The Worthington ALC

Insider

 Summer School  Issue #3                                                        July 12 ,  2004

Dueling – Is it time to revive a lost tradition?

 

     Exactly 200 years ago, on July 11, 1804, one of the most famous duels took place.  Aaron Burr, Vice-president of the United States, and Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of the Treasury  Faced off in a New Jersey clearing.  Pistols were fired.  Hamilton missed – though some say he shot in the air – but Burr’s shot hit home.  Hamilton lay dead, and Burr was one the run as a wanted man.

 

     The duel came about after both men had spent a decade directing slurs and insults against one another.   Finally, Burr felt his “honor” could be maintained only by killing Hamilton.  Ironically, though murder charges against Burr were eventually dropped, participation in the duel destroyed his reputation even more.  He spent his last years as little more than a political leper.

 

     Perhaps it’s time to revive the tradition of dueling.  If you think about it, it presents a win/win situation.  Not only are quarrelling politicians given the opportunity to feel they are doing something to maintain their “honor,” but the public is rid of both.  One of the participants will inevitably be killed, and the other will be scorned by decent society for the remainder of his life.

 

     Consider the 2002 elections between South Dakota Senator Tim Johnson and Republican contender John Thune.  Good grief, we don’t even live in the state yet we

(Continued à)

 

 

were subjected to umpteen million dollars worth of mudsling ads on the Sioux Falls TV stations. Wouldn’t have two loaded pistols simplified the matter?

 

    Or consider the present presidential election.  Why fight it out over the airways when they can simply go at it with guns?  Or if guns seem too barbaric in our modern age, perhaps the Bush/Kerry battle could be fought in the wrestling ring.  Better yet, how about a steel cage tag-team match between Bush/Cheney and Kerry/Edwards?  Only one team will be permitted to emerge standing (and they will be immediately drummed out of decent society as murdering villains).

 

     True, this remedy would render the country leaderless…  But would that be a bad thing?  After all, if we were a leaderless society, we wouldn’t even know the meaning of the term WMD let alone have gone to war over a bunch of them that didn’t even exist in the first place.  

             Hamilton                 Burr

 

 


 

ALC Insider                                        July 12, 2004                                       Page 2

Spider Man 2 Raises the Bar

By: Mr. Zotalis

 

     There has only been one sequel that I have ever considered to be better than its original version.  That was none other than Empire Strikes Back of the Star Wars Trilogy.  However, being that I consider Stars Wars movies to be works of art, it’s hard to compare them to other films.  Then I went to see Spiderman 2 and my attitude changed.

 

     Yes, it did have the advantage of opening on Fourth of July weekend and yes, it was overly hyped and commercialized.  The fact remains; it is one hell of a movie.

 

     I will admit that there is something special about the first movie in a series.  The original Spiderman was important in the sense that we saw how Peter Parker became a superhero, wrestling the character “Bone Saw” (played by former WWE superstar Randy Savage) and creating a romance with his high school crush Mary Jane Watson

 

     What Spiderman 2 does is use that basic storyline and turn it into 2 hours of special effect driven adventure, emotional twists and turns, and a plot that leaves the audience guessing and gasping for more.  Not only does this film contain exciting scenes of our red and blue hero flying from building to building from his web-filled wrists, but we also see some significant weaknesses from him for the first time. 

 

     In the first movie, Spiderman takes a fairly good physical beating at the hands of the Green Goblin.  However, this time the audience sees not only a physical test, but more importantly an emotional and

 

 

psychological test.  Peter Parker doubts his abilities, his morals, and even the choices he has made in the past.

 

     This self doubt and emotional turbulence is what fuels this movie.  Audiences rarely see the human characteristics in a superhero movie.  By providing this reality, the audience is able to better connect with the film and in turn, enjoy it even more. 

 

     Finally, like any good sequel, the film ends setting up the next movie and leaving the audience wanting more.  It is the perfect summer action movie to go see.  The best thing about this summer blockbuster, however, is that there is a great plot to go along with the great visual effects.

 

     Spiderman 2 raises the bar when it comes to creating sequel films.  So if the weather ever warms up this summer, visit a local air-conditioned theatre and escape from the stresses of your everyday life.  Go see what an action-adventure sequel is supposed to be.

 

 


 

ALC Insider                                       July 12, 2004                                       Page 3

Lesson in Life

By: Scott Arneson

     We spend quite a bit of our time in this society worrying just about everything.  Although, we must admit to ourselves that this is not entirely our fault, we grew up in this society where everyone does.  We worry about whether we are going to be on time or not. We worry about what we are going to do tomorrow, the next day, or next week. We worry about what the future holds for us, what college we will go to, what we will major in, and what job we want to obtain in the future.  In short, we worry pretty much about everything.

 

     We need to just take some time to relax.  Life is not just about what we are going to do in the future, the best part of life can be found in just one moment. Don’t get me wrong, you should think to the future and the consequences of what you do now; but not so much that it suffuses all of your time and causes you to worry about it.  Take some time and enjoy the moment.  Enjoy what you are doing right now and think about the future when it happens.

 

     There is an old say, “Nothing in life is easy.”  Well yes, to accomplish something worthwhile you do have to work at it. However, you just need to change your perspective. Work does not have to be hard, you just need to see the joy in doing it and finally accomplishing your goals. Nothing feels better than knowing that you have accomplished what you set out to do.  To worry about it is futile.

   

     Worry causes stress, stress causes high blood pressure, high blood pressure increases risk of a heart attack. So by worrying about the future you are shortening your life. I have a great-grandmother who is currently 95 and

 

I believe that she will live to be 105. She’s still up and moving about, she has an attitude that that makes her seem immortal. She enjoys every moment that God has given her.

 

    Why worry about life? If you enjoy right now and do what you need to do, you’ll get where you want to go and enjoy every step of the way.  Just remember, life doesn’t have to be difficult.

 

Child killer gets out after 15 years behind the slammer

By: Brittany Palaschak

 

     In 1987 in Pine City, New York, Joel Steinberg beat to death his 6-year-ol adopted daughter.  On Wednesday after 15 years behind bars he was released.  Joel is a former lawyer who is now 63 years old.  He worked in the prison as a paralegal.  When he was released he left there with $104 in his pocket.           

     Lisa Steinberg died three days after the beating in Greenwich Village apartment where she lived with Joel and his former lover, Nedda Nussbaum.  When they approached Lisa, she was naked, bruised and not breathing.  They later found she had a split lip, broken ribs, a broken nose and a fractured jaw. 

 

     Nedda said, “Joel stuck Lisa for looking at him, then ignored her injuries and smoked cocaine.” 

 

     Joel's defense attorney offered Joel a free apartment and a $250-a-week job with a local cable television show.  He still has to make regular visits to parole officer through October 2012. 

 

     He still continues to say from this day, “He did not commit the crime.”

 


 

The Insider                                         July 12, 2004                                       Page 4

Dale Earnhardt Jr. picture photo

 “#8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. #8”

By: Brittany Palaschak

 

     His real name is Ralph Dale Earnhardt, Jr.  Most of the time people just call him Dale Jr, “Little E”, or just “Junior.”  This talented boy was born in Concord, NC on October 10, 1974.

 

      Junior’s favorite food would have to be chips and salsa, and chicken.  He’s into lots of rap and alternative rock.  He wants a red corvette, and I’m sure he will get one.  He has a cat name “Bud” (go figure).  His favorite beer he would have to say is Budweiser! (Hum, I wonder why!)  Dale said that his favorite track to drive on would have to be Daytona, even though he lost a great father and a great friend on that track. 

 

     Junior’s father followed in his own father’s footsteps in having Dale Jr. learn the sport from the ground up.  He let him find his own way on how to feel for the car.  Jr. decided as a teenager that he liked to try auto racing, because his grandfather and father were into that. 

 

     Dale says, “He can’t see himself driving longer than age of 40 or, at the most, 45.”  If he had a choice he’d love to be a major part of DEI.  Earnhardt also thinks about fatherhood every time he plays with his 3-year-old niece, Carson. 

(Continued à)

 

     Junior is fun loving and a party animal off the track, but when he straps himself into the racecar on Sundays, he is all business.  Unlike his father in a lot of ways, when it comes to racing, Dale Jr. shows that he can be every big as aggressive of a driver as his father was!

 

 

 

Double Take

Look at this picture and what do you see, a woman looking to the left or an eskimo looking out into the night?

They're both in there. Trust me!

 

 

 

 


 

The Insider                                      July , 2004                                         Page 5

Aggressive Kangaroos

 

By: Kelli Wilking

           

     A warning was issued to Australians living in the nations drought-ravaged capital to keep their distance from aggressive kangaroos after one angry kangaroo attacked a woman and killed a pet dog.  The culprit was an eastern gray kangaroo, which can grow to be more than 5 ½ feet tall and weigh more than 150 pounds.

 

     Murray Evans, a senior wildlife ecologist said the kangaroos could pose a threat to people and dogs with a woman that was savaged by a large eastern gray kangaroo as she was walking her small, pet dog in a paddock last week.                             

 

     Her dog went near the kangaroo and the woman fallowed, but before she knew it the angry kangaroo lunged out and scratched her down the side of her body.  The woman she was walking with told how the kangaroo drowned one of the four dogs, the kangaroo was attacking the dog in a pond and holding it under the water with it’s powerful hind legs

 

     It is not unusual for kangaroos to flee for water when the feel they are in danger, as a last defense they would try to drown their predator with their hind legs. A kangaroo is one marsupial that you don’t want to run into when it’s having a bad day.

 

Jokes

 

WIFE IS A CHICKEN

A man runs to the doctor and says, "Doctor, you've got to help me. My wife thinks she's a chicken!"
The doctor asks, "How long has she had this condition?”   "Two years," says the man.
"Then why did it take you so long to come and see me?" asked the shrink.
The man shrugs his shoulders and replies, "We needed the eggs."

PRESENTS FOR TEACHER

      On the last day of kindergarten, all the children brought presents for their teacher. The florist's son handed the teacher a gift. She shook it, held it up and said, "I bet I know what it is - it's some flowers!"
"That's right!" shouted the little boy.
Then the candy store owner's daughter handed the teacher a gift She held it up, shook it and said. "I bet I know what it is - it's a box of candy!"
"That's right!" shouted the little girl.
The next gift was from the liquor store owner's son. The teacher held it up and saw that it was leaking. She touched a drop with her finger and tasted it. "Is it wine?" she asked.
"No," the boy answered.
The teacher touched another drop to her tongue. "Is it champagne?" she asked.
"No," the boy answered.
Finally, the teacher said, "I give up. What is it?"
The boy replied, "A puppy!" Top of Form

These jokes were brought to you from www.comedy-zone.net



 

The Insider                                      July , 2004                                         Page 6

It Could Have Been Prevented

By Hungphept Rachel Leovan

 

     Have you ever took a second to look at the world’s current situation and just wondered, why? I do, all the time. Recently there had been a terrible event in the news. Cody Posey, 14, shot to death his father, Delbert Paul Posey, stepmother Tryone Posey and 14-year-old stepsister Mary Lee Schmid at newscaster Sam Donaldson’s Ranch Monday.

 

     Donaldson fell upon the crime scene on Tuesday when he stopped by to see if everything was all right but saw an obvious stain in the house. Deputies later found the bodies in a shallow grave near their home at Donaldson's Chavez Canyon Ranch.

 

     What could have motivated this kid to do such a horrible thing? According to Officials, Cody told sheriff's deputies the slap he took from his father, the manager of newsman Sam Donaldson's ranch in southern New Mexico, was more than he could handle. This time, it was across the face for not cleaning horse stalls fast enough, and the teenager said he had enough.

 

Cody took a gun from his stepsister's saddlebag in the barn and went into the house. Tryone Posey, who was reading a book in the living room, was shot twice in the head, according to an affidavit filed in court Thursday.
                     (Continued à)

 

Bottom of Form

Site of brutal murder at Donaldson ranch

 

His father, who came racing into the house, was also shot in the head. Cody confessed to then shooting his stepsister in the head.

 

    The affidavit said the teen shot the girl a second time because she was still moving. The bodies were dragged outside and loaded into the bucket of a backhoe. The affidavit said Cody tried to bury the bodies in one area but couldn't dig a hole.

 

     After hiding the bodies in a manure pile, the affidavit said Cody went to his room, removed his bloody clothes and boots and went to a friend's house about 15 miles away, where he was arrested Wednesday.

 

     "We didn't suspect nothing 'cause he was all happy. We'd never seen him like that," Faustino Salcido told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview Thursday. Salcido said he was present during the questioning by sheriff’s deputies Wednesaday.

 

     Salcido, whose sons Gilbert and Leo are friends of young Posey, said the teen had stayed with his boys Monday and Tuesday

 (Continued on page 6)

 


 

The Insider                                      July , 2004                                         Page 6

(Continued from page 5)

 

going about their typical everyday things. Playing in the river, firing off fireworks, things of that sort. Salcido said that Cody told him that those two days were the best days of his life, and thanked him, but Cody didn't break down until deputies took him away Wednesday for additional questioning.

 

   Salcido said the boy told deputies his father hit him with a shovel and tried to strangle him during the Fourth of July weekend but the boy managed to fight him off. The pattern of abuse was well known to his sons and to others in the community, Salcido said. But no report was made to the deputies and therefore no action was made to stop this abuse. If there had been abuse and it had been duly reported, this whole thing could have been avoided.

 

   Donaldson told the press he had never witnessed any such abuse nor heard of anything against the boy and described the Poseys as "the all-American ranch family." He said Paul Posey was a little hard on his son, but that he never saw the father raise his voice or his hand in anger.

 

     Salcido's two sons said they recalled multiple incidents when Cody Posey showed up at school with black eyes and other bruises and felt certain the injuries resulted from abuse. Gilbert Salcido said,

 

 

 

     "One time he had a big ol' black eye. He said 'I got hit in softball.' We're all, 'A softball couldn't do that.' He finally told us his dad had punched him." "Something caused Cody to snap, because that's not who he is. You can only take abuse so long," the boy's aunt, Corliss Clees of Roswell, told the Albuquerque Journal. "I don't condone what he did, but I don't want to see him go to prison," she said. "He needs help. He's needed help a long time." Cody, 14, was to appear in court Friday on murder charges. District Attorney Scot Key said the boy could face adult penalties, including up to 30 years in prison, if convicted.

 

     This recent tragedy, is what causes me to pause a second of my life, take a look around me, and wonder, who’s next? Because it could have been prevented if we would all just take a second out of our lives to notice, recognize, and acknowledge the true reality of what is really going on. If we, the society, did something and took part in molding and teaching our children again in following good ethics, maybe all this could have been prevented.

 

Ranch owner Sam Donaldson

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

      Click here to read back issues of The Insider