Noah Hughes' Article

Offshore Drilling in the U.S.

            I stand for no offshore drilling.

In the United States, offshore drilling on the coasts has been a huge debate for a while now.  In 2008 it became very popular in the presidential election. It has also been brought up in both environmental issues and United States energy independence.

            I think we should not drill offshore.  My reasoning for this is because there are many alternate renewable energy sources in the U.S. that we need to explore. We shouldn’t be focusing our efforts on offshore drilling; we should be focusing on these renewable energy resources such as wind power, geothermal, hydropower, or solar energy.

            Oil is not a renewable resource.  We use it for many things.  One major thing we use it for is gas.  We are running out of gas and are on peak oil right now.  Peak oil is when we are scraping the last bits of the oil.  Imagine, you’re pouring milk and it’s that last bit, you want to use all of it and get that last drop of milk.  This is what peak oil is.  We are scraping our Earth to get every last bit of oil.  When we run out of oil, gas prices will soar through the roof, the end of globalization, the world would go into widespread anarchy, and also, there would be endless exploration of previous drilling sites.  Essentially, if we run out of oil, the world will go into complete madness.

            We need to focus on other renewable resources that can be reproduced.   Fifty years ago, computers were very big and took up a ton of space.  They could barely do anything.  Computers today can fit in the smallest places and are very fast. To put this in perspective, if you focused as much time on renewable resources as we focused on computers, we could figure out a way to make it a major resource used and make it much simpler.

http://www.farallones.org/e_newsletter/2006-03/Offshoredrillingplan.htm

http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/energy/run-out-of-oil.htm

http://mgx.com/blogs/2008/08/20/why-we-shouldnt-drill/

Shannen McKelvey's Article

Black Friday Deals Remained After Early Rush

I stand for Black Friday being a waste for people getting up too early and also their behavior.

Black Friday is a waste of time because sales stay on until the following day.  Some big box stores kept sales going after Black Friday.  Some reports came in saying that people could have stayed in bed instead of getting up early or staying up late.  The supply at these stores stayed in stock after the early rush.

Black Friday is against the true meaning of Christmas.  Christmas is supposed to be about giving and getting gifts out of the kindness of our hearts.  Black Friday turns people greedy, and it ruins the Christmas spirit.  The people of the U.S. that participate in Black Friday have gone crazy.  If you see the commercials on TV for Black Friday, the people on them are nuts. They steal things out of people’s carts and wrestle over stuff.

Also, the bad behavior of the shoppers is a huge factor.  For example, about 20 customers suffered minor injuries at a Los Angeles Wal-Mart after they were pepper sprayed by a shopper trying to get an Xbox.  The reason why people go crazy with these sales is because the economy is so bad right now, and people are trying to save money.  People should be more courteous when trying to save money.  Black Friday is the craziest shopping day of the year and the most dangerous.

I have never been a huge fan of shopping.  I like sales, so I can buy cheap stuff.  Black Friday makes me feel uncomfortable and is a scary and dangerous day for some people.  It is a huge waste of time and should be extended to a full weekend.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/244953/black_friday_deals_remained_after_early_rush.html

http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2011/11/girl_trampled_in_black_friday_1.html

http://montreal.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20111125/black-friday-united-states-shopping-111125/20111125/?hub=MontrealHome

Rosie Rogers' Article

London Riots

            I don’t stand for the riots in London because of the damage they are causing without a reason. A small group of people started the riots, but it grew when people joined in. Some people believe the public was angry because a policeman shot a local man named Mark Duggan. During the first night of the riots more than 170 people were arrested, most over violent crimes. The amount of effort that has been put into holding the angry crowds down has also caused other crimes to be committed without being noticed. There have been numerous injuries and deaths caused by the riots.  Without justified cause, the public shouldn’t be demolishing their city.

            The riots are ruining local businesses and homes over an unknown reason. The violent crowds are not only scaring the police, but also the people living near the scenes. People being interviewed mentioned that they don’t feel comfortable leaving their own homes or going to work. The riots were not only physically causing damage across London, but they were also causing businesses to close, and many people to lose their jobs. The amount of damage done to the town will also cause the people to pay more than they would on average, to repair their homes and businesses. It is not right for the people to have to pay so much money to repair the damage done by the public, especially because the people causing the damage had no reason to create such a large and violent uprising. The riots not only caused long term damage to the buildings, but have also torn apart the London communities. The destruction and devastation should have never been done without legitimate reason.

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2011/08/london_riots.html

http://greenerblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/what-is-cause-of-london-riots.html

Grace Benasutti's Article

Penn State Abuse

I stand for no sexual abuse and rape involving young boys or anybody.

Recently, former assistant football coach of Penn State, Jerry Sandusky, was arrested due to child rape and sexual abuse. He founded a charity called Second Mile, which was believed to be how he got his access to his victims. In 2002, a rape was witnessed by then-graduate assistant coach Mike McQueary. McQueary claims that Jerry Sandusky was raping a young boy in a sports facility shower at Penn State.  When head coach Joe Paterno was notified of this, he immediately told the athletic director of the school, Tim Curley. Although Paterno told Curley of the incident, nothing was said to the police or any other authority other than the Senior Vice President of business at Penn State, Gary Schultz.

Although people are charging him with rape and sexual abuse, Sandusky claims himself innocent and denies himself of being a pedophile.  Because of lack of evidence, Sandusky will be innocent until further proof of him being guilty.

Gary Schultz and Tim Curley should have informed the police of this incident, and could have prevented further sexual abuse against young men. However, many people do not have the bravery to speak out, which leaves the molester innocent, continuing his/her actions. If Tim Curley and Gary Schultz wanted to take a side with Jerry Sandusky, then they had a reason to not speak out. Although, they had no right to keep this illegal act private.  Schultz and Curley face charges now, which may have a negative impact on their lives. If people do not speak out about illegal actions, informing not only authority, but the public, we will show ourselves as a society that allows these actions.

Source: http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/15/us/penn-state-citadel/index.html?hpt=hp_c1

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/11/15/penn-state-second-mile-not-first-to-be-embroiled-in-sex-abuse-scandal/

http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2011/11/15/2563864/ufc-phil-davis-joe-paterno-jerry-sandusky

Zane DeZeeuw's Article

SAT Cheating Scandal

I stand for too much pressure put on students to do well on tests.

People argue that the kids caught in the SAT cheating scandal are the ones at fault for cheating. However, it is the increased emphasis that the college board places on the tests results in order to admit students to college that drove the students to cheat.
Prosecutors in Nassau County, New Jersey have recently accused a total of 20 students for cheating on the SAT and ACT tests between 2008-2011. Fifteen students were accused of paying five other students anywhere from $500 to $3,500 to take the test for them.
There is no excuse for cheating on tests: however, some of the accused students are facing up to four years in prison for first degree scheming to defraud, second degree falsifying business records, and second degree criminal impersonation. This seems a bit extreme for cheating on a test.
Students everywhere feel the pressure of the SAT and ACT tests. These tests determine which colleges they can be accepted to which ultimately decides a student’s career and future. This puts a ton of pressure on students to do well on these exams which drove these students to cheat.
If the college board wishes that students would not cheat on the tests, the board must place less emphasis on the test’s scores to admit a student into college. The college board instead must place more emphasis on character and commitment to education. Students will then feel less pressure to do well on the tests.
Students are going to try and cheat on these tests because they feel an overwhelming pressure to do well in order to get into college. The cure is not to get rid of the tests altogether, but the cure is to place less emphasis on the test’s results.

Sources:
http://www.policymic.com/articles/2580/thirteen-new-jersey-students-arrested-for-sat-cheating-scandal&referral=category_list
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57329627/more-students-implicated-in-sat-cheating-scandal/
http://www.newsday.com/long-island/nassau/source-more-arrests-in-sat-scandal-tuesday-1.3336121

The 99%

I stand for the 99%. 

Some argue that those in the Occupy Wall Street Movement are a disorganized, chaotic, baseless bunch of crazy liberals who should stop camping in the streets and start blaming themselves.  These people, rather, are united in one common belief that our country is run by, geared toward, and favors the richest 1%. 

This separation of wealth is hard to ignore as the numbers show that the bottom 80% of Americans own only 7% of the nation’s wealth, and “the richest 1% of Americans take home almost a quarter of national income”, a number that has “nearly tripled in roughly three decades” (finance.yahoo.com).  This wealth gives these people increased power over our government’s decisions concerning economic and social policies.  The money and the power in the hands of the few forces “we the people” into the margins, unable to make our voices heard and subject to the greedy corporate strategies which caused the current recession. 

The Occupy Wall Street Movement acts as a platform from which all Americans, left and right, can say to Democrats and Republicans alike that we’ve had enough of this plutocracy and want our democracy back. 

Capitalism and free markets have proven to be extremely valuable and part of the foundation of our country, but the rungs on the ladder of upward mobility need to stay within reach.  Current trends show the gaps becoming too wide, and the Occupy Movement simply points its finger at this separation.  As columnist Paul Rogat Loeb says in his article “From Occupy Wall Street to Occupy the Neighborhoods”, the movement is “putting a human face on how they and so many others have been made expendable by a country that seems to care only for the wealthiest” (truth-out.org/occupy). 

Until the 99% are supported, the systems which caused economic failure will remain in place, and the people will continue camping in the streets and screaming at the skyscrapers on Wall Street. 

http://www.truth-out.org/occupy-wall-street-occupy-neighborhoods/1321022155

http://www.truth-out.org/voices-occupations/1321195032

http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/top-5-facts-america-richest-1-183022655.html