http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/21/us/florida-children-killed/index.html
On Friday, a woman was found outside her home in Florida, holding a knife. Two of her children were dead and one is in critical condition. Earlier, the police received a call from a woman who claimed to have killed her children. After that, they got a call from her husband who came home to a gruesome scene. When told to drop her knife, the woman refused and less lethal "bean bag" shots were fired at her. She was arrested and was expected to see a judge within 24 hours.
This was written by Greg Botelho for CNN. Often, we hear that family ties are the strongest, and we see in the 1950's that the "ideal" American family has at least three kids. To know that there is a mother out there who would end the lives of her three children is unspeakable. What could have driven her to commit this crime? And further, why would she have called the police right after she killed them? Maybe she felt guilty afterwards and had the decency to turn herself in before anyone else could. Whatever the case, this sad event will never be forgotten by those close to the family. If it truly was the mother who killed the two children, I hope she is put behind bars for a very long time.
Monday, March 23, 2015
Firing Squads -Hadassah Lai
Utah's governor recently signed a bill bringing back firing squads. This is a potential way to execute some death row prisoners. Lethal injections are still an option, but the firing squad is only an option when the lethal injections do not work. Utah originally banned firing squads in 2004, though criminals could still choose to be shot to death. The last execution by firing squad was in 2010, and was indeed the last execution in Utah.
This reminds me of a very famous American satirical author, H. L. Mencken. He published a very famous essay called "The Penalty of Death" where he criticizes the judicial system for executing people for the sake of "a healthy way of letting off steam". I am not in favor of capital punishment, I believe that a life sentence is punishment enough, no need to resort to death. I don't think that Utah should have brought back the firing squad, it's an act of an cruel punishment.
Source: http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/23/us/utah-death-penalty-firing-squad/index.html
This reminds me of a very famous American satirical author, H. L. Mencken. He published a very famous essay called "The Penalty of Death" where he criticizes the judicial system for executing people for the sake of "a healthy way of letting off steam". I am not in favor of capital punishment, I believe that a life sentence is punishment enough, no need to resort to death. I don't think that Utah should have brought back the firing squad, it's an act of an cruel punishment.
Source: http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/23/us/utah-death-penalty-firing-squad/index.html
Cloud City on Venus!!! - Trevor Haueisen 6th
Summary:
NASA has unveiled an extremely awesome, but extremely complicated way to colonize Venus. Yes, Venus. Now going all the way down to Venus's surface has many problems - such as the heat, air, and immense gravity, but NASA has a solution. Instead of going to the surface, you live in the upper atmosphere. Up there, the gravity is very similar to Earth's and the Venus's atmosphere and magnetic field would deflect the Sun's harmful rays just like the Earth does. The plan is called HAVOC, High Altitude Venus Operational Concept.
Analysis:
For starters this insanely amazing. This also may be more sustainable than living on Mars. On Mars you'd always have to wear a bulky space suit to keep you warm and such. On Venus all you'd have to wear is a light suit to help you breathe and keep you safe from the slight sulfuric acid content in the air. In the atmosphere the temperature stays a pretty consistent 70ยบ F. In addition lots of medical problems can happen with prolonged experiences in low gravity. Mars's gravity is about 40% of Earth's while Venus's is about 90%. Much closer to Earth's.
This space exploration also raises serious political questions though. If they're born on Venus, are they citizens of America as well? What happens if this colony decides that they want vote in elections and become a state? What if they even want to declare themselves an independent country, would we let them? We've seen similar situations involving American Imperialism before with the Philippines, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Cuba. Different government policies were taken with each area. Either way, this will probably not happen for a while unless NASA suddenly has to compete with Russia over who has the better space program.
Also, HAVOC is probably a terrible name for this project! Hahaha!
Link to article:
http://sacd.larc.nasa.gov/branches/space-mission-analysis-branch-smab/smab-projects/havoc/
NASA's video simulation:
NASA has unveiled an extremely awesome, but extremely complicated way to colonize Venus. Yes, Venus. Now going all the way down to Venus's surface has many problems - such as the heat, air, and immense gravity, but NASA has a solution. Instead of going to the surface, you live in the upper atmosphere. Up there, the gravity is very similar to Earth's and the Venus's atmosphere and magnetic field would deflect the Sun's harmful rays just like the Earth does. The plan is called HAVOC, High Altitude Venus Operational Concept.
Analysis:
For starters this insanely amazing. This also may be more sustainable than living on Mars. On Mars you'd always have to wear a bulky space suit to keep you warm and such. On Venus all you'd have to wear is a light suit to help you breathe and keep you safe from the slight sulfuric acid content in the air. In the atmosphere the temperature stays a pretty consistent 70ยบ F. In addition lots of medical problems can happen with prolonged experiences in low gravity. Mars's gravity is about 40% of Earth's while Venus's is about 90%. Much closer to Earth's.
This space exploration also raises serious political questions though. If they're born on Venus, are they citizens of America as well? What happens if this colony decides that they want vote in elections and become a state? What if they even want to declare themselves an independent country, would we let them? We've seen similar situations involving American Imperialism before with the Philippines, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Cuba. Different government policies were taken with each area. Either way, this will probably not happen for a while unless NASA suddenly has to compete with Russia over who has the better space program.
Also, HAVOC is probably a terrible name for this project! Hahaha!
Link to article:
http://sacd.larc.nasa.gov/branches/space-mission-analysis-branch-smab/smab-projects/havoc/
NASA's video simulation:
Generous donation to SMU -Myles Bennett
Local university, Southern Methodist University, received a $45 million from the Meadows Foundation. $20 million will go to the Meadows school of the Arts and $25 million to the Meadows Museum. This is the largest donation the school has ever received. SMU is celebrating their 100th anniversary, so this money could not have come at a better time.
Click here to read more about this topic.
Analysis: This can be related to the time where philanthropy became very popular. During this time, Social Darwinism was a very popular thought, too. We can also talk about the nationalism everyone felt previous to this time period and how people were creating art to portray how beautiful and wonderful their motherland, America, was. This was a heightened time for us in artistic fields with the creation of Hudson River School and many new poets such as Edgar Allan Poe.
Click here to read more about this topic.
Analysis: This can be related to the time where philanthropy became very popular. During this time, Social Darwinism was a very popular thought, too. We can also talk about the nationalism everyone felt previous to this time period and how people were creating art to portray how beautiful and wonderful their motherland, America, was. This was a heightened time for us in artistic fields with the creation of Hudson River School and many new poets such as Edgar Allan Poe.
When you hit "Send" you cannot take it back -Myles Bennett
A junior at Molina High School in Dallas, Texas has been suspended for the remainder of the school year due to anti-gay and terroristic threats made over social media. Jose Gonzalez may face up to 10 years in prison for committing this third degree felony.
Click here to read more about the case.
Analysis: This is a reason we have limits on our American freedoms and rights. I reserve the right to say what I feel, but not at the expense and potential harm of another American or human in general. This follows the same idea that you cannot shout "fire!" in a crowded movie theater. Nothing is completely unlimited, there must always be a balance or else our democracy will fall apart.
Click here to read more about the case.
Analysis: This is a reason we have limits on our American freedoms and rights. I reserve the right to say what I feel, but not at the expense and potential harm of another American or human in general. This follows the same idea that you cannot shout "fire!" in a crowded movie theater. Nothing is completely unlimited, there must always be a balance or else our democracy will fall apart.
Vietnam Opens Revolutionary Tunnels to Tourism- Jazmin Garcia (2nd Period)
http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/22/travel/cnngo-travel-ho-chi-minh-city-tunnels/index.html
In Ho Chi Minh City, most visitors drive out of town to visit the Cu Chi tunnels. Below them, there's a subterranean network that housed many Vietnamese fighters during the war. In an alleyway in District 10 is a former family home that used to be "Secret Cellar B." The family that lived there was charged by Vietnamese forces to house a printing press to produce propaganda material. Things that would happen is soldiers would have a transistor radio in the tunnels and they'd be transcribing news of what was happening in the north. To ventilate the tiny space, another tunnel was dug leading up to a well, creating a flow of air to those stationed inside. Excavated between February and May 1952, Secret Cellar B was in operation until 1957 when it was decommissioned because of security concerns and then filled with soil in 1959 to avoid detection.
This relates to APUSH because this was during the Vietnam war and also it's pretty cool how this historic landmark is being toured because many people will be able to learn more. They're getting to understand not only the facts of the war, but the perspectives of the soldiers and how they lived/what people were going through at the time.
In Ho Chi Minh City, most visitors drive out of town to visit the Cu Chi tunnels. Below them, there's a subterranean network that housed many Vietnamese fighters during the war. In an alleyway in District 10 is a former family home that used to be "Secret Cellar B." The family that lived there was charged by Vietnamese forces to house a printing press to produce propaganda material. Things that would happen is soldiers would have a transistor radio in the tunnels and they'd be transcribing news of what was happening in the north. To ventilate the tiny space, another tunnel was dug leading up to a well, creating a flow of air to those stationed inside. Excavated between February and May 1952, Secret Cellar B was in operation until 1957 when it was decommissioned because of security concerns and then filled with soil in 1959 to avoid detection.
This relates to APUSH because this was during the Vietnam war and also it's pretty cool how this historic landmark is being toured because many people will be able to learn more. They're getting to understand not only the facts of the war, but the perspectives of the soldiers and how they lived/what people were going through at the time.
Utah Firing Squads Return- Mackenzie McGregor 6th period
Today, Utah's governor has signed a bill that allows the return of firing squads for execution of death row inmates. The last time Utah used a firing squad for execution was in 2010, although it was banned in 2004. This form of execution would only be an option for death row inmates if the drugs used for lethal injections were unavailable for some reason. This is both interesting and disturbing for the state as they have reinstated the firing squads 11 years after the original banishment. Although it is unsure whether or not this decision could influence other states, it is safe to say that Utah is practically creating a failsafe in the case of executions.
http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/23/us/utah-death-penalty-firing-squad/index.html
http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/23/us/utah-death-penalty-firing-squad/index.html
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