The time has come for someone to stand up and scream at the top of their lungs, “America, stop being disgusting and sexualizing 15-year-old girls!!” and I’m not afraid to be that someone. Because the media can longer be counted on to have a brain, because adult celebrity bloggers see it fit to go after girls who can’t even drive yet, and because we as a nation are still. fixated. with. high. school, the cloud of obsession seems to have blinded everyone to the fact that there is something inherently wrong with stalking little girls.

Because these ARE little girls we’re talking about. Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez, Taylor Momsen. When we’re not urging them to slather on the eyeliner and hike up their skirts, we’re glamorizing their world, turning high school into a multi-million dollar soap opera where everyone is scheming or talking like 30 Somethings or having sex with anything that purses it’s lips. For those of us who remember high school without the Hollywood Glasses, you’ll recall that no matter where you went, it was decidedly unglamorous. It was boring, sometimes lonely, a lot awkward, and stuffed to the brim with tests, feeble attempts to fit in, and college application essays.

Ask any mother today who isn’t on crack if she’d be happy with her 15-year-old having sex, and she’d blurt the word no faster than you could think it. When Ms. Cyrus’s cellphone is hacked into and her frighteningly-too-old half naked poses are stuffed onto the world wide web, we’re “horrified”. But when she walks around with a full face of makeup, hair extensions, high heels, and revealing clothing, she’s just being a “teen star”. The Lolita posing is too overtly sexual; while the “Disney Vamp” is just subtle enough to keep us from feeling guilty. Read More »

Whether you are pro or anti Iraq war, I’m sure you’ll agree that Iraqi society is in shambles. Of course this is in large part due to their recovery from the totalitarian regime but its greatly aggravated by the past five years worth of violence.

Female suicide bombers have emerged as a recent phenomenon of this war.

It seems that there have been 20 suicide bombings carried out by women since the beginning of the war—8 since 2007. Most of these women have lost a close male relative—a husband, brother, father, etc. Eleven of the twenty have been from the Diyala Province—currently the headquarters of Al Qaeda in Iraq.

The big question is WHY? Read More »

It’s time for the news with Kandy Korrespondent!

Well as the national presidential race gets into full swing it seems that the Iraq war will once again take center stage. (suprise suprise right?) Both candidates have been skipping around the issue in recent months– hinting that they would do things differently, would have to respond to the situation, make calculated decisions, etc.

Tuesday was no exception.

Barack Obama told a group at the International Trade Center in Washington, DC that the US government’s preoccupation with Iraq must come to an end.

Obama: “This war diminishes our security, our standing in the world, our military, our economy, and the resources that we need to confront the challenges of the 21st Century.”

This is a great statement. It speaks of the challenges of the 21st century as more important that our petty war. Peace and Prosperity Baby!

But can he really deliver or is this just a sound bite? Read More »

Is a ladder more likely to fall on you today?

Lucky Jeans is having a huge SALE.

A Stop Lossed soldier answers your questions

A.C Slater strikes again!

There will be NO CHEERING at this graduation. Got me??

Everyone at Grey’s is pissed off at Heigl. I’m pissed off that the show has slowly succumbed to boring-and-lame-itus

You know that guy who randomly Facebooked you? Yeah. He might be a monkey.

Happy Father’s day, you CREEPY Dads, you!

BritBrit gets an Emmy?! I’ll throw my TV out the window first…

Class of 2008, here’s some real graduation advice 

And Now the News with Kandy Korrespondent.

As the average price of gas rose to $3.80 nationally, Congress made further attempts to placate their angry constituents. Also on Tuesday, the House of Representatives approved legislation that will allow the Department of Justice to sue the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) for conspiring to restrict supplies and/or drive up prices. It goes without saying that such legislation is mainly symbolic. Even if the DOJ were to sue OPEC, there would be no way to enforce any ruling upon the countries.

On Wednesday, with oil at a record-breaking $134/barrel, congress summoned oil executives to the Hill and demanded answers.

The executives responded that they were doing all they could to aid renewable energy and help the country through the current crisis.

It should be noted that, ConocoPillips executive John Lowe received cash compensation of $5.7 million in 2007. Peter Robertson of Chevron received $14.2 million. Exxon Mobil exec Stephen Simon received $12.5 million. Yet, as Robertson stated, “I’m a regular person.” Read More »

“At the wedding, someone will pull the president aside and say, listen, you’re not losing a daughter, you’re losing a war” –Bill Maher

5. This is actually a perfectly lovely picture of Jenna, I add it only to remark on how much Barbara Bush (daughter) looks like Alanis Morissette.

4. As her father’s daughter, I would have expected that she could hold her alcohol better. Read More »

This past Wednesday, April 16th, Senators Clinton and Obama faced off for the twenty-sixth time.

Now I must admit– I have long since stopped caring about the debates and I am dangerously close to apathy with regards to the DNC.

Moreover, I am of the opinion that after the first few debates they become pointless and simply a chance for candidates to get free TV time.

A debate could be held where moderators ask questions and the studio uses old footage of the candidates answering because seriously guys—THERE IS NOTHING NEW TO ADD!

Take this last debate for instance: Read More »

I’m tired of talking to my friends about this ONE guy who has been haunting my love life, or lack thereof, since the fall. I’m sick of pretending like I don’t care when I talk to him, too. The fact of the matter, Travis, is this: Even my PARENTS know all about you and the sort of emotional mud you’ve been dragging me through. I see pictures of you and cringe. It’s time you received an open letter. And for once, I’m gonna go ahead and NOT care if your cute little girlfriend, who is, by default, an idiot, reads this.

Dear Travis,

I respect the fact that you refuse to cheat on your girlfriend of three years. You are a very noble man. In fact, I respect you for doing all that you can to avoid being in the same room as me these days. You and I both know that it’d be easier to get American troops out of Iraq than it would be to get your tongue out of my mouth if we were ever to, tragically, be left alone together.

I respect your ability to use your mind and step outside of this situation so that you can ascertain its importance in the long run. You have an impressive ability to weigh out your options, Travis. You should be a stock broker.

The only problem? Well, you’re a snakey asshole. Here’s what I DON’T respect about you: Read More »

April Fools’ day and I have never gotten along.

In second grade, my Elementary School decided it would be cute to ring the warning bells every five minutes—you’re late for class… APRIL FOOLS’!

Middle School saw surprise pop quizzes—it’s worth 90% of your grade and you didn’t study—APRIL FOOLS’!!

High School? College? More of the same…

This morning, at midnight on April 1st, my boyfriend paused on the sidewalk, looked at me significantly, and said “Suzie, I’ve decided to go to Med School”—APRIL FOOLS’! (he’s applied to grad and law school so for a minute I was like… omg!– then I saw his smirk and was like… oh right… )

When I saw the Reuters article on pranks this year, however, I had to chuckle at the new heights of advertising that this day of strange glee has allowed two Australian companies to ascend:

Google Australia announced a new feature enabling one to search the Internet for future content, including sports results…

Australian airline Virgin Blue took out ad space in newspapers offering special “Stand Up fares” complete with complimentary calf massages for flights longer than two hours. Read More »

In my last post I discussed how, despite President Bush’s claims of success within Iraq, secretarian violence continues to force Iraqis to leave their homes in fear of their lives. At least four million Iraqis have left their home country since the beginning of the war.

Leaving Iraq is only the beginning of their problems. Thanks to this large number, it is increasingly difficult for an Iraqi to gain asylum.
How difficult you may ask? Read on:

→ According to the Independent, Iraqi asylum applicants within the European Union rose by 98% between 2006 and 2007. In 2006 there were 19,375 and in 2007 there were 38,286.

→ Within many countries traditionally known for their openness to refugees such as Sweden, the saturation of the system brought on partly by the deepening Iraqi refugee crisis, is resulting in a backlash. Read More »