http://www.theonion.com/articles/justin-biebers-rise-and-fall,35114/

When I found this article on the onion I was hoping it would be mocking the gross amount of coverage Justin Bieber's dui has been getting on the news. Is it appropriate that his experiences/mistakes/life should be blown so out of proportion? Or is it important that the idol of so many kids in America be very publicly chastised for his mistakes, in order to prevent kids copying them?

I think this article really brings up the question of what's more important: teaching skills relevant to the future, or past? When looking back on historic documents, cursive is the main form of writing. But, as the author points out, social media and the decreased use of the post office has largely ended the necessity of writing in cursive. I think that because cursive is dying, it shouldn't be included in the common core. I am grateful that I learned it, however struggling to keep it in the basic education of kids seems like grasping onto tradition when it's no longer relevant. Furthermore, translations of old documents written originally in cursive can be found on the internet, and once cursive is taught less often, there won't be a problem with not being able to read a relatives or friends writing.

It's pretty clear to me that journalism should remain as impartial as possible, that's why in the past there has always been an opinions section- separate from the news. But as Mr. Lavezzo would point out, basing an argument on how things have been in the past is a logical fallacy. However, the evidence to back up this view is as populous as always. The main reason is because the news is to inform readers. It's important that everyone knows whats going on in the world, and even more important that they are able to form their own opinion on whats happening. As Mr. Steinhart pointed out earlier this year, people who only watch fox news or msnbc because the biases on those networks reflect their own, get stuck in a loop. They aren't giving themselves opportunities to branch out and consider new ideas. I think that if politicians/everyone only watched unbiased news reports, or read unbiased papers, they wouldn't be stuck in the rigid categories of politics. The fact that Greenwald wants to share more opinions, in areas of journalism that should remain open to interpretation, would only reinforce these problems that are prevalent in politics, and other controversial topics- people would get stuck in their biases.

I like this article a lot, mostly because it's so relevant to my/our current situation. I thought that the author bringing up the statistics about the amounts of homework assigned in past decades really enhanced the story. I disagree with someone's statement that the author pot smoking at the end makes his credibility suffer, actually I thought it made him a more relatable guy, because he is susceptible to realistic problems and temptations just like everyone else.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/04/opinion/mexicos-soda-pop-ploy.html?hp&rref=opinion&_r=0

Is it unfair that the government is supposedly targeting obese people? And even so, if the population benefits, should the tax laws be removed?