Health Care Showdown: Ryan vs. Everyone Else

While both articles do talk about health care, they are comparing two completely different things. The conservative article supports Ryan and completely opposes Obama's health care plan, while the progressive article barely mentions Obama at all. Here is my rundown and opinions on each of the two pieces:

Conservative Stanley Kurtz-
Wow, someone REALLY hates Obama. But all joking aside, Kurtz presents a very strong view on the health care reform plans of Obama and articulates his argument extremely well. He is completely against "Obamacare" as he calls it, and supports Ryan. However, this article is mainly about why Obama's plan is terrible. Obama apparently desires to creat IPAB (Independent Payment Advisory Board) and THIS is what Kurtz is getting so riled up about. The board will get "limitless power over federal Medicare spending... the power to effectively ration health care through price controls.. and override congressional sovereignty." Kurtz continues to argue why the IPAB is a bad idea, pulling information up that no one was really aware of. His piece is effective because his writing is persuasive and interesting. The piece continues to entice the reader to continue reading and wanting to know more about the piece. I believe it is also effective due to the fact that it brings to light the American people and the constitution- the document we have been studying since the third grade. Kurtz's argument is incredibly believable and I would have agreed, if I had not read John Nicols article.

Progressive John Nicols-
While this piece was not as elaborate and "flowery" as that of Kurtz's it definitely presented legitimate reasons and arguments against Ryan's plan. However, it doesn't support Obama's plan either. Instead Nicols supports a third plan, one proposed by the Vermont senator, Bernie Sanders. Nicols is to the point and voices his opinions well. While he does have bias and opinion in his piece, his includes many facts and information.

So, what do I believe in? I'm going to vote for the random third health care plan. Kurtz has persuaded me that Obama's plan is not good for the American people and I believe him. The fact that it is SO unconstitutional lacking checks and balances is the thing that swayed me towards Ryan's plan at first. However, Nicols deterred me from Ryan's plan, leaving only Sander's plan. Bernie Sanders, you've got yourself another fan.

Hallelujah- I'm a Senior

Wow, it's really hard to believe that I have been here for most of my high school years (I moved in the middle of sophomore year to AHS!) While I remember slowly counting down the days until I can finally LEAVE this building, I will admit I have had my fair share of memorable events. Reading through some of my classmate's blogs have really jogged my memory and even made me smile at reading some of them. So, here's the run down on my three-and-a-half years here at AHS.

Moving into Cayot's biology class pretty much at the butt end of the semester. It was probably the worst thing to ever happen to me. I got a B- sophomore year. It was kind of depressing.

Girl biting a cop at Fenway Park. Classic. It really surprises me at how dumb some of our students are. That's just something you don't do, ever. Whether you're drunk or not.

Fire alarm being pulled. Every. Single. Day. For like a week! I just remember it being really cold and pulled at the most inopportune times. Come on! Pull it in the summer, not in the winter!

The seniors last year. They were just unbelievably loud and obnoxious. However, there were exceptions.

A teacher who didn't let me go to class even though I had a doctor's note. The old tardy policy was still in place. I had a doctor's note. He didn't let me go to class. I was pissed. I called my parents. My parents called the school. Administration had to come down to release me. Biggest fail of the school, ever.

Friends. While I am ready to just run out of the school and never come back, I have met a fair share of amazing people who I wouldn't have been able to get throug high school with! Some of them I can definitely call my best friends and I actually will be upset to leave them. However, we can just reunite at the beach- not in AP Calc (Thank GOD!)

Going through three different principles, my three years here. Anderson, Harris, Sharkey. While I had nothing personal against them, I don't love them either. They were just "another principal".

Okay, well this was WAY longer than I thought it would be but I guess it makes sense; I spent the last 3 years of my life in this place. It's about time for me to finally leave and move onto the next stage. Hallelujah! I'm finally going to be free.

Bin Laden Dead

Late last night, Osama Bin Laden was killed. WHAT? While strolling through the channels, I found myself landing on and focusing on the one about Osama Bin Laden and how he has been killed. I saw a little news footage on this story, but I wasn't exactly too focused on it. However, just 5 minutes ago, classmates were talking about the story and I found out facts that I didn't know before. Mansion. Bullet wounds to the face. Paralysis. Woah, slow down! I guess I really didn't know the full extent of the story. I tried to wait for Obama and his address, but he was running a little late and I was growing a little impatient, so I missed it, but I heard it was great.

I really don't know how to respond to this or if I even had any emotions that this happened. It was kind of just like "Oh, Osama Bin Laden died. Okay." But does this necessarily make me a bad person? I don't think so. This is a man that we have been searching for almost 10 years. Millions of lives were killed to find this man. People are celebrating because we committed murder. Yes, Osama is rightfully killed, but is he really worth the millions of lives of soldiers who were killed overseas? I don't think so. I heard somewhere that Osama was just chilling in a mansion miles away from where US soldiers were stationed. Really, America? I don't know, maybe I'm a little skeptical, but I don't think this event is something that America should be particularly proud about- it should be more of a wake up call.

There's Just No Way

I'm sorry, but there is just no way I would interview this little girl about the murder of her mother. Maybe when she is a lot older, probably in her 20s, but even in a couple years, the memory would just be tragic.

There are a lot of things people remember about their lives. Your first kiss, the first time you ride a bike, your WEDDING. But Jaimie Cates will probably not remember these. Instead, the memory that will remain with her forever will be the night she watched her mother get slaughtered to death by a bunch of teenage boys with nothing better to do. She is emotionally and physically scarred, and must be at a very delicate point of her life right now.

As a young child, reporters and journalists are not what she needs. She needs comfort in the arms of loved ones- friends and family. As journalists and outsiders looking in, the best thing we can do for Cates and her family is to grant them peace in their time of mourning.

Credibility

So what exactly is credibility? Credibility is the believability of a source or message or person, etc. It is basically how trustworthy a person or thing is. You earn credibility through your actions and the way you live. You lose it when you break someone's trust and do something that goes against your expectations.

One time in particular that credibility pops into my mind, is when I asked my friend about certain matters. I really trusted this person and believed in what he told me and said. However, I later found out that what he said was not necessarily true, crushing his credibility with me.

Credibility is extremely important and it is something that will make or break someone. Why would you want to go through life being "that person" who cannot be trusted?

WTF

Like seriously, why would ANYONE do something as cruel and inhumane as the four teenagers convicted in the Mont Vernon case? I have heard about this case before, but even now it still angers and saddens me at the same time. What causes someone to murder and kill in such a gruesome and terrible way? It is enough to strip someone of their life, but to do so in such a horrible manner is just unbelievable to me. Machete?! Are you KIDDING? What the heck are you doing with a machete in the first place. A woman, a mother, someone's sister, died at the hands of a terrible murderer. Her daughter had to endure very much the same pain, and also the trauma of watching her mother slaughtered before her own eyes. I don't think I could even imagine half the pain the two had to go through. It is just absolutely heart-breaking.

Something that is also a little uncomfortable is that the murderers were not creepy, middle aged men, but instead young boys the same age as us sitting in these very rooms! Killing just to kill, just for fun. I don't really know the whole story, but I vaguely remember that the boys literally just picked a random house to rob. No motive, no nothing. Just a random house. Think about that for a second; that house could have easily been yours or mine.

It's also extremely bizarre that this happened so close to home, yet not many of us heard about the murders until this very day. One of my friends who goes to Bishop Guertin, a private school in Nashua, knows Steven Spader and a couple of the murderers. She goes to school with one of their ex-girlfriends. When asking my friend about this whole fiasco, she told me that the girls are absolutely normal, but one of them came into school one day wearing a new necklace she claims her boyfriend bought for her. It later turned out that that very necklace, belonged to Kimberly Cates. While the name of this blogpost may not be the most appropriate, it is the only thing that could possibly explain what I'm thinking right at this second: WTF.

Blackberry

What do I notice? What about that small device right in front of me that can do so many things. Call, text, surf the internet. Is there anything a cell phone cannot do nowadays? While there are still phones out there that are slower and not as advanced as others, the basic components are still there. It is so hard to believe that these small objects, some as little as credit cards and fit snugly in your pocket, used to be huge blocks. These little devices used to be owned by the rich and wealthy, and now every day people own one. Some even as young as Elementary School students also possess such a device. Manufacturers thrive on the constant need of America to consume, and periodically develop versions that are "better" and "faster" and more "stylish".

I, myself, am not satisfied with my Blackberry Curve. The little thing that allows me to do things a computer would. Are we ever going to be satisfied? Or are we always going to be striving after the "next thing"?