Indiana Government Positions

1. Who are your U.S Senators? 

Evan Bayh (Democrat) and Richard Lugar (Republican) are the U.S Senators and hoth Evan Bayh and Richard Lugar are not up for reelection.

2. Who is your U.S Congressman/woman?

 Dan Burton (republican) is my U.S congressman and is up for reelection this year.

3. Who is your U.S State congressman/woman?

 Jim Buck (republican) is my U.S State congressman.

4. Which of these is up for reelection?

Dan Burton, and Governor Mitch Daniels are up for reelection this year.

5. Who is running for Governor?

Mitch Daniels (Republican) is up for reelection this year and his opponents are Andy Horning (Libertarian) and Jill Long Thompson (Democrat)

Declaration Pre-Writing Blog-Questions Three and Four

We have many rights; these rights include freedom of speech and religion. These rights are not always respected. Since the beginning of time, man has often put down those that either were different or had a different belief or opinion.

            Religion has been a point that rights have been disrespected for a long time for me because I often find myself in places that religion is not minded. It is okay to have different beliefs, but sometimes there are times when you feel mistreated and that the freedom of speech and religion boundary has been crossed.

            Although religion has historically gotten the majority of the attention, I feel there are many instances when my freedom of speech has been disrespected as well. You meet many people with very strong opinions and beliefs that in an effort to get their opinion across they force their idea upon you. It then becomes even more difficult to share your opinions without feeling consequences of our actions and we respond in different ways. In school we can choose to be quiet because we don’t want it to affect our grades. Outside of school we may join an organization that has beliefs that we share.

   It is amazing for a society that is suppressed to be “open minded,” but it is sad to see how close-minded we have actually become.

            It is difficult to get people to recognize that they have been mistreating you because it is not necessarily in the form of physical violence, but in our words and actions. The old saying, “sticks and stone may break my bones, but words will never hurt me,” is not true. It is human nature to want to have people belong or a group together. In a society that is free and organized we are able to express our beliefs openly and often without the consideration of its impact on the people around us. The person listening does not agree with the belief or opinion they may be mistreated. The mistreatment may be in the form of exclusion fro a group or at school settings it may affect ones grades. If we look at the current political fight we see many politicians mistreating each other in an effort to win votes. For example, the guest politicians that appear on major news programs often have very strong opinions and are very abrupt with their answers. These men are expected to conduct themselves in diplomatic ways, but it is surprising to see these men interrupt each other with their words because they are so strong in their opinion. You can tell by the expressions on their faces that their words can hurt. This doesn’t just happen on T.V, but it also happens in everyday life, and people do it unconsciously. 

Super Size Me

Morgan Spurlock’s movie, Super Size Me, examines the fast food industries attempt to educate the viewer about the effects that fast food can have on your health and life.

Super Size Me was about a man named Morgan who decided to go on a McDonald’s splurge and eat McDonald’s for thirty days to show the side effects of the contents of their food. Morgan had stated that obesity is second most harmful self-imposed death in the world. He had his food super sized only if asked, which was most of the time. He originally weighed 185lbs and gained almost thirty pounds. The side effects from the consumption of this kind of food caused his to become sick, had liver problems, was tired and everyday tasks became more challenging.

In Morgan Spurlock’s movie he showed four young children pictures of well-known historical figures. Only two of these children were able to identify the historical figures. When Morgan presented the pictures of fast food characters, such as Wendy with her red braided pigtails from Wendy’s, each child had successfully identified Wendy and some of the other fast food chain characters that were presented to the children. This showed the power of advertising is on today’s society. McDonald’s and other fast food chains include happy characters that appeal to young children. These characters are recognized all over the world, you see them so many times on T.V it is hard not to miss the catchy tones and smiling characters.

            We, as Americans, have grown up learning about nutrition and it’s impact on our health. We have the responsibility to educate and promote healthy life styles, which may include an examination of the fast food products that are being sold today. Although Morgan understands the typical family doesn’t eat at a fast food restaurant for thirty days in a row, he attempted to show the impact of frequent visits to these fast food restaurants.

            As the former governor of Arkansas once said, “Anything that comes through your car window is food you shouldn’t be eating.” As a gymnast I try to maintain a healthy lifestyle and diet. However, in the future on the occasional stop to any fast food restaurant I will be mindful of the foods I select. Perhaps the next time I order a yogurt parfait at McDonald’s I will be sure to examine its contents.