Suspended for saying Noose??? seriously

So after the Jena six fiasco many people have been on edge about issues of race. There have been a few other issues that have to do with a noose that have been discussed on the news. One was at a college where a set up meant to promote tolerance was vandalized with a noose painted orange hanging on it. The other was when kids in the band were suspended for talking about a noose.
"There's apparently been some racial tension in the band at Lee's Summit West, specifically on the drum line. Students were talked to a couple weeks ago because both the black and white kids were using the "n word" and the band director told them to stop. But then talk about a noose landed a couple kids in big trouble.
Travis Grigsby loves playing drums, but he and his friend Alex Coday weren't able to play for two weeks after they were suspended. It started after the band's performance at a football game. Some kids on the drum line said they were talking about the best knots to use to tie up the drum equipment.
"Someone asked if anybody knew how to tie a noose and Travis did admit he knew how to tie a noose," Kim Grigsby said.
Travis' mom said her son is almost an Eagle Scout, he knew how to tie it, but told his friends he wouldn't because you could get in trouble for that. Later, a black student on the drum line told the teacher he was offended.
"Travis was accused of using a racial slur for saying the word 'noose.' Then he was suspended for 10 days," Kim said."
Now the in the Jena six incident and the incident at the college I can understand how people would be upset and offended however, when someone is suspended for saying noose, I believe that people have gone to far. People are trying so hard not to offend anyone that they are encroaching on free speech rights. Now I don't deny that the students were stupid to discuss the noose especially when racial tensions were high at their school, but they do not deserve to be suspended for it.

Sicko

So I know I'm a bit late on the up take but I just saw "Sicko" this weekend and I loved it.
This movie takes a hard look at the state of the American Health Care System and compares it to the systems in Canada, Cuba, England, and France. In England, the doctors get paid more if their patients are healthier and when you leave the hospital instead of getting slapped with a bill you are given money for transportation. In Canada the people are so afraid of the insurance situation in the U.S. that they actually buy insurance when they go to the U.S. for one day. And in France all people get 5 paid weeks of vacation a year, one more week if you get married (for the honeymoon), a day if you move, and 6 months paid off time if you are pregnant. France was pretty much ridiculously awesome. Now I might have expected the United States to be in worse shape then Canada, England, and France but Cuba seriously? It was ridiculous that 9/11 volunteers were able to get better care in Cuba then they could at home. An inhaler that costs 120 dollars in the U.S. were 5 cents in Cuba.
But the most astounding place of all was Norway. Norway wasn't in the film, but it was in the special features and wow, I want to live there because it sounds amazing. Norway gives pregnant women one year off, their police don't carry guns, they only use the surplus of their oil reserves so that future generations still have resources, they have found a way to use sewage to heat their homes (its not as gross as it sounds), and they have the lowest murder rate in the world. Yeah, so Norway basically owns on all fronts (and I know alot of that wasn't about their health care system but its awesome as well). These other countries are putting the U.S. to shame in taking care of their own citizens. The U.S. needs to take a hard look at the way its treating its citizens, both large, 9/11 heroes, and small, the poor. Then maybe we can consider that other countries have found a more successful way of handling health care and for once we can get off our high horse and follow their lead.

Heroes Save the Whales....well they try

The Water, normally a beautiful blue, is turned red by the blood of the innocent animals. A group of 7 surfers sit on the rocks some with their heads in their hands, and others literally shaking with tears. An angry japanese fisherman yells what are probably obscenities at a news camera filming every second of the horrific event.
This was the scene in a small fishing town on the coast of japan, where Heroes star Hayden Panettiere and a group of surfers attempted to stop the slaughter of dolphins by japanese fishermen. She and the others paddled out on their boards attempting to some how help the animals whose blood had not yet been spilled. However the fishermen would have none of it, they used the propellers of their boats and long prods to fend of the surfers until the group finally had to leave or be arrested.
Now I am not really an animal rights person, I eat meat and think that testing on animals when done in order to learn is acceptable. However this display was disgusting, this was unnecessary cruelty to these intelligent animals and something needs to be done about it. There must be some other way for these fishermen to make there living, some more human and acceptable fashion to kill the dolphins. I am not even saying that they should stop killing the dolphins, if that is the only way that they have to make there living then I am in no position to judge them. However herding the dolphins to their death, taking large spear like objects and slicing them and spilling so much blood that the water turns red is no way to do this.

sources:
http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20157993,00.html
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=843_1193927344