MTV is airing a new program called “No Easy Decision” that features a former cast member from “16 and Pregnant” who decides whether or not to have an abortion.

The program is drawing national attention because abortion is not usually presented on television and of course it is an extremely volatile subject especially where I live in the “Bible Belt.”

A young black woman named Markai, who was on an earlier episode of the teen pregnancy show and is already the mother of one child, becomes pregnant again. The special aired on December 28 at 11:30 p.m. and will follow Markai through her emotional decision of whether to have her baby.

I believe the country may finally see more about abortion decisions and even more about the abortion process itself than they may have ever seen anywhere before. And judging by the news coverage of the program this week it is forcing a serious dialogue.

The “16 and Pregnant” program has been a ratings bonanza for MTV and many Hollywood and media blogs have focused on that fact, saying the decision to concentrate on abortion may be an attempt to snag more.
But when reality television meets teen pregnancy, has MYV gone too far?

I don’t think so, I believe the program shows that today’s society and its views are a far cry from the days when pregnant teens were packed up and sent away. Just a few decades ago, early pregnancy was seen as a stain on a family that was often elaborately hidden. All of us from that generation know a story or two of girls who went away to live with family elsewhere.

Here is MTV’s stance on the matter

“‘MTV has a long history of reflecting the lives of our viewers with
 compelling reality stories,’ Tony DiSanto, MTV’s president of
 programming, said in a statement. ‘16 & Pregnant’ follows the journey of six young women going through an immensely life-changing experience at such a young age. Each episode tells a new, unique story and shows the real-life challenges they face from dealing with family and friends to school and finances as new mothers. This is the real secret life of an American teenager.”

Of course this “true life” style of docudrama, not a manufactured situation, could make an uncomfortable time in their lives unbearable.

Some Pro-Life advocates point out that the show’s website only links to pro-abortion groups, including the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, which promotes sexual education over abstinence, and the Planned Parenthood abortion business.

On the other hand, it is encouraging to have a show discuss pregnancy in an honest and open manner.

Sarah Brown, CEO of The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, told reporters that she applauded the idea. “The stories in ’16 & Pregnant’ are full of hope, heartbreak,and real-life consequences and should be a must viewing for teens nationwide.”

If it’s as honest and supportive as she seems to think, perhaps it will be a constructive addition to the conversation.

What do you think?

My daughter Ally found Toro after a hurricane down in Destin, Florida…obviously lost.

He is unusual…he walks on a leash with the cat, although he is over 150 pounds he is gentle…he had a chip in his neck but we could never track the owners and no agency would take him because of his breed.

My recommendation for cutest Xanga pet…

I am very eager to see how Duran Duran’s new album does. I worked with Simon LeBon a bit in the studio in Japan in the mid 90′s and never doubted how truly talented he was as both a singer and songwriter.

To move forward, sometimes you have to go backward. That was the guiding principle that helped members of DuranDuran recapture the spirit of their early days on their 13th studio album, All You Need is Now, which debuted at No. 2 this week on iTunes’ album download chart .

“Most bands have difficult second-album syndrome. Not us, we had difficult third-album syndrome,” says lead singer Simon LeBon, referring to 1983′s Seven and the Ragged Tiger. “So this album is the sequel to Rio that never happened.”

“What’s great about Duran Duran is that they don’t get complacent,” says Rolling Stone critic Rob Sheffield, author of the recent memoir Talking to Girls About Duran Duran. “For their new album, they forged ahead by returning to their classic sound. This is classic Duran Duran. They’ll keep old fans and make new ones.”

Reviving that early sound was a long time coming. “Our last album (2007′s Red Carpet Massacre, which sold about 71,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan) was underwhelming,” says Taylor, 50. “We worked with Timbaland, and we yielded to that hip-hop style of production. We came out feeling like we’d surrendered our personalities. We were hijacked by the remix.”

The various group members all have had some success with side projects: Le Bon, Nick Rhodes and Roger Taylor recorded one album as Arcadia in 1985, while John Taylor and Andy Taylor formed The Power Station, a group that included Robert Palmer.

Now it’s 2010, and core members Le Bon, Rhodes and John and Roger Taylor say they’re feeling confident about a return to greatness with the new album. “We’re Duran Duran! Remember us?” Le Bon says. “We’re the ultimate party band, we got you dancing. And now we’ve got something to make your Christmas go off with a bang.”

Night out in Tokyo with the band. They actually practiced their old songs using Karaoke the night before their first Japan show.

Backstage at Tokyo International Forum.

It’s often assumed that older people generally aren’t very digitally savvy — but new research from Pew indicates that older people are becoming about as skilled online as younger ones.

According to the 2010 Generations report from the Pew Internet and American Life project, “The biggest online trend (we found) is that, while the very youngest and oldest cohorts may differ, certain key internet uses are becoming more uniformly popular across all age groups.”

The study found that internet users aged 34 and older are more likely than those age 33 and younger to engage in several online activities, including visiting government sites and getting financial information online.

These online activities are becoming more uniformly popular across all age groups: e-mail, search engines, getting health information, following the news, researching or making purchases (including travel reservations), online banking, supplying reviews or ratings, donating to charity, and downloading podcasts.

And get ready: Your grandmother might soon try to friend you on Facebook.

Even though younger people are significantly more likely to use social networking services, Pew reports that “the fastest growth has come from internet users 74 and older: social network site usage for this oldest cohort has quadrupled since 2008, from 4% to 16%.”

Some online trends are creeping down the age ladder, too. According to Pew, it used to be mostly older adults who searched for online health information. But now this has become “the third most popular online activity for all internet users 18 and older.”

Wireless net access is definitely not the exclusive province of youth. Like the recent iPass mobile workforce study — which put the median aged of a mobile-enabled worker at 46 — Pew found that 55% of people aged 46-55 access websites or other digital media or services via a laptop, cell phone, or other internet-connected mobile device. That figure drops to 46% for people aged 56-64, and 33% for people aged 65-73.

The bottom line is, don’t assume you know how digitally savvy someone is based on their age.

While America lost much of its love for streetcars as public transportation during the 1960s, a few cities have kept the romance burning. The heart of San Francisco includes its nearly 140-year-old electric cable car system. In New Orleans, the location for Tennessee Williams’ “A Streetcar Named Desire,” many tourists are drawn by the picturesque St. Charles Avenue Line.

The Obama administration recently offered some U.S. cities a piece of a $130 million federal fund for streetcar projects aimed at reducing traffic congestion, cutting pollution and reliance on foreign oil, and creating jobs.

Transit systems in Dallas, St. Louis, Cincinnati and Charlotte, North Carolina, are slated to share grants from the Federal Transit Administration’s Urban Circulator program.

In my old home town of Portland, Oregon the city paid incentives to businesses to build along the streetcar line. Streetcars transformed a “blighted warehouse district into a vibrant area of shops, grocery stores, restaurants and apartments that provide entertainment and employment. I love the feel of downtown Portland.

Some believe that there’s nothing streetcars can do that buses can’t do better, faster, safer and for far less money even though a single light-rail train can hold more passengers than a bus, a bus route can move more passengers per hour than any light-rail line.

Portland’s system attracts about 12,000 daily riders at an average ticket cost of $1.47. Its creators credit it with $3.5 billion in surrounding development, including shops, restaurants and 10,000 new housing units.

Also, streetcars that run on either hydro or coal-generated electricity spit out less greenhouse gases per passenger mile than diesel buses.

Riding public transportation in Portland is quick, easy and enjoyable. It’s absolutely easier than driving, and streetcar operators go out of their way to be helpful.

But is it faster than driving? If you count the time from point A to B, it is slower to ride the streetcar but if you factor in time to find a place to park and the cost of parking, it is more convenient and cheaper to ride the streetcar.

I just read on the CNN website about the results of a global education survey that shows U.S. high school students come in a dispiriting 26th out of 65 places worldwide in combined scores for math, science and reading tests.

The OECD’s Program for International Assessment (PISA) suggests that while America lags, Asia soars: Out of the top 10, eight are in the Asia-Pacific region — led by Shanghai and Hong Kong in China, Singapore, South Korea and Japan.

The rise of education in Asia is no accident. It reflects deliberate policies and long-term investments that recognize the centrality of quality education to a nation’s economic growth.

After living in Singapore and witnessing their growth and progress first hand I was especially taken by the former Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong’s quote in the article, “A nation’s wealth in the 21st century will depend on the capacity of its people to learn.” I think we should follow their lead.

I have listed a few of their key “best practices” from the CNN article that we here in the US are still only debating but should certainly adopt;

1) Rigorous standards and coherent curricula. I also saw this first hand in Japan, Asian nations establish high academic standards and a demanding school curriculum that clearly defines the content to be taught and is sequenced to build on a student’s abilities step by step. High-quality teachers and principals.

2) Teachers are routinely recruited from among the top high-school graduates and, unlike in the U.S., principals generally do not apply to become school leaders as much as they are selected and prepared to do so. There are comprehensive systems for selecting, training, compensating and developing teachers and principals — delivering tremendous skill right to the classroom.

3) Emphasis on math and science. Math and science training begins early in primary school and rigorous courses such as biology, chemistry and physics, as well as algebra and geometry are part of a core curriculum for secondary school. Specialist teachers are often employed in elementary schools unlike “generalists” usually found in U.S. schools.

4) Time and Effort. With longer school years and sometimes longer school days, Asian students often have the equivalent of several more years of schooling by the time they finish high school than the typical American student. Asian students are also expected to work hard in school, reflecting a societal belief that developing one’s skills and knowledge reflects effort more than innate ability.

The time has come for America to learn from Asia and the world. Our ability to compete and lead in a global economy may well depend on it.

The Video quality is not very good but it will give you an idea of the celebration…Auburn has not played for a National Championship in football since 1957!