By Sophia M. Mr. Rogers is an icon of kindness in the world. Throughout 31 seasons and over 900 episodes that were produced, Mr. Rogers encouraged kindness and taught children how to be good people to themselves and others. Not only did Mr. Rogers teach the children watching how to be great human beings, he also handled some very heavy topics including divorce, war and the assassination of JFK, just to name a few. When Mr. Rogers was discussing any topic, he wouldn’t talk down to or be condescending to his audience. Instead he would explain the topic in simple words that kids could understand. He would explain the topics in many ways such as showing a video on “picture-picture,” talking directly to the audience, or one of the most popular he would visit the “Land of Make Believe” with the puppets. Despite what people may think, Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood wasn’t Mr. Roger’s first television show, nor was being a television star his first career choice. Once out of high school, Mr. Rogers decided to earn a degree in music composition. During his senior year in collage during a visit home, Mr. Rogers discovered the art of television. Instead of immediately going to Seminary, as he had initially planned, Mr. Rogers co-produced a television series called The Children’s Corner. The show aired from 1954-1962 when Mr. Rogers decided to refocus on going to Seminary (https://www.misterrogers.org/). After Mr. Rogers was ordained to serve children and families, he decided to reach people through television. Mr. Rogers moved to Canada and where he first became Mister Rogers in front of a camera in 1963 (https://www.misterrogers.org/). In 1966, Mr. Rogers moved to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, where he created the present day Mister Rogers Neighborhood, but the show wouldn’t air nationally until 1968 (https://www.misterrogers.org/). Mr. Rogers once said, "I’ll never forget the sense of wholeness I felt when I finally realized, after a lot of help from a lot of people, what, in fact, I really wasn’t. I was not just a songwriter or a language buff or a student of human development or a tele-communicator, but someone who could use every talent that had ever been given to me in the service of children and their families" (https://www.misterrogers.org/). One thing that may stand out to a viewer of the show is that not all the screen time is focused on Mr. Rogers, some of it was focused on the puppets from the “Land of Make Believe.” All together there were a total of seven puppets used thorough the show’s 37years on air (lasting form 1963-2001, only taking a year-off in 1967). The puppets’ names were; King Friday XIII, Queen Sarah, X the Owl, Henrietta Pussycat, Lady Elaine Fairchilde, Grandpere and Daniel Striped Tiger (https://www.atlasobscura.com/). Each puppet represented some form of childhood emotion. King Friday XIII represented the fears of children. In episodes 1-5, King Friday XIII slowly creates a war against change in the “Land of Make Believe” and enables a border draft of Lady Elaine Fairchilde in the “Land of Make Believe,” simulating the fears of wars and the draft during the Vietnam War. Not to mention that King Friday XIII was born on and named after Friday the 13th; a day that is considered a cursed day (http://www.neighborhoodarchive.com/). In addition, Daniel Striped Tiger represented the feeling of general sensitivity, X the Owl represented childlike wonder and curiosity, Henrietta Pussycat represented the want for yourself and Lady Elaine Fairchilde represented the unknown. The puppets are now being held in the Pittsburg Children’s Museum. Sadly, all good things come to an end. After 31 seasons and over 900 episodes, Mister Rogers Neighborhood ended in 2000, with the emotional shooting and airing of the final episode. On February 27, 2003, Mr. Rogers passed away at the age of 74. Throughout the years of the show being produced, Mr. Rogers always showed kindness as well as taught kindness. Whether it’s re-runs of Mister Roger's Neighborhood or the spin off show Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, Mr. Rogers’s legacy will continue long after his death. Want to know even more? Check out the feature film A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, featuring legendary actor Tom Hanks, that chronicles the spirit of kindness that Fred Rogers spread throughout the world. Available on Blu-Ray/DVD/Streaming on February 18, 2020. By Harper E. After the confusing results of the Iowa Caucus causing major debates from, “should Iowa really go first” to “Bernie basically won” --the next state in line to help decide the next Democratic candidate has just held its primary. That's right New Hampshire just had its primary on February 11, 2020. This primary was a less confusing than the Iowa Caucus and now people are saying that New Hampshire should go first in the next election year. However, the winners of the primary elections were clear. President Trump took the easy victory for the Republican Party. The Democratic Party, Bernie took the crown with Pete Buttigieg at a close second. Amy Klobuchar shocked many by surging ahead with impressive support, coming in third. What all of this really boils down to is how many delegates the candidate receives after the primaries or caucuses have finished (CBS News). Delegates are official party members that represent their party at the national conventions in the summer of an election year. Ultimately, they will vote for their chosen candidate that they said they support in the state primary or caucus. Confused? Read more about delegates here (www.cnbc.com). Which means crushing blows for Senator Elizabeth Warren and Former Vice President Joe Biden whom placed 4th and 5th in the primary and didn’t earn any delegates in the state of New Hampshire. Biden and Warren were not the only ones that suffered loses. After the primary three candidates dropped out of the running. Well-known Andrew Yang, whom placed 6th in Iowa and 8th in New Hampshire; Michael Bennett whom placed 10th in Iowa and New Hampshire, and Deval Patrick after placing 8th in Iowa and 9th in New Hampshire. That has been the New Hampshire Primary...IN...A...FLASH! By Harper E. A couple of days ago, President Trump gave the annual State of the Union address to the country. This speech is given every year late January or early February by the current President to address the nation. Usually this is an opportunity for them to say how things are doing and share any big plans they have for the coming year. This year during the 78-minute speech, not one word was mentioned about impeachment, but instead there was praise for the great economy and new policies (“Assured of Acquittal, Trump makes case for second term” By Peter Baker NY Times). Some say that it was supposed to be a case to convince a Democrats to change their mind, but the whole time they were stone-faced, arms crossed, rarely standing to clap. But the real tension was between House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi and President Trump. At the beginning of the speech, Pelosi went to shake Trump’s hand and he refused. Pelosi appeared to be still upset because at the end of the speech she ripped her transcript of his speech in half. Both acts have been discussed as acts showing the clear division our government is facing at this time. To watch the whole speech, go to https://www.whitehouse.gov/sotu/ Divide by Harper E. All throughout history One thing keeps repeating Causing battles so gory I think you know what I’m meaning There has been some peace But it doesn’t last long In every book there’s a crease We're singing the same old song No matter how open you are Someone will disagree You say we’ve come so far But there’s a long way until we’re free So, when you’re starting to debate Or get in a petty fight Do not rule by hate And think, could they be right? The division on this earth Well it’s not something new Think what’s this worth And decide what to do So, I urge you with all my might Think of the other person Step away take flight Before this problem can worsen By Harper E. Iowa caucuses are coming up and things are narrowing down. Both Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders are in the top two and closing in on foreign policy. Iowa holds the first caucus out of all 50 states, so candidates have been coming in to rally and gathering support to kick things off for the long trail ahead. As I said Biden polling at an average 27% and Bernie right behind him with 19% (NY Times Election 2020) then in third Elizabeth Warren with an average 16%. On average in Iowa Pete Buttigieg is the front runner, but only polling at 9% in the U.S. average (not bad, 4th but still has a long way to go). Caucuses were made to narrow down candidates and have one nominee per party, like in the 2016 election the republican party nominee was Donald Trump (who ended up winning the election) and the democratic nominee was Hilary Clinton. It calls registered democratic and republican voters. Since we have so many democratic candidates it will be a close call on who will be this year’s nominee. Even though the Iowa caucus is less than 4 weeks away we still have a long way to go until the nominees have been chosen because every state must vote, and they must compare and count the totals THEN pick the nominees. This has been Iowa caucus and election...IN...A...FLASH!!! A column created and written by Harper E. Throughout American history, there have only been three presidents to ever have been impeached--Andrew Johnson (1868), Bill Clinton (1998), and now our current president, Donald Trump (2019). But the real question is--What is impeachment? To answer that, we must go back to America’s Founding Fathers and the very structure of our government system. In our democracy, there are three branches of power that do different things that keep our system of government functioning:
Our government was designed to make sure not one person or office had too much power, using a system known as “checks and balances”. In the case of impeachment, the Legislative Branch can “check” the Executive Branch if it becomes necessary to examine the legal actions taken by the President. As you have probably heard, the House of Representatives (Legislative Branch) has voted to impeach or charge a public official with a crime—that public official being the President. (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/impeach). Now, the Senate will hear the case and vote to determine if Trump will be kicked out of office or not. Given that the Senate, is mostly controlled by Republicans, favor may be on Trump’s side. So far, no president has been kicked out of office successfully after an impeachment trial. In the end, impeachment may not be that successful because a person can still run for re-election and stay in office. That’s how our government works IN A FLASH! Column created and written by Harper E. Welcome to the first article of News Flash! Giving readers current events and international stories in a flash--“flash” meaning two paragraphs or less! The purpose is to simply give the facts that a well-informed citizen needs to know about what’s going on around the globe. And.....NEWS FLASH! Iranian Protests Right now, some Iranian citizens are in the midst of what started as a protest over the increase in gas prices that has turned into an all-out political demonstration. With the dawn of this event, Iran is now facing its deadliest political unrest since the Islamic Revolution of 1979. Given that the demonstrations are not slowing down anytime soon, the Iran government has been cracking down and now allowing authorities to open fire on the protest groups. At this time, there have been at least 180-450 people killed, most of them young unarmed protesters from the age of 19-26 years old. Very soon after the protests started demonstrators were calling for Islamic Republic’s removal. The government has started to cave though, after receiving a lot of criticism following the death of the protesters. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei whom had called these demonstrators thugs, enemy agents, rioters and much more is now changing his stance by saying that we need to show “Islamic Mercy”(Fassihi and Gladstone, NY times, 12/5/19) . That’s the Iranian Protests IN A FLASH! By Sophia M. and Harper E. The Presidential race is on! After the election in November 2016 where President Trump won the final vote, it has been four short years and the candidates are at it once again. Most of the front runners started their campaigns in the spring of 2019 or earlier, but now that the election is only a year away, things are getting serious. This article explores not only who is running, but also how well they are doing in the polls, and what they stand for in their campaign. As many news outlets have already reported, there is a never-ending list of democratic candidates this year; a whopping 17! To make this a little shorter we are going to focus on the candidates that are doing better in the polls, but we will cover the basics on everyone. Let's start with Joe Biden. As the former Vice President to the 44th President Barack Obama, Biden is currently doing very well in the polls with a hefty lead at 25% in the polls. This the most support out of any candidate so far. Next leading in support is Elizabeth Warren with 19% in the polls with her focus revolving around income equality for the middle class. Then in third, at 17%, is Senator Bernie Sanders. Voters may recognize him from the 2016 Election as a runner up to the final Democratic candidate, Hillary Clinton. Of all the candidates, his campaign is the largest out of all the candidates. That's the top three on the trail right now, however, many other candidates have thrown their hats into the ring. Here is a look at the other candidates’ success in the polls.
While the list is extensive, the campaign trail is not limited to Democratic candidates. There are significantly fewer Republicans hitting the campaign trail for the 2020 Presidential Election. The Republican candidate leading the polls is our current President Donald Trump. Trump is running for re-election for his current office and is holding at 85.4%. The main rallying point for his campaign in his own words is, “Considering that we have done more than any administration in the first two years, this should be easy. More great things now in the works” (President Trump, Twitter, 1/26/19). In addition to Trump, a few other Republicans have stepped up to campaign as well. Next in the poll rankings is William F. Weld with 2.6% support. He is quoted as saying, “I hope to see the Republican Party assume once again the mantle of being the party of Lincoln” (Burns, NY Times, 2/15/19). The third and final poll spot goes to Joe Walsh with 2.2%. He is hoping to gain support by saying, “We’ve got a guy in the White House who is unfit, completely unfit, to be president and it stuns me that nobody stepped up” (ABC News’ This Week, August 2019). In addition to the candidates still actively campaigning for the 2020 Presidential Election, many candidates have already bowed out of the race for a variety of reasons. Those candidates include:
That’s all the candidates at the current moment, but don’t forget THINGS CAN CHANGE. And COMING SOON, Mustang Media Staff will be surveying Merrill students to see what our voting polls look like for the upcoming election. by Henry G. Mock Trial is a club at Merrill where multiple students make multiple teams that are run by lawyers or people with professional experience. In mock trial all teams are given a case and then the teams make a defense side and a prosecution side. The cases are alternated from being civil where there is money is at stake and where there is criminal when there is jail time at stake. This year the case is a homicide. There are many times and places where teams meet. Some meet on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at Merrill, some meet on Sundays at the Franklin Library. When it is the competition the teams will go out and compete against other teams from the district. The point system is not based on who wins the trial, but is a point system is graded 1-10 for every part of the trial even for the witness. In Mock Trial there is lawyers, witnesses and time keepers. Each side has 3 witnesses to testify for them. When it is competition time the lawyers give opening statements, sharing what they are going to prove in the trial, then the prosecution directs their own witnesses (Directing is where you have the witness tell the story and leave out the parts that hurt their case) then the defense cross examines the opposing teams witnesses (Where they ask leading questions to get the witness to say something to hurt the opponents case or to help their own case) after all of the prosecution’s witnesses have been directed and crossed there is usually a break. Then the defense direct and the prosecution cross the defense witnesses. Lastly both sides do their closing statement summarizing why they should win. Merrill has won state multiple times. Merrill has multiple teams that go into competition each year. The competition usually lasts throughout the whole day and Judges give feedback on each team after the trial. Every person is judged one a scale of one to ten and the team with the most points is the winner. During the competition sometimes the lawyers (usually the ones doing the closing statement) must improvise and make changes to their parts sometimes to address something that happened in the trial or to cater an improvise something that one of your lawyers said. By Tessa B. and Harper E.
As many of you know or may not know, the Venezuelan government has been on the rocks for quite some time now. The latest development in this crisis is the closing of the border to foreign aid from the U.S. and other countries. This development is creating a massive toll on the Venezuelan people, hundreds of thousands of people are fleeing this conflict. Donald Trump has been working to organize the delivery of nutritional food and hygiene products to a small city in Columbia that borders Venezuela. The purpose of this is to try and get aid across the border. The current president Nicolas Maduro is refusing to accept aid from other countries. The people of Venezuela are stricken by poverty and are in desperate need of this aid. The crisis stems from the upheaval of Venezuela's “democratic” government which currently has two presidents. Nicolas Maduro was elected in 2015 but won because of a rigged election. He currently has the support of the military at his command. Juan Guaidó is a senator that has claimed the presidency and has the full support of the people of Venezuela. Guaidó had to flee the country recently and just returned but is facing arrest. He has also expressed many times that he wants the aid given by the U.S. This battle for the presidency has caused great strain on the people of Venezuela. China and Russia have identified Maduro as Venezuela’s president, but 50 other countries including the U.S. have identified Guaidó as the current president. The crisis is likely to continue as is appears no agreement is on the horizon. Watch for updates from Gazette Staff as the story continues to unfold. http://merrillmustangnews.weebly.com/merrill-gazette |
The Merrill Gazette Staff...
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