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Staff
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Gun Control
Statistics gathered in 1996 indicated that 15 deaths were handgun-related in Japan, 30 in England, and 106 in Canada. In the United States, the number of handgun-related deaths reached a staggering number: 9,390. The recent massacre at Colombine High School in Colorado has re-ignited the spark of debate over gun control laws. Should we outlaw public license, or is it true that those who want to kill will find a way? Will stricter gun control laws cause our citizens to be more vulnerable rather than safer? Do the laws really make the difference, or does the problem stem from some other source? For citizens of the United States, maybe the question should be: what are those other 3 countries doing that the US isn't? -Ann related links
Manners are the Law?
A group in Louisiana (i think - someone correct me if the state's wrong) wants to make it Law to say "yes, ma'am" or "no, sir" in schools. If students didn't use these terms of respect when addressing their teachers, they'd be breaking the law - doing something illegal. Is this a plausible pursuit of respect?
I don't think so. Manners are something that should be taught in the home. While it is true that an aweful lot of parents don't teach their children manners . . .that, in fact, parents these days tend to raise brats who think they own the world . . .it is possible and lawful for a teacher to make manners a rule in his/her class, or for manners to be included in school policy, without making juvenile delinquents out of misguided children.
-Ann
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JFK, Jr
7/21/99
The wreck of John F. Kennedy, Jr. and the recent news of the recovery of the plane and his body is something which has saddened the United States as a whole and has captured the attention of other countries as well. This is also an ideal topic for debate, since the Kennedy family has been in the public eye since the days of John F. Kennedy's term as President.
Some call the Kennedys "the Royal Family" of the United States. There's the question of why so very many members of the family have met with untimely deaths. Is it a curse, or is it simply a matter of chance?
On that last debate I'll post my opinion here: the Kennedys have suffered so much, I think, largely because 1) they do have a large family, and 2) they are (and have been for a long time) in the public eye, which subjects them to risks most people don't face. Assissination is the obvious one, but even in this most recent event lurks the fact that riches play a part, too. Not many people (in the scheme of things) fly their own planes, and those that do are usually the ones who make a living at it. It is only the rich who buy planes and fly them just "for the fun of it."
-Ann
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