Articles written by Jonathan Young

Advanced Search

What is Helium

About me - Jonathan Young

+ more bio information

RSS Feed

Politics, News & Issues > Government & Policies Should American farmers continue to receive government subsidies?: 1 of 14
U.S. farm subsidies were once intended to help farmers ride out variations in their markets. Since then, they have become a massive part of the federal budget, costing taxpayers billions per year. Because the largest producers get the most government aid, these payments have the effect of further enriching profitable farms. T... More..
Politics, News & Issues > US Military (Other) Should the US close the military prison on Guantanamo Bay?: 2 of 25
Much like virtually every other Bush administration creation, Guantanamo Bay is an American embarassment, a symbol of corruption and stupidity conveniently located beyond the reach of traditional human rights protections.There are 335 prisoners remaining at the prison. According to U.S. officials, 80 of these prisoners will g... More..
Sciences > Sociology Understanding social Darwinism: 1 of 10
Social Darwinism is based upon the popular notion of "survival of the fittest," in which fitness is mistaken for rightness. When scientists refer to fitness, they're talking about a process in which the genotype of the individual who reproduces the most becomes more common. The individual's phenotype, or genes plus environmen... More..
Society & Lifestyle > Social Values & Norms Behind the name: Daniel: 1 of 10
The name Daniel comes from two Hebrew words: El, the abbreviated form of Elohim, meaning God; and Din, a verb meaning judge or rule. While this combination has been interpreted in a number of ways ("God rules," "God judges"), the possessive form of the verb Din means that "God is my judge" is the most accurate interpretation.... More..
Relationships & Family > Dealing with Problem People Causes of prejudice and bullying (and what you can do about them): 1 of 8
Prejudice and bullying are neurologically inevitable. According to evolutionary biologist Robin Dunbar, the human brain can only recognize a maximum of 150 people as fellow human beings. This is our tribe: our family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers. Beyond this number, keeping the rules of interaction straight becomes too... More..
Politics, News & Issues > US News How balanced and nonjudgmental is the New York Times?: 1 of 8
No news agency is perfectly impartial. Even if major newspapers and networks did nothing but report the news without propagandizing, their op-ed pieces would reveal institutionalized ideological biases.Journalism is supposed to be relatively balanced, but in some instances, journalists must take sides, for the sake of their o... More..
Politics, News & Issues > Party Politics & Ideology Why conservatism just doesn't make sense: 1 of 8
I don't know who first coined the term "nanny state," but I've noticed that opposing this aspect of government has since become a rallying cry for American conservatives nationwide. I assume the idea has its roots in the cult of personality surrounding Reagan, and the assertions he made about welfare serving as an economic di... More..
Politics, News & Issues > Party Politics & Ideology Why America needs another Republican President: 1 of 7
There is actually a case to be made, here. Whether it amounts to sophistry or truthiness is something that individual voters must decide.It appears that either Clinton or Obama will win the election, based on their stated goals for the country. After all, President Bush has already fulfilled all of the traditional Republican ... More..
Politics, News & Issues > Drug Laws & Prevention The continued epidemic of drug use means we've lost the war on drugs: 3 of 18
A 2008 Brookings Institution report contradicts U.S. claims of heroin and cocaine use declining as a result of the War on Drugs. The report describes police and military efforts in Latin America "failing by most objective standards," and cites a lack of funding for prevention and rehabilatation within the U.S. as part of the ... More..
Society & Lifestyle > Personal Morals & Values 10 things I hate about the world we live in: 49 of 273
Drum roll, please.10. That YouTube video, "Thirsty Monkey," in which the monkey pees into its own mouth. When I'm sitting in front of my computer eating a sandwich, I don't need to click onto a YouTube video with an innocent name and appetite-killing content. I'm trying to eat, here. Just name the video "A monkey pees into it... More..