Patents: For the Benefit of Society
You have probably seen a copyright symbol– © –printed inside of your favorite books or on the backs of CDs. But what do you know of the patent? Both copyrights and patents protect the originators of intellectual property–any idea, process or invention that comes from a person’s mind. Patents, however, can be a very complicated […]
Summer’s Here! Everyone in the (Job) Pool!
Now that school’s out, many of you will hit the pavement in search of your first-ever job. There are many good reasons to start working – to learn a skill, meet some new friends, take on financial responsibility (like car insurance or saving for college), or to to have more independence and say over your […]
Stuff YOU Should Know
Shooting at Fort Hood On April 2, Army Specialist Ivan Lopez opened fire on his colleagues at the Fort Hood military base located in central Texas. Three people were killed and sixteen others were wounded before the gunman killed himself. A 34-year-old veteran of the Iraq War , Lopez was said to have been distraught […]
Stuff YOU Should Know
Oscar Night! Even if you didn’t watch the 86th Annual Academy Awards, you likely saw this picture by host Ellen Degeneres as it made its rounds across the Internet’s social media. Gravity, a science fiction drama about two astronauts stranded in space, won the most awards (many of them technical) with seven. The historical drama 12 […]
YOU DECIDE: The Comcast Merger
Should Comcast be Allowed to Merge with Time Warner Communications? Does your family have cable in your home? How about Internet access? If so, the recent announcement that the country’s number one communications company Comcast has acquired the second-latest communications company Time Warner Cable might affect what you see (and how much you pay). Comcast […]
Economics of the Olympics
There’s been a lot of press out there about how the current Winter Olympic Games is the most expensive in history. But what does this mean exactly? And if the cost to host the Olympics continues to rise to such epic proportions, why do countries keep bidding against one another for the privilege? Who Pays? […]
Stuff YOU Should Know
Polar Vortex Explained If you live in the northeastern quarter of the United States, then you probably spent the first of the year hunkered down waiting for the weather to change. The abnormally low temperatures are being blamed on a phenomenon known as the polar vortex. While it may sound like the name of a […]
50th Anniversary of the War on Poverty
Solving the problem of poverty is a complicated issue as well as a continuing political hot-button topic in America. In 1964 then-president Lyndon B. Johnson made this issue a priority by declaring a “war on poverty” during his first State of the Union speech. On January 8th of this year, Johnson’s daughter, Lynda Johnson Robb, joined […]
Stuff YOU Should Know
Us First! You have probably heard about the Wright Brothers, the guys from Dayton, Ohio who have the credit for building the world’s first operable airplane and making the first human flight. You may also know about Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, the place where the brothers first flew their plane. You might not have heard of […]
UPDATED!! Debt Ceiling Squabble
Last night, the president and Congress overcame their disagreements to end the government shutdown and avoid the possible debt ceiling (also called the debt limit) crisis. Today was the deadline announced by the United States Treasury that the government would have lost its ability to borrow money, relying only on incoming taxes for revenue. The […]