Sexual Assault Awareness Month

Sexual assault is pervasive in the United States. Study after study has shown that this crime impacts people at all age levels and in every part of this Nation. One recent study found that 18 percent of women in this country have been raped
in their lifetime.

-National Sexual Assault Awareness Month, 2009 Proclamation from President Barack Obama (news release)

April is, among other things, Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Although it is a very prevalent issue, this crime remains a taboo subject that seems only to appear in news casts (and briefly at that).

I think that if people were to talk more openly about the subject in general, crimes of this sort would be more likely to end in justice for the victims who are often too afraid of societal repercussions to speak out against the perpetrators. Education can be utilized as one of the most valuable tools in combating sexual assault. Take the first step and talk to your kids about the issue openly and honestly. Take the time to listen and to share what you know, as well as being willing to search if there are questions you don't have an answer for.

Sexual assault is an issue that needs to be addressed. Let's work together to face it, armed with knowledge and the courage to stand up for what is right.

Rookie Angels Pitcher Dies in Car Accident

Early Thursday morning, rookie pitcher Nick Adenhart died in a car accident (story) just hours after pitching six shutout innings for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Adenhart, 22, was just starting his first full season in the majors, having pitched just 12 innings in three games last year. Adenhart was among three people who died in the accident after their car was struck by a minivan in Fullerton, CA, just miles away from the stadium in Anaheim. The man in the minivan fled on foot and was later picked up by police on suspicion of hit-and-run. The fourth person in the vehicle with Adenhart was listed in critical condition at UC Irvine Medical Center. This was a tragic event for the entire Angels ballclub and he will be dearly missed. It's easy to think that one day will always follow another day, but as we've seen, we are never guaranteed tomorrow. Live every day like it could be your last and never take things for granted.

Protesting higher education funding cuts

According to a couple of the girls in one of my classes, the University of Northern Colorado had the largest turnout at the rally this week to protest the 50% funding cuts for higher education. They put together a slide show of the pictures of the rally that day and showed us some videos from their YouTube postings.
Here is a link to the story from The Rocky Mountain Collegian
200 students converge on the Capitol to protest higher ed. cuts - News
And one from The Denver Post (link)

I know it might not be an issue to people who aren't currently pursuing higher education, but for the ones who are, this would be extremely detrimental to them and their pursuit of a degree. Financial aid was the only way I've been able to pursue my college degree. It is something I think is worth fighting for. What are your thoughts?

For pictures visit the Rally4HigherEdu Facebook site.

A community calendar of sorts...

I don't even remember what I was looking for originally, but as I was surfing the Web yesterday, I came across a link on the Greeley Tribune Web site to a community calendar of sorts (link). It has a lot of local Colorado activities listed each day and has convenient features (like reminders you can use if you come upon an event that interests you) available to make it even more user friendly. I'd like to invite you to check it out--who knows what new things you might find to entertain yourself.

Picture of the Week

Each week I try to highlight what I call the picture of the week. Sometimes they come from my own collection, sometimes from my adviser Myke Gelhaus' stash, and occasionally I've been known to borrow from my momma.

The photo above was captured by my future mother-in-law Vicki in Missouri and was published in issue 10 of The Tributary. It's of her granddaughter Bria standing with her arm around her momma's kitty Creature, just watching the world go by. It's probably my favorite so far, although others would tie for close seconds if I were looking at them all side by side.

I love photos that tell a story or take your breath away with the beauty they capture. Recently, too, I've used a few photos from DefenseLINK, a site that showcases a large supply of military photos that are accompanied by a very detailed caption of what each one is about. They are definitely worth looking at as well.

If any of you have a photo from your own collection you would like to share in an upcoming issue of The Tributary, please feel free to send it my way. You can email it to thetributaryeditor@gmail.com or drop it by the office with your name, town and a brief description that will make up the caption. We're always looking for content from our readers, so your contributions are always appreciated.

Barack Obama's cousin

I love to get my news from The New York Times. My political science teacher got me hooked during his intro class a couple years ago, and I still read every headline (and most of the email they send with it) that my NYT update sends to my inbox.

Unfortunately, I'm only subscribed to the hard news updates, so if I don't have time to peruse the site or the paper itself, I usually miss out on stories like the one I'm about to tell you about.

As if having our first Black president weren't enough excitement in and of itself, New York Times reporter Zev Chafets wrote an article titled "Obama's Rabbi" (story) that uncovered yet another interesting fact about Barack Obama. His cousin by marriage (through Michelle), Capers Funnye, is the chief rabbi of the Beth Shalom B’nai Zaken Ethiopian Hebrew Congregation in Chicago. The story shows how dynamic Funnye is as a person, as well as the political and social aspects of the situation. I found it fascinating and thought I'd share and see what you think about this behind-the-scenes look at the Obama's inner circle.

Side note: Here's another interesting story about Obama and religion, which could add yet another dimension to the discussion... "Obama Says U.S. Is Not at War With Islam" (story)

Back to b-ball

It's opening day of the MLB! I know my fiance is excited about its return once again. He bought the online subscription access to MLB.TV that lets him watch any game that's streaming across the Web so that he won't miss any game he's free to watch.

As I write this, the NCAA Championship is at halftime. Does opening day overshadow this event that has been on the forefront of avid sports fans' minds all basketball season? Can they coexist? Can you get lost in it all? Tell me what's on your mind...

Do you Tweet?

I've never been one who has to be the first to try all the new tech stuff. That's why this fairly new social networking site -- Twitter -- is still foreign to me. I've been hearing a lot about it lately. It seems like the information and the name dropping has been coming from everywhere. I did a Google search and read the Wikipedia page on the subject, but I'm still a little lost in some of the details.

Do any of you use Twitter yourselves? What do you like or not like about it? Why did you join, or not join if you're resisting the movement? I'm curious to know your reasons...

Welcome to The Tributary Blog

Welcome to our new blog!

The Tributary is a weekly publication and was created to provide the community with a forum where ideas, opinions and knowledge can be shared. This blog was created to expand that purpose and allow community members to discuss important issues happening in our community, our state, our country and our world.

Our goal is to provide a forum that is as fair and balanced as possible to a variety of opinions and ideas. We do reserve the right to moderate comments and exclude material that does not constructively contribute to the conversations at hand. It is not a resource for venting angry ranting.

We encourage everyone to participate in this forum and use it as a tool to bring awareness to issues that affect the well being of the community. We believe each member of our audience is mature and therefore capable of discerning what is valuable to them as an individual. We hope to provide a place where a variety of information is available, and that by creating that connection, we can help make our lives a little richer.

If you would like to see a topic that has not yet been added to the blog, please email me at TheTributaryEditor@gmail.com