I know that a lot of people like horror movies. I know this because a lot of people tell me they like horror movies, and also because Saw V is just about to hit theaters (the 5th installment of a plot that basically consists of scary machines and blood). There’s something about watching other humans scream in agony that a lot of people can’t get enough of — but I am not one of those people. I’ve never been one of those people. Since I came out of the womb, I have been scared to freaking death of horror movies.

Here are the Top 5 Reasons Why.

5) When Things Pop Out In An Attempt To Scare, I Always Get Scared

I know that it’s like, part of the fun, or whatever, when the music suddenly swells and a creepy things pop up all creepy, or someone is grabbed ,or a face appears in a mirror, but that sh*t gives me a heart attack every time. I lose my breath and my heart flips out and then I get really violently angry. Like I want to punch the TV for doing that to me. I get scared and then I get pissed and then my whole day is ruined.

4) Weird Noises Always Happen Afterwards

Whether I’m back at my childhood home, in a dorm, or at my apartment, after watching (or accidentally watching) a horror movie, weird noises will keep me awake all night. It never ceases to amaze me that it happens every single time. The wood creaks, my closet door won’t shut all the way, something scurries across the floor…my bedroom isn’t haunted until I watch a scary movie. Then it’s haunted. Totally, Ghostbusterly, haunted. Read More »

Tonight is the 2nd Presidential Debate, which is sure to be awesome (even if it’s not nearly as hyped as Palin vs. Biden’s Teeth).

The event is going to be moderated by NBC’s Tom Brokaw, but instead of Tommy asking the questions, the debate will have a town hall format.

Which means the people get to ask the questions.

So, people of Nashville who will be sitting pretty in the town hall-y debate, if you are reading this, we have a few questions we’d like to ask the candidates. Real questions that require real answers instead of that fluff Gwen Ifill came up with (and Sarah Palin dodged) during the VP “debate.” Read More »

Whether you are pro or anti Iraq war, I’m sure you’ll agree that Iraqi society is in shambles. Of course this is in large part due to their recovery from the totalitarian regime but its greatly aggravated by the past five years worth of violence.

Female suicide bombers have emerged as a recent phenomenon of this war.

It seems that there have been 20 suicide bombings carried out by women since the beginning of the war—8 since 2007. Most of these women have lost a close male relative—a husband, brother, father, etc. Eleven of the twenty have been from the Diyala Province—currently the headquarters of Al Qaeda in Iraq.

The big question is WHY? Read More »

On Tuesday, the United States and Czech Republic signed the first part of the controversial missile defense system pact. Russia responded with a warning that if the US and Czech Republic go ahead with the system it will be forced to react with military means. The US maintains that the system is aimed at the Middle East, not Russia.If the US gets its’ way, by 2012 the shield will be operable—consisting of a tracking radar site in the Czech Republic and 10 interceptor missiles in Poland.

In Other News:

Also on Tuesday, the White House officially apologized to Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi after a major diplomatic screw-up. In the official press kit distributed to reporters accompanying the President to the G8 summit, Berlusconi was referred to as a man, “hated by many”, “known for governmental corruption and vice”, and as a “political dilettante (amateur)”.

Apparently the bio was taken directly from the Encyclopedia of World Biography. Berlusconi is one of Bush’s few friends in Western Europe and a key supporter of the Iraq war. Read More »

BestWeekEver.tv has brought a site to my attention that gives you $3 Trillion fake dollars to buy anything from a cure for Alzheimer’s, to a secret island fortress (reasonably priced at $15 million) to, yes, World Peace (which has a price, apparently. Who’da thunk?)

Why $3 Trillion, (and yes, that’s a Carl Sagan Trillion with a “T”) you ask? Because that is how much the occupation in Iraq is costing America.

On their website, 3Trillion.org quotes Nobel prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz:

“Just counting the zeroes on the $3 trillion price tag of the Iraq War is enough to induce hyperventilation. But what does $3 trillion really mean? It’s difficult even to comprehend a number that big. Well, try filling your shopping cart with what the cost of the Iraq War could buy: healthcare for every American? A new home for every subprime borrower now facing foreclosure? An Ivy League university? You haven’t even gotten started.” Read More »

It’s easy to get caught up in the college bubble and forget about everything except the excitement on your campus, but it’s always important to know what’s going on out in the real world, especially with significant events such as the current war.

I’m sure most of you know someone who is either in the military or somehow connected to the military, and a recent report should shock and worry you just as it did me when I read it. According to CNN, “Every day, five U.S. soldiers try to kill themselves. Before the Iraq war began, that figure was less than one suicide attempt a day. The dramatic increase is revealed in new U.S. Army figures, which show 2,100 soldiers tried to commit suicide in 2007.”

I don’t care what side of the political argument you are on, whether you technically consider yourself for or against the war, whether you are a democrat or republican, these are our friends, brothers, sisters, or relatives. The fact that they are attempting or even thinking about suicide after serving in this war is a scary reality that everyone needs to be more aware of.

So, why are the rates increasing so much? People offer up a couple of suggestions…

Read More »

In this country we tend to take everything for granted. Blaming everyone else when something goes wrong rather than take responsibility ourselves is not the way to go about solving the problem. It is time to stop blaming the politicians and big corporations and take a stand. Don’t buy another gas automobile. If you are like me, out shopping for your first non-mom-and-dad purchased car, now is the time to grow up.

If Americans really cared about the war in the Middle East, global warming and our enormous foreign trade deficit, than now is the time to stop buying new automobiles until they produce an alternative car to fossil fuel. This is a matter of simple economics (one of the few classes I dominated).

This simple action would put a huge dent in the three issues mentioned above. Americans currently use over 15 million barrels a day of crude oil, over 9 million is gasoline. Blame whatever Texan you like, but the reality is that this money will largely go to countries who hate us. If we all stood together and refused to purchase any new cars unless they ran on non-fossil fuel engines, we could make a real difference.

The phrase “bigger is better” does not just apply in the bedroom, it applies to American culture. Bigger homes, bigger meals, and bigger cars….so is the world really ready to downsize, travel less or make the effort to use alternative fuel? There are a lot of alternative fuel options, some vehicles use electric, others can run on water, hydrogen and even types of grass, but how accessible are these methods to the American public? How many people do you actually know who drive a car that runs on an alternative fuel method? Read More »

As if you needed any more convincing that the War in Iraq isn’t going as well as they’ve been trying to tell us, a new article in the New York Times highlights the growing stress on soldiers as they endure longer and more repeated tours.

It’s not a new discovery that combat induces anxiety, trauma, and even depression in soldiers, but the new decision by the Bush Administration to lengthen many tours from the traditional one year to 15 months causes concern among many, especially when it comes to the misplaced combat anger directed at civilians.

According to the article, the Pentagon’s new survey suggests that “extended tours and multiple deployments, among other policy decisions, could escalate anger and increase the likelihood that soldiers or marines lash out at civilians, or defy military ethics.” Another sad fact, as recorded by the Pentagon, shows “suicide rates for soldiers in Iraq from 2003 to 2006 were 16.1 per 100,000, compared with the average Army rate of 11.1.” Read More »

Ever since the U.S invaded Iraq in 2003, the entire war has felt shrouded in a strange type of mystery. Pictures from the front are strangely absent from most newspapers or media outlets, and we can never be sure exactly how many solders or civilians have died—each political persuasion claiming the other is either inflating or diminishing numbers.

As with any war that goes on for a long period of time, casualty numbers are slowly becoming just that, numbers. Because information is not at our fingertips, many of us are losing track of exactly what’s going on overseas, exactly who’s dying and why, and exactly what we’re hoping to accomplish.

Democrats want to pull out, many want to leave immediately. Republicans claim pulling out is going to cause catastrophes and civil war. Couple those opinions with a burgeoning presidential race, and you’ve got a confusion sandwich with a side of personal gain.

No one seems free of twisting the truth these days, even the U.S Army. In a developing story on CNN.com, the trail concerning the death of NFL player and Army Ranger Pat Tillman has just taken a turn for the worse. Read More »