Blog Post #3: The Supreme Court

The U.S. Government is made up of three different branches, the Judicial, Legislative, and Executive branch. The Legislative branch is responsible for writing the laws, the Executive branch enforces the laws, and the Judicial branch interprets the laws, deciding whether they are constitutional or not. Within the Executive branch is the highest court, the Supreme court making it the most important branch in our government system. After reading the History Channel article, I not only furthered my education on the responsibilities of the Supreme Court, but I also learned the history of how it came to be.

The creation of how the Supreme Court became what it is now is astonishing. When creating the Supreme Court, it was essential to take everything into careful consideration because the decisions made in the Supreme Court have a huge impact on our overall society. I learned that although the Supreme Court was established in 1789, the first meeting was on February 2, 1790, and their first real case was on August 3, 1791, debating a financial disagreement between a farmer and a family. This case was called West v. Barnes. Along with this, I learned that President George Washington stated that the Supreme Court would contain a total of 6 justices, also known as members. These 6 members would be required to serve on the court until either they died or retired.

Within the History Channels article, I also learned numerous facts about past judicial officers, Presidents, and chief of justice. The highest-rated judicial officer within our office is the chief of justice. Currently, our chief of justice is a man named John G. Roberts Jr., who is only the 17th person to be in this position. I discovered that the overall role of the chief is to preside over the Supreme Court in public sessions, hear arguments in private sessions, and preside over possible trials of impeachment against the President of the United States.

The most important takeaway point about the Supreme Court is that although many citizens and government members believe in tradition, it is important to update possible bills when necessary. Not only has our society changed, but so have many people's beliefs, along with religions evolving, and new laws have been created. It is important that our bills stay traditional to an extent; however, it is also essential to modernize them to the current day and age. 

When reading the History Channels article, I was very surprised to learn that a man named Marshall was not only the fourth chief justice to ever serve in the position, but he also served for over 34 years, breaking a record for being the longest chief justice to ever serve in the position. I was also very surprised to find out that although the supreme court was established in 1789, there have only been a total of 115 Justices that have served on the Supreme Court as of June 2022. This not only shows the exclusivity of who they allow to serve for our country, but it also shows the importance and the weight the Supreme Court holds.

Before reading this article, I did not know much about the Supreme Court besides the fact that it was the highest federal court in the country and that it had the ultimate jurisdiction over all laws within the United States. This video changed how I looked at the Supreme Court because it showed me the importance this court holds in our justice system. It also made me appreciate the work, time, effort and thought our justices and chief of justice put into our bills to ensure societal balance. The Supreme Court holds a lot of power, and with this much power comes responsibility, and with responsibility comes dependence. We depend on the Supreme Court to check the actions of the other 2 branches of our government to ensure that the laws being made are constitutional. Without these justices, our world would be a mess; half of the citizens in the U.S. would disagree on essentially everything, and the other half would contain extremely too much power. Overall, our U.S government is held in balance because of the Supreme Court

Blog Post #2: Is "privacy" even real?

 

Is privacy even real, and if so, is anything actually private? Based on Merriam-Webster, privacy is the quality or state of being apart from a company or observation. However, most of us only get the chance to experience life with the government being a watchdog looking over us. Nothing is private; every post you make on the internet, any phone call you receive, or even anytime you get in a car and drive somewhere, with the government's updated technology, nothing goes unnoticed. Platforms such as Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook make it extremely easy for not only our government but also other governments, hackers, criminals, stalkers, or foreign intelligence units to gather and analyze data on each and every one of us. 

Everything is permanent; whether that is a tattoo your draw on your body with ink or a picture you post on Instagram, nothing goes away. In the Ted talk  "Your Online Life, Permanent as a Tattoo" by Juan Enriquez, he explained what an electronic tattoo is. An electronic tattoo is when somebody consciously chooses to join any social media platform, such as Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or Snapchat. It's the choice to become immoral; electronic tattoos will live far longer than any of us because even when we pass, the history we leave on social media remains. Today's technology has become so advanced that anybody, anywhere, can take a picture of you, download your name, and get all your records before even speaking a word to you; that's scary! As a college student, safety is always on my parent's minds; whether I am on campus or off campus with my friends, making sure I am safe is always a priority; however, with today's technology, that makes it extremely difficult. The fact that the government can listen in on personal doctors' calls with loved ones or calls with friends not only becomes an invasion of one's privacy but also causes people we don't even know to make prior judgments about us as individuals without getting to know us.

Our phones and the variety of networks we use to carry out our calls have been wired for surveillance before we, as citizens, could even purchase them. This means that when you use your phone to make a phone call, somebody, whether that be our government, a different government, a foreign intelligence service, a hacker, a criminal, a stalker, or anybody who knows how to break into a surveillance system could be listening to your conversation. Due to the danger this puts American citizens in, the government needs to take charge. 

In the video "How Revenge Porn Turns Lives Upside Down," Dairteh Chisolm talks about her invasion of privacy story and how she not only spent thousands of dollars and numerous months fighting for justice but how the US government did nothing to help her. It's crazy to me that this was even a case; those pictures should have immediately been taken down, and she should have been instantly helped, but our government has no laws protecting either men or women against these types of offenses. Although the government has 1 federal bill pending that would protect victims and punish perpetrators in these types of scenarios, in order to protect individual privacy, the government needs to first educate citizens on the harm these social media platforms are causing. Still, they need to pass more laws that ensure both privacy and protection from invasions of privacy. Although the government wants to be involved in our lives as a way to "protect" one another, they need to realize when it comes to protection, it's give and take. You need to give each individual the privacy they deserve, even if that makes their job harder when it comes to stopping invaders and criminals.

Not only can the government take action to protect us from possible invasions of privacy, but we can take action too. Companies such as Apple, WhatsApp, and other tech companies have started encrypting their platforms to block the government and other sources from being able to see what you are doing. Platforms such as Facetime, IMessage, and WhatsApp, which is now owned by Facebook, are extremely hard to wiretap, making them three of the safest and most secure platforms to use without being watched. Although the government is not happy with the fact that they do not have access past these encryptions; what they don't realize is that when you open the door for the government to see what you are doing, you are also opening a backdoor through which you have no control in who is going to walk through. It is extremely important that we as citizens push for others to use these encrypted tools, not because they are easy, but because they are a way for us to protect ourselves and our privacy.

According to Andy's theory, "in the future, everybody will be world-famous for fifteen minutes," however, according to Juan Enriquez, "in the future, you can only be anonymous for fifteen minutes."

Blog Post #1: Top 5 News Sources

Media is a communication tool used to deliver information. The three most common ways to gather today's media are through news, social, and web-based media. In today's age, we are constantly introduced to various viewpoints, so diversifying and understanding different perspectives within the media is essential. Similarly to many people my age, I am constantly checking my phone for the most recent update on the latest news. The top 5 news sources I gather my information from are Apple News, CNN, Instagram, NBC News, and ESPN.

 

Apple News is my favorite place to gather news and educate myself on today's top stories. The fact that this app is already downloaded onto my phone and headlines each day's top stories makes the convenience of this app one of my top 5 news sources. This app shows political stories, sports, fashion, health, environment, entertainment, and so much more. This helps to diversify my news intake so I don't just learn about things I may be interested in but also essential things going on around the world. Besides the convenience of this app being one swipe away, I also get daily notifications keeping me up to date on the latest news.

Instagram is one of the most used platforms used worldwide. Over 80 million posts are shared every day. Like most other people on the app, I use this source to keep in touch with different family members, friends, and acquaintances worldwide. Not only is Instagram a great way to stay in contact with people, but it's also a way to keep updated on different celebrities, sports, and politics. Although this source may be more biased than others, it does an excellent job of transforming an everyday social media platform into a way to share critical political stories, sports information, and event advertisements. Instagram is unique compared to other news sources because each person's feed is designed by an algorithm personalized specifically to what Instagram thinks the user will be interested in. 

NBC News is not only a great platform to stay up to date on today's current events, but it is also one of the oldest television platforms, dating all the way back to 1944. Not only is NBC found on television, but it's also assessable in live video coverage, through national and international radio, on an app on your phone, through journalism, commentary, and local updates. Due to NBC being one of the oldest media platforms, it is also one of the most reliable. They update their consumer on political, social, and economic debates worldwide. The element that tends to catch the attention of young viewers is that they post the highlighted stories of the day, so instead of scrolling through a news source and looking for a story that may pique your interest, NBC provides you with the most popular headlines.

ESPN, which stands for Entertainment Sports Network, is an international news outlet where you can watch sports, talk shows, entertainment, and the sports center. Along with being on television, ESPN news is available on an app and in various magazines. Entertainment Sports Network has the reputation of being the fastest and most reliable sports media source to stay updated on all the major professional leagues: baseball, football, hockey, and basketball.  ESPN has been a part of my life since as far back as I can remember. I grew up watching Saturday night football with my dad, having cookouts with friends and family while watching the sports center, and even going to sports bars specifically to watch ESPN. This news source is not only one of the most entertaining platforms for viewers of all ages, but it is also one that has been in my life forever, which is why it is one of my favorites.

CNN is one of the best live coverage news sources that relay the hottest and most popular reports on news ranging from international, political, business, entertainment, sports, health, weather coverage, and in-depth interviews. Although I explained before how I enjoy the other news sources for their easy access to the highlighted stories, once in a while I enjoy sitting down and updating myself on not only the hottest news but the latest news. CNN is the number one online news destination, not only proving its authenticity but also proving its commitment to its consumers. Due to the vast diversity of information CNN provides, it is easy to stay up to date on what is happening worldwide. They offer a more relaxed way of learning; by watching, listening, and engaging with live interviews, viewers can learn essential news while also enjoying themselves.