Too Late to Abort?

There is a law in Nebraska being placed that says that women cannot have an abortion after 20 weeks due to the fact that this when the fetus can feel pain. So if a woman feels that she cannot support a child than she cannot abort because of this law. Forcing a woman to bare and give birth to a child that she does not wish to have is undeniably unconstitutional. So what can be done to make this law not go into effect?
The reason the law is being made is because at this point of gestation the fetus can feel pain. The first issue that needs to be reviewed is the question “Can a fetus survive out of the womb at 20 weeks?” In some extreme cases there have been babies born as early as just over 22 weeks. Though a baby can survive that early in gestation, how will the baby’s medical problem affect the mother’s life? These things have to be taken into consideration when laws like this are created.
An issue with creating a law that restricts someone from having an abortion after 20 weeks is if the parent is a teenage mother. Sometime teens are afraid to let their parents know that they are pregnant or the teen herself may not even realize it. This would be a reason why the teen would wait so late to get an abortion. According to statistics 35 percent of pregnant teenagers have an abortion. Letting this law pass will make it that much harder for these young ladies and the child that they are forced to raise. Not only does this ruin the life of this teenager, it also puts the life of the baby at risk as well. There are some cases with parents that are so overwhelmed with taking care of an infant that the kill the baby. According to a study on infant homicide, More than 80 percent of infant homicides are considered to be fatal child abuse and one of the most important risk factors was that the mother was under the age of 19. People may be pro-life, but forcing a teen to be a mother may end an infant’s life more violently than an abortion.
According to the Supreme Court decision on Roe vs. Wade, the Due Process Clause stating a right to privacy ruled that all state and federal laws outlawing abortion were unconstitutional. Since then states have been trying to been their way around this decision. Though people may not like it is true that if a doctor tells a woman she cannot have an abortion that doctor is violating that woman’s right as an American to the privacy, welfare, happiness of her life. So in that affect, making any abortion law, pro-life or not, is not a law made for justice. It is made for a Judeo-Christian society that believes there should be no abortions. There are laws made that say that a woman cannot get an abortion, and the laws are passes. This is a problem that this nation must address.

What Should America Do About China?

In recent years the United States and China haven’t exactly been on the best of terms. The two powerhouse countries have had their many issues involving the economy. President Obama and many economic analysts believe that China is under-valuing the country’s currency. This makes the China’s products unfairly cheap and consequently puts countries into deficits with China. Something should be done about this problem. America and other countries involved in trade with China should get together and figure out a way to force China to start appreciating the value of the country’s currency.

Since 2008 America has been in a recession that has changed the lives of many Americans. People have lost jobs, years of hard work, and monumental amounts of money. As recently as February the trade deficit was reported at over 40 billion. Some of the main problems with this economy is its dependency on outside sources and how much America owes to other countries. Our main problem is China. Not only is China our largest importer, we are in a deficit deeper with them than we are with any other country.

China is making a tremendous mess with the undervaluing of the country’s currency. America, along with other counties, feels that it is time for change to start appreciating the value of their currency. Many believe that China’s manipulation of currency has helped the country get to how powerful it is economically. China, on the other hand, is upset that the leaders are being viewed as currency manipulators because they actually believe the currency is valued at a fair price. America believes that if China reevaluates the country’s currency that the US trade deficit would decrease tremendously because the US owes China more that the country owes any other country. The question then becomes “How do you get China to revalue the country’s currency?”

You can only force someone’s hand so much. The United States cannot be so quick to set up public arguments with Chinese officials or meetings with foes of China that may bring a since of violence instead. What America, and other countries that have business with China, need to do is fight China with brains. What needs to happen is that China needs to be sanctioned and tariffs need to be placed on Chinese goods in order to force the country to comply with countries it is in business with. Blogger Michael Pettis discusses how the US raising wages on China would be a good thing and that it is a necessary risk that must be taken. There are also some negative aspects of this strategy. China has found ways to retaliate against countries, including the United States, by imposing tariffs on those countries. Also, China could be rash and drop partnerships all together. For example, because Obama began to push China too hard they began to consider dropping some U.S. companies.

The US economy is at a rough point now but is reportedly getting better. If we want to have this problem solved with China we need to make more moves, with the help of other countries, to make sure that China follows suit and reevaluates the country’s currency. Once that currency is properly valued then not only will the US lose a chunk of its deficit, but many other countries would benefit by having a decreased surplus. This can happen if China is willing to work with the rest of the world.

The Importance of Spreadsheets.

Spreadsheets are very important in the world that we live in today. Companies use it to gain data on competition and organize things in their own office. Spreadsheets are good for informational purposes and at a journalistic stand point one would find Spreadsheets vital to the story that one is working on.

I did research on the violent crime rate in Detroit from 1985 to 1997. From the data ascertained there were many numbers that really jump out at you. In 1991 and 1992 one out of every 37 people experienced a violent crime. The average rate for people who experienced a violent crime from 85 to 97 was one out of every 43 people. The total crime, which includes murder or manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault, averaged out to 23,671 violent crimes per year. The two most frequently reported crimes were robbery averaging in at 10,244 per year and Aggravated assault coming in first averaging 11,941 per year. One thing I found very interesting was depleting population rate of the city. In 1985 the population of Detroit was at a healthy 1,090,581; and once reaching its high of 1,096,947 in ’86. But in the year 2007 the population was 860,971, a population decrease of approximately 21 percent. Staggering numbers to say the least.

This information is vital from a journalistic stand point because one has so many different numbers to use which can help provide or point about the story. It is also important in the case of the security of the people of the city of Detroit and people that plan to move there. With this type of information at your disposal you can possibly save your self from being a victim on crimes or because of the population decreasing rate you probably would second guess moving there in the first place.

Why FOIA is important

The Freedom of Information Act is one of the most vital tools in journalism and gaining information to things in our country that we have the right to be informed of. If FOIA was not put in place the government could hide anything from the American people and there would be nothing that anyone could do about it. Because of FOIA, civilians can obtain information on things such as the FCC and the FBI.

I used my power as an American to do research into the FBI files on a person that I was interested in learning more about. The person I chose to do research on is Malcolm X. Turns out that Malcolm X has a very extensive file with the FBI. The file is very detailed, including his home address and the place where he was born. Before Malcolm became the famous man that he is, he ran into the law a few times. His charges included larceny, breaking and entering, and carrying firearms. Although this file is very detailed and informative, there are a few clues that give hints of the bias of the FBI. In the file the FBI clearly calls the Nation of Islam a cult and Malcolm, because of his association with the "Cult of Islam" was viewed to be a communist and was thereafter under federal investigation.

Thanks to FOIA I and many other people can gain information on such subjects as the case of Malcolm X. As a mass communication major I understand the true journalistic and referential value of FOIA. We should all be glad for it.

Time Person of the year 1982

In 1982 the possibilities for personal computers were unlimited. Once the price of a computer came down to a economical level, everyone that could afford it was trying to get their hands on one of those PCs. Time Magazine named the Computer the Machine of the Year as it states on the cover of the magazine. Time chose the computer because of its numerous and seemingly imaginative capabilities. Then, a computer could custom- tailor an insurance programs, show 3 D images of airplanes, teach Spanish, and many other occupations. Now, a computer can carry out commands by touch and operate hardware wirelessly. So how has the computer met expectations from projections in 1982?

During the early 80's people had many predictions about the progression of the computer. Some experts claimed that nearly 80% of Americans believed that the computer would be just as common place as a TV set or a dishwasher. According to the U.S. Census in 2000 55.4% of people that registered said that they had access to a home computer. It was estimated that the number of personal computers in use by the end of the century would be as high as 80 million. The estimated total of personal computers by the year 2000 was 168.6 million according to The Physics Factbook edited by Glenn Elert.

Today, we look at the computer more as an instrument of necessity rather than a hot commodity. The computer continues to advance technologically and expand to more parts of the globe everyday. If people continue to advance on this computer technology the possibilities, just as it was said in 1982, are endless.

Why i'm studying Mass Communications

The reason that I'm studying this is because I think that it's fun. I believe that once I gain a career in this field that i will enjoy the job that I will have. When i was in high school i always thought about being a lawyer or a psychiatrist. I later realized that these fields were not for me. So over time i had to think to myself "What is something that i would want to do for the rest of my life?" That question puzzled me for a long time until l realized that the things I loved to do most was writing and being a public speaker. With that in mind, I turned my attention to the field of Mass Communications so I can enter the field of radio and TV broadcasting. After my first year of college I was introduced to the world of advertising.