Fiscal Cliff

Fiscal Cliff

Haley Hambrick

 

 

           The United States are supposed to be the land of the free and great opportunity. But, with our economy heading the way it is heading, that "great opportunity" idea may be out the window. If we hit this "cliff" and go into another recession, no one is going to be doing anything except trying to put food on the table for their family. This fiscal cliff, if not taken care of, will change every one's lives.

           The government and people in charge up in Washington are running out of time. CNN reports say "If lawmakers fail to strike a deal before the end of the year to avert the $500 billion of scheduled tax increases and spending cuts, the U.S. economy could fall back into a recession." I think that everybody in charge should not get paid until they figure this thing out. If people in our society today did their jobs like the government is doing their, these ordinary people would have been fired months ago.

           Money is cut short right now, however, if this cliff occurs, everyone will be tighter with their money than they already are. A news report from CNN says, "At its last meeting gin October, the FOME kept its target rate at a record low and said the economy was likely going to need stimulus for years to come." Everybody will have to cut back if they want to proved for their families. Taxes on everything will go up. This means student loans for college too. I am about to go to college and the money that we will have to pay, if we hit this cliff, will be ridiculously high.

           Our government is just slowly going down and getting worse. The government obviously needs to cut spending, but taxes do not need to soar sky high, That is not fair for the ones that go to work every day and make a living for their families. This issue has to be taken care of, and soon.







http://money.cnn.com/m/#!/2012/12/09/investing/stocks-lookahead.json?category=latest%20news 

Looting

                                                                          Looting

 

          Looting anytime is wrong and disrespectful, but especially after a natural disaster. According to New York Daily News, "People were running in and out of Rent-A-Center carrying these big flat screens." After something like Hurricane Sandy happens, you would expect your town and community to come together and help each other out, but that wasn't the case here. People cannot go around doing this type of thing with no consequence. "They destroyed everything. They stole anything they could get their hands on. Someone even ran off with the cash register," said employee Fernando Mendoza. If you steal money and items from a store like that, you are destroying that store's business. When everything is cleaned up and gets back to normal, those businesses might not be able to come back and make money because of all the items and money stolen. If you can't respect your town enough to help them when they need help, then I guess you need to be locked up.

Live in the Present

                                                               Live in the Present
           When girls are 15, the most important things to them are phones, friends, driving, and boys. We sometimes feel like we cannot be ourselves around certain people, so we change to meet their approval. When you think about it, that is completely stupid. You should never change for anyone and always be yourself no matter what. That is the advice Victoria Azarenka would give if she could go back to her 15 year old self.
          Today, October 11, is the "International Day of the Girl." Important women around the world have come together to say what advice they would give themselves if they could go back to 15. Victoria says "Follow your dreams, always be yourself, never be afraid to show the real you and have fun; Always live in the present." So many young girls today are just ready for time to fly by and go off to college, find their soul-mate, start a life, etc. In my opinion, they do not need to worry about everything that is ahead of them right now, they need to concentrate about what is happening right now and live in the moment. Do not let one minute slip away because you will regret it.
          Too many teenage girls will change the way they are just because they might not fit in with a certain group of people at school. I completely agree with what Victoria says about always being yourself and to never be afraid to show the real you. Girls are not following their own morals and letting other people influence them, and this is leading to some really bad situations. Some of these situations, can ruin your entire life and everything that you have worked for could be gone. You never need to change who you are, to please someone else.
          I hear so many adults today say that high school was the best years of their life and they wish they could go back. I know it is really hard to believe, I even find it hard to believe, but everyone needs to make the most of these years and have fun. We need to stay true to who we are and live in the present so we can live out our dreams to the fullest.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/11/world/gallery/international-day-of-the-girl/index.html?hpt=hp_inthenews

Stand Up

                                                    Stand Up

 

          If someone is different than you, or weird does that make them any less important than you are? Should teenagers pick on other teens because they are different than they are and might not like some of the same things they do? In my opinion, to bully someone is one of the most hurtful things you could do. The sad thing is, it is happening more and more everywhere today. In the article I read, a girl got voted to be on Homecoming Court as a joke. We just voted for our Homecoming maids and I witnessed the same thing happen.

          Making fun of someone can hurt them more than you can imagine. Even if it is something like voting them on Homecoming Court as a joke, it can make you feel "like trash," says Whitney Kropp, the bullied teen. Whether people notice it or not, a lot of teens are having suicidal thoughts and hurting themselves because they claim that no one likes them and they get made fun of everyday. It is a serious issue that is being over-looked because people do not know how to handle it. Bullying needs to be stopped.

          When our school voted for our Homecoming Court last week, I saw almost the same thing happen. Some of our students decided to nominate girls that were less fortunate than they were to show out in front of their friends. To me, that is not funny at all. Just because they do not fit into a certain "group" or "clique" does not mean you can blow them off like they are nothing and put them in a situation where they are not comfortable and are going to fail.

          Bullying has become a huge issue in our society today. Kids do it to be cool and to fit in with a certain group, but they do not realize that they are ruining other kid's lives. For all of those being bullied and put down, just listen to Whitney Kropp and "stand up for what you believe in and go with your heart and go with your gut."

 

http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/29/us/michigan-teen-prank/index.html?c=us&page=3

Better Than Steriods?

Better Than Steroids?

 

 

          In our world today, sports are becoming bigger and bigger. Because of this, people have begun to use things, some illegal, to be "bigger and better" than everyone else. One of these "drugs" or addictions is steroids. So many athletes from high school to the pros have been caught using steroids. As a result of this, men and women have invented a cooling glove that is "equal to or substantially better than steroids....and it's not illegal." says a co-inventor of the glove from Standford University, Dennis Grahn.

          Could something like this actually take the place of steroids and not be illegal? I feel like athletes will use this tool because it is not illegal and "such technology allows exercisers to enjoy huge gains in recovery without evidence of bodily damage from overworking the muscles." states the article, Cooling Glove 'Better than Steriods' Lends Athletes a Hand. If this new glove can do that, I believe sports teams, even up into the pros, will be using it.

          Not only will this cooling glove effect athletes, but also in medical circumstances and could possibly help out soldiers as well. The article says, "The technological shortcutting of the body's natural muscle fatigue could also help patients in medical scenarios or possibly even help out soldiers as part of futuristic combat gear." If some one's body temperature had gotten too hot, for example, this glove would come in handy when trying to cool that person down. It would not be a bad idea using it to design future combat gear and clothing worn by soldiers either. It would keep them cooled where they can continue working and doing what they do best.

          Steroids will, and always will be used quite a bit in any division of athletics, men or women. It does not matter. Nothing is ever going to change that. But, by inventing this glove, it will help out everyone, and hopefully athletes everywhere will take advantage of it instead of risking their entire career by using something that is illegal.

Inference PEE Paragraph

The new World Trade Center is going to be bigger and better built than the past and current skyscrapers. According to the World Trade Center Reborn Infographic, "1 WTC will be the tallest builiding in the United States." It also says, "State-of-the-art concrete used in 1 WTC can withstand almost three times more pressure than the concrete used in most other NYC skyscrapers." The new WTC will be safer built and will be harder to bring down if a 9/11 attack happens again.

My Bucket List 2012-2013

1. 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher

This book is about a girl, who is about my age, that commits suicide. It sounds like a great book and would probably make me a little emotional. I would like to learn more about this because it is happening more and more around the world today, even around where we live.

2. The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks

I really want to read this book because it is a cute love story and I really enjoy love stories. I have also seen the movie and it is one of the best movies I have ever seen. So I really would like to see if it is the same as the movie or if it is a little switched up. It might possibly be better than the movie.

3. The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks

Nicholas Sparks is just a really good author and several of his books have been made into movies that have become big hits. This one is also a love story. It involves two teenagers, so I can relate to that. It just sounds like a really good story just like all the rest of his books. I think I would enjoy it a lot.

4. If I Stay by Gayle Forman

This book's main character is a teenager as well. It is about a girl who is in a coma that has the choice of waking up and living a life a lot more difficult, or die. I am not sure what I would do if I was put in that situation, so I would really like to read it and see what she ends up choosing.

5. Moneyball: The Art of Winning and Unfair Game by Michael Lewis

I absolutely love baseball and everything about it, so I think I would really enjoy reading this one. I can relate a lot to it because I play softball and it is a huge part of my life. I have also seen this movie, but I have heard that the book might be a little different. Most of the time, the books are better than the movies anyway.

6. Pretties by Scott Westerfeld

This book is a mystery and I really enjoy reading mysteries. It just sounds like a good story that would keep me interested and on the edge of my seat. Usually, if the book I'm reading is not entertaining and is really boring, I probably am not going to pay much attention to it and more than likely abandon it. I am just really anxious to see how and why everything happens in this story.

7. The Shack by William P. Young

This book also happens to be a mystery that sounds really interesting. Hopefully, it would be one to keep me on my toes and always wondering what happens next. I love scary movies and this book sounds like a story that would kinda make you feel like you were watching a scary movie. I just think it would be a very good story.

8. The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams

It sounds pretty creepy and mysterious. I love creepy movies, so I don't see why I wouldn't love scary books like this one too. The first page starts out to a good start, I think. It sounds like something I would hopefully stay interested in, so I would really like to continue reading the rest of it.

9. Make Lemonade by Virginia Euwer Wolff

I read the back of the book and the first couple pages and it sounds like a cute story with a lot of fun characters and will probably be kind of funny. It will probably be one of those stories that has a really good and cute ending.

10. Tall Cool One by Zoey Dean

This story has to do with several teenage girls and their boyfriends and friends and family. I really feel like I connect with a book when it has characters that are just like me. I am able to understand exactly how each character feels and understand what their thinking in almost every situation of their lives.

Does the captain of the Titanic deserve forgiveness?

The captain of the Titanic ignored repeated warnings and never decreased speed. Because of this, hundreds of people's lives were taken. It is so hard knowing one of your loved ones is gone and you will never get to see them again, but I can't imagine how he felt that night when all of those people drowned or froze to death and it being his fault. I know he caused so many people so much pain that night, but he had to live with the guilt until he also drowned. He ended up dying just like everyone else because he knew what he had done was wrong. I think this man deserves forgiveness because he had to die knowing what he had done and all the warnings he ignored were the reasons why hundreds of lives were taken. I think that's enough punishment.

Does this man have any right to pity?

This man may feel terrible for what he did, but he still took the lives of many innocent people.  Therefore, what he did was wrong and feel like he should have no right to pity and feel sorry for himself. In he passage the man says, "Look," he said, "those Jews died quickly, they did not suffer as do-" So he is pretty much saying that he in the same situation they are except he is having to suffer because he has to live with the guilt. It is true that he has to die with the guilt of what he did, but hs a soldier that killed thousands of these Jews for no reason at all. The dying soldier also says, "I come from Stuttgart and I am now twenty-one. That is too soon to die. I have had very little out of life." By saying this, he appears a little bit selfish. When they were out killing all of the Jews did they think about their age? Or what they have gotten out of life? They didn't, so I think that he really has no reason to show pity towards himself especially after everything he's done to everybody else.

Forgiveness

Everyone makes mistakes, therefore people need to be forgiven. If a soldier obeys his ccommander's order to shoot an unarmed mother and child, then he must complete the task. A soldier is supposed to obey the order of his/her commander, no matter what, even if it is something as crucial as taking the lives of others. The leader must have a legitimate reason for demanding his soldiers to do this. Therefore, it would not be the soldier's fault. He/she was just completing the task that his commander had for him so he should be forgiven, even though he killed someone. It was not his fault.