Supreme Court Divided On Same-Sex Marriage

supreme court same sex marriage

Today was a historic day at the Supreme Court where the 9 justices discussed and were divided over the controversial issue of same-sex marriage.  The two questions that were brought before the court were whether or not states can refuse to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples and whether or not states can refuse to recognize same-sex marriage performed elsewhere. The court was extremely divided with 4 justices who were in favor of a constitutional change for same-sex marriage and 4 justices who didn't know if changes centuries of president was a proper thing to do.  In my opinion I don't think anything should matter.  Now I'm not saying pro-same-sex marriage or anti-same-sex but why does it matter? I can't understand why people care about other peoples lives so much.  If a person wants to be someone it should matter if that person is gay, straight, black, white, yellow, brown or blue.  Every person in this country should have the same rights as everyone else.  I think some people really need to get a life and stop being so concerned with how others want to live their lives.

Obama Condemns Violence In Baltimore

obama condemns violence in baltimore

President Obama was quoted in saying that there is "no excuse" for the rioting in Baltimore on Monday night.  The rioting was a form of violent protest in reaction to the death of a 25 year old black man named Freddie Grey.  Freddie Grey died from a severe spinal injury while he was in police custody.  There were over 200 hundred arrests in baltimore last night due to the rioting.  Along with looting, there were over 140 vehicles and 15 buildings that were set on fire.  All of this violence cause d a state of emergency.  Now by no means do I believe that any of this is right but I understand it.  The African-American community has always been big victim to police brutality and it continues to this day.  So I can understand why many African-American citizens are doing what they are doing.  Maybe it is because these people feel as if they have no other option because the legal system has failed them over and over again. My suggestion to the rioters would be that if they really want to obtain justice the only way to do so is by peaceful protest.  Take it from the people that have done it best.  Dr. Matin Luther King paved the way and showed that through strong will, civil disobedience and the hunger for justice anything can happen.

Dr. Oz Will Not Be Silcenced

Dr. Oz Will Not Be Silenced

The very famous Dr. Oz has been catching a lot of criticism from a group of 10 successful doctors telling him he should resign from Columbia University.  In the clip that is a part of this article, Dr. Oz focuses on how the 1st Amendment and the freedom of speech is one of the most important rights as an American and he will not be intimidated by people trying to silence him.  This is a very relevant topic in this seminar class. Freedom of speech is one of the most important rights any of us have.  Men and women have died to protect our right of freedom of speech and nobody, famous or not, should have that right taken away.  Very happy for Dr. Oz standing up for one of his most basic and important rights.  More people need to follow his lead in this day and age.  I feel as if people allow themselves to be silenced and that should never happen.  So thank you Dr. Oz for being the 1st Amendment topic of the week.

New Low For Walmart?

New Low For Walmart?

Last week Walmart randomly shut down 5 of their stores which put over 2,000 people out of work.  They said that the stores needed to be shut down due to very severe plumbing issues. Although Walmart says that it is due to plumbing issues the real reason is to punish workers for protesting for a higher wage.  The workers were awarded two-months pay after lay off.  By mid-june these workers will be out of work unless they can find a job at a new location.  To me this is ridiculous that Walmart would pull a stunt like this. Workers are being punished for wanting a higher wage for the jobs they work because they believe they are under paid.  I believe that things like this should be illegal and hopefully faces strong repercussions.  The United Food and Commercial union filed an injunction with the National Labor Relations Board on behalf of Walmart to help workers not lose their jobs.  Hopefully this works out because this is a terrible thing to do to the people who help make your business successful.

Cyber Security Failure

This Sums Up The Utter Failure of Cyber Security

Today I stumbled upon and article that shocked me.  I was looking for a Cyber Security article to write about and found "This Sums Up The Utter Failure of Cyber Security".  Jeff Moss, a former hacker who advises the Department of Homeland Security was quoted saying, “The security industry is sort of like the Band-Aid industry, We apply better, faster, bigger Band Aids….But we’re not really fixing the patient.”  To me this is shocking for a person who is very involved with this nations Cyber Security to say.  This is eye opening and needs to be corrected.  As a citizen of the United States we cannot allow this to happen.  Some of the most major corporations have been getting attacked that hold some of the most important information in the entire world.  Cyber Security in the United States is one of our largest concerns moving forward.  

Klansville USA

In class we watched a documentary called "Klansville USA" and it was about the rise of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1960's in response to the rising of Civil Rights.  It is primarily about the North Carolina chapter of the Ku Klux Klan.  In two years of operation this organization grew from nothing to over ten-thousand members.  This documentary did not focus on the hardcore KKK but the group from North Carolina which seemed to be very organized and politically minded.  It also talks primarily about the organizations leader Bob Jones.  This documentary was very eye opening to me.  I always just looked at the KKK as a bunch of red-necked idiots who kill and terrorize innocent African Americans simply because their skin color is black.  The particular Klan that is highlighted in this documentary seemed to be a group of ordinary and simple white people who just wanted to have their voice heard.  They also seemed to be non-violent.  I guess in a certain way you cannot blame these types of people.  Back then white people who were in the middle class and up were very open-minded about African Americans making a name for themselves in society.  It was those white people who were now at the bottom of the barrel who felt like they were being attacked.  I feel like this was a perfect storm for the blossoming of the KKK in North Carolina, white people who wanted to be heard and a strong willed leader in Bob Jones.  But at the end of the day Bob Jones was just a crook and you can't build a house on bad foundation.

Plessy v. Ferguson

In class we held a mock trial for the case Plessy v. Ferguson.  This case is about a man, Homer Plessy, who was put in jail because he was an African American man riding inside of the "White's Only" train car.  This was an incident where civil rights activists purposely had Homer Plessy sit in the white's only car although he identified himself as an African American.   Lawyers on Plessy's side tried to argue that this was a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment.  Although they make a fair argument, the "separate but equal" doctrine was upheld.  Thinking about this in our day and age is ridiculous.  It still to this day shocks me that a group of people were discriminated against and still are discriminated against simply because they have a different skin color.  Although African Americans are still discriminated against today the progress that has been made has been tremendous.    This case is proof of how far we have come as a society.  It is hard to believe that not too long ago if I was riding on a bus or a train that there would be different sections for myself and African Americans.  Thank you to the two teams in class that did a great job displaying this trial for us.