Blog Post #3: The First Amendment

 Blog Post #3

The First Amendment gives us the six basic freedoms. These six freedoms are freedom from religion, freedom of religion, free speech, press, assembly, and petition. Having the First Amendment is important because it sets rules for the government to not have too much control over the people. Having this Amendment is important because it protects our rights as American citizens, but a recent event on January 6th, many people stormed that United States Capital after the defeat of President Donald Trump in the 2020 election cycle.

When looking at the riot on the US capital, it began as something that was similar to a  peaceful protest. This would fall under the First Amendment that is protected by speech, assembly, and petition. These people who were outside protesting all were wearing Trump merchandise and also were holding up Trump flags. The people at the Capital were there because they were upset with the outcome of the election. Stated in an article by The New York Times; this was a "rally to save America." At first what was going on at the Capital was protected by the First Amendment, but once people started to break into the U.S. Capital and become violent it took away the freedom protected by the First Amendment. 

Another occurrence that happened during the storm of the Capital that is questionable in correlation with our First Amendment rights, is when Donald Trump posted a video to Twitter. Donald Trump posted a video telling the people who were rioting at the Capital to go home and that this needed to end. Twitter took down the video Trump posted then proceeded to ban his account. Having Twitter ban Trump's account is being discussed of whether it goes again free speech. Although Twitter is a private owned company, the same rules we have towards the U.S. government and having free speech should be allowed on social media platforms. Having the First Amendment is important to protect us from our basic freedoms from government; there is a lot of discussion how and what they actually protect us from. 

Blog Post #2: The Supreme Court

 Blog Post #2

The Supreme Court, which was founded in March of 1789, is the most powerful court in the United States. The Supreme Court was formally made up of six members but over the years it has changed to become nine. These nine members have the responsibility of upholding the rule of the law when determining the outcome of a case. When there is an opening, a Justice is elected by the President at that time. The Supreme Court Justices get an average of 7,000 cases a year but only 100 cases are actually considered. Many of the Supreme Court Justices have their own opinions about any case they receive, but the nine of them have to come to an agreement about what will be the outcome of any given case will be within a few days of hearing both sides. After that, one of the nine judges writes an opinion on all of their behalves with the first draft typically taking four weeks to write. The opinion can not be submitted until all nine judges are satisfied meaning lots of revisions usually take place. 

Over the long history of the Supreme Court many decisions have been made that have benefited the United States in both the short and long term. One case that stands out to me is Brown vs. Board of Education. This case which happened in the year 1954, ended racial segregation in public schools. The Court ruled that separation of white and black students in school was unconstitutional. This was a very significant case that was passed because it was able to put an end to segregation in school. Brown vs. Board of Education is still upheld in todays society. Having the Supreme Court is an important branch of the government, to make sure everyones civil liberties are protected. 

Blog Post #1: News and Information Sources

 Blog Post #1 

Source #1: Snapchat 

Although the app Snapchat may be controversial, some may argue that it can be used as a news source. There is one specific page I follow on Snapchat to see what is going on and I find it to be reputable when comparing to other news sources. This is a Snapchat original and they are known as Stayed Tuned. Stayed Tuned is run by NBC and this page that I follow explains and updates its followers what is going on in the news on a day-to-day basis. This page posts up to two times a day and sometimes even more when something big is going on in the news. I find this page that I follow on Snapchat, not only really interesting but also one of my main sources of news and information with everything that goes on in the world. 

Source #2: TikTok

When I am scrolling throughout TikTok, I have run into more and more pages that deal with what is going on in the news that day. This then leads me to watch most of that page to learn new information and get new insight on the news that I may have missed. Although when I originally downloaded TikTok it would not have been to watch the news and learn information about what is going on around the world, I find watching pages that are informing the public of this information really beneficial. TikTok, like Snapchat, may be controversial but is also one of the bigger sources I get my news and information from. 

Source #3: YouTube

Ever so often I tend to go onto YouTube and look up what is going on in the news. Doing this allows me to watch short videos of what is going on in todays society. Having Youtube to just quickly look up and learn new information has been really beneficial to stay in tuned with the news and media. I tend to use YouTube as a source to watch news when I hear about something going on that I want to learn more about.

Source #4: Google 

Having Google allows me at anytime and anywhere to look up what is going on in the news. With the age of smart phones, Google and other search engines are growing rapidly. This serves as both a positive and negative. A positive would be that Google provides a news source at my finger tips. It allows for quick, easy, and accessible news in the push of button on my personal smart phone. Although, it can also serve as a negative source of news. Because Google is a search engine, it may show me some bias sources. As long as I am aware that some news articles may serve as "click bait" or be biased, using Google serves as a beneficial information source. 

Source #5: Newsday

Newsday is a local news source for me in Long Island, New York. It also serves as a news source for residents of New York City. Newdays provides both local and national news. Watching Newsday gives me the ability to watch localized news, that is current and interesting topics.