The article is about a case where a teenage boy was shot and killed by a 28 year old man who claims it was out of self-defense. The teenage boy's name was Trayvon Martin and the man who shot him was named George Zimmerman. It is believed that Martin was walking to his father's girlfriend's house from a nearby 7-Eleven. Zimmerman was the commutiy watch man who carries a 9mm with a permit. He called 9-1-1 and reported a suspicious behavior. He started following the boy. What happened next seemed unclear. All we know is that the Martin was shot and killed and that Zimmerman has yet to be arrested.
The main issue in the case is race. Martin was a black teenage boy and Zimmerman is a hispanic. Many think that Mr. Zimmerman did this because of the fact that Martin was black, but he claims it was out of self defense. Another issue is that fact that Zimmerman has yet to be arrested. Many people, inluding myself, find it astonishing that a man could shoot and kill someone, and still not be arrested for it.
This is drawing so much national attention because of the fact that many believe that this was a race crime. They think that Zimmerman did this just because the boy was black and because he was black, he was automatically "acting suspicious." Also, the fact that Zimmerman has yet to be arrested is angering some people. How can someone kill someone and not be arrested. At the time, we didn't know that Casey Anthony killed her daughter, yet she was arrested but here we KNOW that Zimmerman shot and kill Martin and he is still a free man.
In my opinion, I think that Zimmerman should be arrested and put on trial. There is no reason that a 28 year old man should shoot at a teenage boy. Can he really not defend himself against a teenager that much that he must go right to shooting the boy? I'm sure that a 28 year old man could defend himself without the use of a deadly weapon like that because fromt he look of Zimmermans pictures, he doesn't look like a weak little guy.
Part 2
The Florida "Stand Your Ground Law" is when a person is presumed to have a fear of death or great bodily harm to him or herself or another when using a defensive force that is intended or likely to cause death or great bodily harm to another IF: (1) the person who the defensive force was used against is in the process of unlawfully entering a dwelling, residence, occupied vehicle, or if they were trying to forcfully remove a person from a dwelling, residence, occupied vehile or (2) the person using the defensive force knew or had reason to believe that an unlawful and forcible entry was occuring or had occured. In other words it has to do if someone was to forcefully invade your car or residence. In this case, Martin was not going to Zimmerman's car or residence, he was going to his father's girlfriend's house where he was to stay. There, Zimmerman is at fault.
In my opinion, I find that this law is right. If people want to invade your personl space such as your home or vehicle and you fear that you could be hurt or even die, you should be able toact upon that is a way that you choose. You have fear and they are breaking the law as well as into your own area.
However, this does not apply to this case. Martin was not goint to invade anything of Zimmerman's. Therefore Zimmerman is at fault, should be arrested, put on trial, and in my opinion, recieve the death penalty for killing another person. We already let Casey Anthony get away with murder, we cannot let this man get away with it also.
Monday, March 26, 2012
Thursday, March 15, 2012
2/21/12
Students at Noble Street College Prep are having to pay for even the samllest infractions. For example, it is $5 for a detention. It is reported that last year, the school earned over $190,000 just in fees paid by students who had infractions. They say that this teaches students to follow the rules. Which makes sense because I know that I don't want to give someone my money for being late to a class, therefore, I would always follow the rules in order to keep my money.
I like this policy. If you do such a thing, then you can really crack down on all the small things that bother all of administration at a school. Administration hates when students are late to class, skip, back talk, ect. and by making students pay for such insidents, then you can reduce all of them because students don't want to pay their own money. I am all for it and think it is a great idea for all schools to implement such a policy.
Like I said in the previous paragraph, I think that our school should put in such a plicy. By doing this, students will start to follow the rules. Not only that, but then the school will make money that they can put toward such things as sports, or after school activities.
Yes, there is a huge problem here. Everyday, students are are late to class, walk out of class, and do such things really make this place look bad. But if they were to put such a system in place, all of those problems would really be decreased.
I like this policy. If you do such a thing, then you can really crack down on all the small things that bother all of administration at a school. Administration hates when students are late to class, skip, back talk, ect. and by making students pay for such insidents, then you can reduce all of them because students don't want to pay their own money. I am all for it and think it is a great idea for all schools to implement such a policy.
Like I said in the previous paragraph, I think that our school should put in such a plicy. By doing this, students will start to follow the rules. Not only that, but then the school will make money that they can put toward such things as sports, or after school activities.
Yes, there is a huge problem here. Everyday, students are are late to class, walk out of class, and do such things really make this place look bad. But if they were to put such a system in place, all of those problems would really be decreased.
2/28/12
The NFL is looking to advance technologically. Starting next year, the NFL will be implementing some new devices that will further advance the game. The refs will have handheld tablets that will make it much easier for them to make the right call. At the goal line, there will be a laser straight across that will let you know when the ball crosses the plane and it is a touchdown. Coaches will also have handheld tablets that will replace the laminate pieces of paper that coaches currently have on the sideline. This will make it much eaiser for coaches to scroll throgh the plays for thier players.
People are suggesting that it will make the game better by making it go by quicker. All these advances that I mentioned in the previous paragraph will make the game go by faster and get the calls more effient. This will make the game have a lot more of fair calls, therefore causing no controversy.
The way that things were done in the pass were not really advanced. The coaches had laminate play sheets and a headset that they would speak into to let the offensive captain know the play, having them relay the message to the players. The refs had to go to a special booth to review a play and make sure they got the call right and the same thing for whent they were unsure if the ball passed to goal line or not.
This will speed up the game because the calls will come a lot faster. They can get all he right calls in much a shorter time compared to the time it takes during a challang, for example,today. Also, the message from the coaches through their headset will go to each player. Therefore, there are no need for huddles and that will make make the game go by quicker.
Of course they should make these changes. The game is way behind technologically and by making these changes, they will be ahead of everyone else.
Part 2
At first, the NFL started off using hand signals to give signs to players that would stand for a certain play. Once they found out that this was very inefficient and that the signs could be picked up on quite easily, they started to using the laminate playcards and having the offensive captain run over to the sideline and get the play, and then relay it to the huddle. After that didn't work, they moved on to the laminate play cards, and the headset. The offensive captain would have a speaker in their helmet and then the coach would talk through his headset, that would relay into the captains helmet. Then the captain would relay that to the huddle and run the play. Now, they have moved on to the technological advances that this article talks about.
People are suggesting that it will make the game better by making it go by quicker. All these advances that I mentioned in the previous paragraph will make the game go by faster and get the calls more effient. This will make the game have a lot more of fair calls, therefore causing no controversy.
The way that things were done in the pass were not really advanced. The coaches had laminate play sheets and a headset that they would speak into to let the offensive captain know the play, having them relay the message to the players. The refs had to go to a special booth to review a play and make sure they got the call right and the same thing for whent they were unsure if the ball passed to goal line or not.
This will speed up the game because the calls will come a lot faster. They can get all he right calls in much a shorter time compared to the time it takes during a challang, for example,today. Also, the message from the coaches through their headset will go to each player. Therefore, there are no need for huddles and that will make make the game go by quicker.
Of course they should make these changes. The game is way behind technologically and by making these changes, they will be ahead of everyone else.
Part 2
At first, the NFL started off using hand signals to give signs to players that would stand for a certain play. Once they found out that this was very inefficient and that the signs could be picked up on quite easily, they started to using the laminate playcards and having the offensive captain run over to the sideline and get the play, and then relay it to the huddle. After that didn't work, they moved on to the laminate play cards, and the headset. The offensive captain would have a speaker in their helmet and then the coach would talk through his headset, that would relay into the captains helmet. Then the captain would relay that to the huddle and run the play. Now, they have moved on to the technological advances that this article talks about.
3/12/11
Some of the United States military services are starting to introduce random breath tests of the troops on duty. This applies particularly to the Navy and Marines. The random tests are a part of a broader health and safety push. Officials say that the push will be a tough sell with weary troops that are returning after a decade long war. This program is being installed to identify troops that need counseling or treatment. For the ones that test postivily for a high blood alcohol level or for illegal substances will not be allowed to go on duty but they will not be penalized on their permant record. Armed Forces such as the Army or Air Force do not have such a policy intact.
They are starting these tests because they are coming out of a decade long war and the long term effects that such a thing could have on someone is troubling. By installing such a program, you can see what troops need help and what ones are having trouble coping with what they just went through.
Some people are against this because such troops have been away for years on end and to just al of a sudden tell them that they can't enjoy themselves by drinking is somewhat wrong. They have fought for our country, haven't seen their families in over a decade, and want to celebrate returning home. They should be able to.
In my opinion, I think these tests are good and bad. They are bad because these troops are grown men and should be able to do what they want after being in combat for ten or so years. On the other hand, you don't want your troops getting out of hand. And by doing these tests, you can see who really needs help because of either what they did in combat or for their addiciton.
Part 2
It turns out that the number of Army soliders enrolled in treatment programs for drugs and/or alcohol has doubled since 2003. This is a sign of the growing stress on soliders after the war in Iraq and Afganhistan. Soliders diagnosed with alcohol abuse in 2003 was 6.1 per 1000 soliders. This has increased to nearly 11.4 per 1000 soliders. The Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Army have all noticed that this is do to stress in combat.
They are starting these tests because they are coming out of a decade long war and the long term effects that such a thing could have on someone is troubling. By installing such a program, you can see what troops need help and what ones are having trouble coping with what they just went through.
Some people are against this because such troops have been away for years on end and to just al of a sudden tell them that they can't enjoy themselves by drinking is somewhat wrong. They have fought for our country, haven't seen their families in over a decade, and want to celebrate returning home. They should be able to.
In my opinion, I think these tests are good and bad. They are bad because these troops are grown men and should be able to do what they want after being in combat for ten or so years. On the other hand, you don't want your troops getting out of hand. And by doing these tests, you can see who really needs help because of either what they did in combat or for their addiciton.
Part 2
It turns out that the number of Army soliders enrolled in treatment programs for drugs and/or alcohol has doubled since 2003. This is a sign of the growing stress on soliders after the war in Iraq and Afganhistan. Soliders diagnosed with alcohol abuse in 2003 was 6.1 per 1000 soliders. This has increased to nearly 11.4 per 1000 soliders. The Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Army have all noticed that this is do to stress in combat.
Monday, March 5, 2012
3/5/12
According to the article, a bounty, in terms of the NFL is paying players fees to target opponets for injury. In other words, the coaches and possibly some of the players are willing to pay another team memeber if they can knock an opposing player, probably a game changer, out of the game for good, in order to give their teams an advantage on the field and hopefully go on to win the game.
No, it is not "ok" for coaches and players to put out bounties. To put money down for someone to knock a player out of the game is purely disgusting. How could someone do that? Just think of it this way, if someone were to try and knock someone out of the game, and they succeed, then they could end someones career, injuring a player further than they wanted to. It is just a dirty way to play the game.
In my opinion, they would do it so that they could have a better chance at winning. If you can hurt a key player on the other team so bad that they can't come back into the game, then you automatically have a better chance at winning. The player isn't there to make as much of an impact as they normally would, therefore, putting the opposing team in a bad situation while, you can then, pick out that weakness to give your team a better chance to win.
Yes. They should get in trouble. In my opinoin, I think that the coach should be suspended for a minimum of 8 games. The fact that they coach knows that such a thing was going on and did nothing about it is horrid. Secondly, I think that the players should have to pay back the money and pay for the medical bills of the players that they hurt. That may sound a bit harsh, but that is just my opinion.
A type of bounty system happend in the NBA with the Boston Celtics. There was a player by the name of Len Elmore. He loved to takes charges. Cedric Maxwell and other Boston Celtic players had a bounty going on that if he were to take a charge against them, then they would step on his chest. The payment was only $10 but Mexwell says that "it was enough."
Surprisingly, the Celtics did not get in trouble. Actually, this didn't come out until about a day ago when all the news about the New Oreleans Saints. Maxwell said it as a defense to the Saints in a way that it happend in every sport. That it is something that just happens and you can't help it. It is too late to punish them now. This happend from 1977-1988.
No, it is not "ok" for coaches and players to put out bounties. To put money down for someone to knock a player out of the game is purely disgusting. How could someone do that? Just think of it this way, if someone were to try and knock someone out of the game, and they succeed, then they could end someones career, injuring a player further than they wanted to. It is just a dirty way to play the game.
In my opinion, they would do it so that they could have a better chance at winning. If you can hurt a key player on the other team so bad that they can't come back into the game, then you automatically have a better chance at winning. The player isn't there to make as much of an impact as they normally would, therefore, putting the opposing team in a bad situation while, you can then, pick out that weakness to give your team a better chance to win.
Yes. They should get in trouble. In my opinoin, I think that the coach should be suspended for a minimum of 8 games. The fact that they coach knows that such a thing was going on and did nothing about it is horrid. Secondly, I think that the players should have to pay back the money and pay for the medical bills of the players that they hurt. That may sound a bit harsh, but that is just my opinion.
A type of bounty system happend in the NBA with the Boston Celtics. There was a player by the name of Len Elmore. He loved to takes charges. Cedric Maxwell and other Boston Celtic players had a bounty going on that if he were to take a charge against them, then they would step on his chest. The payment was only $10 but Mexwell says that "it was enough."
Surprisingly, the Celtics did not get in trouble. Actually, this didn't come out until about a day ago when all the news about the New Oreleans Saints. Maxwell said it as a defense to the Saints in a way that it happend in every sport. That it is something that just happens and you can't help it. It is too late to punish them now. This happend from 1977-1988.
Monday, February 13, 2012
2/13/12
The article is about the uprising of e-books and how they are starting to take over instead of buying the traditional, paperback book. These aren't just taking over the book business just because of the simple fact that they are easier due to the fact that alomst everyone has a smart phone, it is because, unlike real books, these e-books have other features that are more interative with the user. For example, some of the e-books have short movies, trivia, photo albums, ect. that further help the reader understand and help them interact with the book. Since, most readers really do like these features, the sales of e-books are sky-rocketing while sales of the classic book are on a downward spiral.
These books have come along with the uprising of smart phones and tablets. With people all over the world buying and using smart phones or tablets, they then can do many more things that they couldn't do before. For example, with these inventions, you can now carry multiple books with you without even having them physically on you. You can just download them to your phone and people really enjoy that. Also, since, these e-books are much more user friendly, people would rather spend the $9.99 on a book like this than spend that money on a regular book that doesn't have the fun, interactive features.
Although people are still buying tradtional books, no AS MANY people are. Their sales aren't the same. People don't want them as much. They want the extra stuff that traditional books don't have. But, like I said before, although their sales are hurting, they aren't at rock bottom....yet!
The way an e-book works exactly is that you go right into your app marketplace on your smart phone or tablet, you then find a book that your would like to download. From there, you spend the $9.99 or so on your book. Once it downloads, you can read it straight from your phone. The book may come with extras that are fun for the reader to use and they may help them understand the text even more. Not only, do they have the fun games and such, there are some other cool things. I know that with my phone, when I downloada book, I can highlight and underlince certain words or phrases that I find important. Also, if I don't know what a word means, I can highlight and click the word, and then I will be taken to the definition of the word so that I can go on and finish reading.
Is this smart? Of course. With the amount of people that are using such smart products, it would be dumb if they did not produce such a thing. Why would people go through the hassel of going to a bookstore and rent a book that doesn't have the extas you want. And you can't even highlight the text because you have to return it? In the long run, it is just not worth it.
These books have come along with the uprising of smart phones and tablets. With people all over the world buying and using smart phones or tablets, they then can do many more things that they couldn't do before. For example, with these inventions, you can now carry multiple books with you without even having them physically on you. You can just download them to your phone and people really enjoy that. Also, since, these e-books are much more user friendly, people would rather spend the $9.99 on a book like this than spend that money on a regular book that doesn't have the fun, interactive features.
Although people are still buying tradtional books, no AS MANY people are. Their sales aren't the same. People don't want them as much. They want the extra stuff that traditional books don't have. But, like I said before, although their sales are hurting, they aren't at rock bottom....yet!
The way an e-book works exactly is that you go right into your app marketplace on your smart phone or tablet, you then find a book that your would like to download. From there, you spend the $9.99 or so on your book. Once it downloads, you can read it straight from your phone. The book may come with extras that are fun for the reader to use and they may help them understand the text even more. Not only, do they have the fun games and such, there are some other cool things. I know that with my phone, when I downloada book, I can highlight and underlince certain words or phrases that I find important. Also, if I don't know what a word means, I can highlight and click the word, and then I will be taken to the definition of the word so that I can go on and finish reading.
Is this smart? Of course. With the amount of people that are using such smart products, it would be dumb if they did not produce such a thing. Why would people go through the hassel of going to a bookstore and rent a book that doesn't have the extas you want. And you can't even highlight the text because you have to return it? In the long run, it is just not worth it.
Monday, February 6, 2012
2/6/12
Part 1
The article is somewhat depressing considering the fact that a school district in a small t0wn about 150 miles outside of San Antonio is considering shutting down their high school sports programs all together. The district in Texas is thinking about this because they hope that by cutting the sports program as a whole, it will save enough money in the long run to keep the struggling schools open and keep the small town alive. To some students, this is disappointing due to the fact that they play many sports. One student said that he and his friends were really disappointed when they heard that there would be no more tennis, baseball, and track since they participate in all three of those. Although the state did say that they would re-consider the decision if they were to see improvements in students test scores across the district.
In my opinion, I don' think that this is the right decision. There are other things that the district can do so that they can keep their sports alive and also have students with higher test score. For example, the district can do what we do here at Pine Ridge. They can put in a system where if a
students is ineligiable if they don't have a passing grade in all of their classes and they student may not play until they raise their grades so that they are passing. That way, if the student really has a passion for the sport, then they will work hard to get their grades up and get back on the field.
Sports are important to schools. They bring in revenue. Since the tickets cost money and items at the consession stand do also. Although this may not be a lot of money, it is still a source of revenue and can help the school in some way. Also, if they were to put in a "pay to play" system like we have here where it is $75 to play your first sport and then a second sport is $25. That way, the school is making money that way too.
Honestly, I think that the schools have such a high truancy rate due to the fact that students grades aren't very high. If the grades were better, you would probably see an increase in school attendance and then from there, see the test scores increase, and then from there, the sports programs stay intact.
Part 2
Here at Pine Ridge, we are not so much as to cutting sport programs as a whole, we are more or less keeping as many as we can active, but having them draw in more revenue with the whole "pay to play" program that I had mentioned earlier. By doing this, we make more money, and students get to play the sport they love. Also, we the rule that you must have a passing grade to be able to participate. If a student is not passing, then they must go to tutoring, raise their grades, and then they can go back to playing the sport.
Instead of cutting out sports, you can cut certain clubs that a lot of people don't participate in. By doing this, you save students and teachers their time and money so that more money can go towards things that students actually participate in. I mean really, how many people actually join and participate in the Earth First Club? If we were to cut those kinds of programs, then money would be saved.
I would apprach it like I just said. By cutting other things that a lot of students aren't active in. So that they fields that the school has put in, don't go to waste and the real clubs/sports that are really a waste and are actually costing the school money to keep, would be cut and have that money go towards more important programs.
The article is somewhat depressing considering the fact that a school district in a small t0wn about 150 miles outside of San Antonio is considering shutting down their high school sports programs all together. The district in Texas is thinking about this because they hope that by cutting the sports program as a whole, it will save enough money in the long run to keep the struggling schools open and keep the small town alive. To some students, this is disappointing due to the fact that they play many sports. One student said that he and his friends were really disappointed when they heard that there would be no more tennis, baseball, and track since they participate in all three of those. Although the state did say that they would re-consider the decision if they were to see improvements in students test scores across the district.
In my opinion, I don' think that this is the right decision. There are other things that the district can do so that they can keep their sports alive and also have students with higher test score. For example, the district can do what we do here at Pine Ridge. They can put in a system where if a
students is ineligiable if they don't have a passing grade in all of their classes and they student may not play until they raise their grades so that they are passing. That way, if the student really has a passion for the sport, then they will work hard to get their grades up and get back on the field.
Sports are important to schools. They bring in revenue. Since the tickets cost money and items at the consession stand do also. Although this may not be a lot of money, it is still a source of revenue and can help the school in some way. Also, if they were to put in a "pay to play" system like we have here where it is $75 to play your first sport and then a second sport is $25. That way, the school is making money that way too.
Honestly, I think that the schools have such a high truancy rate due to the fact that students grades aren't very high. If the grades were better, you would probably see an increase in school attendance and then from there, see the test scores increase, and then from there, the sports programs stay intact.
Part 2
Here at Pine Ridge, we are not so much as to cutting sport programs as a whole, we are more or less keeping as many as we can active, but having them draw in more revenue with the whole "pay to play" program that I had mentioned earlier. By doing this, we make more money, and students get to play the sport they love. Also, we the rule that you must have a passing grade to be able to participate. If a student is not passing, then they must go to tutoring, raise their grades, and then they can go back to playing the sport.
Instead of cutting out sports, you can cut certain clubs that a lot of people don't participate in. By doing this, you save students and teachers their time and money so that more money can go towards things that students actually participate in. I mean really, how many people actually join and participate in the Earth First Club? If we were to cut those kinds of programs, then money would be saved.
I would apprach it like I just said. By cutting other things that a lot of students aren't active in. So that they fields that the school has put in, don't go to waste and the real clubs/sports that are really a waste and are actually costing the school money to keep, would be cut and have that money go towards more important programs.
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