They’re smart, they’re sassy, they spend a lot of time in their bedrooms, and they’re both sort of in love with their neighbors. Of course, Brian’s love for Angela was undeniably more pronounced than Clarissa’s feelings for Sam, but if Brian and Clarissa lived in the same TV town, they’d surely fall in love whilst geeking out about PCs and mismatched clothes.

Okay, Kenneth isn’t a teenager. We actually have no idea what Kenneth’s age is supposed to be — it’s a 30 Rock secret. Regardless, if Egg was cool with dating GOB, she’d be even cooler with dating Kenneth. The NBC page would undeniably fall head over heels for Miss Veal’s religious values and meaty last name, and they would live happily ever after — or at least until the Rapture.

Here we find Kimmy and Screech, the offbeat best friends of DJ Tanner and Zack Morris, respectively. If Screech had been slightly less nerdy, these two would be the exact same person. Wait, would that make them soul mates or mortal enemies? Oh well, we’ll go with soul mates.

Voting should not be considered as simply a right, it is a responsibility bestowed upon us as American citizens.  This being such, merely voting does not fulfill this responsibility.  Rather, a citizen has the responsibility to pick the candidates and decide the issues that will represent them and help to create the voter’s image of America.    

The critical responsibility of a voter is to be well versed in politics and informed about pertinent issues and the individual candidate’s platforms.  Every American has the opportunity to vote in regular elections when they are 18 years old. However, the key responsibility involved in voting is not an exclusive to American citizens who are eighteen and older.  As a teenager, one must develop their political views and make choices.  What issues most affect me?  Which issues am I passionate about?  Being well informed should be consistent and not reserved just for election times.  In fact, being an informed citizen is a lifelong commitment.  

CIRCLE, the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University reports a startling disparity in voter statistics for the state of New Jersey revealing that young voters do not participate in all important elections.  53% of young voters between the age of 18 and 30 cast their ballots during the 2008 presidential election.  Yet, in 2006, only 22% of the same youth voting block participated in the mid-term elections. It should be realized that every opportunity to cast a vote and make choices about the issues that affect your daily life and your government is significant.

Not only does a person running for an office represent a political party and a set of principles, but their individual voting record is very important.  It is not enough for a person to affiliate themselves with a political party, because even the views of members within the party can differ substantially.  A candidate who speaks about an issue should be accountable for their stance.  A voter must decide if they agree with the views of the candidate. But in order to do this, a voter must be well informed about politics. 

As a teenager, I am only beginning to see the impact of state and national legislation on my daily life.  By maintaining a full understanding of current events, young people can prepare to enter the political sphere as a voter who upholds their personal responsibility to their fellow citizens.

Alcohol has become intertwined with celebrations.  For example, eggnog seems to be ingrained in Christmas celebrations and champagne is used to toast the New Year. Alcohol is the number one drug of choice among America’s youth.  While other dangerous substances are used by teens, curbing alcohol abuse should be a public health priority.

Holiday alcoholic drinks are even offered to underage teens by their parents.  Perhaps even more preposterous, many parents will allow their children to have holiday parties and provide alcohol under the pretense that “they are going to do it anyway, so it is better if they drink while being monitored.” 

A parent’s main objective should not be to monitor drinking; they should strive to eradicate alcohol consumption by minors to safeguard teenagers and their peers.  When a parent offers alcohol to their underage children, they influence a blatant disregard for the law. This even promotes the notion that the parent approves of their teens drinking thus encouraging the behavior.  Like other states, New Jersey has strict laws which punish people for providing alcohol to underage drinkers. 

Any adult who knowingly allows their children to drink alcoholic beverages and turns a blind eye to the fact is acting dangerously irresponsible.   72% of twelfth graders report that they have used alcohol at least once in their lives.  This is a remarkable fact considering that alcohol consumption is considered illegal for persons under age 21 nationally

According to the Surgeon General’s office, each year about 5,000 people under the age of 21 die of alcohol related injuries involving underage drinking. The Marin Institute reports that alcohol is a leading cause of death among youth, particularly teenagers. It contributes substantially to adolescent motor vehicle crashes, other traumatic injuries, suicide, date rape, and family and school problems.

 The nature of the holiday season and the presence of alcoholic beverages being served may never change.  Yet, teens should make a conscious effort to avoid alcohol consumption.  Further, adults should discourage alcohol use by their children. 

An adult can remove alcohol from holiday parties, or suggest another social activity as an alternative to their teenagers attending parties.  Any effort to prevent alcohol use and abuse by teenagers is productive to protect the safety of young people

Now, the New Orleans City Council is looking at a new proposed ordinance that would change the above citywide curfew to 8 p.m. every night. In fact, just a few weeks ago, a 6-0 vote by the council approved a new curfew for the French Quarter and Frenchmen Street entertainment district, which will make the curfew for those 16-years-old and younger 8 p.m. – period. It was at this time that Jon Johnson, Kristin Gisleson Palmer, and Cynthia Hedge- Morrell introduced a proposed ordinance to make the earlier 8 p.m. curfew apply citywide. While voting on the proposed ordinance was deferred until the next meeting on 2-2-12, the critics of the curfew are already letting their voices be heard.

According to the Times-Picayune, some critics of the proposal are accusing Palmer and the other sponsors of trying to protect the city’s tourist industry and white-owned businesses while ignoring the greater crime occurring in predominately black neighborhoods.  On the other hand, other critics have called the measure an attempt to harass young black males. Many critics also said that the curfew posed a risk for racial disparities in the enforcing of the curfew, citing that the rate of detainment by NOLA police of African American youth is 19% greater than that of their white counterparts.

An open letter from leaders of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Louisiana claimed that there’s no evidence that curfews in other cities, nor the existing curfew in NOLA, have been an effective measure to reduce crimes committed by or against teens. The group alleges that curfew does, however, punish teenagers for being teenagers, encourages disrespect for the law, and limits their social activities.

My Two Cents:

I’m all for letting teens be teens, but teens have no business being out late at night in districts that are laden with, if not nothing but, business that deal in alcoholic beverages and adult entertainment. I love New Orleans, but certain areas aren’t kid friendly. These places, with the massive amount of adults coming out of them completely inebriated  from engaging in adult activities, are no place for kids to hang out and “be teens.”

A citywide curfew may mean some teens miss out some of the “hanging out” that occurs in other American small towns, but it would be a fair solution to keep kids out of crime-ridden neighborhoods and adult entertainment districts. I would also end any question of ignoring -or- targeting one area over another.

I don’t know the stats as to whether or not curfews are affective against crime or not, but the idea that a curfew would cause disrespect for the law with teens is simply asinine. We don’t abolish laws against underage drinking and smoking just because some teens don’t like police, parents, and retailers for enforcement.

What say you?

Do you think curfews are a good idea to protect teens living in certain areas with high crime rates, heavy adult entertainment sections, etc?

Rhode Island legalized medical marijuana in 2006, but Massachusetts did not. “We wanted to pair these two states because they have so much in common culturally and geographically,” says Dr. Esther Choo, assistant professor of emergency medicine at Brown University’s Warren Alpert Medical School and emergency medicine physician at Rhode Island Hospital.

Choo’s analysis used data collected from 1997 to 2009 for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s annual Youth Risk Behavior Survey. The analysis involved nearly 13,000 youth in Rhode Island and about 25,000 in Massachusetts. In each state in any given year, the study found, about 30% of youth reported using marijuana at least once in the previous month.

In other words, while marijuana use was common, there was no significant difference in rates of pot use between the years before and after legalization in Rhode Island. “We found no effect of the policy change,” says Choo.

These results are consistent with a 2005 analysis conducted by Mitch Earleywine, associate professor of psychology at the State University of New York–Albany, for the Marijuana Policy Project. He found that between 1996 — when California passed its medical marijuana law — and 2004, previous-month pot use by ninth graders declined by 47%. That was a slightly steeper decline than seen nationally during the same period, and Earleywine found a similar effect in all of the medical marijuana states he studied.

Of the new study, Earleywine says, it is “very careful about potential covariates and looks closely at a couple of states across time in a way that my work didn’t.” He adds: “Of course, I’m delighted to see that their work confirms my previous report that medical marijuana laws do not increase teen use.”

Although legalizing medical marijuana may increase access for some, Choo notes that it is typically a very small population who uses marijuana for therapy — and these aren’t people whom teens are likely to emulate. “Whether they are taking it for pain or for vomiting control or appetite, this is not a group we think of as superinspiring for young people to take up their drug pattern. It’s an older population who is generally very ill,” says Choo.

It’s important to note that neither Choo’s nor Earleywine’s analyses have been subjected to peer review. Choo’s work was presented on Wednesday at the American Public Health Association’s annual meeting in Washington, D.C. She is planning to do further analysis, including data from additional states, for future publication.

But both studies are consistent with state and international data showing similar trends. Research has found that rates of youth drug use don’t correlate with marijuana arrests or, at the other end of the spectrum, total decriminalization of marijuana possession.

Could it be possible that associating pot with uncool old people and making it legitimate, rather than rebellious, actually deters use by youth?

After the mini-concert, the star even gave a few fans the oppurtunity to meet him, and get his autograph along with pictures. He’s extremely down to earth and greatful for his fans and all their support, and isn’t known as that typical famous celebrity brat that refuses to be seen in public and having to pay some attention to their fans.

They’ll then argue that it must be because of abuse or bitterness. Maybe I’m just angry at men.

The truth is far deeper than any of these issues go. The reality of it all is that promiscuity hurts both parties engaged in it. It’s not about sexual freedom. I have the freedom to shoot myself in the foot, too… but is it wisdom to harm myself in such a manner? No.

So why, and how, is sexual promiscuity harmful? What good comes from abstinence?

I’ve spoken with and gotten to know a lot of both men and women who felt that it was about sexual freedom and who felt like it was their ‘right’ to have sex frequently and with as many varied partners as possible. What I’ve learned from them is something that few to none of them ever come right out and say. They say it, but not directly.

The end result of promiscuity is a lack of any and all respect for the opposite sex (and in the case of homosexuals, an element of self-loathing often enters in as well–for they are part of the gender they have come to despise). It’s not unusual to see bitter and angry men and women these days, but often one of the base causes for it is overlooked.

Promiscuity leads men to feel that women are too easy. It leads women to feel that men are incapable of genuine feeling. These are the most basic, primal examples of the dangers of promiscuity. Both sides begin to see the other as shallow and empty, never quite realizing that it is their encounters with them that are shallow and empty.

Sex is for bonding. Its purpose is to strengthen and encourage the relationship that already exists. When we have sex, we release bonding chemicals into our bloodstream, and we become addicted to the other person. This is part of why breakups are so painful. The greater the bonding, the deeper the addiction to what the other person triggers in us.

But these shallow, empty pleasure-based encounters kill something inside of us. Men think that they are immune to the pain of promiscuity because being called a ’slut’ is a good thing for guys–isn’t it? They think that because their libidos are high, there will be no detrimental effects upon them from promiscuity. It will, they believe, elevate them socially and bring them pleasure much the same way that playing soccer or football might do.

The price is terrible, though. The cost is far too high. There is only pain and misery in these things, because all human beings crave connection. We crave love, connection, community. The greatest source of these things is family, and creating a family when you have made yourself genuinely believe that others are shallow, unfeeling, or otherwise incapable of loving you… becomes impossible.

The cost of that pleasure is a lifetime of misery and pain. The price of the temporary nature of the bond is that you begin to crave that initial rush to the point where you don’t want to truly, deeply bond with anyone because it takes work to do that. The craving for the physical addiction overcomes the deep human longing for a genuine, lasting bond.

But the pleasure is fleeting and it’s a phantom without substance. There’s no  beauty in it, no solid form upon which to create a lifetime of memories. An endless march of faces without the history and the combined memories leaves human beings empty and lonesome.

Bitterness comes not from having a strong, solid, long-lasting relationship; it comes from losing the hope of ever having one. Promiscuity kills this hope because the person indulging in promiscuity is purposefully seeking out individuals who will join them in putting pleasure above passion, lust above love, and so-called ‘freedom’ above responsibility and dignity.

Promiscuity is sold to us as freedom and choice. But it’s a trap that destroys families, wrecks relationships, and leaves far too many people bitter, lonely, and aching for that fulfilment that comes from love and togetherness. You may be free to indulge in it, but ultimately it is destructive.

We must be teaching our children that self-respect and their future family is more important than momentary, fleeting pleasure. And when a person claims that he or she can’t be with you without sex, that person doesn’t understand what love genuinely is.

When much time has gone by in a marriage that’s not built upon a foundation of shared history, shared memories, and shared interest; that marriage is doomed. When much time has gone by in a marriage built upon memories and history, that marriage is more likely to pull through, because sex is best used to support that which already exists. When sex is the whole point, you have nothing left when life intrudes in some way. And life always, always intrudes eventually.

It is important to remember that we all have choices. Not every option available to us is the best one.

Promiscuity does have repercussions. Let’s start talking honestly about them so that our children can make choices that benefit them, rather than harming them.

“If one human wants to end another’s life, then all humans are looked at as killers” – Donald Trump

The sole meaning of this quote is that we judge people by comparing them to others rather than comparing them to ourselves. For example in this quote, if somebody kills another person, we will then compare him to every other killer on planet earth, rather than comparing him to ourselves. Still confused? Think of it this way… We think of all killers as killers, we assume one killer is like another, when infact they’re not. The reason we do this is because we don’t compare them to ourselves.. They’re just… Well another “Killer”

Can humans stop this mindset from occurring? Will we stop? Do we even want to stop?

Can we? – Yes. (I know what your thinking, haha this guy is an idiot he went into huge detail about this quote and his answer to this question is yes?!?) [Yes, my answer is just "Yes"... Why? I want you to think about that]

Will we? – In order for anything to happen, a person must have a desire for it to happen. Singers don’t just sing for no reason, Dogs don’t just bark for no reason. They have passion, passion is a huge hole in our society. Go and ask any teenager what they are passionate about and you will be shocked. Male teens will say – Video Games, Girls, Money, Fame. Girls will say – Boys, Fame, Money, Myself. Now in order for you to call yourself passionate in something you have to desire it, but also strive for it. Teens have the desire, I mean who doesn’t desire money. But they’re not striving for the money, they are sitting on their asses all day smoking pot. With teens being our future, and them not even knowing how to have passion, it’s hard to say we will even have earth by the time they graduate. With no real passion, nothing WILL happen, nothing WILL change.

Do we want to? – Yes and no, we want to so we are not failing ourselves, but when we find out we actually have to work for good things this answer soon becomes a no. Just like “I’ll do it later” “Someone else will find it” “They have it under control” etc. We want to stop comparing humans but not enough to give up our own time and effort to stop.

In conclusion, we have learned that it is now close to impossible to change a humans thought in modern day society. Meaning what people think of others-whether it’s based on religion, race, comparison to others, etc. they will stand by their opinion as long as it means no effort and passion. This is a hole in human society. Just 10 years ago people go pursuaded by strong men on TV selling a fake energy drink, now you have to hire athletes to even get 1/10 of the pursuation to need to e successful.

Nothing can stitch this hole in humans… So we are just going to have to live with it.

Thank you,

Andrew Hollenberg (For any questions just leave me a comment)

There’s hundred of cases like this all over the world & it seriously isn’t any type of cool to bully or make other people hate themselves because you hate yourself and you’ll do anything to be the popular kid. People act like clones when they do this, too. Next thing you know everyone is bullying or name calling. I’ve dealt with this for years on end, and eventually I just learned to cope with it by ignoring it. However not a lot of people can deal with this issue the way I can. I look around, and this type of behavior is contagious, and for what?

Prom queen? This is insanity? There’s absolutely no real point in hurting another human being the way people do. I know for a fact if you do this to people, and we fought back and did it to you, it would make you understand how we’ve been feelings for years. But when you finally realize what you’ve done to them, it’s usually too late to reverse the effect. Hopefully someone will answer their cry for help & make this movement as contagious as the behavior that started this whole mess!