Will the NRA Get Their Way Again?

The National Rifle Association (NRA) is one of the most powerful lobbying groups in the U.S. Their pro-gun standpoint has come under intense tragedy in the wake of tragedies such as Sandy Hook and Aurora, Colorado. However, it doesn't seem as if they can be stopped. In April of last year, they managed to block legislation that would make it harder for criminals and people with dangerous mental illnesses to obtain access to firearms. Now, it looks as if they will get their way again.

Their latest target: Dr. Vivek Hallegere Murthy, President Obama's nominee for surgeon general. But their issue with Murthy has nothing to do with his medical expertise, they're more focused on the fact that he supports gun control. This is quite a shame, as Murthy is truly qualified to be surgeon general. An attending physician at a hospital in Boston, Murthy also teaches medicine at Harvard, has an MBA from the Yale School of Management, and is involved in medical nonprofit groups. In a better world, the Senate would judge his right to be surgeon general solely on his merits. Unfortunately, the NRA is going to make sure that doesn't happen.

Last month, Murthy said that he had seen many patients end up in the emergency room as a result of gun violence. However, he did promise that he would not make gun control his top priority if confirmed for the position. Instead, he would focus more on obesity. Still, that has not calmed down the NRA.

If Dr. Murthy is not confirmed, we can give another point to the NRA, a group that has proven to be very powerful and influential.

Looking Back at 2013

The world was supposed to end in December of 2012, but as you know, that didn't work out too well. So, 2013 came rolling around. Like every year, it had its highs and lows. We said farewell to many larger-than-life figures, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Nelson Mandela, former British leader Margaret Thatcher, and actors Paul Walker and Peter O'Toole. But there were plenty of other significant topics. This article will look at 13 of the biggest ones. Basically, 13 big stories from 2013.

1. Jennifer Lawrence: The fan-favorite actress starred in two hits this year: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and American Hustle (her role in the latter earned her her third Golden Globe nomination). Some of her future projects were announced as well, including X-Men: Days of Future Past and East of Eden.

2. Ted Cruz: A senator from Texas, Cruz gave a speech in September in which he railed against Obamacare. The speech lasted 21 hours and led to the government shutdown. TIME named him the fourth runner-up for Person of the Year.

3. Boston Marathon- On April 15th, two pressure cooker bombs exploded near the finish line of the iconic race. Three people were killed, and hundreds were injured. The main suspects are Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, two brothers originally from Russia. The former is in police custody, and the latter was killed by police.

4. Peyton Manning- SI's Sportsman of the Year led the Denver Broncos to the first seed in the AFC after throwing for for 55 touchdowns and 5,477 yards (both season records). He also made his thirteenth Pro Bowl.

5. Andy Samberg- The former Youtube sensation lent his voice in the movie Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 and starred in a new show called Brooklyn Nine-Nine, for which he received his first Golden Globe nomination.

6. Chennai Express- The Bollywood movie directed by Rohit Shetty was the second collaboration between stars Shahrukh Khan and Deepika Padukone. The movie was critically well-received and is the second-highest grossing Bollywood film of all time.

7. Percy Jackson- The son of Poseidon (at least according to author Rick Riordan) starred in both a new book and movie this year: The House of Hades (the fourth book in the Heroes of Olympus series) and Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters (the second film in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series). 

8. Pope Francis- TIME's Person of the Year started the year as Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the Cardinal and Archbishop of Buenos Aires. But in March of 2013, he inherited the throne of St. Peter. He has already won the hearts of many with his acts of charity and compassion.

9. Seth Myers- The head writer and longtime cast member of Saturday Night Live will become the new host of Late Night in February. He also voiced the character of Prock, the lead character in the show The Awesomes.

10. Edward Snowden- A former NSA employee and runner-up for TIME Person of the Year, Snowden leaked several classified NSA documents and then fled the country. He has been granted asylum in Russia, where he currently resides.

11. Miami Heat- The boys from South Beach won their second straight NBA title in their third straight trip to the Finals. They did so by vanquishing the San Antonio Spurs in seven games. Furthermore, King James picked up his fourth MVP award in two years.

12. How I Met Your Mother- The beloved CBS sitcom entered its ninth and final season this year. The season, which will end on March 31st, 2014, will finally show how the main character (played by Josh Radnor) meets the woman he will end up marrying. Fans need not be too sad about the end of the show however, a spin-off entitled How I Met Your Dad is coming.

13. OneRepublic- The band fronted by Ryan Tedder is up for the People's Choice Award for Favorite Band. They also released a new album this year, called Native. One of the songs from that album, "Counting Stars", ended the year at number three on the Billboard Hot 100.

College Football Week 5 Recap

     It's that time again. Alumni pride swells, cross-town rivalries are reborn, and entire Saturdays are devoted to the couch and the tube. That's right, the college football season is underway. Hours have been spent analyzing the outcomes of each game and creating Heisman watch lists. Now that the first month is done, let's recap the most recent week: Week 5.

     The biggest game of the week was an SEC duel between #6 LSU and #9 Georgia, which the Bulldogs won to improve to 3-1 and move up three spots in the rankings. The Tigers meanwhile, dropped to #10. The ninth spot is now occupied by Texas A&M, who picked up a win against Arkansas. Another game between ranked teams was between #4 Ohio State and #23 Wisconsin. OSU quarterback Braxton Miller made his return to action after being sidelined for a few weeks. He led his team to a convincing victory and knocked the Badgers off of the rankings. Arizona State on the other hand, moved onto the rankings after racking up 62 points against USC in a crucial conference match. The Trojans responded to the loss by firing their coach of four years, Lane Kiffin. The other new team on the rankings is Maryland, which is 4-0 and ranked fourth in their division.

   
    As for the Heisman race, most of the front-runners at this point are quarterbacks; including Georgia's Aaron Murray, Texas A&M's Johnny Manziel, LSU's Zach Mettenberger, Alabama's AJ McCarron, and UCLA's Brett Hundley. Some experts attribute this fact to hurry-up offenses, while others point to a pro-passing trend. However, non-quarterbacks are in the mix too; including Georgia's Todd Gurley, Wisconsin's Melvin Gordon, Oregon's De'Anthony Thomas, Baylor's Lache Seastrunk, and Washington's Bishop Sankey.

     Fortunately, there is still a lot of time to determine the best team and best player. There are still eleven weeks until the regular season ends, so everything at this point is just speculation. In fact, some of the players listed above may not even be in the race at the end. But we do know that these next weeks of the season will provide us with suspenseful games, awe-inspiring moments, and hours of entertainment.

2012- A Year in Review

The past year was one unlike any other. Among the featured players were a presidential election, the Summer Olympics, unspeakable tragedies, and conflict in the Middle East. Many year-end awards have been given, and I feel it necessary to give my two cents. But instead of handing out individual awards, I decided to name 10 of the biggest topics in 2012. In essence, 10 of the biggest headlines of 2012.

1. Barack Obama- The Commander-in-Chief retained his role in this year's presidential election by defeating former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney. TIME Magazine's 2012 Person of the Year won many swing states, including Florida and Ohio. As the economic problems continue, America will turn to their leader to guide them.

2. YOLO- The phrase was made popular by the Canadian singer Drake, who included the phrase in his song "The Motto". The saying, which stands for You Only Live Once, has since been printed on clothing and used to justify bad decisions made by teenagers everywhere.

3. Life of Pi- Yann Martel's 2001 novel was immortalized in a movie that was released in November. Though the acting left something to be desired, the movie was nominated for three Golden Globes, including Best Motion Picture (Drama).

4. Aurora, Colorado- In July, a gunman opened fire at a theater in Aurora, Colorado. 12 people were killed, and more than 50 were injured. This tragedy once again sparked the debate over gun control, but no progress has been made yet.

5. The Fierce Five- Team U.S.A.'s women's gymnastics team captured the team gold medal in London. The team members, McKayla Maroney, Aly Raisman, Jordyn Wieber, Gabrielle Douglas, and Kyla Ross were catapulted to international prominence and have become national heroes.

6. Tim Cook- When Steve Jobs died, many people believed Tim Cook's legacy would be succeeding Jobs as CEO of Apple. Instead, Cook has made a name for himself not by being like Jobs, but by being himself.

7. Lebron James- The NBA superstar had an amazing year. First, he was named regular season MVP. In June, he won his first championship after his Miami Heat knocked off the O.K.C. Thunder. James, the series MVP, then led Team U.S.A. to a gold medal at the Olympic Games. To top it off, Sports Illustrated named him their Sportsman of the Year, the first basketball player to be so honored since Dwayne Wade in 2006.

8. Sandy Hook Elementary School- Last month, 26 people, including 20 children, were killed at a school in Newtown, Connecticut. This tragedy was preceded by many others, including the Wisconsin mosque shooting, and has been a central focus in the gun control debate.

9. Manti Te'o- Notre Dame football is relevant again. The Fighting Irish will play in the national title game against Alabama on January 7th. The main reason is their star linebacker, who placed second in the Heisman voting and won the Maxwell Award for Best Player.

10. Trayvon Martin- The Florida teenager's death sparked an outrage across America. The shooter, George Zimmerman, has claimed that he was legally justified, but he has been charged with second-degree murder. He will be put on trial in the summer of 2013.

Shark Tank

On one Friday night in July, I sat down to eat dinner in front of the TV. While looking for a baseball game, I stumbled upon ABC. The show playing was Shark Tank. Intrigued, I started watching. A man was pitching an invention of his, a washing machine that was extremely efficient. He was pitching the product to 5 investors, known as "sharks". I fell in love with the show, and recorded the entire series. It has become an integral part of my week, and I eagerly look forward to it.

The show just finished its 3rd season, and its fourth season will premiere in September. The show received its first award nomination this year when it was nominated for the Emmy award for Outstanding Reality Program, (the Emmy awards take place on September 23rd). The show has also increased in popularity since its premiere.

The premise of the show is simple: entrepreneurs and inventors pitch their products/businesses to the Sharks, hoping for investments. The Sharks then ask intelligent questions, such as the amount of sales, how much the company has expanded, etc. Sometimes, the Sharks will agree to invest, but more often than not, the entrepreneurs walk away empty-handed. Occasionally, the Sharks will fight among themselves to make an investment.

So who are the Sharks? They are all self-made millionaires or billionaires that are now looking to invest in new businesses. There are six Sharks: Barbara Corcoran, Daymond John, Kevin O'Leary, Lori Greiner, Mark Cuban, and Robert Herjavec. Corcoran started making the big bucks when she borrowed $1,000 to start a real estate company. That same company is now worth $5 billion. The Godfather of Urban Fashion, John, is the CEO of FUBU, a company that brought in $350 million in revenue last year. O'Leary started the company SoftKey Software Products, a company which he sold in 1999 to Mattel for $3.7 billion. He is also the founder of O'Leary Funds, a mutual fund company. Greiner, who holds over 110 patents worldwide, hosts her own TV show. Cuban, who is mostly known for being the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, is the owner of HDNet. He also founded MicroSolutions. Herjavec is the personification of the "rags-to-riches" stories. While working as a waiter, he founded BRAK systems, which he sold to AT&T in 2000. He also owns a private island near Miami.

If you're even the slightest bit intrigued, I suggest you tune in to ABC every Friday at 8 PM PT to watch  a show you will truly enjoy!

Curiosity on Mars

On November 26th, 2011, NASA launched the Curiosity rover. It landed on the red planet on August 6th after a 350 million mile journey. According to NASA, the rover landed only 1.5 miles from its target. The $2.6 billion rover will spend years on the planet taking pictures and gathering research. As of now, it is heading to Mount Sharp. Its main goal: to provide evidence of life on Mars.

Long before ice was found on Mars, the world has been captivated with the idea that life may exist on other places than Earth. This notion has been prominently showcased in Hollywood. Films featuring aliens include I Am Number Four, Independence Day, Meet Dave, Men in Black, Planet 51, Prometheus, Super 8, and    Transformers. These films have portrayed aliens from everything as giant robots to friendly creatures.

But why is it that we are so captivated with the idea of aliens? Is it because we believe that these aliens are just like us? Or do we believe that they will help better us? Aliens are typically portrayed as having superior technology. So will working with them advance our society? And if so, in what way?  The possibilities are endless.

But our ability to find these aliens may be dwindling. There are already budget constraints on what the rover can do. NASA has already been facing tremendous cuts. The White House has called for cuts in NASA's budget. Because of these cuts, NASA is shifting from ambitious planetary explorations to educational programs.  In the president's scheduled budget for 2013, NASA has been allotted $17.7 billion. This is less than the usual amount, and it could have a drastic effect on the amount of space explorations that it will be able to do in the future.

This raises the question, in bad economic times like these, how much emphasis should be placed on scientific endeavors? The government is trying their best to prioritize everything, but as always, things like defense will win out. Nonetheless, we must always remember how important scientific exploration is. After all, space is the final frontier.

Romney Ryan 2012

On August 11th, GOP candidate Mitt Romney announced his running mate for the 2012 presidential election: Paul Ryan, the House Budget Chairman. Like John McCain in 2008, Romney wanted a running mate that would be a game changer. McCain chose Sarah Palin, Romney went with Ryan. Others considered for Romney's running mate were Tim Pawlenty, the former Minnesota governor, and Senator Marco Rubio of Florida.

As reported by CNN's Paul Steinhauser, 39% of the American public sees Ryan as an excellent or very good choice. In comparison, 46% of the public said that Palin was an excellent or good choice, and 47% of the public said that Joe Biden was an excellent or good choice. Fortunately for Ryan, his approval ratings jumped by 15 points to 38%. In relation to Mitt Romney however, the results are mixed. 17% of voters said that they would be more likely to vote for Romney now that Ryan is his running mate, but 12% said that they were now less likely to vote for the former Massachusetts governor.

One interesting stat, also reported by Steinhauser, is that knowledge of the Congressman has increased. Prior to Romney's announcement, 45% of Americans expressed no opinion of Ryan. That number has since dropped to 30%.

For many Americans, the addition of Paul Ryan to the GOP ticket has made the race more intriguing. His budget plan earned him the fourth-ranked spot as Time magazine's Person of the Year. However, that same budget plan is what is making many Americans hesitant about voting for Romney. As reported by Matthew O' Brien of The Atlantic, Romney would pay 0.82% taxes under Ryan's plan. This has been called by many as Romney's path to prosperity. Ryan's tax plan features eliminating the taxes on capital gains, interests, and dividends, raising taxes on the bottom 30% of earners, and eliminating most of the government, save Social Security and defense.

It is clear that the wealthy would benefit from Ryan's budget plan, and if Romney does get elected, that plan could very well be implemented. Derek Thomson, also from The Atlantic, wrote that Ryan's plan would hurt the average American even more. So now the question arises: was adding Ryan to the ticket the death knell for Romney's presidential run?

Please comment on whether or not you think adding Ryan to the GOP ticket was a good idea.