Current Connection: 2.1

                In an article entitled “La. looks to cut off food stamp abusers” posted by Edmund DeMarche, a reporter for Fox News, it discusses the issues of food stamps and food stamps abusers.Food stamps can be a great thing, for people that need them, but when you abuse something good it can get taken away.

                There are lots of problems with people using food stamps; one main problem with people using food stamps is people that don’t need them using them. DeMarche says, “misrepresenting their eligibility for benefits” These abusers are lying about their income to get government paid food. Obama is a sunflower for agreeing to keep food stamps on the radar. Obama is growing the foodstamp buisness and keeping lower class aAmericans green. The average American, working hard as they do, should not have to give their tax money to someone that does not need it; this is almost like stealing from a baby.  Louisiana governor says, “took advantage of an EBT card malfunction that in some cases caused an all-out shopping frenzy in some stores across the state”. Malfunctioning on the cards, the abusers were able to spend unlimited amounts on their food stamp cards. There was no limit to their spending for a short amount of time.

                This is a big problem with the people who have these food stamps. DeMarche says, “more than 12,000 received an insufficient funds notice when the EBT card system was corrected”. That means that over 12,000 people abused a wonderful system that is designed to help them. Over 12,000 people, lying untruthful people, dis respected all American taxpayers. “One woman had $700 worth of merchandise in her cart and an EBT card with a balance of just 49 cents.” There is a difference between abusing the system just a little bit and going almost 700 dollars over what you know you have. There is no point in “abusing America” like that.

                The system needs to be preserved for the good Americans that are not abusing the system. Louisiana mayor says, “We must protect the program for those who receive and use their benefits appropriately” For Americans that properly use the system it is a great thing. Food stamps probably give some Americans a chance to eat who otherwise would not be able to afford meals.  Louisiana governor says, “strip food stamp benefits from anyone who took advantage” Stripping abusers from their privilege could be a good thing for the people that did not abuse their privilege. Maybe the good people who did not abuse the system will get an increase in their amount of money on their food stamps.

                Lots of people may think that after this kind of abuse just to take away all food stamps, to just do away with the tax fund program that helps out low income Americans. I believe that we should take away all rights to food stamps to people that abuse the system and reward the people that do not.

current connection 1.2

High school days are entirely too long; in Rachel D’s most recent article, “High School Pressure: Why Students Need Shorter Days”, she talks about today’s high schools and explains why school days need to be shortened.

If school days were shortened students could get more out of every class, it would be quality over quaintly. “Long school hours put much pressure on students. We may tend to slack off” If school days were shortened it would make the days easier. As young adults we cannot help the face that our attention span is not very high. Once we get to a certain point and we decide that we are bored of a subject our minds “shutdown”.

Also the article says, “Many people could say that since work hours are long, that school hours should be long as well”. That could be a well-argued point depending on how you look at it. Yes when we do enter the real working world we will more than likely have to work days just as long as school if not longer, but the thing is we are not in the “real world” yet we are still kids. As kids our lives should not be packed with a full schedule, in order to make a decent grade in a class having to stay up until 10 o’clock because your day was so crammed.

The article states, “students wouldn’t be as distressed about going to school”. Attitude is, in my opinion, the key to learning. If students are staying up late doing assignments and then waking up a few hours later there attitude towards that day will not be very positive. Teachers could make their classes enjoyable by making them shorter and assigning less homework, once you get too much of anything you are done with it.

This article directly relates to me hear lately. I am a strong believer in school days being shorter. Between football, trap and school there is not much time during the week for “down time”. School has stressed me out lately with midterms.

School, a place where education is soaked in, is a great thing, not trying to take anything away from that, could be shortened and I believe that the results would be tremendous.

Current Connection

Current Connection: NASA Voyager 1

NASA, the worlds most prestige organization, says in their latest article on Fox News, “Voyager1 probe has left the solar system” and gives the details of the spacecraft and how it has now fled the sun’s influence.

It has now been 36 years since this small spacecraft, Voyager 1, left earth and headed into space. 36 years from departure, leaving earth, it is just now heading out of our solar system, traveling at 11 ½ billion miles away from earth. The space ship is small, described by NASA as, "the little spacecraft that could," it is said to be the size of a small car.

Voyager 1s “life” all started back in 1977 when it was launched into space with its brother Voyager 2. They were sent out to tour the gas planets in our solar system, Voyager 2 took a rout around all of the planets while Voyager 1 used Saturn and its gravitational pull to shoot itself past Pluto. Scientists actually suspect that Voyager 1 left our solar system last year but as NASA said there is no, "Welcome to Interstellar Space" sign out there.

This spacecraft is prepared well for the not so promising encounter of aliens. The little ship is equipped with” a gold-plated, 1970s-era phonograph record with multicultural greetings from Earth, photos and songs, including Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode," along with Beethoven, Bach, Mozart and Louis Armstrong.” That encounter is not looking so good considering the fact that at the pace that the Voyager 1 is traveling right now it would take 40,000 years for the ship to reach our nearest star, Proxima Centauri, and the ship only has an estimated 12 years of fuel, plutonium, left.

This spacecraft has potential to show us, humans, what is actually out of our solar system where no man or machine has ever been. The Voyager 1 has already showed that it can do its job, NASA said Voyager 1 sent back, “dazzling postcard views of Jupiter's giant red spot and Saturn's shimmering rings”. If there is other life forms out there this spacecraft is our best chance of finding them. The Voyager 1 has potential to be the most educating device ever made.

There would be an amazing jump in education if this ship, Voyager 1 could pull through and send good evidence, pictures of aliens or unknown materials, back to earth.
 

current connection

Buzzkill

In most modern day music, it doesn’t have a real meaning behind it. Most new music is all about how good the artist looks or the beat of their music. Luke Bryan is trying to stay away from the hip hop style and stick with his roots, Country. In his new hit single “Buzzkill” he hits lots of people deep. The song starts out with “ You're a big rain cloud parked over my boat.” Now he is not really saying the woman is a rain cloud. That is an example of a negative thing. Luke is trying to get the point across that she is a negative impact on his life. Then he goes on to say “every time you come around, those beers might as well have been poured out.” By saying that it means that whatever effects he was having from the beer had drank he no longer felt them when he saw her. He goes on to say “I was a six pack in, now I'm as sober as a judge”. That is an old saying that people use, meaning that you are not under the influence of alcohol at all.

I can relate to this song in a different way that alcohol.  The song says “Everybody knows you ended us.” I have been in a relationship where the girl ended it and everyone knew it too. When I would see her out in public no matter how good of a mood I was in it would give me a “buzzkill”, as in it would never fail to totally bum me out. Also he says “So why you showing up here on my side of the tracks?” Luke is saying that she is showing up in places that are his “stomping grounds” his territory. I have been through that, when my ex was obviously somewhere that she had no business of being only because I was there.

Current Connection

North Korea Missiles

            For weeks now the daily news and all forms of social media have been focused on North Korea and their advancements in nuclear bombs. North Korea has warned the world that “the moment of explosion is near”, as troops have been cleared to launch a nuclear attack. North Korean rockets are now able to strike most of its close neighbors including, South Korea, Europe and Australia. James Thurman, the top U.S. commander in South Korea reported that “the missiles were ready to launch”.  North Korea has two mobile missile carriers loaded and on their coast. North Korea also suggested to Russian and British embassies to consider evacuating from the country.

            Now if North Korea did make the wrong decision and decide to send a nuclear missile towards the U.S., they would most definitely have a rude awakening. United States Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel explained that, “two warships to the western Pacific to be on alert for missiles and conducting bomber and fighter flyovers.” The only way a missile could reach the U.S. would be if it flew over the western Pacific, where we will have two warships.  These warships are known as “Missile destroyers”, they are massive boats designed specifically by the military for doing what you would probably guess, destroying missiles. The U.S. has also recently stepped up on it's nuclear weapons. General James Thurman said, “As soon as North Korea decides to launch a nuclear missile towards the United States they are going to be nothing but a crater”. That message tells me that if North Korea tries anything on the U.S., it’s going to be a very bad deal for them. By him saying that "they are going to be nothing but a crater in the ground" makes me think that our military is very confident in their abilities to defend our nation.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/08/world/asia/koreas-tensions/index.html?hpt=wo_c2

current connection

Changing America

                Over the years, the world has experienced a lot of change. Change in people, cloths, government, even food. America, for example has accepted new ideas and other cultures into our society. It all started when African Americans and women gained their rights in America. They got treated as equals and gained rights as normal citizens. But why stop there? In 2008 Barack Obama was elected President of the United States, changing this nation as we know it. Not only have we accepted and embraced change, but we, as a nation, have made it happen.

                Change doesn’t just happen overnight. With every huge accomplishment, there has to be an even bigger struggle. In order to get where we are now, we have to think about things like The Civil Rights Movement, The Little Rock Nine, The Women’s Rights Movement, and slavery. All of these things have to do with people fighting for what they believe in and overcoming all of their hardships in order to make change happen. Where would we be without the courage of the people involved with these movements? Because of the brave people like Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr., we are able to live in a country where everyone is treated as equals.

                This article makes me realize how anything can change. One day you’re getting kicked off of a bus, and the next you’re running the United States. In this cartoon, Rosa Parks seems to have an expression of calmness. She’s sitting with her grocery bags, looking out the window of the bus, probably thinking about the unfairness of the world at that time. In the picture next to hers, President Obama is sitting in a car with presidential seals, with a worried look on his face.

                The world has changed and continues to change every day. That’s the beauty of the future. There are no boundaries or limits to what we can accomplish if we fight for what we believe in. I was fortunately born with all the rights I need thanks to all the brave and courage people ahead of my time

 

 

 

(I got this off a cartoon and it wont post)

Safety in Schools

Safety in Schools

On December 14 our nation was hit hard with a mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. The gunman walked right into the school and shot and killed 20 first grade students and six adults before taking his own life. This will hopefully cause the nation to crack down on the security at all schools, which I believe should have been done a long time ago.

 This terrible event will spark a uprising of security measures that should have been done at schools already. It is as if in our country we have to experience the worst before we prepare for it.For example the school I go to is locking its doors starting now?  “Schools in Newtown are getting brand new security cameras, more than one month after a tragic shooting at the district's Sandy Hook Elementary.” Why now? Why after it has already happened? Since this happening, kids will be afraid to attend school and will not be able to have a normal day without going through security checks because of the one mental guy who decided to shoot up a school.

 Newtown shooting has also caused another huge debate in the US, gun control. People start to point fingers at the NRA or any other handgun association saying that that man should not have had the gun in the first place. In my opinion, the gun did not shoot itself, a human hand had to pull the trigger. The gun did not march up in Sandy Hook Elementary and kill those innocent first graders and staff on its own.

The whole situation angers me because I remember being a first grader and having no care in the world. I never had a thought about guns at all back then. I could not imagine how the families of the victims feel at this time. Mass shootings normally bother me, but this shooting with these kids hit me harder.

I hope that our nation can find a way to stop these things long before they begin to happen. Such as noticing mental people or trying to keep the weapons out of their hands. If not, were liable to have some more devastating shootings.

http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2012/12/us/sandy-hook-timeline/index.html

http://www.wptv.com/dpp/news/national/adam-lanza-update-after-sandy-hook-elementary-shooting-newtown-schools-getting-new-security