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Gulf Oil Spill: the Secrets BP Won’t Share

British Petroleum or BP has had a tough time of it as of late, and with little wonder. Still reeling from the gulf oil spill of 2010, the petroleum giant seems to be ensnared in a myriad of secrets relating to the incident that’s been noted as the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history. Their lack of swift action in the April 2010 catastrophe drew heavy criticism from the public, environmental agencies and the White House, prompting President Barack Obama to begin the establishment of an independent commission to investigate the leak and say “Plug the damn hole” in an unusual show of force and irritation on the part of the usually even keeled president.
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Grad school or no grad school…that is the question

I’ve never liked school.

Ever since the first grade, I’ve tried to think of ways to get out of going to school. I played every line in the book. It made me become a bit of a hypochondriac, which came in handy while living with my parents, but once I made it to college, I couldn’t fool myself.

No sickness could help me escape the fact that I couldn’t wait to get out of school. In middle school and high school I had a countdown taped to the inside of my locker that kept track of my closest break.

While college is much better, 17 straight years of education has proven to be incredibly draining. Yet, somehow, I find myself considering going to…graduate school.

(Oh, kill me.)

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God and football: The public prayer dilemma

When one thinks of pregame rituals for football, many people would consider the prayer part of it.  It has been seen in movies like “Varsity Blues,” “The Replacements” and “Remember the Titans.”  No one can dispute that it has taken place, and many embrace the practice, but the question has come up in recent years about legality.

The Constitution specifically states that we are to be a country forged not under a single religion, but that we are to embrace those that come from many.  Even with Christianity in all of its forms being the majority religious belief, according to a study done in March 2009 reported by the Christian Post, the number of non-religious Americans has doubled in every state from 1990.  On top of the decline in Christian believers, the total non-believer population has gone form 8 to 15 percent in the time frame.  This includes atheists (no God) and agnostics (not sure), as well as deistics (belief in a higher power, but not necessarily God).

The study also shows that mainline Christianity and Catholicism are on contraction, shedding numbers overall (some minor sects showing small gains, however) while a generic brand of Christianity has begun to consume a good portion of the non-denominational believers.

With prayer still being commonplace in sport, there are even some that wish to have public prayer before games for the crowd to take part in as well.  Given the data on the contraction in religious Americans over the last two decades, for us to uphold the rights granted to the populace by our government, this would be an offense against those who are of a non-Christian faith.

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Gotta get away? There’s no better time than now

Whether it’s a trip to the Golden State or the Golden Kingdom, airline prices have been slashed as a result of the current (slumping, to use a euphemistic term) economic situation. Even more than this, many theme parks, hotels and other various travel destinations are now offering deals on admission, stays, meals and just about everything else in an effort to keep tourism afloat in a time when we all have little bucks to buy with.

I can’t think of a single reason not to take advantage, and here’s a little help:

Top budget travel destinations for 2009 (according to Budget Travel):

If you’re really looking to save – and maybe even help stimulate that slumping economy we were just talking about – stick to the U.S. for all your travel desires. Here are those top three spots:

Austin, Texas. This city is chalk full of free and affordable events this year, such as the Austin City Music Festival (Oct. 2-4). Austin is also known for its good weather, pop culture, diversified private and public sectors and art.

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