Month: October 2015

Ask a person in their early 40s to say a big number and they will crack a wry smile. “One million,” they say, the well worn neural pathways of big number identification firing with ease. Ask a millennial to say a big number and there is a good chance they will not even look up from their mobile device, “10, ugh, can I have my participation trophy now?” Defined as anyone born between 1980 and 2000, but more accurately defined as a bunch of good for nothing babies, millennials are a pox on this country.
For a while they had everyone tricked. Articles praised them as the next big thing, poised to rival the Greatest Generation. However, instead of winning two World Wars and escaping the Depression, millennials consciously decided to cause global warming and destroy the world economy. Think about it, there is a direct correlation between the existence of millennials and climate change. It is obviously the result of smoking hot internet data melting the ice caps. And this doesn’t even address the multitude of offenses committed by current high schoolers, whose laziness manifests itself in their infamous free time arithmetic.
As they tell it, students have six hours of homework each night and attend school for seven hours a day. Add the hour to get ready and go to school, three hours for after school clubs and activities, an hour for dinner with the family, eight hours to sleep each night, that leaves…negative two hours to enjoy themselves. In reality, they plagiarize and CliffsNotes their way to a university that teaches them nothing about how to work with their goddamn hands. The nation is in shambles, and the path to salvation runs through a generation of kids too busy whining to notice. Good luck, dummies.

With the 2016 presidential election rapidly approaching, the time has come to watch the candidates fight it out in the debates. On September 16th, the second round of debates kicked off and the country watched as eleven of the Republican candidates took the stage, including Chris Christie, Marco Rubio, Ben Carson, Scott Walker, Donald Trump, Jeb Bush, Ted Cruz, Carly Fiorina, Mike Huckabee, John Kasich, and Rand Paul. Because there are so many candidates running, there was also an “undercard” Republican debate which showcased Bobby Jindal, Lindsey Graham, Rick Santorum, and George Pataki. The debate covered a wide range of topics from immigration and the nuclear deal with Iran to same-sex marriage and federal funding of Planned Parenthood. However, no matter the discussion at hand, those vying for the presidency did whatever they could to win themselves some votes.
Due to her recent rise in the polls, Carly Fiorina was the only candidate to have risen out of the undercard debate and into prime time.The former CEO is also widely reported to have “won” the debate as she was able to refute accusatory statements thrown at her by Donald Trump and make some digs of her own. As expected, Trump was the center of most of the debate’s controversy, going on both the defensive and offensive to address his fellow candidates. As the New York Times reported, he was called “sophomoric” by Senator Rand Paul, “an entertainer” by Carly Fiorina, and “an apprentice” by Wisconsin governor Scott Walker. Jeb Bush, former governor of Florida and one of Trump’s favorite targets, also issued attacks, claiming that Trump would act out of his own economic interests as president. All of these, of course, issued sassy retorts from the billionaire as he told Bush “[George Bush’s] administration gave us Barack Obama because it was such a disaster.”
While the other candidates may have been a little less dramatic, they still did their best to sell themselves to the American public. Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson pushed his unconventional agenda, lamenting modern politics in an attempt to connect with frustrated voters. Senator Marco Rubio reached out to Hispanic voters, talking about the importance of speaking Spanish in his family. Chris Christie placed an emphasis on national security as he shared his personal experience of almost losing his wife in the September 11th attacks. Senator Ted Cruz and Ohio governor John Kasich also focused on foreign affairs as they debated over Iran. Additionally, Kasich managed to single himself out as more of a centrist Republican, compared to the right wing candidates around him, as he stressed cooperation and warned fellow Republicans of the drawbacks of a government shutdown.
From Washington D.C. to Sacramento, California, election buzz has also landed here at McClatchy. This year’s Republican debate has seemed to have made an impact, especially to the class of 2016, as most of the students will be of voting age by the time primaries and generals roll around. Some even got the chance to complete their voting registration in advance on Friday, September 25th, during a mock election. Teachers have also been getting caught up in the excitement, including Ellen Wong, who assigned watching the debate as homework to her government students. Whether it be the drama of the campaign or pure democratic passion, it seems as though no one can get enough of the 2016 presidential race.

The sporty side of Sacramento is getting a whole new look as construction continues on the King’s new arena. Given its name in June 2015, the Golden 1 Center is estimated to cost one billion dollars by the time of its completion. Besides a basketball court, the center is set to include a huge public plaza right next to a luxury hotel. The arena has been several years in the making, the first move beginning in 2011 with mayor Kevin Johnson’s dogged campaign to find new owners for the Kings, as well as his mission to persuade the City Council to approve 255 million dollars of public funds to build the Golden 1 Center.
The road to the new King’s stadium has not been an easy one. Controversy still surrounds its construction; residents of Sacramento are torn in their support, as reported by the New York Times in an article about the new stadium. Many consider the prospect of a new arena to be a negative thing and think that the construction costs would drag the city into debt. Those on this side of the controversy point to the King’s losing record of 29 wins and 53 losses last season as well as almost 10 years without an appearance in the playoffs as support for their argument that an unsuccessful team would not bring enough economic interest to the arena.
Conversely, those who support the arena stand with Kevin Johnson in the belief that the addition of the new arena will not only renew Sacramento’s civic pride but also bring in new business and job opportunities, according to the Times. Supporters of the Golden 1 Center believe it has already offered some economic aid since it has replaced the underperforming Downtown mall. Many also feel that having an NBA team in Sacramento is just plain cool and would like to see the Kings carry on.
Even without a city-wide consensus, production continues as the future Golden 1 Center gets bigger and bigger each day. As of now, the arena is set to be ready for the 2016 NBA season. No one knows exactly what the new arena will mean for the Kings or for the city of Sacramento but one thing is for sure – Sacramento is about to get a lot more sporty!