird hunch they won't give nearly so much attention to this study, and when they do, they'll suggest it shouldn't be taken as seriously as the alcohol study. I also have a hunch that politicians who perpetuate bans on under-aged drinking because of the science will not try to ban controlling parents. Call me a cynic.
2/18/10: School Spies on Students' Home Lives
Schools with too much money have been eager to spend some issuing their students laptop computers. Now we see one reason.
One school has been caught secretly activating webcams on laptops to spy on students in their homes. The only reason the public knows about this is because that school's vice principal decided to discipline a student for "improper behavior in his home."
2/1/10: Child Victim Prosecuted in Texas
In another display of our judicial system's hatred for youth, a Texas District Attorney is prosecuting a 13-year-old girl for "prostitution" while her 32-year-old pimp is going free. The D.A. defends his choice to prosecute this exploited girl by saying the juvenile prison system is the safest place we could put her. It's a painful commentary on our society that such an argument could hold water.
More details here.
1/28/10: New Content
More film-reviews: Midnight Movie and Gracie. While these two films have no connection, they make an interesting contrast. One was an engaging, well-made, youth-friendly thriller, loved by most who saw it; and the studios sent it direct to video. (Do not pass Go; do not gross $200 million.) The other was a youth film for parents only, it bored almost everyone, and the studios sent it to over a thousand theaters where it grossed about 98 cents. Who the @$#! is running Hollywood??
Really. They would rather lose money than serve youth??
