The American Studies Hill

What this blog is about now

2010-12-08T05:28:00.002-06:00

Listen to the song “Ain’t no Rest for the Wicked.” What do you hear? I hear a group of college rockers that will not appeal to the mainstream. Cage the Elephant came out in the Friday twilight and performed with the appearance that they were meant to be on stage. The Singer, singer of Cage the Elephant, showed how to have a great time Bowling Green, Kentucky-style. Jumping, hopping, and head-banging from one side of the stage to the other, The Singer showed his talent off, but at the cost of a mid-concert nosebleed. That’s right, the singer had a nosebleed on stage shortly after a stage dive during “Back Against the Wall.”

Despite the energy the band exerted from stage, the sound they were producing needed refining. Yes Charter One Pavilion is an outdoor venue, however the overpowering drums and lead guitar hid the rhythm, vocals, and bass making a very dry sounding performance. Besides the dry sound, Cage has potential to become huge in the neo-punk genre. I can certainly see why Stone Temple Pilots would choose them to be their opening band.

Thirty seconds after the lights went out, a shadow with a lit cigarette crossed the stage halfway, stopped, put the cigarette out, took a sip of a drink, then, while turning around, the guitar, bass, drums, and stage lights turned on. “Trippin’ on a Hole in a Paper Heart” was blasted at us. At first the band looked stiff. Literally, it looked like they forgot to stretch before they went on stage. Everything was on an angle, no curves, no relaxation coming from the stage. “Trippin’” was continued with “Wicked Garden,” “Vasoline,” STP’s new hit “Between the Lines,” “Big Empty,” and “Cinnamon.” Once “Big Empty” was played, STP turned into the band everyone was hoping for- a hard, post-grunge rock band that, like Nirvana, mixes beautiful and cute riffs with heavy guitars and a heavier voice. As they played “Wicked Garden,” lights would turn from a green base with a harmony of blue, yellow, and orange to a solid bright red during which, fans sang, “BURN!!! BURN!!! BURN!!!”

The most interesting part of the concert was what kind of people was attracted to STP. Relaxed country club folk were accounted for as well as many metalheads wearing shirts from System of a Down, Slayer, and Pantera. Although STP’s music does contain deep vocals and a powerful guitar like many metal bands, the attire of the members of STP was that of a club with jeans, collard shirts, and sunglasses (even at night). Stone Temple Pilots did not disappoint as they played into the early minutes of eleven at night. Playing all songs, old and new, covering all genres, and even had time for extra-long intros, which led to many blues riffs and segments and in the end proved they could play the Mississippi Delta. From blues, they crossed over into alternative rock, hard rock, and post-grunge. It was just a shame that it was not a sold out concert because the performances of both Cage the Elephant and Stone Temple Pilots were deserving of it.

What is this government coming to?

2010-12-08T05:14:00.002-06:00

9/11 changed everything. This is what Republicans have adopted as their slogan to get what they wanted during the early stages of uncertainty after the catastrophe that costed nearly 3,000 American civilians' lives. However, a couple months ago, there was a bill in congress that would extend 100% medical coverage to all of the 9/11 first responders who are viewed as American heroes. Problem? The bill was proposed by Democrats. Republicans snapped into action and voted against giving these heroes medical coverage. Why? I have no idea why. They must have lost their souls in 9/11. These first responders inhaled deadly shrapnel that now has shortened their lives. The luckiest of these first responders have up to twenty years to live. What could have possibly made it so these politicians, the people who are supposed to be helping this nation out, to choose to deny these true heroes help? I give up. All I know is that this government is either extraordinarily corrupt or lack any kind of ethics. These "politicians" keep saying that "it's just not the right time." For what? To save lives? We're killing tens of thousands of civilians in the middle-east. Have we become a country of blood-lust?

This Is Sickening

2009-05-29T13:06:00.002-05:00

This morning I awoke to Mike and Mike in the Morning. During their breaks, Sports Center has 2 minutes to spit out all of the Chicago sports team's scores. However, instead of scores, the first thing the man on the radio barked that Derrick Rose had someone else take his SAT for him so he could get into Memphis. I think that this is an overlooked blow to Memphis, U of Kentucky, NCAA basketball, the NBA, and even the Bulls. There's no excuse for a substitute to take a test for anyone else, no matter who it is! Is anyone supposed to be above the law? NO! Is Derrick Rose an immortal god? NO! There is no reason at all that both he and his former head coach should not be penalized, fined, and suspended to the fullest extent for this type of infraction. Academic Integrity is more important than Athletic Integrity any day of the week. This is an insult to all of the basketball world and reinforces this sport as the most corrupt sport in America.

When I Read

2009-05-27T13:31:00.003-05:00

When I read a book, I want to read for the story and not pick apart the story. I'm very much enjoying Gatsby, but every class we talk about the book, I feel like we tear the book apart to the point where it is no longer fun reading the book. I know that in English class, we are supposed to read critically, but to me it tears the book apart when we shred away the story and look more for meanings than understanding the novel. We look for every parallel, contrast, symbol, and foreshadowing meaning we can. To me, it ruins the book because people start making predictions about the story and then the book is not fun anymore. When we read Huck Finn, to me, it seemed like a more relaxed read and that there was not much reading into the story as it was making sure everyone understood what happened in the last few chapters. I'm fine with saying that "this" represents "X" and "that"represents "Y," but I really do not want to read into the book so far that I can see the fibers that make up each page. I want to see a story for what it is and not making interpretations for what "opening a window" means. In the end, I think that some connections that have been made are very far fetched and have started to make Gatsby very undesirable to keep picking up.

The Last Full Week

2009-05-19T13:12:00.002-05:00

Well here we are. This last full week will be the hardest week due to the amount of work that we will receive in the next few days for a last-minute boost to our grades. I'm not sure how to react to the upcoming summer. I mean, we've been in school for so long and have learned a lot, but we haven't had a lot of time to ourselves. How will you respond to all of the free time you are about to receive? I'm definitely looking forward to turning off my brain and not looking at the world critically for the next seven weeks. Honestly, through the whole school year, I haven't understood the meaning of looking through the world critically. I just look for what can be improved. I'm not a huge "why"question asker or thinker. Don't get me wrong, I do have my moments of brilliance, but I just don't see myself asking why to people all summer long.

Why Are We Still In This?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

2009-05-12T13:27:00.003-05:00

A couple days ago in Iraq, an American soldier, from Texas, opened fire and killed five other American soldiers. The U.S. Army has announced that this is the single deadliest soldier-to-soldier conflict since the initial mistake of invading Iraq. I don't understand why this happened. I mean, he was at a mental health clinic in Baghdad and they let him have a gun! Is our army stupid or something?! When a junkie checks themselves into a rehab facility, do the doctors let him keep the drugs? NO! Secondly, according to the New England Journal of Medicine, one in six soldiers come home with post-traumatic stress syndrome. In addition, many of these people, such as this killer, didn't receive help which he clearly needed. I strongly believe that we have made matters worse for us in the middle east and that we have destroyed Iraq and it will only be rebuilt by the Al Queda. In the end, this is truly a disaster that could have been avoided.

My Flag

2009-05-11T20:25:00.003-05:00

While playing sports when you grow up on the north shore of Chicago, you start to accumulate ribbons and trophies and other memorabilia of seasons that you have played on different teams. So what does this have to do with the flag being important to me? I saw a documentary on the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team and realized how much the U.S. needed to win that game to pick up American spirits. I have these medals hanging just inside my room and whenever I see them, I think of that great game which boosted our pride in America and started to throw us into the America of today.

I truly love these medals. To me they mean more than any trophy I have received over my years. The ribbon makes me feel as if I'm out there on the ice with the 1980 team because of the American "red, white, and blue" on it. However, like I have said in class, though I don't have any pictures of it, when I see the full American flag, there's only one thing I think about and that is the firefighters raising the flag over the wreckage of 9/11. I feel mix emotions of happiness that this flag has brought to people, but sad because I know what terrors this flag has flown over like 9/11.

On a different note, when I have traveled to different countries, I notice that there are still more American flags per square feet on the little patch of land that is the U.S. embassy than the surrounding country has in its entirety. I'm not sure what it is with Americans and our flag, but we seem as though we just cannot get enough of it! Next thing you know, people will be sleeping with their flags. Seriously though, U.S. citizens take so much pride in the stars and stripes that it makes me feel proud of this country, that we can all agree on one thing, we have a pretty cool flag.

NO

2009-05-07T13:41:00.002-05:00

Today in class, we talked about the American Flag and what it means to us. When Walt brought up the O'Reilly Factor, he said, and supported the statement that we should support the government no matter what they do. I think I may have blogged about this subject before, but I cannot even begin to agree with this statement to say the least. You see, our country was formed on disagreeing with our mother country, England. You cannot tell me with a straight face that we should blindly follow our government into anything and anywhere just because "if you disagree with what your government is doing, you're unpatriotic." That's just not true. If people believed this in the 1770's, we would all not be here today. Also, people that truly believe this statement truly fall in the category of a communist because in communist countries, you cannot speak your mind. In addition, our country was also founded on debate so why should we discontinue debating on our government? We shouldn't and this statement is out of line and very foolish. END OF STORY!

My Junior Theme Interview

2009-04-24T10:00:00.003-05:00

I'm worried. You see, when I interviewed Rep. Mark Kirk, I asked if he could be recorded. In response, he said that he would prefer not to be. My question now is will people believe me that I interviewed him or will people just have to take my word for it? It feels a little like I'm undermining the interview part of our Junior Theme. Also, what would CQ Researcher go under in Noodle Bib?

I'm The Newest IBM Worker

2009-04-17T13:43:00.002-05:00

Have you seen the IBM commercials lately? I'm sure you have because they are on EVERY SINGLE CHANNEL! I feel as though I'm the Scottish doctor when I say that I have too much information that can be processed at this moment. However, unlike him, it's not medical related, it's the information on my Junior Theme. I have 2 books which I need to skim, I have 8 newspaper articles, 3 magazine articles, and 1 NPR transcript I have to go over. YIKES! Could somebody please tell me how to approach this so I can retain the necessary info and cut out the "fluff?" I also haven't had my interview yet either so when that happens, I'll probably be so deep in info that I'll have to give up time to work on other class work because I'll need to process the J.T. info. The only upside to this project is that I'm enjoying working on it.

A Righteous Battle

2009-04-09T13:51:00.003-05:00

If there ever was a war in the last 10 years that America should part take in, it would be the Somalian pirates. Now, after they have taken over many vessels, one American, we finally retaliate. I believe that this should have been stopped after the first time pirates tried to board a cruse ship heading for India. I don't understand why we wait for these things to happen before our country gets indirectly attacked. I commend Vice Adm. Bill Gortney to order his men to kill the Somalian Pirates. I believe that the U.S. should set up a naval blockade from any more ships getting caught in the pirates cross-hairs. I also think that we should send a sub there to sink the pirate ships that keep on attacking practically at will. I know that this is a very drastic measure for me because I'm generally a pretty passive person and will let things go, but when the time calls for it, which it does now, we should strike and defend all ships in that area.

They Caught On Quickly

2009-04-08T13:37:00.002-05:00

With the controversy of Sarah Palin and her daughter and her baby, some, including most Alaskans, believe that Palin is exploiting her daughter to boost her political career. All I have to say is that if this is true, the uneducated moron should not ever be allowed to hold office again because that's about as low as you can get. I can't believe that Palin would over expose her daughter just for her political career. It's just unbelievable. The American public currently knows more about Bristol and her life then we do about Sarah. I'm just beside myself that she (even though she is only alleged) would exploit someone else just to get your uneducated butt in office.

For The Love Of It!

2009-04-01T13:50:00.002-05:00

As the Junior Theme takes over AS class, we have to pick a topic in which we would like to study more about. After a few periods in the library and talking to both the teachers and a few students, I still remain pretty clueless on what I'd like to learn more about. My problem is that I get on an idea and then after about 5 minutes of researching the topic I get bored. They're just not that many "Why" questions that interest me for a long time besides why are we here. If you have a suggestion, please give me a list of ideas.

March Madness

2009-03-17T12:43:00.002-05:00

March Madness is finally upon us and it couldn't have come any sooner. This will finally give everyone in the country a distraction from the economic crisis, War in Iraq, and all other kinds of news that send chills racing down the spines of the $38,000-$55,000 a year worker (this is what I'd call average). Here we go. Will it be another no. 1 seed that will return back to their campus with a shiny new trophy, or will a no. 2,3,4, or 5 seed upset the tournament and raise a new flag in their gym despite the odds? This is what the College Basketball lover lives for. As "Bracketology" emerges as an unofficial major in schools these days, will people start picking more brackets correctly? I for one cannot wait for the 1st round to occur. I love that all the upsets, the tears, and the celebrations that happen as an underdog triumphs over the favored.
However, I have a problem with the seedings of some of the teams. My first one is why in the world is Illinois seeded 5th? There can be no possible explanation why they are there. They will lose to Western Kentucky and people will call that an upset which is wrong because Illinois and Western are about the same caliber team. In addition, due to Duke's schizophrenia on the court, I believe that they should switch seeds with Villanova. I know it's not a big difference, but I think that it needs to be done. In addition, I have another switch that needs to be made between Marquette and Purdue. Once again, I know it's not big, but it needs to be done to stay more true to the talent of the teams.
I hope that this year is as much fun as previous years and I hope that there are a lot of early upsets.

Sudden Stop!

2009-03-10T13:48:00.002-05:00

In class we have looked at pictures about "The Enemy" and "Women" as depicted in propaganda from WWII. My question is why do we spend so much time on each picture? What person will stop and look at a propaganda poster as closely as we did and stare at it for the amount of time we did while they walk down the street? I know for sure that most of our class wouldn't. I'm not sure about Mr. Bolos though. I could see him having his kids stare at a poster for a period of time and tell him everything they see in the poster. I'm just thinking if we should use that time to study Huck Finn or something else in that time period.

Rise To The Occasion

2009-03-03T13:12:00.002-06:00

In the 70's, New Trier banned Huck Finn from all English classes. OK. However, the letter submitted from the parents' association that helped change the status of the book was locked away, and banned from the public's viewing. Why? Is New Trier ashamed of banning a book or are they just trying to stop a future argument from arising? I can't say for sure, but what I can say is that the document should be released for public use and viewing. This is not just because we have a choice to write an essay about the letter and banning of Huck Finn, but because the letter can be used for many other purposes such as- education, writing, analytical, and history. I'm not saying that it wouldn't make writing the essay easier because we have the paper at our disposal, because it would, but there are other reasons why having it locked up is a mistake. Realistically speaking though, New Trier, I'd guess, won't make the document public in the next 25-50 years, if they ever release it. Here's the real question- if the teachers, students, and maybe even parents got together and put pressure on the board, will they give up the document?

The Book Is Burning!

2009-02-24T13:35:00.003-06:00

Today I was cut-off in class by Mr. Bolos when I was going to make a point of why I thought that Huck Finn should only be taught in a History class and not in English class. The main reason is because you have to get into the time period. English classes don't have enough time to take you through a History course all about the time period in which Huck Finn takes place. In AS, we took the time to understand the use of the language used in the story so the words don't seem that extreme. In addition, the characters are not that well educated and so they are using the "N-word" as a comma. Also, this book is a comedy and should not have been taken so literally because the basis of the book is hilarious.

OOPS!

2009-02-17T13:32:00.002-06:00

Just when everyone thought that the MLB would be saved by new, "clean," power hitters, we are struck down. With Alex Rodriguez going down due to taking steroids, who can we trust in the MLB anymore? Pujols, Howard, or Ortiz? Our most sacred record, home runs, is tainted right now by Barry Bonds and now we have another "formally tainted" home run hitter on the rise to the record. If I were in Alex's shoes right now, I would get close to my friends who have been through this: Andy Pettitte and Jason Giambi and take all the advice I could get from them. Personally, I'm very quick to forgive as long as Alex just comes out and apologizes for it. That's when I drop the subject. I dropped it when Pettitte said sorry and I'll do it for Rodriguez too. Just come clean. That's all. That also goes for anyone else who have, either now or in the past, taken steroids or steroid-type substances.

A Blank Mind

2009-02-10T13:44:00.003-06:00

I need new ideas for blog posts. You see, writing about what we talked about in class bores me because I'm not going to be the only person blogging about it. When the blogging assignment started back in September, I thought that it would be so easy and I would fill our 1 post and 1 comment requirement with no problem. Well, I was wrong. This post is about getting ideas for future blogs. I feel like the end of a Dirty Jobs show (Discovery Channel, great show, I encourage everyone to watch it) where Mike Rowe begs the audience for more jobs to do or the end of a Mythbusters (also a great show) where they ask for more myths. I'm sorry, but I'm out of ideas. Please respond to me!

My Blood Is Still Red

2009-02-01T21:22:00.003-06:00

Myth- You'd think 50 years after the football Cardinals left Chicago, there would be little or no fans left here in the city and that everyone would have moved on to being a Bears fan. Truth- While listening to ESPN Radio 1000 and 670 The Score, they sent out reporters to the south side of Chicago to see if there are original Cardinals fans that still remain. There are many in fact. The south side/suburbs that are dominantly White Sox fans, believe it or not, are populated with lots and lots of Cardinals fans. 670 reported that during this week, Bear fans were a minority! That's right, the south side still bleeds red. Sort of surprising? Indeed.

Your Move.

2009-01-23T13:02:00.002-06:00

Now with Pres. Obama in his first days in the high office, all eyes are on what, if any, campaign promises will he keep? Which promise will be the first that he'll grant? Personally, I believe he will act either on the shape of the economy or on the war in Iraq. I know that if I were president right now, I would be so over whelmed by the terrible shape of the world that I inherited from Bush that I would probably freak. In addition, the federal government is investigating "Gitmo" and trying to tie the Bush administration to torture. To what extent the charges will be, I am not sure, but the real question is should Obama block the investigation and pardon the Bush administration for anything that the investigation may turn up, should he act like an Illinois democrat and support the investigation and make the Bush administration not only suffer and ruin what reputation/integrity it still has, or should he just take a neutral course and stay out of it and let the investigation continue and potentially have a trial? Though there are arguments that could be made for every side of this issue, I believe that the safest course is just to stay out of it. If people go to jail, they go to jail.

Give It Up!

2009-01-13T12:37:00.002-06:00

In the summer of 2007, I was in Vienna, Austria. It was a very lovely city. I highly recommend going there for a few days of your life. There are no words for how awesome the city is and how the city is old, but at the same new. They have the perfect mix.

This blog however isn't about how nice the city is, but rather about Mexico! You see, 516 years ago, Cortez and the Spanish Conquistadors took over Mexico. In the process, after Montezuma II died, the Spanish took Montezuma's headdress, the last authentic Aztec headdress ever made. The headdress is "made of over 450 bright green tail feathers of the quetzal bird, known as the crown of the last ruler of the Aztecs, Montezuma," ("No bilateral problems - except for Montezuma's crown of feathers"By Anne Dellemann). However, the headdress has a greater, sentimental, philosophical, historic, cultural, and spiritual meaning for the indigenous Aztecs that are still alive today.
Currently, there is a group of about 100 indigenous Aztec decedents in Vienna protesting the Austrian government. The Austrian government is thinking about giving the headdress back as a "gift," but to me, that would seem like an insult. I say just give it back. It's apart of Mexican history and is one of the most important pre-Colombian history artifacts.

I Have A RED EYE

2009-01-08T13:30:00.002-06:00

Today in class, Mr. O'Connor showed us the front page of the newspaper called The Red Eye, the page, in white letters on a back background, stated "IS RACISM DEAD?" My answer in short is no, not even close. The article went on to talk about, wait for it, Barrack Obama. Racism is just in a different form than what we remember back from the MLK days. I sincerely believe that Americans are much more tolerant of color then we used to be. However, I strongly believe that our [America's] racial profiling, stereotyping, and religious tolerance has gotten much worse. Nowadays, many ignorant Americans believe that if someone is Muslim, they are automatically a terrorist. I just want to say "CUT IT OUT!!!" It's profiling like that that give America and Americans a bad name. I, for one, could not care less what the hell you are. If you want to be Muslim, be Muslim. If you want to be Voodoo, be Voodoo. If you want to be a Scientology worshiper, pay your fee and worship, just don't throw your beliefs on me, that's all I ask. In the end, please, don't profile or act like your better than another race because in the end, we're all the same-human. We're all the same species weather you like it or not so just deal with it.

Big Freakin' Deal

2009-01-06T13:35:00.002-06:00

In class this week, on numerous occasions, talk about the picture of Obama in a bathing suit, on a beach in Hawaii. We also discussed that he was video taped and shown nationally playing basketball. The class went on to say that Obama is really the first president that has ever been pictured like this, on vacation, or at leisure. Now my point about this is that so what he's on vacation?! I take vacations. I was just in Florida and I don't see my picture all over CNN, FOX, MSNBC, or some other news station. So what's the big deal about it anyway?

Why Me?

2008-12-18T13:23:00.002-06:00

This post is not going to be a very intellectual, political, or deeply thought out post that I've been staving off for a time when I run out of ideas. That said, however, this post does come a little late. In the MLB off-season, the GM's (general managers), Owners, and sometimes even Managers gather in Las Vegas where they will be dealing trades, deals, and talk about how to improve the MLB and their profits in the upcoming season. The Cubs, however, driven by their 100 year championship drought, fought bitterly, only to fall 150 miles short of receiving Cy Young award winner, Jake Peavy. I don't know why I'm even upset right now. What should I expect? I believe in a team that you can count on not coming through when the time demands it. O.K., we did get Joey Gathright, a speedy left-handed hitting outfielder from Kansas City which, because he played for Kansas City, leads me to believe that no one either: A. Knew about him because the Royals secretly genetically engineered him in an underground laboratory under their stadium, or more likely B. He's no damn good. I will give the Royals this, they weren't the worst team in the league for the 1st time in a few years so congratu-freakin'-lations! I still remain a Cub fan, I just got to see how this one will pan out for the Cubs.

The Ultimate Economy Stimulus

2008-12-08T13:20:00.002-06:00

War in the past, believe it or not, has saved the world. In the great depression, what got the world out of a depression? War. Currently, we need something to get our economy going again. We need to get the people excited about something. What took our minds off the near apocalypse of the Cold War? The great Space Race. Right now, if were to go to the Moon, people might get excited for that, but we'd need something bigger. We could go to Mars and find bacteria that was once living and revive them back here on Earth. There are plenty of people who'd be willing to give up their lives for a type of discovery such as this. There is overwhelming evidence that there was once live on Mars. To what extent? Not the large scale Ecosystem that Earth owns, but a much more premature Ecosystem, a more basic Ecosystem. Later, we could see what these organisms would evolve into. Yes, it would be costly and risky, but if we find out that we're not alone, people would get excited instantly and get everything going again. In the end, I go back to my original point which was that we just need something to get excited about.

Who Do You Trust More AMERICA????

2008-12-03T13:17:00.002-06:00

O.K., You are a witness in a crime and you're called up to the stand. You are asked to take standard oath where you are asked: "Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?" Nothing out of the ordinary, standard procedure. However, while you are taking the oath, the standard is that you'd have your hand on a Bible if you didn't ask for anything special. If you lie at this point, you cold be convicted of 'perjury.' Here's the question- why the Bible? I know for a fact, because I'm more of an Agnostic, I wouldn't feel that bad if I lied. However, if I was to swear on a copy of the Constitution, that would be meaningful. Now if I lied, I would feel as though I betrayed my country. I don't think I could live with that. After all, the Constitution is more than a series of pages that holds the outline of our government and our way of life, but what our Founding Fathers fought and died for. How can anyone let George Washington, our first and greatest president down? Today, everyone talks about what is "American" and "un-American." I believe that putting down the Constitution is the most un-American thing anyone could do to this nation. Therefore, I strongly support the idea that when someone is called up to the stand and is asked to take an oath of truth, they swear on a copy of the American Constitution. I believe that it comes down to this- Do you love your religion more than your country?

The Secret Police

2008-12-01T13:31:00.002-06:00

This new assignment got me thinking- when would I, if ever, limit free speech? At first I couldn't ever come up with a situation of why it would be necessary, but when I talked to my parents about this, I realized that there are a couple of cases where I would limit free speech. To me, it depends on what type of war we fight. Three out of the last four wars we have fought (Terrorism, Vietnam, Korea) we have fought against ideals, governments, and rebellions, but no clear-cut country. In the Gulf War, we clearly fought against Iraq and pushed them out of Kuwait. When we have fought against a clear-cut country, we (the people of the U.S.) have come together and rarely spoke directly against the war at hand, but when we fought against an organization or a government (Communism), we have spoken out against out government's actions with impunity. I agree with the majority of the U.S. citizens on this matter. I believe that if I was president and we got in a war with an actual country, I'd put limits on our civil liberties so that our morale could be helped and so that we could focus on the war. However, if I was in this type of "Ghost Hunt" war where we are fighting an organization, I wouldn't limit civil liberties, unless the public, congress, and the Supreme Court thought that it would be in this county's best interest to do so. However, in the end, I believe that governments take turns being legitimately free, and then being a police state. Look at Russia, for example, the Czar system, though a hard system, was decently free. However, when it was taken over and turned Communist, a police state took over, until 1991 when a free government took over Russia again.

Different Tastes

2008-11-25T13:21:00.002-06:00

Coke vs. Pepsi. Burger King vs. McDonald's. Do these rivalries sound familiar? People have different brand tastes. However, do your pets only eat one type of brand as well? I experimented with my dogs to see if they prefer Iams, Pedigree, or just plain chunks of meat. The chucks went ok. All three on my dogs ate them and didn't seem to mind it. Iams was the largest fork in the road. One dog sniffed it, ate a little, and left the bowl. The second dog ate the food, no problem. The third dog ate about half the bowl, until he heard me opening another can of food. The Pedigree was the best. All dogs ate it and ate it quickly. I'm not trying to promote Pedigree or anything, but what I'm trying to prove is that humans are not the only ones with tasting differences. Just know this: whatever you may like the best, stay away from High Fructose Corn Syrup. All it is is a sweetener that is based on sugar and fat. Also, don't eat poached foods.

A New "National" Library

2008-11-19T13:16:00.002-06:00

I received an email containing this from someone I know. For those of you who don't know this, our "President," George W. Bush, is having a library constructed in his honor at Southern Methodist University. I figured that the whole class could get a kick out of this:

The George W. Bush Presidential Library

Dear Fellow Constituent:

The George W. Bush Presidential Library is now in the planning stages and
accepting donations.

The Library will include:

1. The Hurricane Katrina Room, which is still under construction.
2. The Alberto Gonzales Room, where you won't be able to remember anything.
3. The Texas Air National Guard Room, where you don't even have to show up.
4. The Walter Reed Hospital Room, where they don't let you in.
5. The Guantanamo Bay Room, where they don't let you out.
6. The Weapons of Mass Destruction Room, which no one has been able to find.
7. The National Debt Room, which is huge and has no ceiling.

8. The Tax Cut Room, with entry only to the wealthy.
9. The Economy Room, which is in the toilet.
10. The Iraq War Room. (After you complete your first visit, they make you go back for a second, third, fourth, and sometimes fifth visit.)
11. The Dick Cheney Room, in the famous undisclosed location, complete with shooting gallery.
12. The Environmental Conservation Room, still empty.
13. The Supreme Gift Shop, where you can buy an election.
14. The Airport Men's Room, where you can meet some of your favorite Republican Senators.
15. The Decider Room, complete with dart board, magic 8-ball, Ouija board, dice, coins, and straws.

Note: The library will feature an electron microscope to help you locate and view the President's accomplishments.

The library will also include many famous Quotes by George W. Bush:

1. 'The vast majority of our imports come from outside the country.'
2. 'If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure.'
3. 'Republicans understand the importance of bondage between a mother and child.'
4. 'No senior citizen should ever have to choose between prescription drugs and medicine.'
5. 'I believe we are on an irreversible trend toward more freedom and democracy - but that could change.'
6. 'One word sums up probably the responsibility of any Governor, and that one word is 'to be prepared'.'
7. 'Verbosity leads to unclear, inarticulate things.'
8. 'I have made good judgments in the past. I have made good judgments in the future.'
9. 'The future will be better tomorrow.'
10. 'We're going to have the best educated American people in the world..'
11. 'One of the great things about books is sometimes there are some fantastic pictures.' (during an education photo-op)
12. 'Illegitimacy is something we should talk about in terms of not having it.'
13. 'We are ready for any unforeseen event that may or may not occur.'
14. 'It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it.'
15. 'I stand by all the misstatements that I've made.'...Geoge W. Bush to Sam Donaldson

PLEASE GIVE GENEROUSLY!

Sincerely,
Jack Abramoff, Co-Chair
G.W. Bush Library Board of Directors

Try This Out

2008-11-09T18:53:00.003-06:00

You might be wondering why I'm not in school on Monday, I'm in California playing baseball. Sounds great right? It sucks. I really didn't realize how much of a left-wing person I am until I met my roomate. He's from Montana and is an Obama hater. We talked about the election and he immedently started saying that Obama should be impeached or killed. I asked why and he said "Because he doesn't believe that everything changed after 9/11." I was shocked. I currently am beside myself as I write this post. He also says that I'm a communist for supporting Obama. I just don't understand why. I've had roomates before that supported McCain, but not as extreme as this. When I said that Palin thought Africa was a country, he dismissed that by saying "Well that's the vice president and she wouldn't matter." I can't believe that. McCain is already pretty sick (health wise) and could die in his presidency and who would we be stuck with? A separatest, uneducated, "hockey mom." I am not a generally angry person, but when someone supports Bush and wants Obama dead, that just ticks me off!!!

PLEASE...STOP!!!

2008-11-05T13:35:00.002-06:00

I have a question, how does New Trier pick the books that we read in class? Do the books have to meet a certain criteria? Do the teachers care about the appeal the books have on their students? I know for a fact that the book we are currently reading, "The Crucible," has some appeal to the class, but overall, people are reluctant to take out the book for discussion. I'm not sure if it's due to the amount of interest we all share with Mr. Bolos on the presidency, politics, and other topics, or if it's the level of understanding that is needed to read the book successfully. Personally, I'm not a fan of the book. I think some parts are interesting, but overall I think the book is hard for me to grasp in my head. Whenever anyone talks in the book, I always seem to have them yelling in my head and so I picture a very unhappy and corrupt town. My question to the reader of this post is what do you picture when you read this book?

Stop! You're Making Too Much Sense!

2008-10-31T12:58:00.001-05:00

Why do we keep increasing our spending in areas that are destructive. We keep increasing military spending, which, though important, is leading to a disaster. We never needed to go into Iraq in the first place and now, no one has a glimpse of an idea of what a victory would look like. Could someone ask the candidates. What we should have done, is invest in agriculture due to the amount of money food is costing these days. We should find out new ways to grow food and increase production. In addition, we should increase spending in NASA and science. Currently, Mars is the closest to Earth it has ever been and is slowly pulling away. If we have want any chance to land people on Mars we have to launch now. The only problems are that we would have to train people to live in space for a year, the food supply and the amount of fuel will have to take up tons of space, and the cost would be a lot. However, all of this, in the space exploration field, could have been funded had it not been for Richard Nixon cutting NASA's budget: "By the time Nixon left the White House, the NASA budget had fallen from its peak of almost 4 percent of the total federal budget to less than 1 percent. It has remained at that lower level for the last 30 plus years. At that level, NASA decided it could not continue to operate the systems it had developed for Apollo and closed down the production lines for the Apollo spacecraft and Saturn V rocket while also cancelling three lunar missions – Apollo 18, 19 and 20" (http://www.nasa.gov/50th/50th_magazine/10presidents.html). Even though space is important to me, agriculture and medicine is most important to me. If we increased spending into those areas our life expectancy and overall health would improve dramatically.

A Chicken With Its Head Cut-Off

2008-10-29T13:02:00.003-05:00

Pennies and Nickels. These are the butt-end of stereo typical jokes of Jews and part of a failing country. Everyone knows that it costs more to make a penny than what a penny is really worth, but how much? It costs 1.23 cents (according to USA Today) to make a penny and 5.73 cents to make a nickel. Why should we continue this? I try to pay 89 cents for a pack of cough-drops and I tried to pay in pennies. The sore wouldn't accept them. I asked why. They responded "It's pointless. it will take me forever to count all of those." Therefore, I propose that we get rid of pennies and nickels due to their lack of revenue. What will we doe instead? Round to the nearest dime. However, there must be a law, so that companies don't take more than what the item is actually worth, that all items must be properly rounded. If the cost would have been less than .05 than the cost should be .00. We are already in the process of getting rid of pennies, but nickels must also be on that bill as well.

It's Your Own Damn Fault!

2008-10-20T10:23:00.002-05:00

In class, we discussed weather or not people should have rights to wear whatever shirt they desire, regardless of whatever obscenity may be on that shirt. I took the side that there should be a right because it is your own fault if you look like a moron. Honestly, I don't care if someone was walking down the street with an "I believe in Pres. Bush" shirt. I would just keep walking and think "Boy that guy is just wrong," but that would be it. I wouldn't attack the guy or anything. However, someone else in my group thought that there should be a law. The problem with a law is that how do you define what is obscene and what is not? You see, this is just a sense of opinion. Someone walking down a street in Chicago wearing that "I believe in Pres. Bush" shirt would be very provocative and nearly obscene. Someone walking down a street in a deeply conservative state wearing a "Vote for Gore" shirt would probably bring up the same feelings. It's all about what you believe in. If there was a law against this, it would be a tricky law. What I find obscene, others won't and because of our different opinions, beliefs, and biases, and therefore, we can't all agree. However, if someone was walking down a street and their shirt said "I'll Kill You In Your Sleep," or something along those lines, I believe that those shirts should be banned. I know I may have just sounded like a hypocrite, but I do believe at a certain point, there should be a boundary.

DIE DIE DIE

2008-10-14T13:24:00.002-05:00

There is actually no death here, but like Max has shown, titles grab your attention (I hope). In the modern-day, handwriting has gotten to be abominable, grammar is terrible, and spelling has gotten to a low that we are close to the point of no return. Why? It's because of a powerful tool that has advanced and corrected essays for the last 15 years. It's called "spell check." I was listening to Laugh Attack on XM, and there was a comedian that was talking about how he was reading letters and resumes for a job opening and this was what a few of the letters said: "Hello, my name is___. I believe that I would be a good fit for the jog because I fit all the cinnamon. Attached to my is my liter is my restitution. I would greatly appreciate if you could concise me for the job." You see, the bolded and italicized words are all words, non misspelled, but they were the first word that popped into the replace box. The careless person would just keep clicking on "replace" the entire time. In my opinion, not enough spelling is taught in grade school and in high school, no enough attention is paid to it either.

Do You Believe?

2008-10-06T13:38:00.002-05:00

In class Friday, we saw bubbles of words that were most commonly used in the 2008 Republican/Democratic National Convention. I couldn't help but notice that the Republican's most used word/name was God. Why? The Democratic's used the word "Change"the most, which is something they can do. But what can God do? Everyday scientists disprove Creationism and God. Even if there was a God, by this point in time, there have been so many prayers said that God would probably just tune them out and basically say "Do it yourself."You may just say that I'm Atheist, I am, but that doesn't mean that I don't believe in mericals. I do, but we got ourselves into this screwed up situation, I know God would say "Grëat, now get yourself out.

The Attack From Another Planet!!!!!

2008-09-26T12:50:00.005-05:00

A 22 year old man applies for a job, which he is fully qualified for, in Chicago. The application is filled out and the receptionist is very pleased. Then the man is called into the manager's room for his interview. The interview goes perfect. In the end, he doesn't get the job. Why? Because they gave the job to a mostly qualified 22 year old man who graduated from Iowa. The first man graduated from Georgia. So why did the person take the Iowa grad? People, right out of college, are like a family. The way this family is defined is by what college you went to. If you went to a local college, or the same college of the employer, the employer will give you a chance, but because the employer doesn't know much about Georgia and that area, he's sort of scared to hire him. He doesn't know what he's like. Now later in life, when you reach your 30's, and on, it won't matter that much; what they'd base it on is your resume. If you went to a private school, however, it doesn't matter where you apply for a job. This is because private schools are more expensive and for the most part, more prestigious. Private schools are accepted most anywhere. The only reason for this post is because if you're interested in a state school that is not around here, and once you're out of college, you want to get a job in Chicago, this is just a heads up. It sort of came as a blow to me because during the summer, I visited USF, UCF, U of Tampa, and many other east coast schools and when I found out that if I went to USF, I would be at a disadvantage when I came back to Chicago, even though I would get a terrific education there. So when you're considering colleges, think about this: If I go here, would I be happy living in this state/area for the rest of my life?

Technologically Incapable

2008-09-23T08:50:00.002-05:00

Listen, when it comes to technology, parents can go to their average high school teenager to fix a problem on their computer or phone or blackberry. Then, when teachers ask their kids to upload videos, kids just need to see it happen once and they can do it for the rest of their lives thinking that it's "basic knowledge" for computer using. However, when my parents ask me to fix something on the computer, I just stare blankly at them, thinking "what the hell is a zip drive or a PDF file?" My parents cannot count on me to do anything with computers. It's a different language and when I'm expected to put music onto a power point I just sit there laughing because it took me about two weeks to learn email, so how long will it take me to put music on a power point? five or six months? Now I'm not a Luddite, and I think that technology is great, but could someone please teach me to use an iPhone or an iTouch? What is even the difference between them? I'm lost in a technologically advancing world. I just figured out how to use floppy disks! And now they're telling me that there's a stick 3/4 the size of a floppy that can hold twice as much info on it!? Show it to me! HELP!

Get Over It!

2008-09-16T13:06:00.002-05:00

People in the U.S., for the most part, are either Democratic or Republican. I have no problem with this, but what I do have a problem with is that they cannot deal with each other. We are all Americans, get over it. All I want to envision with the U.S. is the start of a world-wide union. I'm a huge believer in the European Union and I think that because they are all tied together, politically and/or economically they cannot have wars. However, to accomplish this, we all (everyone in the world) must put aside their religion and their ignorance and come together. It pains me to see our country run by people, who all they want is to put the other political party down. We can't accomplish anything. What we are is a sped-up Roman Empire. Greed eventually led to the destruction of the most powerful nation ever known. This is happening to us, but at a much quicker rate. We can save our country by putting everything aside and just realizing that we're all human and that we should all just live together.

But is it Necessary?

2008-09-10T13:43:00.002-05:00

Back in 1700's, 1800's and part of the 1900's, information had to be carried by person on a horse or a train, but in the end it would take days or weeks to get news from New York to San Diego. Then it would have to be printed in a news paper and then it was sent to you the next day. Now, in 2008, people can get info any number of ways. We can go on the internet, watch t.v., the newspaper, and talking to one another. Which brings me to my question: Is the Electoral College necessary? Every one in today's society, adults, high schoolers, even my sister that's in 7th grade knows the basics of the agendas from McCain and Obama. Should we discontinue the Electoral College and just elect our president by popular vote?