Domestic Drone use!

Governor Rick Scott of Florida signed a law restricting the police from using drones.  The governor signed the law after stating that it will protect the state’s residents from “unwarranted surveillance.” The legislation makes exceptions in cases involving “ imminent danger to life or serious damage to property” and when “ and for “credible intelligence” from higher authority (Department of Homeland security).  The governor believes that this new law will maintain a balance between the need for law enforcement to protect our citizens against credible threats and imminent danger while ensuring that the privacy of Florida families is protected. The worries are they are unmanned aerial vehicles that are used in warfare overseas and are now being instated to impact air traffic in the U.S. The small aircrafts can be fitted with lightweight cameras that could require a new definition to an unreasonable search, which is banned under the 4th amendment.
Drone surveillance isn’t completely too common just yet. Miami and the Orange County Sheriff’s office each have both two drones. They are backpack sized and have only been used in training exercises so far, quoted by Detective Roy Rutland.
I for one believe this is a great preventative before drone surveillance becomes a frequent tool for state and local police units.  If Florida is training their drones for surveillance, then so might the other states. Other states apparently are also weighing measure to restrict domestic drone use.  I think all of the other states should pass laws to restrict the usage of domestic drones before actually beginning to use them.

Commentary on Colleague's blog. Zombies and Illegal Immigrants.

http://socratesbuildingblocks.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-walking-dead.html#comment-form

-Joshua McCoy

While I recognize that the editorial is meant to be humorous I do agree with you when you stated, “I couldn’t help but to speak out against such blatant racism portrayed on a major network (CNN) in such a subliminal form on so many levels.” I don’t think that his comments about “zombies” are acceptable on any level, or in form of commentary.

I’m also happy to see that you understand the actual impact that immigrants have on our economy, and society. Many people like to make assumptions about illegal immigrants because they’re not properly educated by our media about their true status in the U.S. It’s sad to think that someone as educated as Dean Obeidallah, could as ignorant as the general public.

I would like to comment on something else you mentioned, “Well if immigrants are subjected into paying for social security along with federal and state taxes, not to mention they can never claim any of this money back because they are illegal, they reduce the tax pressure put on native born Americans.” The sad fact about this statement, is that it’s true. I would like to relate this to the fact that students in our public education system who are illegal immigrants may not receive federal money to go to college. Many people complain that immigrants do not contribute to society because they are uneducated and can’t speak English. Well, I beg to differ. The “anchor zombies” that Obeidallah mentioned who create other zombies are children who were not born but raised in the U.S and since they attended and received the same education as our natural born American children, one could argue that they have the capabilities to contribute to society as much as our children. But if after high school they cannot continue their education even though they’re fully capable, and maybe in some cases even more capable than our children, how do we begin to even allow our country to reap the full benefits of our education system. There was a girl who I went high school with, she was raised in the US but born in Mexico. Despite this, she was one of the smartest girls in class and worked harder than anyone I knew. Senior year she was admitted to the engineering school at UT, and even interviewed for admission at Yale. The sad part is is that even if she did get into Yale, should wouldn’t be able to get the same financial benefits as her counterparts whom she worked harder than. Obeidallah mentioned that he considers “zombies” to be un- American, but I don’t know of any more un- American than the situation that girl was placed in.

Obama's decision to fund Science.

As of now, I believe the current administration is doing an excellent job at making decision that concern funding science projects.

The Bush administration put restrictions for funding on stem cell research, but in 2009 the Obama administration lifted those restrictions. The impact of this is scientists having only a few lines eligible for research before Obama lifts restrictions to having a few hundred eligible after. President Obama however, has strong opinions against human cloning and doesn’t foresee any progress on that aspect.  

The Obama administration shows its support of the advancement of science by donating three billion dollars to the NSF (National Science Foundation) in 2009. On the 29th it was announced that the US government would spend two millions dollars to fund what they’re calling the Big Data Research and Development Initiative. They are focusing on building are state-of the-art technologies to collect, store and large quantities of data. They hope to use this technology to accelerate discovery in science and engineering fields in efforts to improve national security and education. In order to instill this belief of science and technology more in the community, Northwestern’s University Engineering school will offer masters in analytics

Recently Obama announced that insurance companies are to pay for birth control and drugs that can cause abortions under the Obamacare government-run health care program. The purpose of course is to ensure that women have access to preventive health benefits. Naturally some companies are upset over this new requirement, in result HHS is allowing religious affiliated institutions that ensure employees to opt out of covering birth control.

When comparing the Bush and Obama administration, I believe that scientists might be more happy with the Obama administration because of their eager and willingness to fund and support them.

In my opinion having a careful balance of politics and science is beneficial to the advancement of our  country and the advancement of science. I also think that the Obama administration is absolutely correct for funding research project. A main reason being that through the research our scientist can conduct, it allows for cutting- edge treatment for illnesses. No matter what religion the U.S. may be, one common thing that brings us all together is the fact that none of us want to watch a loved one die from an illness that could be treated if the research was properly funded. I think that everyone deserves the right to live in a country where their government takes their health seriously, and is genuinely concerned. I also agree with Obama’s decision to have insurance carriers provide contraception for women because again, women are equal citizens and deserve the right to ensure the stability of their own health.

North Korean threat?

This article on “AmericaBlog” talks about the escalation in tension for a nuclear attack between North Korea and the U.S. The author gives more of a continued glimpsed towards the topic, than actual research other than a quote. A quote that the author states may or may not had been made with official sanction.

“Since the United states is about to ignite a nuclear war, we will be exercising our right to pre-emptive nuclear attack against the headquarters of the aggressor in order to protect our supreme interest,” the North’s foreign ministry spokesman said in a statement carried by the official KCNA news agency.

The author cleans up the article by the possible doubts that North Korea has the ability to launch such an attack. As well points out that this tension has been flowing around for about 4 years now between the North Korea , Iran and the U.S. At the end the author throws in a personal metaphor swapped in grade school from a teacher about the U.S being distracted in its domestic problems while foreign dangers stir.

Whether the quote is official or not, the tension for a nuclear attack is present. A nuclear threat should not be simply brushed off the shoulder without taking precautions


#blog4

Gun Focus Shifts

A couple weeks after the shooting in Connecticut, arguments for a gun-free America began. Since then there has been a non stop of accusations on gun control and attempts to compromise without affecting the second amendment, the right to bear arms.
8 weeks after the incident in Connecticut the gun-free America seemed out of reach, so next best thing is to attempt to restrict and reinforce gun control laws. President Obama is calling for an update on the Assault- Weapon Ban of 1994; however, there are many people and interest groups debating against new and improved gun-control laws.  Now there are bans on semi-automatic weapons, and President Obama is also attempting to expand the restrictions on firearms. These include magazine sizes, background checks on gun sales, and a stop to illegal gun trafficking.
This article also has statistics on surveys regarding gun control. Surveying Quinnipiac University, and some American households. It also states the many diverse views towards new laws in gun-control. The article is worth reading because it shows some-advancement to a compromise on gun control, after months of just being a huge debate between Americans.


Gun Focus shifts from ban to checks and trafficking.