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Chuck Norris

It's very annoying when people say "Oh, well Chuck Norris..." and think that makes things any better or supports what they think. Chuck Norris isn't any different than anyone else.

There are a lot of celebrities and average people out there who are just as great or better than Chuck Norris. What's even more annoying is that a lot of people don't even know who Chuck Norris is and still say things like "When Chuck Norris does push-ups he doesn't push up, he pushes the world down." Also, there are many jokes about Chuck Norris being equal to God and that insults some people's faith. To me, that's not right and Chuck Norris shouldn't be held to any greater standard than any other celebrity.

Chuck Norris is still a regular person just like every other celebrity is. People need to stop acting like he's the best thing since sliced bread. It is very incorrect and makes practically no sense at all.

10 Dec 2008
by Courtney Serber

comments (4)

Science Writing... an Oxymoron

When the State Department of Education eliminated a writing test from the seventh grade curiculum the entire sixth grade class was ecstatic. Mr. Marckel would be beating us over the head now if our writing wasn't up to par! That's when the bomb was dropped. Getting rid of the writing test seemed like we would get off easy, but in reality the board of education was making it a whole lot harder for the new seventh grade class.

    When Mr. Marckel told our class that we would be required to submit a writing portfolio to the state most of us figured we would throw together the poem we wrote in second grade, an essay on our favorite restaurant we had stuffed in our binders from sixth grade and a picture of us diligently writing chicken scratch. Mr. C's news came down on me like a bombshell. We have to have writing samples from science, math, and social studies along with essays from Launguage arts class.

    Writing in Math could definitely present a challenge. You can write a cute little children's book and add adorable illustrations, but that's not what the state is looking for. Writing an essay about your emotions toward the relationship of the Fibbanacci sequence and the millionth digit of pi is what the board will want.

    Writing in Social Studies seems a bit easier, but with no research could be impossible. Telling about Caesar's Gaelic Wars is not my idea of a good essay topic!

    Finally, writing in Science is a completely crazy concept! Of course, we can all recite the formula for Chlorofluorcarbons thanks to Mr.C, but writing an argumentative essay on it... I'm not so sure. Science is fascinating, but there's not much material for writing a good essay about it. In fact, I'm sure I could manage to write an essay in any topic arguing my case with a little research, except for possibly science for one simple reason, there is SO much information you can't possibly have time or space to write about!!

    So, next time when something seemingly good comes along at school- be very suspicious!

07 Jan 2009
by Elizabeth Wallace

comments (15)

Our Politically Correct World

During this holiday season, many will be celebrating Christmas. But with the growing "politically correctness" of society it's hard to enjoy anything about Christmas that used to be. Hopefully you will enjoy this. I couldn't figure out whether to put it on Rants and Raves or Jokes, because it's simply to entertain.

A POLITICALLY CORRECT HOLIDAY

Twas the night before Christmas and Santa's a wreck...
How to live in a world that's politically correct?
His workers no longer would answer to "Elves",
"Vertically Challenged" they were calling themselves.
And labor conditions at the North Pole,
were alleged by the union, to stifle the soul.

Four reindeer had vanished without much propriety,
released to the wilds, by the Humane Society.
And equal employment had made it quite clear,
that Santa had better not use just reindeer.
So Dancer and Donner, Comet and Cupid,
were replaced with 4 pigs, and you know that looked stupid!

The runners had been removed from his beautiful sleigh,
because the ruts were deemed dangerous by the EPA,
And millions of people were calling the Cops,
when they heard sled noises upon their roof tops.
Second-hand smoke from his pipe, had his workers quite frightened,
and his fur trimmed red suit was called "unenlightened".

To show you the strangeness of today's ebbs and flows,
Rudolf was suing over unauthorized use of his nose.
He went to Geraldo, in front of the Nation,
demanding millions in over-due workers compensation.

So...half of the reindeer were gone, and his wife
who suddenly said she'd had enough of this life,
joined a self help group, packed and left in a whiz,
demanding from now on that her title was Ms.

And as for gifts...why, he'd never had the notion
that making a choice could cause such commotion.
Nothing of leather, nothing of fur...
Which meant nothing for him or nothing for her.
Nothing to aim, Nothing to shoot,
Nothing that clamored or made lots of noise.
Nothing for just girls and nothing for just boys.
Nothing that claimed to be gender specific,
Nothing that's warlike or non-pacifistic.

No candy or sweets...they were bad for the tooth.
Nothing that seemed to embellish upon the truth.
And fairy tales...while not yet forbidden,
were like Ken and Barbie, better off hidden,
for they raised the hackles of those psychological,
who claimed the only good gift was one ecological.

No baseball, no football...someone might get hurt,
besides - playing sports exposed kids to dirt.
Dolls were said to be sexist and should be passe.
and Nintendo would rot your entire brain away.

So Santa just stood there, disheveled and perplexed,
he just couldn't figure out what to do next?
He tried to be merry he tried to be gay,
but you must have to admit he was having a very bad day.
His sack was quite empty, it was flat on the ground,
nothing fully acceptable was anywhere to be found.

Something special was needed, a gift that he might,
give to us all, without angering the left or the right.
A gift that would satisfy - with no indecision,
each group of people in every religion.
Every race, every hue,
everyone, everywhere...even you!
So here is that gift, it's price beyond worth...

"MAY YOU AND YOUR LOVED ONES, ENJOY PEACE ON EARTH"

10 Dec 2008
by Rose O'Brien

comments (7)

Clean Coal - Is It Really Clean?

Coal --around 50% of America's energy comes from this one substance alone. However, it's one of the main pollutants that causes global warming. Burning fossil fuels (coal) emits carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, where it traps heat, reflecting infrared radiation.

Clean coal is a term that coal industries use for methods that try to reduce the environmental impact of using it, such as removing impurities from the coal and gasification. However, the factories do not dispose safely of carbon pollution, and there are no commercial "clean coal" plants so far. Approximately 600 coal plants aren't stopping their global warming pollution from entering into the atmosphere.

So, is there such a thing as clean coal?
You decide.

Sources:
http://science.howstuffworks.com/clean-coal.htm
http://action.thisisreality.org/details

10 Dec 2008
by Madeline Hinton

comments (5)

The President-Elect

  Whether you would have voted FOR or AGAINST Obama in the recent presidential election, there is something that most students have missed -- the fact that in our democracy losing candidates support the winner and concede the election graciously. Perhaps you may not have noticed that John McCain has STOPPED the negative campaigning. It's over. He understands this. Some of you do not.

     John McCain gave a very gracious speech accepting Obama as the winner of the presidential election. This speech enhanced his stature among the American people and showed that he could let go of the rancor of the campaign in an honorable way.

     It is petty and immature for students AND adults in our democracy to snipe at a president-elect during the transition. Obama has not taken office yet and deserves, at the very least, a relatively quiet transition period to put together his cabinet and team in order to try to govern the country. The time for judging a president-elect is NOT during the transition. You will just have to wait and see what happens.

     To honor this transition period NO put-downs of Republican or Democratic platforms or position statements will be accepted as comments for this article -- or future articles on politics. This moratorium will last for a minimum of 100 days after the inauguration. If those of you whose candidate did not win continue whining in print about the lost election and how you are convinced the country is going down a very deep hole -- be advised that I will DELETE your comments. Simply put... I'm tired of it. This blog is NOT an extension of FOX news.

     After viewing the comment logs for numerous political articles posted so far this year I am serving a warning to those of you whom I am beginning to regard as having a bad case of political rabies -- clean up your postings or be banned from the blog. I've been patient up to now, but as I said above, I'm tired of the overblown emotionalism, sloppy logic, grand-standing and demagoguery. Most of you sound too much like Joseph McCarthy, U.S. senator from Wisconsin (1947–57). Don't know anything about him? Do a Google search and learn about the dark side of American history.

18 Nov 2008
by MrC

comments (35)

Our New Prez

    Obama is president. He’s there, he’s made it after a campaign well run by each party. But I need to address some issues that I think that some people are mislead on. Of course, that’s my opinion. See for yourself.

       One of the reasons that I think that McCain is the ideal candidate is his remarkable story. His experiences in the military are truly unique and it's great that we have a candidate who has been through so much. He knows how absolutely horrible war is. He's been through it all. I think that we should trust him with our military responsibilities right now, because if he thinks we need to stay over in the Middle East, even with all of the terrible things happening, we must really need to stay over there. But that’s America’s decision. In my opinion, America chose wrong.

      I was listening to Sean Hannity's radio show this afternoon, and he gave many listeners a wake-up call to what a radical Obama really is. Obama is going to push socialism on the country. Joe Biden, Obama’s running mate, has been quoted as saying, “In the first six months of our presidency, it may seem like we are not doing the right thing. But you have to trust us.” The democratic party left the polls victorious on election day, and they will overshoot their possibilities, and we will end up as a socialist country. Socialism has been tried, and it has failed everywhere they have tested it. It just doesn’t work, and neither will Obama’s “perfectionist” tax redistribution scheme.

        I know that this won’t change anyone’s mind, or the election results, for that matter. I know that this may not stray a single Obama supporter from its loyal flock. But my goal is to sway some of the rigid socialists on our Navigator team. Because standing up for Obama’s every belief is truly socialist. Obama won on election day. Now John McCain and all of his supporters can watch Obama's campaign realize that the candidate they thought they knew so well is just a radical, inexperienced stranger who should not be in control of the White House. Socialism never helped anyone, and it won’t help us either.

05 Nov 2008
by Molly Foster

comments (63)

No Lanes at Hanes!

As my bus buddies and I walk into the crowded hallway of Hanes, I suddenly notice something drastically different. But it's not a new paint job, or new cheesy engineer posters. I look down at the filthy floor and see dotted lines of tacky yellow and purple tape. "What could these be for?" I ponder. As I watch others cautiously walk inside of the lines the purpose of these dashes, to keep us middle schoolers in single file, just like preschoolers became clear.

As soon as I found out about these lines, I deeply resented them, in fact I had the powerful urge to resist them. Just to test my hallway monitors patience I tried it, just once. "You, get back in line!" The teacher screeched, so I had no choice but to follow her instructions. In my opinion you might as well put electric shock collars on us, because the administration plans to severly penalize us if we accidently "step out of line." Here are the punishments:

1. Silent lunch
2. Office referral
3. ISS

When I first learned of these penalties instead of reminding me of preschool, my middle school is starting to look more and more like a prison. I ask the administration: "What is the purpose of these new guidelines?" and what will this all lead to? -- bumperstickers, speed bumps, shock collars, licenses, police officers, speeding tickets, stop lights, or worse? I can barely even fit myself and my back pack and my instrument into these narrow lanes, and what if I had a slight weight problem?

I desperately hope that the administration gets the message: This is going too far!

12 Nov 2008
by Elizabeth Wallace

comments (71)

Wolves: Monsters or Miracles?

Wolves -- One of the most debated animals on our planet. Some think of monsterous were-wolves when these creatures are called to mind, while others think of beautiful animals running across the artic tundra. Still others think of hunting trophys and big money. We're here to uncover the real truth behind the mysterious wolves. *Theme Music plays*
    In myth, wolves are heartless creatures who will kill without mercy. To see a wolves means certain death. This reputaion was the birth of many monsters, such as the vicious werewolf, the mighty Fenrir, and the terrible Black Dog. Do these unrealistic creations even resemble their real-world counter-parts?
    NO WAY!
    In reality wolves are animals who do not kill for fun and are not the horrible creatures of the night waiting for you to step foot outside of the safety of your home so the can attack you. In reality wolves are very shy creatures who would much rather run from you than harm you. The only reason a healthy wolf would attack you is if you threaten them and there is no way of escaping, or if you are in a mother's den messing with her pups. It is more likely that you will get hit by a meteor than be the victim of an unprevocted wolf attack. Secondly, wolves are not the cruel monsters who kill just for fun. Wolves, contrary to some beliefs, kill for food, not fun. Wolves take what they need, and the rest is eaten by other animals such as foxes and crows.
    They do not kill ten caribou just for the thrill of it. They only take one at a time. Also their success rate of a hunt is about 1 out of ten. They sometimes go for a week without food, so I think that killing too many deer and caribou is not a problem. Also, they usally take only old, sick or weak animals that would not survive anyway in the wild. If you think this is cruel then think of the long, horrible weeks they would spend if they were sick, before dying anyway. Also think how, if they were hurt, they would not be able to move to new grazing grounds and would die of starvation.
    Another thing is that they are very compassionate animals, forming strong, life-long bonds within their pack and family. They know how to work together and if a pack-mate is sick or hurt they will try to take care of them. Also, they teach their young how to survive.
    The Alpha pair will chose a babysitter for the pups to take care of them and teach them after they are weaned. The rest of the pack also plays with them and teaches them. Even though sometimes they may change packs, if family members in separate packs meet up again, they will greet each other just like we would when visiting during a family reunion. In adition to that, wolves have a very important system of ranking. There is an Alpha pair, beta (sometimes a pair), midranking wolves, omega, and pups. The Alpha Pair usally make decisions in the pack. Unlike many people think, the Omega serves a very important role, not just being bullied! They help defuse tense sitiuations in the pack, usally preventing violence. The Alpha will save the best peices of meat for the omegas, too.
    Another highly debated subject is the killing of livestock by wolves. IT'S NOT THEIR FAULT! Humans are destroying the wolves' habitats and are moving livestock into wolf teritorries. What are the wolves supposed to do? Starve to death? No. They can't move their territory because of other wolf's teritorries. Wolves do the only thing left to do. They hunt the prey humans moved into their territories. Think about it, it's not their fault. It's basicaly the same thing as if someone tore down your home, took all your food and money, and put a big McDonalds restaraunt in its place. Now, you're staving and there is this HUGE source of food right in front of you. What would you do? Starve? No. Also, where are most those sheep and cows going to anyway? They are just going to be eaten by people anyway, who have many different alternatives of food apart from a couple of livestock.
    In conclusion, if you see a wolf don't scream and run, consider yourself lucky that you have seen one of these magnificient and shy creatures. When I think of wolves, I think of beautiful animals running and little pups howling for the first time. But, sadly, I also have to
think of the miles of city destorying thier territorie and hunters shooting them for fun. Most of the time wolves aren't the heartless killers, humans are.

05 Nov 2008
by Emma Sullivan

comments (22)

Are You Cinging to Your Parents?

The election is upon us, and I’ve noticed that many young people share their parents’ political views before even glancing at ‘their candidate’s’ views on simple things.

I think that this is a serious problem today. When we vote, are we going to simply say, “Well, Mommy and Daddy said that Obama is right. I think I’ll vote for Obama, because Mommy and Daddy are always right.”, or are we going to say, “I believe in what Obama says. He shares my views on many issues.”? Ask yourself: which sounds somewhat educated? I don’t fully understand why anyone would consider that a good reason to like a candidate, because it is a matter of personal opinion, not what your parents think about a certain issue or candidate, whatever it may be.

For example, suppose Sally’s parents are Republians. Sally has her own views on issues, and is most definitely entitled to them. She, herself, has Democratic views, but she hasn’t been paying attention to the election news since she is too young to vote. When the school election comes around, she votes for McCain, because her parents are Republicans, and they talk about McCain all the time at home.

Frankly, I think this is quite pointless. You have no right to argue for or against a candidate without understanding both sides of the issue and agreeing or disagreeing (with either side). I feel sympathy for Sally, too, because she is hanging on to her parents.

When you ask someone why they like a candidate, they need to be able to provide several valid reasons. “My parents like him,” is NOT, under any circumstances whatsoever, a valid reason to like a candidate. Your parents may have some influence on your political decisions. They may not. But your parents won’t be here forever, and you really need to stop feeding off them. This is directed at everyone, not just those who are feeding off their parents.

Now, I’m not saying you can’t share your parents’ political views. You’re entitled to say what you think. So if you like Obama and your parents like Obama, great. If you like McCain and your parents like Obama, great. You’ve discovered that you can’t feed off your parents forever.

Note: Sally is not a real person, just an example used for the sake of convenience.

22 Oct 2008
by Emily Atkins

comments (79)

New Hurdles for College Admission

    Since the recent economic catastrophe in our country, many families with middle school and high school students have been concerned about college admission fees. To go to a private college costs on average more than $30,000 for each year. And that's not including room and board, food, or entertainment fees. There's no denying that the price is rising more and more each year. Wth this raise in cost comes a lot of debt after college, making it hard to sustain a family and a job.

    This year has been rated by college admission experts and the "Hardest year to get accepted to college." No one seems to know, however if this is just a passing stage, or if our generation will have the toughest time of all getting into the top choice schools. It will be extremely hard to get into the Ivy League schools which many Hanes students would like to attend.

    Because of the rise in competition Wake Forest University has made a daring step by not requiring the SAT's in hope that they will get some more creative and different thinkers. When the director of admissions Martha Allman asked her faculty in the 2007 school year how they liked the group of students the admissions office had chosen, they told her they wanted more unique students in their classes.

    Overall, the rise in competition for college acceptance and the rise in cost of college is painfully high right now. Hopefully when our generation hits Junior and Senior year of high school, these two factors will have calmed down a bit.

15 Oct 2008
by Elizabeth Wallace

comments (23)

Global Warming Warning

Very many politicians and lots of "every day folks" honestly believe that Global Warming is merely an exaggeration of the press.

However, with startling new studies on our ice levels in the Arctic and levels of CO2 in our atmosphere, it is clear that Global Warming is a serious problem. In the past couple of years CO2 has been steadily rising. As we all know from Mr. C's class, this is caused by a number of different things. The one that's affecting it the most though is the burning of fossil fuels. (For those of you who didn't do your science homework CO2 is what comes out of factories and cars.) I have personally talked to many a seventh grader who has not believed me, either claiming it's happening, but it's not our fault; or it's not true at all. After explaining to them that it is happening and it is our fault they just shrugged and asked "So how can I help it if my mom drives a GMC?"

Well, here are some simple things that can help our environment one little step at a time. Even if you don't believe me these steps are still good to follow for conserving our resources.
1. When you leave a room turn off the lights, electricity uses a lot of energy. (You won't need them so why will it matter anyway?)
2. Carpool places, cars burn fossil fuels that are hurting our environment. Plus, our country is having a gas crisis right now.
(It helps your parents out as well!)
3. Turn off the water while you're brushing your teeth.
4. Tell your mom not to fix meat every day for dinner, meat takes a lot of energy to produce and the factory will be burning fossil fuels. Also, the truck that drives it to your local store will also be burning fossil fuels.
5. Only wash your clothes if you really need to, washing machines take lots of water and energy to run.
6. If you can ride your bike somewhere, do it! Once again, cars burn lots of fossil fuels plus gas is expensive.

Overall, Global Warming is a serious problem, whether you admit it or not, but if you follow these 6 simple guide lines you're helping our
environment even though it's a very small effort.

15 Oct 2008
by Elizabeth Wallace

comments (72)

Presidential Debate Propaganda

It seems that this election has been full of abused campaign slogans and long shot attempts to get swing voters. This week in particular campaign attack ads are at their peak. With multiple debates recently the conservatives are on their knees to get votes.

First, there was the vice-presidential debate. As accurately depicted by Tina Fey on Saturday Night Live, Sarah Palin has been using "charm" in some unusual ways to grab voters. At one point in the vice-presidential debate, Palin resorted to actually winking at the audience. Note to voters: This isn't a Miss America pageant. We're trying to choose the next leaders of the free world. As we near November we need real leaders. To McCain & Palin: Saying the word "maverick" doesn't make you one.

Now, we come to the main presidential debate where we find more ridiculous statements. John McCain claimed he "knew what it was like" to be in need of assistance and other things to cater to the middle class. How can Senator McCain say this if he replied to the question, "What annual income do you consider 'rich?'" he replied, "$500 million or more a year." He also was asked how many houses he owned. He obviously has no idea. Turns out he owns 7 or 8 houses and over 10 cars. America has no need for another wealthy Republican who has no idea what middle class life is like for most Americans.

One more comment directed at the overly naive Palin: Foreign policy experience isn't being able to see Russia from your house.

08 Oct 2008
by Owen Webster

comments (1030)

Busy Work Should Be Banned!

I think school is good for you. Most of the time, you really learn useful things. You may have a lot of homework, but at least you'll get smarter, right? Usually.

However, I don't feel like I'm learning anything when I'm doing busy work. I really don't understand why sometimes I have to draw a picture of my favorite animal or create a diarama of my bedroom in order to get a good grade. This is 7th grade! Drawing should be for art class, not projects. In addition, I don't think it's fair that a person can get marked down because they don't have much artistic ability. Other kinds of busy work bother me too, like when you have to measure things around your house, or do a huge review of things you learned in fourth grade. Personally, I think that if you're not learning anything, you shouldn't do it! In conclusion, mindless busywork should be banned.

14 Mar 2008
by lkent

comments (19)

Untrustworthy Friends

"Did you know Johnny still sleeps with his night light on?" Don't you hate it when friends spill all of your secrets? I know I do. Those friends that you trust most end up telling all of your secrets. Even friends that are girls or girlfriends/boyfriends that decide to try to be funny and tell their friends what you did. Then rumors pop out and drama starts and it gets stupid. What is the point of doing that? If they really want their friends to know, tell them to ask the person nicely and if they say no, just forget it.

If they do find out, sometimes they try to embarrass you by saying they were there or they knew what "really" happened and spread it around. Some people just want to be such gossip hogs that they beg everyone to know something until one of your best friends eventually tells. This is especially prominent when some girl likes a guy. They pester your friends and you and make up excuses on why you should tell them. Why can't they mind their own business? Only my closest friends are the ones that I can really trust with my secrets. When worse comes to worse, you end up losing those friends and then hate them for their behavior. People don't have to know everything, they should just be content if they know a secret and keep it.

Thank You

29 Feb 2008
by rseehausen

comments (22)

People Who Steal Your Food

I hate it how when people come over to your house, they steal all of your food. For example, one time, when a friend came over, we had a full box of eight ice cream sandwiches. When they left we had two left, and I hadn't eated any of them.

Also, when a certain person opened a cheese block, he didn't cover up the end at all and left it in the fridge. When my dad tried to open it, he realized that the cheese had not been covered up and was ruined. Eight dollars down the drain. This annoys me because it wastes money and it also wastes food. People should just remember to put things away correctly and not just put food back in the refrigerator uncovered. It also makes me get in trouble with my dad because he hates it too.

.... my 2 cents worth ...

15 Feb 2008
by emoore

comments (16)