The ACT: Root of all Evil?

This past weekend, a few of my friends took the dreaded 'ACT', and their reactions were generally quite similar, the theme, " I didn't have enough time", and "It was really hard" were heard frequently. This got me thinking, is having a standardized test to judge a student's college worth really all that good? I say this because every high school in the U.S is different, and they all provide a different approach to education. Is it fair to insitute a test with things that possibly some students haven't covered, or haven't covered adaquetly enough. Another issue could be having to prepare for the ACT or SAT along with regular classes, (I haven't touched my ACT prep book since I bought it in September) Regular school work is hard enough, and having to worry about something like the ACT is quite a daunting thought. I understand that it is a good way to judge all students on the same playing field, but does it have to be so hard, and weighted so heavily? Should colleges focus more on things like class rank, regular grades, and extracuriculars?

The Wikipedia: One of the 7 Deadly Sins

All through my educational carrer, I have been told my countless teachers, conselors, and librarians to "STAY AWAY FROM WIKIPEDIA BECAUSE IT ISNT A CREDIBLE SOURCE!!" The way that teachers talk about it makes me think it to be the root of all evil. But, I don't think some people should be so quick to condemn "the wikipedia", because after all, most people use this tool to garner background information on a subject, not to do in depth research. I think that you should be able to cite wikipedia as a source, as long as you are just using to get an idea on a subject or something and you are using it for simple, or numerical facts, such as how many people died in WWII? I spend a lot of my time diggind around google for 'Credible' sources, and my time might be better spent better focusing my research instead of hunting around the web for a site that can be used in the MLA format. What do you think? What are your thoughts on wikis?

Abu Ghraib and Seymour Hersh: Do we have a right to know?

In class yesterday, we touched on a man named Seymour Hersh who helped uncover the My Lai massacre during the Vietnam war, and who recently uncovered the photos of interrogations from  the U.S prison in Iraq, Abu Ghraib. This got me thinking, do we need to know that things like this are going on? Do we have a right to know these things? Should we even know about things like this, or is the Government protecting us four our own good? I looked through a few of these photos, and they are... disturbing at the least. I'm not sure I wanted to know that U.S troops are doing things like this to prisoners, or if anything worse than this is happening. There are pictures of people chained up in tiny cells, people who are mutilated, and men with hoods over their heads who are made to stand on tiny boxes or face electrocution- this is a method of interogation. Part of me has feels like the public has a right to know what is going on in Iraq, and that freedom of press should not be abridged, as it is one of our country's core values. But part of me thinks that the public doesn't need to know about Abu Ghraib and the ilk until after the war. I'm really torn on this, what do you think?

Blackwater

In class the other day, we quickly touched on a subject that interested me, the private military trainer and contracter "Blackwater" had recently changed their name to "Xe". I wanted to investigate why they did this. The name blackwater, according to an article I found, is named for the swamps near the North Carolina location of the training facility and headquarters, and the near 100 black bears around that area. A company spokeswoman claims the name has no meaning, except the Xe is the abreviation for the element Xenon... I'm not sure what this means, but to me the name 'Blackwater' sounds malicous in some way. And Xe LLC somehow sounds more professional, even if it is for a company that deals in war. The companie's president claims that this name change indicates a "shift away from providing private security". But will more change than the name? What is your take on all this?

Music in Protest - Vietnam and WWI

Today in class the Vietnam group presented their perilous times project on civil rights, and much of their presentation was focused on rallies and peaceful protests. This got me thinking, how else, do people protest and raise awareness about wars? Which brigns us to what I want to talk about...music. There are alot of songs out right now protesting the War on Terror, but one of my favorite songs is by Billy Joel, and it is called Goodnight Saigon. It was released in 1983, after the war, but still got people thinking about the mistakes of the past, and that is a start. The fact that it wasn't released during the war doesn't matter all that much, it raised public awareness about the horrors of the war, and educated many on the subject. In 8th grade, we had a school wide presentation on Vietnam, delivered by an ex- Washburne teacher who called in airstrikes in Vietnam for the US Air Force. He played this song for us, and it really struck me, I went home and looked up the song and researched the war  for a bit. The main point he made is that Vietnam is a war that is sometimes forgotten (we barely touched on it in our 8th grade U.S history class), and that one day there will be no veterans left. He said that there were only 3 World War I veterans left alive at the time, and that one day that would be the case for Vietnam vets. I guess what I'm trying to say is that music can be very moving and effective in anti-war efforts and education, when done well. Another very good song by The Dropkick Murphys, is called The Green Fields of France. The line that strikes me in this song is, " It all happened again, and again, and again." I think the point that The Dropkick Murphys are trying to make is that war is preventable, and we can prevent it, we just have to learn from the past. Also see Sting's Russians, which is a grim reminder of what could have been (nuclear armageadon), and also makes the point that we need to learn from the past, or maybe one day the fears of the Cold War era might become a devestating reality. "There's no such thing as a winnable war" is  a line that strikes a chord with me, and it is really true, and it is something that more people should realize.
- Please watch these three videos, the music combined with the pictures is very moving and thoughtful.
-What lines strike you in these songs? Are there any other good songs like these?

The Right to Hang a Pair of Bear Arms

The right to bear arms (the second amendment) has been one of the most controversial amendments to the consitution. A humorous look at this issue, courtesy of Family Guy, can be found here, (be warned the site is in Swedish). But in all seriousness, this is an issue worth discussing, because it has been a hot button topic ever since the second amendment was ratified in 1791. The text of the 2nd amendment literally says, "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." A full text and footnotes can be found at this legal site. My opinion is that people should be allowed to bear arms, but in regulation. People should be allowed to have handguns, not automatic weapons. Hunters can have rifles and shotguns, but chances are, no matter who you are, you don't need an M16. Also, tests and safety exams should be more rigorous, the Gov't should make sure that anyone who wants to own a gun knows how to safely use and maintain it.

3 Strikes and You're OUT!

Awhile ago, in American Studies class, we touched on the topic of the '3 strike law' that is in several U.S states, including California. My opinion on this subject is that this is NOT the way to go, it isn't fair that if someone robs a conveinance store three times they can be given the same sentence as a murderer or drug runner. It also doesnt seem practical  or cost effectiveto keep so many people in prison for so long. According to the site I linked to, Californians spend 6.1 billion a year on their jails and penal systems, and the number of Californians in jail has increased sevenfold in just 20 years. To me, that just seems ridiculous and against the old saying 'Land of the Free'.