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.

Dumb movie?

I chose this article about the House Bunny on http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/aug/21/the-house-bunny-no-so-dumb/ for a few reasons. The article did mention that the movie was dumb and a chick flick. Anna Faris plays the main character, Shelley. You are probably asking, “Why did I choose this article?” Well the answer to that is I saw the movie and it was funny, but I felt dumber as the movie was going on. I’m not saying I’m not smart and don’t use my brain, but I’m unique in my on way. For example, I’m assuming that I am the only person who chose this article. Also, people sometimes ask me if I dyed my hair brown and was really a blonde. The answer to that is no. Every color of hair has the ability to be smart.
Anyways, my life relates to The House Bunny because Anna Faris gets kicked out of the mansion she lives in and doesn’t have anywhere to go. Eventually, she finds a sorority with a group of girls who are very “un-cool.” Anna Faris helps them out by making them become well-liked and popular. This relates to me by I have a lot of friends and I’m willing to help them when they need it, I’ll do anything! The groups of girls are very unique and individualistic. My friends and I are all different and like and dislike different things. While I was reading, I thought about a short story I just read, The Necklace. In the story it described what a person in the lower class envies and wants a lot of material things. Well, in the House Bunny Anna Faris loves material things and thinks that’s what life’s about. Well the group of girls she has to be a house mother to make her realize that everyone dresses different and it doesn’t matter what you look like people should like you for what you are.