Last night, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs appeared at an interview together for the first time in 20 years.  The two have been competing in the computer market since before I was born, and despite the friendly performance they put on last night, they can’t possibly like each other much.  However, the thing I noticed is that the debate over which brand is better has been picking up lately.  Three years ago, everyone I know was using PC’s.  Now I have a bunch of friends who are always willing to argue that Macs are the holy grail of computing. 

I personally prefer a PC.  I have never had extreme problems with them, and they have always been flexible enough to fit my needs.  I have used Macs before and I find them just as easy to use.  A computer is a computer as far as I am concerned, and I don’t see why people are so quick to argue about which is better.  The annoying thing about all of this is that we are seeing the emergence of Apple fan boys.  These people are so die hard Apple everything when they have only been using an Apple for two years or so.  Why has using a Mac become so trendy?  Is it because of its minority status?  Is it because they tend to look more fashionable than a PC?  Is it because everyone else seems to be switching over?  I can’t figure it out. 

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I stumbled across this article about Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee’s decision to require all morbidly obese people under their coverage to take an IQ test before being covered for a gastric bypass surgery. After reading the article, I found myself asking two questions: 1. Is it right to require that patients have a certain degree of intelligence before recieving a potentially life saving operation? 2. Since many cases of obesity are the result of bad eating habits rather than disorders, should those without a disorder recieve coverage for something they caused themselves?

I do not mean to be insensitive to anyone who is overweight or obese, as I am not a twig myself, but there are certain proven trends in obesity. Obesity tends to be more common in the lower social and economic groups. This is a fact. Mississippi, one of the poorest states in the nation (if not THE poorest) has the highest percentage of obese residents in the US. If you look at the shift in advertising for such fast food chains as McDonald’s and Burger King, you see that more and more commercials are geared towards minorities and teenagers, and often have a rap, hip hop, r&b feel to them. This is hardly a coincidence, as these are the most likely groups to be attracted to cheap food. Unfortunately, in our culture of supersizing, obesity is becoming a huge problem and many people are looking towards gastric bypass as a cosmetic procedure rather than a life saving one.

Insurance companies have an obligation to cover their customers from anything that may befall them outside the realm of their control. Just as burning your house down purposely does not allow you to clain your insurance money, I do not think people with bad eating habits should be able to claim health insurance to finance this operation. People who are eating badly KNOW that continuing on the path they are on will lead them to obesity. This is common knowledge and anyone who does not know this will certainly not pass an IQ test given to them by their insurer. Why should insurance companies reward money to people who could have controlled their weight easily with a little bit of self control? Now, if a customer has a disorder in which they cannot control their weight, they should be allowed full coverage, especially if it is a matter of life and death.

On the issue of the IQ test, first we need to determine if IQ should have anything to do with someone recieving the medical care that they require. I think that requiring someone to be of a certain intelligence before recieveing treatment is blatant discrimination and is just plain wrong. Now, all of this was about medical attention, not about whether the insurance company should pay for these people or not. Of course the insurance company should pay for these people, but I suppose they reserve the right to require this of all people purchasing policies AFTER their change in doctrine. If this is the inevitable decision of the insurance company, I suggest that they make some changes to it. Perhaps instead of requiring an IQ test from everyone, it should only be required from people whose obesity was caused by their own bad eating habits. All people with disorders should recieve the operation with the full insurance coverage. Now from those taking the IQ test, the people on the LOW end of the spectrum should recieve the coverage because they are less likely to be able to realize and understand the consequences of their diet. Those who know the consequences but continue on the path should not recieve coverage.

Of course my proposed idea is discriminating, but it is less discriminating than that put into place by Blue Cross Blue Shield. Ultimately we are all responsible for ourselves, and for most people, obesity is within your control. Should this allow insurance companies to decide whose life they save? Absolutely not. Everyone in America should recieve the medical care they need. Operate first and worry about the money later.

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I was waiting in the doctor’s office yesterday and I happened to pick up an issue of Forbes from November of ‘06.  It was a little outdated, but that didn’t stop me from finding a great editorial written by Steve Forbes himself.  As I have said in the past, I am a strong supporter of dividing Iraq into autonomous states with seperate governments according to the religious lines in the country.  However, the one major roadblock to this goal has been the uneven distribution of oil throughout the country.  We have the Kurds in the North, the Sunnis in the middle, and the Shia in the South.  The oil is deposited mostly in the North and South, leaving the proposed Sunni province with little black gold of its own.  So once again, greed is the main factor preventing us from leaving Iraq. 

How can we make everyone happy in this situation?  Steve Forbes points us towards Alaska.  How can Alaska help us to solve our Iraq problem?  Most people will be surprised to know that there is a fund that is managed by investment experts hired by the government called the Permanent Fund.  When the government pumps oil from the wells in Alaska, about one quarter of the profits are placed into this fund.  Each year, every registered and eligible Alaskan recieves about $1,100 from the fund.  Forbes argues that this would solve the oil distribution issue in Iraq, and I tend to agree.  It would end the argument over where the oil wells are geographically and it would provide an incentive for unity.  Each Iraqi would be compelled to provide an address if they wanted to recieve their money, effectively registering the location of every Iraqi citizen for the government.  While the government may have a problem with relinquishing control of a portion of their oil profits, it might just be the spark that Iraq needs to begin to realize the potential benefits of cooperating with the new government. 

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I was recently chatting with someone about my dreams of becoming a defense attorney, and a subject came up that I have been forced to reflect on many times before.  The person asked me, “Would you be able to defend a rapist murderer or a serial killer?”  Now let me start off by saying that I am a moral man.  How can anyone not condemn someone who has done something as bad as what had been put into that question?  Could I really live with myself if I successfully allowed someone as terrible as that to walk the streets and strike again? 

If this man didn’t confess on his own accord, I could live with it.  Does this make me an awful person?  Hardly.  I would be a worse person if I did NOT defend him.  That might seem insane to some people, but I believe in the right to have a lawyer defend you at your trial.  Let’s detach ourselves from the evil of this man’s alleged crimes, and ask ourselves if we would like to be defended if we were on trial for the same crimes.  “But we didn’t commit these awful crimes,” you say.  Exactly.  Did it ever occur to you that maybe he didn’t either?  Even if the evidence is stacked against someone, there is always that chance that they might be innocent.  Human beings are always so quick to jump to conclusions and condemn someone to prison or death.  We don’t even consider the fact that maybe there was a mix up somehow.  That is exactly why I would want to be a defense attorney.  If I were wrongfully accused and in that chair myself, I would want someone defending me.  Even if 95% of my clients were terrible people who deserve all that they get, maybe I would be able to save that one innocent man.  To me, that would more than make up for all the murdering rapists I tried to defend. 

Being wrongfully charged and convicted of a crime is possibly the worst thing that could happen to you.  I can’t think of many worse tragedies that could befall you.  Some of us fail to realize how often mistakes like this happen.  There are people who are wrongfully convicted every day.  That is the flaw of a jury trial.  People make mistakes.  How many of you have ever been to jury duty?  How many of you voted along with the rest of the jurors in order to get out of there quicker?  That signals something wrong.  The justice system is not perfect, but most of us fail to see that before we become the victim.

Like I said, it is your duty as a lawyer to defend those you request a defense.  This is the only thing preventing these people from life in prison.  The only line is drawn when there is an uncoerced admission of guilt, in which case, there is no way to justify the defense of that man. 

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With the new minimum wage increase almost guaranteed to pass, there are many people in America who feel as though this a victory for everyone.  Liberals, especially, believe that this is a great change.  The problem is that minimum wage increases hurt more people than they help.  In fact, only 4% of America’s workers are even affected by this increase, according to this article at Yahoo News.  So where is the victory?  Well, for one thing, this pay raise will help some of America’s lowest paid employees pay for their groceries, which is definitely a good thing.  Less people on welfare benefits us all, especially when tax time comes around. 

Unfortunately, the cost is high.  A minimum wage increase will also increase the prices of some goods and services, specifically those that are produced and performed by these low paid workers.  Since the owners lose profits when they pay employees more, they will compensate.  It is simple economics.  This forces all of us to pay a higher price.  By far the dumbest thing I have ever heard is this statement by Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), “This is a great day for America’s middle class.  America’s workers have been waiting for a raise for too long.”   First of all, did he not realize the above figure of the 4% of workers that are currently making below the new $7.25 minimum wage?  Second of all, how does that help the middle class?  Are America’s lowest paid workers members of the middle class?   Somehow, I can’t see how helping the poorest members of work force benfits the middle class.  In fact, most middle class citizens are entrepreneurs who own or run their own business.  These are often the businesses that EMPLOY these low paid workers that are affected by the raise.  Technically, you are taking money from the middle class, not creating a “great day” for them. 

Even more ridiculous is the fact that most of the lowest paid workers are illegal aliens that have crossed the Mexican border.  These workers are not factored into the pay statistics.  In fact, this won’t help them because they can’t report the illegally low wages because they themselves are illegal.  So really, how is this minimum wage increase a true accomplishment.  Sadly, most of the people making below $7.25 are college students like me, who are just working part time jobs to spend the money on weekends.  Sometimes people don’t think things through before they react to an issue.

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Vegetarian and Vegan diets are becoming more and more popular by the day.  Some would call this trend positive, while many others would call it negative.  While I tend to believe that human beings are natural omnivores and should maintain that natural diet, I didn’t see any harm in pursuing the vegetarian or vegan diet.  That is until I read this article today in the New York Times.  The article is about the dangers that a vegan diet presents to babies.  Recently, another baby died as the result of a vegan diet that his parents we administering to him.  The baby was six months old and was being fed mainly soy milk and apple juice. 

The article is fairly detailed, and I won’t try and explain the concepts the author elaborates on.  What I will say is that mothers and future mothers must be more responsible with the diet that their children follow.  If you are a vegan, you need to put your beliefs aside in order to raise your child to be healthy.  A vegan diet does not contain enough protein to foster a healthy child, and nothing you can supplement will change this.  If you read the article, make sure to pay close attention to the benefits of changing to a non-vegan diet during your pregnancy.  This is for the good of your child.  If you can’t eat a hamburger or a steak for the sake of your child, perhaps you aren’t fit to be a parent.

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Since the house and senate shifted to the left with the last election, it seems as though bipartisanship is dead in our country.  The two most important elements in our government never see eye to eye.  With congress fighting the White House on every issue under the sun, we see that a government that does not cooperate cannot succeed.  The most bothersome thing about the whole situation is that it reveals how flawed our government is.  While most people proclaim our government to be the best in the world (and i tend to agree), the recent lack of progress by our government has to make you question that philosophy.  The inefficiency in our government as it stands now is incredible and appalling at the same time.  Congress can’t do anything because the President always opposes, and the President can’t do anything because Congress always opposes.  It’s like a game of tug of war that never ends.  Neither side will make concessions, and it is hurting our country more by the day. 

The other day, the Senate agreed to the pass the War Funding Bill without a time table.  I applaud the senate’s decision.  I also favor the time table.  I realize this is conflicting, but at this point, I don’t care what passes through both Congress and the White House.  All I want to see is cooperation.  All I want to see is the willingness to make concessions in order to recieve concessions from the other side.  Having Congress and the President locked in a month-long battle takes time away from other important issues and problems afflicting our nation.  Whether those compromises work out is yet to be seen, but at least our government is finally trying to put our best interests ahead of their selfish political goals. 

Is it just me, or do you ever start to wonder why the people we elect to represent us always care more about their own careers as politicians?  I keep hoping, wishing, praying, and crossing my fingers that maybe one good man will make headway into the political game and cause a stir.  Just one senator, representative, advisor, or anyone that cares more about the state of our nation than the interests of their party.  Just one person who will speak his mind about everything, instead of trying to balance on his thin party lines.  You can call me cynical, but that man will never exist.  There is no honest, intelligent man that can make it in politics because our own voters would reject him.  The party system is too deeply rooted, and people are too quick to take offense.  It’s a sad thing to truly realize how far we have departed from true and honest politics.

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