what happened during 9/11

I knew what 911 was and what had happened because of people talking, through learning it at school and my family. But during this film that we watched, I never knew that they had an entire plan that that they hijackers had the idea of they were going to kill the pilots and one single passengers first so that they could gain control. This film I was very interested in because without this film, I wouldn't have actually know what went into detail throughout each one. They continued to talk about the two twin towers that the kids that were talking about it and saying that they weren't going to be standing and that they had an idea of what was going to happen with the attack coming up. Osama Bin Laden definitely had said certain things but no one would ever take him seriously with what he had to say.  With the two hijackers that planned this entire thing were not suspicious because they blended in well especially when they were going through flight school.

911

September 11, 2001 was a tragic moment in history. The attacks that took place that day were horrible. As talked about in class, the CIA had Osama Bin Laden on their radar prior to the 9/11 attack. No one took him seriously even though he showed dedicated hatred. He became a target once he went through with his attacks, for example the attack on the US embassy in Africa. One of the worst things about 9/11 is that the US basically trained the attacker. The four men that were assigned to do the plane attacks, trained on US soil in pilot schools. They blended in which is why no one suspected anything of them. Those that died on 9/11 will always be remembered.

Impatience with the 90s

President Bush's weakness during the 1992 presidential race was the short yet sharp recession that he wasn't responding well to. He seemed very out of touch with the world and was surprised by many things. Americans became fed up, and the television show "Roseanne" seemed to represent many of the frustrations felt by many Americans. Roseanne had a "brand new voice" who voiced the opinions of the average American and showed the life of a typical American family during the 90s. The show easily hit number one in the ratings, but unlike others who got Rolls-Royce cars, she received just a chocolate cake. The show carried the overall message that the American working class was being ignored. Another source of tension was between the minority citizens and the LAPD. This tension was the violence between the two groups, especially the Rodney King Beating that was caught on video. Any sane person who watched the video could tell that the beating was wrong and unlawful. It caused anger because the cops got off completely scot-free which resulted in the infamous LA riots. Even more outrageous was that the trial was moved to a place that greatly favored the police: a suburb that was mainly white, older men where a lot of old LAPD officers retired.

The Lewinsky Scandal

President Clinton's relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky became public following Paula Jones suing Clinton for sexual harassment during his time as Governor of Arkansas. They tried to dig up any similar instances, while at the same time Monica told her friend Linda Tripp what happened and that they were just fooling around. It turns out that Linda was actually taping their conversations and set Monica up with FBI agents that fed her lies to get information. The Drudge Report's coverage of the scandal was the beginning of internet news. It showed that people will always make things up online, and that "fake news" exists in order to get clicks. The coverage spread like wildfire around the internet, and showed how powerful it can be. After lying about their relationship multiple times, President Clinton was impeached for obstruction of justice. However, he does not get removed from office because there was not a 2/3 majority vote. In the end, he was impeached because he lied and not because of their sexual relationship. Had he told the truth from the start, I do not think that things would have blown so far out of proportion.

Mr. Stewart the coach and teacher

Mr. Stewart continues to amaze me with his incredible multitasking skills. He teaches several different courses that range in difficulty. He is an AP teacher and the head coach of the varsity baseball team. How does he manage all these important tasks? Each task requires several hours of his life. Mr. Stewart even manages to get all his grading done in a timely manner. His error space appears to be very minimal as his baseball team is participating in the CCS playoffs. Mr. Stewart has not been absent a single day in the school year. When you walk into his classroom you can expect to see a man nicely dressed in polo, with an attitude to change lives. The things that Mr. Stewart can do in a single day are mesmerizing. He even maintains a great shape and does not let age hold him back. Mr. Stewart is a great teacher at this high school and he makes a great difference.  

Effects of 9/11

The attacks on the world trade center on September 11, 2001 was one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in history. Americans were shocked and upset, and therefore there were lots of changes that the country underwent to increase its security. First, they invaded Afghanistan, as Bin Laden wanted, less than a month after the attack. These operations did not end until 2014, but there are still troops there because the war on terror is ongoing. In addition, the number of deportations significantly increased after the attack. The Department of Homeland Security was also created in 2002 in order to try and increase security. And of course, airport security has become very strict and time consuming. And general government surveillance has increased as well. The government keeps an eye on everything, leaving almost no privacy. Phone calls, internet history, and other things that some believe are private are susceptible to surveillance. But as security increases, privacy must decrease. Many Americans are angered by the lack of privacy, but isn't it worth it to feel safe? It is an ongoing debate. What do you think?

Columbine Shooting

Could the Columbine shooting been stopped?
It is safe to say that the school knew that these students acted out or seemed depressed. Teachers and students interacted with them every day, so why was nothing reported? My assumption is that no one really took that seriously back then because something of this nature hadn't really been done before, but now people are a lot more skeptical and seem to be more aware.
What are your thoughts?

9-11

Often times my mom tells me about 'how things used to be before 9-11' She told me a story once about her running onto the tarmac after forgetting to mail a package, now she explains that would not happen. After 9-11 the airport security changed a lot, it is a lot more tight and serious, but airports are not the only thing that has changed.

After 9-11 people are being stereotyped as a terrorist because of what they look like, but from what we learned in the documentary is that terrorists can be everyday people and can easily blend in with a community, even one in the United States. Obviously, it is good to be on the lookout for danger, but stereotyping is not the right way to go about this. Many Americans are joining Isis and they come from many different races and backgrounds. 

911 described by my dad

People say that 911 was one of those moments that everyone knew where they were during it. My dad is one of these people. He says that when he turned on the tv that day in the morning at first, he thought he was watching a movie. But when he changed the channel he kept seeing the same thing and realized the tragedy that happened. I believe that he said he was in China at this point, and just arrived the day before. He claims that he was on the plane of what possibly could have been another attack. He says that he saw a robed man running with a suitcase off the flight that seemed very edgy. Who knows whether this was a real observation or just prejudice. But I know that people were very angry at the Middle East and terrorism after 911. Do your parents remember where they were during 911?

Life before the national traffic and motor vehicles safety act

This is the act that set up government regulation on automobiles. However, automobiles had been around for decades before this. Without regulation,  people driving could do whatever they want. Were their accidents constantly? Was it constantly like fast and furious in the streets? I assume not because their cars couldn't go very fast. But you never know. They could go down hills.

How 9/11 affected the privacy of Americans

In a pre-9/11 America, conservatives were successfully pushing for privacy in congress. An example of this would be the passing of a bill requiring police officers to obtain a warrant from a judge before they can read emails or track mobile phones. However, this all changed after 9/11. The passing of the Patriot Act allowed the government to snoop on peoples bank and phone records. The NSA began to spy on the people within the United States rather than just those suspected of Anti-American activities. In short, the government's attitude shifted from "spy on those we suspect" to "spy on everyone and focus on those that look suspicious," which is arguably an incredible invasion of privacy. However, giving the government all this information likely allows it to be more effective at combatting terror and providing national security. Which side do you take on the US privacy debate?

Parallels between the dot com bubble bust and the silicon valley tech industry

In the late 1990s, companies such as theglobe.com were worth an immense amount of money despite not having a product with a viable business model. This bubble grew until it collapsed intensely in the start of the 21st century. In modern day silicon valley, we're starting to see similar trends. Apps such as SnapChat and Uber are becoming huge companies despite not delivering all that much. Uber, for example, reported losses of nearly 3 billion dollars in 2016, despite being valued at over 70 billion dollars [1]. SnapChat recently went public, valued at nearly 30 billion dollars at the peak of its IPO [2], yet has reported a net loss of 200 million dollars over the past two years [3]. Sure, SnapChat has advertisements and news now, but its real value remains to be its immense user base. Startups are often valued based on an estimate of $7 per user, which is incredibly high considering the difficulty of actually monetizing a user. For other startups, they are valued based on their growth, which is also an issue because simply growing doesn't make any money. In the case of Uber, growth actually costs an incredible amount of money, especially if it doesn't eventually lead to a sustainable business model. Although the bubble in silicon valley may not pop as dramatically as it did in the early 2000s, there is reason to believe that in the future startups may not find it as easy to be worth millions without any revenue.

[1]: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-12-20/uber-s-loss-exceeds-800-million-in-third-quarter-on-1-7-billion-in-net-revenue
[2]: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/mar/02/snapchat-ipo-valuation-evan-spiegel-bobby-murphy-snap-inc
[3]: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-snapchat-is-losing-so-much-money-2017-02-08

The 1999 Seattle World Trade Organization Protests

Near the end of 1999, the international economic regulation group known as the World Trade Organization (WTO) planned to meet in Seattle in order to make negotiations regarding future policy reforms and promote economic collaboration between individual nations, which would bolster economic unity throughout the world to a great extent. However, controversies regarding globalism were rampant within the US at the time, as many people believed that corporations throughout the world were abusing individual nations and intervening within America's domestic politics in order to gain political and financial power. For those who don't know, globalism is the concept of planning and operating economic policy on a global basis in order to make trading easier between different countries and ensure financial unity. Although the idea of creating a global economy regulated internationally might seem like a good idea on the surface, there are a lot of individual problems with the intricacies of managing worldwide trade in a fair and just way, especially considering how much corporations can intervene within this process -- business elites can choose to create certain trade policies that give them unwarranted influence on international economies, corporations can reform trade to benefit themselves, and international free markets can be skewed by corruption. Of course, these beliefs aren't inherently true or reflect the actual nature of the WTO, since they are mostly based on political skepticism and conspiracies regarding the topic (as well as sheer distrust for capitalist establishments). Nonetheless, anti-globalist sentiments were still able to become extremely popular amongst young, anti-establishment voters who were enraged by corporate influence on American politics and economics. Thus, when the WTO was trying to go through with its Seattle meeting in November, tens of thousands of Americans began violently protesting in the city calling for an end to globalism and corporate corruption, causing substantial chaos within the city. Protestors committed civil disobedience, vandalized property near the meeting location of the WTO, and worked fervently to prevent the organization from meeting whatsoever. The protests escalated to the point where eventually, the Seattle Police Department began violently reacting towards non-complacent rioters and city leadership became focused on disrupting protestors in the hopes of preventing them from causing further disorder. In the end, the National Guard got involved in stopping the protests and on December 1st, 1999, they were able to successfully disperse the protestors using tear gas and pepper spray to put an end to the "Battle of Seattle." The impacts of this event were extremely significant to domestic politics throughout the 21st century, as they contributed to the growth of a major domestic anti-globalist movement (which wasn't too large before these protests) and caused mass controversy between individuals involved in the event and the media (as the media reacted with horror and astonishment towards the protesters who felt that they were fighting for just politics), making the 1999 Seattle World Trade Organization Protests a significant precedent for future political tensions regarding globalism and corporate corruption.

Al-Qaeda's Jihad Against America

As we learned in class, in August 1996, Osama Bin Laden, one of the leading founders of Al-Qaeda who worked diligently to promote extreme Islamic views throughout the Middle East, declared a jihad, or holy war, against America. One of the main reasons driving him to do so was that the American military was intervening in Islamic affairs by using Saudi Arabia as a staging area during the US' fight against Saddam Hussein in the Gulf War, which he believed was extremely sacrilegious -- Because extremist Muslims at the time believed that only close followers of Islam could get involved in Saudi Arabian affairs (as it was the Holy Land in Islam), he was enraged when he learned that the Saudi royal family designated responsibility for fighting the Iraqi military from Saudi Arabia to the US rather than Al-Qaeda. Thus, Bin Laden was led to believe that the Saudi royal family was corrupt and that the US was an evil force that needed to be ridden from Saudi Arabia through fighting since his hardcore beliefs mandated such drastic actions. These thoughts were detailed in Bin Laden's fatwa, "The Declaration of War Against the Americans Occupying the Land of the Two Holy Places" when he formally publicized his hatred towards the US and made his jihad official to the world. So, just as Bin Laden worked to rid the Soviets from Afghanistan when he fought with the mujahideen in the 1980s, in the late 1990s he worked with other terrorists in Al-Qaeda to plan and carry out terrorist attacks against the US throughout the world. Because there were many other jihadists who agreed with his thoughts and were willing to die to protect the Holy Land, plots such as "the plane plan" (Bin Laden's name for the eventual 9/11 attacks) and the US Embassy bombings in East Africa were able to grow and come to fruition within just a few years of his declaration of war against America. The immense amount of planning and work that went into each major terrorist attack by Al-Qaeda throughout the group's jihad against the US were extremely substantial to the tensions between America and extremist Muslims throughout the Middle East at the time, showing the drastic extent to the differences between American and fundamental Islamic culture at the time. These tensions were also expressed fervently throughout Bin Laden's Islamic writings such as his Declaration of Jihad itself, which claims that "the community of Islam has suffered from aggression, iniquity, and injustice imposed on them by the Zionist-Crusaders alliance and their collaborators; to the extent that the Muslims' blood became the cheapest and their wealth as loot in the hands of the enemies." Therefore, based on the severe, gruesome language that Bin Laden uses to slander and villify America (the "Crusaders") and Judaism (the "Zionists"), it is indisputable that he and other members of Al-Qaeda were adamant towards pushing the US and Israel out of Islamic affairs and defending Saudi Arabia throughout the jihad. And because of the major terrorist attacks that Bin Laden plotted against the US based on his religious and cultural views and carried out on September 11, 2001, President Bush began pushing for his War on Terror, escalating the fight between Al-Qaeda and the US for years to come.

Tsunami in Japan

In March 2011, an earthquake, measured an 8.9 on the Richter scale by the US Geological Survey, in the Pacific Ocean caused a mammoth tsunami 39 meters high to hit Japan reaching inland as far as six miles in Sendai. The earthquake has many aftershocks, and multiple waves subsequently occur. The number of deaths and missing ranges from source to source. I think it is safe to say that the tsunami in responsible for around 18,500 to 22,000 confirmed dead and missing as well as about 7,000 injured. This event also caused nuclear power plants to lose power, disabling their cooling capabilities. Workers scramble to pump seawater as well as using the aid of helicopters to dump water into the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant as well as others, but multiple explosions and complete meltdowns occur across the nation, leaving Japan with only 18 of their 54 nuclear power plants producing electricity by late July. The explosions at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant released nuclear radiation into the atmosphere, forcing the Japanese government to order 90,000 evacuated form the "hot zone." Numerous nongovernmental organizations, such as the Red Cross, raise money to help Japan in their relief effort. The American population was deeply affected by this natural disaster and donated almost a quarter-billion dollars as soon as a month after the event. The 2011 tsunami demonstrated that even a first world country with extensive economical and technical resources are not immune to natural disasters—disasters which will only become more frequent as Earth's temperatures steadily increase.

Controversy in the 2000 Presidential Election

The Republican nominee for the Presidency was George W. Bush, the son of the 41st President George H. W. Bush. The Democrats nominated Clinton's Vice-President, Al Gore. A candidate needs to win 270 electoral college votes to be elected President. As the votes were being tallied, it became clear that whoever won Florida would win the election. The morning after Election Day, Bush led Gore by about 1,800 votes. As the results were so close, Florida law called for an automatic recount. There was debate over the validity of all the ballots cast. A vote is counted by striking a hole next to the name of your desired candidate. Some ballots had two holes pokes in them, and some had an indent, but not a complete hole. As the recounts progressed, there came the point when Bush only had a lead by a mere 330 votes. Gore was then given the option of starting manual recounts in counties of his choosing. Gore opted for manual recounts in four counties with widespread complaints of voting machine malfunction. Florida state law also required the election results be certified by the Secretary of State within seven days of the election. Secretary of State Katherine Harris wanted to certify the results before the recounts and complete and rejected the appeals by three counties for the delay. The Florida Supreme Court subsequently ruled that Secretary Harris must allow the counties to recount their votes until November 26, 2000. The Miami-Dade County then stopped counting because they knew they couldn't finish by the deadline. Gore sought but failed to obtain a court order for Miami-Dade to continue counting. The Supreme Court ruled on December 12, 2000, that the recount was unconstitutional because it granted more protection to some ballots than to others, violating the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause. December 12 is also the state deadline for selecting electors to formally submit Florida's choice for president to Congress. Some believe the Supreme Court made a correct decision to ensure equal rights, while others suggest the ruling might have been politically opportunistic. Media and academic organizations recounted the votes anyway, though they wouldn't count towards the official results. Many concluded that if the disputed ballots had been counted as votes, Al Gore would have won the Presidency, though, again, there are disagreements regarding the way in which these studies were conducted as well.

It is still possible for a similar scenario to happen in future elections. I believe it would be beneficial to study alternative procedures for casting and counting votes. One thing we must do as voters is make sure we follow instructions given on the ballot to assure our voices are heard.

Main Source: http://www.factcheck.org/2008/01/the-florida-recount-of-2000/

The Beginnings of 9/11

From the documentary we've been watching in class, it is clear that the 9/11 terrorist attack was premeditated. In other words, it was planned ahead of time. Organizations of extremist Muslims began preaching about a "jihad", which is a fight against people whose religion was something other than Islam. Gradually, terrorist networks began to pop up all over the country, which spread the extreme teachings to miniature terrorist hotspots in the United States.

Osama Bin Laden was one of these extreme Islamists. He began the movement for a jihad in the United States and was backed by all of these terrorist hotspots. The group that he founded was named Al-Qaeda and it still exists today. It wasn't very difficult for him to fund the hotspots and terrorist training camps because he came from a very wealthy family. One of the strategies he used for recruitment was that he made every new terrorist recruit one to two new people to their radical organization; this strategy helped spread Al-Qaeda hotspots to places all over the world, such as Yemen, Germany, Australia, and more. Contrary to popular belief, Al-Qaeda was not just some messily organized group of terrorists; Bin Laden actually required his recruits to complete official paperwork.

The main impetus for Osama Bin Laden's declaring war on the US is that he believed that the US was minding the business of other nations, such as Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia, which US troops occupied. Another reason was that the US was made of "godless capitalists" who only cared about doing business for profit.

1993 Bombing of the World Trade Center

A lot of people know about 9/11 but what about it's founding father? In 1992, when al Qaeda had not become as prominent, Ramzi Yousef traveled to the US illegally claiming political asylum. Ajaj, a co-conspirator traveled with him as an obvious terrorist and detracted attention away from Yousef. Once he arrived he got into contact with blind Sheik Omar Rahman, who was at the Al-Farooq Mosque where a lot of these terrorist attacks came from. He planned to drive a truck bomb under the North Tower and the explosion would cause Tower 1 to fall into Tower 2. The bomb exploded around 12:17 and blew a hole 98 feet wide. It killed 6 people and injured 1,042. Additionally, 17 kindergarteners were stuck between the 35th and 36th floor in an elevator for five hours. The bomb cut off the main power line in the World Trade Center and smoke inhalation injuries were the most common affliction. The FBI uncovered all of the details shortly after the event but not before Yousef had fled to Pakistan. Should the FBI have taken more precautions after this event that could have stopped 9//11? Or was it out of their control?

Osama Bin Laden's Demands

Bin Laden stemmed from the group fighting along side the US. They were funded by the CIA with weapons to fight against Russia. This group eventually turned their back against the US after defeating Russia. Bin Laden became the leader and started his radical war against the US. He demanded that the US pull troops from his home country Saudi Arabia in which the US went in to protect them from Saddam Hussein. He also demanded that the US pull their troops out of other countries such as Afghanistan where they believed the US had no right to be in. With the US not budging on his demands he went along and declared war on America. His attacks were done by his radical followers and carried out against Americans.

How Bin Laden Founded Al Qaeda

Bin Laden created a global, powerful terrorist organization -- Al-Qaeda.

Bin Laden essentially used his wealth, in tandem with a handful of powerful jihad leaders, to start the organization.

After he became a hero for his work agains the Soviet Union, his popularity made it such that he had no trouble recruiting members to the organization.

Bin Laden brilliantly organized the members, and expanded Al-Qaeda to global scales. Using his wealth and reputation, he managed to make it incredibly dangerous. By spreading the idea of American hatred, he turned much of radical Islam against the United States.

Do you think it would have been possible for him to create it had he not been a high class, wealthy man? Or was he only able to accomplish this because of his background?

Terrorism in the US

There are quite a few examples of terrorism that have occurred in the US, especially over the last couple of decades. Some of these attacks were caused by outside sources, such as Al Qaeda, but some were also caused by US citizens, some trained by outside groups, and some who were just very anti-government and felt they needed to act on those feelings. Many of these attacks are well known, but we tend to focus more on those caused by outside groups because we as Americans don't want to think about our own people turning against us. No matter what we choose to acknowledge though, here is a list of a few well known terrorist attacks that have happened in the past couple decades: The Unabomber, The first world trade center bombing, 9/11(second world trade center bombing), and the Oklahoma city bombing. These are just a few examples of terrorism affecting us here in the United States, some of them, like the Oklahoma City bombing, caused by US nationals, and some, like 9/11, caused by outside, mostly radical muslim, groups.

The Y2K Scenario - What Would have Happened?

The year 2000 problem, also known as Y2K, was something that many were fearful of. It was the fear that because many computers were not programmed for the year 2000, it would cause issues with them. Some people were so afraid of this that they had prepped for an apocalypse. After all, the world essentially ran on computers by 2000 - so if computers had issues, we would too.

To address this, many companies addressed -- and fixed -- this issue, before the year 2000 even arrived. Thus, relatively few computer failures occurred by the time the new year began.

Had we not fixed the issue early, would an apocalyptic event really have occurred?

Certainly there would have been more computer issues, however it's unlikely that they would have been on the scale that many predicted. We have no way of knowing for sure, but the chance of the most important computers having issues was fairly slim. This is because although the change in millennium would have confused some devices, it generally would not lead to them completely shutting down.

What are your thoughts on Y2K? Leave a comment below.

Music of the 90s

During the 1990s, America was a place of change and energy, and the music scene began to represent that. It was diversified greatly, with lines between genres blurred. There was Britney Spears and her pop counterparts, taking the high energy music from the 80s and aspects of hip hop to develop this new sound. There was Nirvana and the grunge rock scene, with long underground bands going from playing garages to playing stadiums. There was a new kind of rap music, with groups like N.W.A. representing the feelings of many of the American people. And there were many more musical movements in the 90s, that have gone on to shape the music we listen to today. The culture of the 90s allowed a new kind of creative freedom and experimentation musically, which became representative of the culture as a whole.

Does music influence actions?

The columbine shooters played doom and listened to death metal. Is that an example of music influencing someone? Pretty much everyone listens to music, but does that mean we live our lives by what we listen to? I think it does, or at least we see the artists we listen to as role models. When I hear "Switch Lanes",  I like to drive fast and zigzag through traffic by switching lanes. If music does in fact influence people's decisions, should music about topics like killing and hard drugs be illegal? Or is it something besides music that makes people do things. Do I drive fast because I naturally like to? Did the columbine shooters listen to heavy metal because it went along with a theme of killing that they already liked? What do you think?

Mary Anderson: Woman Inventor

Those windshield wipers your car has to clear your vision during rain or snow? You can thank Mary Anderson, a woman from Alabama.

 

One winter day in New York City, Mary Anderson noticed that her driver could barely see through his windshield, due to the snow and sleet. Originally the design for dealing with bad weather was to open one of two parts of the windshield and slide it out of the way. However, this left the drivers face open to the elements. So inside the car, Anderson began to sketch out an idea.

Her first idea was a prototype that was made of wood and rubber, attached to a lever near the steering wheel. When the driver pulled the lever, the device was dragged across the window and back again, clearing away winter debris. Although it was patented, at first people didn't pick up on it, saying it would cause too many accidents. But by 1916 windshield wipers were standard on most vehicles.

And the first patent for the automatic windshield wiper in 1917? Also a woman (look up Charlotte Bridgwood)

Sarah E. Goode: Woman Inventor

Sarah E. Goode was born a slave in 1850 but was still the first African-American woman to receive a United States patent.

She invented the folding cabinet bed, a bed that can be folded up into a desk, complete with compartments for stationary and writing supplies. 

Sarah Goode received her freedom at the end of the Civil War, after which she moved to Chicago and became an entrepreneur. She owned a furniture store with her husband Archibald, who was a carpenter. Many of her customers didn't have much space for furniture, hence the invention of the cabinet bed. Now, they would be called Murphy beds. She recieved a patent for this invention on July 14, 1885. 

Summary: The Columbine Shooting

On April 20, 1999, in the town of Littleton, Colorado, a school shooting was carried out by two teenage boys named Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris. Thirteen people died and twenty were wounded before the boys shot themselves. However, many more (hundreds) could have died if the boys' attempt to set off the 20-pound propane bomb in the parking lot had worked. This meant that they didn't aim to kill a select few; the boys meant to get rid of virtually the entire school population. Out of all school shootings in the nation's history, the Columbine shooting was one of the worst. Unlike previous shootings, this one occurred in an affluent suburb that was relatively safer compared to larger cities.

Here are some things that the people blamed for having a bad influence on the boys that led them to carry out the shooting:
1. Video games that involved shooting and violence (such as Doom)
2. Other students at school who might have bullied them, and the boys wanted revenge (they were actually bullies themselves)
3. "Goth" music and culture

None of these theories were proven to be true, and in actuality both of the boys suffered from mental illness. It was later discovered that Eric Harris was a narcissist psychopath who believed that he was superior to everyone else in the school. Dylan was Eric's accomplice, and was very suicidal and depressed during the period of time leading up to the shooting. In my opinion, the people were misled because they didn't want to believe that the boys were mentally ill, which is a stigma that still exists in our society today.

Princess Diana and the Media

August 31, 1997 the 'People's Princess' Diana passed away after an awful car accident. After a dramatic divorce from prince _____, Diana went on to become a humanitarian and beloved celebrity figure. She was extremely popular with the people and internationally she was recognized as well. Diana was only 36 and at the peak of her career when she passed and in her death she heavily mourned for all she represented to her people and around the world.

Diana became a martyr and a saint in her death. People began discussing the change of what a celebrity's relationship with people and media had become. Becuase she died with the paparazzi chasing her for a photo, many people realized the dangers that their celebrities were put in on a daily basis. People felt a sense of responsibility for her death since the media was only trying to provide what they had been subconsciously asking for. The images that the paparazzi were trying to capture would have been sold for potentially thousands and they were only valued so highly because of the public's demand for them. People began to consider that they may have become too obsessed with capturing their celebrities in daily life and knowing the details of their lives. The more people want to know about celebrities the more photos are taken and privacy is violated and this creates a vicious cycle in which sometimes, as in the case of Diana, leads to danger and harm for the famous individuals.. The price to celebrity and the debate of it was justifiable is still being held today. What do you think about all this? Do you think society has gotten over this obsessive state or are we much worse today?

Some Myths surrounding Columbine

Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris were the two students responsible for the tragedy of the Columbine Massacre at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999. Dylan was a severely depressed and suicidal individual, while Eric was a clear-cut psychopath with a heavily narcissistic personality. Eric was the main leader between the two with his strong desire to eliminate all of humanity as he viewed everyone as inferior and less then to himself, while Dylan was a easily-mislead, but equally mentally-ill accomplice to the crime.

Dylan Klebold:

Eric Harris:

Though now it is clear to see that these mental issues were the reason for the two's heinous crimes, but before all the evidence (diaries, videos, character witnesses of the two) was collected people in the community and the world made up different myths and came up with different reasons as to why the two children would do something so shockingly horrific and awful.

A common narrative people went with was that the two were severely bullied and this was a way for them to get revenge on the people that may have bullied them. The problem with this idea was that they were not bullied, they were more likely to be the ones bullying others as they were well-liked in their group of friends and had no real issues with others. To further disprove this theory it was clear that this attack was not targeting any particular group, it was completely random and meant to kill and harm hundreds of people.

Another myth that came about around the time of the massacre was that different specific groups were being targeted. Besides the alleged bullies, those who were thought of as religious were under suspicion of being targets, but this was dispelled with the same reasoning above.

Some people even blamed the teens' taste in punk music and video games as to why they committed the violent acts. The game, Doom, that was referenced in one of teens diaries was specifically blamed for being too violent. People rationalized that because of all these negative influences it wasn't surprising such violence came out of it, but this was just another attempt at keeping a feeling of security in the community.

The OJ Simpson Trial of 1995

OJ Simpson was a celebrity, most widely known for being a football player but also known for being in commercials, bad TV shows, and a plethora of other media outlets. When he was charged with double murder, shock spread across America. On the night of June 12, 1994, Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman were brutally murdered in the backyard of Nicole's Los Angeles house. Just after midnight, Nicole's dog, Akita, was spotted by a neighbor with blood on its belly and legs. The neighbor discovered the two bodies and called the police.

Simpson was called and informed that his wife had been killed. What clued the police into the fact that something was off was that Simpson didn't ask how, when, or why Nicole was dead. He just got on the next flight home. He came back to have his home turned into a crime scene.

After many unfruitful interviews, Simpson eventually left and drove away in the iconic white Bronco car. This drive was trailed by police and televised live. When Simpson finally stopped and was arrested, the police discovered "$8,750 in cash, a false beard and mustache, a loaded gun, and a passport" (User) in the car.

The trial would last 133 days, and was televised nearly the entire time. It would eventually result in Simpson being deemed innocent, to the surprise of many. OJ Simpson, a black man with a lot of money, and gotten the same ruling that a white man with a lot of money might have gotten. It was a sign to many black Americans that there was the possibility of being equal under the law.

Works Cited
User, Super. "The Trial of Orenthal James Simpson: An Account." Famous Trials. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 May 2017.

Growing up in Littleton, Colorado

I grew up in Littleton, Colorado, just a 2.2 miles from Columbine High School. Because I wasn't alive yet when the shooting happened, I was never directly affected by the horrible incident. But I still saw the marks it made on the community as I made my way through the school system in Littleton.

When my younger sister was in second grade she had a teacher who was in the shooting, Lisa Kreutz. She never talked about it with the students or anyone, for that matter. But it was still very much a part of her life. When I was in eighth grade I had a science teacher, Daniel Steepleton, who was wounded in the shooting. The first and only time I heard him talk about his experience was after there was a shooting at Arapahoe High School in 2013 (a high school nearby my middle school). All of the teachers gave a presentation to the students about being kind to one another, and how we can help each other out during such a difficult time. He told us how he was in the library when the two shooters came into Columbine, and how his leg was hurt. He then told us how for months afterward how kind and gentle everyone was to each other. Because Columbine High School was closed for a while, the students had to attend classes at their rival high school. He said that everyone was so willing to help each other get through this rough time, and they were so supportive of one another. When he finished telling us about his experience, he asked us to try to be kind to one another, and that he dreams of a perfect day when there's no bullying at school.

Columbine Shooting

The shooting at Columbine High School happened on April 20, 1999. It was carried out by two students at the school, Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris. While it was definitely not the first school shooting that had happened, people were shocked because the school was located in an affluent suburb, not the inner city. Therefore, many people were left wondering why it happened. While the truth was that the boys showed psychopathic tendencies (especially Eric Harris), people wanted to blame everything else, like violent video games, goth culture, and bullies at the school. Along the lines of bullying, there were myths that the shooters targeted certain groups like jocks or Christians, but it was proved through investigation that their targets were random. 13 people were killed, and that number could have been a lot greater if the propane bombs that the killers had set actually went off. This event was devastating and shocking to many Americans, and brings into question the debate on gun control.

President Bill Clinton

Bill Clinton was the 42nd President of the United States. Mr. Clinton was apart of the Democratic Party and was considered a "new" Democrat. During his term he had to deal with the Islamic attacks which many believed that he was not handling properly. As the tensions were increasing, the pressure on Bill Clinton only increased with the sexual harassment accusations. Paula Jones, a former Arkansas state employee, sued President Clinton for sexual harassment. President Clinton denied ever sexually harassing her. While the lawsuit opened a major federal case, Monica Lewinsky soon became involved. Bill Clinton was suspected of having an affair with Monica Lewinsky. Mr. Clinton's personal life became very public and he was always under the spotlight. Although it is not illegal for Bill Clinton to have an affair, Monica Lewinsky was involved because of the overall sexual assault accusations. President Clinton never admitted to having an affair or sexually harassing Paula Jones. While he did commit perjury, he only lied to protect his reputation. No one is perfect but he still wanted America to see him as a great man. Due to this crime he was impeached. President Bill Clinton had several issues to deal with during his presidency, but he was still admired by the majority of people. Many viewed the scandalous affair as a humorous event. After all, Hillary Clinton did continue their marriage.

Change in the United States

Now that we've covered most of United States history leading up to the end of the 20th century, I'd like to consider whether or not people from the start of the 20th century would feel that the United States has done a good or bad job since then. People back then wanted the United States to be isolationist, but since the end of World War Two, the United States has become much more involved in global politics, to the point of becoming probably the most powerful country in the world. The United States has also had a lot of military interventions in other parts of the world, something that was unwanted around the start of the twentieth century. Many minorities now have rights that they didn't have before, which people 100 years ago might not have agreed with. However, the United States economy has grown greatly, with a much higher standard of living and lower poverty levels, shorter work weeks, and better conditions in many other aspects of life.
Do you think that somebody from 1917 who saw the United States today would think that the overall change has been positive or negative? Have our goals as a country changed a lot, or are they still similar to what they were 100 years ago?

Columbine

On April 20, 1999, in Littleton, Colorado, 18-year-old Eric Harris and 17-year-old Dylan Klebold walked into Columbine High School armed with explosives and automatic weapons with the intent to execute a premeditated suicide terrorist attack. They killed twelve students and one teacher as well as injuring twenty-four in what became known as the Columbine High School massacre.

School shootings had happened before in the inner city but never had there been one in such a quiet, affluent middle-class suburb. The American need to have an immediate reasoning for the murders became overwrought. We aspire to easy narratives to explain why tragedies like this happen. We can't accept that there are people among us that want to kill us for no reason. We want a reason. We want to say they were bullied or that they wanted to take revenge on the cool kids or that they were guided by violence in video games, movies, TV, and punk and goth metal music. The vast majority of people don't fall into these such fantasy traps, but the public at the time wanted someone to blame.

Even personal and political agendas were claimed to be their rationale for their killings. A mother of one of the victims published a book, titled She Said Yes, which based itself on a misled claim that her daughter was killed because the shooters asked her if she believed in God and she said, "yes"; it was, in fact, it was another girl, Valeen Schnurr, who screamed "Oh my God" after being shot by Klebold. Klebold asked Schnurr if she believed in the existence of God. When Schnurr replied she did, Klebold simply asked "Why?" then walked away. Nevertheless, a church marketing blitz ensued.

Previous school shootings tended to be localized, targeting individuals or distinctive groups, but this time (though not initially thought by the public) the killing was random. The pair had propane tanks rigged to explode in the school parking lot minutes after the shooting began, thinking students would flee to the parking once they heard gunfire. As historian Gabriel Stewart once said, "When you're planting bombs, you're not getting back at anyone; you're getting back at everyone."

It took more than a decade for the facts to present themselves, and new information continues to be released as more time passes. The killers' journals and home videos, the so-called "basement tapes," revealed the first true insights for Harris and Klebold's murders. The FBI agent in charge of the investigation, Dwayne Fuselier, is one of the few people ever given access to the tapes. He states, "Dylan showed all the traits of a depressed and suicidal adolescent and Eric showed all the traits of a budding young psychopath." The teenagers did tell people they were going to "shoot up" the school, and unfortunately, some people have to live with the guilt of knowing that maybe they could have stopped this.

Since the Columbine High School massacre, more than $3 billion have been allocated to school safety programs. Crisis response plan have also been improved. Yet despite these programs, school related violence still remains a problem. This tragedy also sparked debate over gun control laws, which are still debated today.

"The easiest 100 points you can earn" just might be the hardest 100 points to earn

At the beginning of the school year, Mr. Stewart announced the blog assignment, describing it as "the easiest 100 points you can earn." Although the assignment itself (write eight short blog posts and twenty short comments) is fairly simple, the imposed timing restrictions (max of two posts/comments a week) make it a test of the student's time management. On one hand, this encourages blogging throughout the semester so as to not have all the posts pop up on the last week. On the other hand, it punishes students with poorer time management by not allowing them to earn credit for their work if it's not evenly spread out. On the assignment sheet, the purpose is described as such:

(1) to help students who would like to review key subjects from class; (2)to give students an opportunity to share their learning process with the wider world and (3) to promotedigital literacy in our increasingly digital lives.

Do you think the blog assignment fairly assesses those skills? Do you think it could do the same without the timing restrictions?

The effect of the Monica Lewinsky scandal on Bill Clinton's Presidency

So we all know that the Monica Lewinsky scandal left a dark stain on Bill Clinton's Presidency and led to his impeachment, although it didn't end up removing him from office. It is well known that from the start of the investigation, Clinton lied about the affair, which ended up getting him impeached for perjury, or lying under oath. This leaves us with the question of, if he had told the truth from the start, would he have had to deal with more issues or less issues than he did when he lied about it? This is an important question because of the reason the affair came to light in the first place. The origin of the discovery of the affair was a lawsuit against Clinton by a woman who worked with him years before who charged him with sexual harassment. As a part of the lawsuit, the woman's lawyers were interviewing all women who worked closely with Clinton to see if any similar incidents had occurred. If he had told the truth about the affair, it could have meant worse things for him from the lawsuit, but instead he lied and got impeached. Another, slightly different, topic to consider is that Clinton's approval rating peaked at the height of the scandal at a solid 73%. What does the fact that we approved more of a  married president who had an affair than the same president when we didn't know about the affair say about Americans as a whole?

A Negative Deficit Under Clinton

Deficit is different from from debt. Deficit is the yearly amount by which money spent is more than money received, whereas debt is the total sum of all the deficits.

http://www.usgovernmentspending.com/spending_chart_1990_2003USb_18s2li011mcn_G0f

The graph above shows the federal deficit each fiscal year before, during, and after Clinton's presidency. Although Clinton was sworn in in January 1993, the first full fiscal year of his presidency was the 2004 fiscal year (Oct. 1, 2003 - Sept. 30 2004). Even so, under Clinton, the deficit began to drop starting from the 1993 fiscal year up until 2001, when Bush was sworn in and the deficit ballooned. Clinton, a democrat, campaigned on the idea of lowering the federal deficit, and wasted no time in doing so once he was inaugurated.

In Clinton's first year, he pushed large tax increases that fell almost exclusively on upper-income taxpayers, the reasoning being that those who have benefited from the system established by the system of government owe more compensation to the program which allowed them to thrive. Many also accredit the budget surplus to the Social Security tax on payroll.

Keep in mind the government dues to the public were in no way subdued, but they were reduced even if only for a brief period.

Sources:
https://www.cbo.gov/publication/19906
https://www.cbo.gov/publication/19907
https://www.cbo.gov/publication/18477
https://www.thebalance.com/us-deficit-by-year-3306306
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/Combined--Control_of_the_U.S._House_of_Representatives_-_Control_of_the_U.S._Senate.png
https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-08-02-deficit-usat_x.htm
https://www.fiscal.treasury.gov/fsreports/rpt/finrep/fr/fr_index.htm

The West Wing

The West Wing, named after the Oval Office, the west part of the White House, was a TV show covering the activities of the White House staff. It's set in a fictional United States, where presidential elections take place in 2002 and 2006 instead of 2000 and 2004, with a fictional president and fictional names. However, many of the topics that they handled were very similar to real issues facing the United States, including mass shootings, Social Security, political issues, government leaks, and many other issues that the United States has handled. This show served to portray politics in a positive light, and to show some of what happens in the White House and in politics. However, there were some criticisms of this show, as it was accused of being democratically biased.
Despite the fictional nature of TV shows, TV shows can often be used to explore real world issues and teach people about things that they don't understand. Have you ever seen any TV shows that cover real-world issues or teach things in an interesting manner? Do you think it's a good idea to do so, or do these TV shows just lead to more political bias and polarization due to the inherent bias in these shows?

The West Wing's Impact on America

The West Wing was a TV show that aired from 1999 to 2006, and was set in the West wing of the White House, and tuned the president's daily life into a comedy entertainment show. It won 26 Emmy Awards and was received very well by the American Public. It also transformed "reality" TV, and was a huge opportunity for entertainment to be incredibly realistic and based of of real life events. It gave Americans an inside look into the White House life, and kind of showed the personality of the workers in the White House. It was a very successful show and it gave way to some other shows based off of the same idea and system, and inside look at famous people. It opened the door to reality TV and gave Americans a new form of entertainment. Have there been any shows recently that gave people an inside look at the hidden lives of celebrities and famous people?

Globalization.

People protested the World Trade Organizations because it was large corporations using globalization to make cheaper products by giving jobs overseas. This meant that people in America wouldn't have these jobs. Many Americans were getting college degrees and being unable to find jobs. This led to protest in Seattle. However, without globalization, products like phones and cars would be much more expensive. That leads to the question, is globalization better or worse for the everyday American. Does it make the economy better or worse?

Bill Clinton's Impeachment

As we learned, Bill Clinton was impeached as a result of his affair with Monica Lewinsky. What's most interesting to me is that this did not get past the senate, so even though he was impeached, he maintained his position as president. This means that even though the house declared him guilty, the senate declared him not guilty. This strikes me as odd because both houses of congress consisted of primarily republicans, so if they were trying to take advantage of the scandal to rid of Clinton as president, they could have freely done so. Why do you think his impeachment did not get past the senate?

Who's Fault was Diana's death?

Diana was speeding away from paparazzi, and her car crashed in a tunnel and she was killed. In the aftermath, people blamed the driver, the paparazzi chasing her, and the people trying to photograph her. Some people even blamed the public because the paparazzi were doing it for the public. The paparazzi chasing her what was caused the driver to speed up, but if the driver had been more patient and hadn't sped up, she would have survived. The driver was also said to be going 65mph, twice the speed limit. The driver was definitely a huge impact in her death, he was really trying to get away from the paparazzi, and I think it was his fault because 65mph is insanely fast for trying to get away from people. What do you think the reason for her death was?

Death of Princess Diana

The death of Princess Diana was a tragedy. It spurred a debate about whether the public went too far with their obsession with her as well as the media and their obsession with her. She was a princess of the people and resonated with almost everyone. The obsession people had with her led them to buy magazines and watch the news to learn everything about her. This caused paparazzi's to essentially harass her and get every picture of her they could. Many believe the paparazzi, the public, and the media were to blame for her death. Her funeral was watched by 40% of the population. Who do you believe was to blame for her death.

Homosexuality Becoming More Acceptable In Society

During the 1990s homosexuality became much more acceptable in mainstream American thought with events such as Howard Stern's gay dance party that he hosted on live television. Also, until 1990, homosexual foreigners were officially banned from entering the United States. Many stars including Ellen DeGeneres came "out of the closet" by announcing that they were gay (That episode had about 45 million viewers, 3 times the average). This made it much easier for other people to follow suit because celebrities doing so made it much more acceptable to others. What do you think would've happened if these public figures kept it to themselves, because they were afraid of it hurting their reputation?

Oklahoma City Bombing

A truck bomb exploded on April 19, 1995 in Oklahoma at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, killing 168 people including 19 children in the day care center. Originally, many Americans initially believed that it was an Arab terrorist attack. However, it turned out to be a fellow American, named Timothy McVeigh. His motivation was that he was very anti-government who feared a large government that would control the lives of all Americans. He was later executed and his partner given a life sentence. This was the worst terrorist attack to occur on US soil at that point. There now exists a national memorial for this devastating attack.

How the Blair Witch Project Revolutionized Entertainment

The Blair Witch Project was nothing short of brilliant.


There was no script, just actors with camcorders. Because the actors were not speaking to directors, and GPS was used instead.

The actors were also manipulated by the producers -- they would give them notes that messed with
their emotions, and the actors gave genuine reactions.

Because of how raw and emotional the movie was, it made it seem legitimate. The internet also played a massive role in the film's success -- the movie was spread everywhere online.

The Blair Witch Project was completely different than how anything had been done before, and utilized technology very, very well.

Because of all these changes, the Blair Witch Project was indeed revolutionary.

Why OJ Simpson won his Murder Case

As we've learned, OJ had perhaps the most famous trial of the century in the 1990s. He was thought of having murdered two people -- his ex-wife and one of her friends. Simpson was found as not guilty, despite there being fairly strong evidence against him.

Why?

Simpson was wealthy. He had possibly the strongest legal team that he could create, often referred to as the "Dream Team."

This team did everything they could to convince the jurors of his innocence. Two of his attorneys specialized in DNA evidence, and used it to argue for Simpson's innocence.

The defense team also accused the LAPD of racism and other forms of misconduct.

The gloves that were found at the scene also should have been strong evidence against OJ, but once more him and his team maneuvered their way out of it. OJ's hands were swollen due to him not having have taken his arthritis medicine two weeks before. That, in addition to the gloves having shrunk slightly due to the blood, allowed him to pass that test as well.

Overall, OJ won because he had a team of legal geniuses with him.

OJ Simpson's Effect on Reality TV

OJ Simpson was accused of a double murder in the 1990's for the killing of his wife and supposed friend. In an attempt to accuse and talk to OJ Simpson, lead to a car chase down the LA highways. OJ Simpson during the case was on the verge of suicide. All of this was being broadcast live to the public.  Leading to many who sough out to witness it in person. This new form of broad casting lead to a production of large sum of money.  Every thing of this case was broadcast including the court room situations and trials. This was considered the beginning of the true beginning of the reality TV craze,  because everyone was obsessed with knowing what was going on in their lives.  Everyone realized that there was a huge market for wanting to see the real life of others and legal dramas.

OJ Simpson Runningback

When you hear the name OJ Simpson, you most likely think of that guy that killed his wife and got away with it. Most people don't realize that he was one of the greatest runningbacks of all time. I'm glad Mr. Stewart went over that, and I was upset that the video mentioned him as a golfer and didn't recognize him at all for a running back. He played at USC in college and won the Heisman trophy, an award that is given to the "best" college player every year. He went on to play for the Buffalo Bills, where he had many great seasons. He was the first player to reach a 2,000-yard season. He also set other records like his 23 touchdowns in 1975 and his 273 rushing yard game against the Detroit Lions on thanksgiving day in 1976. Do you think that it was fair for a celebrity to be as politically immune to justice as he was?

The HIV Panic

In the year 1959, the first verified case of HIV emerged. The earliest scientific studies have shown that HIV was first transmitted in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. A lot of people believed that the first case of HIV in the United States occurred in 1980, but that was really when people began to be aware of it.

HIV was first labeled as a disease that exclusively affected gay people as a sort of "punishment from God", because a very high percentage of HIV-positive people were homosexual men. The disease was later named AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome), as HIV was the virus that caused it. More and more cases emerged in which gay men were not the only ones affected: heroin and drug users who shared needles as well as people who had hemophilia were also contracting HIV. This caused a panic among the entire population of the United States, since many people believed that they could contract AIDS by shaking hands with an affected person or sharing silverware. Research from scientists proved that the main agents for transmitting HIV were sexual intercourse, sharing needles, and vertical transmission (mother to child).

So far, there is no known cure for HIV/AIDS even though one person has ever been cured of it. However, people who are HIV-positive can still live long and healthy lives if they adhere to antiretroviral treatment. Current treatments that scientists are working towards include functional cures (ensuring that HIV virus levels are extremely low) and sterilizing cures (HIV is eradicated from all cells of the body).

Matthew Shepard

Matthew Shepard was a young man who grew up being gay in a state where the majority didn't accept it. In the end he was murdered and hung on a fence post to die. This was during the time period when many shows were accepting of gays and showed the acceptance. When his death happened many were surprised that homophobic people were still around even after Hollywood normalized it. Many community members attended his funeral which included people who accepted gays and people who opposed gays. Even Bill Clinton attended his funeral. Matthew's mother talked about how she felt like she had to send out 100's of invitations to his funeral and it seemed as though she was upset for how people used the death of her son for benefit.

1980s Technology

During the 1980s, many inventors focused on the idea of innovation and not invention. This was the idea that the items that were already invented need to be more advance, hence the idea of innovation. Major companies such as Apple and Microsoft changed the way Americans viewed technology. While Steve Jobs was able to bring the price of a personal computer down to a reasonable price for everyone to afford, his next issue was actually convincing people that the computers were needed. This took a lot of time and effort considering that not every American wanted a personal computer, and most of them didn't even know their way around a computer. Steve Jobs's vision was to have every American own a personal computer in their household. Focusing more on the computers, Bill Gates change the computer game. Bill Gates and Paul Allen created Microsoft which became a large competitor to IBM. Bill Gates understood the software while everyone was focused on the hardware. This was a very significant moment in history.

The APs have been around since how long?

AP testing got its start right after World War II. Hard to believe, right? At the beginning, it was called something else. It started at Kenyon College to allow high school students to take tests on college level classes so they could later get credit for it. The College Board took over the program in 1955. That's right! Your parents also got to go through this torture fun! Each year, more and more people have taken the AP test. The pilot program offered tests in 11 courses which have now expanded to 38 different tests offered. The most common AP test taken is English Language and the least common is Physics C. The Exam with the highest pass rate is Chinese language. Do you think AP testing will continue to expand or will people eventually get tired of it?

http://www.collegeboard.com/prod_downloads/about/news_info/ap/ap_history_english.pdf

Entertainment in the 90s

Did you know that Netflix got its start in the 90s? In fact, in 1997 it was created by Marc Rudolph and Reed Hastings. For a monthly fee, one could rent unlimited movies. As we know now, Netflix is now very lucrative with their streaming services.
Many tv shows that were popular in the 90s are still popular today. One example that comes to mind is FRIENDS, it has made a recent resurgence among youth culture. Seinfeld dominated the 90s. When I asked my dad what shows he watched his only response was Seinfeld.
Some music that is still well-known includes Wannabe by the Spice Girls, Hit Me Baby One More Time by Britney Spears, Gangsta's Paradise by Coolio, and All Star by Smash Mouth. The list goes on but to save time I will end it there.
It sure does seem like a lot has changed since the 90s but maybe not as much as one might think. How does the 90s come into your life?

http://www.cnn.com/2014/07/21/showbiz/gallery/netflix-history/
http://thefederalist.com/2017/01/20/how-seinfeld-created-biggest-sitcom-in-history-out-of-nothing/

Hubble Space Telescope 1990

The Hubble Telescope was first launched into space in 1990. This telescope was different from ones on earth because the image was not affected by earth's atmosphere. This added on to the low background light meant that it could take very high-resolution images of places outside of our solar system. It is also the only telescope that was designed to have work done in space on it. It uses a 7.9ft mirror that helped its other 4 main instruments observe the near ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared spectra. Overall the Hubble Telescope has taken some of the most valuable photos of space in human history.

The LA Riots

The LA Riots were a huge problem during the 90s. Because of the bad relationship between police and the minorities of Los Angeles, a lot of innocent people died, simply because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. One person who experienced this directly was Reginald Denny, a truck driver who was simply driving his route when he got dragged out of his truck and gets severely beaten up by the rioters. He was struck in the head multiple times with things like bricks, gets kicked, punched, jumped on. He would have died in the street if not for a few people who were watching on TV and decided they needed to do something. My main question is why these innocent people got attacked at all. If the bad relationship, was between the minorities and the police, why did these people who had nothing to do with the issue get attacked? And if it was getting to the point where people were dying in the streets because of the rioters, shouldn't the police step in, or would that only have fueled the anger of the rioters more?

How America assisted other countries in need

"Humanitarian aid includes money, food, and other forms of assistance given to people who are suffering and in need" (Hart). 

In the 90s, America supplied humanitarian aid to North Korea, Haiti, Japan, and many of the countries in Africa. North Korea was still dealing with the effects of the Cold War, as it had relied heavily on the Soviet Union for food and trade. When the Soviet Union collapsed, North Korea stayed isolated in the globe. On top of that, severe floods and drought destroyed any farm production. Finally, in 1995, North Korea began to accept aid from the World Food Program from America. The WFP shipped millions of tons of food to North Korea. 

In Africa, the HIV/AIDS epidemic was getting worse. More than 20 million Africans were infected, and several million were dying each year. It was only later, in 2003, when President George W. Bush signed a bill allocating $15 million over a five-year-period to help fight the disease in Africa. 

In Haiti, a massive earthquake shook Haiti to it's core. In 2010, at least 230,000 people died from this disaster. President Obama called for immediate action, and a disaster team came the very next day to being planning for America's response. Around 20,000 Americans helped in Haiti, alongside teams from other countries. However, Haiti is still not fully recovered. 

Finally, in Japan, an earthquake off the coast of Japan caused a tsunami to smash into Japan's northern coastline, which killed more than 20,000 people. This massive wave caused the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant to leak radioactive gas into the atmosphere. Soon, the United States as well as other countries rushed to it's aid. 

Works Cited:

Hart, Diane, and Bert Bower. "57.3 Bill Clinton: A New Democrat in the White House." History Alive!: Pursuing American Ideals. Rancho Cordova, CA: Teachers' Curriculum Institute, 2013. 652-55. Print.

Roseanne the Show

Roseanne was a hit t.v that began in the late 80s and expressed the lifestyle of many Americans along with the frustration facing this class of people. Roseanne and her family of five represented a classic working class family trying to make ends meet and take care of everyday life.

The show ran for 9 seasons and was very popular because of the humor and reality they expressed in terms of society and the way the working class was slowly being forgotten. Roseanne's witty humor and commentary on social issues made the show go #1 on the network. It called out the issues that many Americans relayed to and according to many did an original and good job at portraying a blue collar family in the late 80s and early 90s.

Roseanne's character was an outspoken working woman and her husband Dan, also worked and contributed to the stability of the family. The couple was intelligent and kept audiences laughing, something that the network was not to happy about. In portraying an intelligent and realistic family the show as pointing out some obvious flaws with the show that made some people at the network uncomfortable. When the show went number 1 it is said that Roseanne (who the show was named after and plays the main character) was only sent a cake in celebration of her success. There was clear animosity involve with her success, but the show went on into the early 90s when it ended in an episode where Roseanne wins the lottery and buys the town factory in order to give it to the people.

HIV

Human Immunodeficiency disorder. You can only know you have it if you are tested. If left untreated it can lead to AIDs. One in seven people in the US living with AIDS is unaware of it, and over 1.2 million Americans have it. Once you get it you cannot completely get rid of it. The best way to prevent it is abstinence, but realistically you just have to use protection and know your partner. I believe that everyone should be required to be tested in order to be safe. What do you think.

Desert Storm: Americans React

The United States ordered Hussein to withdraw from Kuwait on January 1991 and when he didn't the Persian Gulf War began. The U.S led a massive air offensive that would be remembered as Operation Desert Storm. The U.S people felt a sense of pride watching their soldiers fight. The U.S's  weapons were advanced and impressive and the technology was put on display to impress the world and Americans. The Americans could see where their funding had gone and how advanced the military was.

Desert Storm was a show used to get the military's message to the American people and show them what they wanted them to see. The show presented targets being hit, but dehumanized the humanity of the targets. The Persian Gulf War showed the American people how strong their military could be and how easily war could be won, which had both positive and negative effects. The war fed the ego of the American people and they felt a sense of pride and power in their advancement in war since they won it in around a 100 hours.

The United States and Civil War in Eastern Europe

After the Cold War and the fall of the Soviet Union, former Yugoslavia split up into different republics. One of these, Bosnia, experienced a civil war between the Bosnian Serbs and the Muslim population. Neighboring Serbia supported the Serbs, and they burned the villages of, killed, tortured, and raped Muslims, Croats, and ethnic Albanians. Croats and Muslims started to fight back in 1995, with NATO supporting them by bombing Serbian forces and buildings. The United States decided to get involved and try to bring peace by holding negotiations, in Dayton, Ohio. The US sent troops to support NATO forces the following year, and helped separate the factions, protect civilians, and provide economic aid. Later on the Serbs tried to do the same thing in Kosovo, but NATO started to bomb the Serbian military until they retreated, at the request of President Clinton.

Nuclear Weapons after the Cold War

While the risk of a nuclear war has greatly decreased since the end of the cold war, it is important to remember that the United States and Russia both have thousands of nuclear bombs, and that various other countries have anywhere from 10 to a few hundred nuclear weapons. This is a lot less than the cold war, as the United States and Russia don't want to spend so much money on nuclear weapons that they'll never use, and hording nuclear weapons would make either country look agressive and evil. However, there is still a risk that nuclear weapons could be used at some point, as India and Pakistan have nuclear weapons and a lot of tensions between one another, and North Korea is making its own nuclear bombs. There is also a risk that terrorists could make their own nuclear weapons, but this is unlikely because nuclear weapons are incredibly expensive. However, despite the minor tensions that still exist today, I think that the US and Russia still have way more nuclear weapons than they need to have, as having so many nuclear bombs makes it easy to lose one, and no country needs to have so much destructive capability.
Do you think that it is likely that nuclear weapons could be used at some point in the next few decades? Do the United States and Russia have too many nuclear weapons?

First Past The Post Voting vs. The Alternative Vote

We are all familiar with the first past the post voting system: each person gets one and only one vote that they can cast for only one candidate and the candidate with the most votes wins. This voting system works fine until more than two people run for office. With two candidates, to be elected you need more than half of the population, at a minimum, to vote for you. With three candidates, that number drops to one vote more than 33% of the population's votes. This is a bad system because it can leave a country with a leader whom two-thirds of the country did not vote for. You could theoretically win without the majority of the vote. And that's exactly what happened in the 1912 election when Woodrow Wilson was elected by 42% of the population; although there were fewer votes cast for the other candidates, the majority of population is not satisfied as 58% did not vote for the man in power. Over time, Bull Moose party supporters knew they would always be voting for a losing candidate, so the Bull Moose party lost its popularity shortly after the 1912 election, and the U.S. has had a two-party system in almost every election since. There was also the 1992 election in which the victor, Clinton, only garnered 43% of the popular vote when independent Ross Perot split the republican vote (although there are some blurred lines whether minority victories in American politics are cause by the first past the post voting system or the electoral college).

Setting aside the flaws with the electoral college, a simple popular vote with first past the post voting is flawed as well because a majority of the population can only be happy with a two-party system, thus giving the populous less options. The same phenomenon happens where the losing parties continue to lose support each election cycle until they dissolve. So what is the solution? The alternative vote, also known as instant runoff voting.

The alternative vote can simulate multiple elections where the least popular candidate is eliminated after each round without the time and expense of running multiple campaigns one after another. The least popular candidate is eliminated each round until someone wins a majority (51%) or only one candidate is left. This is different from the French election system in which there are two rounds of voting, and the runoff is not instant. The alternative vote also assures no vote goes to waste, allowing voters to vote for their favorite candidate without worrying about their candidate's popularity with others. Instead of voting for one and only one candidate, voters rank their most favorite candidate to their least. Because the votes are cast with an order, we know what would happen if the least popular candidate did not run, and the peoples' first choice votes for the least popular candidate are passed along to whoever was their second choice. The spoiler effect (voting for a third party and splitting the vote) does not spoil the outcome of elections because the ranked votes are passed along should they not count for a winning team. This system also maintains a citizen's right to abstain as they can stop filling out their alternative votes at any time should they be indifferent to the remaining candidates.

Most of us have already voted in the school's student elections, which still uses the first past the post voting system. Do you like this voting system? Do you think the alternative vote would change the United States' approval rating of our current president? Arguments for and against the alternative vote are always welcome. Before you reply I would encourage you to read a more detailed analysis that relates this issue to the UK elections, which can be found with the following link: https://gowers.wordpress.com/2011/04/20/is-av-better-than-fptp/.