Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Thursday, December 19, 2013
The Media and the old slide of hand magic trick!!!!
Is it me or is American media only focused on one thing, The
Zimmerman trial and the effects? It is as if all the media out lets have no
other news to report, so there is nothing else going on in the US or the world
for that matter. I admit the case is a tragedy, a young man lost his life, a
mother lost a son and a man has to live with causing these events.
Baltimore, Maryland had sixteen unsolved homicides last
month. That only got local coverage.
Webster’s defines murder as the crime of unlawfully killing
a person especially with malice aforethought.
According to Florida law The unlawful killing of a human
being, when perpetrated by any act imminently dangerous to another and evincing
a depraved mind regardless of human life, although without any premeditated
design to effect the death of any particular individual, is murder in the
second degree and constitutes a felony of the first degree, punishable by
imprisonment for a term of years not exceeding life or as provided in s. 775.082,
s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
776.013 Home protection; use of deadly force; presumption of
fear of death or great bodily harm.—
(1) A person is presumed to have held a reasonable fear of
imminent peril of death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another
when using defensive force that is intended or likely to cause death or great
bodily harm to another if: (b) The person who uses defensive force knew or had
reason to believe that an unlawful and forcible entry or unlawful and forcible
act was occurring or had occurred.
So those are the laws of Florida, Zimmerman was charged and
his lawyers proved to a jury of his peers that he was acting in accordance with
the law. If juror B-29 felt he was guilty why didn’t she deadlock it, then
there might be a retrial? Now he can never be charged again.
With so much going on why is this so special? It is as if we
shouldn’t know about the economy, the middle east, Obama killing US citizens,
or the NSA totally infringing on the Constitution and breaking the law.
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Anything is possible and it can happen to you!
The two most important lessons to be learned
from the period we have just finished analyzing, the US since 1940, is how
creative Americans can be to succeed when they are told something is
impossible, like getting a man to the Moon with Apollo 11. The second lesson is
the US is not immune from repression or attack; September 11, 2001 demonstrated
this fact. First, I’m going to discuss
the Apollo 11 mission and how German Nazis’ were used by the US to beat the
Soviets to the moon. Second, I’m going to discuss the events that occurred on
September 11 and the aftermath pertaining to the new laws that were
implemented.
On October
4, 1957 the Soviets launched the first satellite, Sputnik, into orbit around
the Earth. It orbited the Earth every 96 minutes transmitting beeps to the
listeners on the ground. This Soviet
achievement rocked the American landscape.
Americans believed that they were far more technologically superior to
the Soviets. The Soviets were proving they had the technical knowledge to keep
up with the US and this brought panic. President Eisenhower tasked Wernher Von Braun to
get the US in the space race and win. On January 31, 1958 they launched the successful
Explorer Satellite. On April 12, 1961 the Soviet Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became
the first human to orbit the Earth. The two countries went back and forth
pushing the envelope, until President Kennedy had enough and promised the
American people, “ we will land a man on the moon and bring him back safely by
the end of the decade.” President John F.
Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963 and would not get to see his
promise materialize.[1]
Wernher Von
Braun was a German rocket scientist and one of the leading figures in the
development of rocket technology, both in Nazi Germany during WWII and in the
US after the war. He is credited as being the "Father of Rocket
Science". In his 20s and early 30s, Von Braun was the central figure in
Germany's Rocket Development Program, responsible for the design and
realization of the V-2 Combat Rocket, which rained down on England. After the
war, he and select members of his rocket team were taken to the US as part of
the then secret, Operation Paperclip. Von Braun worked on the US Army Intermediate
Range Ballistic Missile Program before he and his group were moved to The
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Under NASA, he served as
director of the newly formed Marshall Space Flight Center and as the chief
architect of the Saturn V Launch Vehicle, and the super-booster that propelled
the Apollo 11 spacecraft to the Moon in July 1969.[2]
Apollo 11 was the spaceflight that landed the
first humans, Americans Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, on the Moon on July 20,
1969. Armstrong became the first man to step on the lunar surface. Aldrin collected lunar samples to be brought
back to Earth. The third member of the mission, Michael Collins, piloted the
command spacecraft in lunar orbit, until Armstrong and Aldrin returned for the
trip back to Earth. Launched by a Saturn V rocket from Kennedy Space Center in
Merritt Island, Florida on July 16, Apollo 11 was the fifth manned mission of
NASA's Apollo program. The Apollo spacecraft was composed of three parts: a command module
with a cabin for the three astronauts; a service module which supported the
command module with propulsion, electrical power, oxygen and water; and a lunar
module for landing on the Moon. After being sent to the Moon by the Saturn V's
upper stage, the astronauts separated the spacecraft from it and travelled for
three days until they entered into lunar orbit. Armstrong and Aldrin then moved
into the lunar module and landed in the Sea of Tranquility. They stayed for 2.5
hours on the lunar surface gathering samples and conducting experiments. After
lifting off in the upper part of the lunar module and rejoining Collins in the
command module, they safely returned to Earth landing in the Pacific Ocean on
July 24, 1969.[3]
The success
of the Apollo 11 mission is a triumph for all man-kind, not just the US. There
were sacrifices and lives lost by both countries during the space race. It’s
because of the sacrifice of those fallen heroes we, as humans learned and
succeeded. Now we have the International Space Station, manned by Soviets and
Americans. The space race seems so cartoon in retrospect. A Nazi that developed
technology to destroy the US ultimately led us to victory against Soviets in
the race to the Moon.
On September
11, 2001, 19 militants associated with the Islamic extremist group Al-Qaeda
hijacked four airliners and carried out suicide attacks against targets in the
US. Two of the planes were flown into the World Trade Center Towers in New York
City, a third plane hit the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and the fourth plane
crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. The attacks resulted in extensive death, destruction,
and extreme fear triggering major US initiatives to combat terrorism, both at
home, through the USA Patriot Act and the development of the Department of
Homeland Security, and abroad, with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Over
3,000 people were killed during the attacks in New York City and Washington,
D.C., including more than 400 police officers and firefighters.[4]
NY
The USA PATRIOT
Act of 2001 was signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 26,
2001. The title of the act is a ten letter acronym that stands for: Uniting
(and) Strengthening America (by)
Providing Appropriate Tools Required (to) Intercept (and) Obstruct Terrorism
Act of 2001.The act significantly reduced restrictions in law enforcement
agencies' gathering of intelligence within the US; expanded the Secretary of
the Treasury’s authority to regulate financial transactions, particularly those
involving foreign individuals and entities; and broadened the discretion of law
enforcement and immigration authorities in detaining and deporting immigrants “suspected”
of terrorist-related acts. The act also expanded the definition of terrorism to
include domestic terrorism, thus enlarging the number of activities to which law
enforcement powers can be applied. On May 26, 2011, President Barack Obama
signed the PATRIOT Sunsets Extension Act of 2011, a four-year extension of
three key provisions in the USA PATRIOT Act: allowing for roving wiretaps, searching
business’ records, and conducting surveillance of individuals “suspected” of terrorist-related
activities.[5]
As a result
of the events of September 11, 2001, the US has become a police state. President
George W. Bush said in June 2002 televised address to the nation, "I ask
the Congress to join me in creating a single, permanent department with an
overriding and urgent mission: securing the American homeland and protecting
the American people." Before the attacks on September 11, most Americans
were under the false illusion that the government had a handle on homeland
security. The Department of Homeland Security was established by the Homeland
Security Act in November of 2002 and went operational on March 1, 2003. It
encompassed twenty-two existing agencies including: Customs, FEMA, the Coast
Guard, and the Secret Service. Tom Ridge, the former Governor of Pennsylvania
and then Homeland Security Adviser, joined the Cabinet as the first head of the
new department. When President Barack Obama appointed Janet Napolitano to the
position in 2008, he announced, "she will be a leader who can reform a
sprawling department while safeguarding our homeland."[6]
From 1940 to
the present, the US has had its glories and its blunders. Apollo was a great
achievement for the country, considering all the social issues tearing the
country apart and the Vietnam War. The attacks on 9/11 were very tragic, but
the majority of Americans never batted an eye when suicide bombings were going
on in Israel or people were being massacred in Africa, but 9/11 brought terror
home and showed that the US was not immune. As a result Americans let their
freedoms get stripped away in the name of Security! Benjamin Franklin expressed so eloquently in a
letter to Thomas Jefferson, “Those who surrender freedom for security will not
have, nor do they deserve, either one.”
[1] Stone,
Oliver and Peter J. Kuznick. The Untold
History of the United States. New York: Gallery Books, 2012. 274-277.
[2]"Biography
of Wernher Von Braun." Biography of Wernher Von Braun. Accessed May 11,
2013. http://history.msfc.nasa.gov/vonbraun/bio.html.
[3] "Apollo
11." Apollo 11. Accessed May 11, 2013.
http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/apollo11info.html.
[4] "9/11
Attacks." History.com. Accessed May 11, 2013.
http://www.history.com/topics/9-11-attacks.
[5] "USA
PATRIOT Act." Wikipedia. October 05, 2013. Accessed May 11, 2013.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USA_PATRIOT_Act.
[6] Silver,
Alexandra. "Top 10 Defining Moments of the Post-9/11 Era." Time.
Accessed May 11, 2013.
http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2068862_2068866_2068870,00.html.
I DID MY PART!!!  |
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Lazy and Crazy!
PI from the air
The
Pruitt-Igoe Myth was an excellent documentary that captured the evolution
of urban decay. The project started out with 33 brand new buildings funded by
the Government for the rural poor to move to the city and have better living
conditions. As time moved on and less and less people paid their rent, the
projects started to break down, due to lack of maintenance. The housing
authority depended on the rent to pay their workers to maintain the grounds.
The projects got worse and worse and as they did more people moved out, leaving
vacant housing for criminals to move in and destroy the structure and the
society that had developed in the projects. By the time the buildings were
imploded they had been picked over for anything of value, the windows broken
and no amount of maintenance could restore the projects to its original glory.
The
Pruitt-Igoe public housing complex in St. Louis, MI was infamously imploded in
1972. According to many advocates, “It became a symbol of how the United States
had failed to deal with its urban poor.” I say, “That’s crap.” Those people
were given a hand out and destroyed it themselves. The residents are the ones
that didn’t watch their kids as they destroyed the elevators and vandalized.
The residents thru their garbage all over the site and destroyed it for themselves.
We do not live in a socialist society, this is capitalism, and those people
should have taken better care of their own living environment.
In the documentary the residents talk about
how the police never came, then in a segment later they talked about throwing
bottles and bricks from the eleventh floor at the police. I wouldn’t go in
there either, if I were a policeman. The whole idea that the US owes its poor
something is asinine. If you don’t like where you are at get an education and
do something about it. Don’t have five kids, smoke and drink then complain that
you have no money and the government owes you this.
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Man I'm Old!!!!!!
When I was younger I would steal my
older brothers’ dirty magazines and thought it was awesome. Occasionally I
would sneak down stairs late at night and watch Cinemax. I really thought I was
getting away with something. I was young and stupid. As I grew older the
magazines lost their appeal, I realized stuff that they talked about would
never happen to me, until college. I watched an old Cinemax movie, Heavy Metal when I was really young and
saw it some years later, thought to myself, “This movie is crap, the acting
sucks and I actually think I am stupider after watching it.”
Fast forward to the present, I have
a ten year old daughter and I would be extremely upset if she were doing the
things I did. Watching the segments of Deep
Throat in class made me think to myself, “I don’t want my kids exposed to
the.” Twenty years ago I may have thought differently, but now that I am a
parent trying to raise my children “right” I think the time and place for porn
is not where my ten year old can access it. I guess I’m just getting old.
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Agent Orange Anyone?
After
class on Monday I was thinking about what to blog about. We had discussed so
many issues: execution, Ron Kovic, monks burning themselves in protest and the
Ho Chi Minh Trail. Out of all these topics, I thought of how horrible Agent
Orange is. Then Tuesday I was in the Veteran Affairs (VA) Hospital and struck
up a conversation with a Veteran who had served two tours in Vietnam and was
now suffering from cancer caused by Agent Orange, which gave me a personal
connection to the negative effects of the chemical. He also told me that his
children had genetic birth defects, which is common in people who were exposed
to the chemical.
I told my wife about my encounter at the VA
and she told me about her best friend, Kate. She was born with physical defects
that, through many surgeries, have almost been corrected. My wife told me that
Kate’s father was in Vietnam and was exposed to Agent Orange and that is the
cause of Kate’s physical impairments. Not only do I have a personal connection
with a person affected by Agent Orange, but my wife does as well.
Six
days ago the VA posted a link for Veterans that were exposed to Agent Orange
and other herbicides used to defoliate Vietnam. This link is also for the
children of these Veterans that suffer like my wife’s friend Kate. The link is:
http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange/,
and it is filled with great information and resources.
This Photo shows C1-30's in a staggered formation spraying Agent Orange over the forest canopy, with no regard for who it might be landing on, friend or foe.
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
From Vietnam to Iraq the VA. Still Sucks!!!
The main Character in “Born on the 4th of July,” Ron
Kovich is a person I can relate to. I did not see the kind of combat he did or
sustain the injuries that he has, but we are both Veterans of war that were
injured while serving our country and like Ron Kovich, I am dealing with the Veteran
Affairs(VA). The VA has come a long way since Kovich’s era, but they still
suck.
In July of 2009, I fell off an obstacle at the Air Assault
course and hurt my shoulder. I was taken to medical, they gave me Ibuprofen and
light duty for a week and said, “I banged it pretty good.” It was medically
documented that I had sustained this injury. In February 2012, I reinjured my
shoulder while training. I was due to get out of the Army in less than a month so
medical didn’t thoroughly document the event. On June 1, 2012 I went to the VA and
told them about my shoulder they ran test and MRI’s and on February 20, 2013 I
finally got the surgery I had needed from 2009.
Very long story short, on May 31, 2012 I filed an injury claim
with the VA stating 30 service-connected injuries. On February 20, 2013 I had this
surgery and now I am 100% temporarily disabled, unable to work. To compensate
for me not being able to work, the VA is suppose to give me disability
compensation. I went to the Veteran Affairs Benefits office to find out why my
claim was taking almost a year and was told they are backed up two years, and I am
going to have to wait. I informed them that I have no means of income, due to
the surgery they performed, and they told me they were “working on it.”
So I go to the Maryland state VA office to talk to someone,
I walk in at 3:00pm and sit down. A half-hour goes by and no one acknowledges my
presence. So I pull out my camera and start recording what they are all doing,
which is not working on claims. The large man is the Director of Veteran
Affairs for the state of Maryland. He saw me and didn’t even say, ”someone will
be with you shortly.”
I figured out why Veterans are not recieving their benefits: too many
people are not doing their job.
video by Jesse Youngs
As of the writing of this blog, there is still no word on the status of my claim.
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