4/23/14

While flipping through a few articles in our English book for something to write on, I am across the article "The Schools Are Destroying Freedom of Speech". This summarizes a few cases at which students during school events were pretty much violated with the right of freedom of speech. When giving their valedictorian speeches a graduation, because they had religious views and the school did not find them appropriate their microphone was cut right when they were talking. I feel two ways about this, that one I believe everyone should in fact be able to speak with freedom to some extent, and two that I suppose the school did have a right to do what they did. Under our U.S. constitution, everyone should be able to speak what they would like and how they would, and I do agree with that. We are our own person and can form our own points of views if wed like, but. As stated in the article, although I don't agree, the school did sponsor that event specifically, and thereby I would say has the ability to control what is said and how it is run. I just feel they could maybe of explained that before worst case scenario. Possibly if they would have gone over why and specifically explain their actions of not wanting that certain views in their speeches this whole situation would not have happened. With that being said, the author definitely could have over dramatized the two situations for this writing and made it appeal towards his point of view and been a little biased.

4/15/14

   Reading through articles on Yahoo news, at work, I came across a pretty horrific story that was being shown all over the news. Frazier Cross, a man that was living in Kansas had shot and killed 3 people. Among them a 14 year old teen. Cross was one of the founders of a Ku Klux Klan group he had started in North Carolina. They are indefinitely calling this murder because of their race and beliefs. This is absolutely horrific considering the circumstances that not only was a boy shot but he was shot with his grandfather. What really caught my attention about this story was the fact that these type of people were still around. Almost never do you hear stories of white supremacists running around spreading their word. It really just shows that these people that have hatred for other races and religions do still exist and everyone should be aware. Instead I personally think that people should be aware of this and not taken so lightly. It should be a crime just to be associated with these type of groups or even have these beliefs. Not one person should be judged by the way they look, dress, or even beliefs. Let alone be killed for no reason over it. 

Below I have posted the article just in case you would like to read it. Also there are a lot of news headlines about it as we speak.

http://news.yahoo.com/suspect-kansas-shootings-faces-murder-charges-153938026.html

Behind the curve 4/7

While choosing a topic, I was skimming through our english 111 book. This article really stood out because I can relate to it. In economics we are actually currently learning on it. It was called behind the curve and described the different steps president Obama took to help with unemployment and economic problems around 2009. In the article they are extremely skeptical to what his intentions actually are and if whether or not the spending has in fact actually done something to help with the current circumstances. Although we are in great debt and it could be too late what he did was exactly what any other president would do. In Econ we talked about the two different types of economics Keynesian and Classical. These two are almost completely opposite and of course it explains what President Obama is and why he made the decisions he did. Classical is when you pretty much believe the role of the government should stand for Liberty and let everything really work out. And Keynesian is spending money through the stimulation through public education, investing in science or discoveries, DEBT, medicare, social security, and etc. Through this you really get the perspective of peoples thoughts. I would personally suggest that the article in the book would be biased and written more towards a classical approach, mainly being that they disagree with what President Obama has made decision wise, and think that all this spending is not a great idea.

Whether or you are interested the article is in our book on pages 402-403.

Smartphones and children-4/1

When reading through  few news articles on yahoo. I found an interesting one that proves great points. Whether or not your child should have smartphone or not. I personally agree with the main points of the article. No, younger kids should not have smartphones. To me it seems pretty unnecessary, I myself, did not even have a phone until I was a sophomore in high school, and still really did not have a big need for it. Most use is from using online media or texting friends rather than what parents want to think of it as keeping track of their kids. Smartphones pose a threat mainly with younger kids having the responsibility to use them correctly. Some children may not be responsible enough to use technology the correct way until they are somewhat older.
   If parents need an easy way to stay in touch with their kids, the article did prove a pretty cool alternative. It is a device that fits around their wrist called a FiLIP which allows parents to be able to locate their child relatively anywhere and also has up to a allowance of 5 minute calls at anytime without being able to contact 911. This sounds more inviting and even more important, cheaper and cost effective. Not only do I personally believe kids do not need their own phones until high school, there has to be better ways than giving in and buying one.

If you would like to check out the article the URL is below.

https://www.yahoo.com/tech/are-smartphones-bad-for-your-kids-81214746380.html

4/24-Facebook

While reading through our English book for possible topics to write about. I came across an interesting article about Facebook. In short the article continues to talk about how people need to be wary on what they do and do not post, and that it is completely on them when it comes to information being found out by people. I believe this is completely relevant and relates to almost everyone! Now a days Facebook is the most popular way people communicate when it comes to the internet, and is by far used more than myspace. The way it relates is everyone is naive to what they think is actually viewed and not viewed, and it can hurt someone whether it be you or someone else. It could even be your chances of getting a job. Whatever is posted, is posted, and the person that does this should know the consequences for their actions.
   Say you apply for a job that you really wanted, but the weeks before went out and partied and posted inappropriate comments or pictures on your Facebook. Your possible boss could take a look at your resume, go online and check up on you. That in itself should scare people into really thinking before writing. What I would like to get across is that although at the time it may seem like a good idea or funny. But if you really think about it in the long run is it worth hurting yourself even more?

If you would like to read about this it is on page 285.

3/3 Left Behind, Way Behind

    While looking at a few articles and deciding what to blog on in our English book, I came across another interesting topic. That is the connection between low-income families, the children they have, and their children's abilities to with basic reading and math skills. What it is saying is most of teens that are in school already have a disadvantage. Their reading, writing, and math scores are so low they would not even stand a chance in the event of going to college, where college is almost one of the most needed things to survive. I do agree with what has been brought up. Just because someone's parents do not have as much money as others in the community do not mean their education and schooling should be any different than the next. They should be focusing on ways to incorporate low-income families into the regular schooling curriculum not just passing them on and cheating them out of a normal education.  To me this is somewhat hard to believe, and did not really realize the impact income could have on someone's education. I personally thought that all education could be considered the same, no including private schooling.
   Possibly more funding should be provided to schools and students to maintain the proper education needed, would this not follow under the money we give to taxes each year? There really would be no excuse to have this problem unless the factors of success are solely on the person trying rather than the school itself.

Free Blog2/26

While reading a couple news stories on yahoo news this week while I was at work, I came across an interesting story. This one was a story about how women that raise their babies behind bars gives them an increase of not returning back to prison when released. Now when you think of this is probably more a good thing than a bad thing. You may think that yes they are in prison and maybe should not have this right and continue out their punishment like everyone else that would not have a child. For those who do this to me is good. When a baby is born they should have the right to be with their mother no matter where they are at (and in this case in prison). It not only helps the baby have a parent but also show the parent what they need to work for and change. By being with your child all the time it could potentially set the incarcerated mother back on the right track and stay out of the system. Although it costs the prison $23,000 a year to provide for the baby. Every year the parent is locked up it is $30,000. What I am getting at is as stated also in the article if the parent gets set straight for a couple years that will add up to the added costs of paying for the child. I had honestly never heard of anyone being able to raise child in prison, let alone being with them all the time in there. Below is the article if anyone wants to read it.



 http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/nightline-fix-abc-news/babies-born-raised-behind-bars-may-keep-mothers-145950328.html?vp=1

Week 5-Why the music industry hates guitar hero page 268

   While reading through a few articles in our Argument English textbook. One very relevant article to teens today caught my eye. It is the growing popularity of the game Guitar Hero. Now the argument in this one is that artists are getting upset, while also companies like Itunes, over the fact that the game is minimally paying for rights to use the songs and taking away traffic to the sites. To me this is somewhat of a poor decision to the music companies. Instead of whining over the fact that they are becoming more popular, they should be working with the game in ways to benefit them both. Instead of fighting for more money, why not fight to incorporate both? As stated in the article Aerosmith has even come out with a version of Guitar hero and made more money off of it than any album they have ever come out with. Companies need to realize the change in fads over the decades. In the early 2000's yes CD's would be selling like crazy, but now a day's it is all video games for teens and young adults. In the name of Guitar Hero I completely agree with the way it is going. Personally, the music companies are acting pretty childish. I am more than positive they are making enough money to continue to grow. If companies would stop being so greedy and trying to conquer all other industries and be on top, they could work on ways to relate to all the age groups of our society today.

Free Choice #2 Citizenship

When reading through a few yahoo new articles at work one specifically caught my eye. It was a loophole in the citizenship to the United States. To me that sounded crazy so I had to check it out. Basically in short what the Chinese are doing is visiting an island that is only located about 4 hours from China, by plane, called Saipan. Which is by the way a U.S. territory (never knew that even existed or we had territories out that far). People are actually selling packages for $27,000 to people to have their baby on this island and get complete U.S. citizenship. This kind of opens my mind it two ways, one being we have a great country that many people very desperately want to live in and two being that I do feel sorry for anyone that has to go to this great investment for their child to become a citizen and later on get themselves granted because of it.

It does make me feel better inside knowing when I am a parent I will not have to travel long lengths in an airplane and have my child on an island somewhere just to get a pass to a certain country. It lets you appreciate what you actually have, but not totally realize it at the time. Also, my thoughts on this are I do not believe that this should be right for these people to just be granted visa's that easy. It really does make it a great deal un-fair for the people not so fortunate from China that have applied the correct way and still have not gotten accepted. Personally, I would be upset. Just thought this was an interesting article that brought up different points of view. The URL is below.


http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/beyond-the-headline-abc-news/loophole-american-citizenship-chinese-161546338.html?vp=1

Text Response 1

   While flipping through my textbook one day look for inspiration on something to write about I came across and interesting article in Chapter 14 named "Turning Goy's into Girls". Immediately this brings to your attention, what the heck is a goy? Michelle Cottle does an excellent job of putting the ever so changing trends of the 21st century in plain view. Michelle writes, "The more men obsess about growing old or unattractive, the more marketers will exploit and expand that fear; the more marketers bombard men with messages about the need to be beautiful, the more they will obsess". This small section sums everything up, but I am still not convinced completely. Yes, I have caught myself being easily convinced with fancy infomercials that only show one side of the story. But couldn't all these magazines and ploys be a good thing for someone? As being a citizen of the U.S. we have the ability to think freely and make our own decisions, whether it be to go out and buy something to make you feel better about yourself. I think it really gives someone the hope they need to make better lifestyle choices and continue to better themselves. It really provides a way for people set goals for what they want and to achieve them.

   Although that is my side on this there are other points too. magazines and articles often do exploit people and cause them to get a little out of hand. Buying or changing one thing in your diet or appearance is not something to be concerned about, but when people look into it too much and take it a little out of hand is when there is a problem. Although they do sometimes provide somewhat of a way to trick people I think that some of the responsibility can be put on the readers for not looking into something before acting upon it.

Alpha Dog -1/29/14

   While enjoying our two days off from school I ran into somewhat of a popular movie I had never seen known as Alpha Dog. Immediately while studying in my room it caught my attention and made it quite hard to do anything else. Nick Cassevetes definitely made a A movie for anyone to watch incorporating the true story of Jesse James Hollywood, a 19 year old drug dealer who kidnaps a 15 year old boy whose brother owes him drug money (IMDb). The boy was eventually murdered by him. What really got me interested in the movie was the fact that it does keep you on the edge of your seat the entire time by just how outrageous all the characters were. Anytime they did something you just think to yourself, how could someone be so dumb and actually do that? By the end it leaves you thinking, does any of them actually feel remorse and stupidity for what happened? Such a simple thing was taken so far out of hand its hard to believe it would happen over $1200. All-in-all, the movie follows the true story very spot on, if you research and put about 15 minutes into it. Towards the end it gives a re-enactment of an interview of the mother's reaction to the whole thing. It really puts you in her shoes and makes you really think, what if that were to happen to me? While also, leaving you sad and wondering how anything like that could happen and how real it all really was. This is for sure anyone looking for a great movie that covers real-life cases. Below is a YouTube video that gives a brief summary of it all.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9f1_PJWA9iM