Do We Learn Less As We Age?

Do we learn less as we progress through the natural stages of life? In grade school we take English classes, in college some take philosophy, and in graduate school some perform in-depth research and prepare thesis papers.

Fast forward 10 years and many are married with a house and possibly kids. And bills. What do we do to keep our minds active and creative? Some have careers which allow them to continue learn, but most of us are not so lucky. Our life becomes routine, often performing similar tasks every day, with slight variations of course. We go to work, come home, eat dinner, watch a sitcom or baseball game, and go to sleep. Wash, rinse, repeat. It seems that we no longer have the thirst for knowledge or creativity from the past. We seem content to settle into our comfortable routines and ride it out.

Or do we? Lost in the shuffle are the thousands of additional tasks and pointers we have picked up in the past 10 years. We have fine tuned our career skills, learned how to raise kids, take care of a house, and balance a budget. It seems, then, that we have switched from a theoretical education to a practical education. An education which may actually prove to be more useful than philosophy, astronomy, or Middle East politics.

Perhaps the most important things we learn about as we age are our significant others, friends, family, and kids. As we create our homes and livelihoods, we build the support networks necessary for personal and financial success. We reflect on our own upbringing and attempt to raise our kids aware of our personal childhood experiences. We engage in years of trial and error, from changing diapers, to assuming new responsibilities at work. We are learning because we have to and people depend upon us to figure "it" out or to "make it work."

This dependency is what forces us to learn and improve everyday. So while our learning is much different than it was in our youth, it is arguably more important and creative.

A Path Towards Finding the Truth in the Twenty First Century: The American's Guide to Navigating the Media

The first thing most people do in the morning is check their trusted websites.  CNN, Foxnews, MSNBC, Drudge Report, and other sites where people regularly get their news of the day.  The problem is that these websites are around for the purpose of making money, not informing the populace about the salient issues of the day. 

As the election cycle heats up, the media, as well as the presidential candidates, will work together to influence the views Americans hold on the state of the country.  The president will have us believe that the country is the path to prosperity, while the candidates, along with their media followers, will say that the country is headed for disaster.  All we can do as citizens is try and be balanced and read both liberal and conservative websites, searching for the truth that lies somewhere in between.

On CNN, nearly 1/3 of the headlines are entitled, "opinion" and contain the always biased views of their mainly liberal reporters.  Fox does the same.  However, simply labeling an article as opinion does not take away from the fact that common Americans will still read the article and determine that the author's opinion is mainly fact.  The ever increasing "opinion" pieces take away from the real reporting which used to discover facts and truths.  It is very easy to sit behind a computer and bust out an opinion article in 45 minutes without doing any deep research beyond a Google search.

So how does an individual access the real news and filter out the biased attempts from the left wing and right wing media to spin the news to serve their political interests?  First, when you read an article, if you look to the top of the article, below the headline, it will say who the author is.  Generally, if the article says "AP" or associated press, the article is unbiased, same is the case with Reuters.  If it says, Foxnews, then it is likely biased to the right, and if it says MSNBC and the respective author, it will likely be skewed to the left. 

Next, try to read more than one website to obtain your news.  This will allow you read both sides and make a determination for yourself.  Finally, read the newspaper once every two weeks.  An hour skimming of the newspaper will provide the reader with a wide range of news that goes well beyond the scope of any news websites.  Foxnews and CNN only have at most 5-10 newsworthy stories on their websites per day.  Yet a review of the New York Times or Wall Street Journal reveals 50+ newsworthy stories where the average citizen can actually learn facts about the world around them.

As we enter an election year, it is important for citizens to be well informed about the actual state of affairs around the country and around the world.  Unfortunately, it is nearly impossible for citizens to access unbiased news which provides accurate information about the world.  Without accurate information we cannot make informed decisions, such as electing a congress and president.  If more people followed these suggestions, we would have a much more informed citizenry and a country less dominated by political extremists.

Happy reading and good luck.

Why Weather?

Everybody loves to talk about the weather.  I personally have been a weather enthusiast since the 4th grade when I was assigned to be the weather reporter for my class.  When people have nothing to talk about, they talk about the weather.  It's too hot, too cold, too snowy, too dry, too wet, too windy, not windy enough, etc.

But why do we talk about the weather so much?  We talk about the weather so much for a few reasons.  The first is that in this era of technology, heat, air conditioning and the modern luxuries of the 21st century, we still like to be reminded that there is still a natural environment; something that cannot be controlled.  When elements are beyond our control it is easier to watch and admire, precisely for the reason that we have no control over it and more importantly, we usually have no stake in it.

Mets fans, myself included, get depressed when the Mets miss out on the playoffs year after year.  When watching the awe of a hurricane from afar, a blizzard from indoors or a tornado on TV, there is no lingering disappointment if the blizzard falls apart, the tornado fails to touch down or if the hurricane goes out to see.

In this chaotic world of terrorism, financial crisis, genocide and political turmoil, the inherently neutral phenomenon of weather is a welcome reprieve from the inundation of negative stories that flood our day.  Even though weather causes thousands, if not millions of deaths worldwide each year, studying this last untamed natural frontier is awe-inspiring.

The way in which the Gulf Stream affects the weather in Greenland and the Pacific Ocean temperatures affect the drought in Africa is amazing.  I am not a religious man, but the small part of me which clings on to some bastion of spirituality sustains itself from the existence of the intricate and well oiled machines of weather and life.  The interconnection between the weather and life cannot be overstated.  We need the rain, we need the sun and we get both.  If it was too windy, like it is on other planets, we would be blown off the surface of the earth, but with no wind there would be no rain.

The crash of the financial markets inspired me to write this article.  I cannot click on CNN or any other news websites without feeling a pit in my stomach, reading about the billions of dollars ordinary Americans lost today.  When I click on ESPN.com, I see that Reyes is injured again.  Where do I go for news that will neither upset me or elate me?

The weather channel.  I pop it on and watch the meteorologist talk about the tornadoes in Kansas.  Try it.  Even better, when there is a thunderstorm approaching, walk outside and watch it come in.  See the dark clouds move in, the wind pick up, the thunder increase and the lightning crackle.  There is nothing man-made that can rival the power and the tranquility of an approaching storm.

This is why people talk about the weather.

Let's hear what your favorite weather event is, comment or take the poll on the right.

Fair and Balanced?

I have tried to keep this blog relatively "fair and balanced", declining to take sides on certain issues.  I clearly lean left, however, I am by no means a liberal.  With that in mind, I need to dedicate a short post to the joke that is Fox News.

Fox News is a joke.  They rose from obscurity in the late 1990's and only gained "legitimacy" in the mid-2000's.  They supposedly usurped CNN as the most watched news channel, however, I believe there are other factors leading to that calculation.  Fox News is the only radical right wing television station, while there are several centrist/left leaning stations, CNN, MSNBC, CBS, etc.  Therefore, to claim that you are the most watched name in news is a joke, if you are the only producer of right wing material.  For example, if 33% of the population is liberal, 33% conservative, and 33% moderate (intelligent), and everyone who is conservative watches FoxNews, then FoxNews gets 33% of the viewers.  The other 66% may have three or more options to watch balanced and centrist minded broadcasting, therefore, if there are three other channels, each gets 22% and Fox News wins with 33%.

Now they may be correct that more people watch them than any other news channel, however, it would be more accurate to claim that they are the most watched news channel because their marketing brand was created to attract the aforementioned 33%.  To imply you are the most watched name in news, implies that your opinions are valid, your editorials on point and that your perspective reflects that of the average American.  This too is a joke.

The average American knows that Fox News is a joke.  Fox News and their hardcore (moronic) following are the only people who fail to realize this.  When your headline icon is Glenn Beck, who failed to graduate college, which is not a bad thing in and of itself, but when you are claiming to be all knowledgeable on history, economics, foreign policy and social welfare, a college degree can be useful, you are a joke.

The real reason Fox News is a joke is because their slogan is "Fair and Balanced".  This is what inspired me to write this post.  Immediately after Obama signed the debt deal and every other website on earth had a picture of Obama signing the bill, Fox News had the FAA strike (what?) as the lead story.  So for the 3 weeks before the bill was signed, and the 3 days since the bill was signed, Obama has been portrayed in the Fox News Headline as the problem, the divider, the failure, the tax increaser, the cause of our economic failure, etc. Yet when he actually signs the bill (a positive act), the headline is the FAA strike!  What a joke.  How obvious can a news organization get that it is radically right, yet still have the motto, "Fair and Balanced".

That is like the Nazi Party using its official name, the "National Socialist German Worker's Party", or China using its official name, the "People's Republic of China", or North Korea using its name, the "Democratic People's Republic of Korea."  What does Fox News have in common with these dictatorships?  They are trying to brand themselves as being the opposite of what they really are.  Which is radical right wing, unfair, unbalanced, bigoted, hateful, ignorant, hypocritical (their worst quality) and more.  I could write a well supported thesis on why Fox News is a joke, but I have a job and you, the readers, have lives.

Fox News revealed itself as the biggest joke of all when it forgot to comment on the News of the World story in England.  Imagine a liberal paper was accused of hacking into phone records of dead children, soldiers and 9/11 victims.  Fox News would go nuts.  What happened when it was a right wing, co-owned newspaper, nothing, Fox News failed to report the story.  That's right, they censored...themselves.  Much like the North Korean government controls all television seen by North Koreans, Fox News actually decides what is and is not news.  Why not let the people decide what is and what isn't news?

Why not?  Because Fox News is a joke.

Should Weiner Resign?

Anthony Weiner is an idiot.

Anthony Weiner is an outspoken, liberal Democrat from New York City.  He is one of the few Democrats with the guts to defend his sometimes unpopular opinions and is a likeable guy.  He was running for mayor of New York and probably would have won.  He had just married his wife.  Everything was going well for Mr. Weiner.  Until his well, his weiner, got the best of him.  This is what made him an idiot. 

So Mr. Weiner texted/tweeted/Facebooked pictures of his body to women and had inappropriate conversations with random women he met on the internet, while being a married man and a sitting U.S. Repesentative.  Mr. Weiner claimed not to have sent the photographs, and later retracted.  He is an idiot for how he handled the crisis and the media alike.

So should Mr. Weiner resign?  Should he step down from the post to which he was elected by his consitutuents by a 20+ margin in a tough year for Democrats.  He is wildly popular in New York. Is stepping down the right thing to do or the mandatory thing to do?  I submit to you that he need not resign for two reasons.

First, Mr. Weiner was hired by the people of New York to represent them in Congress.  He was hired to represent their interests, fight for their district, write and pass bills for their benefit and to represent them in the U.S. Congress.  Did Mr. Weiner do his duty?  By all accounts yes, in fact, he has performed this duty more effectively than many fellow representatives who make much more kosher personal decisions.  In my opinion, it is the people of New York who should decide if Mr. Weiner shall continue to represent them.  It is not for Eric Cantor (hypocrite), Nancy Pelosi (follower) or Sean Hannity (blow-hard idealogue mega-lo maniac) to decide.  This is the point of representative (which Mr. Weiner is) democracy, we decide who represents us, NOT the media or fellow politicians, it is the constituents who decide.

Did Louisiana kick out Republican Senator David Vitter for hiring prostitutes and violating the laws of that fine state? No.  He is still in office.  Mr. Vitter broke the law.  He hired prostitutes, yet he is still a sitting Senator.  Today, Eric Cantor, the Republican Representative from Virginia, and political opportunist, said that Mr. Weiner should step down, without mentioning David Vitter.  This hypocrosy is stunning and embarrasing.  Eric Cantor is a rising "star" in politics.  He is akin to New Gingrich and Karl Rove in terms of his ruthless, win by any means mentality.  "Scandals" such as Weinergate reveal the true hypocritical nature of our elected politicians and media, both Republican and Democrat, Liberal and Conservative.

Clearly, Mr. Weiner did not act like a "model" citizen.  He had inappropriate contacts with women and lied about it.  I personally would not elect him as my Representative following that behavior.  But, it is not for me to decide, because my Representative is Gary Ackerman, not Anthony Weiner.

Second, Mr. Weiner should not resign because it would feed into the media circus that has become American politics.  I must reiterate that Mr. Weiner did not break the law.  If he did break the law, I think he should be impeached or resign.  He did not break the law and the media (mainly right-wing) is making his tweeting the main story for over 2 days now.  Not the recession.  Not the deaths of five American soldiers in Iraq.  Not the reality that Republicans are playing chicken with our debt ceiling threatening an American default on our loan payments.  Instead, we are focusing on Mr. Weiner's weiner.  If Mr. Weiner resigns it will lend creedence to the sad reality that we are not in fact a representative democracy, but a hegemonic, corporation controlled (via the media - Fox-News owned by News Corp, CNN - Time Warner), pundit influenced circusocracy.

America is the greatest country on earth.  We have the best political system on earth.  One of our main flaws that has developed in the past 20 years, however, is confusing great leaders with great people.  JFK was a great leader.  He was not a great person.  We have named an airport after a man who cheated on his wife in the oval office.  Imagine there had been internet in those days?  The man who defused the Cuban Missile Crisis and assured the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (he did not sign it because he was assasinated right as he was about to sign it) would have been kicked out of office.  My point is that just because Mr. Weiner is an idiot and not a great person does not mean he is not a great leader or representative.  I say, unless Mr. Weiner broke the law, let the people who did the hiring, do the firing.

What do you think? Vote in the poll on the right to voice your opinion.

THREE LESSONS FROM A BACHELOR PARTY

I just returned from a bachelor party in Atlantic City for two high school friends of mine, both of whom are marrying two girls who are themselves, best friends.  I am not going to divulge the details and stories of the weekend, however, I will reveal the three lessons to be learned from bachelor and bachelorette parties.

The most obvious lesson to be learned is by the bachelor to be no more…the one for whom the weekend is about.  While away from his soon to be bride and surrounded by booze, women, roulette tables and his crew, he will learn if he is ready to get married and if he is marrying the right woman.  If the bachelor feels like he is a dog let out of a kennel while on his bachelor party, and goes absolutely crazy, then maybe he is not marrying the right woman.  A man, or woman, should not marry someone who makes them feel suffocated and trapped, or who prevents them from living the life they want to live, or close to it.

Another way a man can tell if he is marrying the right woman is if after a day or two of partying with the guys, he misses his fiancé.  If a man is surrounded by the aforementioned vices, and still misses his woman, then it is clear that he is making the right decision to get hitched.

The second lesson to be learned is by the fiancé who is not on the bachelor party.  If your man is at a bachelor party and you are at home, or with your friends, panicking and worrying what he might be doing, then you may not be marrying the right one.  However, if you know your man is surrounded by booze, strippers, gambling and other fun, and you are actually happy for him and fully trust him, then you have the trust your relationship needs to succeed.

The final lesson to be learned is by the fellow bachelors, or married men, on the bachelor party.  It is a time for reflection on their own relationships and romantic situations.  A good friend’s marriage without a doubt causes those around them to question whether they should make the same move, and whether they are with the right woman.  If a fellow bachelor finds himself missing his significant other, or on the contrary, partying like John Belushi, he should take heed of the signs.

A bachelor party is one of the first real tests of the strength of a relationship.  It tests the trust between the couple as well as the bachelor’s desire to either party with the guys or settle down with his lady.  It gives a sneak peek into the future dynamic of the marriage.  It is a good gauge of whether either spouse will feel jealous, neglected, smothered, suffocated, lonely or hopefully, happy.  Unfortunately, by the time of the bachelor party, it is too late for the fiancés to change their minds, but for those who are not yet engaged, it is a great opportunity to examine their own relationships.

Take the poll on the right and test your own feelings on your significant other's bachelor or bachelorette party adventures.

IS IT WORSE TO BE FIRED OR TO FIRE?

Before reading this post, please take the poll to the right on whether it is worse to be fired to to fire.

A lot of people I know have lost their jobs recently, from pregnant fiances, to single mothers and it clearly hurts to lose your job.  But is it worse to lose your job or is it worse to be the person who has to pull the trigger?

I have been fortunate enough (knock on wood) never to have been fired or had to fire anybody.  From the stories of these recently unemployed people, the anger, frustration and pain they are experiencing is tough to see.  They all had friends at their jobs who over the years become their family, with whom they shared their happy moments and relied on during tough times.  A job is more than just a paycheck, it is where most people spend the majority of their lives and build some of their strongest relationships.

But what about the evil employers who have to make the tough, or sometimes not so tough, decision to lay off a worker.  Is it hard for them?  If so, how hard?  First, we need to remember that employers are ordinary people just like the employees they may have had to layoff.  They have families, mortgages and car payments to make.  They are also responsible for the financial stability of entities which support large numbers of families.  They may justify their decision to layoff a worker on the greater good, that without this layoff, the company could not make rent or pay suppliers.  But what I wonder is, how much these employer-terminators think about the effect that laying off a worker has on the employee.

Personally, I would rather be the fired than the firer.  On a lesser scale, I have experienced that doing the breaking up is always more difficult than being broken up with.  After a break up, the guilt is nearly unbearable, along with the double guessing and self-doubting.  Knowing that I am going to make a decision that will without a doubt hurt somebody and make me hated is much more difficult than being broken up with.  The broken up with, or the brokenee, can say F.U. to the other person and move on.  The breaker upper, or the brokenor, must live with the fact that somebody out there very likely hates them and that they may have ended a relationship that was in fact, in some cases, meant to be.

Is it the same with employers? Do they feel this guilt when they cut off a mother's ability to feed her child? I would like to believe so, but never having been in such a position, I cannot say.  To those who recently lost their jobs, I would say to relish in the strength of your F.U. approach.  To those who just did the laying off, I would say, I hope it was worth it.