Author Archive
Writing in the Panther
Posted on: May 17, 2010
Writing in the Pendleton Panther this year was certainly a blast. I was able to share news, sports recaps, and opinions that I thought would make a good read. It is also great to see what my fellow writers are writing about, because I am able to learn
Writing
more about them as person through writing. It’s a great way to keep with the news and events happening in the world, and I hoped to give a different and unique view on the topic I was discussing. This was challenging at times, because the topics can be very one-sided and pretty straight forward. I truly enjoyed taking on this task however. It also prepared me for someday deciding what I would like to do after college. This is must like being a reporter, and it gave me a great taste of what that would be like. I hope you all enjoyed reading what I and others wrote, as much as I enjoyed writing!
Bringing Home The Bacon
Posted on: May 17, 2010
In a recent study in 2007, 22% of women now make more money then their husbands. This is a huge difference from a study done in 1970, where only 4% of wives made more than their husbands. This is not as big of a shock to me as I think most people would see it. If you look at it in the perspective of in college there are many more girls than there are men, it would seem to make sense. This
Bringing Home the Bacon
however, goes against what the common person thinks of when they look at a marriage. Tradition holds that the man “brings home the bacon,” when really it can go both ways. It depends on what areas each person has their talents in as well. If the women has a talent in something that is higher paying, she will simply make more because of that. So, remember everyone, the man is not always the only one “bringing home the bacon.”
Cruel and Unusual Punishment
Posted on: May 17, 2010
It was ruled today by the Supreme Court that life sentence to a minor is unconstitutional because it is considered “cruel and unusual punishment.” The Supreme Court ruling was confirmed after a 6-3 vote. It is considered to be “cruel and unusual punishment” because the court decided that life behind bars, without any chance of being let out, was not fair if the offender lacked full
The Supreme Court
“culpability” because of their age. This doesn’t mean, however, that the juvenile is guaranteed to be let out. The juvenile is just not allowed to be sentenced to life in prison without parole. This means that the person in prison has to be given a chance to be let out. I believe this was the right decision. A person should not have to give up their entire life because of a bad decision he or she made while their brain wasn’t fully developed, especially if it’s murder. The person should still be given a good amount of time in jail, but should be given the right of freedom at some point in their life again.
Game 1 Win
Posted on: May 17, 2010
Being in Orlando for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, was a certainly a blast. I am a huge Celtics fan, and was lucky enough to get tickets to the game in Orlando on sunday. The Celtics came out looking strong. Paul Pierce opened the game up with a three-pointer and the Celtics went rolling from there. At one point in the first half the Celtics were leading the game 29-14. Watching the Magic warm up was certainly a shock, they were not even taking the game seriously. They were clowning around, and
Celtics "Dancers"
more focused on making the fans laugh than they were on the game. Meanwhile, they Celtics were extremely focused and it showed early in the game. However, when the lead was cut to nine by the half, thoughts of a late game comeback had aroused. The Celtics came out strong for the third quarter, but in the fourth quarter they did not score in 5:30 and the Magic were able to get back in the game. With just 2 minutes left in the game the Celtics were up only by 5. But surprisingly, and only surprisingly because of the year they had this year, they were able to hold it out and get the win. It was certainly sweet walking out of that stadium with a vicotry, and watching 25,000 Magic fans leave utterly disgusted.
Jamie Moyer
Posted on: May 15, 2010
Jamie Moyer, now 47 years old is still successful in the Major Leagues. After beating the Mets at home in a complete game shutout, which he is the oldest pitcher to ever complete that task, he was looking ahead to the game against the Brewers. He came out looking just as sharp, against a god Brewers lineup. He only had one bad inning, which he gave up three solo home runs. However for the rest of the game, he was able to get a ton of outs and was able to limit the hits. He allowed 5 runs, only 4 of them earned in 6 and 1/3 innings. He completely confuses people at the plate and he has a way of “staying off the barrel” as Chipper Jones was quoted saying. He provides a lot of inspiration for many of his teammates, especially Shane Victorino, as he still just keeps going. It is truly amazing how effective he is, even while his fastball is at least 10 m.p.h slower than the average Major League fastball. But he truly hits his spots and keeps the ball down, which is his key to success.
Bruins out, Celtics in
Posted on: May 15, 2010
Being from Rhode Island there is nothing better than having my “home” teams in basketball and hockey in the playoffs. However when the two previous series started I was more optimistic about the Bruins future than I was about the Celtics future. The Bruins had a lot of momentum and the Celtics were playing one of the best teams in the NBA in the Cavaliers. However, the Bruins just lost the series after being up 3-0, and they were up 3-0 in the 7th game and lost 4-3. The “Bruin Nation” was extremely shocked and disappointed. However, the boston fans have something to be extremely excited, as the Celtics just beat one of the best teams in Basketball in six games, and have a ton of momentum going into the Orlando Magic series. Even though this is not the way I would have imagined things would have gone, I couldn’t be happier as I love watching NBA playoffs, especially when my team is in the race. This should be a great series, which I believe the Celtics will win in 6 games once again.
The “Bored” Senator
Posted on: May 6, 2010
Just recently a local news station filmed Republican politician Mike Bennett looking at a certain email that showed images that wouldn’t be what you want your Senator focusing on during a Senate meeting. The Senator was looking at porn, a picture of four topless women. Although he says it was in an email from a past court administrator, and he quickly clicked away. If this is true,
He was bored...
then this whole thing has gone way out of proportion. The part that really rubs me the wrong way, however is what he says in response to being questioned about it. When being asked why he was looking on his email during a SENATE MEETING, he simply said he was “bored.” At the time, abortion was being discussed, and in particular the women’s right to have abortion. This happens to be one of the most argued topics in today’s politics, and this man was bored? I don’t know about anyone else, but I would much rather have someone in our senate who does not get bored at an important senate meeting.
He was bored...
Effects on “Big Stars”
Posted on: May 6, 2010
As we all know, there was a huge flash flood in Middle Tennessee, affecting the lives of everyone there. Over 13.5 million dollars in damage was done. Another big story is the effect this flood on big country stars. As most of you know, a lot of country’s big stars live in Middle Tennessee as Nashville, is the “home” of country. A lot of these stars have sadly, lost a lot of their equipment and almost everything in his house. Kenny Chesney was seen leaving his home with in a boat, with a couple of bags, and two guitars. Also, Toby Keith lost all of his touring equipment, which will be a huge deficit to him. Brad Paisley, lost all of his equipment except for his lighting devices, which he luckily had stored else where. Tim McGraw and Faith Hill who are married big time stars, have lost almost everything that they own. There will be a bunch of telethon’s done both locally, and nationally for those not as fortunate as the country stars who will easily be able to replace all of which they lost.
1500’s Facts
Posted on: April 30, 2010
I was reading an article about some facts of the 1500’s and I thought it would be nice to share. Most people in the 1500’s got married in June because most people took their yearly bath’s in May, and they still smelled pretty good by June. There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house, such as bugs and droppings, which was a real problem in the bedroom, and you never
Life in the 1500's
had a clean bed. Most people back then did not have meat to eat at night and mostly had vegetables. However, when the man could bring home meat, which was a big deal back then, he would hang it up outside his house as a sign of prosperity, and then would only rip it off piece by piece so it lasted a while. The amount of bread you received was chosen by the your economic status in society. Next time I’m feeling under privileged I will try and think about if I lived in the 1500’s.
Celtics vs. Cavs
Posted on: April 30, 2010
After beating the Miami Heat in 5 games, only losing one game on the road, the Celtics are pretty confident. They are, however going against a tough opponent. The Cleveland Cavaliers are a stacked team lead by NBA superstar Lebron James, and are provided some inside game by none other than Shaquille O’Neal. However, Lebron is suffering from an elbow injury which should slow down his outside game and allow the Celtics defenders to back off. The Celtics are still considered the “underdog.” But, for this
Celtics
Celtics team they are extremely excited about having that title, and thrive off of that to help them compete and win games. This year’s team if full of league veterans who know how to take outside energy, and use it to help them be motivated, which in turn, helps them win games. The first game is this Saturday at Cleveland, game 1 is a very important game to set the tone and mood for this series. With, the Celtics being on the road, they are looking to take at least 1 of these two games so that if they take care of business at home, they should be able to take the series.
Celtic Pride
Posted on: April 18, 2010
The Celtics had a year filled with ups and downs, and were not as successful from a record standpoint as they have been in past years, but were still abel to win the division. They are taking on the Miami Heat in the first round of the playoffs and with players
The Big Three
with as much experience and passion for the game as Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Kevin Garnett you always have a chance to go deep in the playoffs. They were able to take game one from Dwayne Wade and the Heat at home by 9. It was not pretty when a fight broke out towards the ladder half of the game, and Garnett was ejected, but when someone with as much pride and a sense of team as Garnett gets disrespected you can expect nothing less. Hopefully his loss in the next game with not hurt them in their quets for the championship.
4-8
Posted on: April 18, 2010
The 2010 Boston Red Sox were looking to have a great start heading into the season. With addition of Mike Cameron in center field, moving Jacoby Elsbury to left field to save his legs for stealing bases, and the addition of Adrian Beltre at third base, the Red Sox looked stronger than ever. Unfortunately however, they are at a dismal 4-8 record to start off the season. The bats are virtually
Boston Red Sox
silent so when the pitching staff has a good day, which hasn’t happened to often, they aren’t scoring any runs. They have also been extremely noticeably week at the catching position defensively. Other players are stealing bases at will because the catchers are both slow and inaccurate to second base, and the Red Sox pitching coach does not believe in the “Slide step,” designed to help hold the runners on. If the Red Sox don’t get their act together they are going to fall too far behind the league leaders in Tampa Bay and New York.
Heartbreaker in Seminole
Posted on: March 18, 2010
Last Tuesday night the Pendleton Varsity baseball team traveled to Seminole high school to play them at a 7:00 start. We had very high hopes of winning this game as the our varsity team has never lost at Seminole. In the first inning of the game we scored an early two runs. Casey Mulholland took the mound and dominated. The players on Seminole were lost at the plate. We
Panthers
manufactured another run, as Joe Daru scored, after he reached base on a laser single up the middle. It seemed as though we were coasting to a win with a three run lead and our Ace pitcher dominating on the mound. But, in the sixth inning after two hits and a walk, the bases were loaded. A high fastball was thrown to the next batter who connected and hit a grand slam. This was obviously very devastating, but we were able to get out of the inning only down one run. We had one last chance to score a run to at least tie it. After Dillon Moyer walked and reached first the next three batters struck out and we lost. We were very disappointed in our loss, but we knew we gave it 100% and left it all out on the field
Three Innovations
Posted on: March 15, 2010
CNN contributing author Bob Greene recently wrote an article about the three innovations he believes shaped America in the second half of the 20th century. His article lists the three innovations to be: the building of the interstate highway system, the blanketing of the U.S. from coast-to-coast with television, and the introduction and spread of the internet. His article talks about the profound i
Bob Greene
mpact each of these three things have had in everyday life for most Americans. He also recognizes that each innovation has its drawbacks as well. But, interestingly, the article ends with the author asking the reader to indentify which of these innovations are most important, or the one that has most altered your life. He takes it one step further and asks – which of these could you not live without. While there is not one correct answer it forces you to really think about how you live everyday life and maybe the things you take for granted.
Captain Myer
Posted on: March 15, 2010
A U.S. Army Officer was both honored and reprimanded as a result of an attack on the combat outpost he was third in command of. U.S. Army Captain Matthew Myer received both a Silver Star and a typically career-ending Letter of Reprimand for the same attack. He was honored for his part in calling in air support to assist in fighting back the some 200 Taliban fighters in this July
Army Logo
2008 attack. With nine U.S. soldiers killed and twelve wounded and more than 100 Taliban killed, this is still the deadliest ground combat of the war involving U.S. troops. Four-star General Charles Campbell was tasked with investigating the attack. His findings showed that Captain Myer and his two senior commanders, who were not even on base at the time of the attack, were neglect in their duty to properly secure the base so that it could be defended against enemy attack. The three officers are expected to appeal the punishment awarded and findings from General Campbell.
WNBA
Posted on: March 14, 2010
WNBA is one of the biggest jokes in sports today. I would honestly rather go to a pre-season men’s NCAA basketball game, then go to a WNBA championship game. I support the fact that women go out and try to be successful in sports. In addition to this, I
WNBA
completely respect the talent that these women have shown the world since their debuts. However, I just feel like when you put it all together and watch the WBNA, it’s some of the most ridiculous moments in sports. I truly do not think I could sit through more than a minute and a half of any WNBA games, no matter what team. Not that the NBA is any better sometimes, but there is something about women running around trying to play basketball that annoys me. I mean they are talented and all, but they are not even close to the Larry Birds and Paul Pierces of the NBA.
Planners
Posted on: March 14, 2010
Since I was in middle school I have always seen kids in my classes walking around with organizational planners. In these planners they write down their homework along with all other stuff they have to get done for that day, week, month etc. While I can see why
Planner
people like to be organized, and I understand that everyone has their own way of doing that, I think planners are pointless and a waste of time. I can very easily write down on a sheet of paper what I need to get done for the day. Even still, half the time I don’t need a piece of paper I just remember it all in my head. I think that everyone has the ability to do this, and people just use planners as a security, which ends up actually being a huge waste of time.
The Florida Strawberry Festival
Posted on: March 14, 2010
Each year, Florida hosts the “Florida Strawberry Festival” for the month of March. This festival consists of a lot of people, rides, food and much more entertainment. The festival opens at the very beginning of the day and goes through out the night. At around 7:00
Set-up
each night there is a different performance from a relatively popular name. Two weekends ago, I attended the Florida Strawberry Festival. I spent the day eating the food, and riding the rides and ended the night with a concert by Darius Rucker. It was a really fun time, and there were an insane amount of people there which made it all the more fun. I think that it is a really cool and fun tradition that Florida keeps up each year, and this year being my first, I definitely got a great impression. I would love to go back sometime this March, but if I don’t get the chance I will absolutely find time to attend the festival again next March.
Facebook & Homework
Posted on: March 14, 2010
Pretty much everyone who is anyone has a facebook now a days. While we all talk about how pathetic it is, and how much of a time waster it is, we all continually maintain ours over and over again. I personally believe that it is no big deal to have a facebook, but I absolutely can’t stand when I am trying to get something done and facebook gets in my way. Sometimes nothing will even be
Facebook Logo
interesting or going on, on facebook and I will still resort to looking at it in order to ignore my homework or whatever else I have to do. I don’t know why I do this, and it is really annoying and sometimes it makes me want to delete my facebook, but I never actually end up doing it. Maybe I should just start trying to focus enough where I don’t even have to think about facebook while I am doing something of more importance, but I think I’ll remain just like everyone else and let facebook be one of my biggest distractions.
Busch Gardens
Posted on: March 14, 2010
This Sunday I went to Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida. The hour drive getting there was irritating, but in the end the trip was extremely fun and successful. When I first got there, I started with the biggest and most popular roller coaster. It was filled with
Busch Gardens
speed, turns and steep hills, which made me love it even more. Once I got off, my other friends and I decided we had to do it again, and proceeded to do it five more times. After this we went on to many other roller coasters that the park had to offer. I had an all you can eat pass, and so I of course took this to my advantage and ate everything that looked appetizing. Along with the rides, Busch Gardens has a ton of animal exhibits and I was able to see gorillas, elephants, birds, monkeys and more. So, pretty much the day was awesome, and I love Busch Gardens and expect to go back many more times.
Rain Outs
Posted on: March 14, 2010
Last Friday & Saturday Men’s Varsity Baseball was scheduled for two games and both of them were rained out. This makes me extremely irritated, because to begin with we don’t have very many games in a season. This also makes me hate rain. Whenever it
Rain
rains, nothing good comes out of it. You can’t go outside without being soaking wet, and in my life, I can’t do the one thing that I enjoy doing. The best part about these rainouts is that on Saturday it was perfectly sunny and warm and there was literally no reason for the game to be rained out. As much as this made me mad, our coaching staff was to able to get Friday’s game rescheduled to this coming Monday. Even though I would have way rather had the game on Friday, I’ll settle for this rescheduling because one game is better than no games.
Cheaters
Posted on: March 14, 2010
This video is an excerpt from a show called “Cheaters” by Maury. I think it is hilarious. In this video, a man cheats on his girlfriend and then proceeds to kick out her window, and punch her in the face. This is completely ironic, because he cheated on her, yet she is getting decked in the face. If you continue to watch the video, you will notice that the cops show up and the boyfriend flees the scene. 
I think that while this video is hilarious, the boyfriend is completely messed up. The girlfriend didn’t even do anything to deserve getting yelled at, never mind beat up. The boyfriend is completely in the wrong, and when the cops find him he will probably be in some serious trouble. I thought stuff like this only happened in movies and soap operas, but I guess it turns out that people are actually that messed up.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RH3DuOwRLRI
Economics Profesor
Posted on: February 10, 2010
An economics professor told a class one day that he has never failed anyone, except for one time he failed an entire class. This class insisted President Obama’s socialism plan would work, so he decided to put it to the test. He decided to average the tests out, so that no one would be “rich” and no one would be “poor,” an idealistic way of socialism. On the first test the average was a B, on the second test the average was a D, and on the third an F. Now, this article goes on by saying that the people who studied hard no longer studied as hard and the people who hardly studied, studied even less. Not to be argumentative with this but, I disagree with the way the experiment is looked at. For example, there are thousands and thousands of hard working Americans who simply cannot pay their bills. The single mom who’s working 3 jobs or the teacher who is trying to offer an education for our youth who is also trying to raise
Professor Gericke
2 kids. Much like not being able to pay off your bills, some kids are simply not able to get good grades. Therefore, in some instances those kids that are failing and are working harder are getting worse grades than those who are not studying as hard, and don’t have to work as hard because they have been given a blessing; a talent. A Major League baseball player can get paid millions of dollars for his talent, but a plumber makes no where near that even if he is just as talented in his field. Instead of realizing “Hey, wow I’ve been blessed,” it’s “Hey, wow I want more.” Sadly enough, it is always looked upon as those people, the plumbers, are not hard workers, because of the few bad examples that are out there. Those “good” students simply stopped studying hard because it wasn’t about them anymore, they were put into a situation where they had to do something for the betterment of a group of people and it wasn’t all about them, and instead of continuing to work hard, they proved how selfish and greedy they were. The good students, in my opinion, are clearly representing a group of people who belong to a certain party. I’ll let you make that call.
Although we are not a socialistic government, and we never will be, it amazes me how much a little help could go a long way. Our President isn’t asking for anything too ridiculous, all he’s saying is if you’re blessed why can’t you help those that are not as not as fortunate as you are. If you’re making $250,000 is it really that bad to give a little more to the government and country which has provided you with the opportunity to be successful? Is it really going to hurt you financially? Instead a fit is thrown by those who claim they shouldn’t have to give up any of their money that they’ve worked hard for. From recent polls, 66% of republicans say that they hold religion close to them. Close to 100% of religions in this country are based on having good morals and giving to others. Hypocritical?
I also repsect those that have worked extremely hard to be wealthy. One of the greatest thing about living in this country is we have the freedom to do what we please. And, for those who say that they don’t want to give their monmey to those people who are the “slackers” and those that don’t work hard, why let those who do suffer. It’s like if you go to a school and a couple of the kids are smoking pot and the rest of the kids in the school go to jail with them. We know that the majority of those kids are not smoking pot, and therefore they should not suffer because of those few kids’ action. Those people who truly don’t work hard or do anything with their lives, cannot be “happy” people. If they’ve coasted through life being given everything they cannot be satisfied with themselves as people, and a few extra bucks is not going to chaneg that.
Giant Asteroid
Posted on: February 10, 2010
A group of U.S. astronomers have recently made a startling discovery. They have spotted a giant asteroid that is, as far as they can tell now, plummeting toward Earth. An asteroid such as the size of this one (about 20 million times the Hiroshima atomic bomb) would completely
The Earth's End
obliterate the Earth and everything on it. Astronomers however are not confident that this asteroid will in fact hit the Earth for many reasons. the first reason is that the asteroid is simply too far away to know where the asteroid will be in over 4 years. Also, the odds of an asteroid hitting the Earth is 1 in 909,000. So if I’m not be overly confident I believe that we are in pretty safe hands. But, if something like that were going to happen, i just hope everyone has a happy and fun 4 years.
Super Bowl and Olympic Security
Posted on: January 31, 2010
In light of the recent attempts of terrorism on Christmas Day, the government has increased security operations for the Super Bowl and Winter Olympics. Sports and government officials saw many lapses in the previous security that was set up, because of this they are adjusting with increased screening efforts. More full body scanners are being provided for the airports and possibly for Olympic venues as well.
Olympic Security
This increase in safety with help ease the mind of both the audience and the athletes and make for a more enjoyable experience, especially for the Olympics. The Olympics works hard to represent peace and unity between the world, and a terrorist attack would be destructive of that goal. Thankfully, government officials are now working hard to update their technology in order to make for a safer and more relaxed environment. The Olympic committee is working hard to heighten awareness of possible terrorist attacks to both athletes and observers, and this new security protocol with aid the committee in getting this message across.
Hits For Kids
Posted on: January 31, 2010
Not only is Kevin Youkilis a two time World Series champion, an American League gold glove first basemen and Red Sox MVP, he is also a “great person.” He recently started the foundation “Hits for Kids.” In this organization he gives back to kids who endure difficult challenges such as, medical or emotional distress. For example, kids who go through the day
Kevin Youkilis
without support from a nurturing or loving family, and also kids who live within a community that lacks the resources for them to grow and learn. His goal is to raise awareness and funds for people who are dealing with these types of challenges. Kevin’s latest charitable undertaking is to equip all the community baseball fields and to increase the safety in Boston so that the kids can enjoy the game they love.
It is great to see that the most talented individuals in baseball are also spending a great amount of time helping those who have not been as fortune as they have and also living up to the fact that kids look up to them as their heroes.
The Jury Box Smuggle
Posted on: January 31, 2010
Felisha Trujillo
In Pueblo County a twenty two year old woman worked a plan with her incarcerated boyfriend to get narcotics into jail this Wednesday. Phil Martinez, the twenty six year old boyfriend, supposedly dropped a bag of narcotics in the jury box before his girlfriend; Felicia Trujillo arrived for her hearing later that day. This drug smuggle was busted when Elisha and Philbrilliantly discussed the plot over a monitored phone line. So, when Phil slyly placed the narcotics into the jury box before Felisha’s hearing, the detectives were watching. Thankfully our police officers aren’t as “brilliant” as Phil and Felisha.
On a more serious note, it is really good to know that jails in this day and age are equipped with the technology to stop things like this from happening.
Deadly Mexican Party
Posted on: January 31, 2010
Mourning Family Members
Saturday night a group of armed men stormed a party on the Mexican border, in Ciudad Juarez. Thirteen high school and college students were killed, ten died on the scene and three died at local hospitals. These group of young adults gathered to watch a boxing match in a housing complex when suddenly two trucks pulled up loaded with armed men who opened fire. The young adults in the home whose ages ranged from 15-20 are said to have no connection to drug trafficking, this was the first thought because the city of Ciudad Juarez is home to several drug cartel bosses who are battling for turf. But after many interviews withfellow members of the housing complex it seems as though it was a “huge mistake.” More then 2,250 people were killed in this battle for land control. Police and thousands of troops are attempting to seize the land control battles.
What happened to these thirteen kids was tragic, and seems as though it was completely undeserved. It’s unfortunate that kids who are not involved in drug trafficking still fall victim to it from time to time. Hopefully, with this deadly gun show police in Mexico can start to quickly identify suspects which will possibly result in the down fall of drug disputes.
The Pendleton Panther 
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