Opinion

While our president has been studying abroad over the last couple of weeks, there has not been a shortage of attacks from Republicans and conservatives. Their attacks have ranged from the dumb, such as Barack Obama no longer wanting America to be a superpower, to the hilarious, with Rush Limbaugh saying that the only reason the stock market is up is because Obama is overseas and can't "run" the economy from over there. Now I understand conservative angst and desperation. The Democrats were out of power for awhile in Congress and the executive branch, and they probably said and did some outrageous things while being in the minority. But throwing Boston Tea-Party-like tea parties? Come on.

It's a well-known fact that teachers are grossly underpaid for the crucial work they perform: teaching and imparting information to us so as to better prepare students for the world after school and college. So it comes as no surprise that the rotten economy's adverse effects on teachers has created a large amount of controversy in school districts, households and classrooms across America. Orange County and its surrounding areas are no exception.

As students, we've all had to write essays for classes that don't particularly interest us, seem irrelevant or simply don't fit into our busy schedules. But that's the life of a student; writing essays is just part of the routine. Or is it?

Whenever it seems like Orange County can't get any more conservative than it already is, it goes ahead and surprises me. The Orange County Board of Supervisors recently voted to suspend the county's education contract with Planned Parenthood because the organization performs abortions, despite the fact that county money is not used to perform them.

When the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) posted its annual report for 2008, the figures seemed promising for the county's central transportation agency. Despite sharp increases in the price of gasoline – or, perhaps, because of it – bus rider-ship reached an all-time high of nearly 69 million, a very decent figure for a county as car-obsessed as ours.

As of late, naval ships armed with the advanced Aegis Combat System from the United States, Japan and South Korea are on high alert along the shores of the Korean peninsula as a result of the looming threat of a North Korean "satellite" launch, which violates United Nations Resolution 1718, and is expected to take place between April 4 and 8.

Defending Rush Limbaugh, who publicly said, "The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People should have riot rehearsal," bothers many conservatives, including myself. However, disagreeing with a statement (hopefully) made for shock value is not a valid enough reason to stop listening altogether. On the contrary, when I hear, see or read something that stuns or appalls me, I usually react by attempting to learn more.

With a newly Democratic White House, Rush Limbaugh is experiencing resurgence in popularity and controversy. Limbaugh's boisterous personality, combined with his far right political views, creates an intense maelstrom of controversy and an equally intense fan base. A Los Angeles Times writer challenged liberals to "expand" their points of view by actually listening to an entire Limbaugh show. The writer, Andrew Klavan, wrote that all the claims made about Rushbo in the public forum are misguided and that he is not really racist, hateful or stupid. Klavan is "throwing down the gauntlet" at our "quivering liberal feet" and telling us to listen to Limbaugh.

The days when the Internet was only used for sending e-mails and visiting Web sites have long since passed. Every year, the Internet becomes more and more integrated into our everyday lives. For example, as of late, the Internet has become our new television, broadcasting just about any show or series shown on television for free. In fact, so many people now tune in online rather than on their televisions that networks are wondering if giving free access to their shows online is a sustainable model.

The state of California and activists groups are outraged … at Smirnoff Ice. Smirnoff, along with Mike's Hard Lemonade and other so-called "alcopops," are in the cross-hairs of state legislation that will tax the beverages as spirits or liquor instead of beer, which was supposed to rake in $38 million in revenue for the state, according to The Los Angeles Times.

Immigrant Housing Plan for Citizenship is Elitist

Two television titans, Jon Stewart and Jim Cramer, collided in an interview that is destined to become one of the defining events of our generation.