Voice of Elmo Quits after underage sex lawsuit filed

In the story "Voice of Elmo Quits after underage sex lawsuit filed" by Alan Duke

Kevin Clash the puppeteer of the famous Elmo for 28 years announced he will be resigning from Sesame Street. Kevin had this to say "I am resigning from Sesame Workshop with a very heavy heart," . "I have loved every day of my 28 years working for this exceptional organization. Personal matters have diverted attention away from the important work Sesame Street is doing and I cannot allow it to go on any longer. I am deeply sorry to be leaving and am looking forward to resolving these personal matters privately."

Kevin was filed a lawsuit by a man who said he is having a underage sexual relationship with a 15 year-old teenager for 8 years. Cecil Singleton the victim said Clash induced him to have a sexual relationship when he was 15.

The suit wants 5 million in damages because Singleton suffered  mental, psychological and emotional trauma." Attorney Jeff Herman said"Kevin Clash preyed on vulnerable teenage boys, like Cecil Singleton, to satisfy his depraved sexual interests, now by coming forth now, Cecil hopes to spare the lives of others like him and to begin his healing process."

In a statement Kevin said " I am a gay man and  have never been ashamed of this or tried to hide it, but felt it was a personal and private matter."

I think Kevin is being charged to harshly. I don't see why this is a crime, it was one back then but know Cecil is a grown man he might have been 15 at the time but he had to be smart enough to know that relationship was wrong. Then he demands 5 million in cash after dating the man for 8 years, he isn't hurt he's just a greedy man who's trying to take way more then he deserves.

He says he was seduced by Kevin, this is nothing but a excuse because he is to weak to resist being in a wrong relationship.

Attention Disorder or Not, Pills to help in School

By Alan Schwarz
October 9, 2012
Dr. Michael Anderson is a physician/pediatrician who gives his low-income patients who struggle in elementary school, he gives them Adderall. A powerful pill that increases focus and controls arbitrary actions of kids diagnosed with A.D.H.D.

Anderson doesn't believe that A.D.H.D and A.D.D aren't real symptoms but are excuses for academic performance. But he is says " I don't have a whole lot of choice," We've decided as a society that it's to expensive to change the kid's environment. So we have to change the kid".

Experts say wealthy students overuse the stimulants to raise good grades in high school and college. But in low-income elementary schools children use the pill so eager parents can see them succeed.

Dr. Nancy Rappaport, a child psychiatrist who works mostly with low-income children said " We are seeing this more and more. We are using a chemical instead of doing things that are just as important to also do, sometimes more".

Jacqueline Wilson, a concerned parent said she can't thank Dr. Anderson enough for diagnosing A.D.H.D and Concerta in here three children Eric,15; Chekiara,14; and Shamya,11. Jacqueline says her children have trouble comprehending and concentrating on schoolwork.

Experts say the disorder known as severe impulsivity  is becoming a common diagnosis among youth. In 2007 9.5% or 5.4 million of Americans from ages 4 to 17 were said to be diagnosed.

In my opinion instead of giving kids pills and stimulants they should involve themselves in more of there kids work. It's the parents responsibility to tend there child's needs because A.D.H.D is not a disease it's a personally problem that  must be solved.



 

Yay!Boo!So? Reactions to Obama win vary

By Peter Mucha

On November 6, 2012 Obama was re-elected into office. There were thousands of opinions coming from voters some negative and some positive.

 On the WPHT- AM talk named Big talker, a caller named Scott said "people are brainless, they believe whatever they're spoon fed". He's said he saw media racial bias. Where's the white gut vote?" he said. " I'm tired of hearing about the black vote, the Latino vote".

Marty Brenna(a hater),49 said " I'm a little bit disappointed. I wasn't really happy with either candidate, but I guess Obama ran a better campaign, gaining higher voter turnout.

Barbara Drucker, 61, said " I'm thrilled to death, I would have never have voted for Romney on women's issues alone".I think that killing Osama Bin Laden and saving the auto industry were key factors that helped Obama get four more years, she said.

Len Burkhardt, 53, said " I certainly do give some of the credit to Chris Christie". He then said "I would have preferred a businessman like Romney in the White House, because Obama is not as fiscally                              smart or fiscally responsible
 Lisa Pierce, 30, said " either way, they need to get their act together,politicians are out of touch with "real life, real- world"issues. She says because of these reasons she didn't vote and she also expects the next four years to bring more gridlock.

Mary Szybist,43, said trust was a major issue and she's glad Obama  was re-elected. Mary said " I didn't feel like I got a sense of who Romney was and that I couldn't trust anything he said", she also adding that he wasn't in touch with the average person.

I felt pretty good about the election, I'm happy that Obama got back into office. But if he really wants to make an impact in our country then he needs fight for big issues like funding education, tax payments and etc our he'll just be another president who says there going to make a difference but never does.

In conclusion some people feel like Obama being elected isn't a big deal and some are glad that he's in office again. I just hope he can bring about change.

Will Climate Change Get Some Respect Now?

By Nicolas D. Kristof, Columnist, The New York

Hurricane Sandy has caused major destruction throughout the East Coast and Barack Obama and Mitt Romney decided not have a talk on it. Now isn't time to have little discussion on the matter now.

Hurricanes hitting the Northeast date back to far as 1804 but scientist believe that increasing carbon emissions could make more storms and even worst then Sandy.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo tells President Obama "we have a 100-year flood every two years now" and NY times has said 3 of biggest floods have occurred in Lower Manhattan since 1900 for several reasons.

• Hurricanes form when the ocean becomes warm and the East Coast  has some of the hottest temperatures in history. Scientist's believe the heat is formed by natural variation and some human climate changes.
• It's said that computer models of future hurricanes won't happen more but get stronger in this century.
• Rising seas also tribute to hurricanes. NYC Panel says coastal waters could rise two feet by 2050 and another 4 by the end of the century.

This shows future hurricanes could have a greater radius and destruction in the future so if you live on the East Coast watch yourself?

Also it seems politicians have stop caring because articles on climate change dropped 41% in the least in the last 2 years. Guess that percentage is going increase thanks to Sandy. Now maybe we can actually start caring about happens in our country and not ourselves all the time.

Just in case this happens again FEMA needs to get right on top of it instead of waiting for a while and to think Romney wanted to privatize it.

In conclusion the government needs show more concern on climate because who knows what the future will hold for the East Coast and with Barack Obama in office are country could now improve. I think with Obama should focus his attention on climate and setup precautionary methods for the future.

Using iPad's before bed 'can lead to a poor night's sleep'

By Stephen Adams
October  11,2012

More and more people are using there iPad s to surf the web and log in into their Facebook, Twitter and Instagram  accounts. But little do they know that the blue light radiating from the screen stops them from experiencing a good nights rest. This happens because the light mimics daylight which signals to our brain that it's still daytime.

It is said a dark room triggers the body to produce melatonin, this is a hormone that tells are body that it's time to sleep but the iPad's light disrupts that.

Neurologists have known for years that glaring into screens at late times can mess with sleep. It doesn't matter if it's a TV, computer or cell phone screen.

Researchers at the Lighting Research Center at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute of New York say that looking at the tablet screen for more than two hours" can decrease the flow of melatonin in our bodies". They also say "Although turning off devices at night is the ultimate solution, it is recommended  that if these devices are used at  night displays are dimmed as much as possible and that the time spent on them before bed should be limited".

Researchers also reported that constant disruptions to sleep can increase the chances of obesity and even breast cancer.

In conclusion the iPad is not just another piece of entertaining technology but is also a creator of sleep disorders. So for all you users of the iPad I say" don't use it at night because there can be consequences.

Texting is Addiction

There at it all day and night. There doing it when everybody’s fast asleep. There doing it at the dinner table. Most do it in school at lunch and even in class with the teacher in there. Students are addicted to texting and do it everywhere.

Texting has become a worldwide trend which almost everyone participates in, especially teenagers. And unlimited plans offered by companies like AT&T, Version, and Samsung aren’t making it better.  In 2008 according to the Nielsen Company teenagers send at least 2,272 text messages per month. That’s a total of 27,264 texts a year.

But physicians and psychologists say texting isn’t good for you. They say it can lead to anxiety, distraction in school, falling grades, repetitive stress injury and sleep deprivation.

Dr. Martin Joffe, a pediatrician in Greenbrae, Calif., gave a survey to students at two different high schools and learned they send hundreds of text every single day.

Professionals say that adolescences are supposed to grow up, find a job and live a peaceful life but texting has become an obstacle in that process. But since technology makes it easier to stay in contact with somebody teens are texting parents at least 15 times asking meaningless questions.

 Michael Hausauer, a psychotherapist at Oakland, Calif., says teens have an understandable interest in phones and texting because they can be in the loop, communicate to their friends. This gives texting great benefits and harm.

It’s said texting is doing damage to teenager’s thumbs. An example is how Annie Wagner, 15, a ninth grade honor student in Bethesda, Md., used to text on a small LG phone as fast as she did on a keyboard. Then she started noticing cramps in her thumbs. Now she has the iPhone and she says texting is slower and less painful.

Peter W. Johnson and professor of environmental and occupational health sciences at the University of Washington said “it’s too early to determine if this type of stress is damaged. But he also added “Based on our experiences with computer users, we know intensive repetitive use of the upper extremities can lead to musculoskeletal disorders, so we have some reason to be concerned that too much texting could lead to temporary or permanent damage to the thumbs.”

Another amazing texting story is how Greg Hardesty reported that his 13-year-old daughter Reina sent 14,528 in a single month. She would have the phone on when she went to bed, getting up to answer her friend’s replies. Then when her texting was put in the paper her texts increased to 24,000 but when her grades started failing the phone was taking by her parents.

Eventually she was given the phone back when she improved her grades but her texting was limited.

In conclusion texting is activity that is greatly enjoyed by teens everywhere and shouldn’t be stopped but there should limits to how much and how long they text but the limits wouldn’t be that strict.

Studies Find More Students Cheating,With High Achievers No Exception By Richard Perez Pena

Cheating has become a enormous problem over the last years at some of the best schools like Stuyvesant High Schoool, Air Force Academy and even Harvard. Studies of students behavior and attitudes show that a great percentage of students have broken school academic integrity and even honor students are doing it.

The  reason for a increased rate of cheating is simply over the years it's become easier and surprisingly more excepted . Parents and teachers fail to talk to the kids and give strong messages why cheating is bad.
Donald L.McCabe a professor at the Rutgers University Business School and researcher on cheating had this to say"I don't think there's any question that students have become more competitive, under more pressure, and, as a result, tend to excuse more from themselves and other students, and that's allowed by the adults around them,".

McCabe says "there have always been struggling students who cheat to survive.

Internet is a big contribution to cheating since you can connect to friends,share answers and plagiarize almost instantly. Research also provides information that cheating is only used depending on how hard or easy a problem is. Jefferey A. Roberts and David M. Wasieleski from Duquesne University had done some research and found that the more tools college students were permitted to use to do work, they were more likely to copy off other students.

The Internet has changes lots of attitudes with the ability to now to instantly downloading ,cutting and pasting, and searching available to just about anyone. Also an emphasis is that students working in teams also play a role.

Howard Gardner a professor at Harvard Graduate School of Education says"that over 20 years he has studied academic integrity and that ethical muscle strength has decreased. He said the words of elite colleges are:"We want to be famous and successful, we think our colleagues are cutting corners, we'll be damned if we'll lose out to them, and some day, when we've made it, we'll be role models. But until then, give us a pass."

In conclusion cheating is a worldwide issue that needs to be dealt with if parents don't their kids to cheat most of school assignments. Schools need to start applying consequences to students when they are caught cheating and give speeches on why this is not the way to succeed.