The United State of America is the most heavily medicated country in the world. With 3.5 billion drugs or more prescribed each year, Americans buy more drugs per person than any other country. About 34% of American adults take at least one prescription drug and 11.5% take 3 or more, according to a 2012 Forbes report. This amounts to around 130 million Americans each month. Continue reading “Medicated America”
Author: chrismtwo
Every day I try to learn and experience new things. The infinite wonder of the universe provides endless opportunity for adventures. My favorite thing is to enjoy these adventures with friends, and to share my stories with others.
At the very core, all people are storytellers. Whether it is a full length motion picture or a chat over a cup of coffee, most of what makes up the human experience is the communication of ideas. For this reason, I am always looking for opportunities to write. I would like to share what I've seen with as many people as possible.
Massive Banking Fraud at LIBOR
If you think fixing boxing matches is bad, this one will blow you away. Over the past decade, major banks have been submitting false data to the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) in order to manipulate it and make huge profits. UBS, which is the largest bank in Switzerland, agreed to pay $1.5 billion in fines to international regulators for their role in the LIBOR scandal. By the way, UBS is on the list of the 29 “global systemically important banks.” It’s too big to fail. Continue reading “Massive Banking Fraud at LIBOR”
Mali: Is the U.S. Getting Involved in Another War?
Monday the United States signed a status-of-forces agreement with Niger that would allow the U.S. to fly drones from Nigerian air strips into neighboring Mali. Additionally, the U.S. is letting France use three of its air tankers for troop transport and mid-air refueling. The U.S. role in Mali is currently limited to support and intelligence gathering, with Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta indicating that a ground troop presence is unlikely. Continue reading “Mali: Is the U.S. Getting Involved in Another War?”
Making Babies
There are approximately 4 million live births in the U.S. each year, but getting there isn’t easy. Each year there are 600,000 miscarriages and 26,000 stillbirths. Additionally, 875,000 Americans experience one or more pregnancy complications. Of the babies born, 467,000 are born prematurely. Sadly, 27,864 infants die before their first birthday. So what can you do to improve your chances of making a healthy baby? Continue reading “Making Babies”
All You Need is Love
“You know you’re in love when you can’t fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.” ― Dr. Seuss Continue reading “All You Need is Love”
Lies
The average person lies once or twice per day. Some lies seem innocuous, like telling your wife she looks good in that outfit. Others are meant to deceive, such as hiding an affair. The question everyone has to ask is which lies, if any, are acceptable and which are not. Continue reading “Lies”
Lerner Invokes Fifth Amendment
Lois Lerner, head of the Exempt Organizations unit at the IRS, invoked her constitutional right against self-incrimination, also known as “pleading the Fifth.” Nonetheless, she was required to appear at a hearing before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. She made an opening statement, which may have addressed enough core issues of the investigation that she waived her Fifth Amendment right: If you invoke it, you cannot speak in your defense. However this plays out, it should serve as a reminder that the constitution protects not only private citizens, but functionaries of the government as well. Continue reading “Lerner Invokes Fifth Amendment”
Legalize It?
With the legalization of recreational marijuana in Colorado and Washington, several important questions have arisen. First of all, should marijuana be legal. Deeper than that, though, are questions of appropriate medical uses for marijuana, under whose authority should marijuana be regulated or banned, and what are the societal and financial costs of both legalization and prohibition? Continue reading “Legalize It?”
Labor Force Participation
Despite the unemployment rate falling to 7.6%, the jobs picture is not looking good. Since March 2012, new positions have roughly matched pace with population growth. The labor-force participation rate fell 0.2% to a seasonally adjusted 63.3% in March. This is the lowest rate since 1979 and includes the unemployed as participants. So who exactly are the 36% not participating? Continue reading “Labor Force Participation”
Do Juveniles have Rights?
An 8th grade student was suspended and later arrested for wearing a T-shirt with an NRA logo, a picture of a hunting rifle, and stating “PROTECT YOUR RIGHTS” in bold letters. He now faces charges of obstruction and disturbing the education process. This is despite the school dress policy containing no explicit prohibitions on having images of guns on clothing. The school does have a rule against clothes that “display violence.” Continue reading “Do Juveniles have Rights?”
Ronin Pen 