How Developed are the Gun Laws in America?

It has almost been a year since the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting and still little has been done to chance gun laws. I find this extremely disappointing because this seems to me, like another mass shooting waiting to happen. 

In my American Studies class we have been comparing the American government's spending to other governments around the world. Similarly, I compared american gun laws and regulations to other countries. 

America has overwhelmingly higher rates of gun related deaths than any other developed country. I think the question we should be asking ourselves is why America has so many more gun related deaths than all these other counties? Why is it that Japan had less than 20 gun homicides whereas the US had over 1200?

Canada had less than 200. Spain had less than 100. Australia had less than 50. All countries that are very much developed like the US and the US is experiencing 10x as much gun violence as them. 

Many people say that it is because of our pop culture in the US and that violent video games fuel aggression and cause people to become mentally troubled then leading them to kill people. I don't believe this because Japan is much like American where violent video games are extremely popular but they have one of the lowest, if not the lowest gun homicide rates in the world. 

I believe that the issue lies in the second amendment because it doesn't let the nation successfully control gun violence. The main purpose of the American government is to keep its citizens safe and how can anyone be safe when the US is one of the most dangerous developed countries in terms of gun safety. The second amendment was made at the beginning of this country and could it be that this amendment has become dated? Could it be that this amendment is taking a negative effect on our country? Does America have the capability to solve this issue?

Different Reactions

This past weekend me and a couple of my friends went down to the Riviera to watch Chance the Rapper preform his newest album "Acid Rap". We decided to take the Chicago "el" or "L"(however you refer to it). To get to the Riviera you have to make a line switch, so we got off at Howard and waited for the red line train to pick us up. 

While we were waiting I noticed an african american man waiting next to us. While it was a little chilly outside, he was covered in what seemed an excessive 7 different layers of cloths. I didn't really know what to think of it so I just continued talking with my friends. When the train arrived we decided to get on a train car that was a little less crowded, so we walked down the platform and got on.

After we found some seats I looked up and noticed that the man had followed us and gotten on the same train car. Also while there were plenty of empty seats, he stood by the door holding a boom box. When the doors closed he immediately ripped off his large overcoats and was left with a classic Michael Jackson outfit on. He proceeded to press play on his boom box and started dishing out some classic Jackson moves. One of my friends decided to video tape the dance.

What I found interesting about this experience was the reaction. On the train was a group of 4 white north shore kids, the Michael Jackson impersonator, and a group of about 5 or 6 african american adults. Also interesting was that we were sitting on completely opposite sides of the train car; no one was in the middle of the train car except for the Michael Jackson impersonator. 

Me and my friends sat there silently, and I remember not knowing what to do. I wasn't sure if he was trying to get money, or if he was just doing this for fun, but I sat there and could barely even look. I stared at the ground most of the time. Whereas the African American people on the other side of the train were all watching and most of them were video taping and a couple of them were dancing along. Not like the Michael Jackson person was dancing, but they were shuffling around and singing the words.

This experience made me wonder why we had different reactions. I know the song and I know most of the words but I didn't have the same reaction to sing along. I wonder if I was so timid because he was african american. I wonder what would have happened if the dancer was white. Would the african american people on the other side of the train started video taping him and singing along like they did in this video? 

TV is Dying

This year has been the worst year for TV ever. People are unsubscribing from both their cable and broadband stations. Time Warner Cable lost 306,000 subscribers this year. CEO of charter communications told a Wall Street analysts that 1.3 million of the total 5.5 millions customers at Charter Communications don't want TV anymore.

The growth of TV has almost always stayed below 0% for the past two years(Graph by Citi Analyst Jason Bazinet).

Ratings are failing for almost all major TV stations, this isn't a problem with shows. This is because people aren't interested in what is being shown on TV anymore. I think people don't have the attention span to deal with TV shows anymore; at least not when they have the internet or smartphones that can pull up 801,000 separate pieces of information in .66 seconds.

Cable TV is about to dip below 40 million subscribers, this will be the lowest amount of subscribers in cable history.

The fact is that people don't need TV anymore. They can find almost anything on TV on their smart phones. They have Youtube or Netflix for their videos and TV shows. Then there are apps that alert people of significant news stories. The news is delivered to them by their phones instead of their mailmen and women.

TV stations are also not helping themselves. They are raising the prices to subscribe. The dwindling number of subscribers are having to pay more, and eventually they wont want to keep paying the high rates.

I don't know if it is good or bad that TV is slowly dying. I am a huge fan of some shows like Homeland, Breaking Bad, and SNL but I love some of the newest TV schemes like Netflix. Through Netflix I have been able to watch what I want, when I want. I don't have to wait for a weekly episodes on TV. Some shows on Netflix come out with the whole season in one go. The most recent season of Arrested Development was released at once. As an avid viewer of Arrested Development, I loved that Netflix decided to do that.

I think one of the huge reasons that TV is dying is because TV can't supply the viewer with their expectations of demand. Today, more than ever, people want things quick and easy. TV is so scheduled that it can't meet the viewers demands any more, therefore it is dying slowly but steadily. Do you think TV stations will do anything to combat this decline? How do you think they will? Do you still enjoy watching TV? or have you changed into an internet person?

Women's Rights in Iran - Depicted in a Different Light

Many americans think of Iran as a closed society, but just this past week a photo shoot was taken in the streets of Iran and published in a California based fashion magazine. These photos didn't depict any of the 'normal' photos that americans usually associate with Iran. These photos showed a woman in extravagantly colored clothes modeling in a Bazaar(market place in the Middle East).

This is a really interesting photo shoot and article for a couple of reasons. I think this is a milestone for Iran because of the way Iranians acted towards the photo shoot. Pourdad(the model) said "The response that I got from them(the people in the Bazaar) was amazing. I mean, I didn't have anybody who says no to it." The people were all appreciative of the photo shoot. I feel like this went against a preconceived view of mine.

I always looked at the women's rights equality issue in Iran as a gender problem. Men vs. Women. But like she said, all of the people were delighted by the photo shoot. It seemed like a much different view than I was accustomed too. When I heard about women's rights in Iran on the news, I learned about the issue in such short segments that I was left inferring things about the situation. I think the way news is presented can be misleading for viewers.

Also the fact that this was published in America is really cool. Publishing Iranian fashion in America is really interesting because I think most americans don't really know anything about Iran except for the problems that are broadcasted to americans. This gives Americans a common ground with the women of Iran and refers to the problem that the women of Iran face. I feel like this way of showing americans about Iran is much more constructive and interesting than a normal short clip on the news. Do you think the News is desensitizing to the american population? Do you think articles like this are more engaging to an audience or do you prefer the short clips on the news? What are some pros or cons of doing an article like this compared to a news segment devoted to women's rights? 

'Stand Your Ground' - A Cause for Concern

I couldn't help but get a little angry when I was looking through my newsfeed today. One of my Facebook "friends" had posted a link to a video with the caption "guns are a bad thing? it may have saved this veterans life."The sarcastic poster was in support of the right to bear arms. 

Watching this video and saying guns are a good things seems backwards to me. When I watched this video it seemed like a disaster waiting to happen: two men with guns, one protecting his things, the other trying to steal his things. It is remarkable that both of them were left unharmed.

While the veteran used the gun to threaten the robber. I believe that guns are ultimately a source of a lot of violence in America. I believe they take more lives than they save. In this case, they were both lucky enough to leave unharmed. But imagine if the robber never put his gun down. Imagine if he decided to try and continue his robbery. This story would have turned out a lot different.

There is a law called 'Stand Your Ground' and it basically means that if someone intrudes on your property and you can defend yourself and respond aggressively to the intruder; whereas you used to be told to try and retreat or flee the scene.

This is a controversial law because many people think this will lead to more homicides. And studies have shown that it does.  In a study done by Texas A&M researchers, it compares homicide rates in states with 'Stand Your Ground' with states that don't have 'Stand Your Ground.' As you can see, states with the 'Stand Your Ground' legislation experienced an increase of homicides. 

As you can see homicide rates went up in states that have the 'Stand Your Ground' act. Hoekstra (the creator of this study) said "We find that there are 500 to 700 more homicides per year across the 23 states as a result of the laws."

When discussing gun violence in America most people think to the 2nd Amendment: the right to bear arms. The creators of the constitution allowed the right to bear arms to protect the citizens of the United States. But when gun violence is taking more lives than it is saving, people must question if the right to bear arms is a safe law to keep in America.

I understand people want to defend themselves, but gun violence is taking its toll on America. With an annual 14,000 deaths per year because of guns, americans are worried. What do you think about the gun violence in america? 

Richard Dawkins: "Bin Laden has won"

Yesterday, world famous English ethologist, evolutionary biologist and critic of religion, Richard Dawkins was going through airport security when his jar of honey was confiscated. Dawkins, who is known for hard criticism, said “Bin Laden has won, in airports of the world every day.”

While it is stupid that Dawkins is so angry about a jar of Honey, he does make a point. Bin Laden and his terrorist organizations have created fear. They make people scared to fly on planes. They are the reason that airport security is so relentless in their procedures, but yet we still have problems.

Just last week there was a shooting at LAX. We can’t seem to end this. Whether it is a rogue person who is just insane, or if it is a direct attack from a terrorist organization, the violence won't stop.

People are scared and so airport security is very thorough. Dawkins may be mad about his honey, but would he rather have an unreliable and worthless security? Most likely not.

Do you think this fear is real? Are you scared of this? Do you agree or disagree with Dawkins?

Julianne Hough Crossed the Line

Halloween is coming up this week and many people are wondering what they are going to dress up as. Julianne Hough decided to go to a New York Halloween party as the character "Crazy Eyes" from the new Netflix original series Orange is the New Black. The character "Crazy Eyes" is as you would guess, crazy. 

Crazy Eyes - From Orange is the New Black

Julianne Hough and a bunch of her friends decided to dress up as characters from this show. Julianne Hough was crazy eyes and dressed up in black face.

Julianne apologized on twitter saying that she didn't mean to offend anyone and was truly sorry. 

Julianne Hough - Dressed as Crazy Eyes

I don't understand why she would do this. How could she think that no one would be offended by this. She put on black face to imitate a crazy black woman. The character may be from a TV show but to dress up in black face and mock a black character crosses a line.  

What do you think about this situation? Do you think Julianne Hough acted disrespectfully? What do you think was going through Julianne Hough's head when doing this?

The Cotillion Ball and the Ebony Ball

This past weekend was New Triers Homecoming dance. I was talking to a friend about the dance and asked him what his dances were like. He goes to Evanston Township High School and told me something really interesting. Homecoming for ETHS is not really a dance. Students show up in jeans and t-shirts. At ETHS they have two "real" dances: The Cotillion Ball and the Ebony Ball.

My friend told me "the Cotillion Ball is for the white kids, and the Ebony ball is for the black kids." I didn't believe him at first. Any student can attend the any dance but the majority of African American students are not invited to Cotillion, and a majority of White students aren’t invited to Ebony Ball.

New Trier is just so overwhelmingly white that the idea of separate dances for white and black high schoolers never crossed my mind. In Evanston, where the population is much more diverse, the idea of separate dances makes more sense to me, but still seems odd.

Why do they need two dances? What do you think about this? Do you think this is a good thing or a bad thing?

The Man Who Could Do What His Government Couldn't

The American government has been shut down, and many government employees are being left without work or pay. This includes, the workers who maintain our memorials and monuments. So this South Carolina man decided to mow the lawn of the Lincoln Memorial and try to keep its majestic image intact during the government shutdown.

I first found this hilarious. I was surprised that a man would want to do that at first, and that he would eventually not be allowed to continue doing it. He held a strong position saying that he wasn't trying to create a radical political viewpoint on the situation in the government right now.He instead just wanted to maintain our monuments because they are a "moral compass" and "at the end of the day, we are the stewards of these monuments." He says "These are our memorials. Do they think that we're just going to let them go to hell? No."

Chris Cox, the man mowing the lawn, was told by park staff to stop. While I found it annoying that he was told to stop, I understand that the park staff don't want a possible lunatic giving the Lincoln Memorial a home makeover.

I found this to be very patriotic. While his government is down, he is helping maintain some of the countries most iconic and monumental memorials. The American citizen helping his country out in a time of need. Maybe it doesn't have the greatest affect on the country, but it is a duty and a service to maintaining the image of the country.

Do you think this man should be allowed to continue mowing the lawn of the Lincoln Memorial? Do you see this act as being patriotic? How else can it be interpreted? 

The Growing Gap

Former President Jimmy Carter was interviewed a few days ago and commented on the growing gap between the rich and the poor; he said “Compared to when I left the White House, the difference is twice as great as it was between the richest people and the poorest people. And the middle class has now become more like poor people than they were 30 years ago.”

Carter says that the middle class right now is equivalent in “poorness” to the lower class during his own presidency. The rich are always getting richer. It is a fact. The number of jobs lost, and the number of jobs converted from full time into part time jobs because of obamacare. The income flow of these already low paying jobs is slowing even more. The situation isn't getting better, it is getting worse.

“The richest people in America would be better off if everybody lived in a decent home and had a chance to pay for it, and if everyone had enough income even if they had a daily job to be good buyers for the products that are produced.” Carter makes the point here that if people can’t make a decent amount of money, they won't be able to pay for any of the products created by the rich. this would cause all sorts of problems.

How else can this problem affect america? What do you think about the situation? Do you think this is an inevitable situation or is it brought upon by recurring factors

Banksy's Most Recent Work

For those of you who do not know who Banksy is, Banksy is an England-based graffiti artist, public activist, film director, and painter. He is very famous for his dark humored graffitis all over New York and England. His most recent piece of art work was different; instead of being a classic graffiti on the street, it was a short video.

I watched this video and was very confused at first. In the bottom left is the Al Jazeera logo, the biggest news broadcaster in the Middle-East. The video shows men dressed in military and Middle Easter garb, shoot a rocket launcher at a target in the sky. What comes crashing out of the sky is a flying elephant, one that strongly resembles the beloved disney character, Dumbo.

At the beginning moments of this video, I was scared about what was going to happen. I was scared that what I would see would be very disturbing, and in a way I guess it is. I wonder if this was real footage (not Dumbo falling from the sky obviously), or if this was a scene created by banksy. I honestly can't tell which I would rather have. If it is real footage, I'm scared to think what really fell from the sky; if that was a plane with people inside. If it is a charade put together by Banksy, I'm scared to think what would drive him to make such an extreme video. When Banksy posted this video his caption was, "I'm not posting any pictures today, not after this shocking footage has emerged..."Once again, I can't tell if he is telling us that this is real footage, or if he is being extremely sarcastic. 

Banksy is notorious for his art about peace. It is clear when looking at his sarcastic art that he is no fan of war. He mocks the soldiers and the politicians who are a part of the wars. This video is no different I believe. To have dumbo fall from the sky seems to show that it is childish that we are fighting. Dumbo is entertaining for children, why are grown men with guns ecstatic when they shoot Dumbo out of the sky. The video continues and a kid runs out and looks Dumbo in the eyes. Dumbo then dies, or becomes unconscious and the kid turns around and kids the man in the shin. The man then jumps around in pain much like a cartoon would. I believe that bringing the kid in shows that children don't enjoy the wars either and the fact that the kid is dressed like military shows that he is most likely destined to become a part of the war soon. Banksy showing, and mocking, that children are subjected to the stupidity of war. 

What do you think Banksy's purpose of making this video was? Do you think his caption was mocking or serious? Do you agree with Banksy? Why do you think the kid was apart of the video?  

Kimmel and Kanye

During this past week I checked my twitter feed to find it bombarded with tweets from Kanye bashing Jimmy Kimmel. Wondering what this was about I checked into it.

The feud started when Kimmel made a skit poking fun of Kanye's interview with BBC. The interview is split into four parts on youtube. In the first part Kanye starts off by saying how he is trying to stray from the classic pop songs of today. Kanye wants to be different and he wants to change the face of music. I believe he is changing music and in a positive way, especially with his newest album, Yeezus. 

The interviewer, Zane lowe, goes on to ask "So does it feel like a duty to you to challenge yourself, or capture the listener's ear?" This next part is where Kanye goes astray for me. He answers saying "I showed people that I understand how to make perfect. Dark Fantasy could be considered perfect. I know how to make perfect." There is a thin line between being an egotistical blockhead, and being a musical genius. Kanye seemed to step over that line in this interview, especially when Kanye called himself a "God". 

Kimmel had some fun with this interview and made a "Kanye Kid (re)Kreation". I found it to be pretty funny honestly. Kanye, on the other hand, wasn't to thrilled. Kanye responded with a multitude of tweets and a personal call to Kimmel himself. Apparently Kanye told Kimmel that Kimmel needed to publicly apologize to him. Kanye then further embarrassed himself when his tweets just turned into a mess of incoherent nonsense. Kanye created some memes, such as this spongebob one, that I intentionally cropped, so that the bottom of the meme wasn't shown because of some inappropriate language.

I really am a Kanye fan and enjoy his music very much, but when he says extremely arrogant things like "I am a God" or just stupid things like "how many people do you see with leather jogging pants" I can't help but laugh at the parody's. Kanye's ego is a little out of hand, but maybe if Kanye didn't have that kind of an ego, he wouldn't make amazing music. Do you think this Kimmel/Kanye feud is out of hand? Do you think Kanye needs to calm down? Do you think Kimmel is being to critical of Kanye? Do you think Kanye is out of line to say outrageous things like "I am a God"? 

Gun Violence Out of Control

Last week in Washington DC, Aaron Alexis, a Navy Contractor, entered a navy shipyard and killed 12 people. A couple days ago Obama spoke about the shooting. He mourned the lost lives and told the people "Sometimes I fear there is a creeping resignation ... that this is somehow the new normal." Obama was referencing the amount of gun violence in America. It seems that every week there is a new shooting, or a new tragedy and the violence just wont stop. 

Singling Chicago out of the entire United States of America, the violence is extremely apparent. Last year alone, 443 people were killed by a firearm. Chicago is among the most dangerous cities in America and a huge reason is because of the gun laws. Like Obama said, violence is so common that it is now "normal".

Violence is so normal that I can't see how we can curb the murder rates without somehow changing our 2nd amendment rights. Traditional american freedoms say that all americans have the right to bear arms but it is potentially dangerous for many americans living in ghettos or areas with high crime rates. 

The homicide rate in England is 1 death for every 100,000 people. In England the gun laws are extremely strict, and the death toll stays low. 

Do you think revising the second amendment would be infringing upon the citizens rights? Do you think Obama should take action? 

Voyager 1

Today we learned that Voyager 1 left our solar system. It has in fact been in intersteller space for more than a year. Voyager was launched 36 years ago and is currently on a mission to the nearest star. NASA says this will take 40,000 years.

When I first heard that this mission would take 40,000 years, I immediately thought "how disappointing." Head director, John Grunsfeld, has spent over 45 years on this insanely complicated machine and he will never see what his work will accomplish. Voyager only has enough juice to last till 2020, and then it turns into a piece of metal floating through space headed towards the nearest star.

I can't quite understand if this project seems american to me or not. On one hand America is leading the expedition into the unknown world. Americans take pride in the fact that we are exploring the final frontier. But on the other hand, in 40,000 years will there even be an american civilization. Will there be anyone who will remember that in 1976 we sent a hunk of junk into space? Will Voyager even be relevant in 40,000 years? It is sad to think that all this work is for nothing, but it's most likely that voyager will be smashed into a thousand little pieces by an asteroid long before it reaches its destination. But maybe Voyager is just a necessary step in learning more about the universe and beyond, and it is a very good sign that we are progressing beyond our own solar system.

What do you think this conquest into space says about America? Are missions like this worth it? Do you think we will discover anything life changing through Voyager? Is voyager a necessary step for further information in space?

read more: http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/13/opinion/urry-voyager-spacecraft/index.html?iref=allsearch
watch: http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/us/2013/09/14/lok-zarrella-voyager-has-left-the-building.cnn&iref=allsearch

American Media

Five days ago a man, Matthew Cordel, confessed in a youtube video called "I killed a man". Cordel confessed to being the drunk driver that struck down a person and took a life. The confession told his story of how he blacked out and tried to drive home that night. He drove the wrong way down the highway and killed Vincent Canzani. His attorneys told him that they could get him off free and that there had been cases before where they were able to remove the blood tests. He could have gotten of with a clean slate. All he had to do was lie.

I first heard about "I killed a man" on a 15 second clip that was quickly shown on the news. I couldn't believe that something this serious was given a minimal 15 second time slot while a person trying to sell back to school products was given 5-8 minutes on the air. The whole set up seemed backwards to me.

I feel that American media has desensitized and caused americans to misinterpret what really matters in the world. Because of huge corporate sponsors and television networks trying to get ratings, the real news is being overshadowed by less important matters; like what the newest video game is or how to cook your dinner. Because of the way the media is set up, the news comes is displayed so quickly that it is hard to find it interesting or motivating. American media has desensitized the viewers to the content of the news.

I'm not saying all american media stations are awful and should be shut down, all I'm saying is that maybe they should reevaluate how they prioritize the news. Do you think american media is overbearing? Do you think the media displays the news well or do you think there is an imbalance of news and unnecessary fillers?