Page 4 August 3, 2017 Politically Speaking One Man’s Opinion Another Man’s Opinion By Cristian Vasquez People, please stop comparing your political struggle to slavery. It’s a pathetic and lazy attempt at garnering support for your side that is not only morally repugnant, but also flat out wrong. With the ongoing debate about repealing Obamacare and approving the American Health Care Act, supporters of universal healthcare have raised their voices in favor of such a system. Whether related or not to the discussion, an old video of Senator Rand Paul equating one’s belief in healthcare as a right with believing in slavery has made the rounds on social media. Thinking it was taken out of context, because no logical-thinking human being would compare slavery to anything other than bondage, I searched for and found the video of the Senator’s asinine comments. Sadly, Senator Paul’s claim that a person who believes in healthcare as a right is equivalent to support for slavery isn’t the first time a politician stoops that low in the name of political gain. Before being appointed Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Dr. Ben Carson said Obamacare was the worst thing to happen to America since slavery. As disgusting, misguided and reprehensible as that comment is, even worse is that there are people who agree and defend this statement. For all the anger and resentment that Obamacare caused conservatives--despite the fury and frustration that the thought of universal health care causes in supporters of right-wing politics--this in no way comes By Duane Plank Was listening to the radio in early November of 2016, a few days after the shocking victory of Donald Trump over the beleaguered Hillary Clinton. One of the talkers, Leo Terrell, said that “Trump will either be the best President ever, or the worst President ever.” What say you? According to certain cherrypicked polls, Trump’s approval rating is hovering around a sad 36 percent. With the lefties still on full-frontal assault leading the impeachment brigade--along with the political fossils Pelosi and Waters highfiving each other as the Trump administration continues to implode while committing unforced errors that derail their attempts to get things done--the Dems still have no apparent policy agenda other than to disrupt and obstruct. And they have no candidate perched to carry the mantle in 2020. If only Jerry Brown were 10 years younger. My task is not to champion Democrat Brown, the four-term Governor of the Golden State. But what type of credibility would I have as a political opiner if I looked the other way regarding his successes, his cleaning up the mess left by the Terminator? Could Brown garner similar accomplishments if he were residing in the White House? The Trump administration is now six months in, and the revolving door at the White House is still spinning. Sean Spicer, embattled press secretary and SNL pincushion, is out and Trump buddy Anthony Scaramuucci is now the new communications director. With Spicer out, who will actress Melissa McCarthy make fun of next season on the suddenly relevant There are Some Comparisons that Should Just Never be Made close, even remotely close, to slavery. Now, there will be all sorts of brain yoga and Pilates done to justify this ridiculous claim, but none of it is true. If you have a cause you adamantly support, then use facts--not feelings based on pretzel-formed logic. Maybe I haven’t read the articles that describe how doctors in countries with universal healthcare are taken from their land, shackled, beaten and forced to work for absolutely zero pay. And to argue that the financial restrictions of a healthcare provider make for demoralizing conditions is still not slavery. Before the accusations come, I’ll be clear about where this is coming from: the need for human decency. This is not an attempt to be PC, but more of a demand for respect. It’s a plea for people to stop comparing one of America’s biggest crimes to whatever political cause they are trying to promote. To Dr. Carson, and anyone who is passionate about their position on any issue… instead of desecrating the memory of every soul lost to the savagery of slavery, do some actual work to defend your position. Relying on inflammatory rhetoric to scare people into a position is a disservice to the cause being promoted. In the end, no matter the outcome of the healthcare issue, it is not going to result in the separation of individuals from their homeland and family. It will not lead to the deliberate physical restraining, mental abuse and moral torture of individuals, nor will it be followed by a century of Jim Crow laws. • Trump Continues On-the-Job Training: Is Lucky that Jerry Brown is 79 Years Old late-night TV show? Some of the folks who participated in her multiple box office bombs? Trump has continued running amok, unrestrained, bad-mouthing his own selection for Attorney General, Jeff Sessions. For those of you new to the political game, Sessions was one of the first people, back when he was a Senator, to put on one of those Trump hats and champion the soon-to-be President. He became AG after a couple of others, apparently Rudy Giuliani and Chris Christie, turned down the job. Apparently Sessions talked to a Russian comrade and is now in the scope-sights of the Trump firing line. Sessions partook in a little chit-chat, caviar and vodka. And who amongst us wouldn’t have done the same? Trump did accomplish something positive recently. He nominated Jon Huntsman, the very well-respected ex-Senator, as the ambassador to Russia. Not sure how much Trump had to do in championing the nomination. Reports mentioned that the press release touting the appointment of Huntsman, who has sparred with the Donald in recent years, had his first name misspelled by a bumbler in the Trump administration. With all the slings and arrows Mr. Trump has taken because of his alleged Russian contacts, with the Kid, Jr. ducking in and out of clandestine meetings, with CNN 24-7 pushing impeachment, one can only wish Huntsman good luck and godspeed. If Trump makes it to the 2020 election cycle unscathed, he will be fortunate that Mr. Brown considers himself too old to make his fourth run at the presidency. • Smartphones from front page cognitive cost.” Previous research in this area demonstrated that smartphones are distracting, so lead researcher Adrian Ward designed two experiments to test “how dependence on these devices affects the ability to think and function in the world off-screen. In the experiments, Ward and his team ask participants to do one of three things with their phones: place them on the desk and within plain view; place them in a pocket or purse; or store them in a separate room. The UT-Austin team set out to discover if the devices caused “brain drain”--aka the ability think clearly and concentrate. It turns out that smartphones have gotten into people’s heads, or their psyches, more specifically. That was the conclusion of the UT-Austin team that reported that the presence of a smartphone negatively affects the owner’s ability to think, solve problems, and concentrate. Even if they’re not using their phones, the students experienced “brain drain,” according to Ward’s research. The closer the phone, the greater the disturbance too. Some of the takeaways from the 2017 study confirm what educators, parents and business leaders have suspected about the pros and cons of smartphones on campuses, in society, and at on-site workplaces. Placing a smartphone face down on a desk doesn’t reverse the “brain drain” effect, the Texas researchers found. Neither does turning off the phone except when the device is placed in another room. Ward and his team concluded that separating the user from the device may be the only way to help people to focus better and be less distracted. One possible explanation why distance breaks the device’s hold over one’s attention is that 89 percent of people with smartphones experience “phantom vibrations,” feeling as though their phones are vibrating even when they’re not. A 2012 paper published in the journal Computers in Human Behavior described the false-positive as a “recent psychological phenomenon that has attracted the attention of the media and medical community.” The Indiana University researchers, like the UT-Austin group, looked at the smartphone habits of college students. The phantom vibrations typically happened once every two weeks, the collegians reported. Another possible reason: poor decisionmaking caused by the distraction of a smartphone. This was a finding from a 2014 study by a team at the University of Pittsburgh. Like much of the cell and smartphone research done before this year, the Pittsburgh team wondered how smartphone use affected behavior. Not all decision-making by the tech users was good. In fact, the findings were a mixed bag: some bad, some good. While the researchers identified a connection between mobile device use and poor decision-making for simple, routine decisions, they noted that decision-making improved when a person took advantage of the technology as an assistant to research and compare opinions and options before taking any action. In the UT-Austin study, students whose phones were in another room scored higher on tests of memory, focus and problemsolving than did their fellow students whose phones were placed in a desk nearby. The conclusion? That the presence of a smartphone nearby seemed to affect the brain’s ability to function, even when a person isn’t consciously thinking about the device. Researchers asked the students if they believed their test scores were influenced by whether their phones were turned on, off, or close by. The majority didn’t think it mattered. There’s a popular notion that people can concentrate on more than one task or thought at a time. However “multitasking,” as it’s known, has its doubters. There is growing research suggesting that multitasking can actually reduce productivity because the brain is forced to jump back and forth between tasks rather than simultaneously focusing on two things. Neurobiologists, psychologists and social scientists have begun to delve into the longer-term effects of living in a state of near-constant multitasking. Jim Taylor, who teaches at the University of San Francisco, says that multitasking is nearly impossible and an excuse for doing too much. The concept was created “to make overly scheduled and stressed-out people feel productive and efficient,” Taylor said. It’s only possible to multitask if one of the tasks is so “automatic” that it requires no focus or thought. For example, stirring a pot of gravy and carrying on a phone conversation would qualify. Walking and eating is another pairing of a thoughtful activity with a no-brainer, he explained. Listening to music and reading is another. “… Because reading comprehension and processing instrumental music engage different parts of the brain. However, your ability to retain information while reading and listening to music with lyrics declines significantly because both tasks activate the language center of the brain,” said Taylor, who writes for Psychology Today and has published a parenting book for the digital age about preparing children for a mass media world. “The goal for parents is not to disconnect their children, but rather to expose them to popular culture and technology when they are developmentally ready,” he writes in “Raising Generation Tech: Preparing Your Children for a Media-Fueled World.” The goal--and challenge for parents of young children--is to equip them with what Taylor calls the “perspectives, attitudes and tools they need to thrive in this digital age.” The messages coming from Taylor and the UT-Austin team have a common theme, though they’re drawn from observations of children and young adults. There’s a proper time and a place for smartphones and mobile devices. Deciding when to allow them or institute a power-down rule is for parents, teachers and bosses to decide. • College students with smartphones within reach found it harder to concentrate and focus.
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