... these areas, Obama again failed to take a personal stance on same-sex marriages (MSNBC). U.S. soldier, Stephen Hill, who is currently completing a tour in Iraq, submitted a video asking about the repeal of the law that banned open gays from serving in the military (MSNBC). "Do you intend to circumvent the progress that has been made for gay and lesbian soldiers in the ... provided Obama with the opportunity to attack his Republican rivals inconspicuously. His poll numbers have been lacking lately, and he needs a reason to rally his liberal base of support before the November 2012 electi...

• Word Count: 643
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... -Marine, abused the bodies after the women had died, and then stashed their bodies around his house, prompting neighbors to complain of a foul stench, which they believed was coming from a neighborhood sausage shop. On July 22nd, he was convicted of 11 counts of aggravated murder and more than 70 other charges, including abusing corpses and kidnapping. The defense attorneys are pressing for a life ... dead bodies bruised and battered and then dumped around the house and yard in trash bags. Mary Myers, a psychologist, retired police captain, and teacher at the University of Akron, believe...

• Word Count: 803
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... don't click, often separating the two parties can be dicey. People in real life generally meet in workplace situations, or in similar social settings, or because of mutual friends. It's hard to simply cut bait. On the internet, you can generally click ignore and move on. If it doesn't work out, ... communicating. In real life, a couple can slow intimacy down by involving themselves in a movie or a game. They don't have to actually speak. The benefit of internet dating, when it comes to intimacy is that speaking is a requirement. People get to know each other very well before hopping in ...

• Word Count: 499
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... al-Assad dismisses the "armed saboteur groups" who he believes are participating in a conspiracy against the government. Since the campaign began, thousands of citizens have been killed, although the exact number is hard to define because Syria has banned all international media. In fact, the army typically ... fires at citizens who attempt to film any of the action. Undeterred, the general public is still taking to the streets to protest the government. Frustrated by the fact that their ... even more violent in order to get their way. Joshua Landis, a Syria specialist associated with ...

• Word Count: 795
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... preferences shouldn't determine whether or not they can marry. To the latter group, gay and lesbian couples should have the same civil rights as heterosexual couples, including the right to legally marry. Advocates for same-sex marriage purport that to deny a couple, no matter what their sexes ... them with some legal and economic security. Another argument against the issue stems from the belief that the primary, if not only, purpose of marriage is procreation. Since procreation is obviously not possible between a same-sex couple, they argue, these couples should not be allowed to marr...

• Word Count: 559
• Approx Pages: 2
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... hanging out at town hall meetings, and those that are can be easily swayed into the fray with a couple of well placed phrases from highly paid lobbyists posing as the "trustworthy looking older gentleman/lady" from "down the street". The phrase "one bad apple spoils the bunch" is well known among crowd control experts. In fact, experts have known ... it is to sway the crowd in such a way as to be picked up by the 24 hour news cycle, thus broadcasting a few choice buzz phrases to millions instead of the mere dozens in the town hall meeting. The amazing thing about this sort of negative ...

• Word Count: 888
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography

... large salaries in U.S. dollars. "What happens is that Venezuelan baseball players, because they come from humble, low-income backgrounds, even though they earn a lot of money, they don't have that mentality of protecting themselves, of contracting private security services, bodyguards and security rings," Garcia said (Matuszewski). The U.S. State Department also stepped in to remind travelers to use caution. Venezuela experiences ... the near future. "We need to transmit the message to MLB that we do watch out for the security of our foreign players in the country and that we'll tighten...

• Word Count: 584
• Approx Pages: 2
• Has Bibliography

Although protestors in Egypt won their longstanding fight against the country's military rule and succeeded in overthrowing their oppressive leader, Hosni Mubarak, the demonstrations continue, and citizens still do not trust the democratic elections that began on November 27th. The first ever elections for Egypt will begin at 8 AM and will determine the members of the lower house. These elections consist of three stages spanning until January. Upper house elections will take place from January until March, and then the presidential election will begin (CNN). Egyptian citizens have waited for t...

• Word Count: 173
• Approx Pages: 1
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... . Conrad Murray, the personal physician of the late Michael Jackson, took a turn for the worse after the 911 call was played to jurors on September 29th. Murray chose not to call for an ambulance for nearly ... know CPR?" although he was the doctor on hand. Murray then calmly told Alvarez that the singer had "a bad reaction" and needed to be taken to the hospital. However, instead of calling an ambulance right away, he collected medical vials and pill bottles and instructed Alvarez to put them in a bag. The most suspicious evidence so far is that Murray asked ... bag containing "a milk...

• Word Count: 528
• Approx Pages: 2
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... the product for Y amount. It's easy to mistake banks as falling into the same category, especially when they ding you for using outside ATM machines, monthly service fees, multiple fee fees, and etc. The list goes on. The truth of banking, however is that banks are not in business to ... a Wonderful Life" during a run on the bank, Jimmy Stewart's character explains that he doesn't have the cash on hand to pay out all of the bank accounts of the account holders. Their money is spread into things like the loans on each other's houses and businesses. What Jimmy doesn't talk about is a ... ...

• Word Count: 578
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... but from all the jobs lost in the industries that supply them. If all of the big three shut down, nationwide, over 3,000,000 jobs would be lost. We have always thought of the auto industry as being based in Michigan, but in fact, suppliers are spread across 27 states. Over ... 1.1 percent of Ohio's work force would be put out of work, at a time when the state is already struggling. This type of job loss would roughly double the ... unemployment rate, and surely send us into an economic spiral that would take decades to pull out of ... The gravy train has to stop. In order for the auto ...

• Word Count: 578
• Approx Pages: 2
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... the banks and how greed brought them down. We did not hear about how greedy the construction and real estate sales market was. All of the blame seemed to be put on the financial sector, when in fact, these two industries were actually complicit in pushing for more lenient ... into the construction and sales of new homes. In bedroom communities of larger cities, entire economies were built on the bed of sand that was the housing construction industry. Small town budgets collapsed with the housing boom. In some small towns, such as North Port, Florida, a bedroom community of Sarasota, the...

• Word Count: 579
• Approx Pages: 2
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... the downtown scene. But not always in a positive way. Dancehall, like most music, is a form of self expression. It is an art form through which the entertainers explore and relate the events and issues of their lives. In dancehall's infancy, the message was predominantly light-hearted and even humorous, and it ... was always kept more or less clean. That is not the case anymore. Probably as a way to shake things up and get themselves noticed with ... fresh eyes and ears, some dancehall artists chose to start using dirty lyrics in their songs. The songs started to glorify the underworld,...

• Word Count: 446
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... at different ages. For many, the future is not pretty. "The average check is about $1000 now. With inflation continuing to skyrocket upwards of 12% in recent years, and the administration only calculating increases to Social Security at around 3%, Americans are going to be seeing less and less ... from the government when they retire," Nabers says. This problem, although not new, is coming to a head, as the first Baby Boomers hit 62 this year. The largest population of senior citizens is about to tax the agency, at a time when it is cutting staff and budgets and finding it ... harder t...

• Word Count: 465
• Approx Pages: 2
• Has Bibliography

... wound to his head. That was it. They didn't say anything about anything else," his mother recalls (FOX23news.com). She also reported, "We were told he was shot by one of those very long rifles and there's no way he could have done it himself. There's no way this was suicide" (Grondahl). Also pointing to the fact that Jones' death could ... be more than a suicide is the cryptic message he left for his girlfriend. "I love you," he told her. "By the time you get this, I will be gone" (Bailey). The Department of Defense has yet to confirm his death because of a policy of a 72-hour waiting p...

• Word Count: 539
• Approx Pages: 2
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... Iraq on December 15th - nine years after US forces stepped foot on the foreign ground. US troops initially staged a war to rid Iraq of the weapons of mass destruction that they were thought to possess, but after almost a decade in the hostile country, no such weapons were found. Instead, ... provided Muslims with a solid foundation for their hatred towards Americans. With American troops absent from the country, Iraq has a long and arduous road ahead of rebuilding (Shanker). "Let me be clear: Iraq will be tested in the days ahead - by terrorism, and by those who seek to divide, ... by e...

• Word Count: 292
• Approx Pages: 1
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... are those hired by banks to change the locks and take over homes that have been foreclosed. There have been an increasing number of cases where these companies have actually shown up before the foreclosure process is even finished. Nancy Jacobini, an Orlando resident, locked herself in ... man hired by Jacobini's bank, JPMorgan Cahase. The bank has since admitted its mistake. Jacobini's attorney, Matt Weidner, claims that these instances are examples of financial institutions "running amuck." "What we have right now is lawlessness across the country. Banks and institutions are circumvent...

• Word Count: 541
• Approx Pages: 2
• Has Bibliography

... has to travel before it gets on your plate is 1,500 miles. That travel could be by container ship, by truck or by train. Regardless of the mode of transport, carbon emissions are created to get that food to you. Eating locally reduces those carbon emissions. If a farmer drives 30 miles into the ... used than if those turnips were shipped from Mexico. There are other reasons why consumers choose to eat local foods. The most important of these is the transparency of the production process. You can see the farmer that grew the tomato or see the cow that ends up in your freezer. Domestic ....

• Word Count: 506
• Approx Pages: 2
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... campaign, presidential candidate Herman Cain suddenly recalled the financial settlement he was a part of years before. In the late 1990's, as the head of the National Restaurant Association, Cain battled two sexual harassment claims involving two different women, although he later remembered the first accusation and denies remembering the second accusation altogether (Oliphant). "My ... such an instance, but when pressed later by radio host, Laura Ingraham, Cain suddenly remembered the instance. "The word settlement suggested to me some sort of legal settlement," he explained about the...

• Word Count: 530
• Approx Pages: 2
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... retailers have announced no plans to pass on the savings to customers (The Chicago Tribune). However, even Durbin disagrees with the bank's decision to maintain profits by charging customers. "Bank of America is trying to find new ways to pad its profits by sticking it to its customers," he said (The Chicago Tribune). The backlash from their most recent announcement about ... and wide, showing up across the Web on message boards and social media, as well as on cable news channels. Gerri Willis from the Fox Business Network personal shredded her own Bank of America debit card on air, cla...

• Word Count: 395
• Approx Pages: 2
• Has Bibliography

Florida has added a constitutional ban on the union of same-sex couples in the state. Amendment 2 would classify a marriage as a union that is only allowable between a man and a woman. To overturn the amendment, less than 60 percent of votes against it would be needed. Amendment 2 received 62 percent of votes of support, denying those in same-sex unions the opportunity to enter into a legally binding marriage ... contract. Many supporters of the ban believe that it will stop ... were used for the ballot drive to attempt to keep the court system from legalizing gay marriages in the state of F...

• Word Count: 363
• Approx Pages: 1
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... was "no clinical reason" and "no safety reason" for Venofer's smaller doses, according to Dr. Michael Auerbach, an expert at Georgetown University. Dr. Daniel Coyne, a nephrologist at Washington University School of Medicine, agreed with Auerbach that it was "absolutely true" that Venofer's dosages were amiss to increase revenue (Pollack). "How could it possibly be that patients in DaVita facilities were getting ... not to participate, prompting an amended complaint by the nurse and doctor. According to Bill Myers, a spokesman for DaVita, the federal government's choice not to join the ...

• Word Count: 525
• Approx Pages: 2
• Has Bibliography

... Open coverage on NBC Sunday, the network aired a controversial, patriotic montage that showed children saying the Pledge of Allegiance. To the disgust of many of the viewers, NBC edited the words "under God" and "indivisible" in the first version and omitted "one nation" as well in the second version. Within hours, social media outlets were flooded with outraged viewers protesting against ... NBC's omission. NBC's announcer publicly apologized on-air just three hours after the montage aired, highlighting the large number of protests they received online. The announcer said the "feature w...

• Word Count: 835
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

As companies start to recover from the economic recession, President Obama promised to make government an ally. "We can, and we must, work together," he told the US Chamber of Commerce. "Whatever differences we may have, I know that all of us share a deep, abiding belief in this country, a belief in our people, a belief in the principles that have made America's economy the envy of ... " (Dennis). In an attempt to reconcile the differences between his administration and the US Chamber of Commerce, Obama walked the block to the Chamber headquarters. Once there, he joked "I'm in the interest of ...

• Word Count: 1052
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... saw the abuse being dealt by the church. Their first report listed several issues involving Scientology's highest leaders, particularly David Miscavige, who succeeded L. Ron Hubbard as Scientology's leader. The issues included physical abuse of staff, mental abuse and cruelty, high pressure marketing tactics, character assignation, and threats. Miscavige was reported to have taken ruthless control ... his resignation to the chief spokesman for the Church of Scientology International, Tommy Davis. Haggis became disenchanted with the church ten months prior to his resignation after a memb...

• Word Count: 548
• Approx Pages: 2
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate