DRIVEN TO DISTRACTION

Galen
2/25/10

DRIVEN TO DISTRACTION

Ritchel, Matt

New York Times: Upfront
January 18, 2010
Technology/National
Page 18-19
 
    While being able to multitask is a good thing, texting while driving can prove fatal.   This has become a definite problem over the last couple of years.  The law is cracking down on people who are caught texting while driving and also people who have crashed while doing it.  A new national law has just been passed saying that "a texting driver who causes a fatality will be penalized just as harshly a drunk driver who causes a fatality."   This means a driver of a car who has crashed and caused a death while texting can face up to 15 years in prison.  One study shows that "driving while texting or talking on a cellphone while driving is at least as risky as driving with a .08 blood alcohol level, the standard for drunk driving."  While a study done by Harvard students estimated that distractions caused by cellphones result in at least 2,600 traffic deaths per year. good so far -Seth Talkington 3/4/10 4:45 PM   Seventeen states and the District of Columbia  have banned the use of cellphones while driving except for an emergency.

    There are some parts of catching and penalizing texting drivers that are much harder to do.  First of all, a drunk driver can be identified with a breathalyzer, but there is no way to immediately know that a driver was texting.   One way to see when the driver was last texting is to check the cellphone records but lawyers and the defendants of people caught say that is violating the Fourth  Amendment segments of privacy and is called "unreasonable searches and seizures."maybe you should state the fourth amendmant in this  -Seth Talkington 3/4/10 4:46 PM 

    I definitely agree that there should be a penalty for people driving while texting and causing a death.  The amount of time the people should serve in federal and state prisons is up in the air depending on the severity of the crash, but if someone kills someone else the punishment should be just as harsh as was said before .  I am glad that texting while driving has been banned in 17 states, but hopefully in the near future, it will be banned in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.  Another thing that should be banned is texting while driving with the person in the passenger seat steering . This is even harder to catch but if there is a way to do it, it should be done.  The person who is texting still has to work the accelerator and brake pedals.  The person who is working those might not brake if the person in front of them brakes, or may be going too fast or too slow.  All of those  could cause a death, the person might argue they're not driving  but they are in charge of how fast they're going.  This is an issue that should be talked about and thought about because this is an extreme hazard.
 
Discussion Questions:  If you were someone who was convicted of texting while driving and the feds had to check your cell phone's history, would you feel like it is breaking the promise about privacy in  the Fourth Amendment?
    

Brazils moment

3/2/10

Brazil's Moment
New York Times: Upfront
December 14, 2009
International
Pgs. 11-13

    The selection of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil as the site of the 2016 Summer Olympics shows the rise of this South American country as a global power.  When the announcement that Rio de Janeiro had been chosen, Brazil native Tatiana Dornellas and her family started to scream and jump for joy.  Tatiana says " It's so good to see my country more known abroad, more respected.  I feel proud to say I'm from Brazil.  'Olympic town' is such a strong adjective, don't you think?"  With a  population of 200 million people, Brazil has the worlds fifth most populated country and it has the largest economy in South America.  Brazil's income gap, which is the gap between the rich and the poor has declined more than any other South American country in this decade.  In 2007, the amount of Brazilians millionaires grew by 19%.  Unfortunately, there are still some problems with Brazil.  For example, there is a great deal of crime and widespread poverty.  Violent gangs control many areas and
Rio de Janeiro has the the worlds highest homicide rate.

    Personally, I am glad that Brazil's economy has become better and I am glad that it has become a better country to live in.  I have always thought Brazil is a cool country.  I thought it was amazing that the number of millionaires has increased by as much as 19%.  That may seem a small percentage but when counting people that have over one million dollars that is a very large upgrade.  The Olympics being placed in Rio has really boosted the morale of the country.  The Olympics will also bring money to a country with a lot of poverty.  I also don't like that the number of millionaires increased 19% because in a nation with so much poverty, that money could go a long way to helping people and families in need.

Discussion Questions:  Do you think this will benefit Brazil in a good way or will it increase the number of poverty-stricken families?
Good job Galen - I wonder how they got to be millionaires? -Nancy Walters 3/3/10 2:44 PM 


Do you think the number of millionaires will grow even more after the Olympics?

Romeo Is A Very Tempermental Person

2/1/10

In the Shakespeare play Romeo and Juliet, Romeo is very temperamental. Throughout this play Romeo really only goes through three main emotions: hot-headed, madly in love and deep depression. All of these emotions Romeo shows a lot of.

First of all, Romeo is very hot-headed. He kills both Paris and Tybalt in duels. Even though Paris provoked the duel between them, Romeo didn't use his best common sense before fighting over a dead body. He probably killed Paris because he knew that he was going to marry Juliet also and he wanted to get revenge. Also in the duel with Tybalt, he wanted more revenge for the death of Mercutio. "And fire-eyed fury be my conduct now. Now Tybalt, take back thy villain." (III,1,129/130) This literally says that the only reason that Romeo wanted to fight Tybalt was because of revenge.

The second emotion that Romeo has in this play is his madly in love stage. This is the emotion that he shows the most of. Of the hundreds of lines that could exemplify this statement, this one stood out. "Where Juliet lives, and every cat and dog and little mouse, every unworthy thing live here in Heaven and may look on her. But Romeo cannot!" (III,3,32/34) How dramatic is that? He is just saying that everything else, all of which are undeserving to see Juliet, can see her, but he can't because he is banished. It's odd why Romeo gets all depressed about this but he could probably come back to see Juliet which ends up happening. It is understandable that Romeo doesn't want to leave Juliet because they were just married the day before.

Last but definitely not least of Romeo's emotions is deep depression. Such as in the very first scene in the book Benvolio states, "Towards him I made, but he was 'ware of me and stole into the covet of the woods." (I,1,127/127 This really showed how much Romeo wants to be left alone even from Benvolio, his best friend.

Love Brewster #2

March 21, 1621

Today a tall strong native covered in deerskin clothing came out of the woods in a very heroic manner and said in clear English "Welcome Englishmen." His name is Samoset and he say that they have been watching us and know of our struggles. He also has offered to help us grow crops, hunt and fish. He left and soon returned with their chieftain and 61 other natives. The chief's name is Massasoit and there is a native who has been been kidnapped by the English, taken back to England and then returned speaking English very well. He says his name is Squanto and he is very kind, especially to the children, myself included. Massasoit and John Carver, who has been elected governor, signed a treaty of peace between the two sides.



October 15, 1621

Today has been christened the First Thanksgiving in order to give thanks to the Earth and the natives for their help in supplying our colony with foodstuffs and living supplies. This celebration will take three days and we will all stuff ourselves with good food. Only the important figures of our colony and the tribe of natives will sit at the table while everyone else will sit on the ground. Lately, I have seen little of Mother as she is spending most of her time cooking and helping with the preparedness of the feast. If Wrestling are exploring or playing and we see Mother approaching us, we use some sneaking and hiding techniques that the Squanto taught us to hide so will not have to work in the kitchens. I will do any work except for in the kitchen.



March 27, 1623

I am so excited at how much our colony has flourished since we came to this world! Today another ship came in today carrying many people but "there was not so much as biscuit-cake, neither had they any bedding... nor pot, or pan" as William Bradford put it. Oh, William Bradford is the new governor since John Carver sadwhat sad? -Skyler ~ 12/18/09 9:31 AM and unexpected death. He was such a good leader and knew what was right for our colony. So far William Bradford has shown some good signs in such a way that we know he has some potential in running this settlement. There is very bad news that was brought with the ship; the Puritans back in England are really having a hard time practicing our holy religion. Some of the people on this ship are very well educated and quite a bit more wealthy. Their leader, named John Winthrop, is a lawyer and grew up on a manor with servants.





great information included in this and the little side things like squanto showing you how to hide was also good, may'be add a little more about how you feel about things like john carver dieing -Skyler ~ 12/18/09 9:32 AM

Love Brewster #1

Journal of Love Brewster
September 6, 1620
Today we departed from England with Mother, Father and my two brothers, John and Wrestling, and my two sisters, Fear and Patience. We left because we were outcasts, scrum as some might say. The Church of England is of Christian faith and we are Puritans. The Puritans and the Christians are opposites and we do not like the church and their beliefs. We are all huddled together to keep warm. Mother and Father are so very sure the best for us is in this new land or Virginny as my brother Wrestling and I like to call it. Even though we were so unwelcome, I still miss Holland which was my home my home up until now and my only friend Ollie. I am smashed between John and Fear who really is quite fearful of this New World. I have only seen the deck as we boarded the ship and I am very interested in sailing and navigation. Down where our living quarters are, there is very small space for all of the people we have upon the ship. It is quite smelly and we will soon know each other quite well. I can't wait to arrive in the New World and start our fulfillment to God. Our family has been entrusted to the care and well being of an orphan by the name of Mary More. She is quite nice and seems to have won over the love of our parents very quickly. There is not much to do in the hull so Wrestling and I have taken up thumb wars and wrestling. We spend most of our time doing these two activities and some of the others below are getting quite frustrated at our constant sporting. One of the sea-men seems to have befriended me and and promised Wrestling and I a tour of the decks. He might even let us meet the captain. I am quite hopeful because this could be a highlight of this other wise boring voyage, I predict.

September 27, 1620
It has been three weeks and the sea-man, whose name is John Alden, still has not taken Wrestling and I on the tour. Mother says that she doubts the possibilities of two kids going up on the decks when there is many serviceable people down with us. It is very disgusting in our living quarters for the people who have had seasickness have been vomiting their which makes me nauseous. We are navigating off the map of a fellow named John Smith who was present in the founding of the Jamestown colony. From what my parents told me, there has been a compact made for the rules that we must follow once we arrive in Virginia. Recently a small baby was born with the name of Peregrine so we will have one more mouth to feed.

December 22, 1620
About four hours ago we landed in a cape but it is not Virginia. We are going to call it New England. There has been much rejoicing but some are sulking because they had their hearts set on going to Virginia. I am happy because we have been sailing around with land in sight the whole time and I think everyone was anxious to land but we are finally here. Wrestling and I are so excited, soon we will fashion sporting equipment for our pleasure.

February 17, 1621
The harsh winter is starting to disappear and spring is coming soon. Over half of the people on the Mayflower have died in the past three months. There are more graves than there are houses. Mary came quite close to dying and the whole family was quite worried about here. Even though she is not related to us by blood, she is very helpful. She is feeling better now and we have rejoiced. Luckily no one in our family has died.

Love Brewster #3

August 12, 1630

So far this summer, about 1000 more Puritans have arrived in the New World. Now we have a much bigger settlement of only Puritans. I feel that many more shall come overseas to our lovely and flourishing colony. Wrestling and I are now going on hunts with the natives and our people. Wrestling and I are some of the few people who know how to hunt in the natives way and also the traditional way with a musket. I still do not see why the Catholic Church dislikes us so much. All we do is do good things, we read the Bible, we help each other and we are all very steady with our practice. But I am glad that we came to New England because we are always hearing how bad the treatment to our people are back home and how much more freedom there is here.

There is another religion finding it's way to Virginia and it's freedom. They are called the "Friends" but we call them Quakers. They are a cursed sect. They believe that it is not necessary to see God through a minister or a priest, but they can see God from within themselves and everyone can too! It is quite disgraceful and a shame that they believe in something as silly as that. Soon we will gather and vote to select a new governor and a new council. We need a council and although it is quite similar to the Parliament, we do not like that form of government.

Paleolithic Snapshot

Galen
11/5/09
Paleolithic Snapshot

   
    We were out hunting mammoth to feed our starving village.   After trudging through for what seemed hours, we caught a glimpse of mammoth through a clump of trees about 20 yards ahead.   we ran swiftly to the trees and crawled to the edge of the clump. My breath made small clouds in the air so we all silently rejoiced "We might be able to finally feed our poor and famished village.  We all chose a straggler the we thought would be the easiest kill.  I couldn't wait to eat the fire warmed mammoth, but I had to wait for the take down.  On the count of three we all threw our spears at the great animal.  Even though mine flew wide to the right, enough spears struck the mammoth and after a couple of sagging steps it stumbled and fell.  Then it sighed a great sigh, quivered and lay dead.  We jumped for joy and hugged each other we had killed the mammoth and save our village. I couldn't wait to go the bed with a bellyful of mammoth steaks.