Current Event #4

I read the story Inside Story: The Alleged Extortion of Natalee Holloway's Family by Jeff Truesdell in People magazine. Natalee Hollaway is a girl who disappeared in Aruba on vacation 5 years ago and was never found. This article is about a man Joran Van der Sloot who said he had information on Holloway's remains. He made a deal with the girl's family that he would get paid $250,000 to tell them. He ended up telling them that Natalee hit her head on a rock in confrontation, and then showed them a house that he said her remains were under. The FBI found out that the house wasn't even built yet during the time Natalee disappeared and then Van der Sloot admitted to lying. How ridiculous! After all the emotional damage this family has been through, why would you come out and lie about this? That kills me. I can't believe that they still haven't found her after 5 years and there are still stories going on about it, so incredibly sad. I didn't really like the article just because it made me sad and I just want them to figure out the whole story and find Natalee's body. I just want this family to have some closure in their life, they have been through so much.

senior reflection #4

So for this reflection, I'm going to talk about graduation parties. Wow, there are so many! It's so hard trying to make it to all of them. I'm trying to decide whether or not I really like them. I like them because you get to see a lot of your good friends, get to see some friends you don't get to see alot/haven't seen in a while, get to see a variety of friends, and get lots of yummy fooood. I'm probably going to get so fat going to so many parties eating so much food. Perfect timing, right before beach week.. I like having grad parties for yourself because you get to see all of your friends, get to have the party however you want (usually), and you make bankkk! It's awesome. But it's kind of stressful planning a party and trying to please everyone, it's expensive, and it's so hard trying to go around and say hi to everyone! So now what I don't like about grad parties, is that it's hard to get a card/money to everyone. It's hard to decide who to give money to, because you can't give it to everyone or else you'll go broke. Then if I don't bring them money, I don't know whether or not I should just come empty handed or just write them a card. I feel like they would appreciate cards, but then they're kind of a tease when you open them and there's no money inside. Also, I don't like how awkward grad parties can be. It's just people sitting around talking usually, and a lot of times it's the same people so it gets boring, or it's people you don't usually talk to so it's just awkward. Especially if you're going to a friends party from a different school or something and you have to drive far to get there and you know like one or two people. That's always fun.. You feel obligated to stay and support your friend, but you have no one to talk to and the graduate is off trying to greet everyone. Yeah there are things I do and don't like about them, but I guess thinking about it I actually like them. You're free to come and go as you please, so if it's awkward you can just leave. Got some sweet ones coming up still woo!

Current Event #3

I read the article Khloe Kardashian Keeps Fans Guessing About Baby Rumors by Dahvi Shira in People Magazine. This article is about how people think that Khloe is pregnant, but she won't tell people. She says she won't tell for health reasons. Does that mean she doesn't want to say so just in case something happens to the baby and it doesn't get born? So did she just tell people she was pregnant? I don't know. Pretty much, I really hope she is pregnant. If not, that's really embarrassing that she is that fat that everyone thinks she is two months pregnant.. I liked the article because I hadn't heard about this yet, but I wish it would've been more factual and just not rumors. But I guess that's what People magazine is, it's great!

Senior Reflection #3

Guess whaattt only 4 more days of high school everrrrr! So crazy. They aren't even full days either. I only have one full day left. Then I'm not going on Tuesday, going to one period on Wednesday, and a period or two on Thursday! This doesn't even equal up to two days left, insane! I haven't even been going to many full days lately, so I feel like we should have been out already. These last few weeks of school we have barely done anything. We're just doing final projects that we could have done weeks ago and been done. We have been done with our curriculum for weeks now, especially in our AP classes. I've had a bunch of subs, and we've been watching so many movies. I think these last few weeks are a waste of our time. So many of my other friends from other schools have already graduated. We're like the absolute last ones to graduate. I think June 22 is ridiculous to graduate on, it should be so much earlier. We already have a shortened summer because we go to college earlier than we go to high school. All our other friends get a much longer summer than we do, not fair! I want to spend a long summer with my high school friends before we all leave each other. At least next weekend it will officially be summer, CAN'T WAIT! Just also can't believe it's all over.. sad.

Current Event #2

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20387542,00.html
So I was looking on People.com for a sweet current event, and couldn't really find any so I decided to read an article on Lindsay Lohan called Lindsay Lohan Lands at LAX by Sarah Michaud. I chose this article because I was just watching some of the movie Parent Trap on TV today which starts Lindsay when she was like 12 years old. She was so cute and real, I loved her! And now look at her.. This article I read is all about her missing her scheduled progress report hearing claiming she lost her passport, so now there is another warrant out for her arrest. Now she's probably going to have to wear an alcohol-monitoring bracelet and submit to weekly drug tests. That's ridiculous! I don't understand how so many of these good girl actresses/singers have gone so bad. How did it all go so wrong? They started off so well, seem to have such a great life, and throw it all away with drugs, alcohol, and rehab. She paid 100,000 dollars for bail earlier, that is so much money. She could easily be spending that on so many better things. I wish I had 100,000 bucks to throw away like that. Maybe I don't understand what she's going through, maybe it's harder than it looks being a rich and famous actress...
I liked the article but it was a little short and I wish I got a little more information out of it.

senior reflection #2

For my second senior reflection I thought I'd talk about finding a roommate for college. It's sweet once you've decided where you're going to college, and then people say the fun part begins! Searching for a roommate, finding stuff for your room, etc. Honestly, I haven't found any of these parts fun yet. I just find them stressful. A lot of people I know just go random for roommates, but I've heard of a lot of people who have gotten stuck with terrible roommates and I don't want to be one of those unlucky people so I'm trying to find one in advance.. and it's terrible. I feel so creepy. I've tried finding people on uroomsurf.com (roommate finder website) and Facebook, and feel like the biggest creep messaging these girls. And most of the time they don't even respond, or some respond and say they already have a roommate. This really brings down your self esteem after a while. Or the girls that do respond, I just don't like them that much. And if I do think they seem alright, I have to be extra creepy and ask them so many questions about them to try to get to know them to see if we'd get along. Now literally like 5 minutes ago, this girl I've been messaging just asked me to be her roommate. I'm not sure what I'm going to say. I'm going to wait a little bit and think about it and then respond to her. Virginia Tech has soo many people, I feel like I should easily be able to find a perfect roommate for me! Hopefully I'll end up with a good one!

Current Event #1

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20366286,00.html

I read an article called Was It Murder? Tragedy Hits UVA Lacrosse Teams by Stephen M. Silverman on People.com. This article is about the recent murder of Yeardley Love by ex-boyfriend George Huguely. This is such a sad story, both of these people senior star lacrosse players at UVA. They met freshman year at UVA and began dating. Apparently some people say they had a rough relationship and Huguely was obsessive with Yeardley. He beat up a fellow lacrosse player when he heard a rumor that he kissed Yeardley. Some people are saying they might have missed some obvious signs and could have possible prevented this. Cops found Love face down in her apartment in a pool of blood. Huguely tried to dispose of Love's computer, probably because there was something on it that could point to him being the murderer, which is going to screw him over because the cops will figure it all out.
I chose this article because I had been hearing about this story and wanted to find out more details about it. It was pretty well written, but kind of short and I wish they gave even more details. I'm interested to see when more news comes out later once they've found out more information.

senior reflection #1

High school has been sweet, I've loved hanging out with my friends. We always have a good time and we're all really close. I think I'm finally ready to get out of here, though. I'm sick of waking up so early everyday, getting in trouble for little stupid things, all the busy work, etc. I'm excited to be on my own at Virginia Tech next year. A couple of my friends are going there, so that will be fun, but I'm also excited to make new friends. In college I can make my own decisions and do what I want without being told what to do. I hope I make a good group of friends at Tech like I did at Herndon.

editorial numero 5

For my editorial I read "Hiding the true cost of Obamacare" by the Washington Times. This editorial basically says if this Health Care Bill is passed, it will destroy American health care. It will dramatically raise the cost of medical care, and force many Americans to drop their insurance. I pretty much agree with this editorial because it makes some very convincing points. This editorial makes good points about how this health care will raise costs and force people to lose their health insurance. It could also run small businesses and hopsitals out of business. The number of doctors could decline because of this new plan which would be really bad. Also, the ban on insurance companies charging different premiums based on pre-existing health conditions could be very negative. I'm not completely rooting against this bill though because I think Obama knows what he is doing, so we will just have to wait and see.
http://washingtontimes.com/news/2010/mar/19/hiding-the-true-cost-of-obamacare/

editorial #4

I read the editorial called "Obama's Sick Obsession" by The Washington Times. This editorial is all about how Obama and the Democrats are pushing and working so hard on the health care bill. It says that a large majority of the American people are already satisfied with their health care, but say that it could use improvement. It says that the Democrats aren't even really thinking about the negative impact this bill could have, they are just in a mania because it is finally so close to being passed. I agree with this editorial because I think they need to look and make sure this bill will affect the majority of people in a positive way. If this bill doesn't satisfy people, it could create a really ugly mess.

http://washingtontimes.com/news/2010/mar/13/obamas-sick-obsession/

Editorial #3

I read the editorial called "Stop the Orgy in Congress" by the Washington Times. This editorial is about how government spending needs to be limited. They're trying to get an amendment approved to limit the spending to a certain amount. I agree with this idea because we are having economical problems at the moment and the editorial said the last time we limited spending the gross domestic product increased and unemployment rates decreased. I think that would be a good thing for our country right now.
http://washingtontimes.com/news/2010/mar/08/stop-the-orgy-in-congress/

editorial #2

I did the editorial "No Free Parties" by The Washington Times. This editorial is about how all the money to fund political parties comes from taxpayers, and that shouldn't be. Especially following a year of record federal budget deficits and growing national debt, our taxes should be going to things that can benefit the public. I agree with this editorial because I already think we are taxed too much, and it should be going to things that can directly help us, especially while our economy is so bad. Political parties should be able to raise their own money. Our unemployment rate is about 10 percent right now, our economic growth is feeble, and our median househould income continues to drop steadily. We can't afford to be giving so much of our money to these parties.
http://washingtontimes.com/news/2010/feb/26/no-free-parties/

Editorial #1

For my first editorial I did "Getting Rid of Gun Control" by The Washington Times. It's about how Virginia is poised to repeal its law of only be allowed to buy one gun a month. They say that people should be able to buy as many as they want and not all people who buy guns are bad. Some good honest Americans just want to buy guns to be safe. This law has decreased the number of gun shows but has not effected the crime rate. Even with this law it still won't stop criminals from getting guns but just make it harder for innocent people who just want guns for self defense to get them. I think this restriction will just make victims less prepared if they are attacked by criminals or murderers. I don't think this law is really necessary because of all the reasons I stated above. Crime rates haven't been decreased so I don't really think this law is doing its job. The only thing I would say is if someone is coming in buying an absurd number of guns, someone might want to keep an eye on them.
http://washingtontimes.com/news/2010/feb/19/getting-rid-of-gun-control/

Personal Response

For my personal blog entry I just want to say how excited I am for my shows to start back up. 24 last night was awesome. I knew that Jack couldn't give up saving the world to go to San Fran to live with Kim, he can't just walk away from all the action. CTU is where he belongs, he's such a BA. I don't like how that blonde chick was trying to show up Chloe though because she's my girl. And Freddie Prinze Jr. is in this season, what?! That makes it seem a little bit soap opera-ish. I'll have to get used to it. Can't wait to watch tonight, when Renee comes back, going to be awesome! And even after 24, in like 2 weeks Lost comes back! Last season, hopefully they will make it a good one.

Political Cartoon # 6

For my political cartoon I picked "Haiti Relief" by Jimmy Margulies. It was posted on 1/18/10 by The Record of Hackensack in New Jersey. This cartoon is just Haiti spelled out in bandaids. It shows what Haiti is going through right now after the earthquake. This is one of the biggest natural disasters in history, and Haiti needs a lot of repair. I definitely agree with this cartoon, I feel so bad for the people of Haiti. The earthquake was ridiculous and I want to help in any way possible. I think that all countries should try to help out in some way, I know the United States is trying to get some money from the Super Bowl commercials to be sent over, and we're also creating foundations to help their orphans. I really hope that our support can help Haiti regain its strength.

Obama Administration

Now that there is a new year, I think Obama will do good things for our country. I think we are headed in the right direction, he has already started making changes to help our country's problems. He's sent troops overseas, reformed the health care bill, and came up with plans for our unemployment situation. I don't think the economic downturn is over, there are still unemployed people and our economy isn't back to normal yet, but I think that it is slowly but surely back on the rise. I'm torn on Obama's Iraq and Afghanistan actions, because I'm not quite sure what I would've done if I were him. It is a very complex situation, so I think he's doing the best he can right now. It is still early in Obama's term and I think his actions will just keep improving.

Political Cartoon #5

http://politicalcartoons.com/cartoon/54cd5e0e-f539-4a8c-b0ec-aabdf86b1f7f.html

I chose the cartoon "Franchise Opportunities of 2010" by Bill Schorr. It was posted on 1/7/10 by Cagle Cartoons. This cartoon deals with the issue of our economic downturn and employment opportunities. It's saying how the best job opportunitites we will get this year are at McDonalds, KFC, and other fast food places. I semi agree with the cartoon in the sense that our job opportunities aren't as good anymore because of our economic status, but I think we will also have other opportunities besides just fast food restaurants. Our economy may not be as stable as it was, but I think that it is starting to improve and is on the upside.