Blog Post 6: The Progressive Era

 These websites were eye-opening to me. I have never seen sources with such strong antiwar opinions.

 All of the sources in ANTIWAR.COM  and  The American Conservative are new blogs and research done on these issues that are need nowhere in the mainstream news. Nothing of this sort has crossed paths with me on social media or any type of social media. In one of the articles I clicked on was about the rejection of banning cluster bombs. The amendment was defeated by a vote of 160-269, with only
85 Republicans and 75 Democrats voting in favor. If you did not know what a cluster bomb is  , Bomblets, the small submunitions used in cluster bombs, are put over a vast region. They are so harmful to citizens. Numerous submunitions do not explode immediately upon impact and can be discovered years or decades later; most commonly, they are found by children. Over 100 nations have banned cluster bombs because of their indiscriminate nature. So why not in the US? We actually tried to ban cluster bombs by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) after we dropped cluster bombs in Ukraine. The question of why this is happening and why we didn't ban these issues is even more vital. It is because issues like this are kept from news sources from mainstream journalism and from regular civilians. This is one of the main concerns shown from mainstream media. 

In research Jon Schwarz, a writer at The Intercept what he thinks about war and social media. Schwarz mentioned  an anthropological concept called “social silence.” The topics that are talked about the most in every culture are those that are most significant but the truth is that it's the complete opposite. Sadly, this is the truth about most things in the media which is why you have to seek out things like this. Things people don't want to hear are often hidden from the media. 

Regarding the government, the media's ability to accurately report on wars involving its own state is likely to rely heavily on domestic elite sources in the military and government. Based off what the government allows to be posted a lot of it can be censored or have limited information shown to the public about the topic. 

 If you notice the website linked is very cluttered and very unorganized, and this is because it is hidden from people you have to dig to get this information. It is crazy how much important information about our country is hidden from us. I noticed that these websites aren't owned by any big media companies and all of the writers linked are very strong Antiwar but why is this hidden from mainstream media. 

Blog post #5 Reflection of Presentations

During class, I learned about all the different types of major technology that got us where we are today in technology.

During presentations, I saw a variety of different technologies that made a key difference in the world as we know it today. Some of the technologies mentioned in class were Instagram and Facebook, kindle, google, the first iPhone, the first type writer, and many more. Some presentations that stood out to me were instant messaging, first newspaper, and fountain pens. 

Fountain pens, originally known as dip pens had many issues. It was invented in 1842 by Heintze & Blanckertz of Berlin. Dip pens were replaced by fountain pens around WW1. They required constant work and skill to make. They constantly leaked when being used, and you constantly had to continue dipping the pen into the ink. It was just inconvenient and needed to be replaced. That is when

in 1884 the fountain pen was invented by Lewis Waterman. He created a pen with an uninterrupted ink flow that needed no interruption when writing. The fountain pen changed the world by providing constant writing without needing to constantly stop for ink. It also was easier to make and allowed anyone to write without having to learn writing skills in cutting quills. Overall, writing was improved, and so was people's handwriting.

Another presentation that interested me was instant messaging. It is something we all use today and every day. It all started with IRC which is Internet Relay Chat invented by Jarkko Oikarinen in 1988. The IRC gained a massive amount of popularity in 1991 due to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. Instant messaging was slowly becoming a main means of communication, in December 1992, the first text

the message was received, and it read Merry Christmas. It was received on an Orbitel 901 sent by Niel Papworth to Richard Jarvis. A year after this text was sent a phone was released that has SMS to send messages. From then to 1999 you could only message people on the same mobile network as you which caused some issues and slowed the take off of instant messaging. After 1999 you could message anyone even when not on the same mobile network and this is when SMS really took off. Instant messaging caused major advancements in communication and is one of the number one ways of communication today.

Blog post #4 History of Drone

    We all know what a drone is, they have been around for many years. Still, it goes back in time later than we thought. During World War II, wartime aerial photography and video became commonplace in newspapers, magazines, and movie theater newsreels on the Homefront." This seems like a long time back, but believe it or not, drones go back further than World War II the first recognized drone was made in 1917 and is known as the Aerial Target which the British Royal Navy used. You may wonder when drones switched to recreational use in the early 2010s. Commercial drones were and still are used for aerial photography, wildlife videos and pictures, emergency response, sports and racing, etc. The evolution of drones has been rapid, and they are used for so many different situations now. It is common to say you saw at least one drone or drone shot a week or even more. Drones

are used for an abundance of things and multiple fields of work. They are huge in journalism and broadcasting. Drones create a new way to record angles, speed, and movement. Sports teams use drones for game footage for a variety of things. Drones can capture an aerial view to get above-
field shots that a human and sports journalists cannot get with a camera. Coaches also utilize drones in sports to monitor athletes' technique, speed, quickness, and responsiveness to a play. This enables instructors to spot any areas for improvement and make the necessary modifications to increase performance. This can be utilized to identify areas of weakness hidden from view during ground-level plays. Companies use drones to help create content for their business or even to promote themselves. Every day, people use drones to make their lives easier. Drones also created a whole new way of journalism, opening a new field of possibilities. Journalistic drones can capture unique shots that a human can never take. Drones also are much safer than shots done in the past by journalists from helicopters. An issue seen in recent years due to drones is the demand and increase in public and commercial use of drones.

     Along with journalism, drones are used for the production of movies. Drones have been used in the film for several years. Some movies that have used drones are Wolf of Wall Street, Spiderman Far from Home, Harry Potter, and so many more. Drones help improve movie making by creating a better experience for the watcher by enhancing the visual experience. Drones not only make a fantastic shot for the watcher in movies, but they also save massive amounts of money on production. Drone cameras have adapted to some of the best aerial shots ever seen. Raises issues of noise, public safety, and congestion in the airways. The increase in drones causes a worry in society of privacy because anyone can own a drone with a camera. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has sought to establish standards that limit the use of drones for commercial purposes while allowing experimental and recreational use. Drones have forever changed how the world works and will continue to improve and adapt to the world around us. 

Blog Post #3 Eight Values of Free Expression

In today's day and age free speech is very important, which is why Promote Innovation and Individual Self-Fulfillment are the two that stand out to me the most of the eight important values of free speech. Which is the protection and value of free speech and that it is likely to be more energized, creative, and interesting. It's about people expressing themselves in diverse and interesting ways, which relates to Individual Self-Fulfillment in that you need to know who you are and your identity. 

Everyone has their own identity and their own thoughts and ideas, which is why the value of free speech is so important and relates to the two values of speech. As both of these relate back to the First Amendment with the right of free speech, citizens' speech can be presented in any way, like words, actions, or speech. Everyone has their own creative ways and ideas, which is why promoting innovation and Individual Self-Fulfillment are so important. 

The First Amendment is a right by all, “The First Amendment today protects the overlapping realms of the spirit—of belief, emotion, and reason—and of political activity against intrusion by government.” The freedom of being who you are and showing your personality through clothes, what you post, and what you write is a fundamental human right and essential for people's protection and enjoyment. This world would be highly different if people couldn't express themselves freely. Your freedom of speech is linked directly to who you are. Everyone has their own thoughts and slogans, think of any person you know, and you can relate their thoughts and speech to who they are, which connects to their personality. 

It is seen all over today in Individual Self-Fulfillment a lot of problems in society have occurred from the right to form your own beliefs and opinions. People can say and do whatever they please as long at it is not breaking a law. We all have seen people post things or say things we don't believe in ourselves, but it is a right to form your opinions and beliefs. For example, we have all seen internet fights where everything nowadays is recorded we can all think of a situation or video we heard two people going at it, fighting verbally. This is an expression of speech by expressing their feelings as long as it's not verbal abuse or a hate crime. 

We see people today in protests of LGBTQ, Women's rights and Black Lives Matter at rallies and parades. People go to express themselves and what they believe in. We also see this in the press; people have the right to post or say what they want on the internet. Freedom of speech is essential to every person and helps define who you are Promote Innovation and Individual Self-Fulfillment stand out to me the most out of the eight important values of free speech. 

Blog post #2 The Founding Era

     The Supreme Court is the highest judicial court in the United States. It is made up of 9 Supreme Court justices who work every day interpreting the law, deciding whether or not a law is relevant, and deciding on how a law should be applied. They decide on how national questions are decided. The Supreme Court's power rests on public faith. There have been 116 Justices so far. Each Supreme Court justice spends around 16 years working for the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court was established in 1789, It was initially established in New York and was later moved to Washington DC in 1801.

  

     There is now One Chief justice and eight associate justices in the Supreme Court, but there used to be only six Supreme Court justices named by George Washington. In my research, I learned that all Supreme Court justices must have a nomination from the president. The Chief Justice now is John G. Roberts, Jr., and was nominated by President George W. Bush. The fourth Chief Justice was John Marshall in 1801, During Marshall's time was when the new court rapidly earned public respect as a co-equal branch of government. I learned in research that during Marshall's time as Chief Justice the

court's authority was not always respected. While John Marshall was Chief Justice, the court asserted (a claim made as a complaint in a court of competent jurisdiction) for the first time, the greatest of all judicial powers coming together to strike down an unconstitutional act of Congress. Under John Marshall's time as Chief Justice, the court made the Constitution an effective nation-building tool. 

    As I watched this video, I learned a lot about the past of the Supreme Court and got a better description of how the Supreme Court works. Each Supreme Court justice is assisted by a few people in law and secretaries. Each Supreme Justice must come to an answer on a case alone. In the video, Justice Brandeis, appointed to the Supreme Court in 1916, stated, "We do our own work," meaning they all individually have to work out each case and make a clear decision themselves. After a majority ruling of the nine justices, the side with the most votes must write an opinion. After all the work they do after writing the opinion that it is to persuade the other of that decision and that it can go on for months. I did not know that these supreme court cases take this long due to the writing and editing of the options which surprised me. The system is not fast but it is not made to be fast they take their time with decisions and working on cases.

My research changed my opinion and how I thought about the Supreme Court. I learned so many new facts I never have known before. One that surprised me was that it was initially in New York and was later moved to DC. Throughout my research, I continue to learn new things, surprise myself with new information, and dispose of false information I believe. I want to continue to inform myself of the Supreme Court and further my knowledge.

Blog Post 1: News and Information

 Social Media: One of my five sources of news and information is Facebook. I use Facebook to keep in touch with my family and friends, who often share many different viewpoints on news and information. Facebook makes it easy to share articles and websites, although filtering out what is credible can be challenging. Many people use Facebook as a source of information to keep in touch with family members and know what’s going on news-wise with family. I would recommend Facebook to people because it is a good way to keep in touch with family receipts, events and even some famous events. You can friend whoever you want, which is nice so you can filter your stream of what you see. Facebook is pop culture but it is a great way to keep in touch with news within the family and friends. 

Instagram is a second source of news and information I use on social media. It is similar to Instagram in keeping in touch with family, but you can also follow famous people, pages, or companies to stay informed. Celebrities are huge on Instagram and have most of their following here and like to keep fans updated with information about their lives. Companies also use Instagram to promote products and keep followers updated on new products or new products in general. It is a great source of news even though there can be a lot of fake posts and false news spread so you do need to be careful of what you take in as true media. Instagram is a way a lot of people inform others which is why it is such a good way to take in news. 

New York Times: This is a news source I check often once a month or even less. It is more to keep myself updated on daily events I do not see on TikTok of, Instagram or Facebook. It keeps up with worldly events. When reading the New York Times, I never have to doubt the information im taking in is false due to the credibility with the name. The latest article I read was “Americans Are Losing Faith in the Value of Higher Education. Why?” I found this article retable as many oif my high school friends did not go to college and felt this way 3 years ago, but it was seen as almost weird and different but now it is very popular to not go to college. As someone in college, I do not feel this way, but it is good to keep myself informed on the different perspectives of others. The New York Times is good at keeping their articles on various topics for all. 

Podcasts: This is a way I take in my news when I am busy and want some pop culture news or even current event news. There are many different types of podcasts you can listen to podcasts on Apple Music or Spotify, Audible, or Google Podcasts. News sources also create podcasts for people without time to sit down and read an article or newspaper. Podcasts are great when doing house tasks, driving, or as background noise to keep yourself updated. Some podcasts are Pop Culture Happy hour, The Daily, BFFS podcast. As any female college student, I love to keep myself updated in celebrity drama and events.  BFFs podcast is one of my favorite podcasts that keeps me updated on almost all pop culture events. 

Glamorous: This is a very girly type of news that I will look at from time to time. Glamorous is The latest on style, beauty, celebs, and more. The have information on celebrity news and drama, wellness, culture, style, shopping, beauty and even some videos. They keep you updated on the latest beauty and fashion trends with what celebrities do and what new makeup brand to try next. I don't check this often, but I definitely do come across time to time. They even have features with celebrities in some of their videos. It is good to keep up with these types of things on something other than social media.