In "Time For A Raise" Patrica Smith explores that the President of the United States believes that it would be a great idea to increase the federal minimum wage to $9 a hour. Some people agreed with him and others disagreed. In my opinion this both a smart and dumb decision. In my situation right now, raising the minimum wage would be help.

This article includes quotes from Obama him self, teenagers who work, and others. Patrica Smith also sites data from graphs. One fact that stood out to me was "On the other hand, some argue that making employees more expensive for companies to hire might increase unemployment." as stated in the article. This quote shows that companies wont be able afford the new minimum wage, so they would fire more people and hire less. Another fact that stood out to me was "Their hourly rate may go up, but their number of hours may come down." this quote proves that companies may start to close their stores early, so they won't have to pay their employees for extra hours.closing down stores early is a smart idea, but it's a not so good idea on the workers because they would get paid less.

In my situation i think raising the minimum wage to $9 is great. That means if i work this summer i would great paid more than if i worked last summer. I could do a lot more, like go shopping, go out with friends. Also having more money could take some weight of my parents. I would still ask for money but not as much. I really think this new idea should go through.

In "Slaughter of the African Elephants" Samantha Strindberg and Fiona Maisels explored that the population of African Elephants has decreased from 2002 to 2011. These elephants are being kilt for their ivory tusks. As stated in the article " Samantha Strindberg and Fiona Maisels are conversation scientists who work with the Wildlife Conversation Society to save elephants, apes, and other wild animals."

The article includes quotes and facts from scientists. One fast that stood out to me was "An elephant's tusks have become bling for consumers who have no idea or simply don't care that it was obtained by inflicting terror, horrendous pain and death on thinking, feeling, self-aware beings." This quote shows that people don't care about what people have to do in order to get this "bling". They're just worried about having it to wear and show off. They probably aren't aware of how much the population of African Elephants has decreased. Another fact that stood out to me was "As they move through their forest home, creating a network of trails used by other animals, they eat and scatter large quantities of seeds over miles. Sprouting in countless plies of dung, new trees keep the forest healthy and contribute to the clean air we all like to breathe." This quote has many things to say. One, if people keep killing these elephants the forest may be destroyed. Another reason why is other animals may die as well, because those elephants won't be spreading the seeds anymore.

I think that killing African Elephants is wrong. This is wrong because there is so much other jewelery in the world to choose from, and that you don't have to kill animals for. I wonder how people would feel if everybody just started killing dog for their skin. They would be very depressed to such a great animal extinct.

In "Surprise Hit Was a Shock for Artists Heard on It" Javier Gomez and Jayson Musson were excited when they received a call from Hector Delgado, telling them their voices could be heard on "Harlem shake". The "Harlem Shake" is " a song that had gone viral on the Internet and then climbed to the top of the pop chart." as stated in the article. For past three weeks people all over the world have been creating videos of themselves and friends, doing the Harlem shake.

The article includes quotes and facts from the president and chief executive of the National Music Publishers Association, and Hector Delgado himself. One fact that stood out to me was "The label initially offered "Harlem Shake" as a free download....." This quote shows how popular the "Harlem Shake became. There is now a Harlem Shake app available on androids and iPhones, for people to create and post on the Internet. Another quote that stood out to me was "Hector will get what he deserves," he said. "We can turn around and stop that song. That's a clear breaking of intellectual property rights." This quote shows that Mr.Gomez used someone else's song and mad it a hit and didn't give them any type of credit for it. This is also called plagiarism. He stole some body's idea without them knowing giving them credit for their work.


I think that stealing someone's creation and making it a big hit is not a bad thing. The person who started it clearly do such a great job with it, so someone else took it and made the song make it on the billboard. I don't there is anything that Mr.Gomez should regret because he just made a boring song become popular all over the world for people to enjoy with.

In "Sisters In Arms," James Dao explores, as stated in the article, "The U.S. military is lifting its long-standing ban on women in combat." This quote means that the U.S. military will give more women the opportunity to join the military and fight in wars more often. This new policy will open up more positions for women to fight in combat.

This article includes quotes from a U.S. Marine Corps officer and facts from charts. James also pulls out information about women in the U.S. military starting back to the Civil War to 2013. Some facts that stood out to me was " U.S. Casualties in Afghanistan and Iraq killed 6,504 men and 152 women. It wounded 49,478 men and 958 women." This shows that if women fight in wars then there would be less people kilt and less people dying. Another fact that stood out to me was "
 When the military goes to full integration, it allows commanders to put the best person in the job, not just the best man..." This quote shows that if there is a woman and she shoots better than a man, than a position for a sniper should be open to the woman.

I think that giving the positions for women to fight in wars is a great idea. Less people would be wounded and more people would be able to return home and see their families. In addition, it gives women the opportunity to do something that they had dreams to do.

This article reminded me of the time when I wanted to try out for football but it didn't work out because I was female. This crushed me inside because I knew I was capable of becoming a great football player. I was strong, fast, and knew what I was doing. All in all, i didn't get a chance to do what I wanted because i was a female.

In "CyberWar" Patrica Smith wants to know, as stated in the article, "Are we facing a "cyber Pearl Harbor" that could wreak havoc on our computer networks-and our lives." This quote probably means that if people keep hacking into our computer networks, it could mess up many important things that run through these networking sites everyday. I believe this should be stopped immediately.

This article includes quotes from counter terrorism officials, and experts. One quote that stood out to me was "By the time the virus was stopped, it had infected and made useless more than 30,000 computers." This fact shows how powerful viruses are and how many computers can get infected. It doesn't just infect computers that it's directed, but also other computers around the world. Another fact that stood out to me was "In 2009, a sophisticated computer worm known as Stuxnet wiped out a fifth of Iran's centrifuges, which are used to enrich uranium, setting back its ability to make nuclear weapons by several years." This fact shows that if someone wanted to bomb Iran, it may have been easy to do so because Iran wouldn't be able to create weapons in order to fight back. Not just any weapon to fight back, but a powerful nuclear bomb.

I think that cyberwar is wrong. It can infect too many computers with just one virus. Also destroying important information can lead to many problems. I don't think its fair that the virus can spread; that means people would have to spend money to get their computers. That wouldn't be smart because the virus could always spread to that computer too.

In "Jonesing for Braces" The New York Times Upfront discovers that teens in countries, Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia are starting wear fake braces as a fashion statement. Usually braces are terrifying, but I guess it's not scary at all to the teens in the Southeast Asian countries. Even though, fake braces seem cool they are a bad idea.

This article includes facts from health officials. One fact that stood out to me was "Real braces, by contrast, cost about $1,200 in Asia, making them a luxury item for only the rich." This quote shows that only rich people could afford braces, even when not needed. This also means that poor people couldn't afford them even if they are needed. I think that the poor should at least get help from orthodontist to pay for their child's messed teeth. Another fact that stood out to me was "Health officials, however, are warning teens to stay away from fake braces, since they may contain lead and can be swallowed accidentally." This fact stood out to me because i would want to know how the lead in fake braces may affect your teeth, and what will happen? Also since each brace on braces are connected, how can you swallow?

I don't think there's anything wrong with fake braces. It's just a fashion statement for people who don't need them , or just want them. I think the problem will be, where teens get them from, or how they would them. You cant just go around sticking anything in your mouth. If i made fake braces i would at least go to the dentist and ask them what i could use to make them with. Fake braces is also a smart idea because, once your comfortable with making for yourself, perhaps you could create them for other people and charge them.

In "Historically Incorrect Canoodling" Stephanie Coontz explores that all the talk about modern Americans separating sex, love, and devalued marriage, Valentine's day is reminded of how romantic people are. Most of the article talks about how in the old days people didn't really care about love, passion, and marriage. Today, people celebrate Valentines day as a day to spend with their lover.

The article doesn't really include quotes from experts, but it states facts the past. One fact that stood out to me was, "...Feb. 14 St. Valentine's feast day in 498 A.D., it was not trying to celebrate romance." This Quote shows that back then people weren't even worried about romance, February 14th was just another day. Another quote that stood out to me is, "High expectations of married love can lead to huge disappointments..." This quote shows that if you have too many high expectations in your marriage, the love you and your spouse have together may go down.

Since this article is mainly about people today not being married but still celebrating the day of love. I don't think it's anything wrong with it. I think so because there are a lot of young people around my age celebrating valentines day that aren't married. They can't get married because of their age. If you could only celebrate valentines when your married it wouldn't be fair. Young people need love too.

This article reminded me of a time when i had a boyfriend but my  mom said I couldn't celebrate valentines day. It was because I was too young and didn't really understand love, even though i was just celebrating just for fun.

In "Failure is Not An Option" Sharon LaFraniere explores that teenager Liu Qichao is about to take the biggest test, and believes it's not an option to fail it. Most of this article explains how this text will determine everything. It's also nine hours long.

The article includes quotes from Liu Qichao and experts. One fact that stood out to me was "In 2007, a student arriving four minutes late was turned away, even after she and her mother knelt before the exam proctor, begging for leniency. This quote stood out to me because if this text is so important and determines everything why wouldn't they be able to take it, even if they are late? would they be able to take it another time?

I think it is important for people to be on time to take this major. When your taking a test you wouldn't want someone to knock on the door making noise why your trying to concentrate. I think part of the problem is that some people don't take it as serious as they should. They won't wake up on time, or study.

In "The New Face of America" Veronica Majerol concluded that "For the first time, more minorities are being born in the U.S. than whites. This means that now instead of the whites outnumbering minorities, minorities will outnumber whites, for the first time.

This article includes quotes from experts, and graphs. One quote that stood out to me was "By 2042, minorities are on pace to collectively outnumber whites." This quote means that every year the population of minorities is increasing. Is this a good thing or bad thing?

The only reason why I think that minorities are outnumbering whites is because teens are having babies more from left to right. if young adults were still in school and not having children then whites will probably be still be outnumbering minorities.

I can conclude that by the year 2042 there high school graduates will decrease even more. I personally thought that whites will always outnumber minorities but studies have proved me wrong. It's like every time a minority dies another one is born.

In the article "Do we have the courage to stop this" Nicholas D. Kristof discovers that people aren't taking guns as seriously as they do cars. Throughout reading the article, most of the speakers in it agrees with Nicholas. They want something to be done about this.

This article includes quotes from the President Obama, the Harvard Injury Control Research Center and more. One quote that stood out to me was "We've endured too many of these tragedies in the past few years," said President Obama. This quote tells readers that even though some people have tried to stop this, it hasn't. It's still going on.

Nicholas states, "We should impose a universal background check for gun buyers, even with private sales." I think he's right. This way they can find out how many people are using guns without permission, well lisense.

I think regulating guns is a great idea. If people would only use guns for a reasonable reason then the gun rates would go down. There are too many gun kills than car accidents. Do i think they courage to stop it? No. Not at all. If this have been going on for years why didn't they been stop it?

In "Give Lance another Chance" CNN.com surveyed if Lance Armstrong should have another chance in running. Some people say he should and others say he shouldn't. People must have a lot to think about. Was it really that serious? Or should they make him suffer for what he did?

This article includes quotes from experts who have studied Lance's career. Frida Ghitis who is a world affairs columnist, Randy Cohen, who wrote the Ethicist column in New York, Roxanne Jones, an editor for ESPN Magazines, and many more. One quote that stood up to me was, "Do I think he should be allowed to race again? No. Lance Armstrong racing again is not truly an option anyway-- he's almost 42," said Jeff Pearlman. This quote stood out to me because I don't think it matters how old you are to race, as long as you keep your body and health up.

I don't think Lance was wrong for what he did. Lying about a race isn't that serious. People lie all over the world for things far more worse than that. Also just because he used performance-enhancing drugs doesn't mean anything. Boxers, wrestlers, football players and much more professional people use drugs to do better in what they do, and a lot of people aren't complaining.

When people are talking about Lance and what they did, they should also think about the horrible things that other famous people are doing. Maybe they should just give him another chance because everybody has flaws. As for what Kevin Powell said, "We all have our flaws".

In "Civial War in Syria Raises Questions About When to Intervene"
 Ja'anai Delaney explores how everyone questions if anyone should interfer with the war going on in Syria with their president and towns people. The article says that with the civial war occuring in Syria, it's making it dangerous for many civilians to stay in their homes. Most of the article wants to know if the united states army should intervene.


This article includes quotes from the U.N headquaters in New York City and also the U.S Secretary of State Hiliary Cliton. Cliton said, "Alot of people are trying to figure out what could be an effective intervention that wouldn't cause more death and suffering." She may have said this because if the Unites States military interfres with the war in Syria they will be bombed with
homemade chemical bombs. One fact that stood out to me was "The free Syrian Army consists of mostly untrained men armed with AK-47s, rocket launchers,and homemade bombs.." This stood out to me because Syria is poor but has many powerful weapons.

I think the U.S shouldn't intervene with Syria because it's not our fight. Also if we intervene we could create a larger problem and also lose some of our soilders. Even though people in Syria are losing their life because of their sinister president, i think the soilders should somehow over power the president and stop the war.

In "All Work and No Play: Why Your Kids Are More Anxious, Depressed" Esther Entin discovers that schools are cutting down kids free/play time, to get them more serious about their work. Most of the article talks about how children's play time has been declining for many years. Since the recess time has decreased, the article states that it's keeping kids from turning into confident adults. That's not good!

the article includes quotes and facts from researchers. One fact that stood out to me was ".... compared to 1981, children in 1977 spent less time in play and had less free time. They spent 18 percent more time at school, 145 percent more time doing school work, and 168 percent more time shopping with parents." This quote shows that not only schools but also parents are taking away children's free time. Instead of shopping with their parents children could be somewhere enjoying them self.

I think that declining childern's free time is a bad idea. While kids are usually at free time they are expressing their self. For example, a game of cops and robbers lets kids think about the career of becoming a police officer. Without them even having a chance to go outside and play they wont have that idea in mind. The only thing that they'll be worried about is work. Too much work and not enough free time time can stress a child out.

This article reminded me of the school Mastery I attended last year. They stop giving recess at 6th grade. All we did was work on top of work. Even at lunch we weren't able to get out our seats. The school barley went on trips or did anything fun. I was very stressed out at only the age of 12 and 13.

In the article "Philadelphia superintendent identifies schools he intends to close" Kristen A. Graham finds out the main two reasons why the superintendent wants to shut down school. The two main reasons are because of financial and academics. Most schools that are closing down are joining together with other high schools. The superintendent also wants to shut down 6-8 grades middle schools and make them k-8 elementary schools.

The article includes quotes from the superintendent and also from Mayor Nutter. Mayor Nutter said "It will mean safer, better-equipped schools capable of meeting the educational needs of the schoolchildren." This quote means that moving students into one school will make it safe because they will be able to improve the building since they saved money.

 I think that joining two schools together is a bad idea. It's a bad idea because some of the schools that are coming together are public schools which get into a lot of fights. So when the schools come together there would probably be much drama. Students would be kicked out and suspended.

This article reminds me of Parkway West because it's joined together with the middle school MYA. They aren't on the same floor but they share the same building. Sometimes Parkway infringes with MYA because they have lunch on the same floor as their classes.