In Tennessee, If You Can’t Say Gay, Try George Takei

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Legislation banning the discussion of homosexuality in Tennessee classrooms has just passed that state’s Senate.  Referred to by opponents as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, Senate Bill 49 would affect prepared materials and instruction in kindergarten through eighth grade. Popular “Star Trek” alum and noted gay activist George Takei wants LGBT youth to know he has a workaround if the bill becomes law.  In a video posted on Youtube, Takei suggests replacing the word “gay” with his own name: “Takei.”

“The so-called ‘don't say gay’ law is premised on the misguided belief that, by not talking about gay people, they can simply make us disappear,” Takei said. The video offers several suggestions for where use of the term “Takei” would be appropriate, including, “I am a supporter of ‘Takei marriage’.”

May 20, 2011

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Australian Import "Planking" Surges in Popularity: But Why? The Straight Dope on Fake Dope

Conference Explores Adolescent Brain Development

Host: Ryan Schill
Video: Clay Duda

Georgia Prosecutor’s Video Highlights Armed Robbery Consequences for Kids

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Georgia’s Gov. Nathan Deal, this Deep South state’s new executive and a former juvenile court judge, has made it known that he may be ready to reassess laws mandating that some children be prosecuted as adults. It will, however, be next year before the laws -- passed nearly 20 years ago -- get a fresh look from members of the state's General Assembly and the governor. Until then, children between the ages of 13 and 17 are automatically prosecuted as adults in Georgia when accused of committing certain serious crimes. Armed robbery is among the so-called “seven deadly sins” on that list. Since taking office, Clayton County District Attorney Tracy Graham Lawson, also a former juvenile court judge, has tried some innovative ways to get the word out about this to young people before they end up in prison.

Is Ronald McDonald a “Deep Fried Joe Camel” or Just Plain Creepy?

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Watchdog group Corporate Accountability International may have missed an opportunity in their campaign to remove Ronald McDonald as the face of the ever-expanding, omnipresent fast-food chain.  CAI is claiming, as written in  Salon.com, that “Ronald's the equivalent of a drug pusher for MSG-addicted kids.”

Peddling the fast food equivalent of smack to children would be bad enough, but let’s be honest, there’s a better reason: according to the research, Ronald is actually sort of repellant to kids.  A study done by the marketing company Ace Metric received a “remarkable” amount of responses that found Ronald to be “creepy,” according to a VP with the company. Rather obviously, McDonald’s disagrees. “For everyone who feels that way, there are more who feel the opposite,” McD’s chief creative officer Marlena Peleo-Lazar said.  “He is a force for good.”

That may be, but research by the University of Sheffield in England found that “clowns are universally disliked by children.”

“Some find them quite frightening and unknowable,” the study said, failing to use as source material the Seinfeld episode featuring Crazy Joe Davola dressed as Canio the clown in the opera Pagliacci (said clown's dialog with Kramer in an alley, particularly dark) or that exceeding scary scene in Poltergeist when the clown attacks the little boy, only to have his own stuffings pulled out, or the cult movie classic "Killer Klowns From Outer Space." So CAI may be correct that the floppy-shoed clown should be retired, just not for the reasons the firm says. Of course, Ronald McDonald isn't the only clown in town.

“Slow: Children at Play” Signs Probably Don’t Work

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We’ve all driven past them dozens, perhaps hundreds, of times but signs reading “Slow: Children at Play” probably aren’t slowing us down, according to a story on Slate.com. The reasons are simple: they are either redundant (because drivers are more likely to see actual children at play rather than a sign telling them about the children) or drivers ignore them completely (because they never see any children at play on the street). What matters, studies show, is traffic speed, not signs.  Children are safer on streets with a lower speed limit.  As the speed limit increases so does the danger for children. But traffic engineers face a difficult task convincing parents that their children are no safer with the signs than without.  Parents, understandably, will take whatever steps they can to keep their children safe.  But Slate suggests that the problem is systemic.  Our streets are designed for traffic, not for people or neighborhoods or children at play. “It's roads, not signs, that tell people how to drive,” according to the story.

Are Your Kids Safe from Questionable Smartphone Apps?

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In recent months, both Apple and Google faced criticism over the questionable content of certain apps in their online app stores, leading parents to wonder what exactly their children have access to when using popular smartphones. In March, Apple yanked a controversial “gay cure” app for the iPhone after an online petition calling for the app’s removal received 146,000 signatures in 24 hours. According to Exodus International, the religious group that created the application, Exodus is the largest Christian referral and information network dealing with homosexual issues, defining its mission as promoting "freedom from homosexuality through the power of Jesus Christ." The group’s “freedom from homosexuality” app leads the user back to a website that focuses on abstaining from gay lifestyles, something Exodus International views as fundamental to upholding the values of Christianity. In late April, Google found itself in the middle of a similar controversy when a game for its Android operating system for phones simulating dog fighting appeared in its on-line shop, Android Market.

JJIE.org Reporter Chandra Thomas Named 2011 Soros Justice Fellow

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Chandra Thomas, JJIE.org’s award-winning state capital reporter, has been named a 2011 Soros Justice Fellow by the Open Society Foundations.  She joins 17 other advocates, journalists, lawyers, grassroots organizers and filmmakers working on a wide array of criminal justice reform issues. As part of the prestigious fellowship, Thomas will spend 12 months producing a series of print and multimedia pieces examining the ways that some Georgia schools divert at-risk children into the state’s 200-plus alternative schools, priming them for the criminal justice system. The fellowship is sponsored by the Open Society Foundations, an organization whose mission is to curb mass incarceration, reduce harsh punishment and ensure a fair and equitable system of justice in the United States.  George Soros, the founder of the Open Society Foundations, has contributed more than $1 billion in the United States to fund the fellowships.  

 

Australian Import “Planking” Surges in Popularity: But Why?

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It may be time to pull the phrase “kids these days!” out of the mothballs.  A new trend out of Australia, known as “planking,” encourages lying stiff as a board, face down, in increasingly outlandish places while a friend snaps a photo. Cars, railings, even the Taj Mahal, are all fair game for planking, with the only rule being “the crazier the better.”  Like George Mallory before them, plankers do it because it’s there, or more accurately, because they can. Facebook is inundated with photos of planking and pages dedicated to the new “sport” are receiving tens of thousands of “likes” on the popular social networking site.  Even Australian television news anchors are planking on their shows. But as planking grows in popularity plankers are trying to outdo each other with increasingly dangerous stunts.  Videos of planking on railroad tracks or on moving cars are showing up on YouTube.  The first planking fatality occurred in Australia when 20-year-old Acton Beale fell 7 stories after attempting to plank on a 2-inch wide balcony railing.  Australian authorities are hoping the tragedy will discourage others from participating in “extreme planking.”

Planking may be this generation’s pole sitting, a fad that should fade quickly with time as all fads do.  In the mean time, plank with care.

Judge Tom Jacobs: Megan Meier Law to Be Tested on Middle School Students

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You may remember Megan’s story from the many news reports over the past four years. Megan Meier took her life in 2006 after being bullied online by Josh Evans, a fictitious 16-year-old. Josh befriended Megan on MySpace, flirted with her for a month and then dumped her stating, “The world would be a better place without you in it.” Thirteen-year-old Megan hanged herself in her bedroom. At the time of Megan’s death, Missouri did not have any anti-bullying or cyberbullying laws. Soon after her suicide, it was discovered that Josh didn’t exist.

A triple tragedy brings the story of heroin’s suburban rampage home

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It may not be news that heroin abuse has crept into America’s suburbs. TV stations, newspapers and academics have reported the trend over the last few years in metro areas as far-flung Denver, Milwaukee and New York City. But a story this weekend underscores with a dramatic twist how widespread the problem has become: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports on three young men who attended the same affluent middle school -- ages 20, 21 and 22 -- each of whom died this winter within a month of each other from apparent heroin overdoses. Heroin has long trailed marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamine in popularity locally and nationally. But a 2010 Atlanta drug market analysis published by the U.S. Department of Justice found the highly addictive opiate is becoming more prevalent in suburban areas where it used to be rare.