A Sign of the "Times"

This week in the New York Times one of the major things I noticed was that there were more stories that did not involve the economy than usual. I am not sure why this is, but I definitely welcomed it and read a lot of other very interesting stories.
Monday- Today I read a blog online that really caught my eye about Levi Johnston, the would-have-been husband of Sarah Palin’s daughter Bristol. The story goes on to say that Johnston went on the Tyra Banks show and talked about his relationship with Bristol Palin. The Palin family was apparently outraged by his “quest for fame” and the governor’s office even put out a statement stating their disappointment over his choice to appear on the show. What really interested me in this story however, was that the author seems to think that because Gov. Palin went public with her message to Johnston it is a sign that she may be preparing to run for office again in 2012. The story also said that by highlighting that Bristol was going to “take responsibility” and “campaign for abstinence” she sees this whole situation could be a trouble area with conservative voters. I think that it will be very interesting to see if Palin does attempt to run again in the next election and what voters’ reactions will be.
Tuesday- Today I read a story about NY health officials who has called for a tax on drinks with sugar. The officials say that a tax of only one penny per ounce of sugary drink would decrease consumption by more than 10% and also raise $1.2 billion dollars in NY alone. While this seems a little extreme, it also does kind of make sense to me. There is a tobacco tax, so why shouldn’t there be a tax on something else that harms the health of American citizens such as sugary drinks? I don’t know how people will feel about this plan, since so many Americans drink soda, but I think that if it were ever to be put into effect, there could be a very substantial improvement in the health of many Americans.
Wednesday- Today I thought it was very interesting that there were two stories on the front page involving the situations and discriminations facing the gay community in both the United States and Iraq. In Vermont, a veto on the bill to allow gay marriage was rejected, while in Iraq, newly admitted gays are being strongly persecuted and even murdered. I was so shocked by the situation facing gays in Iraq. Obviously there are people in the United States who are very against not only gay marriage but also homosexuality in general, but I never would have imagined just how violent people could be just because someone is gay.
I did start to think about how there have been murders of homosexuals in the U.S., however, the situation in Iraq seems to be much more extreme. For example, the most shocking aspect of this story, to me, was that some of the murders and other crimes being committed against gays are being committed by their own families, who believe that they have been shamed.
Thursday- Today I read a story about how a group of pirates in the Indian Ocean captured an American merchant ship’s captain. This story says that these modern pirates are motivated by money, and are not interested in politics, religion, or killing people. This story really caught my eye because it is not often that you hear about pirates these days. I think that many people think of them as something that happened hundreds of years ago and are now in movies, but the fact of the matter is that they are a big risk. I was also amazed when I read that this is the first time in 200 years that pirates captured an American vessel. I think that this story is very important for people to read, since I think it is important for people to be aware that pirates continue to be an actual risk even today.