Underage Drinking - Articles - Zimbio

Old Coots and Underage Drinking

Sat, 24 Aug 2008 07:45:00 GMT

posted by beckychr007

I know it is a real tired old argument—it's just that it is so compelling.

If eighteen year olds are old enough to get their brains blown out in Iraq, then they are old enough to have a beer.

In any logical society it would be a no brainer—and that would be the end of the story. Either let them booze it up-- or take away suffrage, the right to marry, to contract, to get killed in foreign wars—in other words, all the trappings of adulthood.

One of the most absurd things I used to see in my days in the criminal courts, and this is a high bar, was the twenty year old charged with underage possession—in ADULT court.

I am willing to go along with the modern version of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, and admit that underage drinkers do more drunk driving, and have more auto accidents than the population as a whole.

However, I have noticed, on those rare occasions that I go clubbing, that most of the patrons tend to be young. I suspect, if the rate of drunk driving by eighteen to twenty-one year olds is compared to twenty-one to twenty-three year olds, these frightful statistics are not nearly as persuasive.

The statistics only become shocking when the dudes, who hit the sack after an exciting Senior Dinner at Denny's, are factored in.

So,it was nice to see that some of the college presidents are finally coming to their senses, and are lobbying for an end to this lingering vestige of Prohibition.

Old coots have been wringing their hands over wayward students since at least the time of Aristotle. However, with the ascendancy of the authoritarian Nanny State and perpetual Millennial Generation childhood, institutions of higher learning became increasingly serious in their efforts to stamp out the age old problem of partying.

Yes booze is a killer. Some 100,000 Americans die every year, when you include auto accidents and other collateral damage. But even though eighty percent of the nation's 12,000,000 college students drink, only 36 campus deaths a year can be attributed to alcohol.

Even if MADD's outlandish figure of 1,400 alcohol related college deaths is accurate, it is a minuscule percentage of the college population.

Indeed, since two of every three college undergraduates is of legal age to drink, only about 12 deaths occur as a result of illegal drinking.

Of course one death from alcohol is a tragedy, but society's hysteria is unwarranted. And it is about time we quit bowing to every whim and dictate of the modern day Carrie Nations.

When the costs and benefits are rationally considered, it hardly makes sense for college administrators and law enforcement agencies to get their panties in a knot over drinking by a group of people, who are adults for every purpose except the consumption of alcohol.

This is the type of expensive and ineffective nanny state authoritarianism, which causes those, who are blessed with a functioning brain, to go out and get blotto.

25 Hour Day?

Sun, 31 Mar 2008 22:09:54 GMT

posted by pafundi

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We had some storms last night and this morning, Anika came running into the bedroom last night and hid in the bathroom at the first sound of thunder. She is so afraid of the storms. We received over an inch of rain so it was a good thing I put down the Scotts on the yard yesterday.

Today was busy, with doctor appointments and everything else that usually goes with Monday’s at our house.

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KILLING FIELDS

Dith Pran, the Cambodian-born journalist whose harrowing tale of enslavement and eventual escape from that country’s murderous Khmer Rouge revolutionaries in 1979 became the subject of the award-winning film “The Killing Fields,” died Sunday, his former colleague said.

Dith, 65, died at a New Jersey hospital Sunday morning of pancreatic cancer, according to Sydney Schanberg, his former colleague at The New York Times. Dith had been diagnosed almost three months ago.

Dith was working as an interpreter and assistant for Schanberg in Phnom Penh, the Cambodian capital, when the Vietnam War reached its chaotic end in April 1975 and both countries were taken over by Communist forces.

Dith Pran was born Sept. 27, 1942 at Siem Reap, site of the famed 12th century ruins of Angkor Wat. Educated in French and English, he worked as an interpreter for U.S. officials in Phnom Penh. As with many Asians, the family name, Dith, came first, but he was known by his given name, Pran.

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UNDERAGE PARTY FOOLS COPS

The Zebro home in Kronenwetter showed all the signs of an underage drinking party March 1: cars blocking the road, dozens of rowdy kids and a keg.

And yet, every partyer’s breath test revealed an alcohol-free gathering.

Dustin Zebro, 18, and his friends said they threw the party after D.C. Everest High School administrators suspended their friends from sports.

“We didn’t know it would work well enough to make the cops show up,” Zebro said of the plan to poke fun at the administrators by throwing a root beer kegger.

However amusing, the event — which partyers posted on the video Web site YouTube — highlights serious differences in attitudes about underage drinking.

Zebro and his friends said they think underage drinking is between students and police, not schools.

Principal Tom Johansen disagrees.

“I think we have an obligation as an educational institution,” he said, explaining that schools investigate cases of underage drinking carefully. Violations at school can lead to suspension or expulsion, while those at other venues can lead to expulsions from sports.

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THE 25 HOUR DAY?

Days are gradually growing longer. To the layman this means that in the northern hemisphere days are longer in summer than they are in winter. But geoscientists interpret this phrase as follows: they found that days grow longer not only in spring time.

The reason for that is the Moon, first and foremost. Its gravity creates permanent waves in oceans and in Earth’s depths. Thus our planet seems to waver, the German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung wrote.

Earth resembles a rotating figure skater. To slow rotations down, a figure skater stretches his or her arms out. That is why in the far future there will be 25 hours in a day. A British astronomer managed to prove that Earth’s rotation has been slowing down since 700 B.C.

The scientist studied clay plates and other historical writings that contained information about solar and lunar eclipses. He used the information to calculate the Earth’s breaking path.

When prehistoric proto-animals inhabited Earth 530 million years ago, there were 21 hours in a day. For dinosaurs who lived 100 million years ago days alternated each other every 23 hours.

Since the trajectory of the Earth’s rotation about the Sun is not connected with the Earth’s rotation on its axis, astronomers calculated the independent timescale – the so-called Terrestrial Time (TT). Slowdown in the Earth’s rotation is seen if we compare the Terrestrial Time with the Universal Time (UT).

UT is the general time based on the rotation of the Earth and is determined by the Sun position with regard to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) (Greenwich is a British city). It is necessary to set this time backward, for every several years between the end of one year and the beginning of the other there is one spare second.

According to the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service (IERS), July 13 2003 was the shortest day within the last 100 years. This day was shorter than an average 24-hour day by 1.5 thousandths of a second.

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“I promise you I will listen to what has been said here, even though I wasn’t here.”

—George W. Bush, speaking at the President’s Economic Forum in Waco, Texas, Aug. 13, 2002

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295 Days Left
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Number of Operations Iraq Freedom and Enduring
Freedom casualties as confirmed by U.S. Central
Command: 4475

Its more than a number

Why didnt i think of this.............

Mon, 27 Nov 2007 12:25:00 GMT

posted by shoes
Underage drinking party ends with standoff

Waunakee - An underage drinking party that drew 50 to 70 youths turned into a standoff at a farm shed, with teens barricaded inside for about five hours, refusing calls by police and their parents to come out, officials say.Some of the teens intimidated others by wielding a sledgehammer, ax and rifle and insisting that no one should leave because anyone who did would be ticketed, including members of the Waunakee High School football team, according to a criminal complaint filed yesterday in Dane County Circuit Court.Sheriff's deputies arrived at the farm residence of Daniel and Jacklyn Kaltenberg in the Town of Westport early Sept. 30, just after midnight, in response to a report of an underage drinking party.Witnesses said those in the shed included Jacklyn Kaltenberg, 44, an elementary school teachers aide in the Waunakee district. She talked by cell phone with her husband as the standoff continued, the complaint said, but both Kaltenbergs later told investigators they weren't there.Jacklyn Kaltenberg was charged with selling alcohol to underage persons and resisting or obstructing an officer. Daniel Kaltenberg, 44, was charged with resisting or obstructing an officer. The three teens each face a charge of disorderly conduct while using a dangerous weapon.Most of the deputies left after about four hours. Two stayed in the immediate area, and one of them saw about 20 to 30 youths running to the farm across the street at about 5 a.m.Two of those who attended the party were cited on suspicion of underage drinking and possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.Waunakee School Superintendent Chuck Pursell said Tuesday that the district was still investigating the incident, but three students have been disciplined, and Jacklyn Kaltenberg was serving an unpaid suspension from her job.Pursell said no football players were disciplined during the team's run in the state Division 2 playoffs, which ended in the quarterfinals with a loss to DeForest Nov. 3, because the district's investigation hadn't determined any football players were at the party."We can't do something based on hearsay and rumor," Pursell said.One of the teens charged Tuesday is a member of the team.All five people facing charges have been scheduled for initial court appearances Nov. 26.

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why didnt i think of this when i was in high school. the police should have shot that shed full of tear gas and then left. of course no football players were disciplined. is it any wonder why football players are all screwed up as adults. and what does this say about the police force there. why didnt they just storm in and beat some kids with night sticks. these kids are lucky they live in farm country...anywhere else and they would be dead..................

Teacher Accused Of Giving Teens Beer

Sun, 14 Jan 2008 11:57:12 GMT

posted by shoes

DANBURY, Texas -- An alleged teen drunken driving incident led deputies to a teacher's home, KPRC Local 2 reported Friday.
Brazoria County sheriff's deputies said two teenagers, who were stopped on suspicion of drunken driving, told them they drank alcohol at teacher Robin Ater's home in Danbury.
"At the residence, we spoke to the homeowner and found beer cans and a receipt for beer bought earlier in the day," investigator Darrell Collins said.

Ater, 52, told police she bought the beer. Neither of the teens has said she bought the booze for them.
Detectives said there was enough evidence to charge her with class-A misdemeanor of furnishing alcohol to minors. She faces up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine if convicted.
"We're shocked," said Eric Grimmett, the head of Danbury's schools.
Grimmett said Ater, an eight-year employee of the small school district, will most likely be put on paid administrative leave.
Local 2 tried to contact Ater but a sign on her door specifically warned reporters not to trespass.

i suspect she needed to get these kids drunk for them to have sex with her. just the luck of those two kids. the hot young teacher doesnt come on to them...the old ugly one does. i'd need a beer too.

Welcome to our wikizine called "Underage Drinking"

Wed, 24 May 2007 00:42:38 GMT

posted by The_Zimbio_Team
Wikizines are interactive magazines that anyone can create or edit - and this one is called "Underage Drinking". Here you can find fresh voices and respond in real time. Some members write articles about recent news and trends related to the wikizine's topic, others recount relevant personal stories or share their favorite pictures and video clips. Got an interesting idea or story to share with other members of this wikizine? Well, then put on your journalist's cap and add your own article!