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Archive - 2007

February 20th

Senior Citizens Hit the Books

When Constance Puleo of Verona, N.J. wakes up in the morning, she prepares for class like most college students do: she hops in the shower, grabs a quick bite to eat and reviews her homework assignments before driving to her first class of the day.

In fact, Puleo is just like any other typical college attendee – except she’s nearly fifty years older than the rest of her classmates.

“When I get into school, you can see the difference in my age,” she says. “But after awhile, we’re friends. It’s fun. I think the kids are great, too.”


February 18th

Not Just Background Music

Many prime time television fans over the past couple years will never forget how they felt when they watched Joey climb through Dawson’s window, Seth kiss Summer while dangling upside down from the rooftop in true Spiderman form, and Meredith’s reaction to McDreamy’s past. Some viewers may also remember the music complementing those scenes that consciously or unconsciously helped play on their emotions.


February 7th

An Unnoticed Crime

A week ago, Taliban militants took over a town in southern Afghanistan. Around 200 fighters rushed the Musa Qala and neutralized local police authorities. The group held hostages during the first days of the town’s capture.

After a NATO airstrike on Sunday, in which the local leader was killed, there is confidence that the Afghan government will regain control of the town. Beside help from the International Security Assistance Force, national militia will be aided by the resistance of the people.


February 5th

Empathy's Requiem

The most regrettable certainty to develop in the seven years since America’s election of George Bush is that handfuls to hundreds die with every sun that rises in Iraq. Every morning, newspapers in the United States serve as death toll bulletins for that day’s rash of violence. The AP reports mirror the emotional connections that a majority of American citizens have to the sectarian conflict. There is, I sense, a considerable detachment on our parts.

But it isn’t complacency or comfort that cut the cord to our sentiment. It’s habituation.


January 13th

"Who Wants an Ugly, Stupid Kid?"

In lieu of covering '08 Presidential hopefuls' responses to the Bush administration's plan to increase the number of troops in Iraq, I think I'd like to write a little bit about the American dream.