Senior Post

So the end is near. Prom was fun, although I still don't understand why the tickets cost $75.00 but whatever. OMG get me out of here!!!!!! I am so excited for graduation!! No more FCPS for me! Longwood here I come!!!

LAST CURRENT EVENT!!!!

So what's new in the world? Well, an abortion doctor named George Tiller was killed in a church by some psycho. Now, I don't approve of abortion, but two wrongs don't make a right, ya know what I mean? It happened about a week and half ago, and since then, a lot of people, especially writers of The Washington Post, have been blaming Bill O'Reily for the death because of comments he made on his show. Hey man! Don't blame Bill! He's cool!

Senior Post 3

So I got my yearbook last week and I just want to let everyone know I was misquoted. The yearbook interviewed me a long time ago and asked me what I liked to do. I said I like to sing classical music because I enjoy it. They said that I said I sing classical music BECAUSE I'M GOOD AT IT. Who would say that??? Not me! What a selfish thing to say! I don't sing because I'm good at it, I sing because I enjoy bringing the messages of music to everyone. Yearbook people, make sure your staff actually gets stuff right and don't make people sound awful. Geez.

Current Event 3- 4th Quarter

The family built Murphy Oil Corp. in El Dorado, AR has pledged to pay college tuition for almost every student in the town for the next 20 years. The pledge, called The El Dorado Promise, has been running for almost two years now. Currently, 312 students are attending college on $2.1 million of Murphy Oil Funds. From the programs start in 2007, school enrollment has increased with 95% of seniors saying they plan on attending college. The creator of the plan is Claiborne Deming, who recently retired as Murphy Oil’s CEO and president. Deming hope the plan would bring the town a new life with the tough economy and the decline in population. Now, many students who never believed they would be able to afford college can, and to be eligible for all four years of college, they have to keep a 2.0 GPA.

This article shows how money can be used for a significant purpose. Instead of choosing to use the money to buy a big house and life the rest of his life in a rich and fancy style, Deming choose to use the money toward the greater good of education. I think he is a perfect example of how to be unselfish in society today. Because of him, students for generations can look forward to higher education. I see kids in school everyday who are extremely smart and talented, but are not financially fortunate to improve their education. Some people may take their college education for granted, and I think this article shows that those who do are an example of human selfishness, and those who want an education and are willing to work for it should be the ones able to go to college.

Senior Post 2

Okay, so I'm a little pissed that I have pay National Honor Society a $35 check. What's up with that???? I have been in for two years and we have yet to have a meeting or anything. The only good thing about it was that it helped get into college. I mean, I know it's suppose to be for the little tassle, sash things, but I think they just want my money (or my parents money, I should say).
Did you know there's left than a month left until graduation!!??? Praise Jesus! I can't wait to get out of here!!!!

Current Event 2- 4th Quarter

House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), spoke out against Pelosi and her allegations on CNN”s “State of the Union.” On the show, Boehner said that Pelosi needs to support her allegations with evidence or apologize for what she said. These comments are another attempt by Republicans to focus attention on the fact that Pelosi knew about interrogation techniques in 2002. They want to prove that Pelosi did not reject to these tactics and gave inconsistent comments on when she learned that waterboarding was being used as an interrogation technique. Virginia Governor Timothy Kaine commented on the matter in support of Pelosi, and that she has not lost the support of her fellow democrats.

I believe that for now, no one truly has evidence that Pelosi knew of these interrogation techniques except their word, But as the author of the article showed, Republicans certainly are trying to make this work for them. I feel that if Pelosi does not lose the support of her many Democratic allies, she will probably face less issues. I liked this article because it shows if you have support behind you, success is possible. Still, Pelosi will find her self in a lot of trouble over this and it will probably take a while to blow over.

Senior Post 1

Today is exactly one month away from graduation. After being with the same people since about the 7th grade, I'm so ready to move on. In a couple of weeks, I will be going down to Longwood to attend orientation which I'm super excited about, except for I have take  math and foreign language placement tests when I get there, which kinda sucks. But this week I attended the Herndon Town Council to receive a scholarship from the Herndon Council of the Arts. The town council kinda looks like a court room to me. And there were like, 6 police officers there. There were some pretty interesting people at this thing, and a couple of the winners looked a little snobby and big-headed to me, but that's what you find in the arts. Like, this one guy was called last because he got this big scholarship to some ballet thing and he just walked up to get his scholarship like he was Gods gift to the world. I was like, wow, way to be a loser. So now, I have an extra $500 dollars to use for books when I go to school and I am proud to say that I am not big headed or snobby. 

Current Event 1- 4th Quarter

This week, I read an editorial from the Washington Post about the failing of Social Security and Medicare. The problem seems to just be getting larger and larger but is being pushed farther and farther down the political agenda. The author believed that President Obama needs to make this issue a priority, which I'm sure we all can agree with. Why are we spending so much time worrying about interrogations from the last presidency when we should be worrying about the present? I would actually like to have money when I retire but at this rate I'll only have, like, a dollar. You can't really retire on that.

Last Current Event For The Quarter

Shaywitz describes in his editorial, “When Science is a Siren Song” the outlook the people have on different scientific findings, even if those findings are found to be wrong. University research has been found to be more lofty, considering the fact the researchers from universities are always competing for recognition and all the rewards that come along with success. Luckily, despite selfishness in the field, science is usually self -correcting and the ideas that were said to be right and usually found out later to be wrong. Good research does truly come forward while incorrect hypothesis are shot down by correct evidence. Shaywitz believes that Obama needs to “not reach for the other extreme and embrace politically attractive but preliminary reports because they happen to be wrapped in garlands of knowledge.” It up to all of us to know what findings are true or false.


When one hears about findings from places like John Hopkins University or UCLA, they really seem to be true. Shaywitz definitely brings forward the inner motives of these researchers, but I don’t believe all researchers are this way. Everyone wants success in life, but a lot people want to help others as well. Still, just because research pleases us, doesn’t mean it’s actually true. People truly need to research for themselves to find fallacies, and sometimes not leave everything to science. Even though the Bush administration by have disregarded the best research, that doesn’t mean Obama has to.

Blog Post-Current Event

President Obama faces many obstacles right now including the opinions of the public. Dionne wonders when the nation will begin to blame him for a sick economy and when he will finally deal with this mess. If the economic situation gets worse, more moderate voters will blame Obama for not being able to fix it. When compared to other presidents, no other one besides FDR has faced such a difficult situation. Many criticisms made toward Obama have been not well thought out. Wall Street conservatives argue that the fall of the stock market is due to the fact that Obama wants to institute tax increases on the wealthy in 2011, even though these people have always supported low taxes. Dionne also states that Obama needs to copy FDR by using the “fireside chat” technique to let Americans know the truth of what exactly is going on. Obama also needs to mobilize other countries, so that we can all work together through this mess.

I do believe that people will soon be blaming President Obama for his decisions, but not for a long time. No president is ever approved by everyone, and Obama has some tough choices on his hands. Because his campaign speeches were so appealing, people may give him more time to make the right decisions. Even though presidents like Wilson and Lincoln have dealt with war, President Obama is dealing with war, a bad economy, environmental issues, and other issues that are apart of a never ending list of problems. He definitely has his work cut out for him. Our nation truly does need to work with other nations. Maybe past actions have brought us apart, but the economy may be what brings us together.

Current Event 3

In the final days of the Bush administration, the Interior Department passed a measure to allow visitors to national parks to carry concealed weapons. According to the author, this policy is not a good idea. The policy went into effect on January 9th, though many organizations including the National Parks Conservation Association have asked a federal judge from Washington D.C. to wait on the rule. By doing so, they hope to have the measure reconsidered, especially considering the fact that although federal law requires it, the administration did not perform an environmental assessment. Next month, Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly of the U.S District Court for the District of Columbia will hear the case. If her ruling is that proper procedures were not taken, the rule will be thrown out. The author also believes that she should create a formal reevaluation of the concealed-weapons policy.

I agree with the author that this rule is not necessary, and is rather a bad idea that can bring more harm than good. With all the chaos going on in the world now, the parks are some of the most safest places to be. The Bush administration was much too hasty in ruling on this decision, especially with not following federal regulations. The author also wrote about how the Reagan-era regulations on concealed weapons in national parks should be come back into effect, and this new rule should just be thrown out.

Current Event 2- 3rd Quarter

President Obama has only been in office for three weeks and yet so much has been happening. According to this author, though, his troubles have not gone unnoticed. His admitted mistakes on nominees for cabinet departments shows his lack of experience. The hastiness in the passing of the stimulus plans did not include certain promises made by him while on the campaign trail. According to the author, the challenge that will be even more difficult than the stimulus plan will be bringing stability to the nation’s banking system. Despite the challenges, President Obama has made strives in his first few weeks. He has passed three legislation measures including the Lilly Ledbetter employment discrimination measure as the well as the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. Because of the country’s poor situation, though, President Obama will have to measure up to higher standards.

Well, obviously President Obama's honeymoon period did not last long. But I have to say, I bet no other president has done so much so early in their presidency as he has, but then again if he hadn't, we would have had some really big problems. A lot is expected of him because of all the campaign promises he has made. People don't forget promises like that. Even though our country is forgiving for his mistakes in cabinet nominees, we still have high expectations.

Current Event 1- 3rd Quarter

Editorials!

   The editorial I read this week was about saving the banks and it was in the Washington Post. The author of the editorial describes the main financial burden today as "toxic" assets, meaning the certain assets that have contributed to the fall of the financial system. These assets include the $1 trillion dollars spent on illiquid securities.  According to the author, Obama should either nationalize banks while trying to operate them with little cost to the customer, have the government use TARP money to capitalize bad banks, or have the government agree to pay for losses above a certain level in return for a fee from the banks. With the new stimulus just being released, it's interesting to see how these ideas will be either followed, changed, or ignored.

 

Current Event

My current event that I turned in last week showed the popularity of the metro over the auto industry. I think that it is pretty clear to see especially considering the inauguration tomorrow. The metro is expecting record amounts of travellers of people coming from all over the Metropolitan area to see Obama. Of course there will be drivers coming in from other states, but since today all the bridges are closed. For me though, I'll be at cabaret rehearsal watching it all on T.V which certainly beats standing out in the cold.

Current Event

So, we all know about Governor Blagojevich selling Obama's senate seat. This cartoon is playing off of just that. The fact that the cartoon is set up in store makes the government seem like they buy and sell whatever they choose without problem. Because of Blagojevich's actions, it may certainly seem that way. Still, the fact that he was caught counters the idea of this cartoon, showing that our government knows what is criminal or not, despite if the action is being made by a governor.