Macie Queen | journalism

Kaepernick defends his actions

Colin Kaepernick, quarterback for the San Francisco, has refused to stand during the playing of the national anthem. In consequence, he has incited an uproar. Some argue that Kapernick is showing a lack of respect for this country and therefore should be benched, but others argue that he is exercising the rights granted to him by the first amendment. Although Kaepernick is not legally obligated to stand for the national anthem, many wonder if he can handle the possible repercussions of his actions.

Kaepernick defended his controversial actions and criticized the presidential candidates, "You have Hillary who has called black teens or black kids super predators, you have Donald Trump who’s openly racist. We have a presidential candidate who has deleted emails and done things illegally ... That doesn’t make sense to me because if that was any other person you’d be in prison. So, what is this country really standing for?"

Hillary Clinton has yet to comment, but this undoubtedly caught the attention of Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump. While speaking on air at KIRO, a popular radio station in Seattle, Trump commented on Kaepernick’s refusal to stand for the national anthem, "I think it’s personally not a good thing. I think it’s a terrible thing, and you know, maybe he should find a country that works better for him, let him try, it’s not going to happen."

Former fans are also responding to Kaepernick’s comments and actions by choosing to boycott his sponsors and games. Although the social backlash on Colin is extremely negative, his biggest sponsor, Apple-owned Beats and Electronic Arts, do not plan to drop him. After all, why would they? Beats are a product of "Dre", who recorded "F*** the Police", one of his most popular tracks. All of this aside, however, Kaepernick may have a difficult time finding endorsers in the future due to the controversy. Karpernick, taking all of this into consideration, tells the press, " If they take football away, my endorsements from me, I know that I stood up for what is right”.

Gary Johnson dissapoints supportors

On a national news program this September 8, 2016, Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson was asked what he would do about the situation with Aleppo. Mr. Johnson, puzzled, asked, “What’s Aleppo?”

To the dismay of thousands of people across this country, his answer stunned his supporters. For the last few weeks, Aleppo has been the center of many news stories. The central town in Syria has been the target of constant war and suffering at the hands of terrorist groups and those who are fighting them. They’ve also been fighting their own civil war for years. Just recently, the picture of a small boy, bloodied and tattered sitting in the back of an ambulance was released to the media to capture the daily horror that the country faces right now. The boy’s schoolhouse was bombed and he, along with several other children, were pulled from the rubble to sit in shock as the world looked on.

The fact that a Presidential candidate is oblivious to the conditions of Aleppo is nothing short of disgraceful. It’s an embarrassment to his supporters and in many ways, to any American. The only thing more embarrassing will be if this doesn’t ruin his chances of being a viable third party candidate for the presidency of the United States.

It seems all our options for a strong, educated, reasonable, and honest candidate for this year’s election are fading with each sentence that spews from their mouths. One thing is for certain, a presidential candidate should know what Aleppo is all about before he runs for the highest office of the greatest country in the world.

Courier New is a throwback font with a vintage feel. It’s great for storytelling, narratives and news reporting.

Trump's audio leak

WikiLeaks has released an audio of republican nominee, Donald J. Trump saying some rather disappointing and lewd comments regarding women. He discusses, in a private conversation recorded on this tape, how since he’s famous, he doesn’t have to ask for permission before he comes onto a woman sexually. The recorded conversation has caused a rampage on every social media page.

The recording is ridiculous, disgusting, and certainly will not help him in this election. However, the tape took place in 2005, and, to many, this fact alone changes everything. To others, the year the video was recorded makes no difference. A science teacher and political enthusiast here at Buckhannon-Upshur High School, Ed Koba, speaks on the matter, "This is going to hurt him. The recording is disgusting and I don't like it. But let me tell you what I want- what we need; we need someone to come in office and get back jobs and national security. He can do it. I want America great again."

Koba’s view, like many others, suggests that we the people should be more concerned about the good things our candidate can bring to our nation, rather than personal things that don't relate to our issues today. Many democrats, however, believe that this issue represents poor leadership. Keri Walter, a junior here at B-UHS, states, " I believe [Trump] is very degrading to women, old and young. That really takes away from his leadership skills. If he's not even president and he's doing this, how is he going to fix the problems we still face as women?"

B-UHS students and faculty make very reasonable points, which accurately depict the minds of Americans across the country.

Trump has apologized for the matter, but will this affect the presidential results? That question will answer itself this November.