WEEK 14 BLOG GROUPS

Here are the groups for Week 14's Blog Assignments. Don't forget, you need to make your original post by Wednesday. You then need to post a comment about each of your group member's blogs by Sunday.

GROUP 1
Brigmon, Buckel, Cooley, D. Dant

GROUP 2
G. Dant, Filis, Fries, Gritt

GROUP 3
Hickle, Huser, Ierovante, Kirkhoff

GROUP 4
Kocher, Mariutto, Musgrave, O'Farrell

GROUP 5
Owens, Peiffer, Petry, Pike

GROUP 6
Puckett, Romine, Scifres, Silvers

GROUP 7
Spiegl, Stasik, Tieken, Young

NEW BLOG ASSIGNMENT FORMAT

It is now Week 14 and we will be changing up the format of the Blog Assignment.

Each week, you will need to start by choosing your topic and writing your post. This will be due by Wednesday of each week (checked Wednesday evening).

Next, you will need to navigate to this site. Early in the week, I will post groups. You will need to go to the site of your two other group members and post a comment about their blog. These will be due by Sunday of each week (checked Sunday evening).

You should be able to access each other's sites through the list of "followers" on the right hand side of this page. If you are unable to access their site for some reason, I must be notified immediately! Telling me that you were unable to access their site after the assignment is checked will simply be treated as a late assignment!

Quarter 4 Blog Posts

Don't forget that all posts are due by Friday of each week and you need to include the week number in parentheses after the title. This will greatly help to keep things straight for those that make their posts after the due date.

4TH QUARTER BLOG ASSIGNMENTS

Week 9B is the final Blog question for the 3rd Quarter. During 4th Quarter, you will be picking your own topics, writing your thoughts about those topics, and, eventually, responding to other student's thoughts. This will be explained in detail on Monday. Please make sure that you are registered as being a "follower" of my Blog to make it easier to check your pages.

WEEK 9B BLOG

According to CNN, Ford reached an agreement with the United Auto Workers Union (UAW) that will save the company an estimated $500 million per year.

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200903111242DOWJONESDJONLINE000809_FORTUNE5.htm

As part of this agreement, the auto workers agreed to a pay cut that will bring wages down to about $55 per hour. Based on this, an auto employee who works the standard 40 hour work week and who decides to take two weeks of vacation should expect to make $110,000 (before taxes).

Given the current state of the global economy, the auto industry, and the cost to purchase new cars, is this enough of a concession by the workers? Is it wrong for them to receive this high of an hourly wage, or is it okay because they were simply taking advantage of the situation they were presented with all these years? Is there any difference between the auto workers and the auto executives / companies in this situation? (due 3/17)

WEEK 9A BLOG

OPEC has announced that they will be cutting back on production of oil, thus slashing the supply that is available. The reason for doing this is because of the fact that, due to the economy, demand has shrunk as more and more people have turned to carpooling and public modes of transportation.

With this being the case, should our thoughts on things like conservation and the development of new energy sources be altered? Should we continue to spend as much money on developing things like more fuel-efficient engines, or should that money be spent in other ways to more immediately impact the lagging economy? (due 3/13)

WEEK 8B BLOG

It has been released that the CIA destroyed 92 interrogation tapes of suspected terrorists. Previously, the CIA had admitted to destroying just two.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/first100days/2009/03/02/cia-destroyed-tapes-interrogations-documents/

Do you think that this was done to protect national security or does this admission make you suspicious of what really was on those tapes? Does this hurt our image internationally? Would it have made a difference if the true number was revealed from the beginning? (due 3/10)

WEEK 8A BLOG

As of today, the Indiana Pacers record stands at 26 wins and 36 losses. They are in eleventh place in the Eastern Conference, and are three games out of the playoffs. Arguably, their two best players are injured (one probably out for the season).

With twenty games left in the season, should they "shut it down," get a better spot in the draft lottery, and get their young players some experience? Should they put their best effort forward and try to make the playoffs? Is there an ethical choice to be made here? (due 3/6)

WEEK 7B BLOG

The Rocky Mountain News, one of the oldest newspapers in the U.S. (began publication in 1859), submitted it's final publication today and will end operations after it was unable to find a buyer.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090227/ap_on_bi_ge/rocky_mountain_news_closes

Likewise, Yahoo.com reports that

Four owners of 33 U.S. daily newspapers have sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the past 2 1/2 months. A number of other newspapers are up for sale.

With the economic climate being what it is, it seems that less and less people are buying newspapers and are, instead, turning to internet and television sources for their news, making things even worse economically for print media.

Banks have been receiving "bailout" money from the government to keep these essential institutions in business. Are newspapers just as essential and should they be given the same consideration as banks when it comes to so many of them going out of business? Is the internet an acceptable / reliable alternative if this trend continues and more newspapers fail? (due 3/3)

WEEK 7A BLOG

The Republican governor's of several states (Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alaska, South Carolina, Idaho) have stated that they are considering rejecting at least some of the monies granted to their states through the new economic stimulus package.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090219/ap_on_bi_ge/bucking_the_stimulus

Do you see this as simple political maneuvering (putting political ideology ahead of the needs of the citizens) or is this a matter of trying to make responsible choices as the leaders of those repective states? (due 2/27)

WEEK 6B BLOG

Nadya Suleman gave birth to octuplets in Southern California. Afterwards, information began leaking out about this woman and the family such as the facts that she already had six children, is not married, does not have a job, is living on welfare, lives in the home of her mother, etc. It has also been reported that she had these children because she was "lonely" and actually used a fertility clinic to become pregnant (as it turns out, she had been rejected by clinics previously). Now, it looks as if she may be turning down assistance that has been offered...

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/02/20/earlyshow/main4815110.shtml

Furthermore, they may end up losing their house...

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,496169,00.html

Many people have publicly criticized her for many different things during this saga. What is your opinion on all of this? Is she irresponsible for making the decision to have these babies? Should this be any of the public's business at all? Should the government get involved in cases like this? (due 2/24)

WEEK 6A BLOG

Over the weekend, police in Connecticut had to shoot and kill a 175 pound pet chimpanzee who attacked a woman visiting it's owner's home. Should people be allowed to own exotic pets such as this, or should it be illegal everywhere? (due 2/20)

WEEK 5B BLOG

Earlier this week, singers Chris Brown and Rihanna cancelled their appearances on the Grammy Awards at the last minute. It was later revealed that Brown had been arrested on suspicion of making a criminal threat after he was allegedly involved in an assault on a woman. Though it has not been confirmed by police, it has been reported that the victim was Rihanna. In the wake of this, several radio stations across the country decided to pull Brown's music from their airwaves, only to begin playing it again a few days later. Was the decision to pull his music proper or a rash decision? Do you agree with the decision to put the music back on the air? Should these decisions be made based on allegations? (DUE 2/17)

WEEK 5A BLOG

This first clip (compliments of YouTube and 60 Minutes) is an interview from 2007 in which Katie Couric asks Alex Rodriguez about steroid use...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RgCDpqTJYw

This second clip (also compliments of YouTube and ESPN) is yesterday's interview in which Alex Rodriguez admits to using performance enhancing drugs to Peter Gammons...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20h9hY0IDo4

Your thoughts? Do you "buy" his explanation? Do you think that he only apologized because he got caught? Does this sully his reputation? Should this change the way we view his performance / stats? Does this hurt his chances at getting into the Hall of Fame? Does he immediately fall into the same category as the others accused of steroid use? Should he be punished? etc. (DUE 2/12)

WEEK 4B BLOG

The following quotes come from the Associated Press...

Timothy Geithner was confirmed as treasury secretary despite belatedly paying $34,000 in income taxes

Tom Daschle is still waiting to see if his late payment of more than $128,000 in income taxes will harm his nomination to be health and human services secretary. He officially withdrew his nomination on Tuesday.

Obama's first choice for commerce secretary, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, took his name out of consideration when his confirmation appeared headed toward complications because of a grand jury investigation over how state contracts were issued to political donors.

Nancy Killefer, who failed for a year and a half to pay employment taxes on household help, withdrew her candidacy to be the first chief performance officer for the federal government on Tuesday.

Are these revelations an alarming trend concerning the character of the people being chosen for the new administration or an unfortunate set of circumstances that should not reflect negatively on President Obama? (DUE 2/10)

NEW REQUIREMENTS WEEKS 4-6

Don't forget that during Weeks 4 - 6 all students need to respond to another student's posted answer in addition to posting their own answer to the question provided. These should be done on two seperate posts, not on the same one! This begins with the Week 4A Blog.

WEEK 4A BLOG

Late last week, President Obama signed a bill that included a provision aimed at encouraging the public to "buy American." This has been met by some anger amongst our primary trading partners because the thought is that if the government urges us to specifically buy American goods, it takes away from the products that might be sold by those other countries. During these difficult economic times, is this a good idea or do you think that it could be a negative thing? What might be the differences in the short term and in the long run? (DUE 2/5)

WEEK 3 "B" BLOG

In one of his first acts as president, Barack Obama signed legislation to close the prison at the Guantanamo Bay military base in Cuba. It has since been reported that President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela wants the U.S. to turn it all back over to the Cubans. Should we turn "Gitmo" back over to Cuba, or is it worth the time, effort, money, etc. to maintain a military presence in this still communist country? (DUE 2/3)

ATTENTION

All "blog answers / replies" need to be something at least resembling a paragraph to receive full credit. One sentence / line answers WILL NOT receive full credit!

WEEK 3 "A" BLOG

The 2009 Miss America winner was Katie Stamm from Seymour, Indiana. This marks the first time in the pageant's 88 year history that someone from Indiana has won. Is this a big deal for the state, or simply a nice story? (DUE 1/29)

WEEK 2 "B" BLOG

This past week, Covenant School's (Tx.) girls basketball team defeated Dallas Academy 100-0. Because of this, they are petitioning the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools to allow them to forfeit. In October in Florida, Naples High School's football team defeated Estero High School 91-0. The same weekend in Ohio, Beechcroft High School beat Centennial High School 96-0. During their 2007 undefeated regular season, the New England Patriots defeated their opponents by an average of nearly 20 points per game, while routinely leaving their starters in until the closing minutes of the game. Your question, do teams / coaches have an obligation to prevent things like this from happening (AKA competing in a way that promotes sportmanship) or should teams simply play the game as the rules of competition dictate (AKA score as many points as possible)? (DUE 1/26)

WEEK 2 "A" BLOG

It was reported that Tuesday's inauguration of President Obama may have cost approximately $150 million, making it one of the most expensive ever. In light of today's economic conditions, how do you feel about this? (DUE 1/22)

WEEK 1 "B" BLOG

After decades of fighting between Israel and the Palestinians, in which something always seems to happen (bombing, terrorist attack, threat, etc.) to bring a peaceful stretch to an end, followed by prolonged fighting, followed by negotiations of a cease-fire, another chapter is being written. Israel has bombed and invaded Gaza following rocket attacks by Hamas. The United Nations is calling for a cease-fire and an end to Israeli occupation of Gaza. The question to answer is this: after decades of this same pattern repeating itself, should the U.N. and the international community be making this request again or should Israel simply be left to make the decision for themselves? Please explain why. (DUE 1/20)

WEEK 1 "A" BLOG

Marc Shrenker is accused of insurance fraud and attempting to fake his own death. Should faking your own death be considered a crime, and what should the punishment / consequences be for Mr. Schrenker? (DUE 1/15)