Well I haven't blogged in about a month because I mainly forgot and didn't have any thing important or interesting to say. So for this last blog it will be mainly a reflection on my class experience.
For the most part I liked the class, it was a little different from what I was used to, having to blog every week and being in seminar groups. But I was a little frustrated with certain parts of the class, for instance we got the book Outspoken but hardly used it and when we were supposed to read a chapter we never really discussed it. And the other book about the Monkey trial we only used once to me that's annoying. And I thought we went from one topic to another too fast.
I don't want to seem that all I am doing is complaining because I did learn a lot from this class from the history of the first amendment to different scenarios of free speech issues. I liked doing the final project because we got to decide what free speech issue to talk about and I have to say my groups topic was cool.
And although I enjoyed the class I for one am very grateful that this semester is almost over. Never take five classes!
Monday, May 12, 2008
Friday, April 18, 2008
Fox News
Watching that movie outfox the other day just reinforced how much I hate that channel. Filled with conservatives I'm amazed that any democrats are on the show and that they manage to get a word in. Of course what they say is readily dismissed or they are cut off and called idiots or what they say becomes distorted into something completely different.
I'm not a huge news watcher, to be honest I sometimes find it boring and depressing but that's real life. It was interesting to see that Fox News didn't always used to be this way it used to be normal and for the most part fair like they say it is. But when Robert Murdoch bought the channel things progressively went down hill and those who were against the new format were fired. It was also weird to see everyone on that channel say the same thing over and over, pick a new phrase.
The fact of the matter is every major news station is going to be some what biased for instance MSNBC is noticeably more liberal than FOX News, yet at the same time, MSNBC is not as argumentative with their guests the atmosphere is much calmer. To me Fox News is the worst place to get your information and in the words of Keith Olbermann (who has his own show on MSNBC) it's really Fox Noise
I'm not a huge news watcher, to be honest I sometimes find it boring and depressing but that's real life. It was interesting to see that Fox News didn't always used to be this way it used to be normal and for the most part fair like they say it is. But when Robert Murdoch bought the channel things progressively went down hill and those who were against the new format were fired. It was also weird to see everyone on that channel say the same thing over and over, pick a new phrase.
The fact of the matter is every major news station is going to be some what biased for instance MSNBC is noticeably more liberal than FOX News, yet at the same time, MSNBC is not as argumentative with their guests the atmosphere is much calmer. To me Fox News is the worst place to get your information and in the words of Keith Olbermann (who has his own show on MSNBC) it's really Fox Noise
Friday, April 11, 2008
Environment
This will be a relatively short blog, last week I talked about environmentalists and their reasons for protecting forests because it's really important to see their side of the story.
Climate change or global warming is a serious problem, and I find it to say the least irritating when people don't think so. We are trying to fix the problem but it's slow going because like I said people don't think it's a problem and two it's hard for everybody to do the same thing at the same time. Meaning that some countries are unwilling and unable (can't afford it) to change their policies.
Everything is connected almost like a vicious cycle, for example because of global warming it's causing the oceans temperature to rise 1-2 degrees Celsius and become more acydic. Now that doesn't seem like a lot but it can cause coral reefs to die which some species depend on, and with the increase of temperature it will kill other aquatic species. All sides need to be heard, and people really need to be willing to listen, unlike the video where the townspeople just walked out before hearing what the environmentalists had to say and then started yelling.
Climate change or global warming is a serious problem, and I find it to say the least irritating when people don't think so. We are trying to fix the problem but it's slow going because like I said people don't think it's a problem and two it's hard for everybody to do the same thing at the same time. Meaning that some countries are unwilling and unable (can't afford it) to change their policies.
Everything is connected almost like a vicious cycle, for example because of global warming it's causing the oceans temperature to rise 1-2 degrees Celsius and become more acydic. Now that doesn't seem like a lot but it can cause coral reefs to die which some species depend on, and with the increase of temperature it will kill other aquatic species. All sides need to be heard, and people really need to be willing to listen, unlike the video where the townspeople just walked out before hearing what the environmentalists had to say and then started yelling.
Friday, April 4, 2008
Wednesday's movie
The movie that we watched in class if I remember correctly it was "Not in our Town" really had some moments that made me want to go down to Montana and shake some sense into these people.
It sparked the question how much is to much f what you say and did John Stokes cross the line? And to me that is a really hard question to answer. I feel that you need to be careful of what you say no matter the circumstance and you have to realize that your hate comments can have serious consequences. I do think that Stokes crossed the line, he told his listeners where some citizens live and they are the cause of our problems and you should go and do something about it. Who does that? And half of what he says is so ridiculous that some wonder where he gets his information.
Yet even though I think he crossed the line other's believe that he hasn't and he is walking a very fine line, or else he would have been taken off the air by now. It's well within in his rights to say what he believes in and his right to talk to certain callers. But what I would like to know is he getting away with this stuff because of the first amendment or are people to afraid to say anything? Are they afraid of what could happen? And what would happen if someone openly challenged him?
The other issue that was discussed in the movie that really bothered me was the fact that the environmentalists were called a green Nazi. To me that was extremely offensive, immature, uncalled for and based on incomplete information. Now I get some of their point of view that without getting timber from the forests and as a result shutting down the associating factories are going to cause a lot of lost jobs. But let's take a step back, first of all environmentalists have a pretty good reason for preserving forests. Around the world every 7 seconds enough trees are cut down to fill a football field. Also forest absorb carbon dioxide, and when they are cut down in releases all that CO2 into the atmosphere, which then contributes to global warming. In fact deforestation accounts for 25% of all CO2 emissions. I don't know maybe they don't think there is a global warming problem. What was also dumb was the fact that some of these citizens blamed the fires on the environmentalists, well guess what that is totally not true, the fires were most likely caused by intense heat and drought which by the way is a side affect of global warming, see the vicious cycle here?
That's pretty much all that I have to say, just if you have a problem handle in a mature way and try to see the whole picture not just one little piece that has to do with your own universe.
It sparked the question how much is to much f what you say and did John Stokes cross the line? And to me that is a really hard question to answer. I feel that you need to be careful of what you say no matter the circumstance and you have to realize that your hate comments can have serious consequences. I do think that Stokes crossed the line, he told his listeners where some citizens live and they are the cause of our problems and you should go and do something about it. Who does that? And half of what he says is so ridiculous that some wonder where he gets his information.
Yet even though I think he crossed the line other's believe that he hasn't and he is walking a very fine line, or else he would have been taken off the air by now. It's well within in his rights to say what he believes in and his right to talk to certain callers. But what I would like to know is he getting away with this stuff because of the first amendment or are people to afraid to say anything? Are they afraid of what could happen? And what would happen if someone openly challenged him?
The other issue that was discussed in the movie that really bothered me was the fact that the environmentalists were called a green Nazi. To me that was extremely offensive, immature, uncalled for and based on incomplete information. Now I get some of their point of view that without getting timber from the forests and as a result shutting down the associating factories are going to cause a lot of lost jobs. But let's take a step back, first of all environmentalists have a pretty good reason for preserving forests. Around the world every 7 seconds enough trees are cut down to fill a football field. Also forest absorb carbon dioxide, and when they are cut down in releases all that CO2 into the atmosphere, which then contributes to global warming. In fact deforestation accounts for 25% of all CO2 emissions. I don't know maybe they don't think there is a global warming problem. What was also dumb was the fact that some of these citizens blamed the fires on the environmentalists, well guess what that is totally not true, the fires were most likely caused by intense heat and drought which by the way is a side affect of global warming, see the vicious cycle here?
That's pretty much all that I have to say, just if you have a problem handle in a mature way and try to see the whole picture not just one little piece that has to do with your own universe.
Friday, March 28, 2008
art
The last couple of classes we have been looking into pornography and what is considered obscene. And honestly with the kind of guide lines the government set out to make the distinction I don't think I could really classify either one. Meaning when it comes to cases with comic books or art galleries it becomes a very fine line.
In Wednesday's seminar we asked each other if the art from the museum was obscene or not and neither one of us thought so, but our opinions are very different from others. We also figured that if you don't like what you are seeing then don't look at it, no one is making you read, or watch, or look at anything that you might consider offensive. Just because you don't like it or not understand it doesn't mean that everyone else will feel the same.
In Wednesday's seminar we asked each other if the art from the museum was obscene or not and neither one of us thought so, but our opinions are very different from others. We also figured that if you don't like what you are seeing then don't look at it, no one is making you read, or watch, or look at anything that you might consider offensive. Just because you don't like it or not understand it doesn't mean that everyone else will feel the same.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Random
So I wasn't sure what to write this week and and we only had one class this week I decided to write bout something that happened to me a few days ago.
In my creative writing class we had an exercise where we had to pretend to interview a character from one of the stories we had to read and the post it on Blackboard. The rest of my homework was to summarize what everyone did and when reading everyones posting I came across one that was virtually copied from me, the answers were so close that I thought for a minute that I was reading my own posting. And I have to say I was really pissed off, my answers were good and the assignment wasn't that hard to do. I told the teacher what happened and she took care of it and I got an apology from the person.
I'm not really mad at the person anymore and part of me is kind of flattered that I was chosen to be copied, I was the only person to chose that particular character. And part of me felt bad getting the person in trouble but then I thought this is college you should no better. I understand your stressed out but come on, the assignment seriously only took 20 min to do, I'm stressed out to with taking five classes and studying for mid-terms all week.
In my creative writing class we had an exercise where we had to pretend to interview a character from one of the stories we had to read and the post it on Blackboard. The rest of my homework was to summarize what everyone did and when reading everyones posting I came across one that was virtually copied from me, the answers were so close that I thought for a minute that I was reading my own posting. And I have to say I was really pissed off, my answers were good and the assignment wasn't that hard to do. I told the teacher what happened and she took care of it and I got an apology from the person.
I'm not really mad at the person anymore and part of me is kind of flattered that I was chosen to be copied, I was the only person to chose that particular character. And part of me felt bad getting the person in trouble but then I thought this is college you should no better. I understand your stressed out but come on, the assignment seriously only took 20 min to do, I'm stressed out to with taking five classes and studying for mid-terms all week.
Friday, March 7, 2008
teaching and free speech
After our last seminar I got to thinking about my own past experiences with me teachers and how they taught. I asked myself have they ever done anything that would get them into trouble for saying something or giving us material that was inappropriate. And I could only think of one time that my teacher ever got in trouble in regards to his teaching. In the ninth grade my English teacher gave us a book to read based on the TV show we were watching, one of my friends parents saw the book and thought it was too adult for kids who are only 14. So it was taken off the book list end of story.
I went to a really small school and as a result all the students were friends with the teachers. Because we were friends the class environment was a lot different then some of these schools we have been taking about, the teachers we would share life experiences and there were several times where we knew the teachers point of view. And as far as I can remember there was never any problems with the curriculum.
I went to a really small school and as a result all the students were friends with the teachers. Because we were friends the class environment was a lot different then some of these schools we have been taking about, the teachers we would share life experiences and there were several times where we knew the teachers point of view. And as far as I can remember there was never any problems with the curriculum.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Evolution
Evolution is probably one of the most controversial topics out there today. Granted that it is a concept that has become widely accepted, but after Wednesday's class I realize that it is still a big problem.
I was taught evolution in school and I am a non-practicing catholic so I think that has really influenced my beliefs. I find it hard to accept that God created the world in seven days and it makes me want to role my eyes when I hear these deeply religious individuals who wont open their minds to different theories (a scientific theory that has been proven) and that they completely ignore other religions.
I'm sure that what I am saying will offend someone somewhere and I might even be offending someone in the class. But this is a free speech class and I am saying things that I wouldn't necessarily say in class. I don't like the fact that there are people in the world who practically shove their beliefs down our throats because they feel it's their duty. There is the law of after all separating church and state, if you want to learn about creationism then you should go to a religious class.
It also bugs me that this new theory "intelligent design" is really creationism take out intelligent being and replace it with God and you got the bible. And I'm glad that the judge in the Kitzmiller vs Dover saw it for what it really was and that there was proof showing how early drafts of the alternative science book (I can't remember the exact title) was really about creationism.
I was taught evolution in school and I am a non-practicing catholic so I think that has really influenced my beliefs. I find it hard to accept that God created the world in seven days and it makes me want to role my eyes when I hear these deeply religious individuals who wont open their minds to different theories (a scientific theory that has been proven) and that they completely ignore other religions.
I'm sure that what I am saying will offend someone somewhere and I might even be offending someone in the class. But this is a free speech class and I am saying things that I wouldn't necessarily say in class. I don't like the fact that there are people in the world who practically shove their beliefs down our throats because they feel it's their duty. There is the law of after all separating church and state, if you want to learn about creationism then you should go to a religious class.
It also bugs me that this new theory "intelligent design" is really creationism take out intelligent being and replace it with God and you got the bible. And I'm glad that the judge in the Kitzmiller vs Dover saw it for what it really was and that there was proof showing how early drafts of the alternative science book (I can't remember the exact title) was really about creationism.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Military
When reading the book and the story of Kwame Mensah who was a marine who didn't want to fight in the gulf war, one of the things that I kept thinking was why did you join the military? You had to have known that there would be a small chance that you would have to go and fight.
I know that there are several different circumstances that make people sign up, for some they think this is the only option, it's a way to pay for school, and sometimes you might not get all of the facts. But still how could you not know you might have to go to war? I don't want to seem that I don't respect these soldiers opinions, because I do and part of me is not all surprised that some of these men changed there minds once they were in the army or navy or whatever.
I'm also not surprised that the government does all they can to stop soldiers from speaking against the military. After all it's pretty much a slap in the face, these men are representing our country and now they want out, doesn't send out a good message. So they make the process to get discharged as difficult as possible and damn near impossible.
I know that there are several different circumstances that make people sign up, for some they think this is the only option, it's a way to pay for school, and sometimes you might not get all of the facts. But still how could you not know you might have to go to war? I don't want to seem that I don't respect these soldiers opinions, because I do and part of me is not all surprised that some of these men changed there minds once they were in the army or navy or whatever.
I'm also not surprised that the government does all they can to stop soldiers from speaking against the military. After all it's pretty much a slap in the face, these men are representing our country and now they want out, doesn't send out a good message. So they make the process to get discharged as difficult as possible and damn near impossible.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Media
When thinking about what to talk about today one of the things that kept coming to mind was how news station don't always report anything important. I normally stay away from the news mainly because I hate to watch it but when I'm home it's pretty much the only thing my parents watch and I have no say in the matter.
So with the news on all the time I feel like I'm getting the same story over and over and over again. I watch the news and they report what's happening in Iraq for a few minutes but the number one story is Britney Spears or Paris Hilton going to jail. That is the number one story? And you hear about it 24/7 till you just can't take it any more and want to scream who cares about these spoiled rich brats who yes have problems but there are bigger things out there.
I know the news isn't like this all of the time but it really feels like they find one story and they just report it to death, for example when Hilary Clinton got all misty eyed when some woman asked her a question. And that's one of the reasons why I hate watching the news.
So with the news on all the time I feel like I'm getting the same story over and over and over again. I watch the news and they report what's happening in Iraq for a few minutes but the number one story is Britney Spears or Paris Hilton going to jail. That is the number one story? And you hear about it 24/7 till you just can't take it any more and want to scream who cares about these spoiled rich brats who yes have problems but there are bigger things out there.
I know the news isn't like this all of the time but it really feels like they find one story and they just report it to death, for example when Hilary Clinton got all misty eyed when some woman asked her a question. And that's one of the reasons why I hate watching the news.
Friday, February 8, 2008
past and present
When talking about free speech in class I sometimes felt that we take our freedom for speech for granted. Back in the 1600's you couldn't speak bad about anyone or really publicly express your opinions. Women couldn't stand up for herself to her husband or say anything negative about him. Newspapers weren't a common thing and you certainly couldn't hold protests like you can today.
A lot of people complain about despite the fact that we have the freedom of speech it's still regulated by the government. And sure I have wondered why the government controls certain aspects of the first amendment. But if we all just took a step back and look at our history I think we can all realize how far we have come and that we have a great deal of freedom already.
A lot of people complain about despite the fact that we have the freedom of speech it's still regulated by the government. And sure I have wondered why the government controls certain aspects of the first amendment. But if we all just took a step back and look at our history I think we can all realize how far we have come and that we have a great deal of freedom already.
Friday, February 1, 2008
Election
When coming up with something to blog about I thought why not about the primary election, that's pretty big in the news right now.
I'm a democrat and I was really supportive of John Edwards I felt he had some really good ideas and it just felt like he was in this race because he really cared. I don't hate Clinton or Obama I just thought that part of their reason for running was because of all the media speculation that happened a year before the primaries had even started.
I was really hoping that he would go all the way and then I found out that he was dropping out on wednesday to say the least I was disappointed, I had already voted for him filling out my absentee ballot while I was still on break. It also seemed unfair that the media constantly ignored the fact that he was in the race. From the start it was always Clinton v Obama and who will make history the first female president or the first black president never mind the possibility that one of the republican's running could become president.
Before he dropped out I saw a clip on MSNBC of a news reporter asking a group of people do you think Edwards won the debate? Everyone raised their hands yet only two or three voted for him, where is the logic in that? And just think if Clinton wins it will go Bush, Clinton, Bush, Clinton, anyone else think that's weird?
And in case anyone who reads this is wondering I am now supporting Obama.
I'm a democrat and I was really supportive of John Edwards I felt he had some really good ideas and it just felt like he was in this race because he really cared. I don't hate Clinton or Obama I just thought that part of their reason for running was because of all the media speculation that happened a year before the primaries had even started.
I was really hoping that he would go all the way and then I found out that he was dropping out on wednesday to say the least I was disappointed, I had already voted for him filling out my absentee ballot while I was still on break. It also seemed unfair that the media constantly ignored the fact that he was in the race. From the start it was always Clinton v Obama and who will make history the first female president or the first black president never mind the possibility that one of the republican's running could become president.
Before he dropped out I saw a clip on MSNBC of a news reporter asking a group of people do you think Edwards won the debate? Everyone raised their hands yet only two or three voted for him, where is the logic in that? And just think if Clinton wins it will go Bush, Clinton, Bush, Clinton, anyone else think that's weird?
And in case anyone who reads this is wondering I am now supporting Obama.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
my test blog
here is my test blog, a post of nothing relevant to say.
And a random picture of my bunny
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