Senior Reflection #2

My senior reflection this week is in response to the "reality store" activity we got to take part in early this week. I never realized how expensive it was to raise children, and definately have any more appreciation for everything my parents have provided me with. After completeing the activity and realizing how expensive even the necesities of life, such as food and shelter are, I became so much more appreciative of all the luxuries my parents have given me, new clothes, years of flute lessons, sports fees, a car etc. ( I know I would have had to make some serious sacrifices in my budget scenario to provide my kids with these things) . And now they will be paying my college tuition to add to the list. So I just wanted to use this reflection to say thanks Mom and Dad for everything you have given me!

CE #2- An untested tactic as efforts grow desperate

This article was about the efforts to stop the oil spill in the gulf that has been going on for about 5 weeks now. According to the article as early as Tuesday, BP will attempt to "top kill" the leak by shooting thick mud at the well in an effort to plug the leak. Republicans have been criticizing the governments response to the spill saying that they should have stepped in immediately, however the Obama administration is defending their response, and sharpening Their criticism of BP. Many people are getting angry and frustrated at how long it is taking to clean up and plug the leak, but as Robert Dudley, managing director of BP, told CNN, "We've got to do everything we can, shut off the well, clean this up as fast as we can."

I chose this article because I have been very interested in the oil spill, and think it is very upsetting that the leak has yet to be fixed and so much oil is still spilling into the gulf. I thought this article was well written, because it displayed the criticism of the government, as well as the Obama administration's response, while also revealing the latest tactics that will be used to attempt to plug the spill. I agree that the government should have stepped in immediately, no matter whose fault the spill was we should all be willing to help fix the catastrophic event. Hopefully engineers and officials will find a way to fix the problem soon!

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-05-23-oil-spill_N.htm

Senior Reflection #1

As an underclassman I always heard people talking about getting senioritis, but I always thought it wouldn't be that big of a problem for me....man was I wrong. As we get so close and yet are still so far away from graduating, it has gotten really hard to stay motivated. Througout high school we have been taught to work towards tests and having a good gpa to get into college, so now that AP exams are done and I know where I am going next year, what do I have to motivate me to keep doing work. Recently I heard that Arlington County has something called "senior experience" where for the last month of school seniors get to finda internships and what not that can relate to things they enjoy and carreers they are interested in pursuing, and I thought it sounded awesome. I personally feel like this would be a more productive way to spend our last month than having busy work that no one really has the motivation to try on.

CE #1- Clinton speaks to Yale grads about unequal world

Former President Bill Clinton gave a Class Day Speech to graduating Yale seniors on Sunday. IN his speech Clinton warned the students that upon graduating they would be left to face the wolrd's three main flaws: "It is too unstable; it is too unequal, and it is completely unsustainable." Clinton followed this by encouraging the gradutes that they now have the ability to change these flaws, and that they could do so by working together. In the remainder of his speech Clinton focused on the idea that people have too much access to media and informaton that is so easily biased based on what people want to hear and what they agree with. "In our media habits, we go to the television sites, we go to the radio talk shows, we go to the blog sites that agree with us, and it can have very bizarre consequences." Clinton left the graduates with his idea that the mission of every empowered person in the world should be to increase the positive forces and decrease the negative forces of the world's interdependence.

I chose this article because I thought it would be interseting to see what the President spoke about in his speech to graduates as I will soon be listening to a graduation speech myself. I thought the article was well written and enjoyed it. I thought Clinton made a pretty good point in that most people today listen only to media that they agree with and that they can use to destroy something they dont believe in, when what they should be doing is listening to both ends of the arguement and figuring out away to solve the problem in a way that will be beneficial.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2010-05-23-clinton-yale_N.htm

Editorial #5-"The future of flight"

This editorial discusses the Next Generation Air Transportation System known as NextGen. The Federal government is spending billions of dollars to equip the nation's airports with this satellite-based technology that is said will make air travel faster, safer and greener. According to the author the system will allow air traffic controllers to know the precise locations of an aircraft, and it will allow more takeoffs and landings and more direct routes. The reduced congestion, fuel use and pollution will eventually improve air carrier profitability. The problem with this system however is that it costs between $25 billion and $30 billion, and many airlines are not happy with having to pay their share of the price.

In my opinion it is a very good decision to bring this new technology into air travel, after all "The global positioning system in your car -- even your Wii -- is infinitely more advanced than the 1950s-era radar system used to guide planes in and out of the nation's airports." I do however understand that as many of the airlines are already struggling as a result of the poor economy, so this type of spending might not be something they want. I think it would be a good compromise to have this new technology put into planes that are being made, and then rather then installing it in all old planes, gradually grandfather in the new planes and get rid of the old planes as they are no longer needed or useful. This plan would take longer, but it would update the technology while limiting the amount of money airlines have to pay.

Editorial #4- Iraq Counts Votes

This editorial is about the elections that were held in Iraq last Sunday. According to the author although the election started out violently it ended well with a better voter turnout than past elections, and even the last U.S. presidential election. So far it looks like it is a close race between the Shiite coalition of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a second Shiite alliance and a nationalist and secular ticket that received heavy support in Sunni areas. The author also expressed that keeping competition among rival blocs confined to the vote count and the negotiations to form a new ruling coalition would be a huge feat for Iraq, in staying away from the sectarian violence that they often have problems with. According to the author of this editorial Mr. Maliki and nationalist leader Ayad Allwai have the best chance of winning the election and leading the new government as opposed to candidates from Iran. Mr. Maliki signed a strategic framework with the Bush administration and has already demonstrated his capacity to resist Iranian influence. Mr. Allawi is even more interested in an alliance with Washington and has good relations with Arab Sunni governments that have shunned Mr. Maliki's administration.

I agree with this editorial in that it seems like so far the election in Iraq is pretty successful. While there is talk about fraud because of the close results, it seems that the turnout, and limited amount of violence involved in the election are good signs for the direction in which Iraq is headed. I think it would be a very good thing if either Mr. Maliki or Mr. Allawi were elected, because they both seem to be working in the right direction for helping to develop a more stable government in Iraq. Also I think either of these candidates would be a good choice because both seem interested in keeping on good terms with the American government, which is a very good thing in my opinion!

Editorial #3- The Blogging Storm Over Recalls

This editorial addressed the recent recalls seen by Americans, and the effect modern day technology has had on the media's coverage f these recalls. The recalls brought up in the article, included the Toyota recalls, as well as girl scout cookies, and other food products. A large portion of this editorial was devoted to talking about how new technologies such as blogging and twitter have allowed consumers to cause the large amount of media coverage that these recalls have been getting. As the author put it, "What journalist could resist chasing a story where the outraged victims neatly line up before his eyes?" The author of this editorial seemed to give the opinion that theses recalls are not that important but that they get so much media coverage simply because of all the outlets and resources journalists have for finding angry consumers of the products being recalled. The editorial then continues to analyze different "myths that have been obliterated by the social-media-inspired public relations crisis." These myths include: the public won't care about it if it's old news, responding to bad news only spreads more bad news, and if mainstream news media tires of the story so too will the bloggers.

I agree with the author of this editorial that blogging and other social networking sites definitely result in an increase in the coverage of certain events. If the public shows obvious concern for something (which is easily done through blogs and twitter), then the media will want to focus on covering those topics, because their goalis to cover what the public will be most interested in. I am not sure however how much I agree with his opinion that the events covered as a result of it being an interest to public are not actually things the public needs to hear that much about. Sure the girl scout cookie recall is not all that important, after making sure people get rid of these cookies, not much else needs to be said about it, but when it comes to the Toyota recall, I think it deserved the amount of news coverage it got, considering the severity of the problem being recalled. I do agree with the author's proposed myths. The public tends to dwell on subjects and events that bring harm to them at the fault of someone else, so it is true they they will continue to focus on the issue after the media has finished with it, and it definitely does not makes things worse to make apublic apology, the people want to hear the makers acknowledged their mistakes, and apologize for them.