The HUB

Segment 1

THANK GOD IT’S TUESDAY
You may have seen the billboards around the old ATL touting “America works best when America works less.” There’s a movement underfoot by the “Friends of the Five-Day Weekend” to shorten the work week from five to two days. American already have one of the shortest vacation times in the world, an average of 14 days and according a recent Expedia.com survey, we give up nearly 570 million days of unused vacation a year. The group has garnered over 1,000 signatures on a petition to send to Congress-which is in session for 110 days a year.
“Rally for 5-day weekends comes to Atlanta”, http://fivedayweekend.org/, April 24, 2007
Are we really overworked as a society? Does our currently technology actually make this feasible? Is a two day work week the answer?

LOWER FEVERS. ALWAYS
Walmart is currently planning to open close to 400 health clinics in stores over the next five to seven years. Their pilot program of 76 in-store clinics which began in 2005 has proven successful. The clinics will lease space in its stores and will be managed by local or regional hospitals that are independent of Walmart.
“Wal-Mart to open 400 in-store clinics” http://today.reuters.com/news/, April 24, 2007
Does the invincibility feeling that a caffeine high can give make you adopt habits that can do you in? Like anxiety attacks? Bad or no sleep? Is the caffeine-overdose like the drug movement of the 60’s, we think it’s not as big a deal because we don’t yet know enough? Why are we always driven to excess?

Segment 1

THE GIDEONS GET GORED
In one “green” hotel in California you won’t find a copy of the Gideons Bible in your room, but you will find a copy of Al Gore’s book “An Inconvenient Truth.” The “Gaia Napa Valley Hotel and Spa” is also equipped with waterless urinals, solar lighting and recycled paper as it attempt to become California’s first hotel certified as “green” or benevolent to the environment.
“California Hotels Go Green with Low-Flow Toilets” www.bloomberg.com, April 27, 2007
Are you willing to pay more to stay at a hotel that only uses recycled paper and have waterless urinals? If they are replacing the Good book with Al Gore’s book, does that mean they are more threatened by global warming than eternal warming? Is it all cherry if they stayed at a Holiday Inn Express and wear Dr. Scholl’s gel insoles?

GETTING YOUR PANTS SUED OFF
A “mom & pop” dry cleaners in Washington, DC is facing a $67 million dollar law suit because they lost a lawyer’s favorite pants. (I have audio clips) The dry cleaners have offered to settle out of court for as much as $13,000, but the plaintiff will not budge. He says it a matter of principle. He claims the cleaners didn’t offer good customer service and they guaranteed satisfaction that they didn’t deliver on. Tort claims cost the nation about $233 billion in 2002, which is more than double the average cost of other industrialized nations, according to a study by Tillinghast Towers Perrin.
“I’m Being Sued for What?”, http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw, May 2, 2007
Should this legal extortion be allowed? If you do something stupid, why is it always the fault of the one with the most money? Has the threat of possible litigation affected your behavior at work?

Segment 1

“MOVE OVER WEATHER CHANNEL, NASA NOW HAS A 70 YEAR FORECAST!”
A new study by NASA scientists suggests that greenhouse-gas warming may raise average summer temperatures in the eastern United States nearly 10 degrees Fahrenheit by the 2080s. "There is the potential for extremely hot summertime temperatures in the future, especially during summers with less-than-average frequent rainfall," said lead author Barry Lynn of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies and Columbia University, New York.
“NASA study suggests extreme summer warming in the future” www.eurekalert.org, May 9th, 2007
How can we put any faith in a prediction of what the summer temperatures will be 70 years from now?

THE POLITICS OF HATE
The House recently passed tougher hate crime legislation and similar legislation is moving through the Senate. The White House is threatening to veto the measure. The House bill would extend the hate crimes category to include sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or disability and give federal authorities greater leeway to participate in hate crimes investigations. Federal investigators could step in if local authorities are unwilling or unable to act. It approves $10 million over the next two years to help local law enforcement officials cover the cost of hate crimes prosecutions.
“Bush Threatens Hate Crimes Bill Veto” www.ktvu.com/politics, May 3rd, 2007
Aren’t all violent crimes truly hate crimes? Is the black victim of a murder any more dead if he was killed by a white racist as opposed to another black man? Shouldn’t the punishment be just as severe in both cases? Can we correct years of injustice towards a suppressed group by acting unjustly towards the suppressor?

Segment 1

BEAUTY IN A PILL BOTTLE
Perhaps the most exciting development for pill-poppers in pursuit of the body beautiful is the new and widespread availability of a drug called Melanotan II-dubbed 'The Barbie Pill' by the media. It has not yet been approved by the FDA in the US, nor is it a licensed drug in Britain. But this doesn't mean it's not easily available. Aside from all the dangers inherent in untrained people stabbing needles into themselves, there are other risks. Fans say they are delighted with the results they have achieved, but a closer inspection of internet forums where users discuss their experiences with the drug reveal some worrying stories.
“Pretty Pills: The Dark Side of the Latest Underground Trend” http://www.dailymail.co.uk, May 14th, 2007
Is a pill that turns our girlfriends into thin, Nymphomaniacs an answer to our prayers? Have the women in our lives become so obsessed with beauty and perfection that they would endanger their lives? Why do they do this? Do we demand this or do they just think we do?

SOMETHING STINKS!
Graduate chemist, artist, linguist and mathematician Sissel Tolaas has traveled the world building a library of 6,763 scents including dirt, toys, and rotten bananas. She recently held the exhibit, FEAR of Smell – the Smell of Fear at MIT’s List Visual Arts Center, a compilation of scents derived from men with acute, chronic fear syndrome. Her job is to help add scent to brand for better brand recognition.
“The Odor Artist”, Wired Magazine, pp. 65, May 2007
Is this profession necessary? Is it a bunch of hot, musky air? If it is, why do companies line up to create brand recognition from scent? How come we shell out the nose for scents that “send messages”? If smell is your most adaptable sense, then why does the perfume industry matter? You adapt in five minutes and then you might as well be wearing nothing anyway. If odorless deodorant is still sold as a brand odor in the list of odors you can purchase, does that make odorless not odorless?

FAREWELL TO FALWELL
Reverend Jerry Falwell best known as the founder of the Moral Majority died May 15 in his office in Lynchburg, VA. The son and grandson of atheist, Falwell had a conversion experience at the age of 19. He became a pastor and grew a 50 member Virginia Church into a 25,000 member mega Church. In 1979 Falwell founded the Moral Majority in an effort to mobilize evangelical Christians for political action and has been credited for putting Ronald Reagan in the White House in 1980 and again in 1984.
“TV Evangelist Jerry Falwell Dies at 73” http://apnews.myway.com, May 16th, 2007
As leader of the Moral Majority, was Falwell effective? Was he successful?(That’s not the same question.) By the standards of morality laid out by the Moral Majority ( end of abortion, prayer in school, lower divorce rate, etc…), are we a more moral society now than when they began? Can the social reformation they promised be legislated? Can political power affect moral change?