Obama losing control of his own party?

Full story here http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/12/09/tax.plan/index.html?iref=NS1

Over the past few months and especially past few weeks, the control Obama has over the Democrats of Congress has been questioned. Now, in a recent vote against a tax cut bill Obama was trying to pass, this control is shown to be lacked even more than thought. There have been many other articles indicating that Obama needs to change the way he is running his own party; otherwise, it does not seem that he will remain in office as President. I find it to be a matter that could go both ways. Obama could change what he is doing and gain back the complete loyalty of the Democratic party, or he could continue down the same path and lose all loyalty.

What the NFL is coming to...

Link to the full story here http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/10/sports/10trademark.html?_r=1&hp

In short, this article tells about nicknames and different trademarks players in the NFL are attempting to become recognized for. I think this is completely ridiculous. The good players are getting enough recognition as it is by doing what they are supposed to, and just playing the game. There is no need for them to try to get even more fame but showboating and trying to get nicknames based off of things they do while they are playing. I think they should stick to the game and focus on that, instead of creating a nickname for themselves.

Student Led Workshop- Cyber-bullying

A major issue that goes on every single day in the world of technology is cyber-bullying. Cyber-bullying can occur through many different ways, and some examples include calls, texts, and the Internet. Many people hear about it, and many schools try to educate their students about it, but most presentations of it do not do the matter justice. It is much more serious than most people think, a problem that should not be taken lightly. Upon seeing statistics, this is an obvious fact. In a 2009 survey, 75% of children said they had been subjected to some type of cyber-bullying. In another survey, 53% of 4^th through 8^th graders said that they have said mean or hurtful things to others while online, and that doesn’t include high school students (where it is quite possibly more likely to occur), or the students who just would not admit to participating in cyber-bullying. One thing that did not surprise me much was that a very small number of children said they informed their parents of the situation. Whether it is because they are embarrassed, they feel like they could get in trouble, or because they are scared of what the bully will do, the children do not go to the people who would be the first to listen to their problem.  Unfortunately, there is really no way for cyber-bullying to be completely stopped. There are too many methods of it and not every one of these can simply be eliminated. However, if children are very well educated about cyber-bulling and especially about the results of it, it can help. Also, many states are starting to make cyber-bullying a crime. What really showed me the seriousness of this problem are the individual stories of kids who have committed suicide because of cyber-bullying. After reading just one of these, people can see how big of an effect this type of bullying can have on children.

http://www.cyberbullying.us/

http://stopcyberbullying.org/

Scam Newton

A major issue known to nearly anyone who keeps up with football is the eligibility of the star Auburn quarterback, Cam Newton. His father was paid by Auburn to have him attend college and play football there, which is obviously illegal, but he has just been declared eligible. Apparently, since he was not aware of his father's actions, that makes what he did acceptable? Hmmmmm..I just can't figure out how that works. The way that the NCAA has responded to this situation just means that there will be more incidents like this in the future, because as long as the athlete doesn't know about these actions their guardians take, it is perfectly fine. I don't have an opinion on whether Cam Newton knew about what his father was doing or not, and I don't really care, either way I think he should be ineligible. Full story can be found here-http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=5870788

Holocaust Diary

Full article here
This article basically just discusses how the diary of a survivor Holocaust has been given to the Holocaust museum by the author of it. It may not seem like anything special since there are about 150 other diaries that have already been donated to the museum, but this is the first that has been written by an American captive. He wrote in this diary while he was in a labor camp, even though it was something he knew could have led to his death. Something I find pretty funny is in the article he talks about how the two times he almost got caught with the diary was when it fell out of his pants in front of the same guard, but he claims this guard was the only one with any compassion, luckily for him. When the guard asked him about it, he replied, "I'm writing about the nice vacation I'm taking here in your compounds." I think its pretty interesting to hear someone talk about the since of humor he had when he was a captive in a Nazi labor camp, knowing he could die any day, yet he was still making jokes.

O'Reilly on The View? Bad idea

Bill O'Reilly, one of the most well-known men on Fox News, was brought onto the show The View, and things ended up turning out....just about exactly how many would have predicted. After giving his point of view on the Islamic center being built by Ground Zero, saying that it was unacceptable because "Muslims killed us on 9/11",  Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar proceeded to walk off the set because they did not want to listen to him anymore. Later, Sherri Shepherd called him a pinhead because he did not refer to the Muslims who were involved with the 9/11 attack as extremists. I think that the ladies on The View were overreacting. Bill O'Reilly stated a fact, that Muslims killed Americans on 9/11. He did not say all Muslims were terrorists or anything of that kind, he simply stated a fact. Later, he apologized to those who thought he was demeaning all Muslims, but then also stated he's "not in the business of sugarcoating harsh reality", and I agree with him completely. Although not all Muslims are radicals, it does not change the fact that some are and those are the ones who committed the attacks, and that is what O'Reilly is referring to.

Camo Robber

If you want to check out the entire CNN.com news article on this click here. I saw the link for this was called "Burglar dressed as grass" and had to see what the whole story was behind it. A man suspected or trying to rob a rock and mineral museum was hiding in a field about a half mile away and the police were searching the field using search dogs. One dog noticed a small movement on the ground below him and snapped at it, resulting in the suspect turning out with a nice dog bite in his back. The man was dressed in a ghillie suit, something made to resemble the earth using much more texture and detail than any normal camouflage, often used by snipers or other military personnel. I just can't seem to figure out why this guy decided to put on the entire suit..before he walked into a public museum? Regardless of what his intentions were, the police dog stopped anything from ever happening by walking right on his plans