illegals driving?

New York Governor Eliot Spitzer proposed a plan that will make it easier to obtain a New York drivers license. The proposed plan does not require future drivers to give their social security number or prove that they are eligible to get your drivers license. This means that almost anybody can get their driver’s license, especially illegal immigrants.

Spitzer’s plan is not only unpopular with New York residents, but nationwide as well. If his proposed plan goes into effect, New York will join 8 other states that allows illegal’s to drive. Currently, only Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, andWashington allow this.

What makes this plan so controversial?

Giving away license, like giving out candy during Halloween, can cause a lot of chaos. The first problem is voting. When you vote you can use your drivers license as a source of identification. If an illegal gets their drivers license they can vote and get away with it. If they do vote they would probably vote for a candidate that they will benefit from, instead of voting for the candidate that is best for the country.

The second problem is security reasons. Just imagine a terrorist from a foreign country, like Iraq, comes here illegally. The first thing they would probably do is get their drivers license. With the license, they could use it to get into our airports. This could make it difficult for law enforcement agencies to track them down. After 9/11, you want to make our airports safer not insecure.

Another problem is unemployment rate. If illegal’s can drive, this means that more business will hire them instead of legal residence. Businesses look forward to hire them because they can pay them less money than a legal citizen. Also business doesn’t have to pay them health care or give them any benefits. If they get caught, the business can say that, I didn’t know he is illegal. As a result of this, the middle-class and the poor suffer from this. There will be fewer jobs available for legal citizens and unemployment rates are going to increase.

For the legal citizens, they came here and had to go through the process. They had to study hard and pass a written test to become a US citizen. After becoming a citizen, they have to work hard to support themselves and their families. People that came here illegally have more of an advantage over legal citizens. Businesses are looking forward to hire them for lower wages. Illegals are taking away jobs from the legal citizens. This is unfair for the legal’s who worked so hard just to come here, only for an illegal to take it away.

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/09/21/illegal-immigrants-will-be-allowed-to-obtain-drivers-licenses/

Outrages Lawsuits

In America, when you do something wrong, on purpose or by accident, you get sued. It is the new trend now. People sue one another over the littlest things. It is like playing the lottery. To buy a lotto you have to pay what it is worth. When suing someone you pay lawyer fees and other expenses. Wining the case can result in millions of dollars, just like winning the jackpot. And like the lotto, there is a chance that you might not win.

Some of the cases that we hear today is almost like a joke. One particular case that was made famous is the McDonalds lawsuit. A women and her grandson went to McDonalds and bought coffee in the drive-thru. The women spilled her coffee and suffered 3rd degree burns. As result of what happened, she sued McDonalds and won the case. She received $2.9 million in damages. She won because the coffee is too hot.

Another case that I found interesting is the $67 million dollar pants. A man claimed that he took his pants to the cleaners, but he never got it back. Apparently, the cleaners lost the pants. So, like many Americans hoping to cash in from damages caused by others, he decided to sue the cleaners for $67 million. He claims that he has endured mental suffering, inconvenience and discomfort. He also said that he is unable to wear his favorite suit to work and he needs money to pay for car rentals, to drive to another cleaners. The store owner offered him $12,000 to compensate for the pants, but he rejected the offer. I wish my pants is worth 67 million dollars.

My personal favorite, is when a student and her mother sued the school after she failed her class project. The teacher failed her project because she handed in the project past the due date. The student claims that she was on a school trip and was unable to give it to her. The failing grade ruined her 4.5 GPA. Maybe if she handed in her project a day earlier, than there would be no problems. She also could give her project to a friend to hand it in.

The purpose of suing someone is to composite from damages, pain, and suffering one caused. Today people are suing and asking for too much money, especially “Mr. Fancy Pants”. These outrages lawsuits is hurting the economy. According to the US Chamber of Commerce, a law suit can put a small business out of business. Just to pay for lawyer fees can be a difficult task. Like “Mr. Fancy Pants” he can put the cleaners out of business even if he loses the case.

Suing has become so common that it changed our culture and how we live. Parks are now taking down swing sets, schools are not allowing kids to play tag, teachers refuse to break up a fight in school, or ice skating rinks making you sign papers that will not make them responsible if you get hurt. They fear that if something happens they will get sued.

http://library.findlaw.com/1999/Nov/1/129862.html
http://www.shortnews.com/start.cfm?id=60979
http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/Story?id=3121086&page=2

Robber Cleans Victim's House

Tiffany and Adrian McKinnon arrived home after spending a week away, only to find that there house has been robed. The robber made a huge mess in the house. Unfortunately for the robber, Tiffany and Adrian arrived home at the same time he was there. To make things worse for Tajuan Bullock (the robber), they had a gun.

Adrian held Bullock at gunpoint. He didn't what to do next. So the first thing he did is forced Bullock to clean the mess that he caused. He had to pick up the draws and cabinets that he threw on the floor. There were probably piles of clothing on the floor. Probably it took him a while to clean the place.

Shortly after, the police arrived to take him into custody. "The police officer laughed at him when he complained and said anybody else would have shot him dead." Luckily Bullock wasn't armed or else somebody would have got hurt or killed. Bullock faces burglary and theft charges. He is being held on a $30,000 bond.

If I was Adrian I would make the robber clean my house, do the laundry, cook dinner, clean the gutters, do my homework, and paint the house. After all this I probably would let him go, hopping that he learned his lesson.

http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/wireStory?id=3748903

Dancing Prisoners

When I think about prison, I think about how boring prison can be. After all you are spending most of your day in a cell. But in the Philippines, prisoners spend a good part of their day dancing.

In Cebu Detention and Rehabilitation Center, the prisoners are forced to dance. It all started when Garcia, the warden, first ordered the prisoners to march, but later the marching turned into dancing. Before the dancing program started, there was at least one violent incident a week. Now there hasn’t been a series incident since a year in a half. So I guess the dancing is working.

"Every able-bodied prisoner -- about 1,500 of them -- must dance" said Garcia. If they refuse to dance some of their privileges are taken away. The problem is does this violates their rights? Probably it is, he is forcing everyone to dance whether they like it or not. But it is working, so why not keep on doing it. Besides in prison your rights your rights are limited. Also laws for other countries may vary.

Some of the dances that they perform is Michael Jackson's hit video "Thriller", "Sister Act," "Jailhouse Rock" and "Radio Ga Ga." With the internet age people from around the world, can watch them dance on the internet. In youtube they received over 6 million views. So they practically became celebrities. There dancing is entertaining and funny.

Besides being internet celebrities, dancing helped them to become better people. The dancing makes them feel like celebrities instead of criminals. "Leo Suico, who's accused of mass murder, says dancing means "we don't think of bad things." Fighting back tears, he says the experience has taught him "love" -- pure and simple." So overall dancing makes the prisoners feel better about them selves. It teaches them self-esteem. Also they learn teamwork, at the same time they get exercise.

I believe that United States should follow the Philippines. It will help prisoners to feel like they are part of something. For those who don’t like to dance don’t commit a crime in the Philippines.


http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/09/04/dancing.prisoners/index.html#cnnSTCText

Hockey At It's Worse

Hockey is one of the most grueling sports in the world. I consider it to be one of the most violent sports, but an entertaining one as well. This unique sport has fights, brawls, big hits, career ending hits, cheap shots, and the long list of suspensions and injuries.

Here are some of the most recent dirty hits and fights that have caused national attention.
Recently Downie, from the Philadelphia Flyes, gave a big hit on Ottawa Senators player Dean McAmmand, giving him a major concussion. Downie left his feet at full speed, only to give a big hit on unsuspecting McAmmand head. The hit knocked him unconscious and he had to get carried out in a stretcher. Downie received a 20 game suspension.

Downie's hit is noting new to hockey. Earlier this year, NY Islanders, Chris Simon, decide to take his frustration out by slashing NY Ranger, Hollwegs in the head with his hockey stick. Luckily he was not seriously injured. Simon received a 25 game suspension.

Like Simon's slash, McSorley did a similar thing except the outcome was different. McSorley used his hockey stick like a weapon, and took a baseball like swing with his stick, to hit Brashear in the head. Brashear fell back first hitting his head on the ice. He was knock out unconscious and had to get carried out from the stretcher. McSorley was suspended for 23 games, and was found guilty of assault with a deadly weapon. He served 18 months in probation.

Finally, there is the Bertuzzi incident. Bertuzzi threw a sucker punch at Moore from behind and drove his head into the ice. He lied motionless on the ice until he left by stretcher. It also sparked a brawl on the ice. Bertuzzi was suspended for 20 games. Moore's hockey career was over after that incident.

Hockey is a unique sport. Players are allowed to fight. There are brawls that look like a war between rival gangs on ice. There are career ending hits and the cheap shots. There is the checking, hitting your opponent into the boards or into the bench, goalie fights, and my personal favorite players missing some of their teeth.

I believe that hockey players should be more severely punish for their actions. If we did something like these players did we would probably be in jail and banned from the league. The NHL should make harsher punishments and make a good example out of them.

Wood vs Aluminum Bats

New York City just passed a new law that bans the use of aluminum bats in all baseball games that is under the age of 18. The law was passed to cut down on injuries from the ball bouncing off the aluminum bat at a high rate of speed. The ball bounces off the bat so fast that fielders are unable to react. Now, baseball players in New York is only allowed to use wood bats.

Is there a difference between aluminum and wood bats?

The difference is enormous. The difference between the wood and aluminum is the "sweet spot". The "sweet spot" is the part of the bat that the ball bounces off at a faster speed. It is where you want to make contact with the ball. For the wood bat there is a smaller "sweet spot". For the aluminum bat there is a bigger "sweet spot". This increases the chance of the ball bouncing off a aluminum bat at a higher rate of speed. Therefore, the infielders, especially the pitcher, are unable react fast enough to the hard hit ball.

The wood bat can be just as dangerous as the aluminum. Sometimes the wood bat can split in half, and the other half can hurt someone. Or for the catcher, a splinter from the broken wood bat can hit his eye, causing series eye damage. Then there is the cost of buying a new bat. Every year I play about 50 games over the summer. I would probably have to buy 10 to 20 bats every summer, to replace a broken bat. Many people can't afford to keep replacing there bats. Where as the aluminum bat, it rarely breaks.

I personally support the new law. Lately there has been a lot of cases of kids getting hurt from the ball being bounced off the aluminum bat at high speeds. The game of baseball should be played the way it is supposed to be played. The professionals don't use aluminum, so why use it.

http://www.kettering.edu/~drussell/bats-new/alumwood.html

Metal Detector In High School?

On my senior year of high school, the police payed a surprise visit to my high school and they brought a metal detector with them. It is part of Bloombergs plan to crack down on students bringing cell phones and weapons to NYC public school. The detectors stayed in the school for a week. For me this was an awesome week, not that I supported the metal detectors, but seeing the reactions of other students is priceless.

Before the metal detectors came, all the teachers and deans were warning us all month. They even sent us a letter on what to do if the metal detectors come. It is suppose to be a surprise, but with all that waning, they took out the element of surprise. The only problem is when exactly will the detectors come.

Finally the metal detectors came. The cops were covering every entrance in the school and forced everyone to come in from one entrance. It's funny how I saw many students walking to school only to make a bow face when they saw that the detectors is here. Many of these students who turned around aren't bad people, but they just don't want to deal with the hassle of getting there cell phones taking away. Luckily my parents drove me to school, so I just gave them my cell phone.

I got through the detectors without any problems, but the students who did bring their cell phones or wearing a medal object had trouble getting through. Those who did had cell phones had to give it up or face punishment. The officers were also rude. They yelled at us and treated every student like prisoners.

Overall three students were caught with weapons, about two hundred had there cell phones confiscated,and six students received a citation for inciting a riot. Those who got caught with weapons must be high on drugs when they came to school because you can see the detectors before you come in. Maybe they just want to get caught. Only six students protested, but nobody is willing to protest early in the morning.

That week I felt very safe in the school. I support the use of the metal detector only if it is used to prevent weapons from entering the school. But having the metal detector to take away students cell phones is ridiculous. Cell phones should only be taken away if the cell phones is being used the wrong way or disrupts class. Metal detectors should only be used for schools with a high crime rate. Cell phones can be used for emergencies, especially if the student takes public transportation, where the school cannot provide them with protection.

Memories

People have all sought of memories. There are things we just remember for one day and is gone the next day. These memories can include remembering a conversation with a friend early in the day, and forget about it the next day. Then there the memories that last a life time. It can be your first home run, your wedding, or a death in the family.

But what makes our memories last a life time. People tend to remember something that means a lot to them. It can be an event that happened to us that made a significant impact on our lives. These memories can be the greatest moments in our lives such as; winning the championship or graduating college. Finally there is the other memories, the sad memories. The death of a family member can cause someone to recall that person's life.

Our memories can also be a powerful tool that can work against us. For example: On 9/11 many people witnessed the events that unfolded in New York. People saw horrific things. Many people watched love ones die. After that day, some people can't sleep because of their memories of what happen on that day. It is hard to forget such a horrific event, no matter how much you try to forget.