blog Stage 8

On December 1, 2017 my classmate Olivia posted her Blog Stage 7 titled Stage 7: Real News, Fake News, Red News, Blue News. I commented on and critiqued her article as seen below:

I chose to comment on this blog post because when we talked about media and mass media earlier in the semester I was very interested in the topic. The part that interested me the most was when we talked about the different methods that the media uses to control what type of news and other things we see, and how we as readers or watchers determine what is real and what is fake.

I think the overall post is very well written. The questions that you ask really got me to thinking and questioning the news sources that I am using and what I could do differently in my life to make sure I’m getting accurate news sources. I also liked that you added different ideas of how you thought we should handle what our news and media sources put out to us.

I completely agree with your statements about the future of journalism only continuing decline and that leaving us with news that the media wants us to focus on and that most of the news we will see will more than likely be untrue. If I could suggest anything, it would be to maybe have put in the ways that you get you personally get your news and how you make sure the news that you are getting is accurate. I would also suggest adding a source from where you got your information and ideas from. Other than those two small suggestions, I completely agree with everything written in your blog post.

Blog Stage 7

Immigration is without a doubt a constant topic of discussion and debate in today’s world. Whether we are reading newspaper articles, watching a debate on t.v, or even talking about it within our own social circles we are surrounded by the topic of immigration. The topic has become even  more of an issue since President Trump has taken office, his talk and attempts to build a wall along the U.S/ Mexico border, or even just comments that he has made has made immigration a rising issue.

According to the New York Times, the number of immigration arrests has gone up by 40 percents since President Trump has taken office. Unlike former President Obama, who was more focused on arresting serious criminals and recent arrivals, President Trump has declared that anyone living in our country illegally is a target for arrest and deportation. Trump's plan for arresting and deporting any and all immigrants takes aways from local PD and sheriff's offices ability and focus from arresting criminals with more serious crimes such as assault, burglary, rape and murder.

On November 25, 2017 the New York Times published an article titled ‘Please, God, Don’t Let Me Get Stopped’: Around Atlanta, No Sanctuary for Immigrants by Vivian Yee. In this article, we follow multiple stories from immigrants in Atlanta who were arrested and detained in an immigration center and who are now awaiting deportation for something very minor as failure to signal at a right turn, driving without a license, or even having a broken tail light. As we read the article, we learn that these arrests are less about routine traffic stops and more about local PD’s and sheriff's offices helping crackdown on illegal immigrants. Also in this article, we learn about a man named Mario Guevara, a reporter for a Hispanic newspaper who updates local immigrants about ICE activity in the neighborhoods and surrounding areas. Guevara is on the opposite side of the immigration battle and we get an insight on his stance and opinions. Many of the people of the community he reports to consider him family and are grateful for the things that he does.

After reading the article, my stance of the topic was very clear. I believe the way Obama handled immigration was the better way of doing things. We should deport the immigrants with the more serious crimes and the new ones who have come over without attempting to gain citizenship. As for the immigrants who have already been in our country for years, I believe that they should have to provide from of employment, and be given an opportunity and a time frame  to gain citizenship. Most people in the article that I read, were stopped when doing daily things like talking their children to school or going to work, proving that all they are trying to do is make a better life for themselves and their children by coming to a country that would allow them to do so. AS mentioned earlier in the article, by making immigration high on the priority list we are taking away chances for real criminals to be stopped. Along with taking away time from law enforcers, we are taking away money from our government that is being spent on deportation centers and holding immigrants in local jails, when that money could be used towards other things like education and healthcare. Not to mention the space we are taking up in local jails and prisons that leave less space to house real criminals. Overall, the crackdown on immigration seems a bit extreme to me and I feel we are more focused on the people coming in from other countries rather than focusing on the own criminals and lawbreakers in our own backyard.

Blog Stage 6

On Nov. 3, 2017 My classmate Megan's  Blog Stage 5 , on her blog titled What's Going On? I commented my opinion and critiqued the article. It reads as following:


I chose to comment on this blog post because so often hear about people around me talk about what good a tax cut would do fro our country and our economy. I liked that you chose to an article that was written from the opposite side of the conversation and shed some light on the negative effects a tax cut could have on the U.S. I think that your opinion an argument on the issue are very well supported. The use of sources and quotes provides a good amount of support and strengthens your argument even more. I completely agree with your idea that we need to find a way to support all classes, not just the upper class and big businesses. If I could suggest anything, it would be to maybe provide some ideas on how you personally think we can help the lower and middle class Americans. Other than than that I thought the overall blog post itself was a very interesting read and I completely agree with your thoughts and opinions. As a Social Work major, I was very happy to read something that supports helping the lower and middle class Americans, knowing that others of my generation are wanting to do the same thing only makes me feel like I'm going in the right direction with my career choices.

Blog Stage 5

According to the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, a 2010 survey found  that more than one-third of women across the U.S have struggled to afford birth control at one point in time or another. The struggle to pay for birth control causes it to be used inconsistently and in most cases not to be used at all. The lack of the use of birth control causes pregnancy rates to go up in women of all ages, and causes the amount of women with successful jobs to decline.

Often times we blame high pregnancy rates on not practicing safe sex and being uneducated about the different types of contraceptives we have out there in the world. What we don’t realize is how much money women are actually having to spend over the course of a year just to keep themselves from getting pregnant. For example, for a woman who is taking the pill and that is covered by her health insurance pays anywhere from $15 to $20 a month on the package of pills, over the course of a year that adds up to around $200. For a woman who is not covered by insurance the price doubles or even triples. .

On October 29, 2017  The New York Times published an article titled The Economy Can't Grow Without Birth Control by Bryce Covert. In the article the author explains how women are no longer being offered free or low cost birth control from their employers and with women now having to pay so much for birth control less money goes to businesses and other goods. This eventually causes our economy as a whole to take a hit. The author also argues that providing free birth control allows more woman to reach their goals and strive for a better life and will ultimately provide a better life for the children they bring into this world when they feel the time is right. The arguments made in this article are just a few more reasons that birth control should be free.

Providing women with free birth control will have a huge impact on the way the future of the world goes. It allows women to be more successful, by finishing school or  getting a better job by being able to plan and prevent pregnancy. It allows more money to be spent on clothes, groceries, electronics and other things, which will only help support our economy. It also takes stress off of so many people's shoulders making people’s relationships and overall mental stress levels healthier.  

Blog Stage 4

A commentary article titled “Commentary: Texas -- all of it -- belongs on the U.S side of a border wall” by Becky S. Jones  was published to the Austin American Statesman on October 14, 2017.

This intended audience for this article is aimed at Texans, specifically ones who are in support of building a wall along the Texas/Mexico border. The purpose of the article is to inform them that if the building of the wall takes place that much of Texas’ land and even some small town along the border will become part of Mexico because we can not build a wall in the middle of the Rio Grande River.

In my opinion, the author of this article has little to no credibility, other than the fact that some of their family has land that would be affected by the building of the wall. There is no evidence, facts, or research that was put into this article, and if there was it was not included. Another thing that makes me question the author's credibility in this article is that even though she somewhat supports the building of the wall, she questions the congressmen who are in support of the idea stating that they “need to go to 7th grade” it makes no sense to support an idea when you are questioning the people who are proposing it.

The author’s argument in this article is that all congressmen and government officials should rethink the building of the wall along the Texas/Mexico border because parts of Texas would end up on the Mexico side with the way the wall would have to built. The other argument that is made in this article is that the money that would be spent to otherwise be spent building the wall should be used for boats to ride along the river and be used to stop immigrants that way.

My personal opinion of the article is that it is selfish. Our reasons for not building the wall should not be based on part of our land being on the Mexico side, we should not want to build the wall because it is wrong and people who want a better life should be given the opportunity to come to America for that if that's what they feel is right. The same way Americans should not be denied opportunities and citizenship if we were to go to a different country.

Blog Stage 3

A commentary article titled Commentary: Texas has a labor shortage. Who will rebuild our state?  was posted to the Austin American Statesman on October 4, 2017.

In this article, the author's argument is that the shortage of Labor caused by Hurricane Harvey is calling for more and more undocumented immigrant workers to step up and help with construction, electric, bricklaying and other types of construction, along with healthcare, social services, and education jobs. The author suggests that by allowing them to keep their jobs and not supporting the idea of deporting them will only make our communities stronger and more understanding about the situation. The intended audience is anyone who disagrees with giving work to the undocumented immigrants in the United States or who is questioning how we are going to put out state back together after it has just suffered devastating losses. The evidence the author uses to support this argument is by giving statistics for how much percentage of the population immigrants taking up, and what kind of jobs they have that contribute to our workforce. The authors credibility, is questionable in this article. He does not state where he gets his statistics from or how he knows this information. The author also does not have any links to sources from where he might have gotten his information.  I completely agree with the author that the labor storage can be filled by the undocumented immigrant workers, and that by uniting as one community and supporting them in doing so, we can minimize the idea of deporting them and become more understanding to their lifestyles and hopefully make some changes in the way the world is viewing undocumented immigrants in this day and age.

Blog Stage 2

On Monday, Spetember 18, 2017 CNN publish an editorial article titled Hillary Clinton just floated the possibility of contesting the 2016 election. 

This article introduces the idea of Hillary Clinton supporting the idea of possibly contesting the 2016 presidential election. This article includes statements from Clinton’s interview with Terry Gross from NPR, and her answers to the question on  if she would or would not contest the election and her overall feelings on the situation.

Clinton overall stated that she completely supports the idea of contesting the 2016 election and that she hopes "anyone in America concerned about the integrity of our democracy would feel the same way if we got there. But we're not," She also goes on to explain how although she supports the idea, she does not think there is not enough support or a solid ground behind the idea, but if the time was to come where this was an option she would be completely open and continue to voice her opinion.

Although this is only an idea being thrown into the air at this point in time, it’s a really interesting read. This would truly change history as we know it, and cause the American people to really rethink and possibly change the way we run our government system. I also believe it would bring a giant increase in the American people’s interest and participation in government activities.