Blog 6: EOTO television

 

After listening to the EOTO technology presentations from my classmates, I was able to learn about each product that I’ve never known until now. The presentation that stood out most was the invention of television. I was drawn to this most, because I am someone who uses TV almost everyday for a source of entertainment. Not only is it a source of entertainment, but it is a worldwide source for us to receive important news on what is going on in today’s society.

Television was invented by a 21 year old guy known as Philo Farnsworth in 1927. I was shocked to learn he was only 21 years old, because to be that young and create such an impactful creation is outstanding. Growing up I was attached to television and most of my childhood memories are related to watching Disney channel. I never realized how much television has had an impact on our world until I got older. My parents and grandparents always joke around on how much I am addicted to technology in general. When they were younger, inventors were still in the works of the majority of our technology, so they didn’t have the access to television as much as our generation has today. I’ve realized that as I got older I am more connected to our world, because of the major news outlets on tv. I am interested in being updated with what is going on throughout our world. For example, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has been the focus on the news and has impacted not only Europe, but the United States as well. Many US citizens, including myself, have family and friends who are being affected with this tragic event. Luckily, the news outlets being broadcasted on a daily basis is able to keep us updated and connected with other countries. 

The most fascinating part about television that was mentioned in the presentation was the fact that we are able to watch major events such as the Olympics and World Cups. These events are able to bring the world together to celebrate the incredible talent these individuals portray. The first ever Olympics to be broadcasted was in 1936 which is a few years after television was invented. The first time it was aired, hundreds and thousands of people were able to watch and today there are over millions of people tuning in. 

Overall, television has impacted our world for the better and allows the people to stay connected through technology. Without television, we would not be educated enough by current worldwide events. Not only are we able to gain knowledge about the news, but it gives us a source of entertainment.

Blog Post #5: Anti War

 After looking over both websites, ANTIWAR.com and American Conservative, I feel that they both are completely different with their information being shared. Everyday the media is constantly sharing updated worldwide news, so that we are able to be updated with these major events. I personally have never heard of these websites until after reading them for this post. I can definitely say that they weren’t what I was expecting with the layout and information being told. 

My first initial reaction from the ANTIWAR.com website was that I felt overwhelmed and lost by the layout and overload of information. I personally find all worldwide news through main social media platforms such as instagram, facebook, twitter, etc…By looking through this website, I am not familiar with the majority of information being shared. I never know what to believe through the media, because stories seem to be false and inaccurate. The media plays a strong role on what they want the users to see versus what they don’t want them to see. 

It is very interesting to learn in the 1800s there were no cases brought to the Supreme Court regarding the 1^st Amendment.  Basically the 1^st Amendment applied to the Federal Level.

Through the years, Congress started to put laws to slowly get around from people being able to express their opinions. For example, in 1914 there was a film made that upset citizens that created fights amongst each other.  The film was shut down and the filmmakers brought their case to supreme court arguing that the film should have not been shut down and they have the right to express their opinions in the film.  However, the Supreme Court didn’t agree because the film was made for business purposes that caused violence.

Another example: In 1917 the US entered WW1 and many government employees were against the war.  Therefore, Congress passed the Espionage Act which would take away your freedom to voice your opinion when you are anti-war when a war is going on and in 1918 Congress passed the Sedition Act to jail US citizens that spoke against the government. Also in 1971, a well-known newspaper wanted to express their opinion on the Pentagon Papers regarding the killing of innocent people. Personally the reason why we have not heard of the Anti War or American Conservatives is due to who controls and owns the media. That is why we do not see these websites and articles.

As we have learned previously Google and Facebook scrubs what they want us to see. In my opinion they are more socialists because they don’t allow freedom of speech when it doesn’t fit their agenda or the government in which they are aligned with.

 I wanted to share from reading some of the articles, specifically one that stood out to me in The American Conservative website written by Patrick Buchanan “Biden Commits US to War for Taiwan” this was a very interesting article which makes you think differently regarding our position with China and Taiwan.”  I am very concerned for the US to possibly engage in war and put innocent lives in danger and the threat of nuclear weapons that can destroy our country.  There is no win-win outcome everyone would lose. I wish for World Peace.

 

Blog Post #4: The Invention of Paper

For this assignment I had decided to research the invention of paper. Who created the paper? How was it created? How has it impacted our world? What is it used for today? Throughout this blog you will learn and understand the history of the invention of paper and the impact it has done to our world regarding our ways of communicating and the literature industry. 

Before the invention of paper, people wrote on clay tablets, papyrus, parchment and vellum. Although parchment and vellum were used for communicating, papyrus was the first paper-like product that was created by the Egyptians in the 4^th Century. The materials that were included in the Papyrus were sedge plant and Cyperus Papyrus. Although this was a form of writing material, paper-making was invented in the year of AD 105, by a Chinese creator, Cai (Ts’ai) Lun who was an imperial. Cai was determined to improve the way of communicating by taking the time to create a lightweight and indestructible product that is now called paper.  

Before Cai started his process of the invention of paper, people would communicate through pictures and symbols that were carved into the wood of trees, painted in caves, and marked on papyrus or clay tablets.  As time passed, the people wanted something more effective and efficient  to be creative with their ideas and thoughts. In the beginning of his creation, he started off using bamboo strips and silk tissue. Silk was expensive and the bamboo strips were heavy. Both were inconvenient. So, Ts’ai Lun conceived the idea of utilizing the bark of trees and hemp, as well as old rags and fishing-nets to make chih. He was able to combine the ingredients with water and place it out into the sun which was able to create a soft and thin format that became paper. This invention became convenient and inexpensive for communication to broaden. Due to the success of Cai’s invention, he submitted the process to the emperor in the first year of Yuan-Hsing [+105] and received praise for his ability. From this time, paper has been in use everywhere and is universally called ‘the paper of Marquis Tshai.'” He deserves all the recognition for his creation, because without paper our world would not be the way it is now.   

The invention of paper impacted our world tremendously within the literature field by expanding literature through newspapers, magazines, and books for knowledge to spread. The production and evolving uses of paper have led to the spread of not only knowledge, but has allowed people to find their hobbies within the literature world. For instance, people have the ability to be creative with art by drawing, sketching, and painting. Also, it has improved our communication with one another.  For example, prior to using a computer and phone people would send letters from far distances to communicate with family/friends to share information. We still do it today, but many people use technology, because of how fast you are able to receive and send out digital messages. Lastly, paper is used for wrapping gifts/products. Personally, I love the holidays for gift wrapping and seeing all the beautiful, detailed, and neatly wrapping paper being used to cover the gifts. 

 

While the invention of paper has impacted our world tremendously, it has created negative effects within our environment. After centuries of paper production and consumption, the natural resources used to create paper have decreased greatly. Society has not replaced the trees and materials used by production companies proportionally to the use of the resources. This led to a great increase in deforestation, which cuts down oxygen production, exposes society to a new illness, and ruins the home for a variety of animals. Pulp and paper mills discharge water containing solids, dissolved organic matter called lignin, alcohol, inorganic material such as cholates, chlorine, and metal compounds, causing soil and water pollution, endangering the ecosystem. Today, our society has the technology to help solve these environmental issues and is taking recognition of the damage it has on our world. 

All in all, paper has impacted our world by having the ability to expand our ways in literature and communicating with one another. If it weren’t for the invention of paper, our information would not be able to reach people and our literature wouldn’t be as advanced. 

Blog Post #3: Speech Theories

 

Participation in Self-Government — see Alexander Meiklejohn, Free Speech and Its Relation to Self-Government

    

Globally society depends on social media platforms to obtain world news as well as local news. In addition, it is also used by everyday people to obtain political information on everyday issues or to learn more about future political opponents that might be coming up for re-elections or election.   Social media is a very power tool that could mold how we think and feel which is very scary.  It can create a person to have strong emotions at times.  Furthermore, it has the power to gather information on what the user likes or dislikes.  It has a way of popping up adds when we are using the platform on areas, we might not be interested in. 

 

Chief Executive Officers of Twitter, Facebook and YouTube confirmed during the election that at times they did suppress political information for their own bias agenda.  Which restricted political candidates to express their feelings or even their own political agenda.  In addition to everyday people sharing their own views when it came to a certain political party. The CEOs of Twitter and Facebook cut certain politicians off the platform so that they could not express their opinions or their goals and objectives. However, if there was political add and the CEOs didn’t like the add on their social platforms, they would cut a certain section of the add or statement to swing the message in a completely different way. In addition, if you use fact check their answer were incorrect of, they didn’t provide the entire statement.   The CEO’s also selected people they wanted to ban from their platforms because they didn’t like their comments or their political position.

 

US citizens were misguided by the CEOs of these platforms due to them not being transparent 

and neutral through the election.  The question would be if the US citizens had all information would their vote be different? 

 

As mentioned, previously The CEO’s fooled the American people by misguiding them through the election process again by not being transparent. The took away the candidates and the US citizens freedom of speech. This is a very serious issue to me because we do not have freedom of speech at this important time.  We can’t continue to silence people with different political views and opinions unless we are going to be a socialist county.  The one area that could have impacted some of the voter’s discussions when voting could have been if the CEO’s left the information on social media rather than eliminating it on Hunter Biden, Presidents Biden’s son laptop which provided important information about how Hunter Biden and the Big guy (Joe Biden) was doing business in China during the time Joe Biden was the VP to President Obama.  Also, Joe Biden’s brother was also included in emails and documents on his involvements.  Millions of dollars were paid to Biden. This is a serious conflict of interest. 

 

I agree with Alexander Meikejohn regarding her comments on Free Speech and it’s Relation to Self-Government. 

 

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2020/11/16/congress-social-media-presidential-election-disinformation/6313892002/

 

https://news.sky.com/story/facebook-google-and-twitter-ceos-to-be-questioned-over-anti-conservative-bias-12116698

 

 

Blog Post #2: Supreme Court

After having some time to reflect on the history and works of the U.S. Supreme Court, I am able to give some feedback on what I have understood. Although I have always known about the Supreme Court and how it is the highest level court system in our country, there are a few key aspects that were brought to my attention. Throughout the readings and videos, I am able to understand more about the importance this system holds. 

What stood out most was how we depend on 9 judges to make the right decisions and the power the judges have for our country.  These judges are elected by our president and must be approved through the senate. When I was younger, I was told how there are three branches of government, Legislative, Executive, and Supreme Court. I find it fascinating how the Legislative and Executive branches have a say in what makes up the Supreme Court.  The point of the 9 judges is that there is no ties and no even votes. In addition, it is extremely important when judges decide that they follow the US Constitution and do not make decisions based on their own opinions and emotions. 

The most interesting key point I learned from the reading is how there weren't always 9 judges on the Supreme Court. In fact, President George Washington elected only 6 judges in the past, however, over time it was changed to nine, because of conflicts that were affecting with the decisions. I respect the U.S. Supreme Court, because it follows our constitution and our legal process within our country. Not only is it the highest level in our justice system, but it finalizes a significant decision. Another interesting fact is that William Howard Taft was the only person to serve both President and Chief Justice.  I didn't even know that was allowed considering he served in both offices. 

The most important take-away point about the Supreme Court is how it has changed our government for the better. For example, the article had mentioned that before Warren's pro civil rights decisions, the court denied citizenship to African American Slaves in 1857 (Dred Scott v. Sandford). If it weren't for the Supreme Court, our rights wouldn't be upheld nor protected at a national level. Especially today, there are so many cases in our country that deserve the opportunity to go through the Supreme Court if it didn't workout through the state system. 

Overall, I have gained so much knowledge and respect for the Supreme Court. I feel that after reading and watching the assigned content, I am able to understand our countries government and the decisions being made. I appreciate and admire being able to watch our country evolve and change in ways that will forever benefit our people. 

Below is our Supreme Court Judges today!

Blog Post #1: Five News Outlets

 I first discovered DailyMail through social media, specifically snapchat. I started reading it every morning during high school, because of how accessible it was. The outlet mainly focuses on trending news rather than political affairs. I would get notifications on my phone regarding daily posts on currently trending topics. I recommend this news outlet to those who have access to social media or tech savvy. 

I have used instagram for many years and while it is a social media platform, the app allows verified users to connect with their followers and spread relevant news for my generation. Not only updated news, but they will release entail about their own personal information in a more casual form. The information is immediately released to the public by using short and direct comments that express the related information. I highly recommend instagram, because one could visually see images regarding the related content. 

The New York Post is another way of providing daily and updated information within New York City. In addition, it provides key highlights on what is happening worldwide. The only downside is that it is considered a conservative newspaper so there is some bias within the writing. If bias doesn't bother you then the New York Post is a great outlet for information.

I started watching Fox news with my family years ago, because of my parents' influence. It is a great reliable and effective source that covers political and worldwide matters. Once again, the only downside is that it is biased in favor of the republican party. It is typically seen throughout their convergence of scientific matters, most commonly climate change. I recommend Fox News, because it typically covers all genres. 

Branchburg news is my hometown’s local newspaper that I enjoy reading. It provides local community information such as important events, individual achievements on people that live here and fundraisers. I am able to feel involved and a part of the changes that are made within my community. Although I wouldn’t recommend this specific outlet,, I do encourage everyone to read their local newspaper to get more educated within their town.