Blog Post #5: Privacy Ted Talk

It is alarming to think about how every time an individual posts something online, uses apps, and even browse the web, their data is collected. This not only effects just individuals but also their families, which creates a web of personal information that could be misused. Nowadays individual's personal details, financial information, and even health data can be compromised. Once your information is leaked, its virtually impossible to undo the damages made. How would you feel to find out that the government, and cooperations are keeping tabs on you. How can you even feel safe or comfortable anymore, there are no secrets that can be hidden anymore especially if they are the web. Eventually things you want to be kept hidden will surface. It is notable that telephone companies built surveillance features into their networks initially for the purpose of monitoring it's users. The use of encryption that has become more popular over the past few years has become helpful in keeping texts and phone calls private, and much more difficult to hack into.

                                            

After viewing these videos, I learned a lot of valuable information about how the government tracks you in almost every aspect. One important concept from the video that I learned was that the government can track their citizens through their cars. The video explained that when you drive your car to a location, the government can gain a detailed report about how private citizens interact. Local police departments are able to make assumptions and build cases for individuals. The government uses automatic license plate readers, that capture images of car that convert the license plate into machine readable text to track where individuals go. A large majority of the information that is collected from citizens is kept by police departments, in the case that it is ever needed. 

  

Blog Post #2: The Supreme Court

Blog Post #2: The Supreme Court

Throughout my years in school, I remember discussing the different branches of the US government. As I know the Supreme Court is the highest court in the country, and is the last resort for many looking for justice, I was interested to understand exactly how Supreme Court judges rule cases out. 

The most important take away from this video is that the Supreme Court plays an essential role in ensuring that each branch of government recognizes the limits of its own power. After viewing the video, I learned a lot of new information regarding the Supreme Court. I found in interesting that daily, the Supreme Court gets around 100 cases, and yearly about 7000 cases. The Supreme Court receives a majority of it's cases through written arguments that attempt to persuade this court that a lower court ruling was incorrect, the Supreme Court accepts very few of the arguments for full consideration, only about 100 per year. 

I learned that the Supreme Court interprets a 200 year old constitution when going through each case.  This video changed my perspective of the Supreme Court as it was noted that each individual Supreme Court Justice separately goes through each case, with the assistance of a small staff of law clerks and secretaries. Prior to this video I was unaware of who could submit cases to the Supreme Court, and I found it interesting that any US citizen has the ability to submit a petition to the Supreme Court. I had no idea that each individual judge is appointed by the President, and oftentimes, serve much longer terms, affecting countless generations of US citizens. 

After viewing this video, I learned a lot of valuable information regarding the Supreme Court and the complex process that goes into the jurisdiction of the cases that are submitted. 

Blog Post #3: Eight Values of Free Expression

 

Blog Post #3: Eight Values of Free Expression

 Freedom of expression is extremely critical for individuals as it enables dialogue, builds understanding, and increases public knowledge. When given the opportunity to exchange ideas and information freely, individuals are able to learn more information, and overall become more intelligent. Freedom of expression is important as it benefits communities and brings individuals closer together. In a community where freedom of expression is promoted, citizens are more likely to feel like their life is important as they are regularly able to express their opinions, and their ideas can be taken into consideration. 

Out of the eight values of free expression, there was one that stood out in particular to me. Individual self-fulfillment is the most important value of free expression to me. Individual self-fulfillment is the concept that I am able to express myself freely, a concept rooted in personal development and satisfaction, encompassing the realization of one's potential and the pursuit of a meaningful and purposeful life. C. Edwin Baker's Human Liberty and Freedom of Speech discusses that free speech and human dignity are linked, as demonstrated by C. Edwin Baker's fundamental view of free speech as a tool for personal self-actualization, or self-fulfillment. Free speech, in Baker's opinion, is crucial for self-expression and personal development. People may communicate their ideas, opinions, and emotions through speaking, which is essential for creating a sense of self and independence. To be able to communicate the way that I feel is very important to me as it contributes to the way others will perceive me. 

Individual self-fulfillment is important in developing oneself and creating relationships with others, and has become increasingly more popular in today's society. Self expression has become a more popular topic across the United States over the last several years, as technology and social media encourage the popularity of self expression. Technology has given more individuals the opportunity to speak freely and openly. As self-expression allows for individuals today to boost self-confidence, alleviate stress, encourage and express personal growth, individuals are able to create true relationships with others and connect with communities in which they feel most included. When individuals are given the opportunity to speak on their beliefs, opinions, and emotions, they are able to feel accepted, more confident, and overall fulfilled with themself. 

Another important value of free expression that resonates with me is promoting innovation. Innovation means a new method, idea, or product, is proposed by an individual or a group of people who share similar values and thought processes. Promoting innovation in the value of free expression means being supportive of the policies that protect the freedom to create new technologies and applications, in addition to being able to share new ideas for innovation. Promoting innovation is important because freedom of speech is a fundamental human right that encourages creativity, critical thinking, and the exchange of ideas. These are all essential elements for cultural innovation. 

In today’s society, the promotion of innovation is most commonly in action. As individuals are given the freedom to create businesses, form organizations, and share ideas about existing processes, the United States is able to continually become more innovative in every aspect. As it is important to me to live in a community that is safe for the environment, innovation is necessary in doing so. The promotion of innovation helps develop more efficient technology to use renewable energy. Reducing food waste, decreasing deforestation, and habitat loss for agriculture are all possible through innovation. The value of promoting innovation emphasizes the importance of open dialogue, exchange of ideas, and the balance between individual rights and societal interests. 

https://scholarship.law.umn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1523&context=concomm

Top 5 Sources

 

Blog Post #1: My Top Five Sources Of News And Information

In today's society, information and news is most commonly spread through social media platforms. The younger generations are constantly seeing news on social media platforms as a majority of individuals spend a large portion of their time on their phones, mindlessly scrolling through social media. In addition to this, news is commonly spread through word of mouth, through family and friends. Today, there are so many sources, platforms, and news stations that may cause fake information to spread, so it is crucial that an individual is obtaining their information from a reliable source. 

1. ESPN

As I am a huge sports fan, a majority of the news I keep up with would include sports teams and players. ESPN is a reliable source for sports information, as the analysts on the show are constantly reviewing and staying updated on different sports daily. ESPN helps to keep me informed with articles that discuss player statistics, and projections for players careers. In addition to this, ESPN offers the ability to track who won or lost a game. I have used ESPN in the past to view a team's projections for an upcoming season, while also being able to stay up to date on who is eligible to play. ESPN is a valuable source to me as I am very interested in many sports, and it is accessible to me on multiple different platforms.

2. Family 

Growing up, I relied heavily on what my mother had to say about what's going on currently in the United States and other places around the world. As my mom has always stayed updated on political news, I rely heavily on her opinions and believe that many of my current political beliefs were motivated by her. In addition to this, my mother has stayed updated on what's going on in the economy, new medical and health research, and many other important topics. 

3. Instagram

On a regular basis I use instagram. Instagram is a reliable source for several topics, including sports, celebrities, and I am able to use instagram to stay updated on current events through my school. As a large majority of information as to what's going on at my school, and what's coming up is posted via Instagram, I find instagram very critical in keeping me involved. Instagram often runs advertisements for businesses, which allows me to view and stay updated on what's popular or trending. 

4. Youtube 

Growing up, I have used Youtube for entertainment purposes in my free time to stay informed on a variety of topics. Youtube provides videos that share information about current and past sports teams. In addition to this, I have used Youtube to learn concepts in school. Youtube provides updated videos about new scientific discoveries, alternative ways to learn math, and is also a great source for history, as most of the US's history can be found on Youtube. 

5. MLB Network

I have used the MLB Network to stay updated on baseball throughout high school and college. The MLB Network is a reliable source as it updates it's audience on signings, players who have been traded, and the statistics of wins and loses against other teams. In addition to this, the MLB Network provides videos of players so that fans can rewatch clips from games, or rewatch past games. The MLB Network is a reliable source for the schedule of teams, and provides non bias information throughout the major league baseball season.