This election=many differences and new issues

I read the article, Obama, Assembling Team, Turns to the Economy, by Jeff Zeleny and Jackie Calmes. Even though this article was a lot for me to take in, I learned excellent information about what “happened” at the election. Barack Obama won, as you know, but he won for many different reasons. As the article stated from the very beginning of the campaign it was going to be a close call between the 2 candidates. Obama knew that the “global economy was on a knife’s edge, job losses, and foreclosures”, but Obama was looking for a way to manage it from the very beginning. The results of the election weren’t as close as I thought it would be, but the final result would change our nation forever. In many states they were at a tie for their presidential candidate.
This can relate to me for some reasons that may not be so obvious. I know that are nation is in a financial crisis right now, but I believe Obama will have a hard time (it may take him a while), but in the end he can/will fix it; that is why is our president. I agree that the results are different from the 2004 election with the Electoral College. For example Obama got many of the states that Bush had in the previous election. This election will become very important in later history because it’s our first African-American president. Obama will have a challenging time in office, but I think he will fix and make new issues. I already can see that he has overcome many challenges in working for the campaign, but he will become a superior president and fight for our nation.

Spending money wisely?

I just read the article, Some Purchases May Still Be Worth the Price by Ron Lieber. This article was how we spend our money on things that we want; normally, we don’t need them. People are becoming worried in the amount of money they’re spending on certain items. People want to save their money because they have the fear that we will go through another Great Depression. According to the reporter, “First of all, the vast majority of people in the United States are not going to lose their jobs. Second, most of us work not merely for subsistence but so we can spend money on things and experiences that bring us some form of contentment.” He interviewed Ron Stefanski from Michigan who recently invested in a sailboat for his family. The question was if it was wise or not?
Everytime I purchase something my mom says,”Do you really need that, you have one similar to it and you’re wasting your money.” Then I think about it, but normally end up keeping it because you can never do without too many clothes right? As I read the article I thought about the letter I wrote to the next president about college costs and people wonder if we will go through another depression. Every day people are buying things that they might already have, they just have to have the new. I think people to think wisely when purchasing something huge if they still have children and have to pay for their tuition in order to get an education. Homeowners are having to foreclose, leaving them poor and without a house. Right now the number of people losing their jobs is increasing rapidly. This is why I’m nervous for our country, especially my parents. Purchasing things may be entertaining and you may think you need them; my advise to you is think wisely and look forward to the future and see if in any way this will effect you and your family. This quote by Izzak Walton, “Look to your health; and if you have it, praise God, and value it next to a good conscience; for health is the second blessing that we mortals are capable of; a blessing that money cannot buy.” He is correct money can’t buy everything including happiness.

Making a Difference

I just read Goal: Change How Kids Learn by Karl Fisch. This article showed the learning experience kids had in Nigeria. Obviously it was way different to what we’re used to. Mr. Fisch showed the damaged-poor schoolhouse 150 students were in at one time. The One Laptop per Child Project distributed the laptops to this school in Nigeria. The students were taught how to use them and where to find information to improve their learning.

I can relate to this article by most of us want a different way to learn, not the same thing every day. I know this for a fact because in my history class last year that’s all we did was take notes; it was very painful and boring. You are probably asking, “So what does this have in common with the students in Nigeria?” Well, students there were learning just from old torn books and chalkboards. I can picture what the kids there felt when they saw the brand-new shiny laptops. Even if I got to learn from a laptop every day I would be excited to go to school. Using computers once in awhile is fun because you are learning in a different way, not just taking notes, listening, or being bored out of your mind. When I heard that this organization wanted to help kids in a lower class then them, I was amazed and happy for them. I actually want to visit one of the poor countries and do mission work or teach kids to learn in a new way. At my old school, in our technology lab we got all new apple computers. Normally, I wouldn’t want to go to tech. but when I discovered we got new computers I couldn’t wait to get on the computer. The new computers we got had a camera. We had a whole class on just messing around and taking pictures with our friends. It was a blast. I know what some of those kids were feeling and couldn’t wait to learn more in a new way. I’ve never donated a computer to someone less fortunate than me, but I have donated things like clothes and other accessories. These are just small things and it makes a huge difference to those people who can’t afford things to feel like they matter in the world. I want to help try to make a difference in the world and help the less-fortunate and so should you.

Another Great Depression?

I read the article, Delicate embrace by Obama, McCain of bailout deal by a reporter from the Rocky Mountain News . This article was explaining the $700 billion bailout and what the effect is going to be against the financial industry. The article stated that Barack Obama and John McCain have to be a part of the plan/problem because it will be a huge issue in the presidential election in November. The bailout will involve taxpayers, automakers, and people in banks. Many financial workers say we have “to keep the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression from spreading throughout the entire economy.”

This article is not a big issue for me right now because I’m obviously not voting in November, but I will be in the upcoming election. This bailout plan is a major issue because I believe that if it isn’t fixed it will result in something horrible, like another depression. I think this problem will have an effect on people losing their jobs since it involves $700 billion, especially the bankers, homeowners, and automakers. I’m scared for both Obama and McCain because they’re running against each other and in their speeches they are going to have to mention this crisis. Many of the workers I mentioned above are going through difficult times because loans and mortgages are not being paid so this results in many foreclosures. The Center for Responsible Loans states that, “if judges in courts change mortagages it would save 600,000 homes from being foreclosed.” That is about 600,00 people (not including families) losing their homes which means they may become homeless. All of these issues would lower the economy, so everyone needs to work together to solve this issue so we don’t have the Great Depression 2. I’m both excited, but mostly scared to see what the presidents will say in their speech about this plan.

Native and Non-native english speakers

I just read the article, Is it an English as a Second Language World?by someone who read about it in the Financial Times. The article seemed really long, but it was interesting to me. The article was about how the number of people speaking English is growing. This may become a problem because the native English speakers know the language but the people wanting to learn it are learning different things. The article stated that 50 years ago more people spoke English then any other language except Mandarin. Well, now more people are speaking Spanish, and English is in fifth place. Non-native speakers outnumber native speakers.

This amazes me because I thought there were a huge number of native-English speakers. I chose to read about it because I wonder why people would want to go through the trouble in learning another language. I also have an answer; people are traveling across the world and want to understand people who actually live there. Now a days in some resorts you have to speak more than 2 languages fluently. I know this for a fact because over the summer I traveled to a resort in Cabo, San Lucas, Mexico. The workers there told us that in order to get a job they had to speak Spanish and English fluently, plus another language like German. I’m learning Spanish right now and it’s challenging at times, for example, conjugating the verbs and if it’s feminine or masculine. While I was Spanish class my teacher said it’s actually harder if your Spanish learning English because in English there are things like pronouns, more punctuation, and more rules you have to know. Another thing is my cousins live in Hong Kong and can s[eak English and Mandarin pretty fluently, they’re now learning a little of Spanish and French. I think that might be tough to learn more than one language at a time, but it will help them in the future. I agree with the article that soon the “non-native speakers will be communicating with one another that the native speakers will have to be the ones who have to adapt.”

Treacherous storms

I just read a devastating article, After Surviving Storm, Fleeing a Fetid, Devastated Galveston by Thayer Evans of the New York Times. This article was about how Hurricane Ike hit Galveston, TX,but the effect of the hurricane was huge and left many without homes. People were evacuated, but when they returned all of their food was spoiled and plumbing wasn’t working. People were found dead and it would take about a month before water and power would be running again. It was left a mess and caused a lot of devastation. Not being able to run water caused many health problems. “Forty buildings collapsed" and the city would take a lot of hard work to renevate.
This article relates to me by when I lived in my old house I was up in my room doing homework when my mom called me from downstairs and told me to come in the basement immediately. I was terrified and sprinted as fast as I could down to the basement. I was sitting on the couch unable to do my homework because of all the nerves and images I had in my head. Well, about 2 hours later on the news it said the warning was over. So, the tornado never hit near my neighborhood, so I couldn’t even imagine what people would be feeling when there house got hit and destoyed. My friend last year had to be evacuated during a forest fire and told me that she was terrified that all her belongings and house would be ruined. Luckily just by her house the firefighters finally put out the fire. The aftermath of a storm damages more than during the storm because you can see how much repair work will have to be done in order to get the city back to normal.

Are news reporters appropriate at a funeral?

I chose to reflect on the article, Tweeting a Funeral? by a reporter from the Rocky Mountain News. This article was about a non-experienced driver who wasn’t paying any attention and crashed into an ice cream store. There were a total of 3 deaths and the one he wrote about was a 3-year-old boy. At his funeral the reporter was using a program called Twitter to send information to his newspaper about the funeral.
This story relates to me because it was very heartbraking to read this article, but I have also experienced a tragic death. I went to St. Thomas More for nine years and when I was in fourth grade a kindergartener, Gabby Krause, had brain cancer. She was kind and playful and just liked to have fun. She was brave and had to go through a lot. She was about 4 years younger then me and had to have chemotherapy. She seemed to be always happy with a smile on her face. She died at the age of six and I went to her funeral. Yes, there was a local newspaper there for at least the reception afterward. It was very sad, but now her parents have started a program to help kids who have cancer just like she did. It is called The Gabby Krause Foundation. The answer to that question is if the reporters get the permission to attend a funeral then they should get the information, other wise it isn't appropriate.