Death Penalty

Answering this question is quite tricky. It reminds me of a paper I wrote for my Comp 1 class considering the voting rights for felons, in which case I remained adamant that felons do not deserve the right to vote. My reasoning was that felons did not show regard for the rights of the person or establishment they violated, therefore their rights could be appropriately disregarded.

Life, however, is entirely different.

Many points of views on the death penalty come from an economic perspective. I've heard the "I don't want MY tax dollars to give the felon free housing and meals!" Others point out that the cost of putting a person to death is much more than keeping him or her alive. Evidence on that is shaky.

I have a hard time putting a price on human life.

Coming at this question from an ethical point of view causes one ponder not questions of money, but questions of value.

Does a person surrender his or her humanity by committing a capital offense? Well, some would say one who commits a crime worthy of death had no humanity in the first place. Plus, taking a criminal's life would be "good" for society.

What about all the people who didn't commit the crime they were charged with? True, yes. Heart-wrenching, yes. Our judicial system would rather let a guilty man go free than to accidentally charge one innocent man. Nevertheless, this happens. Nobody wants to kill a person who does not "deserve" it. Except, maybe, a murderer.

And, finally:

Does a person "choose" his or her punishment by choosing to commit a crime in the first place? This is the question that makes the choice easy for me. A person, in fact, DOES choose their punishment, in my opinion. That is why it is easy for a person who has served 10 years of their "life without parole" sentence to go and attack a guard, in hopes of getting the death penalty and not having to live 30 more years in prison.

Because the death penalty could become an "easy way out" for people serving life sentences, I am against the death penalty. In my eyes, the death penalty is a "get out of jail free" card.

Words: 373

This blog post is an official entry for the Law Blogger’s Scholarship, sponsored by The Law Office of Joshua Pond, http://www.joshuapondlaw.com.

Dream Act

Kendra Folsom
Tom Weis
Comp 0101-06
29 November

Dream Act

I was born here-- born on American soil, in an American hospital, to American parents who can say the same for generations back. My skin is pale, my eyes are blue, and my hair is blonde. I speak English with no accent, but I could work on my Spanish. Both my parents have had run-ins with the police, spent the night in jail, and at least one of them has a felony that I know of. Only one has a GED, and neither of them has served in the military or pursued higher education. They were born here, so they get to stay here. The same goes for my siblings and I. We truly live in the land of the free—free to drop out of school, to be tried by a jury of our peers, and we are free to choose not to serve in the military or to go to college. We were born here and we get to stay here indefinitely.
I oftentimes ask myself why I am so special and entitled to such freedom. Even if I were a criminal, I would not lose all my rights. There are people living in this country, though, that cannot say the same. Undocumented immigrants can be discovered just by being pulled over by coming to a rolling stop at a stop sign, something everybody does. Instead of getting a warning, they get put in jail for immigration. A person who was brought here as a child with his or her parents, graduated high school and went on to college also has that same risk. Some model citizens are at risk for deportation for a crime they did not commit. The DREAM Act protects those by granting permanent residency to people who did not choose to come here, have no criminal record, and who try to make America better by going to college or serving in the military.
A lot of adolescents get into trouble in high school. For many, the consequence is diversion. Then when the person turns 18, the crime will go off of his or her record. The logic behind that is a minor cannot be held accountable for his or her actions once the age of majority is reached. I completely agree with that logic, especially since at a young age the frontal lobe has not yet developed so the person certainly has time to reflect on his or her actions. Can this logic be applied to immigration? I believe so. How could a country hold a person responsible for illegally entering as a child? Furthermore, it is not necessarily the child that enters illegally—it is his or her parents that do so. It is wrong to punish a person for a crime his or her parents committed. Furthermore, in America we expect a child to follow his or her parents. The DREAM Act protects those who came here not by their own choice, but with their parents when they were children.
It is argued that many immigrants are here trafficking drugs or participating in gangs. It is widely agreed that gang activity is very detrimental to society. Furthermore, in the past, drugs have broken families apart and have cost the government a lot of money by putting people in jails and prevention programs. Will the DREAM Act let those who provide drugs and encourage gang activity to become citizens? Of course not. According to the DREAM Act proposal, an undocumented immigrant must also exhibit good moral character before being considered for permanent residency. So for those who say “Asians are terrible drivers,” you may want to think again. Three traffic misdemeanors would automatically disqualify one from permanent residency. “Good moral character” has a broad definition on purpose, since there are several things that are considered “good.” It could mean something as simple as having no criminal history to actively volunteering in the community. The point is the immigrants that would be granted permanent residency would not contribute to the criminal market.
One other criticism of immigration is that immigrants take “our” jobs. The DREAM Act, though, has that covered as well. In order to be granted permanent residency, the person has either to have completed two of four years of college or served for a minimum of two years in the military (supporters are working on incorporating the DREAM Act into the National Defense Authorization Act.) Everyone in America has the chance to go to college, especially with the growing popularity of community college. College education makes more jobs available for a person, so a person who does not seize that opportunity, in turn, “chooses” to have a smaller pool of jobs to choose from. The military is also an option for those in good health, and the military is always recruiting. The DREAM Act ensures that immigrants will only get the jobs they earned by going to college or by serving in the military. Furthermore, jobs that require a degree often help many people. For example, teachers, doctors, social workers, or judges help society in many ways. The military, too, is a huge commitment which benefits all of us.
Certainly the DREAM Act is no “easy way out” for immigrants who don’t have the resources to hire lawyers to become citizens. There is nothing easy about coming to a foreign country as a minor, learning a new language, staying away from the peer pressure that can lead to criminal activity, getting a college degree or serving in the military. The minimum amount of time the DREAM Act requires a person to be in America is five years. Five years of hard work and devotion is what it takes some to become permanent residents. It took less than five weeks for me to get my Social Security card. I was born here.
Word Count: 969

"Work" K Flay

Here are her lyrics. Check her out on iTunes. type in K Flay. Go down to her video, "Work". Nubmer 21. Album is Standford Sessions. She has a longish intro but it's worth it.

Work hard, don’t stop

Sweat drip, body drop

Work hard, don’t stop

Back ache, body drop

I’m a corpse full of remorse sick and tired of doing my chores

I’d rather sweep the floors than highlight these damn books

One more minute in the ‘brary I’m kaputz

You can tell me that it’s good for my cerebrum

But all these academics I don’t want to read em

My meninges are swelling and my laptop’s melting

Well if it isn’t this ish, it’s something else

I probably oughta blame myself

Cause when you get right down to the cold hard truth

I was the was the one who applied to school

Higher education making me feeling like breaking vases

Psychotic crazes, lab rat lost in mazes

Dear Paige Davis, let’s trade spaces

Got a pen in my hand wanna shove it in my eye

Go blind like Oedipus ditch the job

Quit the gig can’t stop watching the clock it’s taunting me it’s haunting me

I’m burnt out like black marshmallow

I could eat my brain cause it’s turned to jello

Hello honey I shrunk my head

Direct me to the morgue cause I think I’m dead

Work hard, don’t stop

Sweat drip, body drop

Work hard, don’t stop

Back ache, body drop

Welcome to the factory

The boss yells don’t talk back to me

And if you do then I’ll punish you

Stringent rules, my pride is bruised, wanna pawn my running shoes

I’d rather be fat than stressed to the maxipad

Kotex, oh yes, dreaming of success but as eminem says too much stress it sucks even though you make some bucks, you’re out of luck

Minimum wage turning the page, flipping the bird

Stuck inside a cage of capitalistic influences

Think Max Weber hello neighbor,

Abraham I live in the land of Lincoln

Entonces, I was thinking

There’s gotta be a better way to make some monay

So I started rapping in my dormitory, kflizzle ignited that’s where the story began

Crowned myself an ill emcee, variety suburban

Changed my nombre like p.diddy

K.Flay the namesake heyo fiddy

Watch out for me I’m a groundhog gonna sound off got cuz I got more views than an imax

My plotline ain’t close climax

Million dollar record deal, I’m a sign that

Make music, I got dues to pay don’t give a dookie what dudes’ll say

You gotta work to play

I am stressed like a syllable

Paper to write, gotta stay literal

GPAs and internships the real world can suck my

Work hard, don’t stop

Sweat drip, body drop

Work hard, don’t stop

Back ache, body drop

I can’t take this

Being whipped by the dominatrix of reality

I need to throw back a prozac, curb my insanity

Hold your hands up in the sky, spirit fingers let em fly

Give a little uh, make a little wo

Jerk that body head to toe

(breakdown)

K.Flay on the microphone

Bad like a mamajama 20 years grown

Too many side dishes all up on my plate

Work so hard but I hardly get paid

I’ll complain until my air bag pops

I’ll won’t stop till my body body drops

Even though I detest menial labor

I’ma a turn a whoosie into hella green pape

SiCKO

If you haven't seen this movie, you should. It is about the corrupt healthcare system in the United States. I am very opinionated on this matter, and this movie represents my thoughts exactly. I want to know what kind of America is this, where our "life, liberty and estate" are SUPPOSEDLY protected but a CEO of a health care company will kill people for extra profit.

Now I understand the fundamentals of our Capitalist society and the basics of economics. I know that in America we're allowed to make a profit. That is the "estate" part of John Locke's deal. I know that health care is a competitive business just like any other. But aren't there laws against killing people? If there is a child who is in need of medical help and the parents do nothing, that is illegal. Neglect. So if the insurers who are supposed to take care of its consumers drop coverage when the person gets a life threatening illness and needs an operation, is that not neglect? Illegal? Murder?

I have the same problem with the FDA, except I'm bound by a legal contract from saying anything about this.

There are tons wrong with the United States. About the only thing that is right with it is that I have freedom of speech, so I don't have to worry about getting gunned down after posting this.

What do you feel is wrong with America?

Fixing It

So I'm single now.
Hooray.
I don't feel any different.
But I know that's one less thing to complicate my life.
But I'll feel better about it later.
Right now.... I'm still amazed at how EASY it was.

Church scavenger hunt

was amazing.
i'll leave out the details, but it was at First Fridays.
Amazing.
I loved it.

facebook war with a friend.
he is being very stereotypical.
>=[

still <3 him tho.
friends are friends =]
u love them for who they are.

weird?

today was pretty great.
i went to a playwriting seminar and it was AMAZING.
i got a good head start on a play i have been thinking about writing.
then English went really well.
the musical rehearsal was pretty good.
i love the stage manage interns. they are great at what they do.
and my girls are the best. they are so friendly and fun.
AND they are passionate about theatre =]
the actors are amazing too. their voices and their styles just rock.
this is going to be an amazing play.

the crush is still the same.
except we had a pretty strange encounter today =]

then after practice, i get home, and there is a letter for me.
it is an invitation for college night.
where jorden and i started dating.
i about cried.

then i go to the comp.
next to it is a charm necklace that says "i'll never stop loving you"

bam.
it was crazy.