A phone call for the history books

Every night I sit in the couch relax and watch some TV. As I sit there sometimes the phone would ring. Many times it is telemarketers, sometimes it would be someone who got the wrong number, and once in while it would be someone who is playing a prank call. For a local pizza restaurant, a prank call is probably as common as people ordering pizza. Some of the prank calls received is probably someone ordering a pie and giving the restaurant a false address.

For Vifill Atlason, a 16 year old in Iceland, took the prank call scheme to a whole new level. He called President Bush’s private telephone line in the White House and pretended to be the President of Iceland. He requested a private meeting with Bush. Unfortunately for Atlason he didn’t get the chance to speak with Bush. The call was passed through several people who asked him questions about Iceland’s president.

Later the police showed up at his house and took him in for questioning. He was probably treated as if he were a spy. They even went as far as threatening him that he will not be allowed in the U.S. and he will be placed in the no-fly list. Luckily he wasn’t tortured or placed in Guantanamo’s Bay.

In Ireland, Bush isn’t too popular with the people there. Atlason is considered a hero in Ireland. It is a prank call that will be put down in the history books. He may be a hero in Ireland, but a foe for the U.S. government. Now that he is probably banned from entering the U.S, the only he can get in is sneaking in from the Mexican or Canadian borders.

If I knew Bush’s private phone number I would probably call him and say oops wrong number. Or maybe I might give the number to telemarketers, so that they can call him and annoy him.

What would you do if you had Bush’s private phone number?

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Story?id=3973925&page=2

Down With Homework!!!

Life for a child is suppose to be all fun and games. It is a time that no matter what you do, you can get away with it. It is a time where you have little responsibilities and almost nothing to worry about. You are still young and have a lot more to learn.

Today, as a child, fun and games are over once you start school. With the pressure of standardized testing and getting good grades to get into a good school, the pressure is intense for students. For many kids it is almost impossible to go out and have fun because they are too busy studying. To make things worse, teachers from each class piles tons of homework at you.

Peter Vallone Jr., a New York City council member and also a father of two daughters, proposed a plan that will limit the amount of homework teachers can give. He propose 2 ½ hours of homework a day.

His plan is a great idea. If the kids are spending most of the time sitting behind a desk doing homework, then they wont be able to go out and exercise. As a result, more kids will become obese. By giving less homework, kids would have more time to play or join a sports team. For the parents who sit and help their kids with their homework, will now have more free time. They can use the time to do more things as a family.

Sometimes getting too much of something can be a bad thing. Like staying out in the sun for long time can cause sunburn. The same thing applies for homework, the more homework you get, the less leisure time you have and weight problems start to become a issue.

For Howyda Othman and her 7 year old daughter, the stress of doing homework reached the boiling point when Howyda attacked her daughter for not doing her homework. She threw books at her 7 year old daughter and she bit her in the arm. This proves that there is a lot of pressure for doing homework. For Howyda’s 7 year old daughter she has to face a failing grade from the school and a beating of a life time from her mother.

From experience too much homework can be a bad thing. From kindergarten to 8th grade I attended a private school. The school treated us like college students. They gave us homework assignments that took almost the whole day to complete. For me it felt like I had 2 full time jobs. The first job is doing work in school and the second job is doing homework after school. Despite all the homework my grades weren’t the greatest. I was in the border line between failing and passing. Because of all the homework I lost my focus and I wasn’t motivated in my work. When doing my homework I was half a sleep, so I pretty much didn’t know what I was doing. For high school I decided to go to a public school. It was a great choice. They gave the right amount of homework, not too much and too little. I had plenty of time to enjoy life. I even had time to join the baseball team which made me a happier person and more motivated to do well in school. My grade skyrocketed from barley passing to a 90 average in high school.

I would love to see this plan go into effect. If I had kids (luckily I don’t), I would hate to be sitting at home for the whole day helping them finish their homework. I would rather see my kids athletic and smart, not fat and depress from all the homework. Hopefully this plan gets approved and it will be even more better if the plan includes college students.

http://www.nysun.com/article/67144
http://www.silive.com/news/advance/index.ssf?/base/news/1197031539287990.xml&coll=1

The Unlucky Winner

You are more likely to get struck by lightning then winning the lotto. This expression may be not so true for Timothy Elliott who struck gold when he won $1 million jackpot. He can use this money to pay his bills, buy a new car, take a vacation, buy a house, or other things that you want to do.

At the time he won the lotto he is probably thinking that he is the luckiest man in the world, but in reality his luck is about to run out. Before he bought the winning ticket he was arrested for robbing a bank in 2006. He was sentence for five years in probation.

What’s the big deal about winning the lotto?
Under his probation he is not allowed is not allowed to gamble. This means he is not allowed to go to casinos or buy a lotto in a local store. So for Timothy his winning ticket is a ticket to prison.

Personally I feel that the authorities should let him go. He probably robed the bank because he needed the money. This time he won the fairly and didn’t hurt anyone in the process. The money that he won can change his life around. He probably won’t rob people anymore since he already has money. Besides it is hard to find a job once you have been convicted of a crime.

From the authority’s point of view, I would give him no special treatment. He violated his probation and deserves to go to prison. Even if he didn’t win he should be punish just for buying the ticket. If he gambles a lot he could lose a lot of money and be in debt. If he’s in debt, he might go and rob a bank to get some money.

Look in the bright side; they can use the $1 million jackpot to pay for his stay in prison.


http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1120ap_odd_robber_lottery_winner.html

Students and Guns

A group of 8,000 students propose a plan that students and teachers should be allowed to bring a gun to college campuses. This plan was created in the wake of the Virginia Tech shooting, where 32 people were shot dead. If students and teachers are allowed to carry a weapon, then they could easily defend themselves from the gunman.

I believe that this is a terrible idea. Allowing students to carry a gun to school can end in a disaster. Here are some scenarios that can happen on campus if a student is allowed to bring a gun to school.

A female and a male student are in a relationship. They both go to the same school. The female student "dumps" the male student. The angry male student, who is carrying a gun and is allowed to, may decide to take his anger out or get revenge, and shoot the female student and couple of other innocent students.

Another scenario that can happen on campus is a student that is facing academic and social pressure or problems. The student may be experimenting with drugs and alcohol. When a student is drunk or high on drugs, the student may not be thinking straight. He may pull out his gun and start shooting people. In school campus everyone is living in close quarters, which means a gunman can easily hunt down a lot of students in one area.

These scenarios are things that can possibly happen if students are allowed to bring guns on campus. Imagine there is a gunman in campus. A gunman enters the campus and start shooting people. People who do have guns take out their guns and start shooting at the gunman. At the mist of the gunfight confusion erupts. Distinguishing the good guys from the bad guy becomes impossible. Then a wild shootout begins because one guy with the gun thinks that the other guy with the gun is the shooter. It is like every man for them self. When the police come they will start shooting students that do have a gun. They can accidentally shoot the wrong person or the student that was just defending himself.

In the other hand I believe that some professors should be allowed to carry a gun. Professors tend to be more stable and are less likely to start a school shooting. They can provide safety for the class and others in the area. They can end the guns men reign of terror before it starts.

Besides if a student becomes uncooperative in class, the professor can hold him at gun point, then he will become cooperative.

http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/WireStory?id=3896270&page=2

Elder Drivers

Yesterday as I was driving along the highway, there was a car in front of me going about 45 miles per hour. The car started to swerve in his lane and almost side swiped a car in the other lane. No the driver is not drunk or talking in the cell phone, but the driver is old, too old to be driving.

Drivers that are 65 years old and older are accident prone. On July 16 2003 an 87 year old man mistakenly hit the gas pedal instead of the breaks. The car exceeded 60 miles per hour and plowed through a crowded farmers market. The 2 ton car drove two in a half blocks, killing 10 people and injuring over 70 people.

This incident is noting new. Drivers who are 75 to 84 years old 3 drivers are killed for every 100 million miles driven, which is equal to the death rate of teen drivers. Drivers that are 85 years old and older are nearly 4 times more likely to get into a car accident than teens are(National Center of Statistics and Analysis).

As you age your body starts to fail. When your body fails, so does your ability to drive. It takes a longer period of time for an elder to react to danger. Their ability to see signs, people crossing the street, and seeing at night becomes more difficult. Some elders are starting to become confuse or showing early signs of Alzheimer’s . Also their ability to hear sirens or other things starts to go.

But not all old drivers fit the description. There are some elders who are still capable of driving. It will be unfair to take away their license simply because of their age. To find out who is capable of driving and who are not capable of driving, there should be a yearly drivers test. The drivers test can distinguish who is fit to drive and who are not. Also there should be an annual medical test. They should be tested on their ability to hear, see, and their state of mind. This plan will help save lives and will take people who are not capable of driving from being behind the wheel.

Police Camera

In England the police are trying out a new light weight video camera that can be places on the side of the hat. This new camera can capture everything that the officer sees and hear. It can capture wild scenes such as shootouts, police chase, a fight between officers, and crucial evidence that can be used in court.

I personality believe that the new light weight camera is a good idea. It can be helpful in capturing evidence for the court. Let’s say that a cop is making an arrest and the suspect started to resist. The officer can charge him with resisting arrest, but there is no evidence. The suspect and the officer can play the "he said and she said" game. With the camera all they have to do is replay the video and the truth will be revealed.

Besides capturing evidence and finding out the truth, it can be used as a deterrent. It can prevent a suspect from acting up. If you know that you are being recorded by a video camera, I doubt it that you want to fight the officer or act up in front of the camera. It is like trying to talk your way out of a crime that was caught on camera.

The best part of the camera is we can put some of the wild scenes that were captured by the camera on TV. In the TV show "cops" they have a camera crew following the police officers. But the camera crew on the show "cops" can't be everywhere at once. With the new camera we can use it to capture everything that the officers see any where at any time. If an officer saw something funny, or something scary, it can be put on TV so that the world can watch.

The purpose of the camera is not really for entertainment, but to capture evidence. Besides capturing evidence it will encourage the officers to do a better job. If they are bad cops the camera is there to show it that he is a bad cop. It encourages officers to show respect to others, and make them think twice before doing something bad or something that they will regret.Currently this camera is an experiment. I hope that this camera will become a reality and be used by every officer here in America.

A protest gone too far

For many parents their worst nightmare is to live long enough to see their own children die. For the Snyder family, this nightmare came true when their son died in Iraq in the March of 2006. As they morn for their sons death, a group of people from Westboro Baptist Church disrupted the peaceful funeral by shouting and holding signs of hatred. It is a protest in the middle of a funeral where protesters are yelling and holding signs that say “Thank God for dead soldiers” and “God hates fags”.

This is noting new for families that are morning for their sons who died in Iraq. This group has protested in hundreds of funerals for slain soldiers. They not only got the attention of the families but national attention as well. The majority of the population disapprove what they are doing. It even caused heated debates on CNN.

As a result of the protest the Snyder sued the Westboro Baptist Church for emotional damages that they caused to family and friends; and invasion of privacy. The jury awarded the Snyder family over $11 million for the damages that the protesters have cause.

The church members testified they are following their religious beliefs by spreading the message that soldiers are dying because the nation is too tolerant of homosexuality. They also say that the 1st amendment gives them the right of free speech and the right to protest.

They do have the right to protest and the right of free speech , but the right is not absolute. In the case Schenck v. United States, 249 U.S. 47, 39 S.Ct. 247, 63 L.Ed.2d. (1919) the Supreme Court limited the freedom of speech. This case made it illegal for someone to yell “fire” in a crowded movie theater because there is a “clear and present danger”. For the protestors of the Westboro Baptist Church, they are yelling words that can cause a major conflict between the protestors and the family. It can result in fighting, riots, or people getting killed. It can also cause emotional injuries to people who are going through difficult times.

The protesters are also violating the right of privacy. The funeral is suppose to be a private service for the family. A funeral is for families and friends, not for someone to preach their views of hatred. This is almost like going to a little kids birthday party not to celebrate, but to protest the war in Iraq. A party is time to celebrate and a funeral is a time to morn. A protest should be done without disrupting someone’s privacy.

A new group called “Patriot Guard Riders” was created because of what was going on. Their job is to keep protestors away from the funeral. They have been a real help to grieving families. They not only keep the protestors out, but they play patriotic music to drown out the cruel words of the protestors and they block their signs by putting up the American flag in front of the protestors. They are the heroes and should be recognized for it.

Laws should be passed that prohibits people from protesting during funerals. The people of Westboro Baptist church should be ashamed of themselves. I hope that other families who have been terrorized by this group, will follow Snyder’s family and sue them for the emotional damage that they have caused. It is not for the money but to make them stop so that it wont happen again. Something has to be done about them. If these people don’t like the American policies then protest in front of a government building, not during a funeral for a slain soldier. If you still don’t like the country then get out to make room for the millions who wants to be an American.