It seems like the only way to attract sales nowadays is to make the most ridiculous product in the world and hope that people buy it as a gag gift. We all laughed at the idea of the Snuggie, until it became one of the bestselling As Seen on TV products of all times. I doubt any of the products below make that list, but you never know. Regardless of what happens though, you are guaranteed to laugh at a few of these if you watch the commercials. Here is a list of 10 absolutely ridiculous As Seen on TV products that you may not even know about.

Pocket Chair

The pocket chair is supposed to be a chair that can fit in your pocket, but only if you’re 400 pounds and wearing cargo pants. This thing can hardly be considered a chair, and the commercial tries to make it seem like the most comfortable and convenient thing in the world. You might as well carry around a toddler potty in a backpack if you get desperate enough to use this thing in public.

Kush Support

The Kush support is basically a pillow you can put in between your boobs. It is supposed to provide support for the neck, back and shoulders, but I think it is just a ploy to get soft core porn on mainstream TV. You with me?

Tiddy Bear

The tiddy bear is a stuffed bear with a strap on the back you can hook around a seatbelt. It is used to prevent seatbelts from cutting into people’s shoulders, but who wants to drive around with a bear on their neck? Plus, the name sounds a little too close to titty for my liking. Just saying.

Hawaii Chair

The Hawaii chair is a chair with a moving bottom that is supposed to help you lose weight while you sit around at work. Just watch this clip from Ellen and you’ll see how stupid that idea is.

Potty Putter

The potty putter is a mini golf course that you can put around the toilet while you take a poo. Just watch. No words necessary…

UroClub

The UroClub is a golf club that you can use when you have to go to the bathroom in the middle of a golf game. Just pee in the handle away from the crowd, and no one will ever know…right?

Potty Patch

The potty patch is basically a piece of AstroTurf on a plastic tray that people try to pass off as a potty for pooches. I tried one of these myself, and my dog just ate the grass on it. Good job there potty patch. Good job.

Aspray

Aspray is an allover body deodorant that you can use to spray your butt, armpits, feet, and anything in between. I can’t seem to find a place to buy this stuff anymore, but if you find it, let me know.

PooTrap

The pootrap is a plastic bag that you can put on your dog’s butt for when he has to go to the bathroom. Rather than cleaning the crap up with a bag on your own, you can suffocate your pet’s ass hole and still touch a bag of dookie at the end of the session. Sounds brilliant.

TV Hat

The TV hat is a giant hat that you can put your iPod or other Apple device into when you want to “discreetly” watch movies. I don’t know what’s discreet about a huge duck bill cap with a table cloth on top of it, but okay…

What do you see when you turn on the television for the latest news on the upcoming election? If you live in the United States what you see is a President with a lousy approval rating (40%), Republican candidates so extreme that it would make even the most conservative of voters cringe, and a legislature who can’t seem to agree on a damn thing. What has become of politics in the United States? Is there something in the water or are all these politicians just losing their minds?

For starters many Republicans jumped on the grassroots Tea Party movement, an organization seeking to decrease the size of government and take out government influence from business. Ron Paul, the Libertarian candidate from Texas can be seen as one of the founders of this movement. Paul has taken an unwavering stance on small government and has opposed foreign action by the United States, never once changing these stances. This can be seen as part of the reason the Republican candidates as well as legislators have been very extreme in their views, refusing to compromise just about anything with Democrats in Congress or the President.

This all or nothing attitude was at first an effective strategy for the Republicans. Indeed such a stance helped Republicans win the House of Representatives back from Democrats and helped Democrats lose their filibuster proof majority in the Senate. Now it appears the tide is turning. As more people become unemployed, the inaction of their elected officials is becoming irritating. This recently showed when Republicans decided to agree to extend unemployment benefits and a payroll tax cut. Still there are areas where Republicans are showing no sign of backing down. Many would like to see the economy fixed by cutting spending without raising taxes, a move that is argued would hurt the poor while favoring the rich. Of the programs looking to be hit are Financial Aid, meaning that students who cannot afford to go to college would have to rely on loans and scholarships. We can only hope that after the election is finished, regardless of who and what party comes out on top, Congress will finally begin to get things done.

What makes a law a law?Since the beginning of humanity, people have lived in communities. The reason for this is the realization by people that communal living was more advantageous than single living. Being a member of a community was and in many was still is essential for a persons survival. Being amongst other human beings allows us to share thoughts and skills, develop new ideas and technologies, better protect themselves and their families from predators, the elements, other people, and allows for the weaker, such as children, the elderly and the ill to be protected within the community. Soon after the realization that communal living was essential for survival another realization dawned on people, promises made to each other on issues of who is entitled to what and what should and should not be done were too fragile without having some type of governing body in place to enforce rules made by members of the community. In order to maintain peace within a community it was realized a governing body was needed. This gave birth to what is today known as positive law.

Positive law can be put into three different categories which evolved over time. The first is known as primitive law. Primitive law was born with the realization by human beings that, though communal living was favorable to single living, there was a lack of civil order. In order to fix this, people instituted a set of principles which were used to resolve civil disputes. One of the earliest sets of rules we have as an example of primitive law today are Hammurabi’s code. Following primitive law came archaic law which dominated civil society from about the time of Rome. Archaic law can be put into two categories: the first are codes of substance. This sets forth penalties for violations of the laws put in place in the society. The second category is known as codes of procedure. This set forth how a person was to be dealt with upon violating the law. Archaic law is responsible for the institution of administration and order in the court system. The third version of positive law is matured law. Matured law is seen as the father of Modern law, the system of law making we use today. There are three prongs of positive law: the first is the law of is. This describes the social phenomenon, which is what actually exists, such as crime. What follows the law of is is that of ought, or what should be. This is the law of man and proscribes laws against certain conduct such as rape and murder. The third prong is law as form. This is the law we put in effect through legal statutes. These statutes do not eliminate the conduct in which we believe should be prohibited; these statutes indicate we believe the conduct will occur but hope the statute will act as a deterrent from the behavior by putting into place punishments for the breach of the statute. This also grants legal officials the power to enforce the laws put on the book.

So where does positive law come from? Positive law as I have just discussed is a set of legal rules that are binding on all people living in a state. The laws are made by the governing body through socially accepted norms and morals. But who is to say what ought to be and what conduct should be prohibited and how are these conclusions reached? This has been debated for as long as civil society existed. From this debate came the theory of natural law. Natural law is the belief that a higher being, such as God or nature has built into the world a set of principles which human beings are to obey. These laws are to be found through human reasoning. This discussion though brief should be of particular interest to those seeking to obtain law degrees, however, I think it is important for all of you reading this to reflect upon what has here been written. After all as a member of civil society you too are bound by the rules put on the books. Haven’t you ever stopped and wondered why you have to obey them and who decided these practices are restricted?

January third is fast approaching, no not the second recovery day for those holiday hangovers, the day when the primary votes begin for the Republican candidate who will go on to run against President Obama. Anyone who has been following the debates and campaign trail of the Republican candidates has seen it’s been an almost circus like spectacle, and the final weeks before the election are proving to be no different. With the deadline drawing near candidates such as Mit Romney and Newt Gingrich are trying desperately to come out on top whereas candidates such as Rick Perry and Michelle Bachmann are desperately trying to rekindle the fire they once had in the early days of the campaign trail. Anyone who has been following the campaign can see the humor and sadness in what has become modern day politics.

For starters, Rick Perry attacked Mr. Romney about a passage on health care in a book recently published by Mr. Romney. To defend himself Mr. Romney made a mock bet with Mr. Perry for $10,000. Mr. Perry quickly declined saying he was not “the betting type”. Such a move has potentially backfired on Mr. Romney and could hurt him in the eyes of middle and working class Americans. As a matter of fact many Democrats have seized the opportunity to use Mr. Romney’s comment against him, pointing out that what may seem a miniscule amount to the Massachusetts governor comprises a rather large amount of the average Americans salary. Other comments from Romney would seem to be distancing him from the average American. Democrats have gone as far as launching a website titled “10kbet.com”. The website lists things that can be bought with $10,000. For many of us college students $10,000 dollars would be a blessing, considering the high costs of one of those top colleges which many of us would love to attend in order to gain the position of our dreams, perhaps a software engineer. Another move that has left Mr. Romney appearing out of touch with the American public and more on par with millionaires was a response he gave to a heckler during a debate in Iowa. Mr. Romney responded by saying “Corporations are people too”.

Another strategy being incorporated by the Republican candidates is to label the two frontrunners Mr. Gingrich and Mr. Romney as one person. Where Mr. Romney has shown his distance from the average Gingrich has been criticized for his marital track. Many of the candidates haven’t hesitated to point out Gingrich’s past infidelities in an attempt to challenge his character. Mr. Gingrich has made some surprising moves to counter this strategy from his opponents. When moderators at a debate threw Gingrich a challenge about his personal life, Mr. Gingrich made a very surprising move; he humbly responded to the question stating that “he has had to ask god for forgiveness” for his tattered past. Perhaps Mr. Gingrich’s eyes have been opened due to the realization that the end of the race is fast approaching and the Republicans may be looking at a photo finish. By keeping face Mr. Gingrich may hold his lead and find himself as the candidate for the 2012 Presidential Election.

However you feel and whoever comes to be the candidate do yourself a favor, don’t give into slapstick politics. Decide on the candidate who will best help our country. Look deeper into what the issues are and who is willing to make some serious change through responsible policy making and compromise.

Higher education is something many of us seek upon graduating high school. In today’s job market a BA or better is needed in order to gain employment in some of the most prestigious jobs on the job market. Recently there has been a lot of talk on Capital Hill about how best to cut the national debt and unfortunately for many of us one area on the chopping block is education.

Though it is true that given the option many of us would love to attend Ivy League universities such as Yale or Harvard the sad truth is that for many of us this is not an option. Not only are such schools highly competitive, they are also very costly. Even after receiving scholarships and grants a student must take out a good amount in loans to cover the rest of his or her expenses. For this reason many of us look for affordable alternatives when considering where we want to get our college education. One of the best and most affordable of these options is the City University of New York (CUNY).

CUNY houses many quality and notable colleges such as Baruch and Hunter. CUNY is also the home of the only university in the country that specializes in criminal justice, John Jay College of Criminal Justice. One of the biggest draws to CUNY schools has been it’s low tuition costs. CUNY is subsidized by the state of New York making it one of the most affordable college systems in the country. CUNY schools also house a wide array of different disciplines and quality professors making it an excellent choice for students who wish to continue their education after high school but are afraid private universities will prove to be too costly. But unfortunately a CUNY Board of Trustees approved a measure to increase tuition costs 15% or 300 dollars per year.

This move has seen some backlash by students and faculty alike. Many students attending CUNY schools do so because it is affordable. Students from underprivileged groups and poorer backgrounds are afraid that by hiking tuition other underprivileged students will lose out an opportunity to attend college. Many students also receive federal assistance such as PELL grants and Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) grants from the state, two programs which may lose government funding as a way to cut the deficit. While the CUNY system will still be less costly than other state university systems, the raise in tuition may prove to be too costly for students, depriving them an opportunity for higher education.

Though the tuition increases approved by the Board of Trustees may seem to be an obstacle for those wishing to get a college degree at an affordable price, students should not get too discouraged. Another affordable option is available for those who seek a college degree are online universities. A list of the top online colleges will help potential students explore which colleges offer what type of online degrees and courses. Taking online classes are advantageous for two reasons: For one they allow students who need to work take classes at a comfortable pace and access all needed material right from home, and online courses are affordable. For those who can’t afford heightening tuition’s or the fees it takes to commute, considering an online college may be an excellent alternative.

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