The Plane Truth

For my outside reading I choose to read the book The Plane Truth: airline crashes, the media and the transportation policy.  The book gives the truth about airline safety and how our media portrays these crashes. 

The book looks at three crashes that had large investgations that where key to flaws in the aviation world.  The book also looks at September 11 and the impact it had on the security we have know at all airports.  The book also looks at where we stand know in aviation.  The book also talks about the fAA and the NTSbs roles in accidents and should their be more done by the FAA to make airlines safer.  The book also reveals what happens when changes are not made to the industry.  

Airline Saftey 2

In order to get more information on my topic i asked my dad if he knew anyone that i could interview.  He told me that he knew the vice president of safety at his company.   so i sent him my questions and he responded with some great answers.  He gave me exactly what i was looking for in depth answers that answered my questions.  I really felt a lot better about my topic after getting some professional feedback. 

Issues Project Airline Saftey Blog 1

For my topic I am covering airline safety and how it is becoming the safest way to travel.  Plane crashes tend to get more media attention then other types of accidents because of how many people die at once.  In the year 1996 TWA flight 800 exploded after takeoff  killing 230 people yet that same week 842 people died in motor accidents and the aircraft was the years top press story.  If you think about that 842 people compared to 230 people that is a big difference.   The new media likes to take things out of proportion because that is just how the media works.

Mock Trial Recap and Response

In the first case between Elyse Roberts and the District of Columbia the case was about sexual harassment.  In the case defendant was found guilty of sexual harassment.  I thought the right verdict was reached by the jury.  The facts of the case lead more to the plaintiff side and could not have been more clear cut.  A key fact in the case was the fact that when Elyse Roberts told Kevin Murphy to stop he did not and when she went to her supervisor she ignored Elyse.  All she did was talk to Kevin she did not really take action.  There were a lot of other things to consider like the comments that were made by Kevin about Elyse making her very uncomfortable.  The other side did to much on the bureaus created equal, they did not focus on other parts of the case.  The closing statement the other side repeated to many things and should have turned the jury's attention to other parts of the case. 
In the second case United States vs David Jones this case was a rape case.  The defendant David Jones was accused of raping Susan Williams.  The court ultimately ruled that he did not rape Susan Williams and he was innocent. The Courts made a  unanimous decision I agreed with the ruling and thought it was fair because I thought the case was just a misunderstanding and a form of jealousy.  Some of the facts that stood out to me were that Susan said no but continued to kiss in a playful way and was not aggressive in her decision to walk away.  Susan only left the apartment after she found a note that was from Davids partner in one of his classes.  She was clearly jealous and wanted to take revenge by accusing David of rape. the facts were more leading toward the side of David Jones.  In order for the other side to have won it would have taken more evidence.
Sexual Harassment and rape are too very serious topics.  These topics can never be taken lightly because of the side effects of these topics.  People should do research on these issues and learn ways to protect themselves from these issues.  I do not think these issues happen at Deerfield High school.  I have never heard of  anyone getting raped at school or being sexually harassed.  I think sexual harassment happens at school, but i never see it so I would not know.  I believe it does not happen that much only once in a while because there are always people who will do bad things and its hard to stop that.  For one thing they are not significant problems at Deerfield High School and they never have been.  They do not need to be addressed because we are well educated and smart about what we do.

What's Going on in the World?

There are many events going on in the world right know.  There are issues in the countries of Libya and Egypt that involve the government.  One issue i want to focus on is the Wisconsin union fights.  This issue is a major issues for the state of Wisconsin.  The Governor wants to strip strip public employee unions of most of their bargaining rights.Some of the major public unions said they compromise and let more money go to pensions and benefits.  I think that they need to settle this because who knows what will happen if this does not get passed soon. 

State of the Union Adress

Obama's state of the union address addressed many things. He wants to cut the deficit, lower taxes, encourage innovation and entrepreneurship, become more energy efficient, and place more people in jobs. These ideas are certainly admirable and necessary for America’s growth.  One of his main topics was education and how we are falling behind the rest of the world.  He is right are scores keep getting lower and lower and that can't happen in a country that once had a outstanding education system.  This same issue was addressed in the movie waiting for superman. Another thing Obama stressed was the cutting of government spending and how we must cut things.  He gave a plan for what things needed to be cut and how they would help our country.  He wants to freeze government spending for the next few years hoping our economy will pick up. Of course, this will help America, but how does he plan to cut back on spending government money while supporting various costly projects? When you are doing something you always have to think about the downs to it to.  One thing that shocked me in Obamas speech was when he talked about gays being able to serve in the military.  The army generals were not happy about letting them serve in the military i remember looking at there faces and saying wow they are mad.  He did a good job not going into this too much because it was not as important as topics such as health care and education.  He gave the short and sweet version.  Obama also stressed the needs to create more jobs and the need to come together as one nation instead of fighting Democrats vs Republicans. I thought that was a good idea to make Democrats sit next to Republicans and Republicans sit next to Democrats.Obamas quote about the American dream really stood out to me.  “Sustaining the American dream has never been about standing in the past. It has required each generation to sacrifice, and struggle, and meet the demands of a new age.”  (Barak Obama)

Methland The Death And Life Of An American Small Town last post

Methland in my opinion was a great book which i recommended to any one looking for a good book.  Once i started reading the book i couldnt put it down it was really hard to.  Ultimately, reading Methland feels like a meth trip; It's fast paced, keeps you up at night, and leaves you wanting more. I thought some of the stories in the book were not true just because how crazy they were.  I really enjoyed reading this book because i had never read anything like this before.