"Football's Concussion Problem, in 3 Terrifying Pictures" - Written on Oct. 8th, 2013

I read the Mother Jones article written from Matt Connolly titled, “Football’s Concussion Problem, in 3 Terrifying Pictures”.  The article begins by showing three images of brain tissue provided by the Boston University Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy.   The purpose was to highlight the damages that occur to the brain upon a traumatic head injury, namely due to concussions.  The images compare the brain tissue of a normal/health brain, the tissue of a former football player and lastly an image of the tissue of a former boxer.   The images were a bit shocking as you can see the images of the football player and boxer having an excessive amount of “tau”, or as the article states, “… a protein that strangles brain cells and degenerates brain tissue” which occurs due to  repetitive damage to the brain.  The author touches on a recent PBS Frontline episode which discusses the NFL’s position on the on-going concussions within the sport of football and if the NFL should be held accountable due to hiding certain facts around the long term impact two players who incurred numerous concussions.  Long term brain damage can represent itself through a number of ways including depression, mood swings, aggression along with possible Dementia and Alzheimers to name a few.    I believe the majority of the article provides value claims beginning with the title, using expressive language in “Terrifying Pictures” and in implying that the NFL’s avoidance of this issue by withholding medical statistics/studies is wrong.  It was not outright stated however believe the entire article is based around a policy claim that the NFL, along with a number of other sports (both as a child through adult) must focus more on the long term damage to players and something needs to change.

 

Traffic Shutdown? Truck drivers plan 3-day protest on Capital Beltway

The article that I read claims that the truckers in Truckers Ride for the Constitution try to block three lanes of the Capital Beltway to demonstrate their dissatisfaction of the United States government. According to Earl Conlon, who claims to be the spokesman of this group, the group wants the arrest of congressmen who have violated their oath of office. As grounds for this claim, the drivers complain about wages, high gas prices, and the regulations of federal government on their industries. Conlon says that the truckers will stop their vehicles on the road and block three lanes of the Capital Beltway if police distracts their protest. However, it is interesting that the rebuttal for Conlon’s claim is appeared from the same group. Greg Ellis, the supporter of this protest, claims that Conlon’s claim is nothing to do with the original plan of the group. He claims that “nobody is going to try to affect an arrest on congressmen or anything like that,” and emphasizes that their plan is peaceful. Also, FoxNews.com clarifies the purpose of the event by using Peter Santilli’s value claim; “President Obama must be removed from office for crimes against the United States and all unconstitutional executive orders nullified […] how that is accomplished legally is for legal and constitutional experts to determine.”

FoxNews: Traffic Shutdown? Truck drivers plan 3-day protest on Capital Beltway

Debt Ceiling (Fox News)

This article was about an argument between republicans and democrats over raising the current debt ceiling. The republicans GOP logic was that the six-week extension of the debt ceiling would increase security while the democrats argued that the ceiling should not be raised until the partial government shutdown is uplifted. President Obama is pushing for the debt ceiling to be raised: his White House representative stated "Obama wants congress to approve a Long term spending bill and raise the debt ceiling before he will negotiate". The issue for debate is not so much the debt ceiling, but the debt limit overall. Obama claims "if the debt ceiling is not raised, important payments such as social security checks, Medicare reimbursements and military salaries could be halted". The added pressure of a November 22 deadline to decide has many administration members worried America cannot pay its bills.


http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/10/10/boehner-pitches-short-term-debt-ceiling-hike-ahead-white-house-meeting/