195-B

  The grading system of America. 5 special letters that superficially determine who you are, how smart you are, and where you will end up in life. I love to hate them, but it is undeniable how much I’m forced to respect them.

                  Personally, I think grades are useless in the long run. They demonstrate that you have managed to memorize dates and facts in core and extracurricular studies (some more useful than others, but that’s a different post) and they show that you could regurgitate them on command in a testing environment. But really, who needs to remember most of these things? I think that certain skills are needed for the everyday, like: basic math, economics, history’s causes and effects—not dates—and how to write a basic report. Properties of aeronautic flights as functions on a graph, when exactly King Charlemagne took over for x amount of years, and other fluffy facts; I think those are the short term  pieces of knowledge that are wastefully graded. Yet, all of this combines on a piece of paper that ranks you by how well you managed to retain the fluff and is then sent to colleges. Colleges then do not see you as who you really are and what you can really accomplish. They see you as a number with a letter attached. They decide who they want in their hallways based on whether I am 499-D, or 2-A. What grades don’t show is how that person is going to be in the grand scheme of life. While the former earns a PhD in psychology, the other may earn their masters in survival with a minor in common sense. America does not have a class for those, and if they did it would be graded on a biased scale anyway. If I had it my way, the grading system would be based on what I got out of that class; did I realize how important this was going to be in my future job? Will I actually use this well in the context of my specific situation? Yet I do not think even that can be graded, because even teachers would grade to their standards, or those regulations given by a higher ranking person in high-waisted pants and educational print t-shirts. I also realize that if I wish to be more than the girl who takes your order and makes sure, “you got fries with that,” I have to play by the rules, and become a number-letter.  

2nd random post of the month….

I could not stop laughing at this…

Thank god I’m not the only person tired of this “Barack Hussein=terrorist” business.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5YQ1oCguYs

Haha- good one

http://politicalhumor.about.com/od/election2008/a/funny-quotes.htm

These are probably some of the best things that have come out of the candidates mouths. Definately better than all the negative crap I have been watching lately, it sure tells way more about the candidate then the pessimistic comments.

Economic Stabilization Plan- My version

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/21/business/21qanda.html

Above is the link for those who have no clue what the bailout is and/or it will affect them at home. It is an unbiased answer sheet to the FAQ’s of the bailout plan, what it proposes, and why.

 

                  It goes unquestioned that the bailout has been an explosive and confusing process. I discovered this when I was told I needed to come up with an original bailout plan by myself. I’m scared of doing so, not only because I know only the basics of this crisis, but because I don’t know how the long term could be affected by my choices. I see now that legislature has a difficult decision ahead of them. I see now that this is why there is so much debate and concern for the future.  Our decisions now could decide the future of America’s economy. So whose fault is it? Well, the Republicans say it was the Democrats, while the Democrats say it was the Republicans. So that just means that it’s everyone and their mom’s fault for the meltdown. That doesn’t make any sense. So, I start my bailout plan with the call to everyone and their mom to stop pointing fingers, and make it work.

                  First of all, I would put regulations on the banks back. The government had been controlling things like loans for mortgages, which I think kept things fairly stable. We need them back. Then we need to replace the CEO’s of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac since they are obviously abusing their power as controllers of the market. When we put in a slightly more stable ruler, the bank should be able to function for the people, rather than for the rich people.  As for the other banks, they could use some bailout money to put them back on their feet, but not so much as to hurt the taxpayers or force the government to borrow from other countries. Lastly, if all of this works, America can build off of the current regulations and decide whether more are needed, or if we need to change directions and see if we can’t make it even better. However, I think if we get comfortable and remove some of the bank regulations or give them a check and buy bad loans… how do we know the banks won’t fall back down the rabbit hole? Like it was said on Fox by some old economist, “we have been here SIX TIMES before,” (FOX NEWS). America really isn’t THAT stupid. Right?

Meanest Mom on the Planet

              For the record, I am strongly against underage drinking. I have seen how bad it can screw people up on the road and in party settings; which, needless to say, was not pretty. I think that what this mom did was very bold.  On the whole, I agree with her actions—though maybe not the way she put it out into public.

              If I was the Mother, I probably would have done the same thing. He would have to show he can be responsible and earn the privilege back. Also, he would have to earn my reliance on his word back. Because she gave him the rules straight up, and he agreed to them (obviously, otherwise I doubt he would have been driving at all), he broke the trust he had between him and his mother. If she can’t trust him to follow some basic safety rules then he will not be seen as very responsible or honorable. On top of that, his mom will have to worry about him wherever he goes now because she knows that he drinks– or at least has access to it when he wants– and could potentially get into some trouble either with the law, or in a dangerous situation.

              However, I think that Ms. Hambleton went a little far when she played the publicity card. She says that she did not know this would get so much attention (local news, television interviews, etc.). I mean, what do you expect? If someone tells their home stories, especially on illegal actions, they will get attention. I think this is proved by the fact that even after she sold the car, she still wants the ad running to see what more people will say. The exposure was unnecessary and I would have never gone that far. I would have sold the car, but not with a story to accompany it wherever it goes.  

Junior Year Aspirations

I am SO escited about this year! I never really thought about going this far in life. I always thought when I was little that time would just pause at one point and life would never change. Now it feels as though I am in Fast Forward. This makes life really hard to work with; I don’t feel as though I ever have the time to finish everything, I always feel 2 steps behind. However, the plan is to eventually get 2 steps ahead. How? Not sure. I am willing to take the challenge of a busier than ever before schedule and run with it. My goal is simply to survive junior year, and end with good grades. If i succeed, I think that this year will be one of those years that start and end with a bang, and will be one to look back on as one of the greatest.

I did it!

This page took me 2 days figure this out but I got it now! My first blog too, so this should be interesting…