Dealing with Your EX . . .

Why do some people still deal with their ex's? (calling them, having sex with them, spending time with them). In what way is an ex an ex if you are still sleeping with him/her? How do you keep an ex from affecting your current relationship?

How do you get over an ex? Do you try to stay friends with your ex? If so, what goes along with that friendship?

Tavaruss Townsend (Noon)

punishment or child abuse?

Some people think it's alright to hit their child any kind of way to discipline them. Others say that there are a lot of disciplinary actions that you can do to let a child know that what they did was wrong. After disciplining them, you can tell them why they were wrong and why you chose the disciplinary action that you did and tell them what will happen to them if they do it again.

So do you think that punishing children by spanking them is all right? Is it okay to use a belt? When does discipline cross the line and become child abuse? How do you plan to discipline your children?

Sierra (noon)

DUI

The term DUI makes me think of the end of the line. I would think that it is very hard to get around to your job and friends after getting a DUI. If you do get one, I know you cannot have a CDL license or a Foid card, which for me would be really horrible because I am a hunter (a Foid card is like your license for a gun), and I do want to be able to drive a semi and have a CDL.

So what I am asking is when you hear the term DUI, what does it make you think of? How inconvenient would it be for you to get a DUI? Why do you think people risk getting a DUI by driving drunk even when they know the penalties awaiting them if the are caught?

Are you aware what the penalties are exactly for getting a DUI?

Tyler Farmer (noon)

Is too much alcohol taken seriously enough?

I was once a very heavy drinker and a heavy smoker. I have also used chewing tobacco regularly in the past, so I know the effects of both alcohol and nicotine and I am well aware of all of the risks associated with both of them. It annoys me that there are all of these smear campaigns for tobacco (especially cigarettes), yet alcohol is glorified in our culture. All of the ads for alcohol depict people having a good time at parties, or tailgating, hunting, or say that "he is the most interesting man in the world" and completely ignore the dangers of drinking. Sure, they say that one should drink responsibly, but there really aren't any disclaimers about the dangers of drinking, even if it is in moderation. My point is that tobacco users, for the most part, are only harming themselves, while drunkards put the everyone's lives at risk when they decide to drive, operate machinery, or show up to work drunk or hung over. I also believe that DUI laws and punishments should be harsher. Alcohol related accidents are a leading cause of death in America and around the world, yet it is glorified and treated as a social norm. I believe that alcohol should be taxed just as much as, if not more than, tobacco because it is just as dangerous. Do you agree or disagree? Please explain you reasoning.

Kevin Farnum (8:00)

Can we really go green as a country?

First, for info that might be helpful before answering my question, check this site:

http://home.wanadoo.nl/f.j.doorman/07Env.htm

Now my question . . .

Can America afford to go green? Americans are driven to buy new appliances, heaters, air conditioners, refrigerators that are energy efficient in an effort to save energy, gas, and natural resources. E-85 fuel-efficient vehicles, hybrid cars, and hybrid luxury SUVs are part of the new craze in buying efficient cars. As part of the stimulus package of 2010, citizens were offered tax breaks on buying new appliances that are energy efficient to reduce our dependency on foreign oil and energy suppliers. My question is: Is this a good idea for the economy? For our ecology? For both?

What do you see as the main benefits to going green? What will happen if many companies and individuals stubbornly refuse to get on board with the green movement? Do you think the world's governments need to play larger roles in establishing and enforcing regulations on factors that affect the environmment? For instance, in 2007 (the latest data available), the U.S. and China were responsible for 42% of all the world's greenhouse emissions. Third and fourth on the list are India and Russia, who emit only 5% each. Does this mean the U.S and Chinese governments must crack down harder on companies responsible for emissions harmful to the earth's environment?

Jesse Hill (8:00)

schools need to be concerned about their students

Everday teens are being bullied by their classmates at school and no one even tries to help them. They just stand there and watch them get beat up in the hall ways; they don't think to go to the principal or a teacher. Some students don't realize that bullying can hurt people, not only physically but emotionally too. Sometimes bullying can cause suicide if it gets too extreme. Bullies don't only hurt others in school but they also hurt them outside of school too.

Teachers and other school staff need to be more observant about the students.

Should schools be more concerned about their students being bullied? What do you think can be done about bullying in schools? Were you ever bullied, or were you ever a bully, in school? What do you think causes bullying in most cases?

Hillary Moore (noon)

biggest lesson learned?

If you die today, what will be the biggest lesson that you have learned? I often hear people--my mom, mainly--talk about the world ending in the year 2012. If that really does happen (and I know it probably won't!), on your dying day which lesson in your life would you call the most valuable, and why?

Another way to ask this question is, on your death bed, if you have one piece of advice to pass on to your children, what would it be?

Thanks!

Demario Jordan

Driving while distracted. (DWD)

With cell phones becoming more and more popular, driving is becoming more and more dangrous. 25% of all car accidents are caused by talking on the cell phone. A cell phone can be more dangrous than drunk driving. 4 out of every 5 accidents (80%) are attributed to distracted drivers. In contrast, drunk drivers account for roughly 1 out of 3 (33%) of all accidents nationally. Texting while driving is about 6 times more likely to result in an accident than driving while intoxicated.

Teens and cell phones.

Despite the risks, the majority of teen drivers ignore cell phone driving restrictions. Talking on a cell phone while driving can make a young driver's reaction time as slow as that of a 70-year-old. 56% of teenagers admit to talking on their cell phones behind the wheel, while 13% admit to texting while driving. Each year, 21% of fatal car crashes involving teenagers between the ages of 16 and 19 were the result of cell phone usage. This result has been expected to grow as much as 4% every year.



Do you use cell phones while you are driving?

Do you think cell phones cause a risk in a car?



Scotty Johnson (noon)

Does music make you smarter?

Please check out this link before you answer:
http://aaapianosvc.com/MusicMakesOneSmarter.aspx

Are students who play a musical instrument smarter than the average student? Do you think that playing an instrument when you are young makes you more capable of doing well in school? Why or why not?

Thanks!

Melissa (noon)

STOP HERE!

FALL 2010 students. Don't answer any questions below Melissa's music question. All of these below this are old ones!

--JOHN

Underage Drinking

“Too many Americans consider underage drinking a rite of passage to adulthood,” says former acting surgeon general Kenneth Morisugu. Research shows that young people who start drinking before the age of 15 are five times more likely to have alcohol-related problems later in life. But from 2001-2007, youth exposure to alcohol product advertising on T.V. rose by 38%, and in 2007 approximately 1/5 of all alcohol products ads. on T.V. were on T.V. programming for which viewers' ages are between 12 and 20.

So my questions for you . . . are children overexposed to alcohol advertising? What can be done to help children not start drinking until they are of legal age?

Thanks!

Melody Nelligan

Is being gay really all that bad?

Is being gay really all that bad? Why is loving someone of your own gender seen as comitting a deadly sin? I believe that many people have no self-control over who it is that they're attracted to. Just because it is seen as right in the eyes of so many people to date one of the opposite sex does not mean to shun another for being an individual and doing what it is they feel is right. So why judge them for being different?

What is your take on this? Loving someone of your own gender--Is it really wrong? Do you think people have a choice to be gay or not?

Quantia Braziel

Video games--Good or Bad?

Are video games good or bad for our kids? Being a gamer myself, I would say they can be good, but only to an extent. They keep your hand-eye coordination up, and now the military is starting to use the controllers to fly unmanned aircraft into battle.

What is your take on this? Should the games children play be cut back on hours playing, or do video games help in some way?

Mike McClure

Should Drug Controls Be Reduced?

There are some people in America who feel the government should reduce restrictions placed on certain prescription medications. To get any kind of prescription medication today a person has to go see a doctor and get that doctor to write a prescription for them. This obviously places liability on the doctor and thus the doctor may be reluctant to prescribe certain medications without a thorough exam or as part of a step-up treatment plan. For some (those with good insurance) this isn't an issue. Good insurance can make doctors accessible and inexpensive. For those without insurance, this approach can be really restrictive.

The advent of the internet now puts more information than ever into an individual's hands. A person can look up their symptoms, find a likely diagnosis, and create a common treatment plan in minutes, rather than waiting perhaps days for a medical appointment. The a major downside to this approach is when symptoms are less obvious or might be indicative of a more obscure or far more serious illness. Also, treatments involving prescription drugs are obviously restricted for people who would diagnose and treat themselves.

The sentiment generally goes, "Drug laws aren't in place because of you or me. They're in place for the rest of society, who would find ways to harm themselves otherwise." Obviously, some drugs would have to be restricted in any case. Narcotics have too much potential for abuse, and antibiotics, if overused, could create drug-resistant bacteria. Besides those two classes of drugs, there are many drugs out there that may significantly improve people's lives but are hard to access.

My question is: do you think that controls on prescription drugs are too restrictive? Should individuals be allowed more freedom to make decisions that affect their own lives, or does government hold a responsibility to protect the individuals in society who might potentially harm themselves if drugs controls were removed?

David Nadermann

Overpopulation

Are we over populated?

How much is too much?

It begins growing very slowly, but over generations the growth rate increases more and more rapidly, similar to a snowball effect. It took the human population thousands of years to reach 1 billion in 1804. However, it took only 123 years for us to double to 2 billion by 1927. The population hit 4 billion in 1974 (only 47 years), and if we continue at our current rate, the human population will reach 8 billion in 2028. Doubling from our present count of 6.8 billion to 13.6 billion will have a much greater impact than our last couple doublings combined.

Will we run out of resources? Do you envision other problems caused by overpopulation on the earth?

Mohammed Ahmad

Health in America

An alarming percentage of Americans are currently considered overweight or obese. Is this a problem? Why or why not?

How do you feel about implementing a more serious p.e. time in class (rather than walking in circles)? Any comments on the cafeteria food you have experienced in your student life? Healthy? Not so much?

Matt Funk

Abortions in Illinois

There are many contraceptives in the world today that help prevent pregnancies, but there are still thousands of abortions being preformed.The Department of Public Health reported the abortion rate in Illinois to be 47,717 in 2008, which has actually dropped in recent years. Do you think this rate is too high? There are some women who have had over two abortions--are they abusing their right of legal abortions?

Brittany Williams

Porn on the Web

All over the world teenagers and young children who have internet access have a wide variety of porn at their disposal. The websites have no security, so all you have to do is click a button that says you are eighteen and you're in. You can put parental locks on a computer, but the internet is forever doing new things and a lot of parents still have not caught up to technology. A good part of the web is porn whether it be a sex website or some teen posting sensual pictures on their Facebook or Myspace pages. Do you believe there should be more restrictions placed on the internet, or should we trust our children to do the right thing?

Julius Ervin

Everyone wants to be loved!

What do men and women truly want from each other in a relationship?

What is considered cheating in a relationship? Once that line is crossed do you stay or leave?

S.Cooper

Legal Marijuana

As of late 2009, there are 14 states such as California, Oregon, Washington, Maine, Nevada, Colorado, Michigan, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, Alaska, Hawaii, Rhode Island, and Vermont that allow the use of legal, or medical marijuana in their state lines. There are bills out there trying to be passed to allow all states to legalize marijuana. In California, a vote has been passed to actually have the citizens vote whether or not they want it legalized or not. Do you feel like this is a good idea for our country to legalize a drug? Some say it will bring our country out of debt, others say it wont. Other people think that crime rates will go up or maybe lots of drug wars will stop going on. Can this benefit our country by passing this law?

Kevin McBride