As soon as Bruce Jenner, former Olympic gold medalist and stepfather of the Kardashian clan, came out publicly about her desire to be known as a woman, all media attention was focused on her. This was no surprise to me, considering that billions of people probably watched the show "Keeping Up With The Kardashians" on E! and had literally kept up with her and her family's lives. Bruce, now Caitlyn Jenner, has become a key symbol for the transgender movement. Her story from Olympic icon to transgender woman represents the belief of being your true self regardless of what others may think.
While I admire Bruce Jenner for coming out as a transgender woman and becoming Caitlyn Jenner, it makes me wonder why our society is so drawn to the lives of celebrities and often disregards other important events that are occurring at the exact same time, but that get no where near as much media attention. I am not bashing Caitlyn Jenner in any way, I simply believe it is sad that people get so caught up with mainstream media that they don't pay attention to current events that are just as important, if not more. So, while you were busy keeping up with the Kardashians, here are a few things that you missed that occurred at the same time Bruce Jenner became Caitlyn Jenner:
1. Akon To Bring Electricity To 600 Million Africans With Launch Of Solar Power Academy
The Senegal-born singer launched a solar academy in his efforts on providing sustainable living options to people in Africa. The academy is located in Bamako, Mali, and is meant to help engineers and entrepreneurs from all over the continent develop skills that will enable them to promote the production of solar power.
2. Law Ends Phone Records Collection
President Obama signed the USA Freedom Act into law. This act ends the NSA's collection of million of Americans phone records. The law now declares phone companies as responsible for turning over the data to the government only when the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court issues a warrant to search the phone records of individuals.
3. Supreme Court Rejects EPA Mercury Limits
The Supreme Court voted 5-4 to reject federal regulators' attempt to limit power plant emissions of mercury and other hazardous air pollutants. The EPA estimated that the regulations would have cost $9.6 billion per year and Justice Antonin Scalia said "it is not appropriate to impose billions of dollars of economic costs in return for a few dollars in health or environmental benefits.
4. Millions Exposed By Computer Hacking Linked to China
U.S. officials announced that at least four million federal employees are involved in a data breech by hackers who have been traced back to China. The breach is considered one of the largest that has occurred of federal employee data. The target appeared to be social security numbers and other personal identifying information.
