States Look at Tobacco to Balance the Budget

By, Shaila Dewan

A big issue in America is a small one in my eyes. This article was about how more than 20 states have increased taxing cigarettes and tobacco companies more to balance the budget. Well, obviously, if you smoke your upset by this, and if you own a company for tobacco you are even more upset. But one thing for sure is if that taxing tobacco more will help our budget then do it. And if taxing tobacco more helps people stop buying a pack of cigarettes, then do it.

On that note, I didn’t think Dewan wrote a good article. When I was looking for a topic to write about the letter to the editor about this article was more interesting than the actual article itself. Her transitions were not smooth and it bored me. Dewan never went into any statics saying that smoking is bad for you and she never got quotes from a tobacco company either .This article was written not biased but didn’t give the reader enough information either.

UConn Clears Agenda for Stanford Rematch

By, David Cadwell

If you are a fan of sports or not a fan, the UCONN women’s story line is interesting to all. Most people watch the super bowl or know when it is. Well, then most people knew that the Patriots with a perfect record lost the most important game of all, a Super Bowl Championship. The UCONN women are put in the same place with a 37-0 record, people are wondering if they are going to be like the Patriots, just a disappointment? But the UCONN women have said they enjoy the pressure and it makes them play better. I hope this is true, because I am a die-heart UCONN women basketball fan and it would truly be a disappointing if they lost the NCAA Championship this year.

But anyways, this headline “UCONN Clears Agenda for Stanford Rematch” is kind of a deceiving title for the article. Yes, they talked about how UCONN lost to Stanford last year in this same situation but that was it. Cadwell did not go into a lot of depth about what the score was, who was playing, or what happened during that game last year. I thought when I was going to read this article it would give me more information about these two rival schools but it did not.

However, this was a well written article. Even thought the title throws you off, the quotes from team members, coaches, and rival players against UCONN were placed elegantly and made a great article.

Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience (2009)

New York Times
Nathan Lee
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/454204/Jonas-Brothers-The-3D-Concert-Experience/overview

Are you kidding me your writing about the Jonas Brothers, might be going through your head right now, but don't mock this blog post until you have read the whole post.


I went to the New York Times and I was looking for an article to blog about. Well, I see a movie review, the Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience(2009). On the news earlier todayit said the Jonas Brothers were showing up at a few of the movie theaters after their movie was over to perform a song. Good way to get people to see your show right? Anyways, the reason for saying that is becuase I thought this review would include that major fact, so i decided to read the review, and if it wasn't included ill hear what the movie was about.

And here is where this blog begins, I read the short review about the movie, and after i was done reading it i was completely DISGUSTED. Why you may ask?
Because of this ...
"If you’ve ever wanted to crawl into Kevin’s chest hair, this is as close as you’re likely to get without incurring a restraining order."

Once i read this, i read it again to make sure i just actually read what i read. Nathan Lee, the writer of the review could have reworded this to say, "If you ever wanted to be within inches of the Jonas Brothers, this is as close as you're likely to get without being removed by a body guard." Most likely, a 4th grader isn't on the New York Times reading this, but for the parents of the child wanting to go watch this movie, what are they thinking about this gross comment?

The Claim: Never Blow Your Nose When You Have a Cold

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/10/health/10real.html?_r=1&em

Anahad O'Connor

This title should be changed to Really? Are You Serious? Did you actually write this article? I’m not sure when this article went bad for me, was it the absurd picture or scrolling down to the end of the page and seeing it was only four paragraphs. For a New York Times article I expect much more information from a well-known newspaper. I also expect after the headline don’t blow your nose there would be more information behind this statement. But there wasn’t. Did they try run experiments with people to see if it worked? No. This article was not just poorly written it is just such an unnecessary article. Anahad O’Connor should have asked a friend on the paper to help them find an article topic.

No Snickering: That Road Sign Means Something Else

A hilarious, but serious issue.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/23/world/europe/23crapstone.html?_r=1&bl&ex=1233032400&en=11a2bd70cd486544&ei=5087%0A
Sarah Lyall



This was a tough topic to write about and make it a good article but Sarah Lyall made it happen. This article is about street and towns names that are inappropriate. Lyall starts the article with,
"When ordering things by telephone, Stewart Pearce tends to take a proactive approach to the inevitable question 'What is your address?” This town is called Crapstone. Crapstone, England. Lyall works off this name and puts in personal experiences that a restaurant owner has encountered over the years with there town name. She then did her reseacher, mostly Lyall googled in "most embrassing street address or towns" and put in some quick facts. After that she went into a serious part in her aritcle, about if this is apportiate and how people in Crapstone feel. Lyall started the article off strong and ended it that way too. She ends with a quote, "Still, when strangers ask where she’s from, she admitted, 'I just say I live near Plymouth."(Meaning she's too embrassed to admit where she is really lives.)



I would recommand reading this article if you need a laugh. =D

He's Leaving. Really.

Think of the most hateful article you have ever read. Well, I'm pretty sure that this one tops it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/15/opinion/15collins.html?_r=1&bl&ex=1232341200&en=4096f0e7da13a6ef&ei=5087%0A
By Gail Collins

Alright, even for a non-political follower, right a way I knew that from the title it was going to be about President Bush. Whether you like President Bush or not, the way Gail Collins criticizes him is without a doubt completely unnecessary.

I guess, in what I'm about to say is going to defend Bush in his actions as President, but I am defending him by the hateful words used in this article.


If you have ever played on a sports team, been on a cast for a play, or any situation where you have second guessed someone, well then you know it is very easy to second guess anyone on a decision they have made. In this op-ed article Collins uses the words, "entire nation" and "everyone" frequently. Well, even though it is her own opinion when your writing about a topic as serious or important as this one you should think that not everyone agrees with your opinion. Bush did not win the 2000 election or 2004 election by just one vote. The American people voted him in, and America thought he was the best candidate at that time.
“Just seemed like yesterday,' he said(President Bush). I think I speak for the entire nation when I say that the way this transition has been dragging on, even yesterday does not seem like yesterday. And the last time George W. Bush did not factor into our lives feels like around 1066."

For some people, but not all when you read an article you can tell the tone the way the writer has written the article. From this article I get the tone sarcastic and hate. No love. Right now he is still our President, and we must respect that.

On the way this op-ed was written. Well if you are not a fan of President Bush most likely the reader got a great laugh out of the article and agreed with Collins and walked away from the computer. Collins mentioned things about President Bush from the Iraqi War to Hurricane Katrina. Her ending not only entertained the reader(which any writer wants to) but disrespected our President on so many levels. Here is Collins ending ...

“My fellow Americans, before I leave you next week I want you to know that ...

A) “Although things have gone very wrong, I take comfort in the realization that Dick Cheney was actually in control from the get-go. Honest, I never even knew half the people in the cabinet.”

B) “Laura and I have come to realize that all things considered, retirement to a mansion in Texas is just totally inappropriate. And so we take our leave to begin a new life as missionaries at a small rescue station in the Gobi desert ...”

C) “Surprise! This has all actually been a bad dream. It’s really still November of 2000 and tomorrow Al Gore is going to be elected president.”

Otherwise, the best possible approach for a farewell address might be for Bush to follow his father’s lead and just not give one."

But you know, maybe I am just over reacting to this article and Collins is dead-on with everything she said. But when I fininished reading this article I got that gut feeling that it was wrong. And the saying goes "go with your gut feeling."

Hanukkah is not a "Jewish Christmas"

http://www.newstimes.com/ci_11284747?IADID=Search-www.newstimes.com-www.newstimes.com

By Nanci G. Hutson
Staff writer

I thought that this was a very interesting topic to write about because most often people around the world do think that Hanukkah is similar to Christmas, almost as if you could compare the two. But, the thing that Hutson tries to show in her article is that Hanukkah and Christmas are nothing alike and they shouldn’t be compared.

Hutson starts off this article by giving background knowledge on both Christmas and Hanukkah. But mainly she goes through how Jewish people will spend Hanukkah; she pulled quotes from people in different areas of CT that the Danbury News Times cover. What Hutson really tries to show is how the Jewish religion and Christian religion are incomparable and that Hanukkah should no more be called a “Jewish Christmas.”

But if I’m being honest, the real reason why I choose this article to blog about is because of all the comments this article got. If you are unaware with what comments means, it is with any online article for the Danbury News Times(and most newspapers) you can leave a comment on the article. This article has already had 75 comments by noon. The majority of these comments were not to tell Hutson how much they like her writing or how they loved the topic of discussion but to cowardly fight online about religion and the celebration Hanukkah and Christmas. This comments were racist and downright mean.

Quotes like this is what is wrong with America, espically around the Holiday Season.

“Jesus was a Jew. You pray to a Jew. You worship a Jew. If Jesus wasn't killed, you'd have no Christian religion. Next time you meet a Jew, go up and say Thank You. Until then, go crawl back under your rock, you puny-brained religious bigot.”

“Hannukkah Chanukah, how many ways are there to spell 1 holiday? or is it holidae? who knows. All I know is menorah's stink, dradles are boring, and Jews love pennies because it's the closest thing to gold they have. I heard an old folk tale that the grand canyon was created by a few Jews looking for a quarter. It just might be the truth”

The point I am trying to make in this post is be careful what you right about or how you write something because sometimes the way a reader interrupts something in your writing may not be the way you wanted the reader to interrupt.