The Internet's Effect on the World

Shortly after Hosni Mubarak stepped down, an activist named Wael Ghonim spoke out on Wolf Blitzers show saying that he owed the revolution to Facebook. As one of the leaders of the protest on january 25, Ghonim said that he reached out to the youth of the country on Facebook to inspire the revolution. After years of oppression from the Egyptian government, the people rose up to fight it, and Facebook played a key role in developing the revolt. Although Ghonim insisted that he was not a hero because he was just sitting behind a computer, he said that the true heroes were the ones on the streets putting their lives on the line. The fact is that Facebook and the internet have taken over our world and anything can happen now. Revolutions can happen in an instant with the internet and the ability to communicate so quickly. The internet has shaped our world in ways that were never possible only a decade or two ago.

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Opposing Political Ads

This ad campaign is very misleading. Mitt Romney talks about how we are raising taxes and how we are in trillions of dollars in debt. The reality is, that Bush put us in to these trillions of dollars of debt. Bush got us into this mess and Obama had to come in and clean it up. The raised taxes are absolutely necessary. We have to raise taxes in order to get out of the debt.There's no way we can start making money unless we tax the American people and cut certain programs.
But, although misleading, its still effective. The comercial has a very official feel to it and makes the viewer think that Romney is the perfect candidate to be running the country.



This is a good ad. Although I am biased towards democrats I actually think this ad is better than the other. This ad interviews people from all different races and genders and gets their opinion. The opposing ad is very slanderous and makes a point to put down the opposition, while this ad just promotes the candidate. This ad has a positive message throughout and I feel is a better approach to a political campaign

The Problem With E-Commerce

   E-commerce taxation is a very difficult issue for states.The problem with e- commerce is that states cannot tax it. People selling items to each other on Ebay or Craigs List makes no money for the state, which is detrimental to their funding. With e- commerce on the rise, it will be interesting to see how they decide to tax it. They must tax it universally with the same amount so as their is not a gray area and a difference between different websites.The problem will also occur in border to border deals. Because all states have different percentages of taxation, it is hard to decide which states policy should be used. This issue will become more prevalent in our society as e- commerce becomes more and more popular.


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Brown V. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas

In 1954 in Topeka, Kansas a group of activists and lawyers in the NAACP decided to try to overturn Plessy V. Ferguson. They combined 4 different cases that all had to do with black and white integration in schools. A little black girl named Linda Brown had to walk miles to get to her all black school and lived a block away from the all white school. She was part of a test case that was taken to the Supreme Court. They argued that the schools were not "separate but equal" facilities and in the end won the case. the court ruled unanimously in their favor and ended segregation in schools. I agree with the courts decision. The fact that schools weren't integrated al the way until 1954 is astounding. America is a great country but we definitely have some bad spots in our history, and segregation is one of them. This decision, although it took a while to go into effect, overturned segregation and was monumental in the American Civil Rights movement.

Gideon V. Wainwright

In Florida in 1963, Clarence Earl Gideon was arrested for breaking into a pool hall with the intent to burglarize it. He wanted a court appointed attorney, but was refused because the crime was not considered a capital offense. Gideon, under his own defense, pleaded not guilty but was found guilty. Later, from prison, Gideon asked to appeal his case with a petition called "in forma pauperis" and the court accepted the appeal and appointed him an attorney. Gideon took the case to the Supreme Court. The court ruled in favor of Gideon and overturned the previous decision Betts V. Brady. I agree with this decision because everyone has the right to an attorney. The court said that even though the defense may be able to prepare a perfect argument, their right to an attorney is sustained. This case was monumental in establishing the right to an attorney and the 14th Amendment.


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Miranda V. Arizona

The case debated in Miranda V. Arizona involved various cases that culminated under the same idea. The title case though, involved a man named Ernesto Miranda who had been arrested in Arizona under charges of rape and kidnapping. He was not informed of his right to remain silent or his right to an attorney. After a long period of interrogation, Miranda signed a confession and was found guilty. Miranda took his case to the Supreme Court citing the 5th Amendment saying that, "no person shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself." The Chief Justice Earl Warren recognized the fact that people go through tremendous psychological pressure in the interrogation room, and that this could affect the rational judgement of a person under that amount of pressure. Warren also explained that Miranda must be informed of all of his rights and in fat, because he was not the case had to be thrown out. The court ruled 5 to 4 in favor of Miranda. I agree with the court on this decision. A person must be made known their rights no matter how bad of a crime they have committed. As we have seen this year, a some people admit t crimes they haven't even committed because of the pressure of interrogation. This case was very important in establishing people's rights and stabilizing the 5th Amendment.


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Regents of the University of California V. Bakke

In 1978 Alan Bakke, a white student applying to the medical school of UC Davis, was rejected admission. He was not admitted to the school even though he had better test scores than the minority students applying. The minority students had a different criteria for admission than white students. After getting rejected from the medical school, Bakke sued the college. He took the case to the Supreme Court citing a violation of the 14th Amendment with equal protection under the law. The court sided with Bakke in a 5 to 4 decision. They ruled that the separate criteria was a violation of the 14th Amendment. I think the court made the right decision in this case. Just because someone is of a different ethnicity doesn't mean they should be held at different standards. That seems racist in itself to think that a person of color would be held at a lower standard and be more easily admitted to a college. This decision was the predecessor to affirmative action which is being heavily debated now.


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