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by Amy P.
The internet has created a whole new era of technology that allows people to watch their favorite T.V. shows wherever, whenever. I’m pretty sure you have frantically searched the web after missing your favorite show to see if it was on the internet. It’s something that is now a regular thing to do, but five years ago, all you had was reruns. As shows become more and more available on the internet, writers are losing money because they’re not getting paid for the episodes airing on the channels websites. They also believe that their share for royalties is far to low and because of this writers around the U.S. are refusing to write for the producers of the shows. Shows are now using episodes that have already been written, but will be in a dilemma when they no longer have episodes to air. The majority of people that I’ve talked to seem to find this strike quite annoying and it’s hard for all of us to accept it, seeing that it may put a pause to our favorite shows. Not only is this strike going to affect audiences like ourselves, but it will also affect many of the behind the scene workers. Because shows do not have writers, producers do not want to continue paying the workers when new episodes are not being created. People are losing their jobs because of this strike and things are not going to get better unless someone gets their way. Although this strike is starting to make an impact, it hasn’t gotten bad yet. The only shows that this has had an immediate affect on are those like David Letterman and SNL. Because they are live and written weekly, they did not have extra episodes lying around that they could use. Once shows that come on once a week no longer have episodes to air, they will no longer be able to come on T.V. Your favorite show that was just getting really good may come to a halt, and who knows how long that halt will be? Producers are going to have to work with the writers to make things reasonable or else a great deal of money is going to be lost and people are going to get angry. It’s hard to say how and when this strike will end, but all I know is that many American base their everyday lives around their favorite shows and what is going to happen when they no longer have those shows to watch?

by Emma B.
“How clever you are, my dear! You never mean a single word you say.” At first, one would be tentative in linking anything Oscar Wilde (even a sentence) to the conservative “dignity” of the republican party, but, then again, how many hypocrites are there in Congress?
Idaho’s Larry Craig is the latest right wing politician whose double life is costing his political career. Craig is accused of playing footsy with an undercover policeman in a Minneapolis public bathroom notorious for gay sex.
Unlike David Vitter, who seems determined to remain in the Senate, Craig– despite immense pressure from the GOP– is undecided on whether to resign or stay in the Senate.
Both Craig and Vitter are in the same situation and yet it is Craig who appears most under the gun by the GOP and the conservative media.
Craig elicited lewd behavior in a men’s bathroom. Vitter “romanced” a prostitute on the side. Whether the scandal involves a man or a woman, it certainly does not involve their “family values.”
These are two very powerful men who were initially voted into office to uphold the wants of their conservative constituents.
What does this ongoing deception say about our other congressional members? As far as we know Rick Santorum could have been right there in the closet with Craig.
In a turn of events that might never have occurred to Craig, he is now yoked with an openly gay democrat from a blue state.
Barney Frank, a Massachusetts Congressman, was caught in another gay sex scandal and did not have to resign. Now, he is one of the most powerful members of the House. The difference? The hypocrite question.

Dem. Barney Frank with Bill Maher

Frank never advocated the so called “family values” of the right wing; family values which abhor homosexuality.
In an August 29th interview with Bill Maher (see above) Frank says, “Republicans do think [gay sex] is a crime, and I think there should be a right to privacy, but the right to privacy should not be a right to hypocrisy. People who want to demonize other people shouldn’t be able to then go home, close the door, and do it themselves.”
To the ordinary citizen, what is Craig’s crime? Is it his questionable sexuality or his hypocrisy? Should he stay or should he go?
Republicans, still reeling from the gay scandal involving Senator Marc Foley and an underage page, cannot afford yet another gay scandal with their religious right- wing supporters.
Craig presented himself as somebody he is not. At a time when the House and Senate are under severe scrutiny from the media, Craig’s inconsistency affects more than his political standing.
Throughout his run in office, Craig has been a strong proponent for anti- gay laws. Publicly, Craig denounces homosexuality, but privately he indulges it. (Click on the link for his full voting record:voting record.) This is not only sad for his family, but it is also sad for the voter.
Obviously, a man’s personal life should be private, but when someone deliberately deceives the voters, it becomes an entirely different situation. Who cares that Craig’s gay. He’s a hypocrite. His previous votes on civil rights measure nothing of his true character (or perhaps they measure too much).
So Larry Craig may join the ranks of pop star George Michael and Pee Wee Herman as being known more as a furtive sexual exploit than as a conservative Senator from Idaho. I’m sure this is not the way he expected to go down in history.

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by Emma L. ’08

Every year, as you know, the senior class presents its gift to the school: the Nativity pageant, performed to the T, just like in all the Christmas stories. Most Middle and Upper School girls seem divided in opinion about it: many anxiously wait for their turn to uphold this ancient school tradition, while others are indifferent about it; they just go because they feel like they have to.
But they don’t. As you know, McGehee is a nondenominational school that prides itself on its secularity. It seems ridiculous that such a religious tradition has a place in a school like ours.
A notable part of the tradition is the incredible build-up to it. Every single grade in the school waits in anticipation of putting on the pageant. As a result, the seniors don’t take their gift to the school lightly. The senior class votes each year on which of their classmates would be the quintessential Mary or Joseph. The mother of the senior class is chosen to portray Mary, while the senior with the most school spirit plays Joseph. The two Kneeling Angels are the best advice-givers in the whole class; they lend an ear to whoever needs to talk out their problems. Dressed in elaborate costumes of dull brown and royal purple, the three wise men and shepherds come to adore the plastic baby Jesus as a speaking choir narrates the story.
I may identify with the Jewish faith, but that’s not what motivates me to abstain from the Nativity. Performing the Nativity pageant in a school that prides itself on being nonreligious simply does not make sense. I don’t see a reenaction of Moses parting the Red Sea during Passover happening. The most we’ve had that acknowledges other faiths is an awkward assembly where a Jewish or Muslim girl stands timidly at the podium, delivering a disheveled explanation of their respective holidays to “raise awareness.” We do occasionally have the Passover Seder, but it’s treated as a throwaway event. There’s no tradition associated with the Seder, no special roles for the seniors to play. There’s also no extensive buildup to the Seder; people don’t revere it as much as they do Nativity, which seems unfair to the Jewish students at school.
This year, I’m choosing to not participate in the Nativity. I won’t be one of the people in the manger that sits passively and looks at the baby Jesus. I know some will call me a tradition-breaker and a contrarian and others will think I’m just doing it because I’m Jewish. I’m not afraid of the people who say I’m breaking tradition because that is exactly what I’m doing.
But, on the other hand, I will still sing in the choir. Earlier in the year, my position was rock-solid: I wasn’t doing any nativity activity; not singing, not acting, nothing. But I do love my class and my school, and I feel that even though the Nativity is a completely wrong tradition, my desire to be a part of this ceremony and of my class overbears my anti-Nativity sentiments. My advice to the school is to change the Nativity ceremony to something else so that the seniors will still have the opportunity to put on a Senior Pageant, but students of other religions and opinions wouldn’t be forced to participate in a ceremony that goes against their beliefs just to feel like they are part of their class.

by: Olivia J
“Girls this is the turn of the century,” Ms. Curran says about the newest program she teaches students to put into their calculators. Well, the turn of the century has come a long way, for the iPod seems to be the new, big fascination. Over the past few years the Apple iPod has gained popularity and seems to be rising to the level of the cellphone. Now, along with other needed items in the purses of women and in the pockets of men, the iPod seems to be one of the must-have items to carry with you when leaving the house.Everywhere you look people old and young are carrying around little metal rectangles that store thousands of songs. You can get all of your favorite music with just the click of a button. People are listening to them non-stop and it could possibly be interfering with the old- fashioned way of socializing. The creation of the cellphone was bad enough. Although beneficial, no one ever talks in person anymore. It’s always through a phone or texting. Relationships can develop without even making real contact with a person. The craze of the cellphone isn’t going to subside anytime soon and neither is the iPod. I have a fear that this will bring an end to good, ole socializing for good.The iPod is the new “friend” to girls at McGehee. Girls have to compete with this tiny metal box filled with music just to get the attention of their friends. You can’t turn a corner without seeing a girl bump into a wall because she is turning the dial to pick the next song to distract herself with. The peace of the world has been forgotten. Everyone has an iPod now and it seems to be just as common as the clothes on your back. People take them everywhere, especially girls at McGehee and teens in general: when they run, while working in class, or even during break and lunch periods. With iPods it seems that socializing is possibly being thrown out the window.There was a time when a friend of mine listened to her iPod non-stop and simply could not live without it. The week she lost it she became a completely different person. Words and thoughts actually came from her mouth and she shared comments that we hadn’t heard in months due to her mind and head always being focused on music, music, music! Music is a lovely thing; it really is. It calms the mind and allows people to express themselves in ways besides screaming and crying. But iPods are controlling robots taking over the earth. Disconnecting yourself from the world is fine, but not when it is almost every minute of the day. With the progression of the iPod, constantly getting new features added to it, who knows how people are going to develop in the future?