CISPA Cyber Security

Brooke Kennedy

American History

Carter Glass

3 May 2013

Bibliography:

"CISPA: Cybersecurity bill stumbles in Senate - CBS News." Breaking News Headlines: Business, Entertainment & World News - CBS News. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 May 2013. <http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-205_162-57581592/cispa-cybersecurity-bill-stumbles-in-senate/>.

Summary:

CISPA is the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act that is probably not going to get passed. If this did get passed the big companies such as Facebook, Google and Twitter would all be accessible to the federal government without a warrant. Right now the only ways that the government can see what you are doing online is if they suspect you of a crime, then they get a warrant, then they have to request the data from each company. If CISPA passes they wont need anything to search your data. Right now you can adjust your privacy levels all on Facebook, Tumblr, Youtube, Google, twitter, Amazon, Flicker, Yahoo!, Ebay, and more. But with CISPA nothing will be completely private ever. The Senate has suggested that they will probably not pass this cyber security bill but create their own cyber security bill instead. The House of Representatives on April 18 but president Obama says he will not pass the bill if it comes to him.

Analysis:

I don't know enough about CISPA to say that I am 100% for or against it. I feel that it can be a very useful thing when it comes to criminals and catching them quicker such as in the situation of the Boston Bombings. However, the government managed to get one of the brothers alive and in custody within a few days without CISPA. Would they have been able to get him sooner and potentially saved a life or two in the process? Maybe. I think that in certain situations it is comforting to know that the government easily has full access to everything that a person has ever looked at on the Internet. I also think that if you have nothing to hide then the government having full access to all that you search on the Internet easily shouldn't be a problem. But on the other hand it is comforting to know that you have the freedom to search whatever you want without someone spying on you because of it.

Immigration

Brooke Kennedy
American History
Cater Glass
10 April 2013

Bibliography:
" Immigration reform in the U.S.: Why it's being debated, what it means and more | PennLive.com." Central PA Local News, Breaking News, Sports & Weather - PennLive.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Apr. 2013. http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2013/04/immigration_reform_in_the_us_w.html

Summary:
Gorge Bush's plan for immigration failed. Then Obama never did anything his first term and is now making immigration a priority in his second term. The problem is that there is more than 11 million immigrants illegally in the U.S. and we don't know what to do with them. There are plans to tighten the border security, but that can only do so much. Immigrant represent 13% of our population with 40.4 million of them. Of the legal immigrant there are 11.7 million are from Mexico, 25% from South and East Asia, 9% from the Caribbean, 8% from Central America, 7% from South America, 4% the Middle East and the rest are from other places. The illegal immigrates are about 58% from Mexico and about 6% from El Salvador and the rest is unknown. California by far has the largest population of immigrants. Then there is New York, New Jersey, Florida, Nevada, Hawaii and Texas. Coming into the U.S. without permission is considered a misdemeanor criminal offense. If you re-enter after formally being removed from the country can be considered a felony. People that are applying for a reprieve must have been in the country before they turned 16 years old and be currently younger than 31 years old while also being a being a high school graduate or have served in the military. They also cannot have a serious criminal record or pose any threat to public safety or the national security.

The House is making a legislation that will offer three different paths for illegal immigrants to their legal status. Agricultural workers will qualify for this path to legal status because they contribute importantly to the economy. Their kids will also qualify because they were forced to move to the country and should not be punished for it.

Analysis:
In my opinion I don't see a huge problem with immigration. There definitely are situations where I wish there were not as many immigrants and that in some ways the laws should be more strict about them being here. Not that the laws should be more strict about becoming a citizen here but once they are a citizen that the laws should become more strict for them. But they are little things that do not apply to everyone. Such as knowing English and speaking it clearly that people can understand you. I have heard that that is an issue for many people with immigrants. If they live in our country they should know our language and be able to talk well enough for people to understand. Like I said, they are little issues that are not a huge deal but can be an annoyance for many people that live in America already.

Maryland Bands Death Penalty

Brooke Kennedy

American History

Carter Glass

5 April 2013

Bibliography:

"Maryland will be 18th state to ban death penalty." USA TODAY: Latest World and US News - USATODAY.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Apr. 2013. <http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/03/15/maryland-death-penalty/1989977/>.

"Jodi Arias Juror Dismissed for Talking About Trial - ABC News." ABCNews.com - Breaking News, Latest News & Top Video News - ABC News. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Apr. 2013. <http://abcnews.go.com/US/jodi-arias-juror-dismissed-talking-trial/story?

id=18864045#.UWCx7RwYBnY>.

Summary:

The death penalty is currently legal in 32 states and in the past 5 years 5 states have gotten rid of the death penalty. Maryland is now one of the states considering abolishing it. There is also a poll that shows that about two-thirds of Americans are in favor of keeping the death penalty. The last inmate that was killed was in 2005 and only five other men have been executed in the past 37 years.

Analysis:

Each case is different and has has different situations. For example, the man in Randolph in 2009 that kidnapped and killed his niece after he had been raping her for years. That man deserves to serve the death penalty, instead he will live his life in prison. There is something clearly wrong with that man. Killing him does not mean that we are correcting a wrong. It is not a matter of right and wrong. If a man or women has committed such a horrific crime, it is simple, they do not deserve to live. It can be however hard to distinguish what crimes are horrific enough to deserve the death penalty.

Gay Marriage

Brooke Kennedy
American History
Carter Glass
29 March 2013

Bibliography:
"Inside the Supreme Court: The Case for Marriage Equality and Oral Argument | American Foundation for Equal Rights."American Foundation for Equal Rights | . N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Mar. 2013. <http://www.afer.org/blog/inside-the-supreme-court-the-case-for-marriage-equality-and-oral-argument/>.

Summary:
The Supreme Court met on Tuesday, March 26th to open the arguments in v. Perry about proposition 8 in California. Two couple are representing DOMA Hollingsworth and arguing that Prop. 8 violates the Fourteenth Amendment. Then on Wednesday, March 27th opened the arguments in United States v. Windsor about the "constitutionality of the federal Defense of Marriage Act of 1996", (DOMA)"the law that prevented the federal government from recognizing the legal marriages of gay and lesbian couples in states with marriage equality". Edie Windsor is an 83-year-old widow who was married to a woman and is being forced to pay $363,000 in estate taxes, a tax she wouldn't have to pay if she was married to a man. Her argument is that DOMA "violates her right to equal protection of the laws".

Analysis:
Why does the government say anything about marriage at all? It should not be a government discussion or decision. However, without the government getting involved, nothing would get done. The government needs to be involved to keep everything organized as much as possible. The woman that had to pay $363,000 should not have had that happen to her just because she was not married to a man. Personally I do no disagree with gay marriage. It does not affect me in any way, therefore I believe that there should be equal marriage rights for everyone.

North Korea

Brooke Kennedy
American History
Carter Glass
14 March 2013

Bibliography:

Choi, Jung-yoon. "North Korea cuts off hotline, says cease-fire annulled - latimes.com." Los Angeles Times - California, national and world news - latimes.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Mar. 2013. 

<http://www.latimes.com/news/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-north-korea-hotline-ceasefire-drills-20130311,0,4458378.story>.

"North Korea Says It Has Nullified 1953 Armistice - NYTimes.com." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Mar. 2013. 

<http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/12/world/asia/north-korea-says-it-has-nullified-1953-korean-war-armistice.html?_r=0>.

 Summary:

North Korea has recently cut a hotline that is between North and South Korea which has formally declared the war between North and South Korea to be over. Key Resolve was an 11 day drill which has been done yearly with over 13,000 American and South Korean troops. But then North Korea they were voiding it which ended the Korean War. Because there was no peace treaty signed after the Korean War they have technically been at war for many years. 

Analysis:
I understand that North Korea is a threat even if their threats have never really been acted upon. But because no one really knows much about North Korea no one can say that they are not a threat. But just because they are a threat that does not mean that it would be smart to attack them. Actually its the opposite. That would be the worst thing that the United States and South Korea could do at this point. Because we know so little about them we have no idea how they would react to us attacking their country. We don't know if their people would be happy or follow their leader. The risk of loosing a large amount of soldiers by starting a war with North Korea, is not a risk that the U.S. and South Korea should be willing to take. Yes, North Korea is a threat. But the only thing that the U.S. and South Korea can reasonably do right now is realize that they are a threat, which we have, and simply be prepared for anything. Because we don't know what they are capable of we don't know what could happen so we need to be prepared for anything. We can only wait for North Korea to make their move, then we react to their action.

Baby Cured from HIV

Brooke Kennedy
American History
Carter Glass
8 March 2013

Bibliography:

"Baby With H.I.V. Is Reported Cured - NYTimes.com." The New York Times - Breaking News, World   News & Multimedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Mar. 2013. <http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/04/health/for-first-time-baby-cured-of-hiv-doctors-say.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0>.

Summary:

For the first time a baby has been cured from HIV. This could change how many kids live with the disease. The baby was born in Mississippi. After 30 hours the baby was treated with "antiretroviral drugs". If this works on other babies as well this could help to save many lives. This baby could be the "second well-documented case of a cure in the world". This also could spark the research of HIV to get more attention. The first person that was cured was a middle aged man named Timothy Brown. He had leukemia and the person who donated bone-marrow to transplant that person was "genetically resistant to HIV infection". The baby was born prematurely in the fall of 2010. The mother didn't know that she had HIV and hadn't gone to the doctor while she was pregnant. The baby was immediately drugged for the disease and continued to be drugged until the baby was 18 months old. Then the mother stopped bringing the baby to get the drugs. When the mother brought the baby back 5 months later the tests were negative for HIV.

Analysis:

There are many doctors that have been working on curing HIV/AIDS. And after this one report many people think that there is an actual cure for HIV/AIDS. Because they have "cured" one baby, that doesn't mean that this will work  for every baby born with HIV. Also this "cure" does not help adults that have HIV because the "cure" only stopped HIV from turning into AIDS which will cause death. Adults have already gotten to that point of the disease. This cure was important and scientists and doctors should be recognized for it but this is not a cure exactly for HIV/AIDS. 

Vocab:

Christopher Dorner's Manifesto

Brooke Kennedy

Carter Glass

American History

22 February 2013

Christopher Dorner's Manifesto

Bibliography:
"Dorner Manifesto FULL TEXT." Scribd. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2013. <http://www.scribd.com/doc/124401603/Dorner-Manifesto-FULL-TEXT>.

Summary:
Christopher Dorner has killed a total of four people, two of which were police officers, and wounded three officers. Dorner then explains many examples of racism in the LAPD. He talks a lot about ethics and explains how the system is corrupt and that it has betrayed him. He points out that the officer who was on the Rodney King video tape is now a Captain for the LAPD. He talks about the people who are "destroying the foundation of courage" by being a bystander. He says they are just as guilty to let it happen. "The only thing that changes policy and garners attention is death".

Analysis:
What he explains in his manifesto in the big picture makes sense. People can't just say he killed a bunch of people, therefore he is crazy, or psycho. There is logic behind what he has done. The question is, was it morally right to do what he did, to go to that extreme. According to him that is the only thing he could do to get our attention about our system. Which it most certainly did; it got our entire nations attention. In the beginning when the news was first released everyone just thought he was a psycho killer after the cops in LA, because that is what the system wanted us to believe. But when his manifesto was released and people could see the real reasons why he killed so many people realized that he wasn't crazy he had logical explanations for what he was doing. Does that make it morally right though? To kill four people just to get the message across is extreme, but possibly necessary. The issue that he was trying to take care of is still a problem. There is racism in our system and something needs to happen about that. What Christopher Dorner did was not morally right in my opinion but whats done is done and he has brought up an important issue that needs to be taken care of. The system is far from perfect, but this is a huge issue that should not be happening in our system.

Vocab:
Ethics- a set of moral principles, esp. ones relating to or affirming a specified group, field, or form of conduct
Morals- concerned with the principles of right and wrong behavior and the goodness or badness of human character