Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely

Monarchies are the stuff of legend. Kings, Queens, Princesses, and Princes have been idolized and pictured in books, movies, and television. But what are monarchies?

There are four types of monarchies:

1. Absolute Monarchy: monarch has absolute power over government
2. Limited Monarchy: transition to constitutional monarchy but the new government is not fully formed
3. Constitutional Monarchy: monarch is merely a figurehead and there is usually a parliament or other type of constitutional government also in place
4. Elective Monarchy: Monarchs are not born in to power rather they are elected

Monarchy Facts:

• 44 countries recognize the Queen of England as their ruler
• Japan is the world's oldest monarchy beginning in 660 B.C.
• The Windsor's are the most well known monarchy in the world
• You can relinquish your right to the throne in order to marry someone of a different religion or caliber
• The succession to the throne is regulated not only through descent, but also by Parliamentary statute

Help our children learn geography!

It has been well documented that the American education system...shall we say lacks in comparison to other countries. That's not to say we haven't tried to educate our children early so we don't have another Miss South Carolina situation on our hands. A report out in 2006 showed nearly two-thirds of Americans aged 18 to 24 still cannot find Iraq on a map. With shows like Sesame Street, as well as shows from our generation, such as Animaniacs and Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego, there is hope for future generations.

The Animaniacs

Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?

Sesame Street

Bong Hits 4 Jesus

If you think the Supreme Court is a bunch of stuffy men in black robes discussing boring old cases this one might make you think again.  Joseph Fredrick,  18, decided to skip school one day and stand across the street to watch the 2002 Olympic torch go by.  While the procession passed, Fredrick held up  a sign saying "Bong hits 4 Jesus".  The school suspended him and Fredrick claimed the school violated his first ammendment rights.

This Is My Generation...

Television hasn't been around that long, but some of America's most important times have been spent sitting around it watching worldwide historic events. TV producers recognized the television's importance and made an effort to portray the "every day American family".

"American Dreams", a television show airing from 2002-2005, depicted the everyday 1960s family. Although I didn't live through that time period, I fell in love with the family depicted on the show and, according to my Mother, the accuracy of the time portrayed. The dad is the head of the household. He is kind, but firm with his family. The mother is a housewife, typical of women then, but she feels restless. She did eventually go to college for some courses. There are four children in the Pryor household. JJ, the oldest, is a football star but he eventually gets drafted for the Vietnam War. Meg, the center of the show, is struggling to find her own identity. She dances on American Bandstand. Patty is a genius and youngest brother Will was stricken with Polio as an infant and now walks with braces.

This show captures the innocence of the time, but also the private battles going on inside the home. This was the time before hippies, rebellion, and where father really did know best. This show was good wholesome television that taught me about what I wanted to be like. They dealt with issues like drugs, drinking, school, and disobeying adults but in an appropriate way. It was a drama so not every show was cleaned up all neat and tidy at the end of the hour, but yet the audience was always left with a happy feeling.

This show didn't depict my generation, but I feel it's the most accurate description of America by a television show.

"I'm like the Lady Gaga of the Ice"

Legend has it I was only one week old when I first saw the winter Olympics. Okay that's a little bit of exaggeration...my mom watched them while she was up with me in the middle of the night when I was only a week old. Anyways, when I was 10 my real appreciation for the winter Olympics began. I sat in my den, fixated on the screen where Tara Lipinski won the gold in figure skating.

Since then I have favored the winter Olympics and the athleticism that goes with it: The grace of figure skating, speed of speed skating, the danger of skeleton, and the pure athleticism of snowboarding. Not to mention watching people literally fly during ski jumping.

This year my eyes are focused on Johnny Weir, an American figure skater. Overall, he placed 6th but he was number 1 in my heart. For the man that wears sparkles and feathers and said he wanted to make Lady Gaga proud with his costumes, I salute you!

Writing this article I decided to do a little research about the pinnacle in winter sports. Did you know summer and winter games occurred the same year until 1994 when they began alternating every other even year?

As I write this the USA is winning the medal count with 30 and Germany is next in line with 26 so go team America!

Playing Ketchup...Why Fast Food Goes to Your Waistline Fast

We as a culture want everything fast. The internet can get us any information we need fast. Cell phones and text messages allow us to contact anyone, anywhere, anytime. We want our food just as fast. It used to be people used meals as a time to sit down and bond over good conversation with those they care about. Now, it's something you buy in your car and scarf down on your way to somewhere else.

Not only is this food fast, but it's FATTENING! It's been studied that men and women should eat roughly 2,000 calories a day: less for women and more for men. A McDonalds big mac has 590 calories! That's over 1/4 of the daily calorie intake for the average American.

Not only do we eat like this and not even think twice about it, but we're PROUD OF IT! We have websites bragging about the obscene amount of food we intake and show it off. No wonder why the world hates us.

Proofedding nd whey its imprtont

We all know the embarrassment of getting a paper back and seeing misspelled words or sentence fragments circled in red pen.  These are easy things we could catch if we just had bothered to re-read our work.  It may sound like a simple thing but I can tell you first hand that I've gotten many an essay back where something....even just one word...was misspelled.