Who's at fault?

In class we have been discussing a video clip about a section of a book written by Al Gore that is promoting the impeachment of Goerge Bush. In the video he relates the situaion to a past situation that was tried in court. There was a teacher who for the past ten years was abusing boys that were students at the school he worked at. And the conflict was who should be punished? The "pathological" abuser or the teachers and adminisrators that knew about these terrible acts but did not do anything to stop him. Although the abuser was "pathological" and could not be reformed, I still believe that it was his actio and he should be penalized. It would have been the ethical thing for the teachers to try and stop this act, but at the same time, can you convict someone for not being ethical. Unless there was a rule or law that enforced the teachers to report this type of thing, just as there is at New Trier, I do not believe that the teachers should be convivted of anything. I agree that it was morally and ethically wrong, but as much as it disgusts me, they did not break any laws and therefor the judge made the correct decision in not convicting the bystanders. I believe that the abuser was the one who broke the law and he is should be rightfully convicted for his actions.

A Flawed System

In college football the champion is not decided by a playoff of a number of the best teams. The wat that it is done is a computer chooses two teams to play in one game against each other. The rest of the top teams don't even get the chance to compete. Also, the only teams that are eligable for the championship game are the teams in one of the six major confrences. These confrences include the Big Ten, Big 12, SEC, Big East, Pac 10, and ACC. Other teams like Utah, who went undefeated this season and beat many big confrence teams, will never get the chance to play for the national championship. Many fans and analysts of the game would prefer to see a playoff of the top eight teams no matter what confrence they come from. Althought it will initially lose money for the NCAA, I feel that keeping the fans happy is much more important and that will ultimately meaqn more money for the NCAA. With a playoff system the BCS will not have to choose the teams they think are the best.

This season was a very contraversial season in college football. There were many teams worthy of playing in the Championship game. This season the game will be between Florida and Oklahoma. Both of these temas have lost a game at some point throughout the regular season. I think that Florida certainly has the right to be in this game, but many would argue that Oklahoma was not the next best team. They did lose to Texas on a nuetral field and many people believe that Texas is the most deserving team seeing as they only lost one game also.

As you can see, the entire system is all very confusing and base on opinion. With a playoff this problem will be solved and there will be no more contraversy.

Big "EGO"

As you may have heard already, one of the premier receivers in the NFL, Plaxico Burress, accidentally shot himself in the thigh. He was at a night club and he had an unauthorized weapon in his pocket. He supposedly accidentally pulled the trigger and shot himself in the leg. What I don't understand is why he was carrying a gun in the first place? and Where is he going that he would need a gun? In my opinion, anyplace where you need a gun to protect yourself is not the best place to be. It was said that he was at a night club. I personally don't know of any night clubs that someone needs a gun to protect themselves. I think that Plaxico thinks he is a target to many average citizens because he is a big time professional athlete. He believes that many people are out to get him, and he is a target to some degree. But that is still no reason to bring an unauthorized gun to night clubs. If your ego is so big that you think people at a night club are out to get you, it would be wise not to go to those types of places. Rather than making that smart decision, Burress decided to bring a gun and put not only himself in danger, but everyone else also. At the very least he could have at least put the safety on. This was just a pathetic decision on the part of Plaxico Burress.

A Change is Needed

In the NFL there are six teams that make it to the playoffs from each confrence. There are 4 divisions in each confrence and the winners of those divisions recieve an automatic bid into the playoffs along with two teams that get wild card slots. In the first roung the two teams with the best records recieve a by into the second round. Then the other two division winners play against the wild card teams to see who advances to the next round. In many cases the wild card teams have a better record than some of the division winners. In the first round the winners of the divisions have home field advantage even if their record is not better than their opponent. I feele that this is a flawed element in the playoffs because I believe that the team with the better record should be rewarded with the advantage. With the current system a team that is clearly better than their opponent may lose because they have to travel a far distance and not have the comfortabuility of being at home. For example, the San Diego Chargers were in a very poor division and won with a record of 8-8. There opponent in the first round was the Indianappolis Colts who came in second in a great division with a record of 12-4. I think that almost evryone picked the colts to win this game and believed that they were the better team. Yet, they still had to go into San diego and win on the road, which is very hard to do. I believe that if the rule was changed so that the team with the best regular season record should recieved home field advantage. This should help to keep the best teams in the playoffs and ultimately find the true champion.

Rights of a Student

The Civil Rights of a student is a very popular topic to debate throughout the country. It is true that once the student is at his or her school, their rights are altered. The debate is whether or not this should be the case and which rights, if any, should be altered. I agree that students rights should be changed slightly to protect the safety of the other students. For example, a teacher or another type of authority figure should have the right to check the bags of any student if they feel their could be anything that could possibly harm another student. I do not agree with the people that believe students should be forced to say the pledge of allegiance or even stand during the pledge. I do not think that standing up and saying a few words makes someone any more patriotic than anyone else. But there are many people that do not feel the same way as I do and I would love to hear your opinions so leave your comments please.

Econcomic Strategies and Media

Just as we were discussing in class, the way that a presidential candidate presents his or her ideas and beliefs are very important. Both McCain and Obama have different strategies to solve the economic crisis at hand. They are presenting their ideas in very interesting ways that will appeal to all people differently. Obama believes that the government is to blame for the falling economy. He believes that the government should have been monitering the housing values in the United States more closely. The secret message in this, is that the government may have to become larger because he will need thousands of people to help him with this plan, which is the what most citicens don't want to hear. McCain on the other hand believes that the "Wall Street Fat Cats" are to blame for the economy crisis in our country. He thinks that they have been greedy and that they need to be punished. This task does not requirwe a larger government because it is a one man job to him and he does not need thousands of other people to help him. As a citicen of the United States and a future voter, I believe that John McCain has a plan that appeals more to the average American and that his plan is much easier to execute than Obama's.

Exceeding expectations

Althougth the White Sox did not have as good of a record as the Cubs did, they both ended up in the playoffs. And with the cubs losing 3-0 in a five game series against the Dodgers, they have been swept out of the playoffs once again and dissapointed the Chicago fans. Many say that if the cubs did not make it to the world series this year, then it would be a failure, and they were right this season was a huge failure for the Cubs. The White Sox season is already considered a success, just because they won the AL Central division title. They were not even supposed to come close, but they battled the odds and beat out the teams that were supposed to win, like the Indians, the Tigers, and the Twins. The White Sox showed their poise in a tie-breaker game with the Minnesota Twins, where they won by a score of 1-0. The Cubs on the Other hand find a way to choke every year and this year is no exception because they were swept out of the playoffs once again, and all the work that they put in throughout the entire regular season means nothing as they are heading home and getting ready to dissapoint the fans again next season.

Politics in the classroom

I believe that expressing ones opinions is very important and that everyone should be able to state their opinions. Also, if a teacher acts completely equal and unbias to both sides of any issue, the students will see an unrealistic view of how people are supposed to act and what people really think. I feel that by not expressing their own opinions, they are sending a message to their students, saying not to express their opinions and that they should not think for themselves. I very strongly disagree with this way of teaching and it can easily be solved with simple disscussion and the expression of everyones opinions, including the teacher's. In addition, as hard as it is to believe, I think that by the teacher not stateing his or her opinion, they are actually changing the thoughts of their students more so than if they do state their opinions. Everyone is naturally biased, including teachers. And if the teacher states his or her opinion, the students can take into account that the teacheris bias in one way, and that they can use that information to form their own opinions. If the teacher acts as if they are unbias, then the student will have no idea which way the teacher is swayed and they will take the information as unbias and purely factual evidence. But, the teacher is infact bias and is still portray his bias opinions, even if the students do not realize it. So, I believe that it is better for the students to understand that everyone, including their teachers, have biases, and that the teachers should emphasize this lesson in their classes.

Rookie Evaluation

Draft picks are very valuable things to have for an NBA team. Just look at all the hype that the Chicago bulls got this summer for wining this years number one pick. There was a huge debate on wether they should take Derrick Rose or Micheal Beasley. The Bulls ended up choosng Derrick Rose over Micheal Beasley even though the Bulls clearly needed a big man and they also had surplus of gaurds. The fact of the matter is, the bulls just thaught Derrick Rose was the best available choice ad that he had the most talent of the two. Some believe that this upcoming class, the class of 2008, has great potential and could be the best Rookie class ever. I do not agree with the people that already think this rookie class will be the best ever because we have no idea ow well they willplay at the proffesional level. The two classes that have been proven to be some of the best over the years have been the 1996 class and the 2003 class. The 1996 class consisted of NBA greats like Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson, Ray Allen, Jermaine O'neal, and two time MVP Steve Nash. In comparison, the 2003 class consists of many good and great NBA players like Carmelo Anthony, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, Kirk Hinrich, and of course Lebron James. I believe that the better class so far has been the 1996 class, but this is partly because they have had more time to accomplish their goals and to dominate the league. But if you give it a couple of years, the class of 2003 may just become as great or even greater than the legendary rookie class of 2003.

Is Treadwell a Savior?

How would one describe Timothy Treadwell. He describes himself as the savior of the bears. I do not consider him a savior as much as I do an educator. Although everybody has a different opinion on the topic, I believe that Treadwell's main accomplishment in his work was the lessons and information that he taught the children he spoke to. This is the most important of his accomplishments because he is preventing the future of society, the children, from harming the bears, and maybe some of the kids even protecting and preserving the bears just as Timothy Treadwell did himself. Although protecting the animals from poachers and anyone else with the goal of harming the bears is a very important task, education is just more important in my opinion, and even though he is not living any longer, Timothy Treadwell is still protecting the bears by teaching the younger generation through the videos that he made during his adventures. To find out more about Timothy Treadwell and his trip to Alaska, to save the bears, click here.

Presidential Election Strategies

There are many factors that go in to running a good presidential campaign and making speeches. Sometimes, even the most subtle details can effect the opinions of the viewers sub-consciencely. For example, the clothes of the speaker can say alot about the speech being given. If the speaker is wearing a suit that is buttoned to the top, with a white collar and a tie, then he or she may is more than likely speaking to the higher social class, or white collar workers. If a speaker is wearing a more casual shirt, with the top unbuttoned and a blue undershirt, then one can infer that he or she is speaking to the middle class, or blue collar workers. Also, the background that is behind the speakers is also very important and is a decision that the candidates take very seriously. Although it does not seem like a big deal to you and I, all of these little details are chosen very carefully and they can sometimes have a larger effect than predicted on the outcome of the election.

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