Principal's Qualities

I think that the most important quality in the new principal is the ability to connect to students, staff, and faculty. They must deal with all aspects of the school, not just one or two. Our principal also needs to have a great deal of patients. They must spend most of their time working with some of the worst people. As principal they need to genuinely care about our school and everyone involved with it, and that is a lot of people. I'm not sure that I have a lot of faith in the people choosing our new principal based on their most recent selection, but I hope they make the decision that is best for our school.

Political Cartoon Week 1

This cartoon was drawn by Rady Bish. It was published by The Pittsburgh Tribune. The cartoon is addressing economists who announced that the recession is over, when in reality not much has changed for the Marjory of the population. There are still may more jobless and homeless that in previous years. Regardless of what economists announce, the standards of living for many Americans needs to change. The stock market may dictate how some people see the economy, but it has yet to change what really matters, and that is the lives of many Americans struggling just to get by. I strongly agree with this cartoon. You cant determine how well a country is doing based on the stock market, the standard of living should come first.

Current Event Week 6

U.S. Combat Injuries Rise Sharply. The three month total in Afghanistan has surpassed 1,000. This accounts for one fourth of those injured in combat since the U.S. invasion in 2001. The pentagon Press Secretary, Morrell, acknowledged that the casualties in Afghanistan have surpassed Iraq surge proportions and noted that the violence in Afghanistan is directed more against the U.S."We're seeing similar types of injuries from Afghanistan that we saw in Iraq" said Lt. Col. Shelton Davis, chief of physical medicine at Walter Reed. The director of the Pentagon's Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization, Metz, told reporters that IEDs are now the "weapon of choice" for Taliban fighters. The bombs are so powerful, that they can take out the latest mine-resistant vehicles the Pentagon has to protect troops. Walter Reed's ward 57 provides proof of the devastating effectiveness of the bombs, with patients suffering amputations, spinal cord damage, traumatic brain injuries and fractures.

Lt. Dan Berschinski, 25, was serving as a platoon leader where the roads were laced with bombs and his unit had to operate without engineer support or mine-detection equipment. Berschinski managed to get hit by a road bomb and survive, only to stumble upon another bomb on the foot trails. "I immediately reached down -- up, really, since I was upside down -- for my legs. I could tell they were gone," Berschinski said in a written account provided by his family. Berschinski had is right leg and hip and his left leg above his knee amputated. Resting the stub of his right leg on his hospital bed one day last week, Harrison Ruzicka, 23, said he is eager for physical therapy. Ruzickaknows he faces a long recovery but said he was thankful to be alive after a bomb flipped his armored vehicle into a river.

Peace

I strongly believe that as a nation our first priority should be peace. Not just peace for Americans, but for all countries. The more I read about both the war in Iraq and the war in Afghanistan, the more I see how many troops and lives must be sacrificed to win either war. frankly when you look at the numbers it is staggering. And when even some of our strongest military advisers doubt our ability to win this war in a timely manor we continue to fight. I understand why these wars are important to the American people, but I think that our nation should promote peace, moving away from an era of warfare and towards an era of peace.