Blog Stage 8

My colleague Rico Mitchelle posted a blog about global warming.  He states "I recently learned that half of the government is denying climate change and global warming." i would have to agree with him it seems that several people in the government are ignoring the evidence of global warming and don't seem to have any reasonable explanations when asked why they don't believe in global warming, It is kind of hard to deny all the ice melting in glaciers around the world right now. The diction and examples of cause and effect Rico uses make the reader understand the severity of the issue. Overall i believe this is a well written essay and i would have to agree with everything the author states in his blog.

Desegregating Schools

    After the Brown vs. Board of Education case in 1954 segregation in schools was suppose to be unconstitutional and nationally not allowed, but i would have to say it has not. Due to the fact I have seen segregation in schools based on economical status first hand. As i kid i moved a lot, lived in different types of income and always saw this difference. When i went to Vandegrift high school where most people are considered high class and a few middle-class families.It seemed to me as if the regular classes were almost as hard as my AP classes I would have to study everyday after school in order to maintain an A,B average. My senior year of school i moved and transferred to Anderson High this was a culture shock to me because it was, to me, a medium and low class school. The students were also held to much lower standards based on the fact they assumed students couldn't achieve most things if held to higher standards. I didn't study much at all and had all A's. Differences like this disappoint me because Anderson is suppose to be one of the better  public schools in AISD and there were so many profound differences.
    In Valerie Strauss article  How, after 60 years, Brown v. Board of Education succeeded — and didn’t. she says "Schools for black children had enormous resource shortages in 1954. Inequalities still exist in some places, although they are much smaller. But resource equality itself is insufficient; disadvantaged students require much greater resources than middle-class white students to prepare for success in school." This is true our schools recorcess seem more and more to be given to the schools that have higher income families. Unfortunately it is the lower income families that need them the most. Many of the poor income students don't have the same education going into kindergarten because they couldn't affored a pre-k or there guardians don't give them the same type of learning before they enter schools as the higher income families give to their children; so when starting school they also have to start playing catch-up. There is also an issue with the quality of teachers in lower-income schools vs higher-income schools. Teachers are held to a lower standard because they are given lower standards when it comes to requirements their students have to reach. This is only making the problem worse they should have great quality teachers like the schools with more money because the kids that need to be helped the most are the ones that are behind. 
    To fix this i believe we should put a national system into place where all schools rich or poor get the same quality of learning, the same funding, and the same resources and we should have residential integration be more widely enforced so that not only white rich kids can go to a certain school but so that everyone from every class share the same school and education. If we start there we will help the future of our society by bringing the kids up not holding them back.

Blog Stage 6:Commentary

In my classmates blog United States Government News Carolina Vazquez discusses the topic of poverty in the united states. In this blog she states that those whom are in poverty have significant set backs in civil rights compared to "rich" people. She specifically talks about issues with the court system stating "Focusing on poverty and criminal justice, it is clear that the poor are the ones who suffer the most because they cannot afford to pay high court fees and other charges such as getting an expensive lawyer to defend them in a fair trial." When talking about these problems she uses several techniques that make this a well written article such as cause and effect as well as quoting the work she is writing the blog about. Due to this she has persuaded me to agree with her discussion. I think that poor people do not have the same fairness when it comes to trials as rich people do based on not having the same type of lawyers provided to them. I also agree that those born in poverty have a harder time becoming economically stable due to the lack of resources provided to them.

    In conclusion due to the authors credibility i would have to agree with her standpoint when it comes to poverty and the lack of rights the people in poverty face. I would also say this is a well written article due to the techniques used such as diction, cause and effect, and the amount of proof given.

NSA the government goes against our founding beliefes

Everyone has their own opinions about the US national government some people love the controlled power but others like me are not so found of it based on it contradicting many of the beliefs of our founding fathers. We left England because we the people did not have enough power while the center of the government (the king) had way to much of it. Due to this we were treated unfairly to say the least. Well from what i've been seeing recently it seems that we could slowly be headed in that direction again. The part of government that i would have to disagree with the most is the NSA being able to access all of our information through technology. They claim it is to help us but if that is so why have the crime rates remained approximately the same since this bill was passed? It hasn't really helped at all! that being said any terrorist that wants to harm us is going to find a way with or without technology. I believe that instead of them watching us like spys they should use that money being spent on hiring more security at high risk events. For example the Virginia Tech shooting he harmed as well as killed many children and people without using any technology but if their was more security it is possible that that shooting would not have escalated to the level that it did. I think that them watching all of us citizens including those whom have never been convicted of a crime is against our right of privacy as citizens of the united states. It also goes against everything we were against when leaving England for example how they were allowed to invade and intrude the homes of people back then. how do i know that the government isn't looking into my home through my laptop camera? We don't we have no idea what they're looking at, who they are looking and why they are looking at them. In conclusion i believe that we should amend this bill and use that money to actually help people as well as stop future events from occurring. I don't believe in this because it goes against everything America once stood for, but if it must stay we should know why they are watching us if we are under surveillance and only be allowed to watch those who are previously convicted of a crime.

Fred Phelps is dead !!!

In the article Fred “God hates f*gs” Phelps is dead the author states that Fred Phelps is dead and it is a good thing for society. Fred Phelps was the founder of the church "god hates Fags" in which he would take groups of people to funerals of gay as well as gay friendly people and hold picket signs saying hateful things about the people passed and their beliefs. The article gave good evidence due to the fact that he not only listed a broad group of people that Phelps protested against but also gave specifics. For example the author also stated that Phelps protested not only at Steve Jobs funeral but also at the funeral of a  nine year old girl killed in the assassination attempt against Cong. Gabbie Giffords. This also appeals to peoples logic because most would agree that it is unethical to protest at the funeral of a little girl whom died as an innocent bi standard. The article also states that while his protests were hurtful to many it did help start many gay rights organizations. As well as stating that his protests helping laws to help gay rights pass, and lastly but most importantly they helped non gay people see and somewhat understand the hatred and cruelty that homosexual people face on a day to day basis and not be so cruel. Due to this he also shows cause and effect in his blog which helps the readers also understand the outcome of such protests.
      I would have to agree with the article completely due to the fact that i believe people should all have the same rights even if others do not agree with them. I also believe those whom don't agree shouldn't harass the people who live a different life style let alone at their funeral. I agree that it is disrespectful. But I am thankful that it has helped gay rights move in a more positive direction.
      That being said in conclusion i believe that this is a well written article. It includes several great aspects of writing such as cause and effect logical appeal , emotional appeal and lastly evidence by stating specific protests. As well as convincing me while reading it.

New York Rethinks Solitary Confinment Critique

In The article New York Rethinks Solitary confinement I believe the author does a great job in their editorial. It seems to me the author is trying to appeal to all Americans and inform them about what goes on inside our prison system. In this aspect the author does a very well job due to the fact that they give several statics from credible recourses. These statics help someone that is not informed about the prison system some insight so that they can understand from a mathematical stand point the problems they are facing as well as why new York is facing some of these problems. This author claims that the New Guidelines New York are applying are "more humane " than they were before. This is due to the fact that juveniles under 18 will be let out of solitary confinement for at least 5 hours of exercise a week, as well as women whom are pregnant being prohibited from solitary confinement and lastly those who are mentally ill can not be left in solitary confinement for more than 30 days.
       The author agreed and had a firm belief in these acts being put into place based on facts. On of which was "A study published Feb. 12 in The American Journal of Public Health found that New York City jail inmates placed in solitary confinement were nearly seven times as likely to harm themselves as those in the general population." as well as several other statics stating the number of inmates that were in solitary confinement and including those whom have been in solitary confinement for more than a year. I believe this essay is very logical and has many very good claims due to the fact it is not solely based on how she feels but agreeing to a reform that has already been passed due to facts the author knows are for certain.
      I would have to agree with the author due to the fact that if someone was mentally  unstable and being put in a room with no windows for over 23 hours its most likely they would go more crazy and/or hurt themselves. I also agree that it would be inhumane to put a pregnant woman in a room for over 23 hours with no exercise our outside recourses to help through the pregnancy. All in all I agree with everything completely and have come to the conclusion that this is a very well written and informative argument.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/21/opinion/new-york-rethinks-solitary-confinement.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&module=ArrowsNav&contentCollection=Opinion&action=keypress&region=FixedLeft&pgtype=article

"Senate Fails to Pass Three-Month Extension of Jobless Aid"

On February 6,2014 The New York Times posted an article regarding the senate failing to pass a three month extension to jobless aid. Obama wanted to extend the assistance given to people with long-term unemployment, but it failed to pass due to one republican vote. Due to this Obama is trying to urge the congress that this is needed in order for the lives of those who are unemployed due to the economy to continue as they should. I disagree with president Obama. I believe that we as a country were founded on hard work ethic and equality. Each of us is given the opportunity to do great things form the day we are born and if we chose not to it's our own fault. I believe that as a society we already give the unemployed enough financial assistance and for a long enough time for them to get a job whether you have to be a janitor or you work in a corporate office. If you're desperate enough you'll work those less than perfect jobs. Those who chose not to take advantage of the assistance we give them and avidly look for a job don't deserve an extension of anything. On an other note our economy is bad enough as it is adding six billion dollar cost to it won't do anything but bring us down that much more. Lastly who's to say that after we agree to the extension that those people who collect unemployment will want another 3 month extension. Overall I completely disagree with the idea of extending our unemployment assistance due to the cost, and moral of it.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/07/us/politics/senate-fails-to-advance-unemployment-extension.html?_r=0