Carlos Laack's Blog

Hey everyone. Carlos the Web Producer here. I'm really glad to read all the blogs you have posted (whether I agree or disagree, that's another story).

However, there is something that has concerned me that I want to address to everyone. I've noticed a lot of you posting a portion or an entire article from another news organization (e.g newspaper, AP wire service, television/radio website). This is prohibited and cannot be posted on our website.

If you would like to post an article, make a link to the article. Do not repost. The globe looking button with a chain link is the one you can use to make this link.  Here's an example using a news story from the AP posted on Yahoo!www:

Hey! Read this article about money for the jobless. It's really cool.

Notice I didn't repost the article, just linked to it. That's fine. Do that as much as you want. But, if you post an article in part or in total that is copyrighted, I will delete it without notifying you. It is a violation of our Blogging Policy.

Thanks for blogging.

I was talking with our intern, Michelle, about this issue (I have no idea what made me think this). So what if MillerCoors leave Milwaukee -- is the Brew City not the Brew City anymore?

What impact do you think it will have with the image of the city? Is MillerCoors really all that important for the Milwaukee economy?

It's time to get ourselves talking about some of the issues we are facing in our ever changing Milwaukee landscape. I would like to hear what you think.

Being big is beautiful in the United Kingdom. A British plus-sized model was crowned Miss Surrey in a pageant in March (read story here). She will be competing in July for the Miss England crown. What makes this such a controversy is that she weighs 176 pounds is 5 feet 10 inches tall and has a size 16 waist.

So is being big healthy? Some would say that big is beautiful and is perfectly fine. Others would say that big (wo)men do not take care of themselves and are unhealthy.

Here's the government figures for the state of Wisconsin:

According to a 2004 report from the Centers for Disease Control, Wisconsin ranked 26 out of 50 in terms of the percentage of people who were obese. Colorado ranked in first place.

A chart from the state's Department of Health and Family Services illustrates this best. From 1990 to 2005, the percentage of people obese was 11% in 1990. In 2005, the percentage rose to 24%. This is more than double over 15 years.

So what does it mean to be obese?

According to WedMD and the Cleveland Clinic, obesity "is an excess proportion of total body fat. A person is considered obese when his or her weight is 20% or more above the normal weight."

According to Wikipedia, health experts say obesity could lead to such conditions as diabetes, cancer, liver disease, infertility, and depression.

But doing a search on Google, I found many websites devoted to Big & Beautiful people. Everything from sex guides, dating websites, dolls, and a magazine for teens.

Growing waistlines are big business and a big expense. In Wisconsin, the state spent $272/person on obesity related expenses in 2003. That's according to a October 2004 report from the Trust for America's Health Report.

So what does all this mean to you? Do you think we should leave bigger people alone? Should we encourage them to lose the pounds and "get healthy"?

Share your thoughts on this blog. Remember -- keep it real and keep it clean.

The economy seems to be a growing concern on the minds of people these days. So many events are happening that are leading more and more economists to consider the United States in a recession.

Here's a few examples:
1) The foreclosure rise as a result of decreasing home values and the increase in interest rates on adjustable rate mortgages.
2) The increase in fuel prices.
3) Financial institutions on rocky foundations or near collapse.
4) The rate of job creation is slowing down significantly.
5) The rise in unemployment figures.

These are just a few factors that are being considered. The Federal Reserve is trying to combat this by reducing the interest rate they charge banks to loan money. Then there's the economic stimulus package that should be coming in the mail soon. All these measures are meant to help this faltering economy gain some traction.

But do you think it will? Are we in a recession? Are you going to be changing your spending habits as a result of economic conditions?

Let's start the discussion here. I'm curious to see what you have to say.

Religion in our country seems to be taking the forefront. In politics, some candidates are using their religions to tell voters they will be moral -- above board. One candidate, Mike Huckabee, embraced his southern baptist roots.

In many places, laws mirror religious norms. Pro-life advocates use the "thou shall not kill" commandment to justify their cause. Drinking laws in Salt Lake City are based on Mormon principles of not drinking. The laws of marriage being between a man and woman are devised from religious roots.

I'm not here to tell you what to believe. That's up to you. But I do what to show you some trends in the United States.

According to a survey done by the City University of New York, about 77-percent of Americans say they're Christian of any denomination (as of 2001). That's almost a 10-percent decrease in ten years. On the other hand, more than 14-percent of people say they are not religious or practice in non-religious groups. That was an increase of almost six-percent in ten years.

While this may not be the definitive proof that religion is on the decline, but it certainly does shed some light on the trend. If you need more current figures, never fear, I am here.

This time from the Institute for Humanist Studies, Americans between 18-25 who are nonreligious climbed from 11-percent in 1986 to 20-percent in 2006. This trend matches a more acute slide happening in European counties.  According to a sourced articled on Wikipedia, 44-percent of Britons and 69-percent of Swedes say they have no religious affiliation.

What do these trends mean to you? Is religion changing worldwide? Is religion important for making sense of an unknown world? Let's start the discussion here.

I know this is another potentially charged topic so let's not attack each others beliefs. But, don't be afraid to express what you truly feel.

Racism (noun)
1 : a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race

2 : racial prejudice or discrimination

According to the Merriam Webster Online Dictionary

There seems to be a taboo about this subject. Many people would say they don't consider themselves to be racist. But are they being honest?

According to a poll conducted by Opinion Research Corp. for CNN in December 2006, 1 in 8 Americans consider themselves racist. While this poll illustrates that racism exists, the respondents were mostly African American and Caucasian.

But we see in the news the disparage between Hispanics when it comes to immigration. The "Minutemen" are a strong force in parts of the border. Their mission is to protect the frontier from the mass rush of illegals entering the country (especially in an area from Texas to Arizona).

Historically, there's also been segregation of Asians. One example being during World War 2 when Japanese Americans were relegated to camps.

You could also argue there is racism between other minority groups as well. One Example includes strife between Blacks and Hispanics. In many larger cities where there is a larger concentration of both races, there seems to be more violence between the two groups. This is true in the Los Angeles area.

But how are things in Milwaukee? This is where I would like to take the discussion. Are you racist? Do you believe it is a problem in this city?

Let's start the discussion by posting a comment here. Remember, let's keep this discussion from being a personal attack of each other's beliefs. I want to hear your honest opinions.

If you were (or are) are 20-something and you just graduated college, where would you move to? Minneapolis? Chicago? New York City? Los Angeles? How about Milwaukee?

I know when I was a college senior at Drake University (in Des Moines, Iowa), Milwaukee was the last place on my list to move to. My radar consisted of Chicago at the time. I know many other college graduates feel similarly.

One intern we had at FOX 6 desires to be away from the city after graduation. So what repels people from Brew City?

What I would like to talk about is what makes this city great and what makes this city unattractive to people (including residents)? Is there anything we can do to change this?

This Carlos' Corner is more interactive, so let's get the discussion started. And as always, I'll see you on the web.

Cubans throughout the United States are celebrating announcement of Fidel Castro resigning from his positions of president and commander in chief. This development is amazing to some Cuban-Americans because many did not expected this to happen in their lifetimes.

Castro was a durable leader. He ruled with an iron first, but stayed in office for about 50 years. He outlasted many U.S. presidents. Castro was able to keep Cuba  (only 90 miles away from the United States) communist throughout all those years.

Now, Castro had health problems in his later years. He was treated for intestinal issues in 2006. He has not been seen in public since.

At this point, his brother Raul is expected to fill the role in the interim. So far, no change is expected in U.S. policy towards Cuba. So, don't expect to smoke Cuban cigars or travel there anytime soon. But the winds of chance could be headed to this island nation.

What do you think about this announcement? Do you think it affects you? Share your thoughts by commenting to this blog.

I will see you on the web.

Lately I have been running into teens that seem to either be pregnant or have a child. Some are 18 and under and with multiple children.

According to the report "Wisconsin Youth Sexual Behaviors and Outcomes" issued in January 2007, more than 6,000 births occurred with teens between 15-19 in 2005. That amounts to 30 births per 1,000.

Why I mention all this is because I ran into an 18-year-old teen who just graduated high school and has two kids. One at age 15 and the other at age 17. What's more, both incidents are when the teen was partying and doing underage drinking.

While the Department of Health and Family Services reports a decrease in the overall teen pregnancy rate, that is still an issue that families are dealing with in the inner city and the suburbs.

While the argument can be made that most teen mothers come from lower incomes or from the inner city, that isn't always the case. The girl in the story above -- she lives in a nice neighborhood in the West Suburbs. The fathers are athletes and boys at local high schools. She's not what you would call the "typical" profile of a teen mother.

But no matter what, the life of a teen mother changes. Having a child is a huge responsibility. Moreover, being a mother at a young age is a challenge of epic proportions.

Some teen mothers rise up to the challenge and juggle life and children well. Others, unfortunately, neglect their children or leave them to the care of the teen's parents.

What can be done to make teens more aware of the consequences of unsafe sex or of a uncontrolled lifestyle? That is up to all of us to decide. We all play a role in this.

That's Carlos' Corner for this week. Feel free to comment to this and pose any questions you have about this topic. I'll see you on the web.

Welcome to the first installment of what will be my weekly blog column called Carlos' Corner. Each week I will tackle a subject in the news that is timely to our viewers and bloggers. After you read this, please feel free to chime in by commenting to this blog.

Now, I'm not trying to steal Ted Perry's muster with his Ted's Take. That commentary represents Perry's style of commentary. This column represents my own observations of current events with a more omniscient view. So now that I set you up, here's my column:

The snow just keeps falling in southeast Wisconsin. We have received the same amount of snow right now than what we get throughout the year.

Now I know there are many people are there questioning the theory of global warming as a result. But while this could be a valid argument, it is also possible that this is just the normal patterns of ups and downs in a global warming world.

This is something I discussed with our Meteorologist Bart Adrian and he didn't sound surprised that these anomalies in the weather occur even as our world warms. These things happen throughout the world during any given year.

According to a new National Geographic program making its debut later this month, a one degree Celsius warmup in temperature on earth could flood certain areas, turn other areas into deserts, and cause parts of the North Pole to melt during the summer.

Is global warming real or imagined? That's for you to decide. However, I am not waiting to see what will happen. I am going to do my part to reduce my impact on Earth. We all can make a difference in our own way. Whether you believe global warning or not, we must take action to protect the resources that give us the life we have on the planet.