policy with pop

Hayden Panettiere: Sign the Petition, Save the Whale

Heroes star Hayden Panettiere loves the whales. As you recall, she went letter-to-letter with the Japanese government over its country’s practice of killing whales and dolphins for human consumption. She argued mercury-filled whale meat is not healthy for humans to eat and killing whales is wrong. Hayden also had an incident with fishermen in Japanese waters. Then she recently held a DC rally to raise more awareness.

Like her Heroes character, her activism can’t be killed. Hayden is continuing her fight online. She just released this video:

So she wants us to join SocialVibe.com and sign the Whaleman Foundation petition to save the whales. She will then personally deliver the petition to the International Whaling Commission (IWC).

The IWC is an international body that studies and issues decisions about whaling. However, it does not have the power to enforce its rules. Countries voluntarily join the commission and have the right to object to any ruling. By objecting, the country signifies it is not under the objected IWC-decision.

Do you think the practice of killing whales for human consumption should be illegal? If you do, will you sign Hayden’s petition? Will you spread the word and help her reach her 1 million signature goal?

Do you think this petition, delivered by Hayden, will be effective in convincing countries to stop whale killing? If you don’t, what would be a better strategy?

Racial Isolation on The Hills?

I love The Hills. I know. I know. It’s bad. But it’s so good…

But despite my love for the Lauren Conrad-centric show, I always wonder if she and her crew have any minority friends.

Ok, so there’s Frankie Delgado, a secondary cast member. That’s one.

Is the only non-blond principle cast member, Audrina Patridge, is a person of color? I don’t know. But if she is, she doesn’t really acknowledge it publicly.

So for now, the record stands at one. Thanks, Frankie.

The Hills (aka Los Angeles) doesn’t have just one minority, right? Nope. According to the 2000 US Census Bureau, minorities are the majority in LA (46.5% Latino, 11% Black and 10% Asian American).

So why doesn’t The Hills cast members have more minority friends? Perhaps they live and socialize in areas within LA that lack minorities, and therefore they don’t really interact with minorities. If so, would that be racial isolation (a nicer way of saying racial segregation)? Is that bad and therefore needs to be fixed? Or is it just how things are and we should just accept it?

There are rumors the reality show is… fake. Oh, the shock! There are claims that the MTV production team stage events for the cast. If the show is staged, should MTV make an effort to include minorities on the show? If so, why?

Would you want to see Lauren and her new friends of color hang out in Chinatown? Or watch Heidi and Spencer go to Compton? Wouldn't that be a change on The Hills?

SNL: Sarah Not Laughing

If the McCain-Palin campaign hopes to win, the self-admitted “underdogs” needs to stop the seemingly unstoppable momentum Obama-Biden ticket have. Polls show Obama has a national lead and is up in competitive and republican-leaning states. Oh, Obama just raised an awe, record-breaking $150 million this past month. Then the Obama camp landed the coveted, public endorsement of former Secretary of State Colin Powell, a high-profile republican.

So how does the McCain campaign respond? Send Sarah Palin to Saturday Night Live (SNL).

Funny stuff. But I have to admit I kind of feel sad for Palin. She didn’t get to say much (sound familiar?) and had to stand there and listen to all the jokes made at her expense.

With limited funds the McCain campaign is desperate for free publicity, and this probably did the trick. And I’m guessing the campaign is hoping that her appearance endeared her to viewers and turned them into supporters.

But do you think Palin’s joke-on-her SNL appearance was worth it? Will it get an equivalent Colbert-bump? Or should the McCain campaign do something else? Or is it a done deal?

Battle of the B's: Substance & Style

It’s the battle of the B’s… Beyonce and Britney!

Both ladies have new singles out. Both have premiered new videos. Both sing (and I use the term loosely for Britney) the same theme: “Men cheat. Men suck.”

Watch Beyonce’s ballad “If I Were a Boy”

On a completely different note, “Womanizer” by Britney Spears:

Which music video is more substantive? Which one is more stylistic (aka grabs your attention)? Overall who has the better “he done me wrong" music video? Which one makes you want to listen, watch and sing along again and again? And who has more credibility on this theme: Mrs. Jay-Z or the former Mrs. Federline?

Connecting this (loosely) to politics, is it better to have a substantive message that may be boring or an entertaining stylistic speech that is skimpy on the details? What are the pro’s and con’s of each? Which do you prefer? And does it matter who the speaker is?

Back to pop: Which song do you predict will be the bigger hit?

From Faith to Angel: Rehabilitation for Criminals?

Faith: Rogue Slayer. Murderer. Wanted criminal. After forcibly switching bodies with Buffy and having sex with Buffy’s boyfriend (Riley) while in Buffy’s body, Faith, back in her own body, flees to Los Angeles and faces off with the vampire-with-soul Angel and his crew.

At first, Faith tortures Angel and company. But, after getting the emotional beat down from Angel, Faith surrenders and wants to change. Angel wants to help rehabilitate her, but others have different ideas. Watch the Angel episode "Sanctuary":

Angel’s whole stick is redemption. He wants to rehabilitate Faith. But are rehabilitation and reintegration programs effective at ensuring criminals do not re-commit crimes afterwards?

The studies I have read are inconclusive about rehabilitation and recidivism (relapse into crime). Some studies suggest that rehabilitation and reentry programs (like employment training) in prisons may help reduce recidivism by 20%. However, these studies are criticized for having flawed/weak methodology. Plus, implementing these programs effectively is difficult. Given the money and resources these programs cost (about $1000-$5000 per recipient), is it worth it?

Buffy was all for giving Faith second chances until she became a victim. Now Buffy wants to kick the crap out of Faith and put her in jail. As Angel points out, Buffy wants vengeance. Should the victim have a right to retribution? Or is that unjust?

The Watcher’s Council wants to kill Faith. That sounds like the death penalty to me. Should the death penalty be acceptable, especially for murderers? Or is that cruel and unusual punishment?

Who are you in this debate? Angel? Buffy? The Watcher’s Council?

Or Faith!?!

Facebook: A Gender Identity Problem?

Facebook is a wonderful invention that has helped more than 115 million users keep in touch and… procrastinate like never before. 

A few months ago as I was procrastinating I noticed that one of my friends joined the Facebook group Appeal to Facebook to Stop Forcing Normative Gender. When I saw this, I checked out the group. The title sounded interesting.

Apparently, this group objects to the fact that Facebook makes its users select “male” or “female” in order apply “his” or “her” to mini-feed updates. For example, if Jane Doe selected “female” then the update would read “Jane Doe edited her profile.”

Admittedly I did not completely understand what the objection was when I first learned of this group. Fortunately, yesterday my school had a lunch-time event, which unintentionally reminded me and helped me better understand the Facebook group. Plus it provided free food! Anyway, the topic of the event was “Current Issues in Transgender Law.” By learning some of the transgender community’s views, I understood better where this Facebook group was coming from.

The group protests Facebook’s male-female only option because it forces some users to choose a gender that they may not identify with.  This is especially true for transgender people – people whose gender expression is nonconforming and/or whose gender identity is different from their birth assigned gender. The transgender community argues that gender does not only include two extremes – male and female – but that gender should be considered a spectrum with male, female and in-betweens. Thus, the group does not want Facebook to add pressure on transgender people to conform to a binary gender system.

Should Facebook get rid or change its current gender listing to be sensitive to all people? Or would this be an unreasonable request that appeases a small group of people?

And, do you think Facebook advocacy groups make a difference? If 10 Million Join Marc Zomberg Will Bring Back the Old Facebook! really!?!

PETA to Ben & Jerry's: Moo to Milk

I scream. We all scream for ice cream!

Apparently, PETA is screaming too. PETA stands for the People of the Ethical Treatment of Animals. It is the largest animal rights organization in the world.

PETA is asking ice-cream chain favorite Ben & Jerry’s to make a seemingly radical substitute in ingredients. Ice-cream is traditionally made with milk. PETA wants to replace it with… milk.  Okay, so PETA is asking for the same thing but with a twist. Instead of milk from cows, PETA suggests Ben & Jerry’s to use human mother’s milk.

PETA argues that mother’s milk is a more natural and healthy alternative. It states that humans are the only species to drink another species’ milk. The organizations also cites research that drinking cow milk is linked to allergies, stomach cramps, autism, chronic ear infections, “juvenile onset diabetes, acne, obesity, flatulence, constipation, mucus and other illnesses.

PETA is also trying to make another point. The organization believes it is cruel to force cows to produce an un-cowly amount of milk – ten times more than they naturally do. Cows are forcefully impregnated every nine months to produce this amount and often times in filthy conditions. Would having women (theoretically) take up this responsibility highlight this point?

Anyway, if ice-cream was made with human milk would you eat it?

In any case, Ben and Jerry’s politely rejected PETA’s suggestion.

(The picture above was provided by foxypar4)

Do as Celebrities Say: Register and Vote!

Darn video chain letters. I’m posting this because they told me to…

Oh, celebrities. They’re always making these types of videos – the register to vote/go vote videos. Are they effective?

They deserve kudos for their effort. Let’s recognize other stars who have encourage Americans to do their civic duty. Adam Brody of The O.C. and She’s All That Rachel Leigh Cook did on the ground registration at the University of Michigan. Jay Z is also encouraging Michiganders to register to vote in the battleground state with two free concerts this weekend.

If you are not compelled to vote, what could a celebrity do to change your mind, if anything? Can the stars influence who you vote for? Jay Z, Rachel Leigh Cook and Adam Brody aren't registering Michiganders for nobody...

Anyway, I hope you register to vote. And then I hope you vote.

Oh and please become a Facebook fan of PolicyWithPop.com. (Shameless plug)