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.