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About The amplifier. (West Linn, Oregon) 1921-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 1, 2008)
6 2 Forum Misuse of "post yourself" web sites causes concern u J ackie S teeh ________ Staff Reporter "Post yourself" web sites allow people to post photos of themselves and others, write about their personal lives, and write about how they are feeling. Unfortunately, they can also put users at risk, cause embarrassment, be misused, and can have long term effects. When creating a Facebook or MySpace, the user is given the choice to stay private or go public with information such as birth date and hometown. Even though there are many opportunities to make an individual page private, there are still many ways for the public to find out what people are posting or what messages have been sent. Although there many other "post yourself" web sites, Facebook and MySpace are the most popular. Both of these web sites provide wonderful ways to connect with distant relatives or communicate with friends. But here is the problem: Facebook and MySpace open up the opportunity for people to rant about people, post inappropriate pictures of themselves and o th ers, and publish other wisely. Putting every bit of personal information online is not very smart. Sexual post pictures on the page. Most of the time users share photos of vacations, illegal substances. Not only is this inappropriate, but it can cause problems if weblogcartoons com A (A I A TRYI NG- MORE T o FRI END 5 in form ation th at can cau se future problems. "Post yourself" web sites are a good way to connect with people. I think that anyone should be able to use them. But these web sites must be used predators and identity thieves are always online looking for easy targets. All "post yourself' web sites allow people to friends or activities. This is commonly abused by teens and adults. People will post risque images, or photos of themselves and others using adults or authorities see it. Inappropriate pictures can have a negative impact now and in the future. When signing up for McCain supporters, it's not the end of the world a M ax H ays _________ _ _ _ _ _ Staff Reporter For all you die-hard John McCain supporters who are planning to move to Canada now that Barack Obama is our president elect, this is not the first sign of the apocalypse. Some people seem to be under the impression that Obama is now dictator of the United States. Well, he is not. If you don't know already, America is a democratic nation with a checks and balances system so no one person or group has too much power. One misconception is that the president can veto any law that comes across his desk. Yes, he can veto any law, but just because he invokes this power does not mean that the law won’t be put into effect. If Congress believes that the veto is unconstitutional, it can override the president's veto with a two thirds majority in both the House of Representatives and in the Senate. Many people argue that since the House is 54 percent Democrat and the Senate is even in the amount of Republicans and Democrats, that everything will be in favor of the Democrats. But since there needs to be a two thirds vote, some will have to vote the opposite for a veto to be overridden. Another common belief is that the president can appoint anyone to any position throughout the federal government. But, once again, Congress has to approve his appointments for the Cabinet, the Sub cabinet, members of regulatory commissions, ambassadors, judges and other advisory boards. This makes it so that the president cannot just appoint all the positions surrounding him to be people who will just agree with everything he says. The president also cannot create treaties with any country that he wants to. Congress has the ability to approve or deny treaties that the president proposes. The president is not the one who declares war either. Congress must declare war, so when everyone blamed President-elect Barack Obama President George W. Bush for declaring war, it was in fact Congress that did so. To all of you would-be Canadians, please do not do anything that you might regret and realize that Obama is not our dictator, but the president of a democracy where the people control the government. It is up to us to turn things Facebook and MySpace, the website asks for information such as first and last name, city and state, birth date, home and cell phone number, address, activities, favorite movies, relationship status, religion, political views, present high school attended, etc. Not all of these questions are required to be answered, but if some of these are answered, like home and cell phone number, address, city and state, birth date, there is risk of identity theft. Some ways to avoid misuse of these web sites are to withhold information that is not required. If it is required, make sure the information being posted is safe. Don't post anger towards others, especially authority figures. Parents or peers may see this and report it to that person. Also, make sure pictures are appropriate for everyone to see and are nothing that might cause shame later. Colleges and employers sometimes consult the website to check out applicants. Facebook, MySpace, and other "post yourself" web sites are fun to use and are great ways to connect with friends and family. But one must be cautious when using them. To legalize or not to legalize? iariliiii________________ a continued from page 4 The benefits of industrial Hemp are vast, according to the North American Industrial Hemp Council. Hemp seed oil can be made into diesel fuel and various forms of cloth and paper. There is no concrete evidence on either side whether marijuana is all good or all bad. Those who are in support of it will always argue that it is very harmless, more resembling an herbal supplement that a drug and believe it would be beneficial to the failing economy. On the other side are those who fervently believe it should be illegal in every form. Regardless, everyone needs to open their minds to the other side. Whether you smoke it, ostracize it, receive relief from it or don't care about it one way or another marijuana DOES affect you and IS affecting those around you. So educate yourself, be aware of what is going on around you and form an opinion, because in two short years an act could be passed with the potential to alter life in Oregon. ■
