History

History is being made today as Barack Obama is being inaugurated as the 44th President of The United States. This is the culmination of over a year of hard campaigning. As he takes the oath of office, he faces both opportunities and challenges. The economy is not in good shape. The nation is involved in wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan. However, there is a feeling of optimism in the air as Washington will be crowded for the inauguration and other activities.

Will you be watching the activities? Have you been reading the stories and watching the news broadcasts surrounding this historic date? Did you follow the campaign? Please let us know your thoughts.

As a reminder, proofread your work and most of all, be civil!

It's Not Easy Being Green

How many of you recycle? Judging by my trash cans in this room, it is not as many as it should be. A recycling box is near the teacher's desk and a bag is by my door. Yet I seem to always be finding papers in my trash cans! You can do better than that!

What caught my attention is that Christmas Trees are being recycled in lakes and other bodies of water to promote fish habitats. There is a project ongoing at Lake Smith near my house in Virginia Beach using trees.

Look at this site. Do they make it easy to recycle? Does it make you want to recycle? Is recycling important and why? Can you think of ways that you can do more to recycle? Finally, do you recycle?

Idol is Back!

They're back. That's right; Simon, Paula, Randy, a new judge and the entire cast and crew of American Idol are back for another season starting tomorrow! Maybe you like the show and maybe you can't stand it. However, it is difficult to ignore its appeal and notice how many "wanna be" idol shows have followed in its lead.

Do you watch the show? Why or why not? Maybe you are a late convert, like me. I started watching three years ago. Maybe you have never seen it and don't plan to see it. Who is your favorite judge?

Maybe it is William Hung or maybe Sanjaya or Clay Aiken or another American Idol contestant, but who is your favorite, and why? What do you think the show will be like this season? Lastly, will you be watching tomorrow night?

He Must Really Enjoy School (Baby, You Can Drive My Car)

Amazing! You can't make this kind of news up. It seems that a six year old boy, right here in Virginia, missed his school bus earlier this week and tried to drive to school! Okay, he did not make it to school and the news article seems to find the event comical to an extent. Notice that his parents were arested for felony child endangerment.

What do you think of this? Should the parents have been arrested? Or, is there a more appropriate consequence for them? What else might have happened to the child? Does the child deserve ISS? Tell us what you think! (Or, have you stopped laughing?)

Resolutions

Did you make a New Year's resolution? Many people make them and as the statistics show, many keep them at least for a little while. Did you make a resolution? If you did , do you want to share it with the group?

My resolution was to put my dishes in the dishwasher instead of leaving them in the sink. So far, I am doing pretty good! Yes, I slip up from time to time but that is expected, is it not?

What do you think of New Year's resolutions? Are they worth making? If you have a difficult time keeping it, does that mean you have failed? And, finally what is the strangest resolution you have heard or witnessed?