WORLD NEWS (& reviews).....
Voting Confusion!!
By: Chassidy Doane, South-Doyle High School
Many seniors are turning eighteen and will able to vote in the next presidential election coming up in November. I, being one of these teenagers, am very excited to get a chance to vote for our nation’s next leader. To me, it’s a big deal and I don’t want to take it lightly. I really want to make sure that the person I vote for shares the same values and beliefs that I have. However, it may be more difficult to find this out than it seems at first.
There are quizzes that are offered at various websites that can tell you which candidate matches your views the most. All you have to do is go online, fill out some questions, and then it gives you the results. However, the question I have is how accurate are these quizzes that people are taking to decide which candidate to vote for? On the first quiz I took, it showed up that Mike Huckabee was the best choice (which doesn’t really matter because he dropped out) and on the next quiz I took the results showed that Ron Paul is the one I should vote for. The confusion!
You see, I thought Barack Obama was the sure choice for me, until these quizzes came into my life. It seems that Obama and I disagree on quite a few things that I find very important. So, should I really trust these quizzes? I’m not so sure. Of course these quizzes are not lying, but they may be leaving out all of the details. One of the questions that may be asked is, “Do you agree with Universal Healthcare?”, and it wants you to select a simple “yes” or “no”. What if a certain candidate believes that there should be healthcare available to everyone but with some limitations? It would seem that the black and white of certain issues is shown, but no in between.
Am I going to let a quiz determine who I vote for? No! My only concern is that other students that are around my age might actually buy into these quizzes and think that they have to vote for the person that showed up on their results. This is completely false, vote for who you want to and don’t let anyone tell you that you shouldn’t do what you think is best for you and the country.
Tragic Shootings At Northern Illinois University
By: Maddie Cave, Bearden High School
It used to be that I was able to go to school without wondering if I would make it back home. My grandparents once told me that when they were in school, the teacher’s main concern was a student chewing gum in class. Now look at our school systems, patrolled by police, some with metal detectors, and even police dogs sniffing lockers for drugs.
What has happened to this world? Not even a year ago, over 30 people lost their lives at Virginia Tech—people who were doing nothing more than attending class. February 14th’s events certainly did not make things any better. Over eighteen people were shot and six innocent students/faculty died at Northern Illinois University. Ironically, I have heard that the gunman was a bright student with a positive attitude, which actually frightens me more.
Honestly, I don’t understand how—at this point—anyone could say that this country does not need better gun-control laws. The truth is that buying a gun is easy—you simply show someone your driver’s license and fill out a few forms, and there you go. Just to be clear, I do NOT think that people should have to give up their "right to bear arms,” but there need to be limits. Personally, if it were up to me, I would make any person who wishes to buy a gun have a background check as well as a psychological evaluation. Twenty years ago, that probably never even crossed anyone’s mind; unfortunately, I think that is what it has come down to. I just wish more people in the White House felt the same way as I do.
Presidential Election Update!
By: Chassidy Doane, South-Doyle High School
With the election rolling along, many things change on a day to day basis. Who is in the lead? Who will win the nomination and who will ultimately become President of the United States of America? The answer is undetermined at this point, however suspicions are rising and delegate counts are going up day after day. Therefore, there is positively no way to keep everyone up to date all the time, but this article will tell you who is in the lead at this point in time.
Republican candidate, John McCain is ahead by a landslide in the presidential race, while other Republican candidate, Mike Huckabee is trailing far, far behind. McCain has a whopping 1,033 delegates while Huckabee has a mere 247. McCain is pretty much a shoe in for the Republican nomination but Huckabee refuses to give up and quit the race. When addressing why he was staying in the race, Huckabee stated, "Why? Because I do believe America is about making choices and not echoing that of others." He even went on Saturday Night Live and poked fun of himself and the “mathematical impossibility” of him winning the nomination, even so he stays in the race and his faith is strong.
The Democratic candidates are apart of a much different story. With Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton neck and neck in the race, it will most certainly come down to the last vote to determine who is going to win the nomination. Right now, Obama is leading the way with 1,369 delegates as opposed to Clinton’s 1,267. Both candidates are working hard to make sure they win the nomination and both are very much alike in their views for our country. However, with all the candidate bashing that is going on, in both parties, one must stop and think if that will hurt their chances in the long run. Either way, these two candidates are ground breaking as the first woman and the first African American to run for president of the United States of America.
So who will win the nominations? More than likely John McCain will win for the Republicans, but as far as the Democrats, it is way too soon to tell. However, with primaries coming up, maybe we will be one step closer into determining who will be America’s next leader.
POLITICAL REVIEW(S) January 31, 2008
Barack vs. Hillary
A political review by Maddie Cave, Bearden High School
I must admit that nothing bothers me more than two politicians telling the public about their opponent’s weaknesses rather than informing the people about their own strengths. This especially aggravates me when it comes to the presidential election later this year. Almost every time I turn on the television, I see Clinton and Obama “getting into it.”
Honestly, what does this tell you about their character? He said this; she said that; he did this; he did that…Enough! I personally have nothing but the utmost respect for both of them, and I wish they had that for each other. Sometimes I feel that we live in the Divided States rather than the United States when people from the same party cannot get along. I don’t care what a candidate has done in the past, but I am interested to know what he/she intends to do in the future.
For now, my vote will be for the democratic runner-up, but only if this bickering can cease. I don’t care really who it will be, Barack or Hillary, because I believe that both of them will do a tremendous job as President. Both of them have high hopes for the future of the United States as well as strong morals. Now, it’s time to show them!
Have an opinion on candidate bashing? Go to the discussion board and discuss it with other teens!
|