September 8, 2009

President Obama Tackles Health Care Debate

The healthcare system in the United States is currently costing the government $2.5 trillion, and 46 million Americans do not even have it, according to an MSNBC online article.

So how does President Obama plan on solving this problem in a way that we can all be happy? Americans are skeptical of what he can do. Democrats want a reform policy so they can choose their own healthcare. Republicans want nothing to do with it.

Obama simply wants to “improve the quality and bring down the costs” of our healthcare system, as well as “expand coverage,” according to MSNBC. He is ready to negotiate and make peace, but it might still be hard for him to make a connection with Americans. According to the Chicago Tribune, the president has already given close to 30 speeches on health-care reform, and the people “still don’t know exactly what he wants.”

However, Obama thinks that now is the time to focus on what could be one of the largest challenges he will have to face in his presidency. “It’s time to do what’s right for America’s working families, to put aside the partisanship, to come together as a nation, to pass health insurance reform now – this year,” said Obama.

On Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2009, President Obama will address the nation and Congress about the controversial topic of healthcare. Many people think that this debate will head down a bumpy path, but if Obama finds an appropriate solution to this crisis, then it might become the defining moment in his presidency. What will result from this is still up in the air, but some of America’s labor force are expecting the worst.

Dr. James Rosenberg, a gastroenterologist, is worried about what could happen if it becomes mandatory for all patients’ files to be registered into a “national electronic health record database under federal auspices,” according to the Chicago Tribune. He is concerned about patients’ rights to privacy and the possibility of the files being hacked into.

Even though President Obama’s popularity and poll numbers have dropped significantly since his election and he has received criticism for America’s Affordable Health Choices Act, the White House and his reputation may be redeemed when he hits his stride – talking on Americans’ televisions all across the nation on Wednesday night.

September 4, 2009

Everyday is a Winding Road - A Profile of Sheryl Crow

“I was not a person growing up that ever thought I was going to be well known or famous,” said Grammy award-winning singer and songwriter Sheryl Crow.

She was raised in the small town of Kennett, located on the border of Arkansas, Tennessee and Missouri. It was a small, quiet place with characteristics that describe most old-fashioned towns in Southern America; a courthouse “downtown,” farmers and church goers.

Crow’s parents, who have been married now for 51 years, incorporated music into their household since she was born. They both studied and appreciated music, played instruments, and they even played in a swing band when Crow was a kid.

“On weekends, they would bring all their friends home after their gigs and stay up smoking and playing records, drinking. It was just what I thought every kid grew up with,” she said.

By the age of four, she could play by ear. Crow said she always found her “identity” in music, and that is how she knew what "direction" to go in.

Growing up in a small town, she enjoyed listening to musicians Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen on the radio. These songwriters, she said, were her biggest influences.

When she was younger, she took piano lessons along with her three siblings. Out of the four of them, three of them, including Sheryl, majored in classical piano in college. She attended the University of Missouri and received a music degree.

Her first professional gig as a singer happened in Los Angeles, Calif., when she was featured on records by Johnny Mathis and Rod Stewart. However, her biggest break came when she auditioned for a spot on the Michael Jackson Bad tour, and she got it.

“That (touring) made a huge difference in my career,” Crow said, “It was very life changing and a great learning experience.”

Three years after touring with Jackson, she landed a record deal and created her first album, which came out in 1994 when she was already 29 years old.

“I really got my start much later than what rock and roll originally was designed for,” she said.

The title of her debut album, “The Tuesday Night Music Club,” resulted from a group of musicians, including Crow, who would “jam” on Tuesday nights. Its first single did nothing compared to the response from the forth and last single, “All I Wanna Do,” which become the record's biggest hit.

Crow went on to win three Grammy Awards in the mid 90’s, become a political activist and survive breast cancer after she was diagnosed in 2006.

“The whole fame thing was not ever very interesting, but definitely wanting to matter was more interesting,” she said, “It’s a pretty amazing idea that you can take yourself anywhere in this country, speak your mind, educate people, and really just create your own dream and live it.”

Soak Up the Sun
A Profile of Sheryl Crow
Singer/Songwriter
Photobucket
Age: 47
Hometown: Kennett, Mo.
Children: 1 adopted son, Wyatt Crow (age 2)
Extracurricular high school activity: Drum majorette
Childhood reading: Steinbeck, Twain and Ellery Queen mysteries
Before your music career, what did you want to be when you were younger? A great writer
What did you do before moving to Los Angeles? I moved to St. Louis and taught music in an elementary school in 1984 and 1985.
Quote: "I've been lucky in being recognized for doing something that I really love and feel compelled to do."

September 2, 2009

Facebook Users Tired of Being "Owned"

Check out this article about facebook's flaws


1. (LEAD) The article opens up with an anecdotal lead. It gives examples about how online social networking Web sites cannot have committed users forever. It also gives a few instances of why some people have chosen to shut down their facebook accounts.

2. (NUT GRAF) It follows the lead by providing statistics that show although facebook is continuing to grow, many groups of users are leaving. Basically, the issue is that many people think facebook is "selling out" their personal and social lives. Instead of users controlling facebook, facebook is controlling users.

It is becoming more a market for advertising, and there have been some cases of privacy/security issues. People are also getting bored with the Web site and feel like they are wasting their time.

3. (BODY) The body is supported by facts about facebook users, first-hand accounts and quotes from 5 different people on their opinions of facebook. In this section, the various effects of facebooking are more deeply analyzed. Aside from young user quotes in the article, a professional writer also includes what she thinks about how facebook now "feels dead."

4. (ENDING) The article is summed up with another anecdote describing how facebook might turn into an "online ghost town run by zombie users who never update their pages." It could become solely a place for marketers to "exploit" users. Is facebook just another fad that will soon fade away?