final homework

The shooting of Trayvon Martin took place on February 26, 2012, in Sanford, Florida. Trayvon Martin was a 17-year-old African American who was shot and killed by 28-year-old George Zimmerman, a man of mixed ethnic descent.Martin was unarmed, walking from a convenience store to the home of his father's girlfriend when Zimmerman, a community watch coordinator, began following Martin and called the Sanford Police Department to say he witnessed suspicious behavior. And to be honest that is all that I know about the shooting of The shooting of Trayvon Martin.

It is shocking that a minor can be killed in America and no trial held to determine the guilt of the killer. Surely it is not the role of the police to decide someone’s innocence in a killing, that is what the courts are for. For the police to act as the judge seems to be overstepping their purpose. A chid is killed, a trial should be held to determine the facts and establish whether it was murder. Sadly, I think the parent’s grief is being turned into a circus sideshow. Sharpton and others are whipping up a frenzy that could lead to violence and lynch-mob mentality.You can’t blame Travyon’s parents. They’re suffered an unthinkable loss. At the same time, “witnesses” are coming out of the woodwork with very questionable tales. It doesn’t matter if Zimmerman was a racist or not. It doesn’t matter if Travyon was a choirboy or a gangbanger. The only thing that’s relevant was who initiated the physical attack and whether the shooting was justified under Florida’s laws. If you don’t like the law – by all means, change it. But if Zimmerman was justified under the current law – arresting him is just as big a travesty as the shooting was.

Blog Homework 2

I learned from the book that women should have complete equality to men. So, work is still discriminating for the two sexes, even if the discrimination is not an official one. For example, if the level of women's working activity has increased since 1970, they are still the victims of unemployment, of bad jobs, more than men are anyway. These inequalities are also present in the private life, as women are the victims of a pervert social progress. For example, even if women are more and more independent in their couple life, there are more and more single and divorced women due to that. Why? Well, there are many reasons. One of them could be the fact that working women don't have time for a successful private life. Another reason could be the fact that some men feel intimidated by some women's qualities and can't stand being inferior to them. At the same time there is a fragile compatibility between motherhood and career and the family policies that exist encourage women to give up working for a domestic way of living. This way, women find themselves forced to give up their independence.

But even a family life without having children means compromise to women. It's natural for the women who have a full-time job not to have the strength to do all that housewives do. The woman's duties at home are more numerous than the men's, but at the same time, the equality between women and men force them to work the same time and way at their jobs. This situation is due to the fact that there are still a lot of men who think in the terms of the patriarchate system.

There are also men who treat women socially right, but this situation isn't quite the happiest, as they somehow forget their manners or act thinking something like: " If we're equal and we do our own laundry, why should I hold her coat or open the door for her?!" This is also an abnormal situation. While in the first case the problem was that women were equal to men only when it came to work, in the second one the issue is about the equality that takes away women's right of being respected as women.

Unions: To Be or Not To Be, Should That Even Be a Question?

For my response I reflected on why worker's Unions should not exist:


Union members continue to pay dues to be assured good working conditions. Years ago, that was a legitimate purpose - now, there are many government agencies to ensure that employees are treated fairly, that work conditions are safe and employees are not subjected to abuse or unfair terminations. The many government organizations that now protect employee can protect the employees better than the unions can.
Link 1: http://www.blurtit.com/q200582.html



The public is often poorly served by unions because they are denied proper service when the unions are "flexing their muscle". The public pays for services that they don't receive when police, teachers, sanitation workers and others are on strike or implementing some form of work slow-down. When truckers, railroad workers and other "public sector" union workers go on strike, it causes problems for everyone - not just the union workers' employers.

In July of 2005, the Service Employees International Union and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters both split from the AFL-CIO. (Are those unions really “international” or is that another example of intentionally misusing words to distort a perception?) The reason for the split? Years of declining membership! Unions cause more problems then they solve and people are starting to realize that fact. The unions are becoming “un-unified” as a result of an inability to increase membership. It appears too many people realize that they can live just fine without unions. The split is another step toward obsolescence / extinction.
 Link 2: http://money.cnn.com/2005/07/25/news/economy/boycott/index.htm


When the union workers go ‘on strike' and refuse to work, and the employers hires non-union help to keep the company from going broke, union members and management call the employers “union busters”. But, the union members go 'on strike' with the explicit intention of trying to “break the company”, yet they don't refer to themselves as “company busters”. Why's that? The union members can go elsewhere if they're dissatisfied with their working conditions, benefits or compensation. What options do the employer have other than to hire people that are satisfied with what the employer offers?

By October 2005: GM lost $1.3 billion AND they've paid over $750 million to workers that aren't working.In 1984, GM was forced to agree to pay laid-off workers full pay and benefits. Currently over 5,000 GM employees are collecting full pay and benefits for NOT WORKING. This 20-year-old bad contract clause will probably put GM into bankruptcy in the coming years. UAW will not yield - they don't care what financial destruction it causes and that's a huge reason companies fight so vigorously to keep unions out of their lives.
Link 3: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aljY1GAp9e9g&refer=news_index

Blog Day 7

Being crazy is this guy’s job, and judging from the sound of his music, business is booming. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is his most maniacally inspired music yet, coasting on heroic levels of dementia, pimping on top of Mount Olympus. Yeezy goes for the grandeur of stadium rock, the all-devouring sonics of hip-hop, the erotic gloss of disco, and he goes for all of it, all the time. Nobody halfway sane could have made this album. Last time, Kanye went minimal for the electro melancholia of 808s & Heartbreak. But on Fantasy, he gets ridiculously maximal, blowing past all the rules of hip-hop and pop, even though, for the past half-decade, he’s been the one inventing the rules. There are hip-hop epics, R&B ballads, alien electronics, prog-rock samples, surprise guests from Bon Iver to Fergie to Chris Rock, even a Elton John piano solo. It’s his best album, but it’s more than that — it’s also a rock-star manifesto for a downsizing world. At a time when we all get hectored about lowering our expectations, surrendering our attention spans, settling for less, West wants us to demand more. Nobody else is making music this daring and weird, from the spooky space funk of "Gorgeous" to the King Crimson-biting "Power" to the paranoid staccato strings of "Monster." Nearly six minutes into "Runaway," long after the song has already sealed itself in your brain, the sound cuts out and you think it’s over. Then there’s a plinking piano, the feedback of an electric guitar plugging in, some "Strawberry Fields"-style cellos and Yeezy himself singing a poignant Robert Fripp-style solo through his vocoder. There’s no way it should work, but it keeps rolling for three more minutes without breaking the spell. Coming off a string of much-publicized emotional meltdowns, Yeezy is taking a deeper look inside the dark corners of his twisted psyche. He has sex and romance on his mind, but he comes clean about his male angst like never before. In confessions like "Runaway" and "Blame Game," he honestly struggles to figure out why he has to be such a bad person.This album truly encapsulates the new genre created in the 21st century that has yet to be named. This is why this album is a magnificent work of art.

Blog Post 6

Biggest Problem in America...
I think that the biggest problem facing Americans today is how hard the job market is. Given the current state of the economy we need to create jobs for those who could be hired now, and that will need some targeted demand side stimulus, because the decline in economic activity is mainly demand driven. The reduction in taxes and tax subsidies to businesses in the Job Act is meant to boost the private sector hiring of short term as well as long term unemployed. Hence the two-pronged attack on the unemployment problem in the Job Act makes economic sense, given the recent hiring record and concentration of high unemployment in certain occupations. President Obama has proposed to finance his programs in the Job Act and reduce public debt in the long run. We would face worse public debt if the economy stalls. I would have preferred a bigger boost to the economy now by allocating more spending on targeted public investment projects, education and training programs and R&D spending. The Job Act at least moves the economy forward and not backward. Passage of the Job Act now is the best economic and responsible strategy. Winston Churchill once said, “ The price of greatness is responsibility.” 

Thing that annoys me the most...
I think that the most annoying thing in the world is small immature children. I think that kids are most annoying because they do not understand when to stop. They keep going even after a point has been made, they annoy for fun. They also do not know respect, they do not understand that elders are meant to be respected and should have the priority over them. Kids ARE annoying. For all you parents who don't want to admit that YOUR kids are the most annoying of all, suck it up. You can hide behind "they don't know any better", but you can't hide the truth that the general public is pestered by them. Parents can also be annoying. Especially the ones who try to ENCOURAGE bad behavior by letting their kids do whatever they are doing. If you don't do anything about your kids' rude behavior, you are just as guilty. It's true. Expect no sympathy. Well the truth is children are annoying, self centered, and all sorts of other irritating things. BUT as a parent its their job to teach them otherwise. Overall, kids are nice and cute, but I would never want kids in my life until I am at least 30 years old.

The thing that you would recommend for everyone is...
The one thing I would recommend to anyone would be to fly a light plane. I like to look at the Earth and Nature from different perspectives. Flying in a light plane 2000 or 3000 feet above the ground is a totally different experience from being in a commercial jet where the pilots shoot straight up into Class A airspace (18,000 feet and above) as quickly as possible. Once I learn enough to get safely from Point A to Point B, I plan to take a lot of aerial photos. Flying is also fun and challenging. You have to think and act in three dimensions. You have the freedom to move to a lot of new spots on the globe. You learn to examine and appreciate scenery and natural phenomena that you'd never be able or wouldn't bother to see from the ground. Charles Lindbergh put it best: "Science, freedom, beauty, adventure." I love to fly, it is the single greatest thing I have ever done. Going into a spin or a simple land they are both are equally satisfying, and both let you receive that feeling of accomplishment. This is why I believe this is the number one thing that I would recommend, because of this feeling of fulfillment, this feeling that you are doing something few people know how to do.

Blog Post 5

Blog Post 5

Yolanda was the tomboy of the family and got herself into trouble as a child. She is haunted by the memory of a kitten that she kidnapped from its mother, as well as the fear she felt as the family struggled to leave the Dominican Republic. Once in the United States, she had difficulty interacting with men in sexual and romantic situations, and eventually divorced her husband, John. This heartbreak led to a mental breakdown and the inability to use language in a meaningful way. This was a particularly traumatic experience since language was a particularly important part of her life as a poet. She returned to the Dominican Republic after her divorce in order to reconnect to her cultural roots, though she finds she has forgotten her Spanish and sticks out culturally. When faced with a challenging situation, such as car trouble at night in the middle of nowhere, she feels most comfortable in her identity as an English speaking American woman, rather than a Dominican immigrant. She is the sister who most enjoys taking on the role of storyteller, and she hopes to unfold the past to better understand the trauma that underlies the various struggles of the entire family. I really do not think that she has moved forward or backward because of anything yet, and the identity of her is encapsulated by lust for others.\

Something positive is also a major motif of the novel, nicknames. Throughout the novel, nicknames are used to convey a sense of intimacy. This intimacy can be positive, such as when the Garcia daughters refer to their mother as Mami to express affection. On the other hand, nicknames can convey a negative sense of being overly familiar, such as when John refers to Yolanda as Josephine, anglicizing her name and distorting her identity in the process. Also another positive thing would be snow, which also is a symbol in the book. Snow symbolizes hope for the future and the positive aspects of the American dream, as well as the terrifying potential of the unknown. Yolanda’s first experience of snow makes her think of atomic fallout, and she terrifies her class with a warning of imminent doom. Once she realizes her mistake, the snow comes to symbolize the culmination of her long-held hope to experience a mysterious and wondrous occurrence she has only heard about. The unique nature of each snowflake also symbolizes the possibilities that America offers Yolanda to explore her identity and express a new voice. Snow is a conveys a meaning of god, which could relate to a person v. god as a type of label.

A major source of race and identity in the novel if the family that it comes from, the Garcia's family. The interpersonal conflict within the Garcia family takes root during the point of political and cultural rupture, when the family had to leave the Dominican Republic. The fragmentation of the extended family in 1960 due to immigration leads to a spiraling dissolution of the Garcia nuclear family. As the girls mature, they grow increasingly distant from one another, their parents, and their relatives on the Island. Their integration into American culture tears them further apart from their family roots and leaves them badly prepared to deal with their parents’ more traditional perspectives. During Sofia’s rebellious phase, she leaves home and prompts a serious rift in the family. Carla’s clinical indifference toward the family also reveals interpersonal distance. The fact that the Garcia parents commit their daughters to mental hospitals so quickly indicates that they cannot reach out to their daughters during emotionally challenging times. Though the origins of the family conflict are in the past, the effects continue to reverberate even when the girls begin families of their own. I really agree with the Lin article when it says "And yet, while you're never fully aware, you're never fully not aware, either. Like many of the Asian American kids of my generation stuck somewhere between white and black, I filled the vacant parts of my identity with basketball and hip-hop." I feel as though many kids today face these problems along with the family issues, which both in turn shape someone's identity. 

Post 4

Valentine’s Day as part of the “Romantic Industrial Complex”
I believe that Valentines Day has become a very Hallmark holiday. I think that it is mainly to sell things like chocolate, roses, and cards. All of those things normally would not make too much money if it was just any other day in the year. This year it was estimated that 17.6 billion was spent world wide on presents and that most of the actual cards were just women. This intrigues me, I think that women buy cards for Valentines day so that they do not look bad. I think that the only real reason they get something for their other is so that they do not seem selfish, and make it seem like it is a holiday just for women. This is even though we all know that it true is. Valentines day is a money making holiday, we may see it as the love and hearts, but big companies like Macy's and Kay Jewelers see it as dollar signs. Men are always forced into buying things on this day, and not just for their lover. They have to purchase things for their mothers their daughters etc. and those companies see it as a major opportunity. To be completely honest, who can blame them? They didn't start this, all that they are doing is taking advantage of something that was already going on.

Musicians and the concept of “selling out” - MIA’s Superbowl Halftime appearance
It's a sad day for M.I.A.'s career. As annoying as her gimmickry is, it seems like she has 'finally given up', and she is finally trying to get mainstream famous so that she can make a little bit of her own cash, instead of having to live off her billionaire boyfriends money. I cannot believe that so many celebrity's do this, they should be role models. They are the people who represent our culture, our nation when they are broadcasted. Many of them are sellouts or drug addicts, when they should be better. They are the people the world sees whenever a music video or movie comes out, they should be able to control themselves or be kicked out of the game. To be honest, why do people care about them. They are just regular people that have a job and a life. I truly do not see what the big deal is about these people. They always are on TV on TMZ or ET, but why do people care? Why do they try so hard to see what they are doing every second? Why do people pick apart at them and try to find  every flaw? We are all human, we all have flaws and make mistakes, why are theirs so much more important than mine? People go to prison every day, get accused for murder and they didn't come up with a TV show where they just tell stories about them.

Opinion on PA Gun Law from Philly.com
From a legal and financial standpoint, trying to pass such laws are a waste of taxpayer money.  According to the UFA, only the Commonwealth of PA has the right to create gun laws. We’ve seen cities and municipalities all over the state try to overstep this law by introducing “Lost or Stolen” firearms laws in the past few years and all end with a big cost to taxpayers due to court costs and attorney fees. York City even considered trying to implement a similar law but realized that it was fruitless.  And even if they could pass a law banning firearms from City government property, where is the money going to come from for metal detectors, extra personnel to man the detectors, gun lockers for law-abiding citizens to store their weapons? Are we going to take even more law enforcement officers off the streets to “protect” our local officials? The best solution for this problem would be for elected officials to provide for their own safety and security if they are so inclined. City council can hire security if they feel the need, but it shouldn’t come at a cost to the taxpayers they serve.  Or, they can decide to defend themselves as  at least two local mayors,  several state reps and other law-makers I’ve know through the years who entrust their safety in their own Second Amendment right.