Grow Up, America

It seems that our country is close to going through a government shutdown. I wasn’t exactly sure what this meant when I first heard about it, so I decided to look it up. According to Wikipedia, when a government shutdown happens, all services that are considered unessential are no longer provided. This means only services needed to maintain peace are funded, like the police, medical services, and the army.

The shutdowns happen when the President, the Senate, and the House cannot agree on a budget for the fiscal year. I think it is safe to assume that President Obama along with most of the members of the Senate and the House (if not all), care about the well being of our country. Since they are trying to accomplish what is best, you would think that they would all work together to pass a budget before the government shuts down.

Thousands of federal employees go unpaid for days, possibly even weeks on end during shutdowns. Workers going without pay is not what our country needs. We need to be unified as a whole. Both the political Left and Right want a budget to insure what is best for the country.

In the current potential shut down, The House Republicans have made the most recent move with a spending-bill offer on Saturday, but the White House and the Senate have both made public that they will not accept the offer. If the Senate and White House follow through with what they have stated, then the shutdown will go into effect.

This situation is horrible for our country, and displays the immaturity of many of our government leaders on both sides. The House needs to come up with a bill that meets some of the demands of Democrats, while still maintaining the Republic values. The Senate has to be willing to agree to a bill that isn’t exactly what they want, but still has some essential Democrat ideas. President Obama needs pass the bill if it is given the ok by both the House and the Senate, because then it is most likely the best of both worlds and the best compromise the two sides can make.

Nobody can really win in this situation. Everyone needs to suck in their pride and cooperate with each other. Being stubborn and refusing to agree unless it is exactly what you want is what little children do. Our government cannot act like little children. There are many people’s jobs at stake, and the government needs to grow up.

Read more about the potential shutdown here

If you have any comments, opinions, or ideas, feel free to comment below.

Effects of Technology

Imagine being on top of the world. The best of the best. Number one. This is exactly how Stephen Murray, 3 time world champion BMX rider, was described from 2000 to 2007. Now imagine everything being stripped away from you. Everything you have worked on your whole life is gone. No longer can you go out every day and do what you love. This is exactly how Stephen Murray was described on June 22, 2007, and still is to this day. Stephen suffered a career ending injury that left him paralyzed from the shoulders down.

Stephen Murray has spent the past 5 years in a wheelchair, not able to do anything active. Everything he does requires the help of his family and friends. Many people would not be able to handle this situation, but Stephen keeps fighting with the hope that one day he can hold his children.

After 5 years of hardship and struggle, imagine that someone came along and gave you something that let you communicate freely and be far more independent than you had ever been since everything was taken from you. That is what the technology company, Tobii, did for Stephen, and anyone else in a similar situation. Tobii is soon to release eye-tracking technology for Windows 8.This gives Stephen, and other paralytics, the ability to have access to computers for the first time since their accidents. Tobii brings a new way to use computers and tablets without touching a thing (Article on Tobii invention).

This story really made me appreciate what I have and what I take for granted. It made me think a lot about me and the world around me. But then after some time of sentiment, my thoughts wandered to what the limits of technology are. Inventions like the one Tobii has come out with and other helpful gadgets really do make life easier and simpler, but at what point will they start becoming harmful? I don’t come close to understanding how these things work. I also don’t know what more scientists and engineers can come up with. We all love a story where someone invents something that gives others access to different things in life they could not have before, but there has to be a point at which technology starts to hurt us. I don’t want to be a damper on this story, I just want to provide a different viewpoint on how technology can affect us. If you have an opinion or any thoughts about the progression of technology and its effects on us, feel free to comment below.

Josh Hamilton: Real Life Hollywood Story

Josh Hamilton is one of the most beloved players in baseball. One might ask why many baseball fans, and even people who don’t follow the sport, find themselves rooting for him. The answer is pretty simple. His life is a Hollywood story.

Last week in my American Studies class, we looked at an excerpt from “A Man Without a Country” by Kurt Vonnegut. In this, he analyzed and “graphed” some popular american stories. Vonnegut explained what they have in common and why americans eat them up. The first story pattern he showed was “Man in Hole”. The protagonist starts with good fortune, then falls into a deep “hole” of ill fortune, then rises up even higher than he or she started. So many loved Hollywood stories follow this layout (think Lion King and other popular animated films).

Seeing this layout made me want to find a good real-life example of this happening. After reading this information, I got a bit off task and started looking at baseball scores on my iPad. I read an article about the Los Angeles Angels, and then it hit me: Josh Hamilton’s life is the Hollywood story. For those of you who don’t know who he is, Josh Hamilton is an outfielder for the Los Angeles Angels. He is considered by many as one of the best players in the game.

So what is so “Holywood” about Hamilton’s story? It follows exactly in line with the “Man in Hole” storyline. Hamilton was drafted number 1 overall in the 1999 MLB draft. He spent a few years in the minor leagues, playing very well. The sky seemed to be the limit for young Josh Hamilton. Then came the Hole. Hamilton was introduced to drugs and began a downward spiral that lasted around 5 years. He came close to death multiple times because of his excessive drug use. Josh had some people in his life who cared about him and helped him, including his father in law Mike Chadwick, and Roy Silver, owner of a training facility that mixed christianity and baseball. Hamilton worked for Roy Silver at the training facility for a while, where he changed his ways and got back into the game of baseball. Over the next few years, Hamilton worked his way up from the minor leagues, to being a backup for the Cincinnati Reds. Hamilton kept improving, eventually becoming a starter. He proved himself as a new man and new player, leading to the Texas Rangers giving up 2 top prospects for him. Hamilton continued to dominate, and eventually won the AL MVP in 2010. Hamilton had risen to the top of the baseball world.

Josh Hamilton’s story really is amazing and inspiring. He overcame many personal problems to become one of the best baseball players in the world. He climbed out of the “Hole” and is now higher than he was when he started. This pattern makes his tale a real-life Hollywood story. If there is anything you would like to add/expand on or disagree with, please comment below.

Josh Hamilton’s full life story: http://www.jockbio.com/Bios/J_Hamilton/J_Hamilton_bio.html

Racism Today

So often I hear people say that America is still a racist country. I'm not sure I really see it. This may be because I am trapped in the "water" of the North Shore life, but I don't think that is the case. I started thinking about this when one of my American Studies teachers made a sarcastic comment about people who say America isn’t racist, referring to the fact that we have a black president. He said something along the lines of, “Oh, just because our president is black that means we aren’t racist anymore right?” and sort of laughed a bit. Our president is black. If our country is still prejudice towards black people, why would we have voted Obama in? People who play the race card to force their agendas remind me of Japanese soldiers who refused to believe WWII ever ended (http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2010/02/a-japanese-soldier-who-continued-fighting-wwii-29-years-after-the-japanese-surrendered-because-he-didnt-know/).

No, I’m not calling these people supporters of the Axis powers, I’m simply saying they are fighting a war that is already over. We have a black president. That should speak volumes. The days of discrimination are over. There are no more “Whites only” water fountains, no longer do white people get seating priority on busses. Everyone has the same rights. In Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, he shared a few of his dreams. He dreamed that black and white children would be able to play and hold hands together. That is socially acceptable and legal in America. He dreamed that people in government (specifically the governor of Alabama) would no longer discriminate and hate on other races. President Barack Obama is not a racist man. He dreamed that as a nation we would recognize that all men are created equal. There are no laws in this country that prevent anyone of color to do what they want, live where they want, or work where they want. King Jr.’s dreams have come true. Of course I realize that there are people out there who are still racist inside, but as a country, we’ve done all we can do to help them. We have removed the disgusting, racist roadblocks for minorities in this country. The war for racism is over. Any racism left is personal, and is up to the individual to end. If you completely disagree with me, or have some thoughts about anything I just said, feel free to leave comments below.