Griffin Johnston, 4th period, No such thing as "nonpartisan"

            According to an article in the New York Times the people of the United States will benefit from the Affordable Healthcare Act, because it will make people more willing to take risks, and, therefore, make new business endeavors. As the article stated, “Our economy needs risk-takers in order to grow.” Moreover, people will be less threatened to resign from a job that they do not like, due to the elimination of the fear of losing their health care coverage. This, in turn, will create a happier general public and a more productive work force, for they will be working jobs/making business endeavors that are of more interest to them.

            Another article on another news station, FoxNews.com, provided a differing opinion. Charles Krauthammer referred to a recent poll that said that nine percent of Americans said their family is benefiting from the health care law, but 25 percent said that their family was worse off. Krauthammer goes on to say that this shows how ObamaCare affects people personally and, therefore, makes them not want to vote for the party that is instigating this legislation regardless of their own political party or the policies of the party they are voting for. He also states that Americans are, “losing their insurance, they’re losing their doctors, they’re losing their hospitals, some of them are losing their jobs or losing hours as a result of the law.”

            Upon reading both of these articles, the question that would arise in most people’s minds would be, “Who is right?” It is important to remember that there is no “right” or “wrong” answer or solution. It is almost always a matter of opinion. It is also important to remember that, for the most part, both Democrats and Republicans agree upon what needs to be done (example: “better health-care in U.S.) but disagree on how to get there. Also, it is always difficult to know whether the facts in one news station are reliable/twisted/legitimate/etc. It is extremely beneficial to almost always have someone disagree or bring out the flaws of something because it forces people to not blindly agree with government legislation. However, people also need to be able to form opinions of their own and obtain reliable, quality facts about a certain topic or issue. Almost all news stations on both political wings are reluctant to give all (or any) of the reliable, quality facts. Lastly, it is impossible to not have bias. One can never see something the same way as someone else due to the fact that their past experiences are always different (and we usually judge things based on our past experiences).

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/02/13/krauthammer-obamacare-approval-numbers-show-law-hits-everybody-right-where-live/?intcmp=obinsite

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/23/magazine/how-obamacare-could-unlock-job-opportunities.html?ref=us

steve jobs to be on a postage stamp?? : Devon Travis

January 7, the U.S. Postal Service's Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee issued a list of potential figures to be on commemorative stamps in the upcoming year. Among the list of names is Apple's founder Steve Jobs, who passed away in 2011. Other figures in the running are gay rights activist Harvey Milk, Jimi Hendrix, or Michael Jackson. The Elvis Presley stamp may be making a return in the near future. The postal agency is looking for new ways to get people to mail things with relevant and beloved popular figures.

This article is interesting to me because they're already wanting to commemorate Steve Jobs. It shows America's dependence on technology and the impact Apple has had in the past 20-30 years. For him to be on a list with ICONS from decades ago is a big deal for the late Jobs and for the Apple company. Remember when the Ray Charles stamp was introduced just this year? That's a huge deal for the music industry, but remember Charles died 10 years ago. Jobs is getting his mark on the paper world very shortly after his unfortunate death, and this is a big deal. We praise technology and commemorate it more eagerly because of this digital age. But it's ironic seeing that this technology pioneer will be the face of paper letters of packages to friends, an old trade. 

if you want to read more: http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/21/tech/innovation/steve-jobs-postage-stamp/index.html?hpt=hp_bn1

Aubrey Chick- Snowmobiler dies in avalanche

Summary:
On Saturday afternoon, four men were snowmobiling near the Idaho-Montana border in the West Cabinet Range and were caught in a huge avalanche. One of the men, 49 year old Bryan William Harlow, was buried in four to six feet of snow and was found not breathing. Harlow was later pronounced dead, but the other men survived. They had been aware of the danger of avalanches before their trip and were taking precautions, but still ended up in the middle of one due to wet and dense snow. In the past 2 months, there have been 16 skiers and snowmobilers killed by avalanches in the western states.

Analysis:
It is terrifying just thinking about being caught in an avalanche on the side of a mountain. There is nothing you can do as a skier or snowmobiler to prevent the issue. Personally, I would have thought more about the dangers and consequences of snowmobiling in a place where multiple avalanche accidents have already recently occurred, and would have questioned if it was really worth the risk.

http://news.yahoo.com/snowmobiler-dies-avalanche-near-idaho-montana-border-010627699.html

Claire Zimmerman: Dogs Help Mourners

A funeral home in Iowa has decided to try something that is truly genius: have a dog that is a part of the funeral home that helps cheer the mourners up. The golden-doodle, known as the "...ambassador of grief...", will sit with the families when their waiting. The dog is supposed to be used as a means for conversation starters between a family, because after the loss of a loved one sometimes it's hard to talk to anyone. With this furry guy around, it brings a sense of happiness to the room, and the people can reminisce about old times, like if they used to have a dog or something of the sorts. This canine- companion has also been taught to kneel down until it hears the word "amen." So it's sort of the only dog that can pray.

I thought  this was a heart felt article. The presence of dogs (and cats, for cat people) can be a very soothing and even therapeutic thing for people. I remember at senior showcase, all the seniors were stressed out, and someone brought puppies in and everyone forgot their worries and were just focussing on the little fuzz-balls in front of them. Animal presence brings peace to people, and using dogs to help soothe people mourning the death of a loved one is a perfect idea. It's difficult to deal with deaths of people around us: we want some comfort. What better comfort is there than a sweet dog? I cannot believe that there are only two funeral homes in Iowa that implement this idea. It would bring me personally great comfort to have a dog there when dealing with a death. I think this idea could not only work with dogs, but cats, too. It is more work on the funeral home directors, I understand, but it will pay of a lot for the people who unfortunately require their services.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/02/23/grief-dog-helps-to-comfort-mourners-in-iowa/

Dalai and Obama sitting in a tree di-scu-ssing-how-to-be-free! byImaniP5

Our President, Barack H. Obama, held "low key" discussions with the Dalai Lama at the White House , against Chinas strict warnings. China tells Obama to stay away from the "Wolf in sheep's clothing", claiming the Dalai Lama intends on using violence to establish an independent nation. Obama, though concerned for the US's trade ties with China, is a sturdy supporter of Cultural and Religious freedom and of course could not stand down to his core belief and the belief of the American People because of a strongly worded caution letter.

China called our actions out as overstepping our friendship boundaries with them. To me this is a crucial step in building any relationship. The only difference is that political time is a field slower than person to person relationship growth. I think in terms of doing the "right" thing, he did, but for our security with China, who knows if they will react according to their messages.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/21/us-usa-china-tibet-idUSBREA1K01P20140221

"Brain-Dead Teen Doing 'Much Better' " - Camille Farrar

            This article, by Amanda Sloane, profiles a thirteen-year old girl’s experience after getting her tonsils taking out in December. Jahi McMath seemed to be doing fine immediately after the surgery, but soon went into cardiac arrest, after which she was pronounced brain-dead on December 12, 2013. The hospital said McMath would not be able to get any better because her brain was no longer functioning, but the girl’s family refused to let the hospital take her off the ventilator in hopes of a miracle. Over two months later, McMath’s mother is saying that Jahi is improving greatly, but will not specify what the improvements are.

            I hope for the family’s sake that Jahi’s condition is improving despite the unlikelihood of such a thing happening. My thoughts go out to the family because they are in such a terrible situation. I am doubtful that there is a way for Jahi to recover because of the implications of being declared brain-dead; however, I am hoping that there was a mistake made somehow and she is not completely brain-dead.

http://www.hlntv.com/article/2014/02/20/jahi-mcmath-letter-brain-dead-tonsil-surgery?hpt=hp_t5&hpt=us_t5

why people that watch The Voice suck (Sam Smathers 4th)

“Why we never get over high school”

Written by Deborah Fallows from the Atlantic

http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/02/why-we-never-get-over-high-school/284026/

Commentary by Sam Smathers 4th

Deborah Fallows says that a lot of people’s first questions to a new friend are, “Where did you go to high school?”. She says this is an indication that people never really get over high school. Where you went to school tells what socio economic class you were in, if you went private or public, if you went to the sketchy school in the bad part of town or if you went to the fancy private school with twelve kids. Where you went to high school is such a big deal that some person made a map of all of the schools in St. Louis and a description of what the typical student was in a certain year so you can look up what that person once was.

            Your past undoubtedly influences your future, but something as small as how much money your parents had when you were a kid is not a reasonable indicator of what type of person that person is. If people judge you on superficial things like where you went to school, and you didn’t even have a real choice where you went to school, than why would you want to be friends with them? What type of person gives a crap about what economic class you come from? That doesn’t matter, what matters is what you are doing now not what you once did. Judging someone by how much money their parents had is by far one of the worst things you can do. It doesn’t make any sense. It is illogical. It is like judging someone based on what their favorite animal was when they were seven, it doesn’t matter and it isn’t an accurate representation of what that person is now. The kids had no choice in what family they were born into. They didn’t choose where they went to high school, and even more it is four years of your life. In all honesty it doesn’t even matter. The people that care about high school are the people that watch The Voice at night and still talk crap about the boyfriend they had four years ago because they have nothing better to do than complain because they are too afraid to change anything. People like this are absolutely the most repulsive beings in creation and are the reason humans will end up killing ourselves and the reason we have ridiculous problems like obesity when people are starving.