What's Plan B?

On Thursday morning, Harriet Miers decided to withdraw her nomination from the Supreme Court. Since being nominated for the Supreme Court on Oct. 3, Miers' nomination seemed to be in deep trouble. Due to her longtime association with George W. Bush, and inexperience on constitutional issues, she has been thought of as a foolish candidate and a "crony" of the President.Elite conservatives opined that Miers could not be counted on to decide cases as a true conservative. Miers was supposed to replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who was the critical swing vote on divisive social issues, such as abortion. Most social conservatives felt that Miers wouldn't do a good job as a voter, who could help swing the vote as O'Connor did. Most believe President Bush had made the wrong decision if he was to nominate someone who would reshape the Supreme Court. It was said that Miers withdrew because alot of info about her was permanently protected from disclosure, and if the Senate couldn't learn about her past, then she would surely not be elected. But most believe it was the fierce opposition from Bush's conservative supporters that caused Miers to withdraw. It was most likely the case that she didn't want to deal with alot of negative publicity, or be under the scrutiny of the public eye. The nomination was not looking to have a good future, so Miers decided to withdraw to avoid any imminent problems. So, now it's back to he drawing board for President Bush, who now has to find a new nominee for the Supreme Court

This story is similar to something that occured in 1987, when President Ronald Reagan nominated Robert Bork to become a Supreme Court Justice. Bork was rejected by the Senate in a 58-42 vote, after he was publicly trashed by Senator Edward Kennedy, and ridiculed for his video rental history. From this public trashing, Sente voted him agaisnt him joining the Supreme Court. Maybe Miers made the right decision, to get out of the spotlight before she ended up like Robert Bork.

Boston Lawmakers Say to Mothers: Shaking Babies is Really Bad

In Boston, lawmakers are contemplating on how to prevent any more cases of shaken baby syndrome and other tragic baby-inflicted abuse. Reports say the lawmakers want to inform parents and caretakers that there are other ways to sooth a fussy infant besides shaking it out of frustration until it suffers brain damage.

George and Yvonne Poske, who's grand-niece Caroline was shaken by her mother when she was 3 months old and suffered brain damage because of it, told a Legislative committe about Caroline's horrific ordeal and want to educate people on the consequences of shaking infants. They say education on it should be mandatory for all mothers. Yvonne Posk said:

"People should just understand that it's OK to walk away. If the child is crying uncontrollably, put her down in the crib. Put her in a safe place. Walk away. Compose yourself."

Dr. Deborah Eapon, who encouraged the Poskes to testify, had a son, Matthew, who died after being shaken by his nanny, Louise Woodward. She thinks Beacon Hill has waited much to long to act on this subject, especially since it is a common and tormenting act.

This act to protect children can be compared to the Child Online Protection Act (COPA), passed in 1998. It was created to protect children from pornaography and other "material harmful to minors". It was never officially taken effect, and only really affects commercial providers. It was blocked by the Supreme Court, saying it is too broad and and probably unconstitutional.

Actually, it's not really anything like an Act preventing the shaking of babies, but it's the best I could come up with.

evolution

In the New York Times, there was an article dealing with the issues faced while teaching about evolution. Recently Kansas has become one of the few states willing to teach about evolution in elementary schools. Many organizations do not want to provide the schools with teaching materials which contain information about natural evolution. They feel that the students should not be confined to learning about only one possibilty as to how life began.

This is kind of like what happened in the Scopes Monkey Trial. The Scopes Monkey Trial happened in the State of Tennesse. Mr Scopes, a teacher, wanted to teach about natural evolution. Natural evolution means that humans descended from Monkeys. The trial decided that no one in Tennesse could teach anything about evolution that refuted the idea of a divine being creating man. In Kansas, the school systems want the students to be open and subjected to the idea that there could have been a divine being who created the world and the humans.

I guess I owe another one.

I was clicking around and I only counted 4 blogs of mine, and we are supposed to have 5. So, in the spirit of Halloween, I chose a story from The New York Times about the haunted house of Harry and Lesli Zamora in Houston, Texas. Since buying the house in 2003, a year after the former owner died there, the Zamoras say that they have have been tormented by mysterious presences. They have seen ghostly visions including a fluffy white dog and moving orbs of light, and have encountered a door that locks itself, and appliances, lights and water faucets that turn themselves on. They believe that the former owner is haunting their home. So when your house is haunted, who ya gonna call? GhostBusters! No, really. There is a ghostbusters squad of veteran Houston police officers who are known as Phenomena Police. Videos and photographs taken by the ghostbusters have yielded images of a unexplained white lights and skeleton like apparitions in the Zamoras' household, but no explanation to their origin.

This story reminded me of a famous controversial haunting in American history that Hollywood has recently embraced, known as the Amityville Murders. On November 13, 1974, police discovered six members of the DeFeo family -- father, mother and four of their five children -- shot and killed execution style at 112 Ocean Avenue in Amityville, New York. By 1977, the DeFeo home would be the center of a haunted house story that experts label a hoax.
The Amityville property was originally used as a sort of insane asylum for Native Americans who were sick and dying. These dark souls from the asylum were believed to have never left the land, and were believed to have contributed to the Ronald DeFeo murders. Mr. DeFeo hated his father and had plotted to kill him, and ended up killing his entire family. Later he said that there was a shadow ghost alongside him who had haunted their home and compelled the shootings which occured during the early morning hours. Over the years, rumors have surfaced which claim to prove the Amityville case a fraud, but paranormal experts disagree. These "ghostbusters" say that the home was definetely haunted. Descriptions of the paranormal activity in the home were very accurate for a case of demonic possession.

Exodus!!!

The Christian Science Monitor reported the thoughts of some residents of the New Orleans ninth district after returning to their damaged homes. It is being speculated that many former residents of this poor predominantly black neighborhood may not return to live in their homes. The neighborhood was very tightly knit and many were expecting the residents to return en masse, but much to their surprise a fair amount decided they would not return. The decision of these residents not to return would severely affect the culture of New Orleans.

Nowhere will that be more apparent that here in the Lower Ninth Ward. Originally a cypress swamp, this area is the breeding ground for much of what makes New Orleans famous: its music, food, and Mardi Gras Indians.

The authorities are still contemplating whether to rebuild certain parts of New Orleans, such as this lower ninth ward. This was one of the areas most affected by hurricane Katrina. Some residents fear returning to New Orleans because in some areas the toxicity of the ground is too high. Many also fear, that if the levees are rebuilt, they would have a hard time believing the city is safe.

The current situation in New Orleans is similar to that of the dustbowl of the 1930s. The Southern Plains of the United States was greatly affected by years of drought. The soil in the plains had been overplowed and agriculturally depleted. The ground cover that kept the soil in place was gone. The winds of the plains came and whipped the soil up into the air, sometimes darkening the sky for days. Many of the people from this area left their homes and traveled across the country seeking refuge in other areas. The majority of these migrants made their way to California. Many of them never returned to this homes, but stayed in California in an attempt to make a life for themselves. Mainly, like many of the people of New Orleans, they did not have a home to return to. Also similar to New Orleans is the fact that the migration from the plains culturally changed the area. Before, the land was farmed by small tenant families who depended on it for their livelyhood. After the Dust Bowl, the land was used for large commercial farms.

Missing Student's Body Found

The body of Olamide Adeyooye, a senior at Illinois State University was found in a burned down chicken coop located in Mississippi. This article on MSNBC news states that the 21 year old senior had been missing for about 8 days (since October 13) and her body was found Friday, October 21. It was said on the article that since her disappearance, parents and friends have been using blogs and the internet (the power of technology) in addition to other means in order to send out messages to people. The cause of death is not yet known, but the police and FBI are still investigating.

It seems that lately many tragic events have been taking place involving college/university students, which sadly lead to their deaths at an extremelly young age. These incidents, however, are not quite new occurences. Though it is unknown the cause of Adeyooye's death, it can be compared to an event that occured in the 1960's. On June 21, 1964 three men were victims of political assassinations in Mississippi, according to an article on Wikipedia. The men were James Chaney from Mississippi, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner, both from New York. Goodman had been a student in New York and all three were in their twenties. It is said that local police and the Ku Klux Klan had been involved in their murders.

Bad News: Bird Flu spreads to East Africa.... Good News: You can't catch it by eating chicken!

So the NY Times has reported that the avian bird flu is spreading to North Africa, the Middle East and East Africa, not Western Europe, as Western Europe is not the migration path for disease ridden fowls. This illness has been traveling around for about 8 years now:

"As bird flu has jumped this year from Southeast Asia to China, Russia, Kazakhstan and - more recently - into the Balkan region of Europe, scientists have become somewhat belatedly convinced that wild migratory birds are one of the main carriers of the H5N1 strain of avian influenza."

Europe is meeting Thursday to discuss what should be done when the flue eventually crosses their path. However, East Africa is crossing its path very shortly, if not right at this moment. They cannot afford to slaughter all of their suspicious poultry, for they are one of East African's main sources of products and food. Although one cannot ingest the disease, one can catch it by having physical contact with birds. East Africa also lacks the technology and finance to adequately control the avian sickness.

East Africa is obviously not America, but the migration of this flu can be, has been, and is being compared to the global mass murderer of 1918 and 1919, the Flu Pandemic of 1918. Back in 1918, a flu spread throughout the world and caused in between 30 million and 100 million deaths. Many of these were caused by untreated pneumonia caught during la grippe, as antibiotics were not yet invented. Also, the world was uninformed of it for a while due to War time propaganda. But, there is one definite, undeniable similarity: it was caused by birds. Yes, birds. Yes, like the flu the world is trying to dodge at this moment. The New England Journal of Medicine ecently estimated that if the bird flu recurred as it did in 1918, the planet's casualties would amount in between 180 million and 360 million.

cardinal avery dulles

On October 12, Cardinal Avery Dulles went to Boston College to speak to students about the faith that the church is handing on. Born on August 24, 1918, he lived in New York and proceeded to complete his education at both Harvard and Harvard Law School. He joined the military in 1940, becoming a lieutenant. He was ordained a Cardinal even though he never became a priest, and at the age of 87 still teaches at college.
That night, Cardinal Avery Dulles spoke to a crowded lecture hall about his belief in faith remaining the same, even after previous years of conflict. His main message was to keep the church the same, and conflict will subside. By listening to Cardinal Avery Dulles, we are able to keep our faith, and pass it on to future generations of Catholics as well.

Blogs, schmogs.

In The New York Times today, there is an article discussing the death of a 20-year-old University of Minnesota-Morris student at the college's school homecoming game. Richard Thomas Rose was killed after a mob of football fans, celebrating their teams victory, rushed onto the field and pulled down a goal post (brilliant idea, don't try this at the next Pope John football game kids). Rose was pronounced dead at a hospital after attempts to revive him on the field failed. It is not exactly clear how he died, but it is assumed that it was a blow from the post falling down that killed him. He was the only person hurt. About 1,000 fans were watching the game and celebrating, and now one of those fans has died because of it.


This article reminded me of a tragedy that occured in Boston a little over a year ago after the Red Sox won the World Series. Victoria Snelgrove, a a 21-year-old journalism student at Emerson College, was an innocent bystander celebrating the victory calmly with some friends. Other college kids, however, were going wild in the streets of Boston to celebrate. The police couldn't handle the rowdy, out of control, crowd, so they resorted to using pepper spray bullets. [Why? One may never know] Snelgrove was accidently shot in the eye, which proved to be a fatal wound and led to her young death.


Two popular, lively college kids with bright futures ahead of them have died, and all for what?Both of these occurences reinstate the fact that students need to learn to control their excitement at sporting events, because innocent lives are constantly being lost for the short lived glory of sports teams.

The newest Supreme Court nominee, Harriet E. Miers, has sparked recent controversy. Ms. Miers is a conservative who is probably most well known for her time spent as president of the Bar exam in Texas. While she held the position from 1991-1992, Ms. Miers was known for her very diverse mentality, pertaining to both race and sex. She was said to be changing the system for the benefit of females, hispanics, and blacks. The integration of all races and sexes to the Texas Bar is somewhat similar to the case in 1954 of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kans.

The case stated that the segregation of public schools was unconstitutional. The verdict was determined by the Supreme Court after a girl, Linda Brown, was denied admission to her local public school because she was black. By 1955 all schools were forced to desegragate as fast as possible, and though this caused several problems throughout the south, integration slowly spread throughout the southern states. Despite their differences, Harriet Miers attempt to make the Texas Bar less segragated is similar to the integration of national public schools.

I hate blogging so much it hurts.

An article in The New York Times discussed the change in movie releases to the public. Back in the day, movies were released in theaters where the public would pay $7-$10 dollars to view it. Nowadays, companies are discovering the popularity of the internet and have decided to take advatnage of it. They are now supplying movies to customers online. At a lower price and without the hassle of leaving the house, consumers are jumping at the new trend. While the movie companies are profitting from the new form of business, movie theaters and other movie suppliers are suffering from the decreasing revenues.

The rising popularity of the internet raised the question, when did this computer demon start? The first known form of the internet was 1969 when the ARPA (Advanced Research Projects Agency) designed a program for the military in order to send confidential information to and from various military headquarters. A few years later however, the idea of the internet became more popular and large companies began using the technology. As a result, the military created a new internet system, solely for their use in 1983, called MILnet. In 1986, a new form of networking was made, called NSFnet (National Science Foundation Network). NSFnet linked together the five national supercomputer centers at the time, every major university, and started to replace the older, and much slower, ARPAnet (which was finally shutdown in 1990). NSFnet formed the backbone of what we call the Internet today.

still taking indian land

In the new york times there was an article about economics driving people to corrupt indian land. A few years ago, in the deserts of Arizona, on an indian reservation, there was a ski resort built. In recent years, the resort has not been making a great deal of revenue due to the fact that it does not really snow in the desert. The owner's solution to this problem was to make artificial snow. The Indians, however, think that this is going to corrupt their land. To the indians this is spiritual land. One of the lawyers fighting for them said that putting artificial snow on the mountains would be like "pouring dirty water on the vatican." The indians and the resort owners are now in a legal battle as to whether there can be artificial snow on the mountain or not.

Reading this article reminded me of the europeans first coming to America. They came in and treated the indians however they wanted. This meant taking their land and killing them and their cultures. Indian reservations are supposed to be places for the naticve americans that "Europeans" cannot tamper with. By building the ski resort that idea was basically thrown away. The only differences between what is happeneing with the ski resort and what happened during the exploration of America is that no one is getting killed and the indians can fight back and even win using the judicial system.

Cardinal Avery Dulles

Cardinal Avery Dulles is a great man. He is an eighty-seven-year-old cardinal, who was ordained without even being a bishop first. He was born on August 24, 1918, in New York. He was a very intelligent young man, and because of this, attended Harvard College, and also, Harvard Law School. After leaving Harvard Law after a year-and-a-half, he joined the military, where he became a lieutenant. Over the years, he has written several books and a numerous amount of articles having to do with faith. He travels often, and gives speeches wherever he goes. He is a world renowned cardinal, and is still working, even at the age of eighty-seven.

Cardinal Dulles gave a speech at Boston College on October 12, 2005. I was privileged, as well as four many other people, to be able to hear him speak about certain issues. The topic of discussion at this "lecture of intellectuals" happened to be "handing down the faith." He talked about how he thinks that the Catholic faith should remain the same, even after several years. He believes that the basis of Catholicism should remain, and as generations go by, we should try and keep it the way it always was. As everything evolves, and goes through many changes, Cardinal Dulles encourages the fact that the youth of the world is our future and must strive to keep the tradition of our faith an ongoing one.

Avery Dulles

On October 12, eighty seven year old Avery Dulles gave a lecture about the handing down of the faith at Boston College. Dulles was one of the few men to ever be made into a cardinal without previously being a bishop. He was born on August 24, 1918 in Auburn, New York. Dulles graduated from Harvard and also attended Harvard Law School before joining the Navy and becoming a lieutenant. In 1956, Dulles was ordained and on February 21, 2001, he became a Cardinal.

When discussing the handing down of the faith, he stressed its importance. Dulles does not want to see the Catholic religion being neglected now and in future generations. If we have the same faith as previous generations, we should be able to follow it and recognize it the same as the people in those previous generations had done it.

A Used Car Or A Katrina Biohazard?

After Hurricane Katrina, there were several problems concerning food, shelter, and overall help. But now, there are sure signs of fraud and peril, coming from the resale of cars damaged by the storm. Since the hurricane struck on Aug. 29, law enforcement has warned people to scrutinize used cars for water damage and investigate their histories. These warnings are routine after major storms. But Katrina's automotive losses were hardly routine. During and after the hurricane, cars sat in sewage-contaminated and fuel-contaminated floodwaters in New Orleans, which now pose horrible risks to anyone who comes in contact with these vehicles. These cars can contain contaminated sludge, which may be hiding in doors, frame rails, rocker panels and gas tanks. Even the interior trim and carpets can harbor pathogens. The flooded cars should be regarded as biohazards, and people who come in contact with them can become horribly ill. It has been estimated that 570,000 cars have been damaged by Katrina. Some officials say 300,000 of the cars were in New Orleans. Many organizations and Carfax are working to solve this problem and identify the problematic cars.

This event relates to another event involving flooded-cars that were resold on the market in 1998. In this area, a major flood occured in which several cars were filled with sewage water. Some of these cars were placed on the market and sold, which recieved heavy scrutiny because there was great fear of people becoming deathly ill due to mold and other toxins. It is a shame that used car dealers all over the U.S. continue to sell cars that hurt people just to make money.

Cardinal Avery Dulles

Cardinal Avery Dulles is eighty-seven years old. He was born in Auburn, New York on August 24, 1918. He graduated from Harvard College in 1940 and attended Harvard Law School. He then spent a year and a half there before leaving to serve in the United States Navy where he eventually became a lieutenant. He was ordained in 1956 and became a Cardinal on February 21, 2001. He is an internationally known lecturer and he has written over 700 articles on various theological topics.

On October 12, 2005 Cardinal Dulles gave a lecture at Boston College. The topic was the handing down of the faith. Cardinal Dulles basically acknowledged the importance of handing down the Catholic faith to the next generation. He spoke about how our Catholic religion should be the same Catholic religion people followed fifty years ago. Even when the people, culture, and everything surrounding it changes, the core truth of catholicism should never change.

Post Storm Poverty

In the New York Times there was an article about the poverty that hurricane Katrina unmasked. This brought the issue of poverty on the national agenda. This was seen as a chance to talk up new social programs but the politicians seem to be scrambling to save the old ones. Seeing that the repairing of the gulf coast would cost the Federal government an estimated $200 billion dollars, they are looking to cut spending with programs such as Medicaid and food stamps being vulnerable. A huge issue is the doubt of the effectiveness of some programs and the fact that many poor people do not vote. In 2004, 37 million Americans lived below the poverty line. The plight of impoverished Americans was merely brought to public attention by Hurricane Katrina.

This is similar to the period in United States history called the Great Depression. Many people were creeping into poverty. Some of the nation's biggest centers of agricultured had been devasted by drought. The Democrat president Franklin D Roosevelt was elected president. The president proposed the New Deals. A series of new government programs were introduced to aid the impoverished people in the nation. I believe that today somethin may needo tbe done about the level of povery in the nation. It does not have to be as drastic as what was done in the 1930s. It strikes me to be odd that the programs that currently aid poor people, medicaid and food stamps may be affected.

Justified Use of Police Violence?

Any moral person upon reading this article located on the MSNBC News would most likely think to themselves, "What is this world coming to?." At least, that was one among the many troubled thoughts that rushed through my head while reading it. According to the article, a sixty-four year old retired elementary teacher was caught on tape being violently beaten by police in New Orleands.
The retired teacher, Robert Davis, had returned to the storm-devastaded city to check on a family owned property. While walking through the streets at night in the French Quarter, three policemen are said to have assumed that Davis was intoxicated, a charge he ardently denied, and proceeded on to beat him. Although Davis is black and all three policemen are white, the police spokesman Marlon Defillo claimed that race wasn't an issue. The Police Superintendent Warren Riley, in addition, is reported to have said that the video only presented "a portion of that incident" and "The actions that were observed on this video are certainly unacceptable by this department." (No kidding)
Nonetheless, after Davis had been severelly punched in the head, "kneed and pushed to the sidewalk with blood streaming down his arm and into the gutter," (can they get anymore graphic?) the "police said Davis was booked on public intoxication, resisting arrest, battery on a police officer and public intimidation."
Even though all actions (or at least, a very good deal of it) was caught on tape, the officers were pleaded not guilty on Monday to battery charges.

This incident can be related to an event recently learned in our Ap History class which took place in March 1770, the Boston Massacre. Unlike the Davis incident, however, the people of Boston started the event by "taunting" the British soldiers on duty at the Custom House, throwing snowballs and rocks at them. This growing mob of angry colonists led the soldiers to panic and in turn fire into the crowd, killing five people. The soldiers, being defended by the law-abiding John Adams, were also declared not guilty (in this situation, however, it seems more justified than the Davis case). Even though the causes of these two events differ, the results were pretty much the same: police brutality.

Miers on the Supreme Court?

For anyone who happened to catch the opening sketch of Saturday Night Live this past week, you witnessed a satire of what my article is all about. In the New York Times today there is an article about the close ties between President Bush and newly nominated Supreme Court member, Harriet E. Miers. This article states that there were many letters exchanged between the former governor of Texas, and his lawyer, the former Texas Lottery commissioner. These letters may show that Miers's nomination is strictly based on the friendship between the two. These letters are not very professional at all and include Miers using the word cool (which I have now decided to erase from my vocabulary) quite frequently, she even goes as far as to state that the Bush twins should be lucky that they have such "cool" parents. If this nomination is truly based on friendship and not on merit then Miers should, and more than likely will be denied a position on the Supreme Court.

This situation reminds me of something I read in my summer reading book, entitled An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963 by Robert Dallek. In 1961, when choosing his Cabinet, John F. Kennedy made sure his brother, Robert, had a place somewhere in government. I recall reading about how when almost all the positions in his Cabinet were filled, John had forgotten about Robert so he placed him as Attorney General of the United States. Also, as I recall Robert did not feel he was well enough suited for this position and needed to have a talk with his family before finally accepting the position. This act of nepotism did not work out badly however and Robert managed to help his brother quite a bit during his presidency.

Natural selection at its finest.

Looks like some more deaths are in front of the human race. According to this article, a new disease, known as H5N1 bird flu virus may outbreak among the human population, causing a possible 150 million deaths. This "pandemic" as it is called is estimated to kill one in every two people it even comes into contact with. Since 2003, it has killed 66 Asian men, all of whom came into contact with the infect birds, the carriers of this disease. As of now, Dr. David Nabarro of World Health Organization suggested to spend 4 billion dollars to make a vaccine, however, it is still being debated in the House of representatives, who believe that this has not become a threat "yet."

This is somewhat reminiscent of the West Nile scare a few years back. That time, the carrier was the pesky mosquito. Of course, that did not turn out as badly as predicted. It had only affected those who were very young, very old, or were already suffering from an immunity deficiently. It was probably blown far out of proportions. The question is now though, is the same thing happening here? Or are we really in for the plague of the new millennium?

Mmm...Procrastination at it's finest.

compton, the home of gangsta rap, and starbucks?

Say hello to the worlds newest Starbucks location, Compton, California. When most people think of Compton, they think of gangs and rap music, rather than $3.00 lattes and yuppies. Tough is an undersatement for the streets of Compton. This city, just outside L.A. averages 40-60 murders every year. Compton lacks several things, probably the most evident being a police force. Graffiti covers the fences and bulidings in the area, and city council corruption, though unfortunate, is common. The newest location of Starbucks isn't quite the same as the first location, Seattle, Washington.

Starbucks first opened in 1971 in a supermarket in Seattle. By the early 1980's several independent Starbuck's locations could be found all over Seattle, and were beginning to spread into neighboring states. By 1990 there were 84 locations throughout the northern states. The Starbucks takeover was beginning. All of the Starbucks locations drew in intellectuals who liked to read books and drink outrageously strong coffee, and were willing call a small "tall" and large "grande". Since the early 1990's Starbucks has expanded at a rate so fast your head will spin. The most recent number I could find stated that there are 9,671 Starbucks locations around the world.

Many will read this asking themselves "what does this have to do with American history?" Though I do agree that maybe Starbucks isn't necessarily a huge part of American history, the fast food revolution is however an enourmous part of American history that will affect us as well as future generations. The principle of the point im making is that the rate at which fast food chains expand is absoloutley mind boggling, and somewhere in the future, the history of Starbucks, McDonalds, and Burger King will be in text books.

Kids, leave your metal objects at home, and don't forget your lunch..

From The New York Times, the DeWitt Clinton High School students decided to protest metal detectors being installed in their school along with a ban on cell phones. The students also protested being kept indoors for lunch daily. In an attempt to appeal against the decisions, petitions were signed with over 250 names being recorded. However, these were disregarded; as a result, 1500 students of the Bronx high school marched to the school department building and demanded to be heard. No actions have occurred yet, but rumor is that change will arrive soon.

The oppression of individuals is similar to the southern United States during the 1960's. Inequality amongst Caucasians and African-Americans sparked many protests, sit-ins, and numerous attempts at ending segregation between the races. With the Civil Rights Act of 1964, men and women of different races were no longer segregated against in the Southern States. With protests to express discontent, the people in both situations were able to prove to authorities exactly what they were upset about.

1918 Pandemic: Avian Flu

Crossposted at intellectuals, inc.

Soon to be published in the journals Science and Nature, virologists have isolated the flu virus that caused the 1918 pandemic, killing 50 milling people, reports the NY Times.

It had been "like a dark angel hovering over us," said Dr. Oxford, the virology professor at St. Bartholomew's. The virus spread and killed with terrifying speed, preferentially striking the young and the healthy. Alfred W. Crosby, author of "American's Forgotten Pandemic: The Influenza of 1918," said that it "killed more humans than any other disease in a similar duration in the history of the world."

The story of how this flu virus was reconstructed over the last decade is facinating. In 1918 viruses were unknown, and therefore a sample had not been isolated. As luck (or some bizarre approximation) would have it, the Spanish Flu of 1918 swept through an Alaskan village; the permafrost burial plot served as a freezer for the virus.

Then Dr. Taubenberger received a third sample, from a woman who had died in Brevig, Alaska, when the flu swept through her village, killing 72 adults and leaving just five. The dead were buried in a mass grave in the permafrost. A retired pathologist, Johan Hultin, hearing of Dr. Taubenberger's quest, had traveled from his home in San Francisco at his own expense. He dug up the grave with the villagers' permission, extracted the woman's still frozen lung tissue and sent it to Dr. Taubenberger.

In the last 18 months, the media has been reporting on more isolated outbreaks of avian flu. Could a new bird flu jump to the human population and wreak havoc on the world? More importantly are concerns about using the 1918 flu virus in bioterrorism.

Richard H. Ebright, a molecular biologist at Rutgers, said he had serious concerns about the reconstruction of the virus. "There is a risk verging on inevitability, of accidental release of the virus; there is also a risk of deliberate release of the virus." And the 1918 flu virus, Dr. Ebright added, "is perhaps the most effective bioweapons agent ever known."

Is the science more important than the risk of terrorism? The short answer is yes. If the threat of possible terror use of the 1918 influenza virus as a weapon were to stop significant scientific research into how viruses mutate, thus leading to discoveries in an array of areas (including possibly AIDS research), then the terrorists have accomplished their goals while still snuggling up in their caves.

Racism leads to burning houses

In the New York times, there was an article about houses being set on fire. Nine months ago, in charles county, MD., ten houses were set ablaze in the middle of the night. Since most of the families who had their homes destroyed were black, this became a racist issue. Since 1990, the black population in this area has increased from 18% to 33%. Along with that, there has been more hate crimes than ever before. There have been things like fliers telling you to kill blacks, and symbols such as swastikas and K.K.K. being spray painted on buildings and roads. Since the arson crime took place, five suspects have been arrested. None of them, however, have been charged with hate crimes.

Hearing this made me think of the Ku Klux Klan when it was in it's prime. The klan was first established in Pulaski, Tennessee, in May, 1866. The kkk was mainly run by former members of the confederate army. They not only targeted blacks, but whites who sympathized for the black americans as well. They would go in to the homes of these people at night, drag them outside, torture them, and then in most cases kill them.

The Ku Klux act became law on April 20, 1871, which was the idea of then president Ulysses S. Grant. This gave the president the right to intervene in places where racist klans were getting out of hand. The Ku Klux Klan split up shortly after, however, because their goal to have a white supremacy in the south had been achieved. When the Ku Klux Klan reassembled in 1915, they were going after more than just African Americans.

Is it God's judgement?

It has been argued that Hurricane Katrina striking New Orleans was God's punishment. New Orleans, to some people, can be known as a city of sin. Mardi Gras takes place there and some inhabitants also practice voodoo, both activities being not very Christian-like. Franklin Graham, on the other hand, believes it was a chance for God to start over and have a spiritual rebirth in the previously sinful New Orleans. Graham looked past the devistation of the hurricane toward what he believes can come from it. He thinks that New Orleans will now be stronger and good will come out of it.

The feelings toward this event can date back to the outbreak of the bubonic plague, also known as Black Death, in the mid 1300s. Killing one third of the population, people began to blame God. Being very religious at the time, the most sensible explanation was that it was a punishment from God. Some of the highly religious inhabitants of New Orleans may be looking at the destruction of Hurrican Katrina with that same excuse.

new orleans workers are getting the boot!

Earlier today I read an unfortunate article from The New York Times. This article was about the recent tragedy of Hurricane Katrina. Since this disaster, a prodigious amount of money has been spent, making the funds of Louisiana become much lower. Since the hurricane, there has not been enough money for payroll. Because of this enormous financial burden, more than half of the working people in Louisiana are going to get laid off. By doing this, the government will save between five and eight million dollars every month. The people that are going to lose their jobs are said to be "non-essential workers," and do not include police officers, firemen, and medical professionals.


I'm not sure what to write for a comparison. If you have any ideas let me know! Thanks. =)

Supreme Court Term to Begin With No Word on Nominee

On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court opens its 2005-2006 term beginning with a new chief justice, John G. Roberts, to replace the late William Rehnquist. There is still alot of speculation about the Supreme Court's new term because President Bush needs to select yet another justice to replace the soon-to-be-retired Sandra Day O'Connor. Since Bush has not yet selected a new justice when the new term is to begin, O' Connor has agreed to stay with the Supreme Court until a replacement is selected. This year, the Supreme Court will have to deal with cases involving abortion, religion, free speech, and the death penalty. This coming week, the justices will hear arguments on an Oregon law that authorizes "physician-assisted suicide". This law has lead to an extremely large amount of debate, and will need to be considered carefully by the Supreme Court. With the coming trial and future cases of this year, Bush will have to choose a justice that he feels has good morals and can face these problems head on. Also, Bush will most likely choose a justice whose personality resembles that of O'Connor's, who acted as a separating vote between the conservatives and liberals. The speculation and rumors will continue to build until President Bush chooses the replacment justice.

The new Supreme Court justice John G. Roberts has been selected to fill the shoes of William Rehnquist, who passed away several weeks ago. Relating to history, Rehnquist was first elected to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1972, which he remained on until his death. He was an Assistant Attorney General during the Nixon administration, and was then nominated by President Nixon and elected by Congress to the Supreme Court as an Associate Justice. In 1986, President Ronald Reagan elevated his status to Chief Justice, which he remianed for 19 years. This span makes Rehnquist the fourth-longest-serving Chief Justice in American history.

Mexican immigrants are getting beat down.

According to The Washington Post [look I did it!], a series of slayings of Mexican immigrants have occured in a mobile home area in Tifton, Georgia. Six others immgirants have reportedly been wounded in these violent home robberies. The immigrants worked in the fields of cotton and peanut farms in this rural south Georgie community. At least two men are suspected of these senseful attacks. Although racism has not been brought up as a motive, it has also not been ruled out. The fact that only these poor, not English-speaking, people have been attacked, sets off a red alarm in my head that it may be because of their ethnic background. The community targeted is largely Mexican populated, with about 3,000 Mexicans living in it. Now, those who live there, live in fear for their lives.
I looked up racial violence in the United States with the help of a trusty friend I call Wikipedia. All throughout history, people have been judged and abused for their racial background. Most people, when thinking of racism, think of African Americans and slavery, or the Holocaust. It has, however, happened to those with white descent, from places such as Ireland. A case that relates to my article, involving the Irish, arose when a Committee of Vigilance was formed in 1851 in San Francisco. These comittees lynched and kidnapped hundreds of Irishmen just because they were Catholic and from a different country. Each Committee of Vigilance gave up power after it decided the city had been "cleaned up", which was after all the Irishmen were kicked out, beaten, or killed. The anti-immigrant aspects of its mob activity continued later, however, focusing on Chinese immigrants and leading to many race riots in the period leading up to the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.

Bennett: Reduce Crime by Aborting all Black Children

Last Thursday, former Republican secretary of education William J. Bennett declared on a radio program that aborting all unborn black children will reduce crime. Democratic Congressional leaders quickly attacked him for making such a ridiculous statement. Bennett rebuked them, saying their attacks towards him were "ridiculous, stupid, totally without merit". He also said:

"I was pointing out that abortion should not be opposed for economic reasons...Immoral policies are wrong because they are wrong, not because of an economic calculation. One could just as easily have said you could abort all children and prevent all crime, to show the absurdity of the proposition."

Bennett was referring to an argument about whether abortions contributed to lowering the crime rate made by Steven D. Levitt, author of "Freakonomics". Bennett is making his stance on his statement clear; he was being hypothetical. Why he would even bother saying such a ludicrous thing in the first place still remains a mystery.

This controversial statement can be compared to Dr. Jonathan Swift's Modest Proposal, made in 1729. Swift, author of the classic satirical novel "Gullivers Travels", wrote that the answer to the peasants of Ireland's starvation at the time was to eat their infants. His "modest proposal" was in fact a satire to amuse the upper class, but some people took his ironic essay seriously and criticized him for his "bad taste".

Will History Always Repeat Itself?

On December 31, 1969 15-year-old Jackie Lee Thompson killed his “pregnant” girlfriend Charlotte Goodwin. A few months later he was sentenced to life in prison. However, the Judge that sentenced him, Charles G. Webb, told him:

“You will always have hope in a thing of this kind. We have found that, in the past, quite frequently, if you behave yourself, there is a good chance that you will learn a trade and you will be paroled after a few years."

But should this be this case? Jackie Lee Thompson murdered an innocent young girl. Should he be freed from prison simply because he behaved well? It does not matter how he behaves in prison, what does matter is how he behaves outside of prison.

In 1957 a man named James Hubbard went to prison for a second-degree murder conviction in the death of David Dockery in Tuscaloosa County. He was released in 1976. A year later he killed another innocent person, 62-year-old Lillian Montgomery. Lillian had befriended Hubbard and "sponsored" him to gain his release in 1976. After she helped him he still proceeded to shoot her three times and rob her of her gold and diamond wristwatch and about $500 in cash and checks.

The release of James Hubbard resulted in the death of an innocent woman. How can we know history will not repeat itself with 50-year-old Jackie Lee Thompson? He killed once, how can we be sure he will never kill again? History has shown that a murderer is more likely to kill again than a person who has never killed. But then again, should we judge one person on the actions of others? Every person is different and reacts to a situation in different ways. The question and answer lies only in the hands of the Judge who will handle Thompson's case.

remember last year's history projects?.?.?.?...

On August 15, 2005 a local of Witchita, Kansas was sentenced to 175 years in prison, a guaranteed death sentence. The husband of 33 years was the president of his Lutheran church and worked for ADT, an alarm security system company. Police have searched for the man since1974 and not until recently have they been able to discover his identity. This Great Plains native is the serial killer known as his self-appointed nickname, BTK, “Bind, Torture, Kill". Dennis Rader pleaded guilty to the murder of ten people from 1974 to 1991, including the entire Otero family. The police were finally able to capture Rader after viewing an article announcing the 30th anniversary of his first killing. The families were able to confront BTK at the trial, while Rader blamed "Factor X" for his actions.

A century before BTK, another murderer is infamous for his ability to dodge police with his torturous killings, Jack the Ripper. As the idol of many serial killers, Jack the Ripper murdered several women known to be prostitutes in 1888 and to this day remains anonymous. Rader and Jack the Ripper would both leave notes for police at the crime scenes. Although Dennis Rader did not limit his killings to women, he did believe that the girls he killed would rejoin him in heaven as his sex slaves. To aid the men in their ventures, both valued connections within their jobs that allowed them to kill their victims. Rader used the information he gathered at his job with ADT security systems to break into his victim’s homes, while he used his title at church for security. Jack the Ripper is suspected to have been a doctor, or a profession that requires medical knowledge, because of the state of his victim's bodies. Although the killers’ patterns are not identical, the numerous similarities show the common interests and techniques between the two men.