*Sigh*

I was looking through my book marks, and decided I should probably start deleting the ones that I won't be needing anymore. This included several articles on the environment, and a link to an electronic copy of the speech I did as a dramatic interp. I sighed when I deleted that link, and thought about how sad it was that I wouldn't ever have to preform that speech again, I really liked that speech.

Yet another debate year has come to an end, and as I look towards in anticipation of the next season, I also feel a sense of loss. Next year I will be a senior, and will never again be able to compete in NCFCA speech and debate after I graduate. Sure, I can debate in college, but it isn't quite the same. I'll miss all the people I've met through this, and may never see again; and I'll miss good old team policy debate who has been a part of me for almost a third of my life.

So as a look forward to them finally announcing the choices for next years topic (honestly, you'd think they would have done that already) I also dread the passage of time, and attempt to savor every moment I have left.

Until I write again, Au revoir.

~Nat

The Occurrences before Lexington and Concord

Here is another fake (I don't really like that word, I should find another one) news story that I wrote the other day. Have fun reading it.

Editor’s note- I was searching through our archives when I came across this article. Someone had mistakenly placed it in a box with the hate mail and it had been lost for quite some time. The hand written account was full of blots, cross outs and sufficient spelling mistakes to make and English teacher cry. But it explained one of our countries greatest mysteries; a mystery as puzzling as the JFK assassination and how the government faked the moon landing combined. Unfortunately, this article was never printed by this news paper, a loss that has been felt by this country throughout its existence; and it is a loss I intend to rectify by printing this article 225 years after it was originally written.

The Occurrences before Lexington and Concord

By Samuel Franklin

Big Blue Cow News

April 22, 1775

The Colonies weep today, after the tragic loss of life at the battles of Lexington and Concord. “Curse those red coated scum!”Marybeth White, the mother of one of our fallen militia men said. “My only child, my darling sweet little boy; that is what they took from me, what they killed for me.”  Mothers morn for their lost sons, sisters for their brothers and wives for their husbands. The entirety of the colonies are banding together after this enormous tragedy. But until recently, it had remained a mystery as to which side had fired the first shot. “I have not the slightest idea how the battle started,” John McCain, a wounded militia member said. “I heard a gunshot, and pressed my finger down upon the trigger.” The report was the same whether it came from militia men, or British soldiers, no person had the slightest idea of what could have started the battle.

But there is one person who knew the origin of that first, fatal gunshot. “I believe it was I who may have set those young men off,” Betty White (not her real name), a petite old women of about 50 years sat with her cat on her lap and her blunderbuss clutched in her left hand. “I did not intend to start it, but it appears my actions may in some way have caused the battle to commence. Although, I doubt it would have been that much longer before those hot blooded young men began to shoot at each other anyway, regardless of my actions. ” Mrs. White had ventured out that morning to hunt squirrels, “Those pesky critters are always eating my begonias, I had to teach them a lesson,” Mrs. White said.  Upon seeing a squirrel Mrs. White immediately shot at it, “Darn thing got away, scampered up a tree as lively as ever, my shot had missed it completely.” It was then that Mrs. White heard what sounded to her like thunder, and hurried inside, “Of course now I know it was only those hoodlums shooting at each other. If I had known it was not a storm coming, I would have stayed out a while longer. Then I might have actually killed some of those infernal squirrels.”  

Although, this tragic day will forever be engrained in the memories of those people who lost those close to them, and many people will never understand why their loved ones have been taken from them. It is a comfort, at least, to know that there is an answer to one of the questions that sprouted from this horrible occurrence.

Voting

Yesterday, I voted for my first time, it was pretty awesome. Although, it was only the primary and so most of the races consisted of things I didn't know or care about, I spent most of Monday night looking over the Nebraska voters guide and deciding who I would vote for. Call me political nerd if you wish, but I like being able to have some say it what our government does; and after five years of debating about policy in debate rounds, I love being able to have some (small) effect on it. The sad thing is, many people don't share the same opinion as me. In 2008 only 20.5% of those eligible to vote, actually did; and in the general election, only 62.6% voted. Come on people! This our government we're talking about! These people decide our taxes and whether or not we go to war with other countries, how can you not care enough not to vote? Honestly, you can't complain about the government screwing up, when you didn't even try to change it! But I should probably stop ranting now, and go and do something more productive.

Until I write again, au revoir.

~Nat

Regionals Recap

Now that I have mostly gotten over the listlessness that I always get at after every debate tournament, I figured it would be a good time to share what went on at regionals and what God has taught me through this experience.

I went into regionals with to goal of doing my best and having fun, and the hope that it would lead to Alatheia (my debate partner) and I qualifying for NCFCA Nationals in Virginia. Well, I fulfilled my goal; those seven rounds (six preliminary rounds and one out round) were some of the most fun rounds this year, I gave probably one of my best rebuttals ever, we won five of our six preliminary rounds, and my affirmative case went undefeated. But despite all of this success, we didn't qualify for nationals. We lost our octa-finals round to really awesome team, which ended our dream of being able to compete at nationals, and meant we would get 10th at the tournament.

Although I was initially disappointed, going to nationals would have been so much fun and it would have looked great on my transcript, looking back I'm glad we didn't qualify. It would have meant more time to put into debate, and at that point I was perfectly content to be done with the environment. Also, there is the money that would have had to been invested in the trip, money we could ill afford to spend. All in all, I think that God new what he was doing, and he allowed us to do the best we could without qualifying for nationals.

I think Mrs Hudsen (the tournament coordinator for regionals) summed it up best; in the end, all our trophies and awards will just end up in a box, but the experiences that we gain from this will stay with us forever. This past tournament I didn't get that many awards, but I did get a lot of awesome experiences, and I hope that the lessons I learned and the friends I made, will stay with me for years to come.

Before I leave you, I would like to say a big thank you to all of the people who prayed for Alatheia and I throughout this tournament; it was a great comfort to both of us. I would also like to say thank you to God. With Him nothing is impossible, and without Him there is no way would have done as well as we did. He deserves all of the glory and credit for what happened at regionals, and I am so thankful that I have such an awesome God.

Until I write again, au revoir

~Nat

Playing Cards? Really?

I have recently been following the British elections (this is mostly due to the fact that my brother will update me on the interesting stuff with no work or effort on my part), and I find the predicaments their complex electoral has put them in, quite fascinating.

Apart from their problems with a hung parliament (an issue that Wikipedia explains so much better then I can), they also had some difficulty with two candidates getting the same number of votes. The ballots were counted four times, but each time it was the same; Conservative Bob Peck had 1,034 votes and Labour's Charlie Marsden had 1,034 votes.

 But never fear, the British had a way to deal with even this unlikelihood, they brought out a deck of cards. Yes, you did heard me correctly, they decided the seat with a deck of playing cards. Apparently this has happened before, and the way they have to resolve it is to either flip a coin, or cut a deck of cards. Marsden drew a 7 and Peck a 3, meaning that Marsden won the election and settling the dispute.

This whole kerfuffle has just given me one more reason to be glad I'm in America, with it's nice, simple electoral system.

Until next time, farewell.

~Nat