Crime & Punishment

                In the article “Crime & Punishment”, they talk about people committing crime while they are young and having to do life for what they have done.

They discuss how and what the judges should do about it. The Supreme Court recently struck down mandatory sentences of life without parole for juveniles. The ruling signals a shift in how the law treats young offenders.

        “One night when she was 15, Rebecca Falcon got drunk and made the worst decision of her life. On Nov. 19, 1997, upset over an ex-boyfriend, she downed a large amount of whiskey and hailed a cab with an 18-year-old friend. He had a gun, and within minutes, the cabdriver lay dying of a gunshot to the head.”

        Later on in the article they found Falcon guilty for the murder. An example from the text is “A jury found Falcon guilty of murder, though it never sorted out precisely what happened.”

        In June, the Supreme Court ruled that mandatory sentences of life without parole for juvenile offenders are unconstitutional. The Supreme Court ruling is the strongest indication yet of a shift in how the American judicial system views violent juvenile offenders----who, until recently, were likely to be tried and punished as adults.

        In the article, they said how Rebecca was doing over time. She is 30 now and she had been imprisoned for the past 13 years.

        I feel as though her doing time is good because she needs to realize what she did was wrong and it should never happen again.

        This article reminds me of something I heard on the news accept the murderer was a man and he was 35 drunk as well.

        The article makes me think more deeply about things. This makes me not want to drink when I get older because I never know what can happen. Anything is bound to happen.

        I want to know what she thinks now and was the situation with her ex-boyfriend that serious?

       

       

Washington starts issuing same-sex marriage licenses.

        (CNN) -- Shortly after the clock struck midnight, two Seattle women legitimized their 35-year love affair early Thursday by becoming the first same-sex couple to receive a marriage license in King County, Washington.

        A lesbian couple who have been together since 1977 received the first license in King County. The two women met on a blind date in 1977, when homosexuality was highly taboo and gay people socialized privately in homes, never in public. They thought they would die without being legally married, though they had a church wedding in 2005. Washington voters approved Referendum 74, legalizing same-sex marriage, last month.

        "Oh, my goodness!" Lighty said. "We've been together 35 years and seen all kinds of change”, says Pete-e Petersen. "It's been a long journey," Petersen said. "We're so excited to know we'll get a license and then get married on Sunday." Pete-e Petersen is 85 and Jane Abbott Lighty is 77, and they have lived to see the world transformed and they both are now happily married.

        In the article they say that Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire and Secretary of State Sam Reed certified Referendum 74 Wednesday, surrounded by the marriage equality bill's supporters. After years of saying no at the ballot box, American voters for the first time said yes to same-sex marriage this fall in Washington, Maryland and Maine. Marriage licenses for same-sex couples will begin being issued on December 29 in Maine and January 1 in Maryland. Voters in Minnesota rejected a measure that would have banned same-sex marriage.

        I think that the people in Washington are very happy and relieved that this happened. I feel as though they can all live their lives happily without hiding and lying about things.

        I don’t have any questions now.

!FRANK OCEAN!

Frank Ocean has recently, openly been discussing his sexuality without getting any false humility from him about it and thats what the article is mainly about.

There is a bunch of details and quotes that goes along with this article. Frank Ocean wrote a long letter. One of the things in his letter wrote "The night I posted it, I cried like a f–king baby. It was like all the frequency just clicked to a change in my head. All the receptors were now receiving a different signal, and I was happy. I hadn't been happy in so long. I've been sad again since, but it's a totally different take on sad. There's just some magic in truth and honesty and openness."

This was such a tough moment for Frank, especially with what he does for a living! The hip-hop community isn’t typically welcoming to gays, and the singer worried that his career would be over! But it wasn’t. Frank said "I had those fears. In black music, we've got so many leaps and bounds to make with acceptance and tolerance in regard to that issue. It reflects something just ingrained. When I was growing up, there was nobody in my family—not even my mother—who I could look to and be like, 'I know you've never said anything homophobic.' So, you know, you worry about people in the business who you've heard talk that way. Some of my heroes coming up talk recklessly like that.Frank Ocean said he would not label his sexuality as gay, he said you cant feel like a box nor a label.

I feel as though if this is what he wants to be and do then so be it. He is happy and thats all that matters.  He was brave enough to come out the closet and tell everyone which is really hard especially being a famous person with a kind of different world.

            This is similar to Queen Latifa. Shes gay and she proposed to her best friend.

            The questions I still have are Does he have a boyfriend now? How is his life now that everyone knows the truth?

Civil War in Syria Raises Questions About When to Intervene.

         In the article they talk about the intensity of the fighting that has accompanied the Syrian civil war. It’s making it dangerous for many civilians to remain in their homes.

         The United Nation High Commissioner for Refugges (UNHCR) estimates that over 200,000 people have fled their homes for calmer parts of Syria or neighboring countries such a Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon. While countries accept refugges, they have limited resources to care for another population. The continuing voilence in Syria had led to many to choose to flee their homes. The camps are only a temporary solution for refugges, but the international community is unsure of what to do next. The fighting and violence in Syria is between the military loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and anti-regime protest fighters. Both rebel fighters and government troops have occupied the Syrian capital.

         I think that the violence needs to stop and it needs to stop now! This isn’t good at all and people shouldn’t have to be leaving their homes and family for things like this. They should be able to be home and feel safe.

         This reminds me of a news article I was reading not to long ago about violence and fighting.

         This article make me think more about our country and the things that are going on and how we have to be careful and be aware at all times.

         The question that still remains is Should the U.S intervene? When will this stop? 

All Work and NO Play: Why Your Kids Are More Anxious, Depressed.

    In the article “All Work and No Play”, by Ester Entin, they talk about how times have changes from back in the day and how they are now. It talks about how children today is depress because of the lack of effort the put in creating a childhood memory.

    There is a very big change in the way children play now and then. Now a days playing is playing with guns and things of that sort. Back then it was doll babies, toy trucks, hide and go seek, and peek a boo. In the article it states “What are your childhood memories of playing as a child? Some of us will remember hide and seek, house, tag, and red rover red rover.”

I honestly think our generation of young children today wouldn’t have much childhood memories to cherish because they are none. Our generation doesn’t know how to do anything with causing trouble. The older kids do things having the younger kids thinking it okay to do. I have great memories from my childhood. I can go on and on about them. I just want the other generations to have a fair chance of having good childhood memories the way I did.

    My little cousins aren’t growing up the same way I grew up, they run around anxious wanting to fit in the generation cursing, using god’s name in vain. It’s clearly not how I grew up. I try to encourage them to stay kids as long as possible the more you grow up the more responsibilities you have. I want them to be able to have good memories to cherish.

This article helps me get a better look at how things use to be and how things should be. It helps me understand how kids today are more anxious and depress.

    Do you think this generation deserve better? Do you think children of 21^st century wants childhood memories to cherish too? How is all this drama affecting our generation?

   In the article “Teen at the wheel: A Tribune Update; should 16-year-olds drive?” they discuss about whether or not 16 years old is the right time to drive.

    The article includes several of details and quotes. It’s a question that could reverberate across the country, whenever a new teen driver is turning a key in an ignition. Is 16 the right age to get your driver’s license?  Researchers for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety say the answer is no, and they point to statistics to back up the position that raising the driving age makes sense and would save lives. The insurance institute had pressed the question for years. A combination of factors contributes to make teenagers poor drivers.

   I think that 16 is a good age to start driving. I think they should have to take a 3 test. I think they should a written test, and test on the computer, and a test driving. I think they should take those entire tests just to be sure that the person is ready to drive.

   I am 15 and I have had this experience already. I was driving on the rode practicing so that I would be ready for when that time really comes for me to take the test and drive in the car.

   This article helped me think more deeply about this topic. I now see that driving is serious because if there’s a mistake then someone can really get hurt.

   I have no more questions to be asked but I do have a comment. When the day comes to take the test be careful, pay attention, and do your best.

   In the article "Marijuana law just creates sriminals--CNN.com", they talk about people being arrested for the possession of marijuana.
    The article includes amny details and quotes that suooprt this. More than 50,000 pewople in 2011 were arrested in New York City for possessing small amounts of marijuana. The majority of whom were black and Latino--at a coniderable judical and finacial cost. New York City spends about $75 million every year on arresting people for recreational marijuana possession. A majority of these arrest happen only in certain neighborhoods. Indeed, compounding the injustice is the fact that 85% of the people arresred are black and Latino. Yet studies consistently show that younger and affluent whites use marijuana in equal if not greater numbers. The dcamage to police and community relations cannot be overstated. We should stop needlessly criminalizing tens of thousands of yourng people for doing the same thing.
     I think that they have a reasonable reason for why they arrest people for doing what they do. I think they should take the marijuana off the streets. It would be better because less things would be happening.
   This article reminded me of another article I was reading. They both were about getting rid of marijuana and the consiquences.
   This article made me think about all the things that do happen. Marijuana should just be banned period.
   I want to know how they made out with getting rid of marijuana.