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March 28, 2008
FOUR FOR FRIDAY
Q1 - Research: A study published in 2006 in The New England Journal of Medicine, which claimed up to 80% of lung cancer cases could be prevented with CT scans, has been revealed to have been underwritten, in part, by a cigarette company. An investigation uncovered what some say is an undisclosed conflict of interest in the study, which was authored by the Weill Cornell Medical College. Generally speaking, how much stock do you place in research studies, and do you now question the validity of this one because of who paid for it?
Q2 - Airline Safety : In this post- 9/11 world of ours, airline safety is said to be key, but it may not be Federal Air Marshals who are keeping the nation's flights safe. According to news reports earlier this week, Air Marshals themselves say they are only on about 1% of the 28,000 or so flights that take off or land in the U.S. each day. Are you surprised to learn that so few flights are protected by Air Marshals?
Q3 - March Madness: This is the time of the year that college basketball fans and at least some who could care less join in on what is often referred to as a March Madness Basketball Pool. Whether it's for money or just for fun, did you fill out a March Madness Bracket for this year's Men's or Woman's Division I Basketball Tournament, and if you did, how is your bracket fairing?
Q4 - Which Matters More: In an article in today's BBC News, Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard, who depicted the Prophet Muhammad with a bomb in his turban, says he will sue the maker of an anti-Islam film for using his cartoon without permission. According to the BBC, Westergaard told Danish TV that his cartoon was a "protest against terrorism, not Islam as a whole." They have "a right to make [sic: a] movie but.. not permission to use my drawing." Based on what I just you, what do you feel is the most important issue at stake in this story... religious intolerance, intellectual property rights, free speech, or zealotry?
March 21, 2008
Four For Friday
Q1 - Drinking & Fighting: Debate over lowering the national drinking age is heating up in several states, fueled in part by legislators who contend that men and women who are old enough to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan are responsible enough to buy alcohol legally. Legislation introduced in Kentucky, Wisconsin and South Carolina would lower the drinking age for military personnel only. A planned ballot initiative in Missouri would apply to everyone 18 and older. An initiative in the works in South Dakota would allow all 19- and 20-year-olds to buy low-alcohol beer. Earlier in the week, Presidential hopeful Barack Obama made headlines by telling an underage Army veteran in Connecticut that lowering the drinking age would not be something he would support under any circumstances. What do you think... if someone is old enough to enroll in the armed services and participate in acts of war, should they be also be allowed to drink alcohol even if they're underage?
Q2 - Gasoline & Taxes: A recent poll reveled that 48% of U.S. citizens are unwilling to spend even a penny more in gasoline taxes to help reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. According to the poll's sponsor--the National Center for Public Policy Research--18% of Americans are willing to pay 50 cents or more in additional taxes per gallon of gas to reduce greenhouse emissions, which is exactly what U.S. Representative John Dingell (D-MI), chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, has called for--a 50 cent per gallon increase in the gas tax, used to motivate Americans to conserve fuel and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, transportation accounts for 33% of the U.S.'s man-made carbon dioxide emissions. Over 60% of these emissions--or about 20% of all U.S. carbon dioxide emissions--result from burning gasoline in personal automobiles. What amount, if any, would you be willing to pay in gasoline taxes to help reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions?
Q3 - Email & Interruptions: If you use a desktop email program like Outlook, Outlook Express, Eudora, Mail, etc., do you have it set to check for mail automatically or do you manually check for mail? If your primary email account is Web-based--like Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo!, etc.--do you have a desktop "notifier" to alert you to new mail or do you check your account manually for evidence of new messages? In either case, do you think people would be more productive at work if email were only available upon manual checks (as opposed to it automatically showing up in an In box and potentially interrupting real work?
Q4 - Charity & Donations: When was the last time you made a charitable donation to an organization other than one with a religious affiliation? What's the name of the organization and do you think your donation eventually went to a worthy cause?
March 20, 2008
GOVERNORS GONE WILD
Don't you just love political cartoonists?
March 14, 2008
FOUR FOR FRIDAY
Q1 - Organic: Recent tests of "natural" and "organic" soaps, shampoos and other consumer products show that nearly half of them contain a cancer-causing chemical that is a byproduct of petrochemicals used in manufacturing. Many items that tested positive for the carcinogen are owned by well-known brands, including Kiss My Face, Alba, Seventh Generation and Nature's Gate products, sold in retail stores across the nation. Generally speaking, before you heard this news, did you trust that "organic" products were safer or better for you than non-organic products?
Q2 - Spokesperson: If you could be the spokesperson for any company or organization for one year, what company or organization would you choose?
Q3 - Barack Obama: Results from a national study among Democrats indicated that more than half (53%), do not agree with former vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro's comment that "Barack Obama would not have made it this far if he was a white man." What do you think... if Barack Obama were Caucasian, do you think he would be one of two candidates remaining in the race for the Democratic nomination for the Presidency?
Q4 - You Choose: A full-time housekeep to do your laundry and keep your house in tip-top shape five days a week, or a professional chef to cook you three squares a day, five days a week?
March 7, 2008
FOUR FOR FRIDAY
Q1 - Storage: Do you have a storage unit? If so, what percentage of items that you currently store would you say you could easily live without? If you do not have a storage unit, would you be inclined to pay for one if the price were right?
Q2 - Affirmative Action: Come election time this November, voters in five states might have a decision to make as big as whom to elect president. Ballot initiatives have been proposed in Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma that would give voters the chance to decide whether they want to do away with affirmative action in government-funded projects and public schools. How do you feel about affirmative action?
Q3 - Sign of the Times: Which concerns you more... gas prices or home depreciation?
Q4 - Sick: When you're sick (or suspect that you're sick), how many days will you typically wait before making an appointment to see a doctor?
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