This, and terror, have been the two recent talking points of rather desperate Republicans. Let's take a look at events that have trespassed since Bush has taken office: Despite a vow to keep weapons of mass destruction out of the hands of the 'axis of evil,' North Korea just recently fired a nuclear weapon, and Iran has laughed at possible sanctions from the UN. We invaded the only country in the axis without WMD. So far, at least 50,000 civilians have been killed, over 2,000 US citizens have been killed, and $500 billion a year is spent on operations there. We're now preparing to leave the country in sight of a sectarian war that was not there when we invaded. Despite the aim of fighting terrorism, in a September 6 CBS poll, by a four to one margin Americans said the war in Iraq has increased the risk of a terrorist attack. The budget surplus was quickly turned into a budget deficit. Foreign banks hold trillions of dollars of Treasury bonds. 50 million Americans remain uninsured. The cost of healthcare in America is double that of comparable Western nations, and American life expectancy is lower than in other countries. The No Child Left Behind Act forces public school students to spend time taking pointless, racist, and classist multiple choice tests, and then denies funds to the schools that need it most, the ones with kids from poor minority groups. Case in point is West Philadelphia High, where I tutor, and where I was instructed to help kids practice for standardized tests, rather than teach them actual material, because the school needs money, and money comes from doing well on standardized tests. The US continues to lag in worldwide mathematics and reading standards. The homeland security and military budgets have expanded grossly. Despite this, a plane was able to fly into a Manhattan skyscraper two weeks ago. We are still not monitoring our ports. The military is struggling mightily to find new recruits. Our forces are weighed down in Iraq and Afghanistan, and would be unable to respond to a world crisis. The Hurricane Katrina response was widely regarded to be botched. New Orleans is still in shambles. Despite being a legal procedure under the Supreme Court ruling Roe vs. Wade, an abortion has become increasingly difficult to receive. There has been an increased emphasis on abstinence-only sex education, which I, at a school where a majority of students are sexually active, find incredibly naive. The number of lobbyists has tripled. The only thing that's been going well (recently) is the economy, which is good. But I can't look at the other stuff without thinking that Bush has a sort of reverse Midas touch - anything he touches becomes instantly worse. Sure, the Democrats may not be a great option, as Republicans point out. But, if their ineffectiveness at doing anything to Republicans for the past six years is a judge, they'll be more harmless than anything else. And I'll take harmless over the current administration and Congress any day.

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Remember that you have to eat real food in order to survive. Isn't it crazy that we can derive pleasure from watching pixels move across a screen? I don't mean to be critical, I simply find Second Life fascinating. For some people I'm sure it is a 'second life' - a place to be a different person, a more interesting person than in real life.

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This is my speech from Athenian School's Graduation 2006. I think this is one of the best works I've ever done. "You won’t find the true value of an Athenian education in a classroom. You won’t find it by looking at the fine colleges at which its graduates enroll. You won’t find it, heaven forbid, in SAT, AP, or high school exit-exam scores. You’ll see it if you take a moment to speak to any of the 73 wonderful members of the Class of 2006. They’ll shake your hand, give you a hug, and thank you for coming here today. Then they’ll tell you about their plans for the future – to help out the poor in a Mexican village, to raise money to stop genocide in Darfur, or to develop a compound to make our air cleaner. We are a class that refuses to be bound by stereotypes, a class strengthened by diversity, a class that’s ready to go out in the world and meet life’s challenges head-on. We have been physically tested on AWE, intellectually tested by our teachers and peers from the day we showed up for freshman orientation, and we’ve been emotionally tested, trying to balance two essays, sport practice, and talking through your friend’s girl issues during Concert Week. Well, we’ve made it.

"I think Kurt Hahn said it best when he said, “I regard it as the foremost task of education to insure the survival of these qualities: an enterprising curiosity, an undefeatable spirit, tenacity in pursuit, readiness for sensible self-denial, and above all, compassion.” The true value of Athenian is in its willingness to give its students these tools to succeed. It’s in the school’s struggle to buck a traditional education in favor of one grounded in experiential learning.

"Today, another round of the great Athenian experiment ends. We stand before you, the jury, as a testament to the immense power of educating the whole person, not just the academic one. Our toolkit is full. In a world of high gas prices and increasing anti-American sentiment, there remains much work to be done. I guarantee, in no small part because of this school, that every member of our class will make an impact on the world, wherever they end up. Thank you, congratulations everyone, and good luck."

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While watching my beloved Oakland Athletics in the playoffs, I saw a Chevy ad that ties in America and patriotism to a new Silverado. The ad is disgusting, to say the least. There's some nice country music and patriotic shots of Rosa Parks, MLK, Katrina, 9/11, and others. Stirring stuff. Then right at the end they slip in a Silverado, as if we are supposed to make the association between America and a light-duty full-size truck. Not to mention the car only gets 15-19 miles to the gallon, and something tells me 19 is being generous. I will never buy a Chevy product. Sorry.

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