Recently by Kourtney Puckett

Yesterday in Greensburg, Kansas, President Bush spoke at the ceremony of 18 high school seniors. This small town was the target of a destructive tornado last year. Eleven people were killed and most of the town was destroyed. Graduates were able to hear an encouraging speech from Bush illustrating their perseverance and determination after such a devastating event. I think it was a great idea for Bush to speak at this particular graduation because he was not only able to boost the spirits of the graduates, but the community as well. More details are found in the article below:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24455818/

I was disgusted today while reading about an Austrian man who locked his daughter in his basement for 24 years, repeatedly raped her, and fathered seven children with her. My question does not involve why someone would do such a sick and inhumane thing, but rather how no one knew about the activities going on for all that time. According to the story on www.msnbc.com the father made up a story about how she joined a cult and disappeared many years ago. It sickens me to think how horrible it must have been to be imprisoned and abused like that. I cannot believe know one realized what was going on before now, and I hope nothing like this will ever go on again.

Here is a link to the story:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24337573/

Earlier today, junior Mario Chalmers announced his decision to join teammates Brandon Rush and Darrell Arthur in the NBA Draft. He does not plan to sign with an agent, which makes it possible for him to come back to KU for his senior season. I believe Mario is a great player, and his shot that sent the team into overtime during the National Championship game was obviously amazing. Did that shot alone, however, influence his decision to enter into the NBA draft this year? I think it has a huge impact on his decision because of all the hype surrounding him the past few weeks. Do I think he is at the level he needs to be to enter the draft right now? No, I don't. Waiting another year would definitely be beneficial to his skill development. I wish him the best, but hope if he gets drafted he doesn't regret it. I would hate to see the hype around him go away, and have that result in him being a bench warmer for a team in the NBA instead of a superstar for the Jayhawks.

Here is the link to the article and his press conference announcement on video from KUsports.com: http://www2.kusports.com/news/2008/apr/23/chalmers_hold_2_pm_press_conference/

Although I know many violent crimes occur in large cities, I was still shocked and disappointed after learning of this story. 31 people were shot in Chicago over the weekend, ranging from ages 12 to 65, and 6 people have now died from the incidents. A representative for the Chicago police department shared crime statistics from two previous years on this exact weekend, and he revealed that the homicide numbers for each of these weekends was very similar. Most of these homicides were gang-related and involved gun violence. Officials said that the majority of violent acts related to gangs happened in the summer, though. It seems obvious to me that higher crime rates during the summer are connected to young people not being supervised or taken care of. Responsibility, however, cannot be placed only the the parents of these children, but also on the media's portrayal of violence as a necessary component for young (and also old) people alike. Young people involved in these gangs obviously learn this behavior from somewhere other than their guardians during the crime-filled summer months, and in my opinion the media is part of the problem.

Here is the link to the story:
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=6091849