Current Event #3

A condemned Utah man is set to die by firing squad Friday. The man was sentenced to death in 1985 for the shooting of an attorney in a courthouse. He is currently before a Utah parole board to determine if he will be granted clemency. It does not appear likely that he will be, however, because the last time Utah granted clemency to a condemned man was in 1962.
I chose this article because of our discussion of the death penalty in class. Firing squad is not a usual method of execution, so it caught my eye. The article waswell written and interesting.

Senior Reflection #3

I am currently looking at laptops for next year. I have been looking forward to getting my own laptop for awhile now; it is actually one of my favorite things about graduation. My college does not have any requirements when it comes to laptops, so I can choose whichever one I want.
I think I am going to get a MacBook. My family has always had macs, so they are familiar to me. I also like the deal they have that allows for a free iPod with the purchase of a MacBook. My current iPod is pretty old, so I could use the new one. I hope to order my laptop in the next couple weeks.

Current Event #2

Minnesota Vikings all-Pro running back Adrian Peterson missed a mandatory tram practice Friday. Peterson was busy attending 'Adrian Peterson Day' in his home town of Palestine, Texas. Vikings coach Brad Childress was not happy about Peterson's absence, especially because he was not notified by Peterson that he would not be able to attend the mandatory practice. The article went on to mention how many of the Vikings' returniong starters were missing from this spring's practices for a variety of reasons.
This article grabbed my eye because I can't believe how many star athletes feel that they are exempt from mandatory team functions. Yes, Adrian Peterson is one of the best players in the NFL, but he is still a member of the Vikings and therefore is trequired to go to their team functions, no matter how many honorary days are set up for him. I enjoyed the article and it was well written.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=5277744

Senior Reflection #2

As the summer draws near, I have started to realize that I ned a summer job. My financial aid package for next year stupulates that I pay for a portion of my tuition. I have worked at an italian ice stand at Nissan Pavilion for the last two summers. I enjoy this job, but there are not enough hours at the few concerts to make enough for tuition. I have applied for a few other jobs but have not heard back from anywhere. A few deays ago, however, I got an email asking if I would be interested in working at Georgetown this summer doing office work. I really hope that I get this job, for it would not only earn me the money that I need, it would also give me a good opportunity to get familiar with the campus before school starts.

Current Event #1

American goalkeeper Tim Howard's condition is still unknown following a collision with English forward Emile Heskey in Saturday's World Cup opener for both teams. Howard was bleeding from his side after the collision and required painkillers at halftime, but he did not come out of the game. American coach Bob Bradley said he sees no reason why Howard would not be able to start friday against Slovenia in the Americans' next game.
I chose this article because I am interested in Howard's health following the England game. He is one of the best goalkeepers in the world and has consiostently kept the U.S. in close games. It was a well-writen article that I enjoyed reading; it made me optimistic that we will have Tim Howard in goal Friday against Slovenia.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/worldcup2010/2010/06/14/2010-06-14_tim_howards_ribs_to_be_examined_by_trainers_on_monday_marcus_hahnemann_would_be_.html

Senior Reflection #1

Herndon's been alot of fun, and high school soccer has been a part of that. Freshman year was difficult as I tried to balance club soccer and high school soccer. Then early in the high school season sophomre year i tore my ACL, which really changed how I felt about soccer. During that season in which I didn't play, I realized how soccer was making me miss out on many typical high school experiences. The high school soccer season was just beginning again when I was cleared to play again, nearly a year after I originally injured my knee, and I soon found that the demands of high school and club soccer were too much. Since I was still trying to play in college, I decided to quit high school soccer. Soon, however, I realized that I would not be playing in college, so this season I decided to quit club soccer and finally enjoy high school sports. While I have had fun playing club soccer, I sometimes wish I had quit sooner and been able to enjoy other high school sports besides soccer.

Editorial #5

Bill O'Reilly: Paging Doctor Kildare

Summary: A recent survey by the Medicus Firm shows that if Obamacare is to pass in Congress, about 30 percent of primary care physicians will consider leaving their medical profession. Doctors, as smart people, can see that with universal health care, the cost of care for all the new people will increase dramatically while their salaries may even decline. O'Reilly points to the federalized health care systems of Canada and Great Britain as proof that there will be a shortage of doctors if Obamacare passes: in these two countries, it is almost impossible to see an actual doctor. O'Reilly concludes by saying that these doctors are simply reflecting the opinion of the American public about healthcare. Many Americans are simply sick of the federal bureaucracy's attempt to get involved in health care, and nothing can change that.

Opinion: I find it hard to believe that doctors will actually leave their jobs of Obamacare passes. Sure, they might disagree with federalizing health care, but I do not think they would leave their steady paying jobs over an ideological disagreement. I do, however, agree that most Americans do not want their health care to be run by the government, and Congress is simply not listening to them. President Obama was recently quoted as saying in relation to health care, "[The American people] are waiting for us to lead...they don't want us reading polls". While it is never good to make decisions solely to bolster popularity in response to polls as a president, if polls are showing that the majority of Americans (the people that the President and Congress represent) do not want a piece of legislation passed, lawmakers need to respond to the will of the people they represent, not their own ideological agendas.

Source: http://townhall.com/columnists/BillOReilly/2010/03/20/paging_doctor_kildare?page=2

Editorial #4

Christopher Merola: The Separation of Church and State Debate

Summary: Last Thursday, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (considered to be one of the most liberal courts in the history of the United States) denied an atheist challenge to the words "In God We Trust" and "One Nation Under God" on our nation's currency and pledge. Christopher Merola uses this ruling to show that progress is being made in protecting our First Amendment rights, but there is still a long way to go. He says that in today's ultra-politically correct society, what is defined as tolerance is in fact intolerance. Ordering a teacher to take down a patriotic banner that has Christian references like "In God We Trust" on it so as to be tolerant of those non-Christians in the class is in actuality intolerant of the teacher's right to religious speech. Merola says that as long as the state does not force citizens to practice any religion, the right to display religious paraphernalia should and must be protected.

Opinion: I am happy to see that such a liberal court as the Ninth Court of Appeals came out supporting God in our national pledge and currency. But I agree with Merola: there is a long way to go. Many people in this country have grossly misinterpreted what they call "separation of church and state". Those words are never found in our Constitution; there is in fact no guaranteed exclusion of religion from our government. All that is guaranteed by the Constitution is that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof". The place of the word "God" in the pledge of allegiance and on our currency does not force people to believe in god, nor does it prohibit them from practicing other religious beliefs. It simply reflects the ideals and values of the majority of our country, and, more importantly from a judicial standpoint, preserves the large part that religion, specifically Christianity, has played in shaping this nation throughout history.

Source: http://townhall.com/columnists/ChristopherMerola/2010/03/12/the_separation_of_church_and_state_debate?page=2

Editorial #3

Kevin McCullough: Why the Left Despises Personal Responsibility

Summary: Kevin McCullough writes about how liberals in America have turned away from personal responsibility and instead wait for the giant collective to take care of them. McCullough argues that this shift being implemented by liberals (with President Obama at the forefront) is a fundamental change from the decades of tradition of personal responsibility in this country. He cites the Founder's efforts to ensure individual rights an evidence that our nation was designed to be one where an individual succeeded or failed based on his actions alone, not the state's. Liberals, he says, do not understand that when the collective cares for the individual instead of the individual caring for himself, it is really a small powerful few that hold the powerful (not the collective).

Opinion: While much of McCullough's editorial seemed to be personal digs at President Obama (which I did not think were appropriate), I do think that his general argument is well-founded. Too many people in this country have forgotten that it is their responsibility to provide for themselves and their family. When the state begins to meddle in social and economic affairs too much, a small few (not the collective) will gain power over those aspects of life, which leads to laziness: people will stop working hard because they feel that they are entitled to a good life and job. The whole idea behind the American dream is that those who work hard and are responsible are rewarded with success, while those who are irresponsible and lazy pay the price for their failure. The nanny state that many liberals in this country want simply rewards laziness.

Source: http://townhall.com/columnists/KevinMcCullough/2010/03/07/why_the_left_despises_personal_responsibility?page=2

Editorial #2

George Will: A Cure for Character

Summary: The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), which is essentially psychiatry's encyclopedia of mental disorders, is currently being revised. George Will points out how many of the new "disorders" being added to the DSM are in actuality simple moral flaws. Newly classified disorders like "Narcissistic personality disorder" were once seen as personality flaws (in the case of narcissistic personality disorder, being full of oneself). Will writes that by classifying new diseases, the DSM is giving people an excuse to indulge in immoral behavior, for they can hide behind their vices as a "disease" that they can do nothing about.

Opinion: A think that George Will has pointed out a big problem in today's society. When people exhibit character blemishes, or even commit crimes, it is their fault--not some sort of societal abuse that caused them to do so. Yes, there may be scientific evidence to suggest that some sorts of poor behavior are more prone to be exuded from some people than from others, but this is still no excuse to indulge in that wrong behavior. People need to start taking more personal responsibility for their actions and moral behavior instead of hiding behind the façade of a "disability" or shifting responsibility onto "societal abuse".

Link: http://townhall.com/columnists/GeorgeWill/2010/02/28/a_cure_for_character?page=2

Editorial #1

Some Republicans "Get It"-- And Some Still Don't

Summary: Austin Hill writes about Washington's current handling of the financial crisis and the backlash from Americans that it has created. He points to Scott Brown's surprise victory in the Massachusetts Senatorial election as evidence that Americans are unhappy with the Obama administration and Congress' handling of the economy (namely their introduction of more big government "solutions"). As the GOP scrambles to capitalize on this public discontent, Hill writes that some Republicans still don't seem to "get it" and that they are still on board with the Obama big spending, big government policies.

Opinion: I agree with Hill. It seems to me that the Republican party is a bit of a mess right now, with the conservative wing of the party working to get the moderate, almost progressive part of the party on board with a unified agenda. While many Americans are upset with Democratic policies and the expansion of government into the private sector, voting Republican may not be the answer, for many Republicans are just as guilty of big spending as are Democrats.

Link: http://townhall.com/columnists/AustinHill/2010/02/21/some_republicans_get_it_-_and_some_still_dont?page=2

Ted Thompson: Idiot.

As the Green Bay Packers' second Favre-less season has recently ended, I feel like it is a good time to reflect on Packers General Manager Ted Thompson's decision to let Favre go.  After a disappointing 2008 season (the first under new quarterback Aaron Rodgers) where the Packers finished 6-10, 2009 was fairly successful.  The team finished 11-5 and came one overtime sack away from advancing in the playoffs.  Looks like the team's doing just fine without Favre, right? Possibly, but just fine is not good enough when excellent would have been possible.

Favre's 2009 season with the Minnesota Vikings has been one of the best of his career.  At age 40, Favre led the Vikings to 12 wins (two of which were over Rodgers and company) and a first round bye in the playoffs.  Oh, and Favre himself finished as the second highest rated passer in the league, a finalist for the MVP award, and second string in the Pro Bowl (right above third string Rodgers).  So let's look at how the Packers 2009 season could have gone had Favre been quarterback:

With Tavaris Jackson still playing quarterback for the Vikings, its safe to say that the Packers would have picked up two wins against Minnesota instead of two loses.  So even if they won no more games with Favre, it still would have been a 13-3 finish instead of a 11-5 finish.  Depending on tiebreakers, that would have resulted in either a 1 or 2 seed in the playoffs, providing for at least 1 playoff game at frigid Lambeau Field.  And with Favre in the playoffs, anything can happen.  He sure could have hit a wide open Donald Driver on the first play of overtime against the Cardinals that would have won the game for the Packers (didn't Rodgers badly overthrow him or something?)

So, apparently Ted Thompson feels that a three-time MVP who is still putting up the best stats of his career isn't good enough to play for his Packers.  I'm sure glad Thompson knows more about football than everyone else.  It's good to know that my favorite team's in the hands of someone who is so brilliant that he knows that the best thing to do with good players is to trade them away (Ryan Longwell? Darren Sharper? Mike McKenzie?).  I sure hope that at least Thompson prefers "pretty good" over excellence, because the fans sure don't.  Ted Thompson: you are an idiot.

Political Cartoon #6

1. Who drew the cartoon? Eric Allie

2. Where was it published? townhall.com, 1/12/10

3. What issue does it deal with? The cartoon deals with Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid's racial comment about President Obama, in which he said that Americans would vote for Obama because he was "light-skinned with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one"

4. What is the cartoon's message? The cartoon pokes fun at Reid's off-color comment, showing how Reid's comment could lead us to believe that he thinks that the darker a candidate's skin, the less chance he has of electoral victory.

5. Do you agree with the cartoon's message? I found the cartoon very funny, but I do think it gets at the bigger issue behind Reid's comment--the one that most Democrats are eager to overlook.  Reid's comment was very offensive, moreso, I think, than that of former Sen. Majority Leader Trent Lott.  Lott was grilled by Democrats for saying that the country might have been better off if Strom Thurmond (a one-time segragationist and presidential candidate) had been elected, and he was eventually forced to resign his seat in Congress because of the comment in 2002.  Lott's comment itself had nothing racist about it.  He could have been referring to any part of Thurmond's policy, but Democrats inferred racism and forced Lott out of office.  And now, after Reid's much more racist comment, we see a double-standard: Democrats are quick to forgive Reid.  If Trent Lott was forced to resign because of his "racist" comment, Reid should definitely do the same.

Source: http://townhall.com/cartoons/cartoonist/EricAllie/2010/01/1

Obama Prediction for 2010

Overall, I do not think that the Obama administration is taking this country in the right direction.  The biggest issue where he has gone wrong for me is dealing with the economic downturn.  We are spending far too much money that will only put us into more debt, not bring us out of this recession.  Government spending did not work in the Great Depression, where unemployment was still at 15% in 1940 (eight years after the launch of the New Deal), and it won't work now.  I hope Obama sees that his spending is not working and stops before it hurts any more generations to come.

I do, however, applaud the President's handling of the situation in Afghanistan.  Bringing more troops into the country was the right thing to do, and I hope Obama can continue to do what is necessary to win that war despite enormous pressure from the left to bring the troops home.  The troops want to stay and win the war--and we are perfectly capable of doing so.

Political Cartoon #5

1. Who drew the cartoon? Nate Beeler

2. Where was it published? townhall.com, 1/7/10

3. What issue does it deal with? Gilbert Arenas bringing a gun into the Wizards' locker room

4. What is the cartoon's message? The cartoon's message is that Gilbert Arenas has set a bad example for all of his young fans.  Many of these young fans already lean towards violent lifestyles, and Arenas' bringing a gun into the locker room just causes these young fans to think that that lifestyle is ok since their sports hero does the same.

5. Do you agree with this message? I completely agree with the cartoon's message.  Professional athletes, especially stars like Gilbert Arenas, have a greater responsibility than just to play well.  They are role models to countless young fans, and should therefore be held to higher standards than the rest of society.  Suspension is not a strict enough punishment for Arenas.

Source: http://townhall.com/cartoons/cartoonist/NateBeeler/2010/01/1

Holidays

Christmas is my favorite holiday.  This is primarily because it comes with an entire season of its own.  It influences all parts of our society, from decorations in stores to the music we listen to.  I think that it is important to have a month every year to set aside as a celebration--even if you don't believe the religious aspect of the holiday.

Since my relatives live far away, it is usually just my immediate family for Christmas.  Christmas Eve generally includes eating our family's traditional Christmas Eve dinner: the amazingly awful and disgusting oyster stew (I hardly ever actually eat it).  We then watch A Christmas Story (fantastic movie) until midnight mass rolls around.  After that, I go to bed and wait for Santa to come so I can run down the stairs in the morning and see all the cool presents he left.  It's a fun season.

Political Cartoon #4

1. Who drew the cartoon? Gary Varvel

2. Where was it published? townhall.com, 12/29/2009

3. What issue does it deal with? The cartoon deal's with Congress' tendency to make empty promises of reform.

4. What is the cartoon's message? The cartoon's message is that even Congressmen know that they have failed to keep their promises.

5. Do you agree/ disagree with message?  I agree with the message.  All too often, we see congressmen make lofty campaign promises and then see no results once they actually do get in office.  It really is as if many of them make promises for the sole purpose of winning elections.

Source: http://townhall.com/cartoons/2009/12/28/