Mr. Carlson has been in the Capital High system for a long time and now that he is leaving there is a huge process to replace him taking place. The many candidates have been pared down to five prospects. And these five were put to some serious tests. They all had outstanding qualifications and would make a great addition to the Capital High administration family. All of the candidates but one are from out of State and the fifth is our current vice-principal Mr. Chancey. Some came from as far away as Georgia and others were simply returning home after growing up in Helena and moving away. The five candidates were, Rebecca (Becky) Hamm, Mohan(Mo) Vaswani, Walt Chancy, Craig Crawford, and Elisabeth(Lisa) Hudnutt. All the Candidates had a chance to introduce themselves at a reception given at Capital High on March 18th for students, teachers and parents. Anyone with a vested interest in the new principal had an opportunity to grill the candidates at the end of an already rough process.

The process itself was incredibly thorough the candidates had to go through first a written portion with a prompt, next a long extensive interview in from of a panel of 16 and then were paraded around Helena and the school, all the while being watched very closely. All of the candidates were very different and had many things to offer. They were very good with public   and easily won over the crowd at the reception with jokes and personal tidbits. The teachers and parents seemed generally impressed, Jamruska-Wilson, a   teacher in the building commented that, “It looks like we have five very strong candidates.”

Mr. Carlson will be retiring at the end of this year having served 40 years in our building, and he was certainly enjoying the reception. When asked Carlson said that he “enjoyed meeting the candidates, its a great process.” Assuming nothing goes horribly wrong the decision will be made some time in April. The purpose of the board is to provide a very well informed and differing recommendation for Dr. Messenger to help him make the difficult decision between the perspective administrators. There were many rounds of cuts simply to get to the final five position and it seems as if every candidate has a real hunger for the position. All of the perspective administrators talked about how great the community was and how much they enjoyed how successful the school already was. Mohan Vaswani one of the younger prospects was delighted with the atmosphere saying that the school was great and that must be behind “the incredible longevity.”

The reasons for wanting to come to Montana may have differed slightly. Some wanted more responsibility, some wanted a place to raise a family and still others simply wanted to return to their original home. Although many are sad about the departure of a great leader with Randy Carlson it seems as if the future is bright no matter the choice. After a few days of very rigorous interviewing all that was truly revealed was that there seems to be no bad choice for the future of Capital High.

Dressed in black and white, the 8th annual CHS Gala concert was the place to be on March 15th. The CHS band, choir, and orchestra participated in a musical evening at the civic center. Duane Zehr, known as “The Wizard” to the musical folk around Capital, directed the band in “British Irish Suite”, “As Summer Was Just Beginning”, and “Galop.” Darcy Schulz Directed the choir in “I am not Yours”, and “John the Revelator,” and John Pesky directed the orchestra in “Five Pieces for Strings” and “Symphony No.8 in G Finale.” All three performed beautifully. The night continued with the joint piece of “Gloria”. This night didn’t happen last year, and Schulz says she “is glad to have it back.” Another student agreed, saying “this night is full of amazing music and lots of talent.” All in all, it was a treat for anyone who attended. Catch all of these talented students at the choir concert on May 18th at 6:00 at Capital High, the band concert on May 20th at Capital, and april 8th for the Capital’s!

Duh duh duh… that sneaky word, credit, has come up again. Maybe it was a fun commercial singing about some credit report website, or a story on the news about increasing debt due to credit cards. There is an abundance of negative information about credit out there, and for good reason- used incorrectly, credit can not only affect your life in the future, but can drastically affect your lifestyle today!

But what about the good things about credit? After all, credit was invented for a reason, wasn’t it? Credit can help you get the things you want, from that brand-new car to a college diploma. Earned over an extended period of time, a good credit score can even allow you to have a lower annual percentage rate, or amount of interest you must pay a lender for the use of borrowed money.

Wondering about your credit score? Everyone is allowed one free credit report from three separate credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian and Trans Union Corporation (savvy credit-earners order one every four months, to stay on top of their credit three times a year!). Credit doesn’t start accumulating until the age of 18, but setting yourself up for using the tools that will be reported to your score- such as savings and checking accounts, loans and credit cards- will help you by teaching you how to manage your money in a good way.

If you’re still confused on credit, or want to learn more, feel free to stop by the Bruin Branch of Helena Community Credit Union to ask us your questions.

On January 27th Steve Jobs introduced Apple’s new “magic” and “revolutionary” tablet known as the Ipad. With this announcement, Jobs proclaimed that they had now introduced a piece of technology that would present a nearly perfect way to surf the Internet, view photos, and experience your music library. However, there did appear to be quite a few hang ups with the information provided in Jobs’ keynote, namely the lack of Flash capability. If you aren’t particularly familiar with Flash , it’s the platform that drives many of the features you find on web-pages such as animation, integrated video, and various other features of interactivity. With this lack of support comes the loss of millions of components of an incredible amount of web-pages. The reasoning presented by Jobs for this exclusion was an accusation of laziness towards Adobe, as well as stating that their systems were too buggy to be incorporated into the Ipad. Regardless whether these criticisms are entirely true or not, or if the thought that Apple is attempting to further Internet content by pointing their finger is viable, it seems that limiting the access of users so greatly is counterproductive when incorporated into the “ultimate” in web surfing devices.

The introduction of this tablet came an odd bit of controversy. In late January a Chinese company known as Shenzhen Great Loong Brother Industrial claimed that they may seek legal action against Apple if the Ipad was to be released in China. This is due to the fact that in 2009 Shenzhen introduced their own version of a tablet, roughly the same size and dimension of the Ipad. The real oddity comes from the fact that upon some pretty basic observation of the Ipad it appears to be almost exactly what the Ipad is, a huge Ipod-touch. However, where the Ipad is merely a larger version of the touch, Shenzhen’s P88 is what appears to be an enormous rip-off of the touch’s technology. A quick look at Shenzhen’s product line also reveals the P28 TV-PC, which is also a carbon copy of the most recent Imac. With this all in mind it seems odd that a company who claims to be working for “a service platform full of friendship,fair and intergrity and cooperation for all clients” would think of suing the company whom they had already ripped off, especially while “remember the traditional concept ‘All men are brothers’.”

Also, the Ipad lacks greatly in connectivity due to the use of a 30-pin port acting as the only external access to the Ipad. Now, the unit does come with a 30 pin to USB connector as well as a SD card connector, but it seems very odd that the ultimate medium for viewing digital images has to have external adapters to upload photos. Mainly, the Ipad to me, as to many, is just an over-sized Ipod-touch without the portability. Altogether it seems like Apple is packaging already introduced technology, albeit upgraded, into a new package and reselling it to the public. As well, the fact that the Ipad can range from $499 to $829 also seems to be a set back, as you can get a pretty decent laptop for about $600; and though it may lack the touch screen, you can still have full access to the web, as well as incorporating the other various functions of the Ipad and then some.

This year DECA, a group within Capital High that competes in events that are geared towards business and technology, has shown itself to be a force to be reckoned with statewide. They have just recently competed in their national qualifying competition and have wrapped up their season with an incredible amount of success. According to Mrs. Conn, DECA’s adviser, 13 kids from Capital High placed first in their events. Some of the events that students from Capital participate in are financial analysis, creative marketing, virtual business, financial literacy, and entrepreneurship. To be involved in DECA students have to either be in marketing or in small business classes. DECA not only competes but is often responsible for most of the marketing campaigns that circulate within the school, and of course Bear Necessities, the student run store.

There are twenty students from Capital High going to Nashville TN to compete in the National competition. The students will have some time to go sightseeing as well as traveling around the area. The state tournament is always in Helena so Nationals is a good opportunity to travel. The students go to Fairmont hot springs to prepare for the competition which consists of a 100 question written marketing exam and then competition in the various events. The club has 50 registered members at Capital High school, that all work very hard and compete. The students who are involved enjoy it thoroughly, one of them Maddie Parker commented that “Its really fun and you get to meet a lot of new people.” Parker is one of the 20 students participating in the national tournament. Not only does the club enrich the lives and studies of the students but with events like the charity oriented one that Haley McMahan participated in, it also helps the community. Haley and others put together a charity called Heads Hands and Hearts, where the students collected mittens and hats for kids who can’t afford them. McMahan describes the experience very favorably saying that “It was good to know that you were helping people and the school kids were super appreciative.”

Even the kids who didn’t make it this time are still working hard, Conn said kids were, “Already preparing for next season because next year Nationals are in Orlando, always an awesome trip.” This trip should be fun as well with the students leaving early and being able to see a whole new State and maybe even slip in a few country concerts. Over all a very successful and fun season for Capital Highs business halls and future Professionals. Conlan Burk a senior in DECA may have said it best when asked what he saw happening at Nationals, “We go down with the intentions of winning!”

So we all know college is super expensive and prices are on the rise, right? But what if there was some way to take high school classes and get college credit for it? There are two obvious answers that come to mind: dual credit and advanced placement (AP) classes. Dual credit can sometimes be problematic; the curriculum is not standardized and many colleges will not accept dual credit readily. But what about AP classes? The curriculum is standardized, and most colleges tend to accept AP credit. Sounds great, right? Well, maybe not….or at least in not here in Helena. The Helena Public School District has a total of about six AP classes between both high schools, and there are a total of about 30 AP tests available. AP classes seem like the way to go, so why don’t the high schools in Helena have more of them? Aside from speculating that it might be deemed to expensive, I honestly don’t know the answer. But if it was important enough to our school district, I feel like they would make more of an effort, expensive or not.

AP tests exist in essentially every subject: foreign language (Chinese, Japanese, Latin, French, German, Spanish, and Spanish Literature), English (language and literature), science (biology, chemistry, environmental science, and physics), math (calculus and statistics), social sciences and history (psychology, human geography, art history, European history, Comp. government, U.S. government, U.S. history, and world history), and fine arts (studio art and music theory) as well as other subjects including computer science and economics. While taking an AP test isn’t free (it costs about $86), taking the class itself is free. And paying just under one hundred dollars to take an AP test is surely cheaper than paying for a college class. Even for the students who either can not afford to take AP tests or for those who who just plain don’t want to, AP classes are still an excellent way to prepare for college courses. Obviously it would be expensive, not to mention difficult, to find teachers who are able to teach all these subjects. But Helena has absolutely no AP math classes or science classes, and the only classes both high schools do have are English literature, English language, U.S. Government, and U.S. History. Capital High School also has European history. If Helena doesn’t have the time or money to have more than six AP classes, shouldn’t it at least be well rounded, with classes in different areas?

Another issue that makes me question whether AP classes really are too expensive is the fact that Bozeman, Missoula, Billings, and even Kalispell far surpass Helena in numbers of AP classes. And Kalispell has International Baccalaureate (IB) classes in addition to a large variety of AP classes. IB credit is not quite as widely accepted in the United States, but as the name indicates, it is an excellent option for students thinking about going to college in another country. Might I add that Kalispell is smaller than Helena and not the state capital. I am sure the Helena Public School District could find a way to work more AP classes into our course selection. And the excuse that students would not take AP classes if there were more, probably isn’t true. According to an article in the Missoulian, 16.6% of high school seniors in Montana took AP classes in 2009, which is much higher than the 13.1% half a decade ago. Nation wide, about 26.5% of high school seniors took AP classes. The few AP classes in Helena could account for the lower average, as well as students who go to small schools that don’t have AP classes. But just the small rise in numbers of students taking AP classes indicate that students would take AP classes if they were offered.

I am not saying that Helena needs to have every AP class taught at both high schools, but I am saying that many students would appreciate having the option of taking more AP classes, as well as having a greater selection with more variety. AP tests are a great way to get fairly solid college credit while still in high school, and, well, who wouldn’t want that?

Montana high schoolers love their drugs. In Montana, 31.6% of Montanans aged 12 to 20 consumed alcohol in the past month, and 24% of 12 to 20 year olds participated in binge drinking in the past month. Across the country, 12.5 million underage teens drink each year. In fact in 2005 underage teen drinking consumed 15% of all alcohol sold in the United States, totaling $19.8 billion in sales. Underage drinking costs tax payers $61.9 billion a year in medical costs and lost days of work. The topic of alcohol always seems to incite the fiery question as to whether the drinking age should be lowered to 18 or remain at 21.

Lower It To 18!

“I understand the effects of alcohol on a developing person but it doesn’t make much sense to tell 18 year olds they can move out, get married, join the army, [do] everything but drink. This only makes them want to drink more.” Courtney Hauck

The 2007 Youth Risk Behavior Survey found that among high school students, during the past 30 days:45% drank some amount of alcohol, 26% binge drank, 11% drove after drinking alcohol and 29% rode with a driver who had been drinking. In 2007, the Monitoring the Future Survey reported that 39% of 8th graders and 72% of 12th graders had tried alcohol, and 16% of 8th graders and 44% of 12th graders drank during the past month.

The two above bullets prove that the status quo drinking age is not deterring or preventing underage drinking.

18 year old men can be drafted, and nearly all 18 year olds can buy rifles and shotguns, vote, and be prosecuted but can’t buy some alcohol. This makes no sense, especially since being drafted invokes the potentiality of death.

Lowering the drinking age will make alcohol less of a taboo, take away the thrill that many young people get from breaking the law, and make alcohol consumption a more normalized activity done in moderation.

Enforcing an MLDA of 21 is expensive and inefficient. Drinking is still a major problem among teens. It would be more effective to spend money on educating youth about alcohol than to spend it on enforcement of drinking laws for 18 to 20 year olds.

Keep It At 21

“There are way too many 18 year olds that aren’t responsible.” Erik Anderson

Raising the MLDA back to 21 has decreased the percentage of fatal traffic accidents for those between 18 to 20 by 13% and has saved approximately 21,887 lives from 1975 to 2002.

Current MLDA laws set at 21 are working because the percentage of underage drinkers has decreased since 1984.

Youth who start drinking before age 15 years are five times more likely to develop alcohol dependence or abuse later in life than those who begin drinking at or after age 21 years.

Alcohol consumption carries some deadly statistics; 40% of all traffic fatalities involved a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher, young adults 16 to 24 comprise only 20% of the total licensed population but caused 42% of all fatal alcohol related crashes, in fact underage alcohol use is more likely to kill youth than all other illegal drugs combined.

40% of all suicide attempts are alcohol-related; 54% of all violent crimes are alcohol-related; 60% of all emergency room admissions are alcohol-related; and 80% of all domestic disputes are alcohol-related.

While lowering the drinking age makes sense in comparison to 18 year old’s other responsiblities and rights, it does not make sense statistically or scientifically. The statistics regarding underage drinking prove that lowering the drinking age would do nothing for underage drinking fatalities. In my opinion, lowering the drinking age would exploit these statistics and increase fatalities and drinking rates. There are really no benefits to lowering the drinking age that outweigh an increase in fatalities and addiction.

President Obama’s State of the Union inflamed the passions of manyAmericans when he stated that: “The Supreme Court reversed a century of law that I believe will open the floodgates for special interests –- including foreign corporations –- to spend without limit in our elections. I don’t think American elections should be bankrolled by America’s most powerful interests, or worse, by foreign entities. They should be decided by the American people.” But what exactly did the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. FEC do?

Citizens United sought an injunction (would have prevented FEC from enforcing certain parts of BCRA) against the Federal Election Commission (FEC) in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia to prevent the application of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) to its film Hillary: The Movie. The Movie expressed opinions about whether Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton would make a good president. Citizens argued that Section 203 of BCRA violated the First Amendment and when Sec. 203 was applied to The Movie, and that Sections 201 and 203 of BCRA were unconstitutional when applied to the circumstances of the case.

In every court case there are issues. An issue is a question that the court is ruling upon. In Citizens United v. FEC the issues are:

1)Whether the Supreme Court’s decision in McConnell resolved all constitutional challenges to the BCRA when it upheld the disclosure requirements of the act as constitutional.

2)Whether the BCRA’s disclosure requirements impose an unconstitutional burden when applied to electioneering requirements.

3)Whether the lack of a clear message to vote for or against a particular candidate is subject to regulation under the BCRA.

4)Whether a feature length documentary (such as Hillary:The Movie) about a candidate for political office should be subject to regulation under the BCRA.

Answers:

1) No: But, the majority held that the BCRA’s disclosure requirements as applied to The Movie were constitutional, reasoning that disclosure is justified by a “governmental interest” in providing the “electorate with information” about election-related spending resources.

2) No: See above.

3) Yes

4) Yes

Alright that is all pretty confusing so I’m going to briefly explain what that all means.

The Supreme Court, contrary to popular belief, upheld the ban on direct contributions to candidates from corporations and unions. Also, the Supreme Court upheld the disclosure requirement for any political advertisement sponsors. The Supreme Court overturned two of BCRA’s restrictions on corporate and union political speech: first, the prohibition on expressly advocating in favor or against electing a candidate and, secondly the restriction that prevented unions and corporations from broadcasting ads that merely state the name of a candidate within 60 days of the election. So corporations and unions cannot directly fund a candidate, and however much money they spend on advertisements will have to be disclosed. None of this seems like a big issue does it.

After President Obama’s riveting State of the Union I believed that corporations could give all their money to a candidate, that there were no restrictions and that corporate spending would go crazy. Well that is not the case with Citizens United. Now we can all go back to our lives and believe everything is perfect, right? Wrong. For those of you who still disagree with the Supreme Courts decision I would like to give you something more to think about.

Under BCRA, unions and corporations couldn’t directly advocate voting for a candidate or advertise in support or negation of a candidate but, newspapers (The New York Times) and other media corporations (CNN, Fox, MSNBC) could. Most of us would agree that media sources have a abysmal impact upon our perception of political candidates. And yet media bias goes largely unnoticed.

The Center for Media and Public Affiars (CMPA) reported in 2008 that “72 percent of the statements in TV news reports about Obama in late spring and early summer were negative, whereas 57 percent of the statements about Mc- Cain were negative [my guess is that this is due to the heated race between Obama and Clinton].”

It is disturbing that the law currently grants a favored position to media corporations, regardless of this discrepancy the government should not restrict any form of political speech, unless its libel or slander, be it from the media, NRA, or Planned Parenthood.

As Justice Scalia stated, Americans cannot support a “theory of the First Amendment that would allow censorship not only of television and radio broadcasts, but of pamphlets, posters, the Internet, and virtually any other medium that corporations and unions might find useful in expressing their views on matters of public concern.”

The First Amendment protects right of the KKK emit asphyxiating statements, the production of pornography, and flag burning. Yet some believe that the First Amendment does not allow corporations to produce commercials or support or oppose a candidate. Which seems more caustic to society, the KKK defaming minorities or the Archie Bray supporting a candidate?

Buckley v. Valeo stated that “restrict[ing]the speech of some elements of our society in order to enhance the relative voice of others is wholly foreign to the First Amendment.” Similarily Justice Kennedy stated, “The civic discourse belongs to the people, and the Government may not prescribe the means used to conduct it.”

Whether you are just beginning your college hunt as a freshman, sophomore, junior, or possibly (gulp) senior or putting the finishing touches on your selection, its clear that the road from high school to college is both rocky and uncharted for many students today. As a senior who has undergone a lot of research on the topic of the college choice, I have crafted a handy guide for all ages and levels of college searching in order to help out future generations.

FRESHMEN
I know, I know, you’re a freshman, but trust me when I tell you that college is just not that far away. There are some things you can do to make your life easier in the future. First, create a document or buy a journal and start recording awards you win, extracurricular activities and leadership positions, volunteering hours, and anything else that might interest colleges. Make sure you keep this up to date, recording phone numbers of people who might writea nice letter of recommendation. Next, while it may be too soon to pick schools that interest you, it is not too soon to decide generally what type of school you would like to attend. If it requires four years of a language, you obviously need to start that now. You don’t need to decide anything definite, but be sure you know the general level of school you are interested in. When choosing your classes, err on the side of caution though, it is better to take too many classes than not enough! Finally, join lots of extracurricular activities and clubs! You will not only meet lots of new people but you could also find something you are really interested in. It can be scary, especially if your middle school friends don’t seem interested, but jump in! High school should be a time to try new things, and colleges, by the way, love students trying new things!

SOPHOMORES
It’s still a little early to be too concerned about choosing a particular college, but it isn’t too early to ask your parents to pull over when you are passing a college on a road trip, or talking to your older friends about their college experience. In the fall be sure to take the PSAT to get a sense of the standardized tests you will soon take. This is an inexpensive opportunity to get a hands on look at the test which will determine so much in years to come. While the PSAT is normally for juniors, you can take it as a sophomore to gain standardized test experience. Be sure to buy a college guide book or check out a website like Collegeprowler and start reading through the descriptions. If you start tagging those colleges that interest you now, it will be much easier to make a list in the years to come. Also, just reading through the descriptions of schools will give you a better idea what is important to you in a college, so read up and whether it is a matter of academic rigor, closeness to home, or athletic prowess the things that are most important to you will become obvious almost immediately. Finally, make sure you get to know your counselor! They will have to write a letter of recommendation for you in a couple years, so be sure to go in and acquaint yourself with them.

JUNIORS
Now it’s time to get down to business. This is the year that really counts, so make some decisions and be sure to keep your grades up! In the fall you need to take the PSAT (hopefully for the second time) and make sure you do your best since this is the test that could qualify you for the National Merit Scholarship. Next, it is finally time to compile your list of 10-20 schools with a variety of admissions requirements. Be sure to include at least one state school and a few schools that just capture your heart, even if they are a little statistically unrealistic. It’s also time to start thinking about teachers that could write you a letter of recommendation. Build strong relationships with a few of your teachers, they will give colleges an insight into your style as a student is. In the spring, take the ACT, SAT, and/or the SAT subject tests, depending on the most stringent schools on your list. If your schools will take either the ACT or the SAT, take both and submit your highest score, it doesn’t hurt to take both. Finally, visit as many of the colleges on your list as possible, be sure to call or e-mail ahead in order to set up a time to meet with an admissions counselor and go on a campus tour.

SENIORS
Don’t freak out! There is a lot to do, but if you stay focused it is possible to make it through this year with limited stress. Now it’s time to make a final list of 5-10 colleges. Be sure to include a safety school like one of the state universities or one of the Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE) universities. Next, request your letters of recommendation from both your counselor and as many teachers as your schools require. Be sure to ask nicely, they are going to speak directly to your college about you, and no, you don’t get to read it before they send it! Next, write your essays and be sure to have a couple English teachers read over it. Silly punctuation and grammar mistakes are a dead giveaway for colleges that you aren’t a serious applicant. Visit any schools left on your list if you can! A campus visit is the best way to see if a school is a good match for you. All the glossy brochures in the world can barely put a candle to 5 minutes on a campus! As you will know by this point in your college search school is expensive, which is why it’s time to look for scholarships! Try out sites like Cappex, Zinch, and Fast Web in order to find scholarships that fit you! Also, don’t forget to apply for school specific scholarships. Many colleges have a slew of merit and need based scholarships for their students, so be sure to ask admissions or financial aid counselors what scholarships you are eligible. Finally, you need to make a decision! Look at your choices and jump in, once your decision is made, try to enjoy the rest of your Senior year!

While it may be depressing having a little (or a lot) less dough in your pocket for entertainment, the Internet provides many free entertainment sources. When it comes to the Internet, it seems that many of the best things in entertainment are free.

1. Hulu – Hulu shows tons of shows currently on TV on the Internet for basically free. All you have to put up with are the messages from their sponsors, and automatically those without a tivo have the ability to watch their favorite shows both legally and freely. Hulu is currently working on adding a sweet collection of movies, which includes a good mix of old and new, but mostly little known movies. Bigger films are hopefully on their way, but for now enjoy a documentary like the infamous “Super Size Me.” You can also watch a high quality trailer for any movie about to be released.

2. Grooveshark – Grooveshark is, like Hulu, both free and legal, allowing users to choose virtually any music to listen to. If you sign up for a free account, you can also make and save playlists of your favorites. This is a music station for those who have specific music in mind, want to try out a new artist, or discover obscure recordings by your favorites. Grooveshark is basically an Internet iTunes though you can’t take it with you on your iPod, but you can access it from any Internet connection.

3. Pandora – For those who want to discover new artists they may like, Pandora is the music service to go with. Once again free, Pandora prompts users to pick a single artist or song to start a “station” with. Once you make your decision, Pandora does the hard part, using the Music Genome Project to match you with other music it thinks you would like. If you don’t like Pandora’s picks, simply give it the thumbs down and help Pandora fine tune your station to your specific tastes. If you spend an hour or so tweaking a station, you can usually create a fool proof radio station that only plays the kind of music you want to hear.

4. Huffington Post – The Huffington Post, or HuffPo as its frequently referred to, is an Internet newspaper comprised of both original columns and many links to their contributing blogs. Its a blend of pretty serious news in the Politics section, with lots of hilarious polls and obscure facts in the Comedy and Entertainment sections. This isn’t a site for a serious news junkie; its for the casual observer who wants to get their news quick and then get on to the ten best presidential gaffes, pictures included.

5. Fmylife – This delightfully entertaining website is fueled by readers, and consists of stories which will make you laugh, cry, and then laugh again. For example: Today, I received my passport in the mail. They got my birthdate wrong. Then I picked up my birth certificate that I had sent in with the application. Turns out my parents have been celebrating my birthday on the wrong day for 16 years. FML Need I say more? This website is perfect for the casual entertainment seeker or the hard core procrastinator! Check it out and feel better about your own life, or submit your own FML to see if it gets published!

When you are searching for recession friendly entertainment on the Internet, look to the free and legal!