Welcome to the Issues of the Week Discussion!

Hello, everybody!

This is where 10% of your grade begins. The rules for the discussions are as follows:

1. You will be posting a blog on an issue. What you will do is EMAIL to me the blog on the issue you wish to cover and the commentary you wish to add to the topic (you've got to start the conversation, naturally). I will post it up on the blog site for your classmates; whereupon, the discussion will begin.

2. You will also be responsible for CONTRIBUTING your thoughts, comments, theories, comparisons, rants, raves, inquiries, outrage, etc. on each of the blogs posted by your classmates. It's a give-and-take discussion, as well it should be.

3. Your blog postings and responses must NOT be anonymous. It wouldn't make much sense to grade an anonymous contributor when I wouldn't know to whom to grant the grade exactly, would it?

4. Since your blog postings and commentaries aren't going to be anonymous, I expect you to respond thoughtfully and intelligently. Please note, however, that I will not censor your writing. I strongly adhere to the ideology of freedom of speech. I simply ask that you refrain from using vacuous vulgarities and brash insults directed at your fellow commentators. That's not adequate argumentation, in any case.

5. Your blog issue will be on a CURRENT topic that's debatable. This may require you to start reading the newspaper, watching the tube, browsing the internet, and so forth. Direct your blog commentators to certain stories/articles on the topic as well, to assist in your discussion and their contributions.

6. Bear in mind, folks, I'll be contributing as well! Don't let MY vantage dissuade you from posting either (in good argumentations, no side is 100% right or wrong!). That certainly ISN'T what freedom of speech entails. In other words, feel free to disagree with my views, too; just be prepared to back up your claim!

7. Have a good time with this. What I hope this blog will do is free your mind a bit, and give you some ideas as to research paper topics you might not have thought of before!


So, without further adieu... Let's begin with something easy --

Each of you introduce yourself and give us ONE pet peeve -- one thing that irritates you -- big or small -- that really gets under your skin.

I'll start:

I'm MacKenzie Jennings (duh), and I am quite irritated with Nextel owners. The reason is obvious: I simply don't wish to hear about anyone else's personal affairs while in public. If Nextel users could all apply to be guests on Jerry Springer, they'd have a better public forum where equally annoyed "listeners" could vent their frustrations out on them and vice versa.