Rock the Vote just to Rock the Boat?

Here it comes, yet another heated presidential election.

Who will take it? The Democrats? The Republicans?
The black guy? The white lady?

Is it just me, or is this turning into an election that is more about getting something that is out of the ordinary into the White House than it is about getting somebody who is the most qualified into office?

A group of people came into the restaraunt where I work the other day and when asked their name the head of the party jokingly said that it was Barack Obama. They demanded a table for the next black president. When I laughed and said that they would have to wait he laughed with me and said, "It's ok, you're voting for me and thats all that counts." I smiled and laughed again and casually informed him that I actually wasn't sure who I would be voting for. The smiles and laughter ended there. Apparently not being sure that I would vote for the black man in the election makes me an Uncle Tom.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that women and black men aren't qualified to be president. I am just a little worried that people are beginning to overlook the issues in their heated desire to elect the first black or woman president. I have actually had conversations with several different people that lead me to believe so. In a nutshell, they all felt the same way. They felt that breaking the barrier and getting a black man or a woman into office was much more important in the long run than electing someone just based on who would be the best president.

So I wonder, is this true?
Is it much more important to overcome the race and gender barrier than it is to select based on the issues?

What exactly are your rights?

I recently got into a nice little heated discussion at work with a couple of my co-workers/friends. It was very interesting.

Here is some background: In October of this year, a Maine school board approved a plan to make a full range of birth control fully accessible to a certain middle school. This made contraceptives readily available to students in grades 6-8.

Some of my friends were beyond appalled. One of them said, "So they have to get parental consent to get an aspirin, but they can walk out with the pill in their pocket and not even have to tell a parent? That is ridiculous."

When I asked them what they thought should be done someone brought up the abstinence angle. Basically, no sex-ed. No birth control. Just tell them not to have sex.

All of this brought us straight to a Californian law that was enacted last year.
Under this law, minors do not need parental consent to receive abortion services. The same people that were against the middle school birth control were openly against the abortion rule.

What it all came down to was that they all believed that all of those types of decisions should be made aware to parents. Minors, teenagers, children, etc - none of them should not be allowed to make those decisions.

So I am bringing this question to you: is it ok to be in charge of your sexual decisions as a minor? As a teenager? As a middle schooler? As a child? Are you the only one who should be responsible for your actions and decisions?

Or is this really something that should only be discussed and decided with parents?
Perhaps minors are too young, immature, and just plain not ready to be making these kinds of decisions?

What do YOU think?

NOTE: Please DO NOT turn this into a pro-life vs pro-choice discussion.

Greetings from sunny Southern California!

Hello there! I am happy to introduce myself as one of the latest writers for ATWKS.

My name (or at least the one that I will go by in this case) is Cari, but I will sign my posts as Cali. I am the daughter of Zairean immigrants who met here in California. I was born and raised here in the suburbs of Los Angeles and as far as I'm concerned its a wonderful place to be.

I'm an aspiring model, coach, business woman, and possibly journalist. Those three things actually say a lot about me so I'll explain them a bit in an effort to show you who I am.

I was bitten by the acting bug at about 10 years old. My parents took me to a talent search at about 11 which picked me up and tried to place me with an agency. I signed to a modeling/talent agency here in Los Angeles and it didn't take me long to realize that what I actually really loved was modeling. Unfortunately, my parents pulled me from the agency as soon as my contract was up and urged me to concentrate more on school. I was heartbroken, but now that I am a legal adult I'm jumping right back in to the modeling industry, much to my parents dismay.

I'm a die hard cheerleader. I love it a lot and it has become a major part of who I am. I am considering transferring to a university on a cheerleading scholarship. After I am done with school, I plan on being a coach and opening up my own all-star gym because I am in love with the sub-culture that is All-Star Cheerleading. It is something that few people know about but many participate in. So you understand just what it is that I am in love with, HERE IS A VIDEO.

I love to write. I came to college with every intention of being a Journalism major but I soon found it all to to be quite tedious. It was sucking the joy out of writing for me and in reality, some of the best journalists have said themselves that they learned few things from the classroom. So I turned to my love of business and economics. The movement of money, wealth, good, services, investements - it all really fascinates me. So now I am a Business major and considering fitting Business Law somewhere in there. I'm also fascinated by law and I love a good debate. ;)

What will you see me write about? Well, just about everything. To be completely and totally honest with you I have quite a big mouth and I am not at all afraid to use it. So look for me to be very open and having no problem with being brutally honest with the things that I run into in everyday life. Feel free to challenge me. There's nothing like a good debate that everyone can learn from, including myself!

Happy reading!