http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34068710/ns/business-economy_at_a_crossroads/

This article is about how the recession is causing it to become harder and harder for black people to find jobs. Since the recession began the national unemployment rate went from 4.9% to 10.2% and the black unemployment rate went from 8.9% to 15.7%. Some people believe that as the economy recovers, many black people will still have trouble finding jobs because the recession has eliminated many working-class jobs in the US.
This article makes news because it affects many of the working black people in the US and can even affect any working person in the US because this could change how well other people find jobs as well.
I think this is true because since its become harder for businesses to employe more people now, they are becoming alot more picky about who they hire. I dont think this is fair because they are not hiring people because of thier race.

1. What are your thoughts, feelings, etc, as you read these articles?

I think the stress of working so much with all of these people that had been through so much and listening to their problem really got to him. He had to hear what all these people went through and the fear of being deployed also really got to him along with his strong dislike for the war.

2. What role do you think terrorism played in this massacre, if any? Why? Do you think that there was an terrorist organization behind the shooting?

The fact that he posted his strong opinions for the war and his very strong dislike for it could suggest that he was involved with terrorism but really have no idea.

3. What role did racism or religious persecution play in this incident? Why?

Many people think that he did it because of his race. Just because he was Muslim he did it. He said that he didnt want to have to kill people that were of the same religion as him.

4. Do you think a lot of Muslim Americans have the same feelings as this man? Why or why not?

I think some of them may of them think similarly to him, because they can be singled out because of their race, and they may not feel comfortable going to a country and killing people of the same race as them. But many of may feel more American and probably don't feel the same and him.

5. What do you think the military could have done to prevent this from happening? Why do you believe this? Were there signs that this man had the potential to do something like this? What were they?

The military could have probably talked to the psychologists and see how they were feeling and if listening to all these people were affecting them in anyway.

6. Talk about the leadership of Kimberly Munley (the woman who stopped the shooter). What did she do? How would you have reacted in the same situation?

Munley showed leadership because she stepped up and risked her life to stop the shooter. She knew if she was going to save many peoples lives, she was going to have to risk her owns and the shooters. I'm not sure what i would do if I was in her situation, it wouldn't be too hard to shoot the guy, but risking your own life is hard to do.

7. What does this incident say about race relations in America? Specifically with Arab-Americans and Muslims? Is there a reason that Muslims and people from the Arab world feel a certain way about America?

I don't really think he did it because of his race, but I think because of his race he had certain feelings that contributed to what caused him to do it. I think that many people single out people of those races, which can cause them to have certain feelings about America.

Article Summary

Leading With Integrity
http://www.leadershiparticles.net/Article/Leading-with-Integrity/2406

This article states that leadership is often defined as getting people to do what you want. It says that many people try to trick people into following them or to do what they want. The article says that this is a shortcut to leadership and won’t help you achieve any long-term goals. This type of leadership makes many people suspicious of you and wont give you a good foundation. To be a good leader you have to have integrity and earn people’s trust. The article says that leading with integrity means that you will follow through with what you say whether you want to or not, and doing things for the better good. It also says that you have to be responsible. They support people’s decisions and don’t take back things that they say or do.
The article’s mainly talks about how a good leader has to have integrity and respect. This article will affect a lot of people because even if you are not a strong or important leader, its very important everyone to have integrity and be respectful everyday. Being honest and respectful is something they teach all over the world starting from the day you were born. It’s important for a leader to have integrity because many people want to follow someone who has good morals. If they don’t that can cause many more people to be disrespectful and treat others badly.
I agree with this article because I wouldn’t follow someone I do not trust, that might be tricking me or using me for something. I think its very important for not only leaders, but for everyone to have integrity and be respectful because that is something we learn that we should be at a very young age and is a basic part of life.

heabdutt article

1. What are your thoughts about this case? How did the video make you feel or think? Should the athlete be charged criminally for this act? Why/Why not?

This video is very surprising, football is a very aggressive sport, but what this kid did is very unnecessary. I think he should be charged criminally because whether he was on the field or not, he assaulted the other player.

2. When competing in contact sports, should you have the same rights and protections as you would as an ordinary citizen regarding assault or should there be an expectation of violence? Why/Why not?

I think you should have to same rights and protections because there are rules for contact sports and if they are broken or you are assaulted then that should be dealt with. In cases like this one the player should definitely be charged because the other player had no protection and was at a vulnerable point.

3. From each stakeholder perspective I want you to answer the following:
Here are the stakeholders: both players, each players parent, police (or state), teammates of both players, the coach, the athletic director and principal. FROM EACH OF THESE PERSPECTIVES I WANT YOU TO ANSWER THE QUESTIONS SO YOU SHOULD HAVE 9 different stakeholder perspectives!!



Player 1 (assaulter):
-I didn't realize his helmet was falling off until it was too late and I couldn't stop myself in time.
-If this happened to me I would probably be very upset and it probably hurt really bad.
-They should look into the fact that i didn't do it on purpose, they have no proof that i did.

Player 2 (assaulted):
-This was completely unfair, I cant believe anyone would ever do that.
-This guy definitely needs to be charged for something after what he did.
-He should deffinately be charged with some crime for what he did to me.

Parent 1:
-I cant believe my son would do something like that I couldn't be more embarrassed.
-Unfortunately my son should be punished for what he did.
-He will for sure be punished by me and probably the team, but he shouldn't do to jail.

Parent 2:
-I cant believe anyone would do that, I mean its high school football there is no point in hurting someone like that.
-This boy has to be punished, he flat out assaulted my son.
-He has to be charged for that crime, its outrageous what he did.

Teammates 1:
-That was pretty sweet what he did but now he put a bad name to our team.
-Being charged for a crime is pretty extreme, he should just be suspended from a few games.
-What he did was wrong, but at the same time it was pretty awesome, maybe he should just be suspended from one game.

Teammates 2:
-I cant believe he did that, he did it for no reason, thats completely unfair especially since he didn't even have his helmet on.
-This kid shouldn't be able to play for the rest of the season and should be charged with something.
-This guy should be suspended for the rest of the season.

Coach:
-I'm very disappointed in my player, that shows very bad character and he put a bad reputation on our entire team.
-He will not be playing for me for a long time.
-I only want to suspend him for a few games, what he did was wrong but hes a very strong player and we need him.

Principle:
-This boy did something completely unnecessary and put a bad name to our school.
-He will not be playing sports at our school for a while.
-He should be suspended from the team for the rest of the year.

Educational Leadership Article

This article is about how the recession is affection colleges throughout the US. It says that no one knows for sure what will happen to the higher education in the US, but it does mention some certainties and possibilities. Many colleges are getting less applications, some are hiring less or reconsidering tenure for people and other jobs. Others are canceling or postponing major investments or building plans, or making major budget cuts. People are expected to look for more leaders for the higher education through politics and businesses.

This article has a large impact on education in the US. A majority of American's go to college or have a higher-level of education at some point. This affects anyone who is currently going to college or who is planning on going to college at some point. This also has a very large impact on anyone who works for or at a college. The article also states that more presidents will come from a business background than an educational background. This will change the decisions made for the US and for education throughout the country.

I don't have a very strong opinion about the politics involved in this because I don't have a very strong opinion about politics. I do think that this will have a very large impact on education and how it is viewed. The change in education will then change other jobs throughout the country because less people might be going to colleges or getting degrees or be getting as good of an education as they should. I think its interesting that people may begin to look for leaders that are more political or business than educational. This could be a good think because these people may have different views and ideas on how to change things than the education people.

Article Summary

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,569262,00.html

This article is about a trafficking ring that sold babies in China. The ring has earned about $60,000 by trafficking over 52 children over the past two years. In the article it talks about how China has a very strong black market for girls and women being sold as laborers or brides. Baby boys, who cost more than baby girls, are also very popular in the black market. China's one-child policy limits many families to having only one child, some families sell thier female babies so they can have a boy.
This article makes news because of the oddity of it. It's very odd to year about people selling babies on the black market. Because of this event the Chinesepolice will probably monitor the black market more closely along with the families in China. This will mostly affect the children that were sold because if they were traded through the black market, they will probably grow up in difficult living conditions. This will also affect many families in China because new families will most likely be more closely monitored to see if they have children and what thay do with their children.
I think this is really weird and wrong. This is very similar to slavery because these people being sold have no say or control over thier lives. Some of them are even being sold to become slaves.

Blog #4

1.Write about the following: In your recent reading, what has your author/main character said that has stood out to you. Something they did or said, A quote, an experience they had that you had a reaction to?

One thing the main character did that stood out to me a lot is when he gets the note and doesnt do anyting about it, ever after he gets a call from the person who left the note. This really bugged me because he kept on giving himself reasons for why he shouldn't believe its real even when there are all these clear hints. Since he didnt take it seriously, he found another note on his car and now he has an even more difficult decision to make.

2. Talk about someone you know who either lives by the characteristics or traits your author talks about or lives like the subject of your book. Someone who you believe does what the author says to do/or lives by.

The main character kinda reminds me of my brother because hes very quiet and keeps to himself alot. He likes to stay out of other peoples business as much as he can but hes still a good listener and can give really good advice.

3. Is it important for us to study leadership? Is it important for us to look at what others say or do as inspiration or as an example of how to live or lead? Why or why not?

I think it is important because it shows how certain sitiuations came to be because of the way they were handeled or lead. It can open up people's minds and can help them view different things and get a better understanding of what other people are going through.

Blog #3

1. Reactions to the latest pages you have read. What have you found interesting so far? What do you agree/disagree with?
When Billy finds the note he takes it to his friend Lanny who happens t0 be a cop. They decide that the note is just a prank and decide not to do anything about it. This bugs me a little because they don't know for sure if its a prank or not but it still involves killing someone so i still would have taken it more seriously. Even after Billy gets a call from the person who left the note, he still doesn't take it seriously which really bothered me. Now that a women has died he gets another note saying, "if you dont go to the police and get them involved, i will kill an unmarried man who won't much be missed by the world. If you do go to the police, i will kill a young mother of two. You have 5 hours to decide. The choice is yours." He now has less time an a harder decision to make because he should take the note to the police, but then he will kill a mother of two.

2. What leadership traits has the subject of your book shown? Or what leadership traits has your author talked about being important? Use specific examples from the book including page number.

This book shows making critical decictions can have a very large impact on people. You have to stand up for what you think is right. After Billy finds the second note, he wants to take both notes to the police, but his friend Lanny doesnt want to because he could lose his job or get into alot of trouble for not taking action when Billy brought the first note to him. Billy still thinks he should take the notes to the police because someones life is more important than someones job, even if its a good friend thats losing their job.

3. Talk about a specific quote or passage that has stood out to you so far. What is it? Why do you feel it is important?

Theres a part in the book that talkes about this bar and the bar owner that says, " The tavern had no name. Or, rather, its function was its name. The sign at the top of the pole, as you turned from thestate highway into the elmencircled parking lot, said only TAVERN. Jakie O'Hara owned the place. He has no desire to see his name on the sign. As a boy Jackie wanted to be a priest. He wanted to help people. He wanted to lead them to God." It continues to talk about how Jakie realized that being a priest wasnt really for him, but by having a bar he learned he can guide people in a different way. I like this passage becasue he likes to help people and doesnt need his name to be known or doesnt need it on his bar because he's happy with being descrete and calm.

4. Give me an example of a time that you had to make an ethical decision. What was the situation? Who (no names necessary) was involved? What was the ethical dilemma? Ultimately what did you decide to do and why?

One decision i had to make was when a girl i work with asked me to work for her last minute one night but i already had plans. I decided to work for her anyway because she was working for me later in the week so it made sense to be fair.

Blog #2

1. Your reactions to what you have read so far since last time you posted. Have any of your thoughts about the book changed? What has stood out so far? What do you agree/disagree with?

2. Have your views of what you thought leadership was changed in any way so far? If so How?

3. Can you relate a time when you were put in a leadership position. What was it? How do you feel you did in this position? Is there anything you regret? What would you do differently?

4. Following up from the question above, citing particular quotes or passages from the book, write about something you can use that the author said or did when you are put in leadership role now or in the future.


1) Not a lot has changed in my book since the last post, the book is still talking about this man, Billy and his life. There's not really anything for me to agree with or disagree with in the book right now. At the very end of the chapter Billy finds the note on his car, that tells him he has to decide to save a young school teacher or an elderly women involved in charity work. At first he doesn't take the note seriously and i think i would probably do the same, i wouldn't know what to think about it. I stopped at that point so I'm eager to find out what happens next.

2) My views on leadership haven't changed yet because not a whole lot has happened in the book yet. But based on the note he found, he's going to be a leader because he has to make a very critical decision.

3) I have never been in a leadership position as serious as this one. In soccer sometimes i have to decide between treating someone like a friend and let their mistakes go or telling them what they are doing wrong and possibly start a conflict. I decided to talk to my teammate by giving them little suggestions rather then just confronting them all at once and possibly hurting their feelings. I don't regret this decision because it helped resolve the problem and prevent other conflicts between my other teammates in the future.

4) So far there haven't been any quotes that show leadership yet, just the fact that Billy has to make this critical decision.

Blog # 1

"If you dont take this not the the police and get them involved, I will kell a lovely blond schooltacher somewhere in Napa County.

If you do take this note to the police, i will instead kill and elderly women active in charity work.

You have six hours to decide.
The choice is yours."

In the book im reading called "Velocity" by Dean Koontz, this is the first thing a read when i opened the book. This book is fiction but shows leadership because the man has to chose between witch person he is going to save.

I havent gotten very far in the book yet, so all ive read about so far is how the main character, Billy is a bar owner who is a very laid-back and reserved person. The book describes his personality by talking about another man named Ned Pearsall, who is a regular at Billy's bar. Ned is a very arrogant man who toasts to his neighbor that died 4 years ago. At least once a week he toasts to how happy he is that his neighbor died. Ned describes to a tourist the ridiculous fued they had, evern though he thinks it was a big deal. The whole time Billy is calmly and casually narrorating Ned's story with little interest, but when the tourist asks Billy about his life he has nothing to tell him.

hey :)