Inmate attacked by officer and dog

In Iberia Parish, outside of New Orleans, a prisoner awaiting trial was attacked by two officers and a dog. The officer filed an incident report, but his story doesn't match up with the video. The video shows the prisoner being singled out and thrown the ground, beaten, and attacked by the dog twice.

This relates to government because they are hired officers for the Sheriff's department, a part of the executive branch. This also relates to a lot of things going on in the world right now because of police brutality.

I personally refuse to watch the video because I cannot stand seeing people being hurt or treated unfairly, but I will link it  below in case anyone wants to see it. I believe that if the prisoner was not doing anything wrong, there is no fair reasoning as to why he was attacked. Police brutality has been such a big issue lately, it's hard to ignore it. But ignoring it is the reason why there is no change.


Watch here

Congressman proud of his transgender granddaughter

California congressman Mike Honda tweeted a picture of his transgender granddaughter with the caption, “I hope she can feel safe at school without fear of being bullied.” His granddaughter is currently eight years old and transitioning. Malisa recently asked to be called her chosen name and be addressed with female pronouns. 

This is important to our government because most people in politics are either against the LBGT community or they simply choose to ignore it. Maybe now, since it is happening to one of them, they'll think differently about it. 

I think this is a major breakthrough in the LGBT community. Now that this is being addressed by so many people, including a congressman, the community will gain more support, and support is desperately needed.

Read here

Aaron Hernandez, former NFL player, charged with murder

  Aaron Hernandez was sentenced today to life without parole for the murder of Odin Lloyd. Odin was killed in June 2013 at the age of 27, much too young for anyone to die.

This relates to our class because it has to do with the court system. He was sentenced by a judge and jury and it has become a national affair.

I honestly believe that murder, whether intentional or not, deserves a harder punishment than just jail time. Not the death penalty, but some form of punishment that is forever changing. Jail becomes a cycle, a routine of sorts, and I don't think murderers deserve that stability or comfort, because their victims sure didn't get that.

Read Here

Boston Bombing Trial

The Boston bomber was found guilty of thirty charges today. The jury took eleven and a half hours to make a decision today. The trial will now move into a penalty phase where death penalty will be decided.

This relates to our class because it has to do with our court system and the judicial branch of the government. 

I personally believe that he deserves the death penalty because he killed many people and injured many others, including children. And if he doesn't get the death penalty, he definitely deserves a life sentence.

Read Here

Girls who escaped Boko Haram return to school

Three hundred girls were captured and the reason? They went to school. The girls were captured by Boko Haram. They were taken from their school and loaded into trucks. Two girls jumped from the trucks, barely surviving, and now one of the brave girls has returned to school. She says she wants to be a teacher, even though school will always be a reminder of what happened to her. Of fifty girls that escaped, four are attending school at the American University of Nigeria.

This relates to our class for multiple reasons. The first, we believe that this will never happen to our daughters or sisters because we are protected by the government. Our government keeps out groups such as Boko Haram. Secondly, we have more civil rights than the girls that were taken. And because of those rights, we are protected.

I think it's great that these girls have gone back to school. Just because something bad happened to them, they aren't letting it ruin their lives and their futures. What happened it awful, but I'm glad that they are bravely returning to school. 


Read Here

Fetus cut from mother's womb

A woman, who was seven months pregnant, lost her child after a response to a Craigslist ad went sour. The woman went to a house in Colorado to buy baby clothes from another woman, "Dynel", when she was stabbed and had her fetus cut from her womb. The woman then was left as "Dynel" took the baby with her. The woman was found and arrived at the hospital at the same time a woman, Dynel, arrived at the hospital with a fetus, claiming a miscarriage. 

This relates to our government as Dynel has yet to be charged with murder. Colorado law states that for it to be murder, the baby must have first lived outside the mother's womb, and whether that means one breath or one hour is still undetermined. 

I personally think that Dynel should be arrested for murder, whether the child lived outside the mother or not. The woman was seven months pregnant, which means that child had a heartbeat and was almost fully developed. Now this is different from abortion, since most states have laws restricting when you can get an abortion. Most abortions take place before a heartbeat is even formed. Once again, this is a super controversial case and it involves an online site. The internet is a place filled with uncertainties and creepy people.

Read Here

Univision Host Fired for Comments about First Lady

Rodner Figueroa was fired for comparing the First Lady to a character from "Planet of the Apes" after a picture of her was shown. Figueroa claims that he was referring to a bad job done by her make up artist. He also claims that someone from the White House called and complained, and that's why he lost his job. 

Obviously this relates to our governement because it involves the First Lady, but this also relates to the First Amendment. On many other nationally aired shows, celebrities and well known figures are harshly critized for what they do and how they look and that's just fine. So is Figueroa just exercising his right to freedom of speech, and is the First Lady taking that away from him? 

I think that even though the comment was rude, he shouldn't have been fired for it. Things like that are said all the time to everyone. I can't complain to my principle and have someone suspended if they said that to me, so why does a man have to lose his job for it? Figueroa has apologized multiple times but, understandably, he is bitter about it. 

Read Here

ISIS Throws Gay Men Off Roof

ISIS posted photos, dated March 2015, showing "a large crowd, mostly men, but also among them a handful of women and children, all looking up" and "Three men on top of a building, faces covered in black balaclavas, stand on either side of their victim, while a fourth seems to be taking a photo or video." A final photo shows a man laying face down on the ground with a small group around him holding weapons, and even stones. Men are being killed just because they are accused of being gay. 

Although this is a bit extreme, we see cases of homophobia constantly throughout any country or group. Some people just don't approve, and that's their right, just as gay people should have rights. If governments start giving gay people more rights, will people stop being so vicious towards them?

I personally think this is really messed up. People are people, they don't choose to be how they are. It's no longer socially acceptable to shame people of color, so why are we shaming people of the rainbow? We're all different, and that's perfectly okay. Don't hate people for things they can't control. People are people, no matter what.

Read Here

Facebook for Suicide Prevention

Facebook has released a new tool on the social media site to help prevent suicides. Many people who feel suicidal drop hints to their friends in conversations and some even post alarming statuses. So now, if you're concerned about a friend, you can flag the status as alarming and Facebook will check it and contact the poster, similar to how you report a negative post. 

Obama signed the Suicide Prevention Act into law recently. It's good to see our society and government finally recognizing mental illness in our world.

For me, seeing our society recognize suicidal thoughts as a real problem is a sigh of relief. It is so common in teenagers and often ignored. You never know if ignoring someone's status because you think they're being dramatic is actually you ignoring a life threatening issue. If you see someone struggling, reach out to them or let Facebook do it, but don't let them go through this alone.


Read Here

Obama's Response to Chapel HIll Shooting

Obama referred to the shooting of three Muslims at Chapel Hill as "brutal and outrageous" but did not state that it was a hate crime. The president's remarks came after Turkey's president commented on the White House's silence. Turkey's president asked, " I ask Mr.Obama, where are you, Mr.President?"

As a North Carolinian, I have to ask myself, wasw this a hate crime? There's been so many lately, so how is our government going to fix this? Our country relies on our government officials, such as cops, to keep us safe. In a country likes ours, where we are granted so many freedoms, why can't we be safe? Why are we threatened for being ourselves? 

I think it's great that Obama is finally commneting on this incident. Now since he's addressed it, what will he do to attempt to fix it? We can't ignore the amount of hate in our country. Racist, sexist, homophobic people are, unfortunately, out there and we have no way to stop that. But can we maybe change their standpoint a little? Only one way to find out. 


Read Here

ISIS

Moaz al- Kasasbeh was burned alive by terrorist group ISIS after being held captive for a month. Kasasbeh was a Jordanian air force pilot who was captured. It has been stated that before being burned alive, Kasasbeh was sedated and that his "'sensory centres' burned quickly, leaving him unable to feel the pain of the inferno." The twenty-two minute video titled "Healing the Believers' Chests'" was posted February 3rd, 2015. 

After the video was posted, many countries, including the U.S, have been striking ISIS by air. Our government constantly gets involved with foreign affairs and whether that's a good idea or not is a matter of opinion. Our troops are risking their lives for an issue that is not our own.

In my opinion, I believe that the U.S helping Jordan is a two sided situation. The fact that we are helping ocuntries that are in such horrible circumstances is great, but would they do the same for us. If the tables turned, and our country was under duress, would Jordan fight back for us? And thats the problem, our country gives, but will other countries do the same? If ISIS were in the U.S, would Jordan cross seas to come to our aide? And is the U.S even really aiding the countries under attack, or is our society just tweeting "#prayforjordan"? In the end, we are almost all left to fight our own battles, so lets say an officer from our airforce is burned alive. Will you be there Jordan? I doubt it.


Read Here

Eating Disorders and our Culture

In this article, Dr. Yellowlees addressed the fact that selfies-which are consistently evident in today's culture-may be fueling the rise of eating disorders. Eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge disorder are all forms of eating disorders. These disorders are harmful and unhealthy.

Eating disorders are just another sign that political culture is everywhere. Everyone talks about the one "fat" president we've had in our nation because it's uncommon. People are affected by the word "fat" as if it's toxic. Our culture tells us that bigger is wrong and that's the problem. 

Eating disorders are an issue that is commonly ignored because no one wants to face the fact that our peers struggle. We, as a society, like to pretend that everything is just fine because it's easier to accept than the truth. As a member of multiple social media accounts, I personally agree with Dr. Yellowlees. The "selfie" trend is often used to post pictures of our bodies, which to many young girls and boys, can be toxic. We are still too young to accept our bodies and we are constantly bullied at school so any little thing can persuade us.



Article here

Leelah Alcorn

Leelah Alcorn died December 28th, 2014. Faced with male pronouns all her life, Leelah was drowning in a sea of rejection. With very strict Christian parents, she wasn't accepted as transgenderby her family. Leelah was hit by a tractor-trailer on Interstate 71 close to her home in Ohio. She had programed a suicide note to be posted on Tumblr shortly after.

Leelah's death has a lot to do with political culture. If the world around her hadn't been taught that transgender was wrong, Leelah mat still be standing with the battle for transgeneder rights. Her parents and fmaily members believed she was confused. Her mother even told her "it was just a phase." Her parents were her "political culture." They were the world around her and resulted in suicide.

I strongly believe that Leelah could still be alive right now if it weren't for the negativity around her. This isn't right, and it definitely isn't fair. Transgender people should have the same rights that the rest of us do. Even though they don't at the moment, we should still respect them all the same. "Pleasse don't change my pronouns," a simple request that everyone is capable of respecting. R.I.P Leelah.

Click here