Parents with teen children should be aware of the many dangers that are associated with the popular social networking sites Myspace and Facebook which allow people to communicate with each other through the internet. But even though these sites are very popular, they also can be dangerous. There are many people in the world who have twisted, cruel minds and they can pose a risk to children that don’t expect anything wrong can occur on Myspace or Facebook.
There are many reasons that Myspace and Facebook have become less secure over the years. One example from Facebook is that they have started this new application, called News Feed, which allows views to see what other members do on the site without even visiting their page. This is very alarming because now, predators don’t even have to go to someone’s page to see what they are doing.
Myspace also faces problems as well. It has been shown from a recent survey that there are over 29,000 registered sex offenders on the Myspace site. This number was 4 times more than the original projected amount. The number is causing panic among people because the number has grown so much in such a short time period. But there could be more than the 29,000 number of sex offenders because of Myspace not requiring people to put their real name into the site. This is also a problem that should somehow be resolved.
There are many ways that parents can help their kids stay safe from sex offenders and other dangerous people. One thing that kids should do is that they should know not to accept friend requests from strangers. They can be potentially dangerous and becoming friends with people that your children don’t know could get them hurt. But a way that sex offenders try to get to children is my posting fake names and pictures so that they seem like just another kid. Your children should be warned against these kinds of people.
Another way that you can keep your children safe is by having them keep their personal information safe. If a child posts their personal information such as their address, phone number or even last name on a Myspace or Facebook site, it will be relatively easy to find them. That’s why it is important to be careful about posting your information out on the internet where anyone dangerous can get a hold of it and create a truly hazardous and precarious situation.
Another possible way that parents can protect their children is by making sure that their profiles are private as are their pictures. If only their friends can view their pictures and profile, then the sites can safer for children. They wouldn’t have to worry about sex offenders and other people getting information on them and looking at their pictures. Privatizing profiles and pictures is another way that parents can make sure their children are safe from the hidden dangers in the world of social sites.
Children on Myspace and Facebook should be aware of sex offenders and other people who make bribes to try and get kids into their house. One main thing that children should know is to never go to a stranger’s house. If the child just has to go, they should be accompanied by an adult to oversee that nothing goes wrong. Also, be sure to make a background check to make sure that the person is who they say that they are. That is another precaution that can be taken in keeping children safe from predators.
There are over 600,000 sex offenders in the United States. Every one in 20 of them has a Myspace profile. This number is very astonishing. Children should be reminded that anything can go wrong in the world and that no one is completely safe. But parents can help protect their children from becoming a victim of a predator by taking all the possible safety precaution to ensure that they are safe and sound.
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Friday, July 27, 2007
Letter to Congressman Tom Davis
Dear Congressman Tom Davis:
I am here to bring your attention to the steroid policies in sports. I believe that steroids should be banned from all sports. They are creating dark clouds of doubt over professional sports and should be stopped immediately. Cheating is just not fair. Steroids are illegal in the US without a prescription. Those athletes that use steroids in sports are just despicable. Cheating goes against the values of people and even the values of America. It is downright wrong and should be eliminated at all costs.
Sports should be fair competition between two fierce competitors; but it should never be unfair competition with the help of performance-enhancing steroids. My position is, and will always be, that steroids are wrong. A way that we can decrease the use of steroids in our professional sports is with tough drug tests. If more rigorous drug tests are instituted, then athletes will understand that the leagues (NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL, etc) are not kidding around. There are over 100 forms of known steroids in the US, and intense drug testing should be started as soon as possible to decrease the number of cheaters (Drug Enforcement Association). It is a fact that most steroid use begins at the age of 15 and grave consequences follow (Gober, McCabe, and Klien). If steroids are started early, some effects that could follow are the risks of heart attack and stroke, failure in the kidney and liver and even clogging of the arteries. Everyone wants sports to be a clean affair, even in high school sports. If someone is caught, their punishment should be handled very strictly.
Cheating is one thing, but getting away with cheating is a whole different story. I believe that cheating should be handled with the strictest hand possible. Athletes can’t just go around cheating and getting away with it. That’s just not right. That’s why if there are stricter and more frequent drug tests, athletes will think twice before using steroids. When one person is caught, they should be given a hefty suspension, not just a little, dinky one. And when that suspension is announced to the public, that athlete will be embarrassed of himself. But that’s not all; it will also show other athletes that the cheating won’t be tolerated.
An example of steroids and athletes is the controversy over Barry Bonds. Some people think that he used steroids while others didn’t. I personally believe that Barry Bonds used steroids, but let’s talk about drug tests. In 2003, Bonds said that he had “unknowingly” taken steroids. He said that if he was taking performance enhancing drugs, it was his trainer that gave it to him. Bonds’ was given “clear cream” that he believed was legal, when in fact it wasn’t. But why wasn’t he caught by the drug test? It’s because the drug tests aren’t harsh enough. If drug tests were more accurate, then we could be sure that athletes are not using steroids.
In conclusion, I believe that drug testing should be tougher and more frequent in professional sports. Cheaters are a disgrace to their teammates and even the league. Since you are the chairman for the House Government Reform Committee it would be great if you could have more discussions concerning steroids and talk about strengthening drug testing. If sports strengthen their drug testing standards and impose strict punishments on athletes that use them, the whole world of sports will be a better and more secure place.
I am here to bring your attention to the steroid policies in sports. I believe that steroids should be banned from all sports. They are creating dark clouds of doubt over professional sports and should be stopped immediately. Cheating is just not fair. Steroids are illegal in the US without a prescription. Those athletes that use steroids in sports are just despicable. Cheating goes against the values of people and even the values of America. It is downright wrong and should be eliminated at all costs.
Sports should be fair competition between two fierce competitors; but it should never be unfair competition with the help of performance-enhancing steroids. My position is, and will always be, that steroids are wrong. A way that we can decrease the use of steroids in our professional sports is with tough drug tests. If more rigorous drug tests are instituted, then athletes will understand that the leagues (NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL, etc) are not kidding around. There are over 100 forms of known steroids in the US, and intense drug testing should be started as soon as possible to decrease the number of cheaters (Drug Enforcement Association). It is a fact that most steroid use begins at the age of 15 and grave consequences follow (Gober, McCabe, and Klien). If steroids are started early, some effects that could follow are the risks of heart attack and stroke, failure in the kidney and liver and even clogging of the arteries. Everyone wants sports to be a clean affair, even in high school sports. If someone is caught, their punishment should be handled very strictly.
Cheating is one thing, but getting away with cheating is a whole different story. I believe that cheating should be handled with the strictest hand possible. Athletes can’t just go around cheating and getting away with it. That’s just not right. That’s why if there are stricter and more frequent drug tests, athletes will think twice before using steroids. When one person is caught, they should be given a hefty suspension, not just a little, dinky one. And when that suspension is announced to the public, that athlete will be embarrassed of himself. But that’s not all; it will also show other athletes that the cheating won’t be tolerated.
An example of steroids and athletes is the controversy over Barry Bonds. Some people think that he used steroids while others didn’t. I personally believe that Barry Bonds used steroids, but let’s talk about drug tests. In 2003, Bonds said that he had “unknowingly” taken steroids. He said that if he was taking performance enhancing drugs, it was his trainer that gave it to him. Bonds’ was given “clear cream” that he believed was legal, when in fact it wasn’t. But why wasn’t he caught by the drug test? It’s because the drug tests aren’t harsh enough. If drug tests were more accurate, then we could be sure that athletes are not using steroids.
In conclusion, I believe that drug testing should be tougher and more frequent in professional sports. Cheaters are a disgrace to their teammates and even the league. Since you are the chairman for the House Government Reform Committee it would be great if you could have more discussions concerning steroids and talk about strengthening drug testing. If sports strengthen their drug testing standards and impose strict punishments on athletes that use them, the whole world of sports will be a better and more secure place.
Friday, July 20, 2007
Performance Enhancing Steroids
Steroids: Destroying Professional Sports
Performance-Enhancing Drugs are creating a dark cloud of doubt over professional sports. Steroids, as they commonly called, are substances that allow an athlete to gain an edge over the rest of their competition. Steroids are forms of human testosterone that is artificially made. They can boost the strength of an athlete and give them an unfair advantage over other athletes. There are over 100 known forms of steroids in the U.S. and they can affect users in many different ways. (Drug Enforcement Assoc.)
But what are some of the consequences of steroids?
Well, steroids can bring out a whole lot of problems in a person. Steroids can stunt bone growth and also result in baldness. But users of steroids can become angry and hostile towards other people. This symptom of steroids is called ‘roid rage. ‘Roid rage can occur very suddenly in a user of steroids and can result in violence and rage.
An example of recent roid’ rage occurred with Chris Benoit. He was a professional wrestler in the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment). About a month ago, Benoit was found dead along with his wife and son in their Georgia home. He strangled his wife, Nancy, suffocated his 7-year old son Daniel and then hanged himself. But it was discovered that Benoit had more than 10 times the normal level of testosterone in his body at the times of the killings (CNN). Also, there were steroids and other drugs in his body at the time of the killings. It is well-known that steroids can cause rage, anger and violence and I believe that it was the side effect of steroids (‘roid rage) which caused Chris Benoit to snap.
Steroids can also affect your personal health in a negative way. The use of steroids has been showed to affect your heart in a bad way. Steroids are linked to many heart diseases and also heart attack and stroke. Steroids can also make blood clots which can lead to the clogging of arteries. In addition, steroids can also occur in failure of the kidney and liver.
An example of a recent controversy concerning steroids is in MLB baseball. Barry Bonds, a leftfielder for the San Francisco Giants, is in pursuit of the all-time homerun record in the history of the major leagues. Currently, he stands at 751 career home runs, which are only 4 behind the all-time record set by Hank Aaron. But Barry Bonds’ career has been overshadowed with the rumors that he has used steroids to become stronger and bigger. At first when he came into the league, he was a skinny, little player not thought much of. But as the years progressed, he became bigger and stronger. Some other former and current players have talked about Barry Bonds and his potential use of steroids. Some people think Bonds has used steroids while others don’t.
In my humble opinion, I believe that Bonds has used steroids. People just don’t come into the MLB skinny as a string bean and then become strong as rock. It just doesn’t work that way. Bonds was a mere 185 lbs. when he entered the league. But now, he is listed at 240 lbs. To me, you can’t get that big without the help of another (illegal) substance. It’s just a matter of time until he is found guilty, but anyone can believe anything they want. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion.
There are many reasons that teens use steroids. They can use it to boost athletic performance or have a better body image like people they see on TV. But all of these reasons are wrong. You can get a better body image by normal things like good exercise and eating habits. The age where teens are most likely experiment with steroids is 15 (Gober, McCabe, Klien).
Another story of steroid abuse is with Floyd Landis. At the 2006 Tour de France (the biggest bicycle race of the year) Landis came from behind to win. But a few days later, it was found that he had an unusually high level of testosterone in his body, which hinted that he might have used steroids. Landis insisted that he hadn’t used steroids, but the results said otherwise. But Landis still has the Tour de France title, but there are hearings still scheduled to see if he will lose his title. Landis may not have lost his title yet, but he sure has lost the trust and respect of fellow Americans.
Steroids can be taken in a number of ways. They can be injected by a needle, taken through mouth by a pellet or pill, and even rubbed into the body by creams.
But steroids are illegal to possess in the United States without a prescription. Still, it has been found that steroids have been brought into the US one way or another. Since a prescription is not needed to purchase steroids from Europe and Mexico, that is one source of how steroids are being brought into the U.S. On possession of illegal steroids, the maximum consequences are one year in prison and a fine $1,000. But if you bring steroids into the US, you could get 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. (US DEA).
Steroids are eroding the reputation of professional sports. Everyday, the confidence and trust in athletes are decreasing with each case of steroid abuse. This needs to stop before no one believes in our athletes and considers pro sports a big joke itself.
Works Cited
CNN Organization. “Benoit had steroids in system.” www.cnn.com. 17 July 2007. CNN. 19 July 2007 http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/more/07/17/bc.wrestlerdead.ap/index.html.
Drug Enforcement Administration. “Steroids.” www.usdoj.gov. Aug. 2006. US Drug Enforcement Administration. 17 July 2007 http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/concern/steroids.html#11.
Gober, Sarita, Paul McCabe, and Malky Klien. “Adolescents and Steroids: What Principals Should Know.” Principal Leadership Nov. 2006. Wilson Select Plus. OCLC. University of Detroit Mercy (Detroit, MI). 18 July 2007 http://firstsearch.oclc.org/.
Lew, Kristi. “Jucied: The real deal on anabolic steroids.” InfoTrac One. InfoTrac OneFile. Thomson Gale. University of Detroit Mercy (Detroit, MI). 13 July 2007 http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb/?db=ITOF.
Performance-Enhancing Drugs are creating a dark cloud of doubt over professional sports. Steroids, as they commonly called, are substances that allow an athlete to gain an edge over the rest of their competition. Steroids are forms of human testosterone that is artificially made. They can boost the strength of an athlete and give them an unfair advantage over other athletes. There are over 100 known forms of steroids in the U.S. and they can affect users in many different ways. (Drug Enforcement Assoc.)
But what are some of the consequences of steroids?
Well, steroids can bring out a whole lot of problems in a person. Steroids can stunt bone growth and also result in baldness. But users of steroids can become angry and hostile towards other people. This symptom of steroids is called ‘roid rage. ‘Roid rage can occur very suddenly in a user of steroids and can result in violence and rage.
An example of recent roid’ rage occurred with Chris Benoit. He was a professional wrestler in the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment). About a month ago, Benoit was found dead along with his wife and son in their Georgia home. He strangled his wife, Nancy, suffocated his 7-year old son Daniel and then hanged himself. But it was discovered that Benoit had more than 10 times the normal level of testosterone in his body at the times of the killings (CNN). Also, there were steroids and other drugs in his body at the time of the killings. It is well-known that steroids can cause rage, anger and violence and I believe that it was the side effect of steroids (‘roid rage) which caused Chris Benoit to snap.
Steroids can also affect your personal health in a negative way. The use of steroids has been showed to affect your heart in a bad way. Steroids are linked to many heart diseases and also heart attack and stroke. Steroids can also make blood clots which can lead to the clogging of arteries. In addition, steroids can also occur in failure of the kidney and liver.
An example of a recent controversy concerning steroids is in MLB baseball. Barry Bonds, a leftfielder for the San Francisco Giants, is in pursuit of the all-time homerun record in the history of the major leagues. Currently, he stands at 751 career home runs, which are only 4 behind the all-time record set by Hank Aaron. But Barry Bonds’ career has been overshadowed with the rumors that he has used steroids to become stronger and bigger. At first when he came into the league, he was a skinny, little player not thought much of. But as the years progressed, he became bigger and stronger. Some other former and current players have talked about Barry Bonds and his potential use of steroids. Some people think Bonds has used steroids while others don’t.
In my humble opinion, I believe that Bonds has used steroids. People just don’t come into the MLB skinny as a string bean and then become strong as rock. It just doesn’t work that way. Bonds was a mere 185 lbs. when he entered the league. But now, he is listed at 240 lbs. To me, you can’t get that big without the help of another (illegal) substance. It’s just a matter of time until he is found guilty, but anyone can believe anything they want. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion.
There are many reasons that teens use steroids. They can use it to boost athletic performance or have a better body image like people they see on TV. But all of these reasons are wrong. You can get a better body image by normal things like good exercise and eating habits. The age where teens are most likely experiment with steroids is 15 (Gober, McCabe, Klien).
Another story of steroid abuse is with Floyd Landis. At the 2006 Tour de France (the biggest bicycle race of the year) Landis came from behind to win. But a few days later, it was found that he had an unusually high level of testosterone in his body, which hinted that he might have used steroids. Landis insisted that he hadn’t used steroids, but the results said otherwise. But Landis still has the Tour de France title, but there are hearings still scheduled to see if he will lose his title. Landis may not have lost his title yet, but he sure has lost the trust and respect of fellow Americans.
Steroids can be taken in a number of ways. They can be injected by a needle, taken through mouth by a pellet or pill, and even rubbed into the body by creams.
But steroids are illegal to possess in the United States without a prescription. Still, it has been found that steroids have been brought into the US one way or another. Since a prescription is not needed to purchase steroids from Europe and Mexico, that is one source of how steroids are being brought into the U.S. On possession of illegal steroids, the maximum consequences are one year in prison and a fine $1,000. But if you bring steroids into the US, you could get 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. (US DEA).
Steroids are eroding the reputation of professional sports. Everyday, the confidence and trust in athletes are decreasing with each case of steroid abuse. This needs to stop before no one believes in our athletes and considers pro sports a big joke itself.
Works Cited
CNN Organization. “Benoit had steroids in system.” www.cnn.com. 17 July 2007. CNN. 19 July 2007 http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/more/07/17/bc.wrestlerdead.ap/index.html.
Drug Enforcement Administration. “Steroids.” www.usdoj.gov. Aug. 2006. US Drug Enforcement Administration. 17 July 2007 http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/concern/steroids.html#11.
Gober, Sarita, Paul McCabe, and Malky Klien. “Adolescents and Steroids: What Principals Should Know.” Principal Leadership Nov. 2006. Wilson Select Plus. OCLC. University of Detroit Mercy (Detroit, MI). 18 July 2007 http://firstsearch.oclc.org/.
Lew, Kristi. “Jucied: The real deal on anabolic steroids.” InfoTrac One. InfoTrac OneFile. Thomson Gale. University of Detroit Mercy (Detroit, MI). 13 July 2007 http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb/?db=ITOF.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
MLB All-Star Game
Yesterday, the MLB all-star game was a thing to behold. The all-star game is an annual tradition that determines which league gets home-field advantage in the World Series. The game matches up the AL (American League) and the NL (National League). My favorite team, the Detroit Tigers are in the American League. There were 5 Tigers voted into the game (3 as starters and 2 reserves). The final score was 5-4 AL.
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