Get My Vote, Go Green

When I look at a candidate running for President I look for many things, character, policies, and  how well he or she conducts themselves in their public and private lives. These are general things I consider when casting my vote, but one that sticks out to me more than the others is where a candidate stands on the environment and green energy. I think this topic is vastly over looked in this particular election so far. The problems we have with the environment, gas prices, and even electrical power are not going away, they are getting worse, and I think that a candidate running for President should really give this subject their full attention.

Going further into why going green and helping the environment is important, is the fact that if we fix this problem it can help start to fix the rest of the problems in this country. For example, gas prices are only getting higher, and because of this all other items such as food, toys, and the like are all going up in price as well. This is due to the fact that in order for the food and the toys to get to retailers, trucks and other forms of transportation have to get the products to the stores and what does the transportation run on? Gas.


I think a candidate should have a policy that helps fund alternative fuels for automobiles. There are already ideas out there on how to make a alternative fuel car or truck, they just need funding to jump start production. With that funding the alternative fuel industry will grow and with this growth a steady stream of jobs will bloom. Providing more jobs will then help the economy get back to were it should be, at the top leading the world.

I mentioned before that, our country would use more electrical supply, and a way to go about that is clean energy, like wind, hydroelectric, geothermal, and many others. If our country needs more power we do not need more coal powered energy plants, spewing harmful gases into our atmosphere, we need a clean source of power that won't effect nature in anyway. Again I think that the government should start funding of clean energy, giving people money that want to put solar panels on their house or a wind turbine in their backyard, making going green easier on the wallets of people. Doing the same thing for power plants that want to produce cleaner energy as well. If we get more power in this country electricity bills will decrease significantly, or better yet not exist at all because you are powering your own home. Even better still, say it takes 1000watts to power your home, your wind turbine in your backyard is producing 1200watts, which means you have 200 watts to sell to the electric company for a little bit of profit.

Andrew Grandinetti
Communication Studies
Wilkes 2013

How to Get Dominick Costantino's Vote: A Young Voter Manifesto

Honesty

To get my vote on Election Day, a candidate must have certain qualities. First of all, I want someone who is honest. There are so many politicians who get caught in lies throughout an election campaign. I like and admire candidates who remain true to themselves throughout a campaign and keep their stance on issues the same. I also like a candidate who is down to earth. So many politicians are high class and act like they are better than everyone else. Why should someone with so much wealth be representing a country that is mostly middle class and lower? It’s alright to have money, but I don’t agree with flaunting it. I’m sorry but no one cares how much money you make in a year.

Education

An issue that is very important to me is education. I am a full-time college student and every year my financial aid goes down. We need more funding for higher education. There are so many young Americans in our country who are extremely bright, but just cannot afford to pay for a college education. Education needs to be a priority at all levels. The government needs to make sure there is enough funding so young Americans have a change to compete for jobs with other countries like China. The candidate who I vote for will prioritize education.

Healthcare

Another issue that is important to me is healthcare. I am a supporter of Obama’s current health care plan. Because of his plan, I am covered under my parents insurance until I am 26 years old. I cannot imagine what life would be like without insurance. I had to go to the emergency room in January, and my bill would have been $14,567 if I didn’t have insurance. Who can afford those type of bills? Also, I am considering going to graduate school after Wilkes to further my education. I will be able to go without worrying about healthcare because I am covered for six more years. I will not vote for any of the Republican presidential candidates because they all want a full repeal of “Obama Care.” This issue is extremely important to me and I cannot look past it when voting.

Gas Prices

The price of gas is ridiculous. Pretty soon the American people are not going to be able to drive because gas prices will be so high. For some, the price of gas might be restricting them from going on vacations, paying for prescription drugs, going to the doctors, etc. There is no reason why the price of gas should be as high as it is. From my understanding, a majority of our oil comes from places in the world that we are currently protecting or places that we protected. Since our soldiers are risking their lives to make peace in these countries, we should be able to get oil for hardly anything. Why should the other countries become rich and Americans suffer? If the price of gas keeps on rising, I don’t see how the American economy will ever recover. It really ticks me off that none of the politicians really care about the high price of gas. Just because you are all millionaires and can afford to fill up your tank no problem, doesn’t mean that the average working American can!

Jobs

Since I will be graduating from college in two years, jobs is another important issue for me. So many of our companies have gone overseas. Our government needs to bring these companies back to the United States so that Americans can have jobs. So many Americans want to work, but there is just not enough jobs out there. The government should reward those companies that move their headquarters back to the United States. The government should also reward products that are made in America. A majority of the products we buy are made in China. We all need jobs and a candidate that tries to create millions of jobs will get my vote on Election Day.

Eliminate Political Ads

One thing I cannot stand is political ads. Ever since I was in elementary school, I hated election season because of all the negative and stupid advertisements on television. From an early age I realize how cruel some of these ads are. Throughout my years of education, I learned how much money is spent on a campaign. Sources say that this presidential campaign will cost more than any of them in the past. I think there needs to be a regulation on how much a candidate can spend on a campaign. Billions of dollars are wasted each year just to get elected into a political office. We could do so much good for the world is this money was spent on other things. If we put all the money being spent on this Presidential election towards cancer research, we would have a cure. Millions of Americans would be able to live because there would be a cure to the disease that kills so many mothers, fathers, aunts and uncles. We could also feed, clothe, and house every single homeless person in America with all the money that is spent. We should start thinking about making this world a better place and stop with all this nonsense of advertisements that promote negativity. Our country could be a great place if individuals had different priorities.

Dominick Costantino
Communication Studies
Wilkes 2012

How to Get David Cook's Vote: A Young Voter Manifesto

I Am Not A Pawn

Treat me not as a pawn in some larger game, but as a human being, capable of knowing what is best for me. I do not want, expect, or desire you to tell me what is best for my life, and I under no circumstances, want you to pretend like you know what life is like for me, or anybody else besides yourself.

You see, I get it. Politicians cannot really relate to the majority of the American public, and that’s okay with me, because I do not want an average run of the mill American who thinks that Survivor is really an unscripted television event determining what country we need to enter into military conflict with. So, please, just demonstrate that you are an above average citizen by being honest about whom you really are. I know, this is an unusual concept, but being human and being self-aware is important.

Economic Issues

Talk honestly and openly about the economic problems in this country, and worry more about resolving them than being reelected. Short term change is not going to get this country  moving forward, we need long term plans, which undoubtedly, are not going to be very popular. But, we need them. Somewhere, you know this to be true, so come out and say it, and then stick to it.  Also, I get it, the economy is in terrible shape, but; for the love of God and Country, do not take the easy rhetorical strategy and blame the other side. Both parties brought us into this—and so did the entire American public, as we ran up credit card debt for the last 20 years. So, take a real stance on the economy and have a plan that really tries to accomplish something. The thing is, I don’t even care if I disagree fundamentally with your politics, as long as you can demonstrate a real long term plan that will move this country forward, with the promise of ‘trying’ and not guaranteed success.

Take notice of that, too. Do not talk to me like you know your plans will work, or that you have some sense of omnipotence, which proves only your economic recovery plan is of any merit or is the only one with guaranteed success. The economy has never worked that way, and neither can an economic recovery plan, so, just be honest about it.

Work Together

Reach across the Aisle and work on legislation which helps the country, not the party. Democracy dies when we refuse to listen, think, and solve problems together. So, come out and speak against the people in your party who alienate, who denigrate, who postulate that the country is in trouble because of the ‘respectable senator’ from the other party.  More than ever, this country needs unity—do something about it.

David Cook

Communication Studies

Wilkes 2012

On The Quest For Truth: The Internet

This is the internet in visual representation.

Fundamentally, the internet opened the gateway to truth-seekers and news gatherers by allowing us to seek out information from sources directly—allowing us to construct our own opinions from facts. Undoubtedly, this is why younger generations flock to the internet for their news; it has a reputation for ‘truth.’ The thing is, though, you need to look for that truth.

To highlight the problem, consider this blog posting. I am here, discussing, without a shadow of a doubt, my opinion of the growing concern over people who treat opinion as news, and truth as something which must exist because it is simply published online somewhere. However, without this disclaimer, and with a slightly different approach to my first paragraph, I could easily pass on what I am saying for news-truth. From there, if I can gather web traffic, I will find myself on the top page of a Google search, and next thing you know I’m being cited in some political argument, all without any of the credentials which would legitimize me as a news source. But of course, in writing this, I answer to no editors, and there are no fact-checkers looming over me, making sure what I have to say is fair and accurate, (and balanced).

This brings us to the great problem of our time—those who seek out ideologically congruent opinions of ‘news,’ and consume only those sources.  Seeking out alternative viewpoints is necessary in the construction and development of ideas, and is how we, as human beings, achieve. If, in a proper debate, one fails to listen to the opposition, he or she gains nothing, but simply loses out on an opportunity to learn and grow. Even if at the end of it all, you still disagree with what the other side had to say, you learned more about their side, making it easier for you to argue against it. The more you listen, the better your own arguments sound, and eventually, you might even think for yourself—because, let’s be honest here, there is nothing worse than a person who spews the same ideology word for word, that was on some crazy website or radio talk show, without having any idea what it really means or comes down to. And we all know at least one of those people; the person who adores Obama like the sun without knowing what he’s done, or the Republican who thinks Obama is the devil without knowing any political decision he’s made.

If increased ignorance was the biggest problem we had from all of this, I wouldn’t be concerned. The real problem is delineation from open dialog in the political realm. We already see it in Congress, as both sides refuse to work together—not because there isn’t common ground, but because one side needs to be correct. As we move forward, and my generation begins to enter politics, or in the least, begins co have an influence on politicians, this fissure will only continue to grow. What kind of world will we live in if we truly believe we can simply ignore anybody who ever told us ‘no.’

David Cook
Communication Studies
Wilkes 2012

How to Get Mikel Hartsough's Vote: A Young Voter Manifesto

A candidate attempting to become an elected official needs to take a stand on several issues for me to even consider him to have potential. He or she must also be fairly sincere and  speak with unrehearsed rhetoric. A personal issue is the first one that comes to mind, one of the reasons I didn’t vote for Hillary Clinton is her stand against video games. She compared them to tobacco and alcohol, and considered them to be extremely dangerous. A candidate needs to stay away from my music, movies, and videogames. There is already a rating system in place, Hillary just emulated Nancy Reagan to gain some press, not to defend something she believed in. A politician must endorse stem cell research, make no reference to his religion, and regard education as a top priority.  I like a candidate who doesn’t always side with his political party, it shows they care about the issue more than a win for their affiliation.

Then I get to the essentials, I don’t think we should be involved at all in the middle east, our healthcare system still needs to be reformed, and the economy can’t fix itself at this point.  Immigration needs to be regulated more fiercely, I feel that young adults and high-school kids take priority over illegal immigrants in the hard labor job market. Gay marriage is not a high topic of interest to me, but if a candidate is strongly against it I question his priorities. I don’t think that gay marriage should be a high priority in politics, the reason it gets so much attention in this country is because of the religious aspect, and how many religions consider it an abomination, it is not an issue that a government should be concerned with.

Education needs to be regulated more so than it is now, but carefully. Standardized testing can be effective, but not in all scenarios. I believe the ability of a teacher should be judged by their peers and students, not by government and parents. Privatized schools should not receive any kind of federal funding, public schools should take priority over them. The prep school I went to showed no signs of needing funds, the school expanded every year, and tuition increased with its popularity. Granting the school I went to extra funds would not be money well spent. School administrators should be given the same salary as teachers. Lastly when the government deems it necessary to make budget cuts, education should be the last thing that comes to mind.

When a candidate uses devil and god terms to win over an audience, he loses my vote. When the argument comes down to left or right wing agenda, I stop listening. I feel as if too many politicians treat their job as if it’s a win or lose scenario, and don’t concentrate on the people’s best interests.

Mikel Hartsough

Communication Studies 

Wilkes 2013

Human Rights are Non-Negotiable

As a voter, my major concerns reside in policies that deal with human rights.  Whether it be women’s rights, ethnic rights, or anything else that affects the personal choices of a minority group, I believe everyone should be treated the same.  All of this being said, the one issue that I will not budge on is gay rights.  If a politician disagrees on my beliefs pertaining to this subject, there is no chance of them getting my vote.  Gay rights include many different things.  First, and most importantly, is the gay marriage issue that has been truly plaguing the gay rights movement for many years now.  I believe that gay marriage should be legalized in the United States, period.  For some this is a religious issue, and for others it is a benefits issue.  For me it is both.  If gay people were allowed to get married, they would be able to enjoy the same financial benefits that straight couples receive.  This includes everything from health benefits to Medicaid.  For other gay couples, they simply want their love and their commitment to be acknowledged by God.  Many gay people are Christians who believe that God does not discriminate the way extremist Christians say he does.  For me, God is love, and any love I have is a gift from Him and a gift back to Him.

Gay rights also include the right to adopt children.  Many times, the argument is used that a child cannot grow up properly without a mother or a father.  However, there are millions of children who are raised by single parents and do not know the other.  Does that mean the single parent should lose their child?  This argument does not make any sense.  Again, love is love.  If a gay couple has the ability to bring a child into their home and treat the child the way it deserves to be treated, then it does not matter that the parents are the same sex.  It is better to let the child be taken care of by two parents of the same sex than remain on a list to be adopted.

If a politician disagrees with any of the above, then it would be an absolute miracle that they would receive my vote.  Being a gay man, this is a very core issue.  When people try to tell me I cannot get married because God thinks I am an “abomination,” then I am completely turned off.  They may have the greatest economic plan, national security plan, and immigration plan ever thought up.  However, their cases will fall upon deaf ears if they do not view me as a person who deserves the same things everyone else has.

Trevor Kurtz
Communication Studies
Wilkes 2013

How to Get Mike Dargatis's Vote: A Young Voter Manifesto

In order for one of this year’s presidential candidates to receive my vote, there are several issues and core beliefs I would like for them to focus on. Being a young voter, and this being the first election I’m really involved in, I’d like the candidate that will be receiving my vote to follow certain guidelines that are important to me.

The number one quality I look for in a candidate, regardless of issues, is being relatable. I want a candidate that I feel has my best interests in mind, for the reason that they can understand where people like me are coming from. I also want my candidate to be for the common man, not a typical wealthy politician who is not very concerned with the common man.

As for issues for this upcoming election, there are a few that concern me as a young voter.

Jobs

Obviously as a college student close to graduation, I am concerned about the job market upon entering the work force. With unemployment at such a high rate, and young college graduates not getting jobs at this time, I need a candidate who will make sure young college students will have a better chance at a good job upon graduation.

Student Loans/Federal Aid

Another important issue for young collegiate voters is concerning the incredibly high amount of money students have to owe upon graduation. I want a candidate who is concerned about these high amounts of money students are owing, and who will fight to produce a more efficient system for people to go to college affordably.

Economy

Obviously, the economy as a whole is one of the primary issues in this year’s election. Our nation is currently in an unstable state as for as economics goes, so I need a candidate who is focused on turning the country around to reach prosperity once again.

Mike Dargatis

Communication Studies

Wilkes 2013

How to Get Bryan Calabro's Vote: A Young Voter Manifesto

Outsourcing 

By far the most important aspect I am looking for in any candidate running for the upcoming presidential election is the creation of jobs in the U.S.. It is time for the U.S. to stop outsourcing jobs to foreign nations, specifically China and India to produce goods. China has the world's second-largest nominal GDP, totaling approximately US$7.47 trillion according to the country's National Bureau of Statistics.

Granted, there are many problems associated with pulling jobs out of China and India. One being a consumer’s willingness to accept a price increase in the products they buy.  Fox example, the apple iPad. If it was produced in the U.S. alone, there would be a jump in the creation of jobs (nearly 67,000) but the price of the already expensive $500 iPad, would jump to $729. Are people willing to buy an iPad with that much of a price hike? There might be some, but most would pass. This needs to be addressed and addressed fast before China overtakes the success of our economy and we fall into a greater recession.

Education 

The next pressing matter I would like to address would be our need to reform education. Our education system is faltering in so many ways. Throughout my life, I have seen classmates flunk multiple tests, not show up for class and treat the teacher disrespectfully yet they still pass the class and eventually get their diploma. Half of your grade, for the most part, depends on your ability to show up for class. This is sad at best.

Teachers aren’t coming to work and students are let off with an easy grade. This needs to end. Even at my college, I have had multiple professors set a deadline for a class project or paper, just for four of the same people (out of the 20 people in my class) repeatedly not meet the deadline.

Granted, this is not everyone but when I ask my friends how hard their high school was, they consistently tell me it was a joke. Your education shouldn't be a joke. A student shouldn’t be saying their education is a joke. If more people were well educated, our economy wouldn't be in such a dire state.

New rules should be in place to govern over the success of each individual; individuals meaning teachers and students. The government needs to hold every learning environment to a higher standard and cut funding for organizations that repeatedly fail at preparing students for their career.

Censorship

And finally my last question to ask to a future president would be their view on censoring the Internet.

For the past 14 years of my life, I have taught myself everything I would ever need to succeed from the Internet.

The beauty of the Internet is that it is (was) censor free, information was endless and people connected sharing billions of gigabytes worth of data.

Stealing copyrighted work is wrong, but censoring the Internet because of the minute amount of people that pirate music/software/movies and books is totally preposterous.

It will only stifle growth and entrepreneurial spirit when it comes to online marketing and innovation. Would iTunes exist if Napster didn’t exist? Would NetFlix, Hulu or ONDEMAND exist if piracy didn't exist? I think not.

Take for example, Paulo Coehlo. Paulo Coehlo is a bestselling Brazilian novelist (The Alchemist) who is notorious for the promotion of his work through piracy. Ever since a pirated Russian edition of The Alchemist was posted online in 1999, he supported illegal downloading. Instead of damaging the sales of his book in Russia it sent them soaring to a million copies by 2002 and to more than 12 million today.

When the SOPA bill was up for review October 26, 2011, he promoted himself on the front page of the world’s most resilient torrenting website called thepiratebay.org based out of Sweden. The website hosted a picture of him hosting all his work for free across all operating platforms.

He concluded that the “pirates of the world need to unite and pirate everything I have ever written.”

He stated:

“The good old days, when each idea had an owner, are gone forever. First, because all anyone ever does is recycle the same four themes: a love story between two people, a love triangle, the struggle for power, and the story of a journey. Second, because all writers want what they write to be read, whether in a newspaper, blog, pamphlet, or on a wall,” he said. “The more often we hear a song on the radio, the keener we are to buy the CD. It’s the same with literature. The more people ‘pirate’ a book, the better. If they like the beginning, they’ll buy the whole book the next day, because there’s nothing more tiring than reading long screens of text on a computer screen.”

Bryan Calabro

Integrated Media/Communication Studies

Wilkes 2013

How to Get Kristina Seiger's Vote: A Young Voter Manifesto

As a 20 year old, female, first time voter there are several things that I am looking for in a candidate ranging from their stance on issues to their personality. I consider myself a very skeptical person to begin with so it’ll take a lot to persuade me to vote for a candidate. I will outline just a few of my criteria because if I went in-depth my printer would probably run out of ink about every little thing I look for in a candidate. I also understand that not every one of my criteria can be met and that I have to find a happy medium to be able to vote for anyone.

Equality

I believe that every person deserves to be treated equally whether they be female or gay or any other characteristic that people deem to be less than. Women are still paid less than their male counterparts and are not featured in the rule as government. Yet men in these positions find it necessary to make decisions regarding a woman’s reproductive rights. Not to mention that gay couples do not have the same rights as straight couples have. Gay rights have not come along even though they are people too. I find it disturbing that people can be voted into office even if they disregard an entire subsection of the population. Everyone should be treated equally and sadly this country hasn’t realized this yet.

Education/Jobs

The American dream is for parents to be able to send their children to college so the children can have a better life than what the parents had. This is becoming harder to do with the lack of financial aid that is provided for college students. The politicians say that they want to make it easier for working class kids to go to school, but how is that going to work out for all the rest of the middle class kids who are struggling. Now less financial aid is going to be spread out over a larger group of people. Then the politicians talk about how they want to bring manufacturing jobs back to this country, and does having a college degree really qualify them to work on a factory line? Meanwhile there are no jobs out there for people who do graduate with a degree and then they have to move back in with their parents and pay off all their debts. It’s a vicious cycle that needs to be fixed and I don’t see that happening anytime soon.

Likability

The candidate needs to seem likable and honest. If someone flip flop from one day to another, how can they be trusted? They need to stick to their convictions and if they believe something they need to stand by it. Too often people seem to be above everything or they say something than do the opposite and then they seem unlikable. By being forthright even if their opinions don’t match my own is still worth more than someone lying and saying what I believe. If they can have a good time and seem more down to earth by playing a saxophone or singing shows that they could be a fun person and I would probably like them more then.

These are just a few traits that could make a candidate more likeable to me in the long run.  The candidates need to be able to work together towards a long term goal rather than just until the next election cycle. But I find these traits to be almost nonexistent and not talked about. So I primarily focused on traits find out in the open that drives my voting habits.

Kristina Seiger

Communication Studies

Wilkes 2014

How to Get Kayla Mattioli's Vote: A Young Voter Manifesto

Economy

In a country with an unemployment rate hovering around 8% and an ever growing deficit problem, it is important for this election to focus primarily on the issue of job creation. I will be graduating from college this year along with thousands of others around the country. I don’t want to work two part-time jobs that have nothing to do with the four years of training I just received.

The candidates from both parties need to have a comprehensive plan for job growth in America. Currently, President Obama has shown support for government programs that would put people to work fixing America’s crumbling infrastructure but is having trouble getting the plan off the ground. The presumed GOP candidate, Governor Mitt Romney, is a firm advocate for private sector job growth. The problem with his plan is that the private sector is not creating jobs. They are not hiring Americans. In fact, most of their employees reside in other countries because it’s cheaper to employ foreign labor because of tax loop holes. Therefore, tax reform and job growth go hand in hand. The corporate tax code needs to be restructured so that big businesses, and the people who own them, pay their fair share. American businesses can be given incentives to bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. 

Civil Rights

Equal marriage rights have been an issue hovering around the last few presidential elections. Since 2004, six states have begun allowing same-sex marriages and this year alone California overturned Proposition 8, and Washington, Maryland, and New Jersey have all passed bills to allow same-sex marriages. Unfortunately, and possibly politically, Republican Governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie has vetoed the bill. Nonetheless, gay rights are being embraced by the younger generations as homosexuals become more visible in the media. 

Now is the time to discuss it on a National level. President Obama repealed “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and for the first time last year, national support for same-sex marriage rights increased to 53%. Since 2001, ten countries have allowed same-sex marriages including England, Canada, and Argentina. Even Mexico recognizes same-sex marriages performed in other regions. So why is it that America, a country that has always prided itself on freedom for all, can’t seem to get on board and grant this unalienable right of the pursuit of happiness, to a subgroup of citizens? 

I will not vote for a candidate that believes we should move backward in time and deny rights to any American because they are not living their life a certain way. For that reason, I will never vote for Senator Rick Santorum as he has made it clear that he does not believe in basic health related rights for women. The candidates need to remember that they are not campaigning to one group of people. They need to have a more realistic idea of the current state of the country and the wants of the people they are supposed to be representing instead of pushing their personal, moral agendas.

Foreign Policy

Just as the United States has finally had enough of war in the Middle East, a whole mess of things happens in Libya, Syria, and Iran. It almost seems as if the entire world is in turmoil when you add in the economic crisis in both the U.S. and European Union. I am a bit of a pacifist and believe the entire War in Iraq was unnecessary and did more harm than good regarding our relationship with Middle Eastern countries. Not to mention the amount of money poured into a ten year war that, arguably, accomplished very little.

The U.S. needs to do more humanitarian work than military operations in the future if for no other reason that as a PR strategy. By running around policing the rest of the world and trying to impose our ideals on them makes us look like we think we’re better than everyone else. Seeing U.S. military personnel is probably intimidating and with the recent scandals involving U.S. troops desecrating the bodies of deceased Afghans as well as the burning of the Quran by NATO troops, we could use some good PR. In 2008, the U.S. spent only 0.19% of its GDP on foreign aid. That is well below the U.N. target of 0.7% and behind other countries such as the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

Kayla Mattioli

Communication Studies

Wilkes 2012

Grade AA Butter

I was really young when I first started watching Paula Deen on the Food Network. I was amazed at her cooking and her personality the first day I watched her. I watched her cooking show religiously for a couple years because she was definitely a wonderful form of entertainment. I never cooked any of her recipes, and I didn’t really pay that much attention to what she was putting in her food. All I cared about was watching her have fun while she cooked in the kitchen. She is definitely one of the most lively and vibrant personalities on the Food Network. I haven’t watched her show in recent years, but I still love her because she is relatable. She is the ‘typical’ grandma who loves to cook for her family and friends. She’s the type of person that you just want to hug.

When I heard about her announcement of being a diabetic on the Today Show, I didn’t think anything of it. Both my grandparents are diabetic and they live normal lives. I couldn’t understand why she even announced that she was diabetic. Personal health issues are none of the public’s business!

I was disappointed when I found out she was endorsing a diabetic drug. It just seems hypocritical to me that she promotes unhealthy eating, but is endorsing a drug to help diabetics. I have a problem with this because she is definitely making a profit on being the spokesperson for this drug.

She is receiving a lot of criticism because of the way she cooks on her show. I don’t think she should be criticized for the way she cooks. Not every chef on the Food Network cooks healthy! If viewers are dumb enough to cook her meals on a regular basis, they deserve to have health problems. Her food is the type that you can only eat in moderation. We all know that you can’t consume that much butter and be healthy at the end of the day. Also, even though she cooks like that doesn’t mean that she eats it every day. She might not even eat her meals at all besides the little taste test at the end of the show.

I love Paula Deen and despite all this negative criticism, I would still watch her show. She is so entertaining and lovable. I think I can forgive her for making the mistake that she did. Viewers should remember the positives about Deen- making us smile and laugh and of course entertaining us! Love you Paula Deen!

Dominick Costantino

Communication Studies

Wilkes 2012