Mustang Express: What kind of music does your band play?

Tim Kane & Blake Thomas: We’re a pop/punk band from P-Town.

ME: How did you guys get started?

BT: I started the band about two years ago after we won the Battle of the Bands (sponsored by Gorilla Productions) and then we lost members to college, so I regrouped, got new members, and now we’re here, playing music for some bigger and better crowds.

TK: Blake actually needed a fill-in drummer for Parker Days, and well after that, I became a permanent member.

ME: What have been some issues in the band?

BT: We all are pretty chill; we’ve never really had a problem… except for Kelson, he’s a momma’s boy.

TK: Hm….Ben has awful hygiene, that’s about it.

ME: What have been some key moments?

BT & TK: We recently played a gig called Miracle Party downtown at the Crown Plaza Event Center for over a thousand people. It was for a cancer foundation and was a great fundraiser as well.

BT: Also, recording our new cd in our underwear was pretty awesome I gotta say.

TK: For sure for sure, nothing beats that.

ME: What are your future plans, any touring? CD’s?

BT: We’ll have our first full length cd with 11 songs coming out in January under Peak 58 Records downtown.

TK: Its gonna be legit, sold nationwide in stores and everything, we’re gonna for sure meet some ladies.

BT: Oh yeah, it’ll be titled “Next to Her” after the single we’ll be releasing.

ME: Do you have any important gigs coming up?

BT: We recently had some issues with our manager screwing us over, and after firing him, we have to rebook some shows and reorganize our schedule.

TK: Currently we’re talking with The Fray to be an opening act for them, which would be sweet.

BT: We’re also currently working with Eminem’s co-producer surprisingly, so hopefully we can draw some publicity through that.

ME: What inspires you guys?

BT & TK: Blink 182, The Doors, punk rock in general, and anything that has a good beat.

India Expected to Help Reduce US Health Care Costs
India is expected to be a big help to the United States’ health care system by lowering costs of manufactured items.  Since India’s market for health care manufacturing and research is relatively new and the cost of labor is low, they can provide the US with the tools and goods we need at a more reasonable cost.

New AP Poll Shows American’s Feelings About Health Reform
A new poll published by the Associated Press has shown that American opposition of health reform has decreased in the past few weeks, from 49% opposing reform in September to 40% currently.  68% of Democrats, 29% of Independents, and 13% of Republicans support the bill to provide health care for the nearly 50 million Americans who lack it.

Ponderosa lies in one of the richest counties in the nation, but that does not exclude it from being hit hard by the current economic situation.

There are students here at Ponderosa whose lives have been changed for the worse because of the now-global crisis that has rocked the country’s biggest financial institutions.

Dixie Chubb, 12, recalls how her family experienced a radical shift in their lives during the past year.

Her dad was a builder of million dollar houses, the sale of which their family would depend on for their income.

Her family realized that they were in trouble “about a year ago, because the housing market started going bad and especially with houses that are at the price level that my dad’s house is,” Dixie says.

Because of the inability to sell the home that he built, Dixie’s father had to take up a second job in addition to the one her mother already had.
She talks about the difficulties of their family’s new situation, admitting that “it’s hard to get groceries every month.”

Eventually balancing two mortgages became too much, even with both parents working hard to pay the bills. This has put their family into a situation where they have to do what is called a “short sale.” A short sale is where the family sells their home for a certain amount and the bank will just accept it and forget all of the debt.

The family incurs a significant loss even though the bank forgives their debt. She says that the house her dad built “should be selling for about $2.1 [million] but he’s offering it at about $1.5 [million].”

The hardest part for her though is not the change in income and their ability to pay the bills each month. For Dixie the hardest part is “just seeing my dad because he feels like he’s a failure because he hasn’t been able to provide for his family like he used to be able to…. it’s just really hard to see him everyday because he’s getting really depressed.”

Despite the setbacks, her family pushes on, holding on to their faith for support in these hard times: “being a Christian family, I guess we’re not that type [that buys a large amount of luxury items]- what we need is what we need… you know? We don’t need to go buy clothes every week,” Dixie says.

Dixie’s plans for college have changed too. She had planned to attend Abilene Christian University in Texas, but despite getting a scholarship at ACU, expects to go to Northeastern Junior College in Sterling, Colorado.

It’s things like these – holding strong to her faith and taking advantage of the opportunities presented to her – that makes Dixie a true, proud Mustang. She sets an admirable example for pushing through obstacles that block her path.

She wants other students to understand that “even though we’re a pretty wealthy city, it’s hard for some families.” There are other Mustangs like her that get by and despite all of the setbacks, they press on.

By Alec Loudenback

Psyche-wards and Soup Kitchens

With rising inflation rates, lowering stock prices, and unemployment shooting out the roof, now is not a good time to be closing hospital psych wards and limiting help at food banks, but that is what’s happening.

According to the Denver Post, in Colorado there are about 40,000 people that enter an emergency room each year because of mental health issues.  Now these people will be forced to leave some hospitals due to insufficient funds to keep their Psychiatric wings open.  That leaves only one place for them to receive some sort of treatment, jail.

They will be treated for their emergencies but the hospitals won’t have room to keep these mentally ill people in their care.  The patients will not receive the treatment that they need.  Some will become a threat to their community and themselves.

Likewise, the growing number of unemployed and homeless in Douglas County is evident by the lines forming outside the Douglas/Elbert Task Force, a food bank in Castle Rock, every morning around 7:00.  The bank can only serve 20 people a day.

It is a common misconception among Ponderosa students that there are no homeless in Parker, but that is wrong.  While homelessness might not be flagrant and obvious like it is in parts of downtown, there are many people who live from couch to couch and in their cars.  These people in need are having a very hard time going from day to day.  Clark Hasteings, a Parker Task Force co-chair said, “It’s really tough. We’ve seen about a 31% increase [in need] from last year and we expect 2009 to be absolutely horrible.”

The economic downturn is having serious effects on Colorado’s mental health institutes and putting homeless between an even bigger rock and hard place.  These facilities could try to help more residents with less efficiency or try to help a few but much more effectively.  Maybe they could give 3 meals a day to 50 people or 150 people one meal a day.  There is no easy solution and for the time being it doesn’t appear that one will present itself.

By Kit Pfeiffer

Of Ponderosa Students:

• 73% doubt the economy will improve witin six months
• 21% of students had at least one parent lose a job
• 75% of students feel that they have been affected by the economy
• 56% of job-seeking students feel that they have difficulty finding a job
• 59% of students’ parents’ income have been negatively effected
• 86% of students worry that their parents’ retirement fund as been hurt
• 74% of students worry that the economy will affect their college funds or their opportunity to go to college

Survey by Brittainy Paiz, Erin O’Mara, Alec Loudenback, Emily Duff, and Emily Tucker. Based on 148 student responses.

Parker shutdowns

• Squeeze
• Cheeburger Cheeburger
• Beau Jo’s
• Applebee’s
• Black Eyed Peas
• Roman Villa
• Bear Rock Café
• Circuit City
• House that Brews
• Big D’s BBQ
• Hollywood Video
• Boston Market
• Wendy’s
• Pier 1 Imports
• Le Peep
• Pet and Feed

Information collected by Emily Duff

• I thought telling nothing but the truth was going to be really hard.
• Oddly enough, I don’t lie very much. The only times I caught myself doing it was when I mumbled something sarcastic and when asked to repeat it, said “nothing.”
  

  Erin couldn't tell a lie for her social experiment

• The hardest part was when friends asked me what I thought of what they were wearing and I had no other option but to be honest.
• I’m also very sarcastic so when I would joke around with people I would get confused and wonder whether or not I was breaking the no lying rule. Is sarcasm lying? I still don’t know, but I wouldn’t say so.
• Also, I couldn’t make up excuses not to go out. I had to be flat out honest.
• I never really thought about how I told little lies not to hurt people. Now I realized telling the truth is much more rewarding and makes everything easier.
• The biggest blunder I made was when I pulled a Ferris Bueller and skipped school for a day. When the school called my house that night and my parents asked me about it I told them I was there and my teachers are not very good at taking attendance.
• It is hard to say whether or not I would do this again because I am pretty honest. Before, the only lies I told were excuses and now that I know it is a lot easier to just be honest it’s not going to happen as often.

By Erin O’Mara

Truth. The Anti-Drug.

What made it hard for you?

When I was out of town I couldn’t text people back when they said things like “I miss you” because I didn’t know what to say back when I didn’t miss them. I also couldn’t end boring text conversations by saying I was going to bed.

How did you do it?

I drew “truth” on the background of my phone. It looked like one of those MTV anti-cigarette ads but it worked as an effective reminder.

What are some of the everyday lies you tell?

I tell A LOT of little white lies. They make things sound cooler or more dramatic for friends who want to hear a good story. If I don’t exaggerate my stories are boring.

Biggest blunder?

I wanted to see Zach and Miri Make a Porno my first day of this little experiment. Without even thinking about it, I told my mom I didn’t know the name of the movie I was going to. There would be some serious questioning if I had mentioned the title. In this case a little white lie saved me a lot of time and aggravation from my inquisitive mother.

What did I learn?

I learned that even though white lies might make life a little more interesting at times it’s nice to not feel guilty about exaggerating, and there is really no difference in an embellished story or a regular one. I gave myself power by pretending anyone really cared about my dumb stories. No one cares; I’m not that important.

By Chadwick Schlaepfer

No. Err.. yes, but I don’t feel like giving you one.

What you thought going into it? Preparing for two weeks without lying didn’t seem like it was going to be hard at all. Looking back at my experience, I was pretty sure I didn’t lie too much and two weeks without lying sounded like a fun project that I could do. What made it hard for you? The hard part for me was based on my humor. I realized I make a lot of jokes based around sarcasm. If somebody asks me a dumb question, I’ll usually answer with a smart-a** comment, which is usually a lie, but solely for a humorous effect. How did you do it? Did you have a strategy? I spent my days trying to be as truthful as I could and my strategy sometimes was to not talk when a difficult question occurred. My theory was that it was better to not talk in some situations than hurt someone’s feelings by telling the truth. What are some everyday lies you tell? I now know that small lies actually occur a lot more than I’d like. One recurring lie that I noticed was people asking me for a piece of gum. My initial reaction is a “no” but with this no lie program I had changed my answer to a “yes but I really don’t feel like giving you one.” Biggest blunder? My biggest blunder of this project was realizing when I would mess up and tell a lie even though I would fix it. Some of the lies I told, I did without even thinking about them, which means I need to work on that. What you learned about yourself? These moments of truth have taught me a lot. I’ve noticed my lies and my impulses to lie and realized I should try and keep this going. I noted that most of my lies happened without even thinking about them. Would you do this again? Personally, I think I would try to do this again. Next time however, I think I would try and have no slip ups. I think I will remain telling the truth most of the time anyway.

By Matt Culver

No phone for an entire week.

What you thought going into it? I thought that going without my phone would be a little difficult, but I figured that I would get through it with ease and have no problems. I figured that not having my cell phone wouldn’t be much different than having it. What made it hard for you? When I got bored at home and nothing was on T.V. or when I was in class with nothing to do. Normally that would be when I would text someone just to have a conversation, but since I did not have my phone I had to find other ways to occupy my time. Also, when I am in class I usually use my phone to tell the time so in the classes where the clocks are covered up I had no clue what the time was. What I learned about myself? I learned that in a way I’m kind of dependent on my phone. I don’t like that I am and I think this was a good lesson for me so I can learn to not be dependent on it. Worst moment? My friend texted me and asked for help on homework and I couldn’t text him and help him with it. I felt really bad about this because he ended up not being able to do the homework and didn’t turn it in. Rewards from experience? The biggest reward I obtained from going without my phone for a while was that I learned how I’m a little dependent on my phone and now I can work hard so that I am not dependent on it any more. Would you do it again? I would definitely go without my phone again because it was a good experience for me. If I did do it again, though, I would make sure I kept my phone off the entire time so that I couldn’t hear when people texted me. Also, I would go for a longer period of time without my phone.

By Michael Streight

I must not tell a lie

• Overall, was not too hard.
• I surprised myself with how truthful I am. I didn’t have to put too much effort into telling the truth. When people asked me my opinion, I didn’t have to hesitate (most of the time) before telling them my real opinion.
• Going into it, I thought it would be hard and cause many direct confrontations, which I was willing to handle.
• I had to tell only a few lies, the standard ones to parents and teachers. None of the lies were a very big deal, mostly lying about enjoying class and things like that.
• It was mostly an adjustment of telling my friends the truth.
• Hardest part of telling the truth/most anticipated: Sometimes, when I thought I was going to hurt someone by telling the truth but did it anyway, they didn’t really care.
• Biggest blunder/hardest truth told: I told my swim coach that I didn’t like swimming. That’s not something you tell your coach. In truth, since I’m telling that these days, I don’t hate swimming, but the sport is full of drama. The drama is the part I hate, and not everyone on the team appreciates my refusal to take sides.
• Memorable quote: After I told my coach I hated swimming, she looked at me and said, “It’s gonna be a great year, Sydney.”

By Sydney Bennet

No computer, no television. Oh my!

What you thought going into it? Time without computers and television sounded like an easy task for me. I don’t watch too many shows or browse on MySpace all night so I was pretty sure I could go without computers and T.V. easily. How did you do it? Did you have a strategy? Through the boredom, I still survived on creative activities and some visits from my girlfriend. I spent most of my time playing guitar and drawing random pictures. After a while I got bored, but a good strategy for anybody who is bored is just to have someone else come over to hang out for a while. Hardest part? I am always listening to music. I love discovering music and listening to new songs, but its hard going without updating my iPod. It was difficult refraining from looking for new songs on my computer. Rewards from experience? The biggest reward that this experience gave me was time. I had time to relax a lot and loads of downtime. I fell asleep much earlier with nothing to do at night, but I felt more rested the following days. Another advantage was I got a lot of opportunities to catch up on my schoolwork. What you learned about yourself? I realized I watch T.V. more than I should, and spend too much time on the computer as well. I know I could be more productive if I didn’t spend all that time on the computer or watching T.V.

By Matt Culver

Insufficient Funds

I go to Chipotle usually twice a week. I visit the grocery store to buy useless things when I’m bored and I find excuses to eat out when my mom makes leftovers. On weekends I go to high school games, movies, and sometimes the mall. I think I might be a little materialistic. I like to buy things because it brings a certain sense of satisfaction. I’m probably part of the reason my mom made our family go on a financial fast. This means no spending money for a week. I filled up my gas tank, went to Chipotle, and bought myself an extra large Red Bull before I set out on this financial journey.

Chad went without any cash for a week. How did he fare?

The first couple of days weren’t so bad (and by that I mean Wednesday). So what? I didn’t go out to eat for about two days. It was no big deal. Then came Thursday and the floor hockey tournament (which we won). Each team ember had to pay five dollars to play. I figured it went to a good cause, it wasn’t really spending money on myself so, I made the tough decision and spent money. Then came Friday when all my friends wanted to go to Chipotle as our unofficial Friday night tradition. I insist that I’ll eat before I go because I’ve already broken the rules once. So I do, my sister bakes me a nice chicken kiev and I’m fine. When we get to Chipotle, Jordan knows the cashier so everyone gets free burritos. You have got to be kidding me. It’s the perfect setup for me to get Chipotle without spending money and I miss it because I’m too full from my chicken. Saturday comes and my friends have already agreed not to go to the new James Bond movie because I can’t go with them. But, they get hungry and want more free burritos. We get to Chipotle and the manager is there so everyone has to pay. Although I feel bad, I let my very good friends buy me a burrito and it was delicious. Going without spending money for a week was an eye-opening experience. It made me realize how pathetic it is to spend money just because it’s there. Yet, even though it is kind of pathetic I’ll continue to waste my money just because I can.

By Chadwick Schlaepfer

Yes! I wore the same outfit for a week!

“Dude that’s gross!” “Excuse me Nate you wore that yesterday.” “You a have nice apparel.” “Pfeif! What are you doing?” Ok yes, I did wear the same shirt and pants for a week straight. It was a bright yellow Liverpool jersey and black Adidas sweats. At first I was worried if anybody was going to notice, and that I would have towear the same outfit for nothing. But when I walked up to my locker on the second day wearing the same clothes and my friends just started laughing I knew that I had a different problem. I had to go for a week of embarrassment and awkward situations! I was in for a treat. Throughout my experience I realized that there are 3 different kinds of people at this school. First there are the outspoken people. They noticed right away and said something about it. They didn’t wait until I had left the room or the conversation until they would talk about it. They would tell me what they thought or questions that they had straight up to my face. They asked what was going on. This group of people made fun of me more than the others but more in a joking way, not a harsh judgmental way. And for that I thank them. The second group of people were the quiet people. When I entered the room they noticed that I had the same clothes on, but that’s about it. It didn’t affect their lives so why should they affect mine. If someone said something about it they would always listen intently but for the most part they didn’t care too much about my clothing predicament. They just kept to themselves. And for that I thank them. The last group of people were the silent but deadly people. This is the biggest group of people out of the three groups. These students noticed that I had worn the same outfit but waited till I left the room to talk about it. They didn’t want to confront me straight to my face; they would rather wait and make their judgments when I left. These people never asked why I was doing it or anything about the situation. They didn’t want to know the full story; they would rather make up the other half. They preferred to make their own concepts without being fully informed. They made little sneering remarks that they thought I couldn’t hear but little did they know I did. These people gave me a weird glance as I walked down the hallway but never followed up with a question. For these people I have no thanks, and I encourage them to wait and make their full thoughts and comments on the matter until they are fully informed and know the actual story. Even though I wasn’t very excited about wearing the same attire for a week, I am glad that I did it. I learned a lot about the people of Ponderosa and a lesson about myself as well. I realized that I should wait to make comments about an event until I am fully informed about it. By Nate Pfiefer

Economic Plans

Barack Obama

• Amend the North American Free Trade Agreement so that it is more beneficial to American workers
• Update the system of Trade Adjustment Assistance to create flexible retraining systems
• Pressure the World Trade Organization to enforce fair trade agreements
• Create Advanced Manufacturing Fund to invest in new manufacturing methods
• Double the funding for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership
• Raise minimum wage
• Protect workers’ right to unionize and strike
• Create a universal mortgage credit
• Provide homeowners with a standardized mortgage rate
• Create a credit card rating system
• Provide a 36% interest cap on loans

John McCain

• Stop non-defense spending for one year
• Create the National Commission on Workplace Flexibility and Choice
• Use competition to improve the quality of health insurance and lower the cost
• Provide homeowners with the ability to trade their mortgage for a loan at the value of the house
• Create a student loan continuity plan to aid students paying for college by anticipating loans and expanding lender capabilities
• Bring the national budget to balance by 2013
• Put all money from victory in war toward reducing the national deficit
• Eliminate government spending programs that do not work

Gay Rights

Barack Obama

• Personally believes marriage is between a man and a woman but also believes that equality is a moral imperative for gay and lesbian Americans.
• Thinks the Defense of Marriage Act should be repealed.
• Feels that government should not discriminate against gay and lesbian couples in any way.
• Supports granting civil unions for gay couples.
• Opposed constitutional amendments to ban gay marriage.
• Said, “I don’t think homosexuals are immoral any more than I think heterosexuals are immoral.”

John McCain

• Believes marriage is between a man and a woman and should be regulated by the states.
• Opposed federal amendment to ban gay marriage because he believes it is the states responsibility.
• Endorsed a 2006 ballot initiative in Arizona to limit marriage between a man and a woman.
• Supported the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which banned recognition of gay marriage and domestic partnership.

Energy and Environment

Barack Obama

• Provide short term relief in gas prices
• 5 million new jobs created with 150 billion dollars towards clean energy
• Put one million plug in hybrids made in America with 150 mpg capability by 2015
• 10% energy from renewable resources by 2012, 25% by 2025
• Cap and trade program to reduce green house gases by 80% by 2050

John McCain

• Domestic oil and natural gas exploration in outer continental shelf
• Clean car challenge which gives 5 thousand dollar tax incentive towards anyone who buys a zero carbon emission vehicle
• 2 billion dollars annually towards clean coal research
• 45 nuclear power plants by 2030
• Cap and trade system to lower green house gases
• New energy efficiency standard for federal government

Immigration

Barack Obama

• Wants to make our border more secure. He supports additional personnel, infrastructure and technology at our borders.
• Fix the U.S. immigration system to make it easier for legal immigrants to make a life in the U.S. and meet demands for jobs that employers can’t fill.
• Crack down on people who hire illegal immigrants to remove the incentives for people to come into the country illegally.
• Supports a system to allow undocumented immigrants to pay a fine, learn English, and go to the back of the line in order to become citizens.
• Believes we need to promote economic development in Mexico to decrease illegal immigration.

John McCain

• Believes America’s immigration system is broken.
• Plans to secure American borders first.
• Plans to work with Department of Homeland Security to prosecute employers that continue to hire illegal workers.
• Implement temporary worker programs to help meet America’s labor needs.
• Commits to lowering the amount of time it takes for legal individuals waiting outside the country to gain a green card.

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