Book Review 1

In the book Cell by Stephen King every one that uses a cell phone suddenly goes crazy and total chaos ensues. A man named Clay goes on a journey to find out why this is happening with some people he meets on the way. This book is exactly what you would expect it to be coming from Stephen King, scary and suspenseful. As King ussually does though he hit it out of the park with this great novel. I highly reecommend this book to anyone interested in fiction.

Current Conection 3.2

The article http://dailycaller.com/2013/05/30/study-says-traditional-gender-roles-may-be-thing-of-the-past/#! says that the traditional gender role is starting to fade away and things are changing in America today.

The article begins stating that married women are now more likely than ever to out earn their husbands and be the primary breadwinner. In 40 percent of American homes that have children under 18, women are the main breadwinner of the household. This number increasing from 11 percent in the 1960, shows the changes in the American society.

In recent years there has been a dramatic increase in working mothers, as there is often a need for 2 incomes to support a family in a declining economy. Only 31 percent of American households maintain the "traditional" household as opposed  to 70 percent in 1960.

Although having 2 incomes in a household does make paying the bills easier, it makes raising children all that much more difficult. This suggests a return to "traditional" gender roles, yet reality does not show that to be true. Studies show that 79 percent of people reject the idea of women returning to the old gender roles.

As society changes, so do the roles we all play in it. As more and more women enter the work force, the idea that women should stay at home and take care of the house and kids is starting to be nothing but the past.

current connection 2.1

There are many factors that tie into our decisions, being past experiences, age, and individual differences. For instance if you are pulled over for speeding and given a ticket, there's a pretty good chance that you're not going to break the speed limit for a while.

It has been proven that teenagers do not make as well of decisions as adults do in a any situation. Age can be linked to the experience an individual has in a certain area. Considering the older you are, the more experience you ma have.

Obviously different people make different decision. This could have something to do with how you were raised. We were all raised to behave in a specific manor and to have certain vaules and all of that stays with you for life.

Another factor that plays into our decisions is escalation to commitment. If a person has problems with commitment then they are less likely to make a quick decision. On the other hand if you don't have a problem diving in head first then you may tend to make a decision faster.

Another factor in our decisions are influences in our culture. Our culture does have influences on what we think. We see everywhere of what our culture says we should think, do, and even look like.

In the end there are several different factors that can influence what we think and the decisions we make every day. http://www.studentpulse.com/articles/180/decision-making-factors-that-influence-decision-making-heuristics-used-and-decision-outcomes

current connection 2.1

There are many factors that tie into our decisons, being past experiances, age, and individual diffences. Say a person gets inot trouble for doing a certian thing, they are less likely to do that same thing again.

It has been proven that teenagers do not make as good of decisions as adults do in a certian situation. Age can be linked to the expeiance an individual has in a certain area. The older you are the more wise you tend to be.

Obviously different people make different decision. This is most likely related to how you were raised. You were raised with differnet values than the others around you chances are. If you were rasies not to do something than chances are you wont, and if you were raised to do a certain thing then chances are youre going to do it.

Another factor that plays into our decisions is escalation to commitment. If a person has problems with commitment then they are less likely to make a quick decision. On the othet hand if you dont have a problem diving in head first then you may tend to make a decision faster.

Another factor in our decisions are influences in our culture. Our culture does have influences on what we think. We see everywhere of what our culture says we should think, do, and even look like.

In the end there are several diffent factors that can influnece what we think and the decisions we make every day.   http://www.studentpulse.com/articles/180/decision-making-factors-that-influence-decision-making-heuristics-used-and-decision-outcomes

Insuring Kids in Arkansas

The number of children in Arkansas without health insurance has gone from 22 percent to 6 since ARKids First was created in 1997.

 Arkansas was ranked fourth in the country at enrolling eligible children in programs such as ARKids First and Medicaid in 2011, according to Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families. This is despite the fact that 27 percent of children in Arkansas live in poverty compared to a national average of 20 percent stated in a study done by Georgetown University.

 The states with the lowest levels of uninsured are Massachusetts and Vermont at 2 percent and Connecticut with 3 percent. Nevada has the highest amount of uninsured children with its percentage at sixteen.

 The study shows that 92.5 percent of children eligible for ARKids First are enrolled in the program. The program was designed for families with incomes too high to qualify for Medicaid but still so low that they could not afford private insurance. “I think this is an unequivocal success for the state, “said Arkansas Surgeon General Joe Thompson. “In 15 years we’ve dropped the portion of uninsured children dramatically…and there’s no question that that has given parents more security about the health of their kids and less anxiety about being able to care for them.”

 While great strides have been made to reduce the number of uninsured in Arkansas that 6 percent left without insurance amounts to 46,000 says Anna Strong, health-policy director for Arkansas advocates. This 46,000 are children ages 18 and under that has an income too high to allow for coverage under ARkids but also an income too low to afford private insurance. “The report does highlight some areas where we could make more progress and where we could do a little better job, but I think we’ve done an incredible job overall,” Strong said. “Our big goal is to cover all kids and families,” Strong said. “We would love to see every family in Arkansas have health coverage,” she said.

 ARKids First is a state program that was created and made law by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. This is a great program and I hope improvements continue to be made so that no child in Arkansas goes without health coverage and every parent can have the peace of mind knowing their child can receive the care they need without facing financial hardship.

 

www.arkansasonline.com

 

Fugitive Neglect

In Santa Ana, California a teenager that was charged with killing 5 people in a car accident while driving drunk escaped from a juvenile facility. He was a fugitive for over a month until he was found in Utah. The juvenile facility neglected to inform the Orange county sheriffs’ department of the teens escape until it was a month after the fact. A week after the teen had escaped he was found in his home town in Utah by state police. At the time of the crash that killed the 5 people the teen had drank an unknown amount of alcohol and rear ended a van on the interstate at a high rate of speed. Both he and his friend were seen by a trucker leaving the crash site then returning only moments before rescue crews arrived. The 18 year old only sustained minor scrapes and bruises and was being held on a $3.5 million bail at the time of his escape. It is still unknown just how he escaped the facility or how he got as far as he did.

The facility that he was being held at claims to have notified the Orange County Sherriff’s Department about his escape, But the sheriff’s office couldn’t find any record of it being reported. After the facility did report the escape, police entered the teens name into the criminal database for fugitive warrants but none could be found. Which means that not only did the facility not report the incident, but they didn't even put a warrant out for his arrest. But never the less the 18 year old has been placed into custody once again and is under 24 hour watch.

www.guardonline.com

Veterans getting the ax

One federal department will be protected from automatic budget cuts effecting the government: the Department of Veteran Affairs with its 300,000 employees and $140 billion budget, an agency second in size to the Defense Department.

  But while the VA is protected from the budget ax known as sequestration, veterans are not. Programs that support veterans that are operated by agencies other than the VA are subject to the cuts.

 They include the Department of Labor’s VETS job-training program, which is suppose to help reduce unemployment among veterans and returning servicemen. Acting Labor Secretary Seth Harris said last month that about 55,000 veterans and 44,000 servicemen would not receive employment and other transition assistance to aid them in finding civilian jobs because of the budget cuts.

 Another program affected is Housing and Urban Development commonly referred to as HUD. HUD has been credited with reducing the amount of homeless vets by 17 percent since 2009 by providing vouchers for housing.  While the vouchers will still be issued funding will be cut. HUD fears this will have a “serious effect” on the number of local housing authorities willing to accept the vouchers because of the deficit the cuts will leave according to Sandra Henriquez, assistant secretary for public housing.

  Many Defense Departments programs that support our veterans, wounded servicemen, and their families are going to feel the cuts. The number of mental health counselors helping those with issues such as PTSD may be cut. Also, medical providers working at VA hospitals and clinics are subject to the ax. “This may mean a decrease in clinic appointment availability or longer wait times to see providers”, says the Pentagon’s assistant secretary for health affairs.

 Even death is not going to exempt our veterans from the sequestration. There is already a wait of a month or more for burial at Arlington National Cemetery. The number of burials is expected to drop from 31 a day to 24.

 Our vets and their families have sacrificed themselves for us and our country and to subject them to budget cuts such as these is a shame I hope can be avoided by a compromise being reached.

www.arkansasdemocratgazette.com

 Veterans not spared budget cuts