A pregnant girl walks into a bar, lights up a cigarette and orders a glass of wine.This joke doesn't sound funny, does it? That's because it isn't.

I recently visited a bar in my hometown over the weekend and saw this very scene.

Although I was shocked at the sight of this woman's reckless disregard for her unborn baby's health, I was even more shocked at the waitress', bartender's and police officer's apathy for the situation.

"A couple drinks won't do any harm," the waitress said.

Aspiring guitarists are finding it harder to learn their favorite songs these days as a new threat of lawsuits from the music industry has started the decline in online guitar tablature sites.One of the largest guitar tablature sites on the net, Olga.net - Online Guitar Archive - has been the main target in recent copyright infringement lawsuit threats from the National Music Publishers Association and the Music Publishers Association of the United States.

The recent revelation of sexual misconduct and drug abuse on the part of Rev. Ted Haggard is a tragedy - not only for him and his family but also for American Christianity as well.Though many Christians - including myself - disagreed with his political beliefs, that doesn't mean his fall was any less calamitous. His fall is an unfortunate example of lofty spiritual ideals being toppled by the sordid reality of the dark side of life.

It is often said the war in Iraq is comparable to the Vietnam War, but there is one thing that is noticeably different -- where are all the protest songs?Many of today's musical artists are so worried about having a radio-friendly hit that they forgo writing any songs that have actual messages. Thankfully, some artists are willing to take that risk.

Now that the mid-term elections have come and gone, let's take a look back at some of the most politically-charged songs to come out in the past year.

President Bush announced Wednesday that Donald Rumsfeld, secretary of defense since 2001, had resigned. Bush made his announcement only hours after the Democratic Party took control of the House - and hours before the Associated Press reported Democrats made up the majority in the Senate. Although the president's announcement seemed to be rather hasty only a day after elections, many students and faculty members say Rumsfeld's step down was long overdue.

Ralph Carter, chair of the political science department, said Rumsfeld should have resigned a long time ago.

The death of a TCU student Monday can serve as a reminder that everyone is all linked together regardless of who they know, said the minister to the university Wednesday.Federico Cuevas was found dead at his off-campus home Monday at 5:20 p.m., according to the Tarrant County medical examiner database.

Cuevas, a senior Spanish major from League City, played on university intramural sports teams at TCU, said the Rev. Angela Kaufman, minister to the university.

November is here; November means Christmas shopping.Christmas shopping means fighting traffic, crowds and credit cards.

Life is stressful but exciting during the holiday season, especially when we are juggling classes, jobs and exams along with the Christmas madness. Let us not make that an excuse to slack off on the gift-giving. Let us not forget the real significance of gifts.

It's true - gifts are difficult. What if he or she doesn't like it? What if he or she thinks this is weird? What if, what if?

Two women's tennis players made school history in their last match of the fall season by reaching the doubles finals of the 2006 ITA National Indoor Collegiate Championships at Ohio State on Saturday.Senior Ana Cetnik and sophomore Anna Sydorska became TCU's first female tennis players to reach the final match in a doubles national championship event when they defeated Kim Coventry and Joelle Schwenk of the Kentucky Wildcats in the semifinals of the tournament.

Panhellenic Council decided another sorority will be joining the Greek community next fall by a 9-to-1 closed vote at last night's meeting.Sixteen national chapters will be invited to TCU and those who express an interest in coming to campus will have to make a presentation to the Panhellenic Council about why they want to become part of Greek life at TCU, said Clare Edwards, Panhellenic Council president.

A recent national study found the number of American college students who participate in volunteer activities has increased nearly 20 percent since 2002 - exciting news for a community service coordinator."Student interest in volunteering here at TCU definitely seems higher," said Peter Thompson, program coordinator for Community Involvement and Service Learning. "Especially after last fall, when Hurricane Katrina put such a spotlight on volunteering - it was easier to see the need for it."