Summertime and the livin’s easy, according to the band Sublime, and as students, we can look forward to the end of the year. But summertime comes with its own version of stress, such as planning road trips, going to the beach, hanging out at the beach, going to water parks, wakeboarding or white water rafting.
Recently, Oregon legislators decided to cut funding for the School for the Blind, a school in Salem that has had a significant impact on disabled kids for a long time. Closing this school is a considerable step in a direction that will leave disabled kids in a situation where they have little-to-no chance of becoming contributing members of society.
Four Portland high schools were caught giving modified diplomas to students. Modified diplomas are diplomas that lack the weight of regular diplomas, which seriously hinders a graduate’s future.
I have a problem with swine flu. I’m tired of it. It’s not very good to hear about, think about or probably even contract. But lately America has had this obsession with swine flu. Or “whine flu,” as a clever sign I saw somebody wave with pride at Yao Ming in one of the Blazers’ playoff games.
One of the dirtiest insults an athlete can receive is an accusation of cheating by drug use. Almost everyone who is busted for steroid use never makes it back to the elite level again. Dwain Chambers, a British sprinter, is the only person to make a comeback with any sort of success. Which, to me, is ironic. It’s ironic, but in a good way.
The recent acts of piracy on Somalia’s coast are starting to become more violent. Recently the U.S. Navy successfully rescued Richard Phillips, the captain of an American cargo ship that was captured by pirates.
The recent economic crisis has made Detroit the economic flagship of America. It seems as though any story you read about the economic crisis mentions Detroit as a cautionary tale. And when I say Detroit, I really mean America’s failed auto industry.
The question of whether the United States should post troops on the Mexican border in order to keep out illegal immigrants and the escalating violence associated with Mexican drug cartels has come up recently. Frankly, I don’t think the United States should deploy troops.
On Feb. 24 The LA Times released an article stating that California is considering taxing marijuana. Wait a minute . . . yes that means they would make it legal. Assemblyman Tom Ammiano proposed the bill under the impression that marijuana is California’s biggest cash crop.
President Barack Obama has recently passed a $787 billion stimulus package in an attempt to jump-start the economy. The money will be given to state governments for them to dole out appropriately.
In the last two years McDonald’s stocks have risen approximately $11, roughly 20 to 25 percent while the S&P 500 (the most widely followed index of large-cap American stocks, after the Dow Jones Industrial Average) has dropped slightly less then 50 percent.