Is What You See, What You Get?

Everyday we are bombarded with advertisements and commercials in which the models look absolutely perfect.  In a world full of digital imaging, retouching and airbrushing, it can be hard to tell what’s real and what’s fake.  I plan to blog about the effect this distorted imaging can have on young girls at a later date.  For this blog post, I’d like to focus on what, if anything, the government should do to regulate these ads.

Recently, the British Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) began cracking down on companies that heavily airbrush or retouch their photos.  Cosmetic company L’Oreal recently had several of their advertisements pulled in the United Kingdom for making claims about their products that they couldn’t support with factual evidence.  Member of Parliament, Jo Swinson, stated that the photos used in the ads were, “not representative of the results the products could achieve”.  You can check out the advertisements in question here: http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/beauty/loreal-ads-of-julia-roberts-and-christy-turlington-banned-for-airbrushing-2516498/

In the United States, commercial speech is not protected under the Constitutional freedom of free speech.  The government can regulate advertisements that are false or misleading.  That being said, many companies retouch their photos before publication and it’s not usually consider it false advertising.

So my question to you this week is, “Do you believe these advertisements crossed the line?  Are all retouched ads misleading?  Do you think the United States should do more to crackdown on the companies that publish these advertisements?”  Answers are due no later than Tuesday, August 2^nd, 2011.

The Devil Called.....He Wants His Weather Back!

This week I’ve discovered that hot weather makes people cranky, myself included.  The air conditioner doesn’t work in my car, and I’ve become another person when driving home in rush hour traffic.  This new person is sweaty, impatient and full of rage.  I’m hoping it cools off soon before an incident occurs.

That being said, other than when I’m driving, I’ve been blessed.  I work indoors, in a cool office and go home to a nice cool house.  The community center where I work has been designated one of the eight “cooling centers” in the city.  This means we’re staying open late this week and offering a cool place to hang out to the thousands of Indianapolis residents that have no other place to go to get out of the heat.

I saw on the news over the weekend that city officials were meeting to determine a course of action for the heat wave.  I had never realized how much political decision-making plays a role in weather preparations.  Who is responsible for what?  Should IndyGo offer free bus rides to individuals so they don’t have to walk?  Should IPL suspend disconnection notices so citizens can continue to use their air conditioner?  Should the city of Indianapolis make sure residents have a safe and cool place to go?

So my question to you this week is, “What do you think the city should be responsible for when it comes to public health and safety during weather events such as this?  Should individuals be responsible for themselves, or do public officials have a responsibility to help?  What suggestions do you have to ensure everyone’s health and safety?”  Answers are due no later than Tuesday, July 27^th, 2011.

Are You Proud To Be An American?

This week we started our study of the Constitution and the freedoms that make us uniquely American. You can order your own free copy of the United States Constitution from: http://www.constitutionfacts.com/index.cfm?section=bookstore&page=freeCopy.cfm

There are things about America that I don't like; paying taxes (even though I know they're neccessary), crooked politicians and corporate greed. However, despite those things, I am still proud to be an American. I am proud to live in a diverse country where we can participate in our own political process. I am proud that we have the freedom to practice our own religion and speak our mind. Each quarter as we review the Constitution, I am reminded of all the freedoms that we have which I tend to take for granted.

So my question to you this week is, "Are you proud to be American? If so, why? If no, why not?" Answers are due no later than Tuesday, July 20th, 2011. P.S. So, two quarters ago, the students helped me create a really cool blog template that had a patriotic theme.  Somehow, last quarter, I lost all the graphics and had to go back to this generic template.  If any of you have any suggestions or know of any links where I can find a better template let me know!