TeenSpeak Online is a website dedicated solely to allow teens to express their opinions, as well as learn about others opinions on various issues affecting both the world and teens directly today. We are based primarily in the form of editorials, allowing our staff writers and visitors to give us their insight on the issues. We stress freedom of speech and we encourage teens to express their opinions, however profanity and other inappropriate conduct will not be allowed under any circumstances. Our all teen editors and staffers work hard to make this environment both free yet appropriate, and we trust that all visitors will uphold our high standards of conduct. Regardless, we are not a blog, and we try to ensure a standard of quality and relevance in our staffers' writing. We are always looking for new editorials, opinions, ideas and much much more! If you are interested in becoming a part of TeenSpeak, visit our Join Us! page. http://www.teenspeakonline.com/opinions001.htm ©2006 TeenSpeak Online. All rights reserved. http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Sun, 30 Apr 2006 07:48:26 -0400 teenspeakeditor@gmail.com (Victor Rudo) Sun, 30 Apr 2006 07:48:10 -0400 FeedForAll Mac v1.6 (1.6.0.8) unlicensed version I think I can safely say that George W. Bush is not a very popular president. According to CBS’s latest poll (April 5-9, 2006), only 37% of the people interviewed approve of the President, which isn’t good news for Bush. The President has been heavily criticized for, among other things, his handling of the economy, the War in Iraq, and his policy on immigration... By Aaron Freedman http://www.teenspeakonline.com/opinionslinkIMPEACH001.htm Sun, 30 Apr 2006 00:12:27 -0400 Children's safety online is a great problem nowadays as the internet, perhaps the greatest humanity achievement, breaks very easily any rules and laws mainly because it can be accessed anywhere by anyone. The internet is actually a whole new sort of cyber universe that cannot be controlled. Thus, the internet becomes also a vast hiding-place for criminals, cold-blooded merchants, fans of blood... By Grosu Luciana http://www.teenspeakonline.com/opinionslinkINTERNET001.htm Sun, 30 Apr 2006 00:34:54 -0400 Searching for a part-time job is a familiar task for many high school students. Whether it's the need for extra income, something to put on a college application, or just a way to spend time and meet people after school, teenagers have always filled employers’ need for relatively low-paying, unskilled jobs. But now, teenagers may be getting some additional competition... By Victor Rudo http://www.teenspeakonline.com/opinionslinkIMMIGRANTS001.htm teenspeakeditor@gmail.com (Victor Rudo) Sun, 23 Apr 2006 12:29:34 -0400 On an overseas trip to the Bahamas, Victor Rudo explores the amount of influence various outside cultures have on life in this island paradise. Through conversations with local citizens, both young and old, and his own insights, Victor hopes to give viewers a better idea of how culture spreads in this TSO TV segment... By Victor Rudo rtsp://lsh165.siteprotect.com:1554/teenspeakonline/Culture_Abroad_The_Bahamas.rm teenspeakeditor@gmail.com (Victor Rudo) Sun, 16 Apr 2006 20:54:40 -0400 Science and religion have been known to conflict in modern day. What with the evolution versus creationism debate that seems to be springing up throughout television and magazines, people seem to consider science almost a separate religion in itself, complete with heavily devoted followers called scientists. Ask the average person what the heavily religious medieval folk thought back in the day about science... By Ilana Strauss http://www.teenspeakonline.com/opinionslinkCREATION001.htm Fri, 07 Apr 2006 19:52:30 -0400 In President Bush’s 2001 speech regarding stem cell research he stated, “I also believe human life is a sacred gift from our Creator. I worry about a culture that devalues life, and believe as your President I have an important obligation to foster and encourage respect for life in America”. However, this speech was not in favor of saving lives through embryonic stem cells... By Jacob K. http://www.teenspeakonline.com/opinionslinkSTEMCELLS001.htm Fri, 07 Apr 2006 19:25:53 -0400 Genetically modified foods are foods whose genes have been altered using recombinant DNA technology. Certain desirable genes from one organism are transferred into the food to enhance quality, enhance taste, add nutrients, conserve soil, conserve water, and conserve energy. Based on my research, I believe genetically modifying food is... By Kelli Jansen http://www.teenspeakonline.com/opinionslinkFOOD001.htm Sat, 25 Mar 2006 12:22:13 -0400 Two years before President George Bush’s term as U.S. president is slated to end, the President may already be sealing his historical fate. The President emerged after the tragic events of September 11th, 2001, as a champion of national security and the defender of freedom both in the U.S. and throughout the world... By Victor Rudo http://teenspeakonline.com/opinionslinkLEGACY002.htm teenspeakeditor@gmail.com (Victor Rudo) Sat, 12 Mar 2006 00:50:00 -0400 President Bush has recently sent a new budget to the Senate that plans to solidify the controversial tax cuts of 2003. When the budget is submitted, the debate regarding this issue will likely resurface. Hopefully, the Senate will see the benefit this tax cut has had on the American economy. Making the tax cuts permanent is a very important issue for the American economy... By Jacob K. http://teenspeakonline.com/opinionslinkTAXCUTS001.htm Fri, 24 Feb 2006 21:52:45 -0500 As Mahatma Gandhi once said, “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.” We all know what Gandhi is saying: Be the bigger person; take the high road; do unto others as you would have them do unto you. It’s a simple moral we have all been taught since our first days in preschool. Human nature tells us what is wrong and what is right, and we know that if someone hits us first, we don’t have the right to hit them back... By Deborah Goldberg http://www.teenspeakonline.com/opinionslinkDEATHPENALTY.htm Tue, 21 Feb 2006 21:24:01 -0400 The problem with education is that we don’t learn anything... By Ilana Strauss http://www.teenspeakonline.com/opinionslinkEDUCATION001.htm Mon, 20 Feb 2006 1:27:33 -0400 Last time the voting age was lowered, in 1971 with the passing of the 26th Amendment, it was the fastest ratified Amendment in US history. The age was lowered from twenty-one to eighteen because eighteen and nineteen year olds were dying for this country in the Vietnam War... By Kelli Jansen http://teenspeakonline.com/opinionslinkVOTINGAGE001.htm Mon, 13 Feb 2006 16:15:53 -0400 Finals week; two of the most high pressure weeks of the school year. 20% of your grade, on the line in little over an hour. Not according to some teachers, however, who have begun partaking in the now common practice of finals “double-dipping.” But what exactly is double-dipping? It’s certainly not the kind with freedom fries and ketchup, but rather when a teacher assigns a multi-part, some in class, some out of class final. And at Censored for Security High School, it’s becoming more and more common... By Victor Rudo http://www.teenspeakonline.com/opinionslinkFINALS001.htm teenspeakeditor@gmail.com (Victor Rudo) Sat, 11 Feb 2006 13:14:11 -0400 Over sixty years ago, the world was enthralled with the most pressing, destructive, and lethal conflict of our time. Thousands of square miles of territory, thousands of villages, towns and cities, and perhaps billions of livelihoods were destroyed or dramatically altered forever. The conflict? World War II. The victors? The Allies. And undoubtedly leading the charge to victory over some of the greatest evil the world has ever known was the unbelievable industrial base of 1940’s America... By Victor Rudo http://www.teenspeakonline.com/opinionslinkTHIRDWORLD001.htm teenspeakeditor@gmail.com (Victor Rudo) Sat, 11 Feb 2006 13:06:19 -0400 I will easily be the first to say that President George W. Bush is not the best representative of the Republican Party. The man that I believe is the best representative of our party is a senator from Arizona, John McCain... By Justin Yap http://www.teenspeakonline.com/opinionslinkMCCAIN001.htm teenspeakopinions@gmail.com (Justin Yap) Sat, 11 Feb 2006 13:01:35 -0400 What is being achieved by having the teenage sex law which prohibits minors from having sex? Juvenile’s records are supposed to be kept private, but their sex lives aren’t? Having sex is a personal choice, and if one wants to have sex why should a law be in his or her way? Everyone owns his or her own body, and sometimes things beyond our control happen. A teenager shouldn’t be arrested for urges that physically can’t be restrained. According to a poll conducted by People Magazine and NBC News, of the one thousand thirteen to sixteen year olds questioned, thirty-four percent of them had performed sexual intercourse for the first time to “satisfy a sexual desire.” To “satisfy a sexual desire” was the third most major reason for the teenagers to have had sex, after “[meeting] the right person” and “curiosity.”... By Anonymus http://www.teenspeakonline.com/opinionslinkRELATIONSHIPS001.htm Fri, 27 Jan 2006 13:14:25 -0400 Today, the idea of abortion in society has reached all time high levels in the minds of many Americans, especially teenagers. Science, in the past century, has taken the fight against religious beliefs to a higher level as well. Abortion has lately been at the dead center of the fight between science and religion... By Justin Yap http://www.teenspeakonline.com/opinionsABORTION001.htm teenspeakopinions@gmail.com (Justin Yap) Tue, 14 Jan 2006 20:48:27 -0400 2005 has been one of the most volatile years in recent history. However, as we look back at another year in our lives, we find that it is not often man who dictated the actions of 2005. Indeed, Mother Nature, like never before, played a pivotal role last year. http://www.teenspeakonline.com/opinionslinkYEAR001.htm teenspeakeditor@gmail.com (Victor Rudo) Thu, 29 Dec 2005 14:58:06 -0400 5,691 fatalities. Thousands more seriously injured. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety in a 2003 study, driving accidents are the leading cause of death amongst teenagers. That’s a frightening statistic, and the State of Illinois is out to change it... By Victor Rudo http://www.teenspeakonline.com/opinionslinkDRIVING001.htm teenspeakeditor@gmail.com (Victor Rudo) Sat, 10 Dec 2005 13:25:43 -0400 Omitted for security), Illinois is generally considered an affluent community with upper middle class citizens. However, in Lake County alone the percentage of the population in poverty is 6.4%, according to the United States Census Bureau... By Victor Rudo http://www.teenspeakonline.com/opinionslinkPOVERTY001.htm teenspeakeditor@gmail.com (Victor Rudo) Sat, 10 Dec 2005 13:14:39 -0400 Every generation has its own set of trusted television news journalists. The earliest TV-watching Americans had Walter Cronkite and Edward R. Murrow. Our parents' generation had Peter Jennings*, Tom Brokaw, and Dan Rather. As these last three prestigious journalists fade from the television screen, it marks the end of one of the great generations of television news anchors. Now, young adults must find their own trustworthy and generation-defining TV news figure. Early indications show that they already have one in mind: Jon Stewart... http://www.teenspeakonline.com/opinionslinkJONSTEWART001.htm teenspeakeditor@gmail.com (Victor Rudo) Sat, 10 Dec 2005 13:13:26 -0400