TresSugar

What Will You Do With Your Rebate Check?

DearSugar — Tue, 06 May 2008 12:00:00 -0700

If you're like me, you're highly anticipating that rebate check! Even though I'm not scheduled to get mine until May 9, I know exactly what I'm going to do with it.

I've always considered tax refunds as free money, and back in my less responsible days, I'd use it to buy something I had my eye on, but this year I'm not even letting that money get comfortable in my bank account - it's going straight to my bills. So what about you? What do you plan on doing with your rebate? Do you consider it free money to do something special with or are you taking the mature route and using that money more sensibly?

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Dear Poll: Do Stars Get Preferential Driving Treatment?

DearSugar — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 14:45:00 -0700

We hear of celebrities getting in a car accident, or getting pulled over for DUI charges almost every day. Lindsay Lohan is notorious for "paparazzi generated" fender benders and her pal Paris Hilton is constantly being photographed driving away from night clubs with friends piled into every crevice of her vehicle.

Fame seems to buy you a ticket to ride in Hollywood, which doesn't provide the younger generation with any sense of consequence. Just yesterday, Jessica Smith, 19, from MTV's Laguna Beach, joined many of her peers in the "under arrest club" after being cited for driving under the influence and causing an injury crash in LA. So all you drivers out there, do you think celebrities get preferential treatment from law enforcement simply because they are in the public eye?

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IOC to Come Up With Better Guidelines For Ambiguous Sex

TresSugar — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 06:00:00 -0700

The treatment of 18-year-old champion runner Caster Semenya by the International Association of Athletic Federations (IAAF) left me scratching my head. How could officials publicly call into question Caster's sex, knowing the profoundly personal nature of the matter? Their actions were so degrading that Caster was rumored to be in hiding after the tests reportedly revealed that she was intersex. Well here's one way to understand how officials could take such an irresponsible approach: international bodies that govern competitive sports lack appropriate guidelines for dealing with ambiguous sex cases.

Hoping to address this problem, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will gather medical experts at an international conference charged with creating guidelines for such cases. It might be a difficult task, but at least they can look at Caster's case as an example of what not to do.

This meeting will be held during the World Conference on Hormonal and Genetic Basis of Sexual Differentiation Disorders, and IOC officials say that there should be a focus on the privacy of competitors whose sex has been called into question. Let's hope so.

Radio Show Halted After Having Girl Admit Her Rape On-Air

TresSugar — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 12:30:57 -0700

The Australian media is taking an irresponsible and extremely unsettling "joke" about rape seriously. The country's highest-rated morning show - "The Kyle and Jackie O Show" - has been canceled for now, after it had a 14-year-old girl submit to an on-air lie detector test during which she admitted to being raped. The host, Kyle Sandilands, has also been fired from his job as a judge on Australian Idol.

In the troubling segment, a 14-year-old girl was asked by her mother during a polygraph test whether she was sexually active. She answered that she had been raped, which her mother already knew. The host Kyle Sandilands then said: "Right, and is that the only sexual experience you've had."

Sandilands' co-host Jackie O then put a stop to the questioning because it had "crossed the line." She's not the only person who thinks so. Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has even weighed in, saying that he is "distressed" by the incident.

The show will be off the air pending a review. Do you think it should be canceled for good?

Australian Court Grants Teen Breast Removal

TresSugar — Mon, 04 May 2009 12:58:02 -0700

A teenager in Australia, born a biological female, has recently been given permission by a family court to get a double-mastectomy in order to more resemble the gender he identifies with - male. Alex, a 17-year-old, has been on hormone treatment since he was 13 to prevent menstruation, and he had to petition the court because he is a minor.

Family Court chief justice Diana Bryant showed great sensitivity to Alex's situation. If he's going to live as male, she argued, his breasts would obviously be a problem. "Overwhelmingly, the evidence was that it was in his interests. And I made that order." Want to hear Catholic groups' responses as well as mine? Then read more

Catholic groups view the decision as irresponsible, and to this day, "gender identity dysphoria," which describes the feeling transgendered people have that their biological sex is incompatible with the gender they identify with, is often spoken of as a "disorder," or even in this news story, as a "psychological condition."

Theorists of gender like Judith Butler argue that all gender identities are dysphoric - that none of us inhabits them as comfortably as we think we do. (Some women don't feel "feminine," some men don't think they're "manly," and every other discomfort in between.) Transgenderism, in a way, just makes all of our gender dysphoria more obvious. What are your thoughts on this issue? Have you ever known anyone who transitioned, or who didn't feel they were born the "correct" sex?

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Obama Spells Out the State of the Economy With Confidence

CitizenSugar — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 18:45:08 -0800

Tonight Barack Obama addressed a joint session of Congress and an even more important audience - the American people. Since it was technically not a "state of the union" address, I think it's safe to call the speech the "state of the economy" address.

Hoping to turn the page on tough economic times, the president read the country a litany of reasons for the crisis. Gutted regulations, irresponsible home purchases, predatory lending, tax cuts to the wealthy, and a lack of investment in America's future have brought us all to a day of reckoning, he said.

After laying the blame, Obama explained his plan. Making it hard to believe he's only been in office for a month, Obama touted the specifics of the aggressive stimulus package. The president played professor for a bit too, spelling out why it's important to keep credit flowing and help banks. "It's not about helping banks, it's about helping people," he said frankly.

Perhaps most crucially, Obama called out the "neighbor down the street who bought a house he could never hope to afford." Assuring skeptics, Obama said his housing plan won't bail out that irresponsible person, but it will help responsible Americans maintain the value of or refinance their homes.

Obama also took time to discuss his upcoming budget.

For the budget details, and for more photos, read more.

His priorities? Energy, health care, and education. His voice filled with emotion when he asserted that health care reform will not wait another year.

Touching on foreign policy, Obama broke sharply from the man who last spoke to a joint session of Congress. He reannounced the closing of Guantanamo Bay prison and proclaimed that "America does not torture."

While speaking of dire troubles, Obama exuded energy and optimism. Regardless of the merit of his policies, Obama performed like a true leader tonight. You can read the full text here.

View 10 Photos ›

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Are You Outraged by $18 Billion in Wall Street Bonuses?

LibertySugar — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 06:00:23 -0800

If you still manage to have a job on Wall Street, you might not realize that the good ol' days are over. Yesterday news broke that Wall Street bankers gave themselves $18.4 billion in bonuses last year - that's the same amount they received in 2004. President Obama angrily reacted, saying:

That is the height of irresponsibility. It is shameful, and part of what we’re going to need is for folks on Wall Street who are asking for help to show some restraint and show some discipline and show some sense of responsibility. The American people understand that we’ve got a big hole that we’ve got to dig ourselves out of, but they don’t like the idea that people are digging a bigger hole even as they’re being asked to fill it up.

Obama continued by complaining that his office shouldn't have had to pressure CitiBank against buying a $50 million private jet, because "they should know better."

The big bonuses shouldn't come as a surprise. In October, Time reported that thanks to the government's help, bankers and traders wouldn't face dismal cuts in bonuses. Without help, they could have seen bonus compensation drop 70 percent.

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Sunday Confessional: I Lost My Sister's Favorite Jacket

DearSugar — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 09:00:00 -0800

I'm a forgetful person by nature and my older sister takes every opportunity possible to call me irresponsible.

Friday night her boyfriend surprised her and took her away for the night to celebrate their anniversary. She asked me to feed her cat while she was gone since I have a set of her keys, so while at her place, I browsed through her closet. I decided to borrow her leather jacket that I've always loved to wear out that night - I figured she'd never realize it was gone!

Later that evening, I went out with my friends, admittedly drank too much and went home with a guy I had been flirting with all night. In the morning, I rushed out of his place in order to get back to my sister's to feed her cat. As soon as I got out of the cab, I realized I had left her jacket in the backseat! My heart sank; it's her favorite article of clothing and she didn't even give me permission to borrow it! I've been guilt-ridden for the past two days and have no idea what to do. My sister is going to be furious with me and I just can't face her disappointment, even though I know I deserve it. I haven't mentioned it to her and I'm contemplating not saying anything at all. Can I be forgiven if I let her think someone else took it or that she herself lost it?

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John McCain Tackles the Economy - and the "Irresponsible"

CitizenSugar — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 10:51:39 -0700

Continuing the theme of co-opting "it's the economy stupid," John McCain delivered a speech moments ago with his thoughts on the housing crunch. Possibly going beyond Clinton's speech yesterday, McCain called the economic situation a "crisis."

Pegging blame on the mortgage fiasco, McCain said, "Any assistance must be temporary and must not reward people who were irresponsible at the expense of those who weren't."

In regard to that assistance, he was very specific:

In our effort to help deserving homeowners, no assistance should be given to speculators. Any assistance for borrowers should be focused solely on homeowners, not people who bought houses for speculative purposes, to rent or as second homes. Any assistance must be temporary and must not reward people who were irresponsible at the expense of those who weren’t. I will consider any and all proposals based on their cost and benefits. In this crisis, as in all I may face in the future, I will not allow dogma to override common sense.

McCain advocated for additional economic help from private businesses too, reminding people that for instance after 9/11, General Motors offered zero percent financing to aid the economy. He added to this calls for higher down payments and stricter lending practices in the housing market.

How do you feel about McCain separating those who may have acted "irresponsibly?" Is this a fair statement? Do you agree that tax dollar aid should only be given to those who didn't speculate on the market?

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DearSugar Needs Your Help: Should I Butt In?

DearSugar — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 09:00:00 -0800

DearSugar and Terribly Concerned Tabitha need your help. She's worried that her brother-in-law is about to make a horrible mistake by marrying his girlfriend, who she thinks is questionable. Her husband doesn't want to get involved, but she feels like she's watching a disaster happen in slow motion. Should she stay mum or speak up before it's too late?

Dear Sugar,

My brother-in-law has been dating a very questionable girl for almost a year now. They met because she rudely crashed a party so that she could hit on his engaged best friend. She is nearly 30 years old and was willing to move across the country to be with my brother-in-law after only hanging out with him three times (a little too old to be acting so irresponsibly if you ask me). Within two months of dating, she brought up having kids with him even though he has only has one part-time job and can barely pay his phone bill.

When she moved in, they instantly began talking about marriage. They are two months away from their one-year anniversary and he just put a down payment on an engagement ring. My husband gets upset with me for being skeptical about their relationship, and he refuses to bring it up with his brother, but I just feel like someone needs to say something before he makes the biggest mistake of his life. I don't feel close enough with him to address my concerns myself, but I worry that he is going to face financial ruin with a too-soon baby and a failed marriage. What should I do? - Terribly Concerned Tabitha

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