annies blogs

Ann's blog on google earth

2007-06-03T22:00:00.000-07:00

Ann’s Blog #9:

“The Google ‘ick’ factor” (cnn.com, June 4, 2007)

There has been some recent controversy over the image capabilities of Google. Basically, people are just concerned for the privacy of people. “In San Francisco, there's a man picking his nose on a street corner, another fellow taking out the trash and another guy scaling the outside of an apartment building, perhaps just for fun or maybe for some more sinister purpose. Further down the highway at Stanford University, there's the titillation of a couple coeds sunbathing in their bikinis. In San Jose, there's the rather sad sight of a bearded man apparently sleeping -- or did he just pass out? -- in the shadow of a garbage can, with what appears to be an empty cup perched in front of him.
In Miami, there's a group of protesters carrying signs outside an abortion clinic. In other cities, you can see men entering adult book stores or leaving strip joints.” Scenes like these are making people wonder whether the Internet's leading search engine has gone too far.

When it is talked about like it is in the examples, it really is ‘ick.’ There is a matter of privacy on the line. When I go about my daily life I shouldn’t have to be constantly thinking that there is always someone watching me. The average person isn’t a celebrity; we shouldn’t have to deal with loss of privacy. Also, this creates a lot of room for people with stalker-ish tendencies to go crazy. Which is a disturbing thought. While I can totally see where people have concerns, I can also defend Google. It is really a cool thing to be able to do. If you think about it in less of a stalker mindset, you can visualize revisiting a city that you visited on your last year’s vacation. You can say, “oh yeah, that restaurant on the corner was amazing” and “that’s where we saw the hummingbird.” It is a cool way of being able to relive your fond memories. Also, if this technology is readily available for all people, think about how long the CIA and the government has had their hands on things like this. I understand that there are limitations on stuff like this legally, but in the hands of a corrupt individual? It’s weird to think about what my government could know about me if they wanted to…and now what my aunt could know about me, or the stalker down the street. But ultimately with technology things, there will always be controversy at the beginning until people get used to it. That is just something that we are going to have to accept; technology changes our lives emensly.

Article from:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/internet/06/01/google.candid.camera.ap/index.html
Picture from:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/internet/06/01/google.candid.camera.ap/index.html

2007-06-03T21:58:00.000-07:00

also...look at how happy his proud parents are. its just fenominal (betcha that word would throw him for a loop too, its a toughy)

Ann's Blog on spelling bee

2007-06-03T21:56:00.000-07:00

Ann’s Blog #8:

“Californian wins spelling bee with ‘serrefine’” (cnn.com, June 3, 2007)

A thirteen year-old won the national spelling be finals. His name is Evan O’Dorney and his spelling skills brought him a title, trophy and multiple prizes. He is an eighth grade home-schooled student in his hometown of Danville, California. Spelling the word ‘serrefine’ is what brought him the 80th national title in the history of the annual spelling bees. Supposedly, the final round was between Evan and a boy named Nate Gartke from Spruce Grove, Alberta. Nate was attempting to be the first Canadian to win. Even though Evan is obviously talented in spelling, it is not his favorite thing to do. He is very interested in math and music. He feels passionate about those things whereas he calls spelling ‘just a bunch of memorization.’ Last year he tied for 14th which won him $35000 cash in addition to a $5000 scholarship, a $2500 savings bond and a set of reference works. It is his ritual to eat fish before his spelling bee competitions, but this year he didn’t. (Just in case you were curious?)

“Afterward, Evan spoke more enthusiastically about attending a math camp in Nebraska this summer than about becoming the English language's top speller.” I’m sorry, but I am so amused by top-notch nerds. Don’t get me wrong, I admire them completely and they are the reason that I am able to go to school and learn thing- because they turn into little Pythagoreans running around figuring things out. But a ‘math camp in Nebraska’? haha I am just thoroughly amused. That is where I would choose to spend my summer break. Good for him. After reading that article, I have been thinking about what it would be like to be him -which led to thoughts about what he would think about being me. Does he secretly wish he could be involved in athletics or have friends that don’t wear pocket protectors (I’m just kidding, I’m aware that that is a very common misconception –they are not actually pocket protectors, but rather zip-lock bags to hold their pens J…). But anyway, as I’m, very lovingly, mocking his lifestyle, I wonder if he would do the same about mine. I’m sure he would. Most people would. It is a difficult task to be able to love the lifestyle someone else lives. I suppose that is why we all lead different ones, because we all love different things and find success in different things. Another little tidbit that was in the article was this: When asked whether he liked the bee more now that he's won it, Evan said: "Are you saying I'm supposed to like it more? Yeah, I do a little bit." That little quote struck me, somehow. It just got me thinking about how success=happiness. It just doesn’t quite make sense to me. Why, for the most part, do we only like things, or at least enjoy them more, if we are successful? That is the way it works most of the time. Somehow, we need the little skip in our step of being good at something to be happy doing it. There are many things about human nature that puzzle me; this makes another one to add to the list.

Article from:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/EDUCATION/05/31/spelling.bee.ap/index.html
Picture from:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/EDUCATION/05/31/spelling.bee.ap/index.html

2007-05-24T14:15:00.001-07:00

Ann’s Blog #7:

“New home prices plunge, sales soar” (cnn.com May 24, 2007)

This article comes from the center of the money-world…New York. It tells about how the real estate market has been recently fluctuating. As I take it, the average price of a home sold in April was quite a bit lower than usual. Now, as a repercussion of that, there is better-than-expected sales. This is the latest from the estate and home building market that was released on Thursday. The annual rate of homes sold in April was up 16.2 percent than the annual rate of homes sold in March. That is apparently the biggest jump that has been made in 14 years. It has been the largest year-over-year drop in the median of a new home price since December 1970. It is the biggest month-to-month drop EVER. Wowzas!! At the same time, the April sales still came in 10.6 percent lower than the average of other past Aprils.

This home-buying business is complete craziness. I was attracted to this article because my sister and her husband of less than a year are looking REALLY HARD to find a house in Alexandria. I have been able to lately experience all of the chaos and stress of trying to buy a house. They had one that they liked quite a bit and they put an offer in for it, but then something happened on the seller’s side with the way the house was registered, so they decided to pull out of it before they ran into any more problems. Since then they have looked at, I think, about 100 houses (this was just recently too, so they have been REALLY busy). I have gone with them before to look at them, and, I’ll tell you, it is such a chore. THERE IS ALWAYS SOMETHING WRONG WITH A HOUSE. So they are trying to prioritize what they want most out of a house, and it gets really stressful. I can notice an extreme difference in them because of the weight of the stress of the decision. I hope that when I get married and am ready to buy a house of my own I can build my own house. From the outside, it seems like it would be the perfect solution; but when I talk to my parents and hear their experiences, it seems like maybe that wouldn’t be the best idea. We have moved quite a bit since I was born, all within Alexandria, but I have moved four times in my life. And each time, my parents were trying to buy their ‘perfect dream home’. Easier said than done, apparently. But they inform me that you learn so much about what you want through the process of buying a new house, so it might not be the best of ideas to jump right into building when I first get married. I may think that I know what I want, but I will have never lived with another person, so it could be a better idea to wait. Anyway, I hope my sister and brother-in-law will be able to find a house soon, then they can maybe be settled down enough to become a mom and dad. That would make me an auntie!! Just call me auntie annie!!

Article from:
http://money.cnn.com/2007/05/24/news/economy/new_home_sales/index.htm?cnn=yes
Picture from:
http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=homes&gbv=2

Ann's Blog on Chinas Space Exploration...kinda:

2007-05-21T15:43:00.000-07:00

Ann’s Blog #6:

“China aims for the moon” (cnn.com, May 21, 2007)

China plans to launch a lunar orbiter towards the end of the year. This orbiter is called Chang’e I orbiter. If it is successful in fully orbiting the moon, then the next step will be to make a landing. The purpose of the mission would be for the moon rover to collect samples from the moon’s surface. A Chinese member of the National Space Administration is quoted in the article by saying, “The moon probe project is the third milestone in China's space technology after satellite and manned spacecraft projects, and a first step for us in exploring deep space.” In 2003, China became the third country to send to launch a man into space in a rocket. The other two nations being, of course, the United States and the former Soviet Union during the Cold War era. In 2005 they sent two men into space and they plan to accomplish Chinese footsteps on the moon by 2008.

I often change my mind on how I view our country. Don’t get me wrong, I am just a patriotic as the guy next to me, and I will support America to the death, but sometimes I think that we view ourselves too highly. I understand that through the World Wars and the Cold War we became an influential superpower, and I know that we have done a WHOLE LOT of good, especially for being such a young country compared to other countries. I am so proud of most of our accomplishments when I think about how difficult it is to be country containing people. Which sounds dumb, but anywhere there is people there is bound to be some corruption and unneeded drama. And with all things considered, I am very proud to be an American. At the same time I feel as though we stick our noses into other peoples business a little too often. But I can’t be to critical of that because, as far as I know we always do it with the best of intentions. But I don’t think that we can always think that we can fix all of the problems in the world. I know that we are influential, and it also goes along with the whole enlightened self interest idea (to protect ourselves) but sometimes you just need to allow for things to settle out by themselves, without trying to rush and fix the problem expecting immediate results. I guess I’m kind of getting at the War on Iraq, and I have mixed feelings about it, but at the end of the day I don’t think that I am against it. And I think that president bush deserves our full support because it is impossible to get anything accomplished without support. I feel like optimism is all that is needed for success. I know that President Bush is doing all that he can to make the situation in Iraq better and to secure our nation, and I praise him for that. I feel really bad that he will forever be remembered as a President who failed. Yes, there are some things that I think that he could have handled in a better way, but I think that he needs my forgiveness and support in order to make progress. Wowzas I got off on a tangent, but anyway, I think that it is kind of like a slap across the face that other nations are finally catching up to us in things like this. It is enough to worry me and make me say, “golly, politicians you better kick it into high gear in order to not fall behind and all for the ‘American lifestyle’ to remain.” It is crazy, just this year when I was studying the Cold War, I started thinking about it and I found it completely crazy that I had never heard of any other countries landing on the moon. When I was thinking about it, I couldn’t believe that there could have been no other countries landing there. So I was curious and I asked Mr. Donahue and he told me that only Americans had landed on the moon. That made me really admire our country and make me be thankful for being born an American. It is good for China, I guess, that they are making the space exploration deal. But at the same time it makes me jealous and, selfishly, I want them to fail because then I will be able to see America as #1. Those feelings aren’t overwhelming, but there are a few there. I’m not sure if that is some weird form of patriotism, or what, but…that’s my ideas and opinions. Hope you enjoyed my lengthy speal.

Article from:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/space/05/21/china.moon.reut/index.html
Picture from:
http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=the+moon&gbv=2

Ann's Blog on the Barbie Bandits

2007-05-19T14:49:00.000-07:00

Ann’s Blog #5:

Barbie Bandit: ‘Stuff we did was pretty ignorant’ (cnn.com, May 19, 2007)

So get this…we’ve got two idiotic girls making headlines from Acworth, Georgia. The story goes a little something like this. Two girls, named Heather Johnston and Ashley Miller, came up with an idea to rob a bank. The idea came up as a joke, says Johnston. They had an inside man working as the teller at a local Neighborhood National Bank. After struggling with finding the right bank, they were caught on the video surveillance system of the bank wearing trendy sunglasses and laughing while stealing $11,000. They had slight other issues also, when the teller practically threw the money at them and they lost control of it for a moment. After the heist, the ‘Barbie Bandits’ as they have been named, headed strait for the nearest mall where their first order of business was to get their hair highlighted. After their hair was fresh and new for them, they went shopping, ate a meal and gave some money to the homeless. The girls (along with the bank teller and one other man) were arrested two days later.

I am very amused by this whole story. Especially from all of the quotes worked into the article by Heather Johnston. Here are a couple; “We took a wrong turn somewhere, ended up going to a completely different Bank of America,” “He started throwing it [the money] and it was like going everywhere," “We had got them a couple weeks before this even came up. Like, we called them our stunner shades," “I mean, it's crossed a lot of people's minds, from what I've heard [talking about the idea of robbing a bank]." Well, this one sounds like an intelligent one, eh? She seems like the typical dumb blonde. Its entertaining to me that they actually got away with this for awhile. They don’t seem to me like they would be capable of scheming up a plan that would be successful. They went to the wrong bank at first, for goodness sake. The only reason that they got away for a while was because they had a whole lot of luck. I have never really understood the whole stealing scenario. I know that I would never be able to enjoy something that I knew belonged to someone else. I would feel so guilty running around the mall, buying a cute little mini with money that wasn’t rightfully mine. I guess that they justified it by giving some of it to the homeless. Haha. Yeah, that’s a good one, girls, now when they catch you, they will take it easier on you because at least you were generous with the money that you stole.

Article from:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/LAW/05/18/barbie.bandits.ap/index.html
Picture from:
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.theage.com.au/ffximage/2007/03/01/svBANDITS_wideweb__470x290,0.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/barbie-bandits-get-a-giggle-out-of-bank-heist/2007/03/01/1172338795528.html&h=290&w=470&sz=17&hl=en&start=1&tbnid=_Ic1Yxfb8eguxM:&tbnh=80&tbnw=129&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbarbie%2Bbandits%26gbv%3D2%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG

2007-05-18T17:32:00.000-07:00

here would be the corresponding picture

after looking at emmas blog pictures, it was a toss up between this picture (that actually relates to my blog) or one of me and my uncle. haha

Ann's Blog on Seperation of church and state X2:

2007-05-18T17:31:00.001-07:00

Ann’s Blog #4:

Louisiana school district sued over Bibles in school (cnn.com, May 18, 2007)

Here comes lawsuit numero cinco for a school district in New Orleans. In the last thirteen years, a certain school district has been sued five times about something religion-related. This time, the lawsuit is about the principle improperly giving Bibles to the students. The parents of a fifth grader filed this lawsuit when the found out that their fifth-grader had been given a Gideon Bible on school property during school hours. The name of the school is Loranger Middle School in Tangipohoa Parish. The upset parents are Catholic. Apparently, the little fifth grade girl was around some of her peers when they were all given these Bibles in front of the office. The people giving the Bibles to the students also said, “God bless you.” The little girl was afraid of getting laughed at or criticized so he accepted one. When her parents found out, they immediately phoned the principal and superintendent. There calls weren’t returned. This school was sued once before for allowing a ‘pizza preacher’ to come and give students pizza and teach Christianity over lunch period.

I think that I’ve kind of touched on this before in some of my blogs, but I don’t an any way, shape, or form, see this as a bad thing. Religion is the most fulfilling thing in my life. I don’t think that it is bad to expose people to other religions. I see it like this; there is no reason for these parents to be upset, because if they are Catholic then that means that they believe that Catholicism is the best religion so they shouldn’t feel threatened by other religions if ‘Catholicism is the best.’ Furthermore, how will they ever know that ‘Catholicism is the best’ if they aren’t exposed to other religions? It puzzles me that someone would make such a fuss over something like this. These parents are obviously religious, so shouldn’t they be happy that God is being allowed to be a part of their daughter’s school day? That can bring me to my STRONG opinion that separation of church and state isn’t quite the best thing. Religion is the best thing in my life…by far. It has filled a void in my life and given me so much joy. And the only reason that I am religious is because I was brought into it through my parents. I feel so sorry for those kids who have parents who haven’t taught them about God and his WONDERFUL LOVE. So this is where I think to myself…every kid has to go to school…what a great way to let kids dip their toes in religion. That doesn’t mean that they have to become as religious as other people, but I think that it is a good idea for them to be able to have a chance to be exposed to it. Wouldn’t you think? If I heard someone tell me about something that is the BEST THING IN THEIR LIFE, I would be curious to know at least a little about it. Why wouldn’t an atheist want to pick up the Bible that I try to live by and see why I get so much happiness and joy from it? And why shouldn’t they have the opportunity? School is the best place for that exposure. Everybody is there. It is only logical to me. There is an all girls Bible study twice a month at Jefferson that I go to and once me and my friends invited someone who had atheist parents and wasn’t religious. She came the first time and liked it, and then she came the next time, and the time after that, and she became a regular to CCLJ (cool chicks love Jesus). I am so happy that she was able to be exposed to my Lord. Anywho, I’m sure that many people would disagree with my standpoint, which they are entitled to do, but I just feel as though I am so lucky to have God in my life and I think that everyone deserves a chance to know Him the way that I do. The end.

Article From:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/EDUCATION/05/18/aclu.school.bibles.ap/index.html
Picture From:
http://images.google.com/images?um=1&tab=wi&hl=en&q=bibles

Ann's Blog on car crash

2007-05-13T17:42:00.000-07:00

Ann’s Blog #3:

Sleeping driver kills 2, injures 4, police say (cnn.com, May 13, 2007)

In Southern Los Angeles, California on May 13, 2007 (AKA mother’s day!!) 6 people were waiting at a bus stop when an out of control vehicle came speeding into the area. Two women were sitting out selling flowers when the car flew into them, killing one and pinning the other against a wrought iron fence until some people came to help her get out. This woman is now in the nearest hospital in critical condition. Another 20-something man who’s collision with the car gave him severe head wounds. He was taken to the hospital where he died. Three other men were injured; one in critical condition. The driver was 21 and he had apparently fallen asleep at the wheel after working the night shift. He was also probably speeding. His condition (and name) is unknown.

Gol dang…this is so sad. The poor driver of this car who, I’m sure is wishing he could go back in time. I’m sure that he is kicking himself for not riding the bus or taking a taxi or drinking some caffeine. That would be so rough. This should be a lesson to all of us: things can happen SO fast, things that will forever change our lives. He is probably so full of grief and regret. His inattentiveness killed two people. On top of that, 4 more were injured. If you think about all of the friends and families that are connected to those six people, he has made a negative impact on so many peoples lives. Golly gee wiz, what a burden! I would be bawling from here to china. I got a speeding ticket and I was a wreck ahah, I can’t even imagine what sort of thoughts would be going through my head. It is scary how much everyone takes advantage of driving privileges. I once heard someone say, “I want to get drunk and then drive, just to see if I can do it.” Ummm…something is defiantly wrong with this picture. I’d say that this person, whom will not be named, doesn’t understand the concept of consequences of actions. Many people are guilty of that I think, even I am when I push the speed a little. Everybody thinks that they are invincible and that nothing bad could ever happen to them, which sooner or later, will cause some problems. I hope that I will be able to learn without killing people. That would not be fun.

Article from:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/05/13/pedestrians.struck.ap/index.html
Picture from:
http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&um=1&hl=en&q=bus+stop

2007-05-10T18:08:00.000-07:00

Blog #2:

“Boy, 10, guilty of beating homeless Army veteran” (cnn.com, May 10, 2007)
In Daytona, Florida a ten year old boy beat a homeless man up so badly that he will need reconstructive surgery. The homeless man’s name is John D'Amico and he is 58 years old. On March 27 D’Amico and a friend were walking through a neighborhood in Daytona Beach when two ten year old boys and a seventeen year old crossed paths with them. Then the three kids beat up D’Amico and attacked him with a concrete block. The boys claimed that D’Amico provoked them, which caused them to do their misdeed. But the Circuit Judge John Watson found the one ten year old guilty and gave him a sentence that will be in effect on May 24. The boy’s future doesn’t look very bright. He could be in the juvenile center until he turns 21. Other options for the boy are probation or counseling. But the judge wasn’t going to cut him any slack. He was showing obvious concern about what could happen if he were to do something like this again. The little boys mother is very upset. The seventeen year old could face up to 15 years in prison. The homeless man was an army veteran.

I have so much sympathy for this poor old man. First of all, a 58 year old man would never be able to defend himself very well against anybody youthful. I don’t understand how A TEN YEAR OLD could be so violent and evil. A ten year old doesn’t know anything, they are still young and naive and supposedly innocent. But apparently not. I don’t understand how cruel a person would have to be to attack an old homeless man. I’m pretty sure that that man has been through enough in his life. If there was ever a gleam of hope in this homeless mans eyes, I would be willing to bet that it is gone. Hearing about this incident even takes away some of my hope in the world. I am ashamed, and frustrated that a human could do something so terrible. What did this man ever do to him? There is no excuse. Even if he had threatened, the kids could have called for help or ran away. But instead (if he were to have threatened them) they only sunk down to his level. They did the easy thing; they did not do the honorable thing. There is never any excuse for damaging the life of anyone, especially an old man, especially an HOMELESS old man. Then theres the fact that he was an army veteran and we have learned about this in school and the aftereffects of physically going to war and seeing all of the evils in the world. I have heard stories about people being amazing, involved, successful people before the draft and then after they go to war, the posttraumatic stress ruins their life. Obviously this man has not had an easy life. Just that alone is enough for me to tear up about. I wish that I could help him and people like him somehow. Even without the attack story, I would be able to type an entire blog about people like him. Homeless people are one of the biggest things that break my heart. There is a song that is recently released and it is called ‘Moments’ and, when reading this article, I was reminded of it and I think it relates so here are the lyrics:
I was coming to the end of a long long walk When a man crawled out of a cardboard box Under the E Street Bridge followed me on to it I went out halfway across with that homeless shadow tagging along So I dug for some change - wouldn't need it anyway He took it looking just a bit ashamed He said you know I haven't always been this way I've had my moments Days in the sun, moments I was second to none, moments When I knew I did what I thought I couldn't do Like that plane ride, coming home from the war That summer, my son was born Memories, like a coat so warm the cold wind cant get through Looking at me now you might not know it But I've had my moments Well I stood there trying to find my nerve Wondering if a single soul on earth would care at all Miss me when I'm gone That old man just kept hanging around Looking at me, looking down I think he recognized That look in my eyes Standing with him there I felt ashamed I said you know I haven't always been this way I've had my moments Days in the sun, moments I was second to none, moments When I knew I did what I thought I couldn't do Like the day I, walked away from the wineFor a woman, who became my wife And a love that, when it was right could always see me through Looking at me know you might not know it I've had my moments I know somewhere around a trash can fire tonight That old man tells his story One more time He says, I've had my moments Days in the sun, moments I was second to none, moments When I knew I did what I thought I couldn't do Like that cool night, on the E Street Bridge When a young man, almost ended it I was right there, wasn't scared a bit And I helped to pull him through Looking at me now you might not know it Oh - looking at me now you might not know it I've had my moments
This song has a very cool message. A sad, scary message. One lesson that I get out of it is that you should never judge a person by what they seem to be because everybody has a past and the other is that you should never take things for granted because someday they might be gone and you may be left with nothing but the memories of the ‘moments’. HOLEY LONG BLOG!!! Hope you enjoy, Mr. Meyer!!! Ahah
Article from:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/LAW/05/10/homeless.beating.ap/index.html
Picture from: http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=homeless+man&btnG=Search+Images&gbv=2

Ann's Blog On Math and Science Funding:

2007-04-26T17:49:00.000-07:00

Blog #1:

“Senate passes bill to keep U.S. competitive in math, science” (cnn.com, April 26, 2007)

In Washington on Wednesday, the senate decided to pass a bill that will add $16 billion to the wallet of the math and science departments in the next four years. Legislators are concerned about staying in the lead of technology. The bill is called America Competes Act and it passed with 88 votes in favor and 8 against it. The bill will now be sent to the House. With the extra $16 billion the total amount that will be spent over the next four years is $60 billion. Some of this money will go to funding for the training of math and science teachers and to promote advanced placement education and international baccalaureate programs.

I am really glad that all of this development is happening in the education department. I am a firm believer that not enough attention or money is given to the schools across America. I have met people from other countries and it seems like we, as Americans, are falling short in pretty much every sector. Even the foreign exchange students that come to Alexandria seem to be one step ahead of us here. Especially with language, which I think is also very important. People my age from other countries know up to five different languages and are fairly fluent in them too. I guess I think its terrible and very narrow minded that I can’t say I am fluent in anything but English. It seems really self-centered to me, like all we are concerned about is ourselves and we don’t need to be able to communicate with other people across the world. I understand that we should have kind of a chip on our shoulder about being Americans, that kind of patriotism, but I can see how if I were from a different country I would judge us on that little fact alone. I think that it is phenomenal that we are putting more money into the science and math departments. I can see the opposing view that would say that our national debt is already way too high and the last thing that we need is more reckless spending. My defense to that is that, in the long run it will only help boost our economy. If we put the money into the technology and scientific programs now, then we can develop new things fast and before other countries so that we will prosper in the end.

Article from:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/EDUCATION/04/25/america.competes.ap/index.html
Picture from:
http://laurelwoodbooks.com/images/science%20&%20math.jpg

Ann's Blog on CNN shooting:

2007-04-03T11:12:00.000-07:00

ANN’S LAST BLOG FOR 3rd QUARTER!!!!

“Woman injured in shooting at CNN center” (cnn.com, April 3, 2007)

Today in Atlanta, Georgia a woman as shot in the CNN building. A witness, who is a CNN employee, said that he saw the man shoot the woman twice in the street-level lobby of the complex. The suspect is in custody and the condition of the woman is unknown. Two people were taken on stretchers to different ambulances. One of the two people could have been the shooter. A security person said that the man with the gun and the woman were engaged in a verbal fight before the gunshots. Immediately after the shots, people in the building ran for cover. Charles Williams, a worker of the technology services, saw a man dragging the woman by the hair one level above where the shooting was. The man told him to get out of the way and Williams went to get a guard. He heard gunshots less than a minute later.

This breaks my heart…the last two blogs that I have done have involved people shooting other people. HUMANS ARE SO INSANE!!! It is ridiculous and immature. Why do people have to be full of so much hatred and resentment towards others? It makes no sense, if people have issues they should work them out with sentences. Instead people turn psycho and decide that what they want is so important that they can kill someone else on some little whim that they have. Never even thinking about consequences for themselves or the things that loved ones will have to go through with their loss. Its not fair. People loose sight of what life is all about. They can be so selfish and attention craving. It is insane. It makes me ashamed to be a human. To be a part of humanity sometimes makes me want to cry. People never think before they act and they can’t ever step into someone else’s shoes and see life from their perspective. That’s all it takes. I bet this man who shot this woman had no idea if she had a husband and a two year old daughter. Maybe her sister lived next door. How are these people supposed to go on with their lives with a loved one shot and dead? Who is supposed to read the nighttime story to little Jen? ... Or whatever this woman’s situation is. I’m so disgusted with people right now.

Article from
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/04/03/cnn.shooting/index.html
Picture from
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/04/03/cnn.shooting/index.html

Ann's Blog On Billy Joe Shaver:

2007-04-03T10:49:00.000-07:00

Ann’s Blog #8:

“Country singer wanted in shooting incident” (cnn.com, April 3, 2007)

In Austin Texas, a country singer by the name of Billy Joe Shaver has been issued arrest warrants for shooting another person. His attorney explains, though, that it was in self-defense because the man came at him with a knife. Apparently after leaving a bar late on Saturday night, a heavily intoxicated stranger followed him into the parking lot with a knife. The Austin police issued the warrants late on Monday and Shaver tried to surrender to them but something was wrong with the warrants. The victim was shot in the cheek and was alert and talking afterwards and was hospitalized. Firearms are not legal to carry around in the state of Texas.

What a nightmare for Shaver, and really for the victim too (his last name is Turner). I can’t even begin to imagine the guilt that would come along with shooting someone else’s face and hurting someone to the point of hospitalization. I would be a wreck, even if it was in self defense, I would still have wished I would have tried some other method, a safer method, of defending myself. I guess I can’t imagine some drunk idiot coming at me with a knife either, I suppose that would be extremely scary. I feel really bad for the guy, but I lose a little bit of sympathy for him because he carried around an illegal firearm. This is kind of asking for it. If he is that famous that he is worried about getting attacked, he should hire a body guard who can carry the gun legally. I’m sure the man with his face blown off is partially regretting the whole evening too. It is amazing to me the crazy things that alcohol can do to a person. And now this man will have to live with the consequences for the rest of his life, with half of a face. The same for Shaver, I’m sure that his CD sales will go down because of the incident. That’s rough.

Article from
http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Music/04/03/people.shaver.shooting.ap/index.html
Picture from
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.nucountry.com.au/images/artists/billyjoe_hat.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.nucountry.com.au/articles/diary/march2004/240304_billyjoe1.htm&h=336&w=280&sz=10&hl=en&start=1&tbnid=rz4UYDW4-8R2IM:&tbnh=119&tbnw=99&prev=/images%3Fq%3DBilly%2BJoe%2BShaver%2B%26gbv%3D2%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den

Ann's Blog on Hurricanes:

2007-04-03T10:22:00.000-07:00

Ann’s Blog #7:

“Very active hurricane season predicted” (cnn.com, April 3, 2007)

This year’s hurricane season is said to be very active and potentially devastating, as predicted by forecaster William Gray. Last year there were only five major hurricanes. Only two of them brought major destruction. William Gray expects seventeen named storms this coming season, with five of them having the most intensity. In an average year the percentage of a hurricane coming to the Atlantic coast of the United States is fifty-two percent, this year, the percentage is seventy-four. At the same time, Gray, like most forecasters, over predicted the number of hurricanes for last season. The hurricane season runs from June first to November thirtieth. Within that timeframe the averages are as follows: 9.6 named storms, 5.9 hurricanes and 2.3 intense hurricanes. The record breaking season was in 2005 that had 28 named storms, 15 of those hurricanes and four of the hurricanes hit the United States coast, obviously the worst of them Katrina.

Scariness! -Especially for those living near or on the coast. It has always been crazy to me how much of an effect weather can have on humans. To me, we seem invincible, and weather seems within our control for the most part. But then these natural disasters happen and ENTIRELY prove me wrong. Looking at the pictures of Katrina and the mess it made of New Orleans makes me realize how little control we have. With statistics like the ones predicted for this year is nerve-racking. Although in my opinion, the reconstruction of New Orleans could have been a mistake. Especially considering the fact that reconstruction takes years and years. All it takes is one storm to wipe out the city again entirely. Then all of the residents of New Orleans will be left to pick up the pieces again. At the same time, it would be an even bigger challenge to say ‘okay everyone living in New Orleans…you can’t!!’ That wouldn’t work either, but I guess I don’t think that there should have been so much money put into it, especially with the national debt as high as it is.

Article from:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WEATHER/04/03/hurricane.forecast.ap/index.html
Picture from:
http://earth.esa.int/ew/cyclones/Katrina_Hurricane-aug05/_images/Katrina_Hurricane_date28Aug05_rgb_big.jpg

Ann's Blog On Hilary Duff:

2007-04-02T17:13:00.000-07:00

“Teen Star Feels Pressure to Be Thin” (cnn.com, April 2, 2007)

This article talks about all of the pressures on weight and appearance in the world, especially from the media. It talks mainly about Hilary Duff and all of the things that she goes through in her position and how it is a constant struggle to be the ‘perfect’ weight. Hilary shares how she is either getting criticized for being too heavy or too thin, which puts a lot of pressure on her. She has sold 13 million records and is constantly in front of the world to see. The media takes advantage of her limelight, which can make the job she does very challenging. She, unlike many other movie stars, is able to get through it and has never had a problem with an eating disorder.

Eating disorders are all too common in this day and age. I know what its like to be in high school and the pressures that fall onto every young woman in that period of her life. Those pressures get to A LOT of girls and it makes them very unhappy. Its crazy the effect that the media has on girls my age; we see the 110 lbs beauty in the magazines with the caption ‘has Jane been over indulging?’ and our subconscious minds start thinking, ‘whoa, I’m heavier than that…and she is getting ripped on. No thanks, an apple is fine’ I have been through that so many times and I know all of my peers have experienced that almost daily as well. Good for Hilary for not caving into those pressures and being able to stay strong and not develop unhealthy habit. Although, I have seen her get awfully thin from time to time and I know that it is really hard to get to a certain point of ‘thin-ness’ and I can for sure tell you that she has missed out on several desserts in the last few years. Especially because the public was able to see her grow up in her adolescence from the average 13 year old body to a celebrity body. It is hard not to think of her has being overly concerned about her figure for the job that she does. It’s sad…a girl can’t eat what she wants when she wants and her mind is always filled with guilt about a sweet treat. It’s really frustrating and unfair. I hope that the tide can slowly change and that the issues of overly skinny-ness can be solved by the time I have a daughter.

Article from:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/TV/04/02/hilary.duff.ap/index.html
Picture from:
http://www.cool-midi.com/hilary-duff-free-midi-18.htm

Ann's Blog On The Results Of Child Care:

2007-03-29T19:22:00.000-07:00

Ann's blog #5:

This article basically talked about the effects of child care on young children. There have been experiments done that show some correlation between children who attended child care and children in 5th or 6th grade with behavorial issues. There is also some correlation between children who went to child care regulary and children with slightly higher vocabulary in 5th or 6th grade.

Reading this article made me feel really smart and also really nerdy becuase while i was reading it i started to get my ap stats brain out and try to analyze what the test was saying. at first i felt like slapping myself, but then i decided to go with it... so, i think that there may be some possible undercoverage and some lurking variables. Basically i mean that i think taht part of the reason for the results may be because of the general type of parent who sends their children to child care. First of all, these parents could possibly have a higher percentage of them who have a higher education and so they are at work and thats why they need to send their child to child care. so if the parent has a higher education, they probably have a higher vocab so that would rub off on the child. and same type of situation with the behavioral issues; if a parent is too busy to love their child and give them attention, they may develop some attention craving habits.

Ann's Blog on Meth addict:

2007-03-27T16:34:00.000-07:00

anns blog #5:

"Meth Addict who made documentary dies" (cnn.com, March 27, 2007)

The man in the picture, Shawn Bridges who wrote a documentary on the terrible effects of meth and has recently died. His documentary, "No More SUnsets" was written about his addiction to meth and all of the terrible things he went through during this addiction. HIs father said many things about him in the article. He told of how Shawn wanted so badly and worked so hard to tell his story to warn others about how meth can rouin your life. He wanted to get the word out to young people and help prevent other people from becoming addicted. He was only 35 years old, but all of the terrible things that he went through made his body age much faster than average. He had the body of an 80 year old. His family tells of how he has already pretty much died twice. I guess the meth had damaged his heart so much that it had stopped a couple of times already and had to be shocked back to a beat. His documentary was released last year shows him pretty much bedridden with nothing but a catheter and a feeding tube. Shawns life began its spiral downward when he was only about four years old and his little brother, 1, was killed in a car accident. He then grew up to be a high school dropout who loved the party scene. At 26 Shawn had a heart attack, most likely because of the meth abuse and on several occasions tried to kill himself. He spent many months at a hospital at the end of his life where he was in really bad shape. He would cough up blood and couldn't really talk or eat (the eating thing obviously leading to problems). They are planning to do a sequel to Shawns documentary, telling about the last year of his life and having interviews of the people touched by Shawn.

Battery Acid...YUM! Meth is a crazy crrrrrraaazy thing. Its hard for me to make any sense out of. I don't see how anyone with even a half functioning brain would want to try it. I understand curiousity in highs and effects of drugs (not saying that curiousity should have more power than common sense) but i don't even a slight bit understand someones thought process when they try meth. Hearing this guys story gets me all choked up. I guess i can see how the events of his childhood could have led him to this fate, but i just wish that his parents or friends could have taught him a better way to cope with things before it was too late. If only he could have realized taht he could life a satisfying and fulfilling life, then maybe he wouldn't have had to resort to drugs of any kind. In my mind, it all comes down to one little seemingly meaningless decision that lead him to the 'wrong croud'. and i go "crap, if only he could have gone to someone elses house that day in seventh grade after school to play video games rather than hang out with the ninth graders who gave him a cig. It makes me almost feel guilty, makes me wonder what i could do in my life to prevent someone from a similar fate as Shawns. I know thtat we could all make a difference to someone very easily by just showing them that we care. anyway, I really admire Shawn at the same time for getting out of the downward spiral with enough time to tell his story and warn others about the bad bad things about meth. I hope that he touches people who really need to hear him, i know he touched me. Just like the speaker we had come to our school last year who did the presentation on meth. I am so glad that taht man is dedicating the rest of his life to tell the world about the dangers of meth.To me, speakers who have experienced the terrible effects of meth are sucessful in convincing the public that meth is bad, because their storys are always so horrifying that people understand how terrible meth really is.

Article from

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/03/27/meth.death.ap/index.html

Picture from

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/03/27/meth.death.ap/index.html

Ann's Blog On Seperation of Church and State:

2007-03-20T17:37:00.000-07:00

Anns blog #4:

"Biology teacher fired for referring to Bible" (cnn.com, March 20, 2007)

A Biology teacher in Sisters, Oregon had a short-lived new job at the local high school. After only eight days, he was fired mainly for 'deviating from the curriculum on the theory of evolution'. His name is Kris Helphinstine and he allegedly included biblical references in his lectures along with controversial discussions that connected evolution, Nazi Germany, and planned parenthood. in Kris Helphinstines defense he claims that his sole purpose of the lessons was to teach the high school students how to hear information, then interpret it and analyze it, forming their own opinions about it. He says that critical thinking is very important to understanding science. He says that he never taught the idea that God created the world, saying that he knows what it is and he went out of his way as to not teach it. A parent complained when is freshman daughter came home confused by the material being covered in her biology class. This parent, John Rahm, accused Kris Helphinstine of not teaching the curriculum that his daughter and her classmates were supposed to be learning. Other parents are concerned about the pollution of their child's mind, in the things that they have been taught in his classroom.

I find this rediculous, i guess i never really felt that strongly about seperation of church and state, espically in a country like ours where the majority of the citizens, fundamentally, believe in the same ideas. Of course, this is comming from a christian, but if the system is designed to protect athiests, it doesn't make too much sense to me. If I were to have never heard about God and his word and all of his greatness, than I would probably be an athiest. If that were to be the case for me, my life would lack a whole lot of meaning. I wish the whole world could be exposed to my wonderful Creators love and grace. When seperation of church and state is put into place, it makes my goal difficult. I feel truely sorry for the poor individuals whos parents never brought them to sunday school when they were in elementary school. Allowing religion into schools wouldn't have to be forcing religions on to people, but it can (and should) get them thinking about a higher power. Exposure is all it would take.
/li9'p

Ann's Blog on "that's so gay"

2007-03-01T18:22:00.000-08:00

P.S. i wasn't trying to work the system on the last blog. I started it on feb. 20 and didn't finish it until march 2. i forgot to add march 2 to the dates. sorry!!!!!

blog #2:

"Student lawsuit hinges on whether 'That's so gay' is anti-gay putdown" (cnn.com, march 2, 2007)

A girl named Rebekah Rice is in the middle of a big lawsuit because of a comment she made. She said "that's so gay" at school one day back in 2002 and was sent to the office where they punished her for saying the phrase. She received a warning and a marking on her file and her parents sued. Her parents claim that her first amendment rights were violated by the school officials. The problem is that, without meaning to, she made a statement that put down the lifestyles of homosexuals. She claims that the phrase just means that's so stupid, that's so dumb. Apparently, the year before, two students were paid to beat up another gay student and that may have something to do with the administrations intoleration of rebukes behavior. Then the article goes on to talk about how the term can be and is offensive to many homosexuals. It also talks about how often the term gay is used in a derogatory sense.

I have never been a big fan of the phrase, myself. I guess I don't judge people or think that they are bad because they use it, but its not a phrase that I would use. I think people who use it seem ignorant and snotty and uneducated. I picture a girl twirling her hair in her fingers and gossiping with her fake girlfriends about the bad thing a boy did to one of them and saying "that's so gay". I guess that is all the defense I have to give the school because I have no personal connection to the word gay and using it in a derogatory sense doesn't affect me in the least. The article talks about just thinking about something that you are and then having someone use that word to mean stupid. Okay, well I'm a sixteen year old Christian. If someone were to make a generalized statement about how terrible sixteen year olds are in that type of way, I don't think I would be affected. If someone were to attack my faith in that same sort of way I would probably get a little bit more upset, but I still wouldn't think much of it. Those are two things that I am. I'm 16 and I can't help that and I chose to be a Christian and that's a lifestyle that I choose. Im strong in the way that I am and my choices. so whether or not a person claims that they choose to be gay or that they just 'are' gay. I don't see how it should affect them in a substantially amount. What do they care what the world thinks about them. People need to start living their own lives and quit wasting their time worrying about what others might be saying or thinking about them. It is awfully difficult to become accepted in the world if you don't first accept yourself. If you are confident in yourself and allow that selfconfidence to let itself out to the world, then there should really be no problems. I may sound smug in saying this, but I think that the people getting upset are overreacting to this.

article from:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/EDUCATION/02/28/so.gay.ap/index.html

Ann's Blog on premature baby

2007-02-20T17:01:00.000-08:00

Ann's second semester blog #2:

"'Miracle baby' homecoming delayed" (cnn.com, februrary 20, 2007)

Amillia Sonja Taylor is the little girl in the picture who was born extremely prematurely. She spent a record breaking short time inside her mother womb. After the mere 22 weeks inside, she was born on October 24, 2006. She could now be released from the hospital, but they are keeping her there for a few extra days as a precaution. Part of the reasoning behind this is because of some test results that prove her to be vulnerable to infection. On October 24, when she was born, she weighed less than 10 ounces and was only nine and one half inches long. What a little baby!!! Since then she has grown to become 4 and one half pounds and grown to a length of 15 and one half inches. (still a little baby) She has had some issues involving her health so far with things like respiratory and digestive problems and a mild brain hemorrhage. Thankfully, the doctors predict that these issues won't produce long term effects. Amillia has been on an incubator since her birth in order to receive proper amounts of oxygen. With her release, she will continue to receive some sort of supplement that will continue to help her in receiving oxygen.

What a precious little thing!!! I can't imagine a baby that weighed less than 10 ounces. My first reaction is cute, but then I think, SCARY. The poor parents... What a struggle for them. I can't imagine what that would be like and I hope that I never have to experience it for myself. I know that when I become pregnant I will have amazingly high expectations and think that nothing bad could ever happen to "my" baby. And I am sure that every other female in the world has a similar mindset. Obviously I will still be cautious and things like that, but I picture my baby's birthday as the most joyful day I will experience. I'm sure it was quite the shocker for the mother to know that she is only 22 weeks along and the doctors are going to make it time for her baby to be on its own. I bet that was one of the scarriest realities of her life. To me, it would almost be like a horror story. I would have trouble accepting that it was really happening and that the child of my dreams, who I already love, is in a very critical condition. What is even worse is that from there it doesn't get any better. Then come the constant battles against the infections of the world. It would probably be such a challenge to know that, as a mother, you couldn't do anything to help. I would want to be like, 'here baby, talk my antibodies, Ill help you fight off the world.' Gol, and to think about how much money it must be costing the parents. What a rollercoaster of an experience for these first time parents. What chaos. I pray for these people and also for me so that when I become a mom, I never have to go through this. (Current events are crazy to me, in my blogs I always end up saying, "they'll be in my prayers" everything is about the struggles of life and the bad things. Scary.)

Article from:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/02/20/tiny.baby.ap/index.html
picture from;
http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/02/20/tiny.baby.ap/index.html

2007-02-04T14:06:00.000-08:00

Ann's second semester bl0g #1:
"Woman charged after son, 4, mauled by pit bull" (cnn.com, Februrary 4, 2007)

A four year old boy living in Toledo, Ohio had to have his leg amputated after the family pet, a pit bull, chewed on it. His mother, Martina Jennings, who is twenty-three, then took him to the hospital on Friday because his foot was bleeding. She reported that there was blood smeared on their dog's face and chest. The four year old wasn't able to feel the dog mauling at his foot because he has a condition called spina bifida which prevents him from having feeling below his waist. This condition is a defect that occurs during birth when the spinal cord doesn't connect with the backbone. The pit bull that made a chew toy out of young flesh was destroyed. There is debate about whether or not the dog would have been capable of chewing the four year-olds foot to such a degree because his teeth had not yet matured. The mother is now being charged with child endangering and is being held in the Lucas county jail on that felony charge. When investigators called the Jennings’ house on Saturday, nobody answered. It is still unknown whether or now she had hired an attorney.

I feel really bad for the mother of this little boy. Heartbreak number one = a child with a birth defect that doesn't allow him to have feeling below his waist. Heartbreak number two = this same child has to get his foot amputated. I think it would be so hard to have a child that was in any way, shape, or form not normal. I look up to the parents of children with birth defects and command them for their c0ntinual love. After hearing how those words come out I feel bad about how much society has affected me. Who classifies someone as "normal" or "not normal"? Its so unfair to me that people have to be so judgemental and that i have to feel bad for someone who has their foot amputated. Honestly, what difference does it make? They are still the same person. Anyway, I am sure the mother is feeling terrible about what happened and feeling really guilty that she left him alone with the dog for however long or whatever. And now she is getting charged with a felony on the basis of endangering her child. This is always the worst, in my opinion. When guilt would be a good enough punishment and then someone decides that further punishment and humiliation is necessary. I hope everything works out for her in the end.

Article From:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/02/04/mauling.ohio.ap/index.html
Picture From:
http://www.doggienews.com/uploaded_images/happy-pit-bull-725646.jpg

Ann's Blog on Chinese missiles

2007-01-18T17:08:00.000-08:00

Anns LAST BLOG for 1st semester!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:

"U.S. official: Chinese test missile obliterates satellite" (cnn.com, Thursday January 18, 2007)

There could be oncommin issues in the relationship between The US and China. Last week (actually January 11), China launched a missile that destroyed an orbiting satellite. The US now sees China as a threat to the satellites used by the US military. The missile that they sent out was aimed at a Chinese weather satellite that was in orbit about 357 miles from earth. Apparently, this was the first sucess in three trials. There are space tracking sensors that indicate that the satellite was destroyed in addition to hundreds of pieces of debris. The US along with Australia and Canada have issued protests. US officials are worried now because if there were to become issues between the US and China then the first thing that they would do (and be capible of doing) would be to destroy all of the US satellites that orbit lower. This would take away all of our spy equiptment and thus put us a step behind. This is mainly a threat to the US.

I am always in awe of all the the military capabilities that the would is always gaining. The whole atomic bomb still amazes me. I am also in fear of whether other countries know where to draw the line between moral and immoral. At the same time, it is really impressive how accurate stuff like this can be. I can't even begin to fathom how they would even start to be able to launch a missile that could be so precise that it could collide with a satellite. I am also very suprised to learn that we have many satellites in orbit that have spy technology. I had a friend who visited Washington DC and while they were there they visited a place that had technology that connected with satellites that allowed them to see their house in Alexandria. THATS CREEPY!! And at the same time really cool...It is just like google (earth) which allows anybody to use the technology to zoom into places around the world. I can see how that could be helpful to use as a spy device in feuds between countries. I hope that we don't get involved in conflict with any other countries any time soon. I think that we are having enough trouble dealing with Iraq. Its weird to think about the world getting sucked into a WW3. That would be so scarry; I can't even imagine. I would like a peaceful world very much, I hope that that is a high priority to our world leaders.

Article From:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/space/01/18/china.missile/index.html
Picture from:
http://www.nd.edu/~techrev/mag-images/Spring2002/rouss3.jpg

Ann's Blog on Ashley:

2007-01-18T05:21:00.000-08:00

Anns second quarter blog #8:

"Disability community decries 'Ashley treatment'" (cnn.com, January 18, 2007)

There is a girl named Ashley who has an unchanging brain injury of an unknown origin so she will remain in an infant state for the rest of her life. She will never be able to walk, talk, roll over by herself, etc. This condition is called static encephalopathy. In an effort by her parents to make it easier to care for her, they made the decision to remove her uterous and breast buds. This will ensure that she never goes through puberty and she will remain about 75 pounds the rest of her life. There is a lot of contraversy in this decision. There have been many debates over whether this action was moral or immoral. Many object saying even though she is disabled, she should still be treated like a human. Most of this debating has occured over the internet by blogs!!! Even the parents of Ashley have not spoken publicly, but have made their reasoning known by blogging.

As a parent, this would be such a hard decision. First of all, I'm sure it is probably really hard to deal with the struggles that come along with any sort of disabled child, but then to make a decision that you thought of as in your childs best interests and then getting ridiculed because of it. That would be a lot to deal with. I don't have the strongest of opinions on this one, but i think taht alot of it rests with the parents. The parents are the caregivers of this child and they are the ones who are going to have to make the sacrifices in order to take care of their child. I guess, in my eyes I don't see it as being immoral to remove her uterous and breast buds. My main reasoning behind that being that it is not necessary for her to go through puberty because there is no need for her to. There is no chance that she will ever become pregnant and, furthermore, her mind is in an infant state, why should her body be able to keep progressing as if she were normal. It all seems like a waste to me. I feel really bad for her parents, they are getting such a hard time after making their decision, and, in my opinion, it is theirs to make--nobody elses. I look up to them for what they do and I hope that they are able to get through this easily.

Artricle From:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/01/11/ashley.outcry/index.html
Picture From:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/images/273175.jpg

Ann's Blog On Video Games:

2007-01-16T19:07:00.000-08:00

Ann's second quarter blog #7:

"Slamdance festival pulls Columbine video game" (cnn.com, January 16, 2007)

At the Slamdance Festival in Salt Lake City, Utah, a video game portraying the events of the Columbine massacre has been pulled out of the competition. The co-founder and president of the Slamdance Film Festival stated the justification for this being that there are still many people who are suffering from the Columbine incident. He is quoted saying, "some things are more important than one game or a festival." This video game can be downloaded off the internet and contains cartoon versions of Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, the shooters who killed thirteen people and then themselves in April of 1999 in a school in Colorado. While playing the game, the player takes on the role of Harris and Klebold. The creator of the game, Danny Ledonne, is from southern Colorado and was a sophomore in high school when the actual Columbine took place. The actual shootings by Harris and Klebold were partially blamed on violent video games and Ledonne wanted to create discussion about the shootings. Ledonne said that Slamdance contacted him wanting him to enter his game into the competition and then he said "They picked up something that they, in the end, didn't have the courage of their convictions to stand behind."

HOLY SMOKES!!!! This is so ridiculous. I can't believe that anyone would be so insensitive that they could create a game that idolized real-life murderers. Thirteen real people were killed by Harris and Klebold and their families and friends still have to deal with the grief of their losses. I don't understand how anyone could feel it appropriate to create a game that lets the player into the shoes of the killers. This Ledonne guy is psychotic. Honestly, I am pretty sure that he has issues. Normally when I read current events they don't really move me one way or the other too much, but this one got me really worked up and upset. If I had the money and the time and if I knew how, I would definitely sue this guy. I wasn't even personally connected to the Columbine and it irritates me that much. The thing is, I have lost a loved one to a more natural cause, and I know the grief that goes along with it. If my beloved had been murdered I would hate, with all my heart, the person responsible. Then to see the person responsible for their death idolized would make me go insane with anger. I know that this is really judgmental, but if I were to have to choose the person that I had the least respect for and disliked the most, Ledonne would be the winner. What an insensitive person. I have absolutely no respect. Reading this article reminded me of a song that I know that is about the Columbine that is really good I put the lyrics below:

It was a test we could all hope to passBut none of us would want to take.Faced with the choice to deny God to live,For her, there was one choice to make.This was her time. this was her dance.She lived every moment; left nothing to chance.She swam in the sea; drank of the deep;Embraced the mystery of all she could be.This was her time...Though you are mourning and grieving with us,Death died a long time ago;Swallowed in life so that life carries on.Still its so hard to let go.This was her time. this was her dance.She lived every moment; left nothing to chance.She swam in the sea; drank of the deep;Embraced the mystery of all she could be.What if tomorrow, and what if today,Faced with the question,Oh what would you say? This is your time. this is your dance.Live every moment. leave nothing to chance.Swim in the sea. drink of the deep.Follow the mercy and hear yourself praying.Wont you save me? Wont you save me? This is your time. this is your dance.Live every moment. leave nothing to chance.Swim in the sea. drink of the deep.Embrace the mystery of all you can be.This is your time. this is your dance.Live every moment. leave nothing to chance.Swim in the sea. drink of the deep.Embrace the mystery of all you can be.This is your time...(wont you save me? )(this is your time)(wont you save me? )

Apparently, the murders attempted to get a young girl to deny her faith in order to save her life and she wouldn't. That is when they killed her. That is what this song is about. Now that i think about it Lebonne would take number 3 on that list behind Harris and Klebold. What kind of a person would put a gun to someones head and say "deny God or I will pull this trigger." I can think of a couple of nasty words I could name them but I won't. This is such a frusterating piece of current events. I'm done.

Article from:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/EDUCATION/01/16/columbine.videogame.ap/index.html
Lyrics from:
http://www.lyricsfreak.com/m/michael+w.+smith/this+is+your+time_20093181.html

Ann's Blog On School Bus Crash

2007-01-15T16:55:00.000-08:00

Ann's second quarter blog #6:

"Bus hits students then wall; at least 17 hospitalized" (cnn.com, January 15, 2007)

Some sort of mechanical problem left a school bus out of control in Fairless hills, Pennsylvania. After attempts by the bus driver to regain control of the bus it covered almost 1/2 of a mile. On its way, it ran over a curb, drove over a sidewalk, broke through a fence and crashed to a stop at a retaining wall. This all happened over crowded school grounds, thus many people who weren't even riding the bus were hospitalized. In all, fourteen who were on foot and three that were riding the bus were rushed to the hospital. In an effort to dodge the bus, one boy jumped under the bus where he lay on his back while he watched the bottom of the bus drive over him. There is one seventeen year old girl who is in critical condition and is going to get transferred to the Philadelphia hospital. While the bus was driving out of control, a security guard drove along side it to try and clear the way for the bus.

Vehicles scare me. There are so many things that can go wrong with them. Recently I had a leak in one of the tires on my car and the whole time until I could get it fixed I was paranoid. While driving, I would have these visions of blowing a tire and my car going out of control and running into oncoming traffic or trees or telephone poles. Ever since then I will have these visions of me getting into some sort of accident and I get really scared and start driving really slow. It is so weird to think about all the others that can be in an accident that aren't even riding in a vehicle. Like all the people who were just walking outside of their school. How scary would that be, all of a sudden a big yellow bus is charging toward you? Its weird to try and put myself in that situation. I can't believe that my impulse action would be to throw myself underneath the bus like the one boy. But when I hear about the seventeen year old who has to get transferred to Philadelphia I get really sad. I always do when I hear about people having to get transferred. That is one of my biggest fears. So many people have died in the helicopter ride to a different hospital. My heart goes out to her family. I, from experience, know exactly what that's like and the stresses that go along with it. The people involved in this accident will be in my prayers tonight.

article from:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/01/12/bus.crash.ap/index.html
picture from:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/01/12/bus.crash.ap/index.html

Ann's Blog On Confederate Statues

2006-12-28T20:14:00.000-08:00

Ann's second quarter blog #5:

"University to reconsider Confederate statues on campus" (cnn.com, December 28, 2006)

There is an ongoing debate over statues on display on the campus of the University of Texas. These statues honor some of the leaders of the Confederacy. Some examples of these statues are the Confederate President Jefferson Davis and the Confederate General Robert E. Lee. Apparently there have always been concerns over the praise that these statues give to the Confederacy. Recently, however, a new president for the campus has decided to let a panel decide if they should be allowed to stay. The previous president of the campus wrote a letter a couple of years ago that said that the statues "convey institutional nostalgia" (I had no idea what that meant, but thanks to wikipedia I know know that it has something to do with wanting to acknowledge our history.) In 1999 money was raised to create a statue of Martin Luther King Jr. and there are also statues of the hispanic labor leader Cesar Chavez and the first black woman from the south to be elected into the Congress.

I think that this is all a waste of time and money for this university. As far as I know the history books report the North's victory, so I'm not sure why people are getting so insecure about ackowledging works of people from the South. To me it's like this: their efforts may be worthy of praise but it obviously wasn't enough for them to win the Civil War, so there is no need to worry about them. They have a huge part in our history and they shouldn't be over looked just because they were on the losing side of things. Our country is quite a bit different today than it was back then and I don't think that we can say that their actions are "bad" because we didn't actually live during their time period. We can't call them traitors to our country because our country has changed so much since then. We could possibly call them traitors to the country that we used to be, but their actions against that country helped to shape the country that we are today. To me, history is history, and it shouldn't be one-sided. Robert E. Lee should be praised for his great leadership and Davis should also be recognized. They had a huge impact on our country and we should be happy for that. The more news that I read the more sick and tired I get of people who whine and can't look at something from a different angle. Everything has to constantly be criticized and critiqued and nothing can just be taken for what it is. It really frustrates me. On a lighter note, I like how I know about Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis. YEA!!! GO ONLINE HISTORY CLASS...I'm learning!!!!

Article from:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/EDUCATION/12/28/confederate.statues.ap/index.html
Image from:
http://sandstead.com/images/monument_avenue/MERCIE_Antonin_Portrait_Equestrian_Statue_of_Robert_E_Lee_and_horse_Traveller_Monument_Row_Richmond_Source_Sandstead_d2h_04.jpg

Ann's Blog On Drug Lawsuit

2006-12-16T09:03:00.000-08:00

Ann's second quarter blog #4:

"High court takes 'Bong Hits for Jesus' case" (cnn.com, December 16, 2006)

An eighteen year old senior living in Juneau, Alaska hung a fourteen foot banner just on the outside of his high school grounds that said "Bong Hits 4 Jesus". When the principle demanded that he take down the banner he refused. He was then suspended for ten days for his violation of the school policy of no illegal drug use. His name is Joseph Frederick and this happened back in 2002. He then took the school to court saying that his first amendment rights were being violated (free speech). The Court of Appeals in San Francisco, California agreed because of his argues about his rights granted to him in the first amendment and also because he did not hang the banner on school grounds. The judges of the case used the precedent of the 1969 Tinker case where two students were allowed to continue to wear anti-war Vietnam armbands. The lawyer who investigated President Clinton's relationship with Monica Lewinsky is representing the school in the case free of charge. There will now be an appeal on the case that is scheduled for late February.

It always amazes me how long this type of lawsuit stuff can take. Frederick did this way back in 2002 and the case is still going on and will continue until Feburary and then they have to wait until June for the verdict. That would just eat at a person. It would be so hard to go on with your life with that hanging over a person. It seems to me that the school shouldn't even be involved in this case although I don't think that they are out of line being involved. It is really too bad for the school, I'm sure it add a lot of extra work for the school board. I'm glad that someone is teaching this kid a lesson. Hopefully this whole experience, no matter what the verdict, will change him for the better. When I think about what kind of person he must have been to hang a banner like that, I'm guessing he didn't grow up the same way that I did. It makes me feel really fortunate. It's crazy to me that this attention-craving senior would hang a banner near his school saying "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" and I had to use wikipedia to help me understand that drug terminology. I just hope that this kid will be able to learn from this experience and take with him a new mindset and start his life over again.

Article from:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/12/01/scotus.bonghits/index.html
Additional Information from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bong_Hits_for_Jesus

Ann's Blog On Thanksgiving

2006-11-24T10:52:00.000-08:00

Ann's second quarter blog #3:

"Teaching Thanksgiving From a Different Perspective" (cnn.com; November 24, 2006)

The debate over the actual story of Thanksgiving persists. The traditional history as we learn it is being questioned continually and many are against the way it is being taught. The actual feast may not have been all smiles like we portray it today. An elementary school teacher by the name of Bill Morgan is determined to let his third-graders know the 'real' story of Thanksgiving. There in Long Beach, California he enters his classroom dressed as a pilgrim and begins by stealing his students' backpacks, pencils and glue sticks. When the students protest he simply tells them that they are his now because he discovered them. This being an effort to teach his third-graders how the events of Thanksgiving really occured. While there are many who would encourage these teachings, there are many who disagree with the way Mr. Morgan is telling the history of Thanksgiving. They say that his style is 'too extreme'. One woman who disagrees with Mr. Morgan's teachings was quoted in the article saying "He is teaching his students to hate their country. That is a very distorted view of history, a distorted view of Thanksgiving." Others say that the 'dark' side of the story should not be taught to children that are so young.

In this day and age, it seems that we, as Americans, don't recognize the history at our actual feasts of Thanksgiving.My anual supper does not include, "and thank you Lord, for the settlers who first settled our country" or anything even remotely close. My family and I are giving thanks for the blessings God has given us and I'm pretty sure that the settlers are not too high up on my list of things I am thankful for. Thanksgiving, for me is a time to be thankful for my family, friends and all the love and oppurtunities that I am blessed with. For me, its pretty far removed from the very first Thanksgiving between the natives and the settlers. Now, that being said, I don't think that the whole issue discussed in the article is really much of an issue. I think that the students should hear both sides of the story and the things being debated, but the teaching should be done in a non-bias manner. This way, the students could decide for themselves how they feel about the matter. Furthermore, the article stated that here was peace at the thanksgiving time, it wasn't until afterwards that it got ugly between the natives and the settlers. Here again, I have heard things that would contradict that. But in my opinion the students should be hearing both pieces of evidence. In my opinion, the issue is not which side of the story is being taught, but the way its being taught. I am strongly opposed to bias in education. Students need to be taught how to formulate their own opinions and beliefs. They shouldn't be spoon-fed by pushy teachers who want to get their point across. Teachers can express their opinion by giving the facts and then they should also give the facts for the other side of the story.

Article From:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/EDUCATION/11/22/teaching.thanksgiving.ap/index.html
Picture From:
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.fairvote.org/media/misc/turkey.JPG&imgrefurl=http://www.fairvote.org/%3Fpage%3D1388&h=238&w=200&sz=15&hl=en&start=2&tbnid=EOkMIZ2565xp7M:&tbnh=109&tbnw=92&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dthanksgiving%2Bturkey%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26sa%3DG

Ann's Blog On Online Classes

2006-11-10T13:55:00.000-08:00

Ann's Second Quarter Blog #2:

"Report: Number of students taking online courses rises" (cnn.com, November 10, 2006 and November 18, 2006)

The busy lifestyles that we, as Americans, are living can sometimes leave little room even for education. The development of online classes helps people to work it into their schedules. The amount of people taking classes online has been increasing from day one. In 2005 the number was up forty percent from the previous year and the growth didn't slow any this fall. Currently one in every six students past high school are enrolled in an online course. Roughly eighty percent of these students are undergraduate students who are older and have families and things to work their education around. Besides these people, fifty percent of students who will be enrolling in an education beyond high school would get some of their education online as opposed to all of their courses being held in the classroom. A very good point that the article brings up is its proposal at why there is such a desire and demand for online classes. It's logical statement is that todays traditional classes are becoming very much like online classes. Teachers will post assignments online and the students will be able to see the syliabi. There is a thing called the Sloan Survey that examined online courses and things in relation to them. It found that even academic officials are warming up to the idea of online classes. They found that 62% of the academic officials believed that students were able to learn just as well or better in an online setting. The other 38% argued that the online classes took quite a bit extra effort, time and self-disclipine.

That 38% speaks the truth; I know from experience. When you don't have a block of 55 minutes of your day set aside for a class, it gets easy to procrastinate. Self-disclipine is the key to sucess in online schooling. I could also fit myself into the group of 62% that say that students are able to learn just as well in an online class. Like they say, teachers are creating their classes more and more like online classes. Lots of times, espically in high school, classroom teachers don't make themselves approachable anyway and there are the types who don't really do too much to make their class worthwhile. Those are the times when I find online classes expremely convienent. On the other hand, there are the teachers who pour their heart and soul into teaching and want so much for their students sucess. Classes with good teachers like these are impossible to try to reproduce in an online setting. But when I have that third-hour-do-nothing teacher, the one I know I would do a better job teaching than they, is when i know that online classes are a good thing. Online classes are espically helpful at Jefferson with our 6 period day. 6 periods doesn't leave much room for extra classes. My online experience has been sucessful so far, I have learned alot and have developed skills that would otherwise not be developed as well. My self-disclipine has become better and I have become the type of person who tries to work ahead. In my opinion, online classes are a great option for students who wish to get a jump start on classes.

Article From:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/EDUCATION/11/09/colleges.online.ap/index.html
Picture From:
http://wwwcomm.murdoch.edu.au/synergy/0504/images/computerstudents.jpg

Ann's Blog On The High School Fire

2006-11-03T01:06:00.000-08:00

Ann's second quarter blog #1:

"Fire destroys high school, plans for year uncertain" (cnn.com, November 3, 2006)

A destructive fire at Eastern Guildford High School in Gibonsville, North Carolina is leaving the future for its students unclear. The actual cause of the fire remains unknown, but they do know the location that the flames begun; a chemistry lab. A staff member of the high school saw the fire around two in the afternoon on the day of the fire, which was a Wednesday. This teacher attempted to extinguish the fire with a fire extinguisher. After realizing that the fire was too large, this teacher pulled the fire alarm causing a total evacuation of the building. The students, teachers and other staff members went to a church nearby. The total enrollment at Eastern Guildford High was 1,060 students, so over one thousand highschoolers are left without a school for the rest of the year. It has been about two days since the fire and students are confused about the situation; many are left in the dark at this point. One classic seventeen year old boy, Brandon Pride stated "I don't know what we are going to do about school or football" (a reasonable first concern...football) Then he went on to say "I wonder if we,ve lost our transcripts and what this is going to mean for the rest of the year and college. It looks as though the school board has scheduled an emergency meeting to clear up some of these burning questions.

Reading through this article I couldn't help but smile when I read poor Brandon Pride's quotes. I'm sure that upon hearing the fire alarm he first thought 'yeah man, no school for us no more dude...hey wait, what about football?' This might be a little harsh, but I just let my mind wander with it. Every school has a Brandon Pride, football fanatic. Being in this situation would be frightening. I can't imagine if this happened to Jefferson and we all had to separate and drive to different places for school every day for the rest of the year. This would be such a nightmare for everyone; the administrators, staff and students. Obviously, there is no easy fix. It isn't like they could just whip up another school in a heartbeat and no surrounding school would be able to accept 1000 students. It is devastating. I'm curious to find out whether the fire was intentional or accidental. Hopefully the latter. In any event, reading this article makes me appreciate school and all the opportunities it brings into all of our lives. I can't imagine losing it. I hope that they are able to make some sort of arrangement for all of their students.

Article From:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/EDUCATION/11/02/school.fire.ap/index.html

Ann's Blog On Mental Health Issues In Schools

2006-11-01T15:12:00.000-08:00

Ann's Blog #10:

"University and student settle mental health lawsuit" (cnn.com, November 1, 2006)

This article explains an issue that schools all around the nation are facing involving students mental health issues. It mainly focuses on a student from George Washington University who got treated for depression and was not allowed to return after his treatments because of his mental problems. The student, Jordan Nott, said that he started having suicidal thoughts after another student from George Washington University committed suicide. After having these thoughts he was hospitalized for his problems. The school refused to allow him to return because they claimed that he was dangerous. In defense, Jordan says that his conditions are involuntary and he should not be punished for them. Nevertheless, he was forced to transfer to another school a few months after. Prior to this there was a lawsuit between Jordan and the school, but, as of now, it seems that they have reached an agreement.

Alrighty then...How about not letting diabetics into good ol' George Washington University either? To me it is the same thing, both could be classified as diseases, both are involuntary, and both are treatable. I understand the concerns with the fact that depression could lead to violence, but Jordan Nott was treated. Even if he had not have already been treated I would still say that he should be allowed to attend classes at whichever university he chooses. Refuse him because of that B- in chemistry, not because he has a clinical case of depression. If Jordan has proven himself acceptable to attend, then his being hospitalized should not hinder his chances of an optimal education. I personally know students from my highschool who suffer from depression and they are by no means less qualified to attend a college than myself, or someone who wasn't depressed. Their only flaw is not thinking highly of themselves. Treatment helps these individuals alot. Another thing that helps these kids is when something good happens in their lives, an example of that being getting into a desired college. In my opinion, Depression should not prevent someone from attending a college that they wish to attend. I think that this type of discrimination is wrong and should be stopped.

Article From:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/EDUCATION/11/01/college.depression.ap/index.html
Picture of George Washington University from:
http://www.gwumc.edu/edu/medicine/images/GWUH.jpg

Ann's Blog On E.coli

2006-10-28T08:10:00.000-07:00

Ann's Blog #9:

"Wild Pigs eyed in E.coli outbreak" (cnn.com, October 28, 2006)

The investigation on the E.coli outbreak in spinach of September continues. In the outbreak, three people were killed and over two hundred were sickened. Investigators are working to try and pinpoint the cause of this outbreak. They have found the exact ranch that the bad spinach came from which is four ranches in California. In their research they have found some fragments of the same kind of E.coli in the cattle's manure, thus hinting that the bacteria must have came from the cattle. The question that now puzzles them is that the cattle are kept about one mile away from the field where the contaminated spinach was found, so they are unsure how the E.coli made its way that far. In investigation they studied the water in and around the ranch. They looked at the irrigation, runoff, and flooding of the area. Then they examined the wildlife animals around the spinach field. In looking at that they came across a type of wild pig that could have done the spreading of the bacteria. They are still in the process of examining their manure and other things that could prove that they are the source of the spreading of the E.coli.

Its crazy to me how something happening on California farms could effect people all around America. Even I, in Alexandria, Minnesota, was effected by something that was occurring on only four spinach fields in California. A couple of weeks ago my family and I decided to get some pizza at Pappa Murphy's and we like specialty pizzas and so we wanted to get a type of Medditerean Pizza. Unfortunately, we were told that we couldn't because an ingredient in it was spinach. The next week I wanted to order a salad at Subway, and was told I couldn't get spinach leaves because of the outbreaks. To me this seems like a huge overeaction. Out of all the spinach farms in all of America, only four contained contaminated spinach. And, they were all in the same valley of California. First of all, it effects normal people like me, but it has a huge impact on the farmers of other farms because they are unable to sell their spinach because of paranoia. I feel so bad for those farmers; they can't even get business from a pizza restaurant in Minnesota. To me, it seems overboard. These ranches were punished for the other four ranches problems. Business for them went way down. The punishment should go to the four ranchers that produced the bad spinach. They should be daily testing their spinach and making sure that there are no contaminations. If the pig theory is correct, what are wild pigs doing leaving manure on the fields of the food that Americans eat? When looking for additional information I came across a picture and an article of a boy who died from the bad spinach. The little boy below was two years old, and probably only trying to obey his mommy when she told him to eat his vegetables. Obviously the farmers didn't do the food poisoning on purpose, but deaths like these should be prevented by extra safe procedures on the ranches. That is where there should be overeaction; in the preparation not the after effects. The whole situation should have been prevented, maybe then that cute little boy would be out playing with his play cars, I wouldn't have had to eat sausage pizza for lunch, and the rest of the spinach farms could be prospering.

News Article From:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/10/26/tainted.spinach.ap/index.html
Pig Picture Found On:
http://www.cohsoft.com.au/nature/gallery/p/peccary.jpg
Spinach Picture Found On:
http://www.playfuls.com/bizworld/gimages/spinach22092.jpg
Two Year Old Picture Found On:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ABPub/2006/10/05/2003291123.jpg
Additional Information Found On:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003291391_spinach06.html

Ann's Blog On College Prices

2006-10-26T19:09:00.000-07:00

Ann's Blog #8

"Average College Cost Breaks $30,000" (cnn.com, October 26, 2006)

Every year the cost of tuition for 4-year colleges increases, and this year was no different. Of course private and public schools make a difference, but there is no question that the the price of an education is getting more and more costly. The average cost to attend a private school has just tiptoed over the $30,000 mark. This amount comes from the necessities of a college education; a combination of school tuition costs and room and board. For the average college student wishing to attend a private school, the cost of tuition is $22,218 and then with the addition of $8,149 for room and board it is $30,367. A public school's average tuition cost is around $5,836 with an additional $6,960 for room and board. Even though the prices are continually increasing, the rate at which the tuition costs for public colleges has decreased slightly. This year the rate of increase is at 6.3% whereas last year there was an increase of 7.1%. While there is all this increasing of prices there is also an increase of financial help for these students. The article stated that the amount of student aid has increased by 3.7%. This goes hand and hand with the fact that almost 2/3 of college students get help financially on the prices of tuition. This financial help has a huge effect on the actual amount of money that these individual students have to pay. A student who has enrolled into an average private school will pay, after grants, an average of $13,200. This is considerably lower than the $22,218 that would be paid without help. This financial help comes in both loans and grants. Grants make up 44% of the total amount of money funded to students while loans make up 51% of that money. The reason that the price keeps increasing on tuition costs is because the government is not able to provide the money that would allow the colleges to make profit, so they have to factor that into the tuition costs for the students.

The majority of the article makes it seem like the costs of tuition in this day and age is unreasonable to some extent (although the article is not at all opinionated - the facts alone lead the reader to this conclusion). The last segment of the article changes my mind completely. It states the fact that although the cost of getting a 4-year college degree is very high, the average amount that is made after receiving this education (as opposed to a high school diploma alone) is 70% higher for women and 63% higher for men. Those are some pretty high percentages. I would choose to pay the costs of receiving a college education over trying to skip it, hands down. Then again, that has been my goal all along. Even if I look at the decision through the eyes of someone who hasn't always seen college as their future destiny, I still think it seems like an easy choice. When I began to get started on my bloggin tonight, I ran across the title of this article and immediately I knew that I wanted to do my blog on it. With junior year flying by, my college decisions are looming over my head, so my interest level in college information is at an all time high. Even while doing some of my prior blogs I have taken the time to read other college-related articles. But this article especially peaked my interest because at this point I haven't put a single thought into the price of college. Thus far, my only concerns involving college have been grades and the thought of choosing a college. I must be some spoiled brat if I am a junior in high school and I have not yet thought about how much college is going to cost! (hopefully not!) So being that I had not thought about it, I had no idea how much the actual amount was going to cost. I had an idea roughly, but my estimate was very broad. Reading this article really opened my eyes. An education is quite a sum of money. Then I got to thinking that I have spent six hours a day, five days a week for eleven years just getting myself ready for this next level of education that will allow me to have a job that I will enjoy and prosper in. Suddenly that sum of money does not seem so big. Now that I have in mind the cost of my college tuition, the article on statefarm.com helps me to visualize the amount of money that I will be spending on my children 30-40 years from now. Now I see that I really need that 70% more income that I will receive after going to a 4-year college. Everything is building on itself and it is clear to me that the amazingly high costs of a college education are well worth it.

Information found:

http://money.cnn.com/2006/10/24/pf/college/college_costs/index.htm?postversion=2006102410

Additional Information found:

http://www.statefarm.com/mutual/sc/invest_know/costofcollege.asp

Graph found:

http://www.statefarm.com/_images/college_graph.gif

Ann's Blog On Spacecraft To Mars

2006-10-19T13:29:00.000-07:00

Ann's Blog #7:

"Spacecraft brings Mars into focus" (cnn.com, October 19, 2006)

The gap between the unknown and the known of the universe continues to get smaller and smaller. In August of 2005 a highly advanced spacecraft was sent to capture images of the planet Mars. It wasn't until September of 2006 that the spacecraft was able to get into position to orbit Mars and send images back to Earth. The images are showing signs of possible water and ice. This would mean that oxygen could be extracted from the H2O and a manned exploration could be possible. There are things like valleys that could have been carved by water, clay deposits that that hold standing water and streams. The camera also detected melting frost and layers of ice and dirt. Within the layers of ice, the oldest layer resembles the newest which indicates that the amount of dust in the Marsian atmosphere is dependent on the movements of the planets. There is reason to believe that there has been major climate changes within the last 100,000 years. Scientists are now working to pick apart the data that their spacecraft has been sending them. They hope to find out things like how much water vapor is getting through Mars' atmosphere.

Space exploration is always an interesting subject. Somehow I'm not always able to keep up to date on the events. I had no idea that that over a year ago there was a spacecraft sent to investigate Mars. I know that budget is always an issue, so I guess I just assumed that we couldn't afford to explore and investigate space. Reading the article on cnn.com confused me slightly, so I decided to look further into it. I was able to find an article on msnbc.com that was easier for me to understand. After reading it I better understood the mission of the exploration. They're looking around the area of the Victoria Crater and are currently 50 meters away. They hope to look into the surface of Mars to find water or ice and to examine the crater. They can then decipher things like the amount of time that there has been an environment that contained water. In the end they will take 3D pictures that they can decode to find the answers. I think that it is great that we are following our curiosity and exploring the unknown of the universe. There are many things that can be learned by studying things outside of our atmosphere. To me, its exciting to think about possibly having people up on other planets. First spacecrafts, then humans; step by step! When I really stop and think about it I begin to wonder what difference it makes if we know what the rest of the universe is like, but then the nature and strength of my curiosity pushes my doubts away. The only other issue that I have is that America is currently involved in a costly war. I'm not quite sure where The United States Of America is finding the money to put into such expensive experiments. Apparently the leaders of our nation find it appropriate to spend some money on space exploration. In my opinion, if the money is there, there is no reason as to why we shouldn't explore our solar system.

News Article From:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/space/10/17/mars.picture.reut/index.html
Additional Information From:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14945044/

Ann's Blog On Florida Murders

2006-10-13T19:51:00.000-07:00

Ann's Blog #6:

"Adults, Children found dead in gruesome highway shootings" (cnn.com, October 13, 2006)

This article is about a mysterious shooting that occurred on a busy interstate in Florida. There was one woman and one man and two children found dead with bullet wounds. The woman was found with her body covering the two childrens in what seemed like an effort to protect them. The Florida police don't have any major suspects because evidence is scarce at this point. They have professionals working to dig up something that could begin to point them in the right direction. The incident occurred sometime in the middle of the night on Friday the thirteenth of October. There were people who live in the area who awoke around 2:30 am to the sound of six gunshots. A man on a motorcycle found the bodies along the edge of the road around 7:30 am and called the police.

Friday the thirteenth sure does rise some suspicions for me. Not that I normally believe in superstitions, but it is ironic. What a baffling event. It would be hard to be the detectives involved in the investigation because (as far as they are letting the public know) there isn't any major evidence that could help to find any suspects. As of this point it is a weird case because there is no knowledge of what went on to lead to these four peoples deaths. All that they know for sure is that these people were killed by bullets. Detectives found bullet wounds and bullet particles in the area around the scene. I am sure that everyone involved is simply holding their breath in hopes of finding some sort of clue. It must be awfully disturbing for the couple who awoke to the gunshots during the night and then later come to find out that four people were killed near their home. Then for the poor man starting his day off with a motorcycle ride who happened to glance at the ditch to find four dead bodies. I can't imagine what that would be like. I would be so shook up after witnessing that. The weirdest part, to me, is that two young children were involved. The article stated that the children seemed to be between the ages of four and six years old. It's quite the grotesque scene to find a woman sprawled across two dead children. The whole article just leaves me, and seems to leave the personnel involved, puzzled.
My prayers will go out to the families and friends of these poor people.

Ann's Blog On North Korea's possession of Nuclear Weapons

2006-10-13T14:39:00.000-07:00

Ann's Blog #5:

"Vote On North Korea Sanctions Expected Saturday" (cnn.com, October 13, 2006)

Lately North Korea has been making headlines left and right and the article that I read was yet another dealing with North Korea's Nuclear weapon possession. This one deals with the positions of other countries like the United States, Japan and China. The issues over the sanctions that are being debated are again discussed in this article. U.S. Ambassador, John Bolton is quoted on this subject while the U.N. Security Council decided to postpone their decision on whether or not to sanction North Korea. There is still questioning on whether the nuclear test was real not just a threat to remove sanctions. Even under suspicions, the United States just wants a resolution to the conflict. In an attempt to do just that the United States has removed the ban on the imports from North Korea. The Bush Administration has warned North Korea that if they make any sudden violent action the United States would stand behind Japan and South Korea.

I hope that I am not mistaken on my interpretation of the issue, but it seems to me that the leader of North Korea is using this in a dangerous way. I understand that he needs some bargaining power to be able to get rid of the sanctions being put on his country and to help the people of his nation who are so poor that they are starving to death. I just feel like there are many alternative options for him. In my opinion, it is ridiculous for anyone to desire possession of nuclear weapons. That should be one of those lessons that are learned by our ancestors mistakes, without actually having to go through it ourselves. It isn't necessary to go to such destructive lengths just to make a point. I think that there are other ways to let the rest of the world know that changes need to be made for the people of North Korea. Obviously nuclear weapons are a huge threat to the rest of the world, but, to me, it's poor of the leader to have to resort to that. From there comes the issue of whether or not the sanctions should be lifted or not. North Korea put the rest of the world in a hard position (I suppose as was their intention) because no one wants to mess with a country who has nuclear weapons and isn't afraid to use them. At the same time it's hard to justify giving in to a force whose purpose is mass destruction. How does a country get around circumstances like these? Especially when a country refuses to negotiate. It looks as though the leaders of countries like ours and Japan and South Korea are doing a good job of figuring out the best way to handle the situation. They are deciding to join forces if necessary. All the circumstances leave the world tiptoeing around the issues. I am glad that I am only a student at Jefferson Senior High and don't have to be the leader in the matter.

News Article From:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/10/13/nkorea.sanctions/index.html

Ann's Blog On US School Shootings

2006-10-04T19:25:00.000-07:00

Ann's Blog #4:

"U.S. School Shootings Raise Fresh Questions" (cnn.com, October 4, 2006)

An issue that is always lurking around the corner is the issue of school violence. The whole world holds their breath between big events hoping that it won't happen again. Recently our worst fears have been realized when it has, in fact, happened again. There have been three recent events involving violence in schools. One in Pennsylvania, one in Colorado, and one in Wisconsin. Each involved shootings and innocent deaths which ultimately lead to suicides. The issue of gun control is brought up and debated. This has been an issue since Colombine and even before. The question of the causes of these extreme conditions of stress, depression, and violence remains unanswered. Some fingers point to music, video games, and bullying to find the solution.

I have never and probably never will be able to understand how someone could pull a trigger on another human being. No matter how someone may have been wronged or how depressed someone is, how can anyone ever see a solution in murdering another person? It is especially disheartening for me when, in the end, they turn the barrel to their own skull and kill themselves. If only that could have been their first step. At the same time, it makes me so sad that there are people who have nothing to live for, no one to turn to that they go insane. It almost makes me guilty because I have so many good things in my life. I wish I could even share with them some of my positive outlook, show them a glass that is half full. Then comes into play the debate over gun control. In my opinion, it is not the guns that are the problem. If anything guns should become more easily accessible. If a teacher or principle would have had a gun (or even some sort of temporary paralyzer) then many innocent students and faculty could have been spared. If anything should be further looked into, it is depression. If everyone in this world could have one person who befriended them the chances of these tragic events would drastically increase. The feelings of love, want and need are all it takes to create some sort of happiness. School shootings are the ultimate heart-breakers for me. I strongly believe that the issue lies in love or lack there of, not guns. Acceptance is all that is needed.

News Article from:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/EDUCATION/10/02/crime.schools.causes.reut/index.html

Ann's Blog On Today's Dorm Lifestyle

2006-09-23T12:29:00.000-07:00

Ann's Blog #3:

"Posh Dorms, Amenities Becoming A Norm At College" (cnn.com, September 23, 2006)

College lifestyle is changing with the times. In some areas, gone are the days with community bathrooms and roommates. The twenty-first century is bringing plasma television screens, granite countertops, and limousines onto college campuses. Dorms are becoming more extravagant making the cost of living on campus much higher. Students are hiring services to clean their dorms, do their laundry, and shop for groceries. All these "perks" are driving the cost of college life higher and higher. It is being debated whether the students who choose to live this type of lifestyle are getting the wrong idea of what it means to be an adult.

MTV's television show, Laguna Beach, is a prime example of kids whose parents will buy them whatever their heart desires. This sounds great, until the product becomes beach blonde brats with negative IQs. When parents spoil their children beyond reason is when these children begin to believe that the world revolves around themselves. This leads to them thinking only about themselves and contributing nothing to society. I will never be able to understand our country's obsession with shows that focus entirely on superficial teens overreacting with one another to get attention and cause drama. I am not that interested in watching a television show that allows me to watch two girls fight over a boy and call each other explicatives. Instead trying to get rid of a corrupting trend like this one, someone has decided to give college students plasma screens and designer couches in order to watch (and learn) from these types of shows. And there is no question that they are learning from these shows and looking up to the people in them. When I think about that, there is no question why dorms are becoming insanely upgraded. These young adults are admiring the people who star in the OC and wanting to live like they do. In order to do this they are pulling as much out of their parents as they can. There is obviously no way an eighteen year old would be able to afford a $1000 a month dorm rent. Furthermore, there's no way to convince me that students bringing thousands of dollars of electronic equiptment are serious about their education. If this is the caliber of people who will soon be running our society, I am concerned. These type of shallow individuals who look for mommy and daddy to help them out have no idea what life is really about. College is supposed to be the time in a persons life where they learn that lesson, but if their parents are still sending them checks and encouraging partying lifestyles they will never grow up. Instead of learning to live with a roommate and receive an education these people are learning how to better "live on the ritz". I think that it is pathetic and that America should be doing something to stop it, rather than encouraging it. I believe that it is a big problem that needs a different kind of attention than the glorifying kind it is recieving now.

Now thats what i call a good role model!!! Her name is Kristin Cavalieri and she is a star in the show Laguna Beach. I am thinking that she is not quite the kind of person that I would choose to look up to, nor would I want my peers to admire someone like this.

news article from:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/EDUCATION/09/14/college.posh.life.ap/index.html
picture from:
http://www.rockstar84.com/images/kristinlb.jpg

Ann's Blog On Teaching The Events Of September 11th

2006-09-13T17:17:00.000-07:00

Ann Bergstrand's Blog #2:

"Educators Divided Over What To Learn From 9/11" (cnn.com, September 13, 2006)

Separating today from the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, is a mere five years, yet many secondary school students have very little connection to the events. Immediately following 9/11 there was a peak of interest on all subjects involved in the attacks. This, as might be expected, lead to passionate discussions about September 11th. A half of a decade standing between now and then would put most of today's secondary students in elementary school at the time of the terrorist attacks. Being at a young age when the events occurred would leave little opportunity for direct personal connection. Many educators believe that everything related to the events of September 11th should be taught in the history classroom. Telling teachers to teach about everything related to the events of September 11th leaves quite a bit of room for variation. Difference of opinion now sets in on what are the most important issues and concepts within that range. With a new school year beginning around the time of the yearly September 11th, teachers have begun lectures on other topics in the course of the United States history. This would give them little time to teach on the terrorist attacks of September 11th. The discussions of the events could range from lectures about the United States relations with the Middle East to the history of the Islamic culture. Teachers could go into depth about terrorist groups such as al Qaeda or they could give examples of how the United States has changed since the attacks. People continue to dispute about which topics are most important and how to present such a large topic into a one or two day lesson.

The country changed drastically after the September 11th terrorist attacks. Those events have impacted America in multiple ways. A one or two day lecture could barely scratch the surface of everything involved. In my opinion, studying the issues that are concerned in the situation is very vital in understanding our country as a whole. Knowing why America is in the situation that we are in can give students a large leap in becoming involved in our country. If students were taught the background information about the topics dealing with Iraq or terrorist groups they could form their own educated opinions about the situation. The article states that sixty percent of young adults are unaware of the location of Iraq on a globe. When I read that, the first thing that comes to mind is that Iraq is a country that we are at war with. To me, that is a problem. Over half of the soon to be leaders of our country do not know where the country that we are at war with is. That is just talking location. I would predict that I would be even more disappointed if a poll was taken asking a slightly more in depth question. Today's youth is extremely uneducated on the topic, and I believe that 9/11 is an important thing to learn about in history class. Learning about it goes further than just learning the facts about the day of September 11, 2001, it allows students to see the effects of terrorism. I believe that it is also important to understand why America was the target of al Qaeda and how we have made our country less of a target for today and the future. It is my strong belief that history textbooks should contain a large amount of information dealing with September 11th. I even think that teachers ought to take it one step further and stay current on the issues of today that relate to the attacks. In conclusion, I believe that learning about September 11th should become a priority in history classes across the United States.

news article from:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/09/08/911.teachers/index.html

second test trial

2006-09-10T12:22:00.000-07:00

i love blogs!!!