Blog #4- Online Privacy

     Although I have always been told that everything I do online stays there forever, these videos were still highly shocking. It was terrifying, to say the least. In recent years, everything in life has revolved around some use of the internet, from communicating with friends, to shopping, and even school work. After watching these videos, I realized we all need to be taking more caution and be better aware of the dangers of the internet.

    So how do these affect me, my friends, and my family? Although everyone in my life could possibly be at risk for heavy consequences related to their use of technology, I feel my friends and I are the most at risk. Like I said before, this generation in which we are growing up is surrounded by technology. As sad as it is to say out loud, the main way my friends and I communicate is via social media. We all use countless different sites and social media that all have different passcodes. Not only that, we all have had access to the internet at such a young age. Compared to older generations who lived most of their lives without technology. With this being said, I can recall my friends and me posting videos online of ourselves as young as 12 years old. After watching Your Online Life, Permanent As a Tattoo, it's scary for me to think those silly posts my friends and I made are without a doubt still somewhere in the online world. And even worse, for absolutely anyone to see at any time. 

    I think it goes without saying, that the government should be doing more to protect us online. Although it would be great if they could just end cyber hacking and such once and for all, I don't think that will be possible. However, taking more steps to make it harder can help. One thing they could be doing is heavier monitoring of sites that steal and sell personal information. And with that, a harsher punishment for those sites who get caught doing so. 

    Finally, how can we as individuals protect ourselves better online? No matter how safe you try to be, there is always a risk of invasion of your privacy. However, we can be smarter about what we post online, and try to limit it as much as possible. Always remember to never post personal information. Also, keep in mind what you post will never go away, so be sure that whatever you post or say online is something you will be okay with anyone seeing. Finally, create as secure of a passcode as possible. Try not to make it something easy like your birthday or even worse "12345". 

    Overall, we all need to be very aware of how serious the internet is, and probably everyone could be even more careful than they currently are. I think these videos scared me in a good way. I now feel so invaded and watched, making me want to be so careful about my internet use from now on. 

Blog #3- Values of Free Expression

    Having the right to free expression is very important and is protected by our First Amendment. There are eight values of free expression. These include the marketplace of ideas, participation in self-government, stable change, individual self-fulfillment, check on government power, promote tolerance, promote innovation, and protection of dissent.

    All of these are important in their own way, however, the one that I feel is the most important is checking on government power. Quite frankly, the power the government holds can be scary when you think about it. The government has the power to do many things, but making sure they do not overstep those powers is essential. As we learned, our founding fathers originally set up our government to break away from a monarchy system. This is where the government has all of the power and no one else has any say. For these reasons, the founding fathers created a checks and balances system to ensure that no one branch has too much power.

    The Constitution divided the Government into three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. That was an important decision because it gave specific powers to each branch and set up something called checks and balances. Just like the phrase sounds, the point of checks and balances was to make sure no one branch would be able to control too much power, and it created a separation of powers. What many people fail to realize is that we the citizens of the United States are also a part of this checks and balances system. It is not only our right, but also our constitutional duty to speak up and speak out if we feel something in the government is not right. This is where our freedom of expression comes into play. To make sure our country continues to stay a democracy we must express ourselves when it comes to checking on the government's power.

    I think this also leads to the other value that resonates with me the most, protecting dissent. From a very young age, my parents have instilled in me to always stand up for what I believe in. This goes hand in hand with our First Amendment right to assembly and petition. Although, by no means do I agree with violent protest, I do firmly believe everyone has the right to an opinion and their own beliefs. As Steve Shiffrin said, "Our system is not supposed to be one of mob rule. The First Amendment protects minority views, no matter how unpopular." 

    Protection of dissent is definitely the value I see most in recent days. Although protests, strikes, and bans have gone on forever, I feel in the 21st century more and more people are speaking out. The first few that come to mind are the dissenting thoughts after Roe v. Wade was overturned, the BLM movement, and gun regulations. No matter your stance on these or any other particular topic, protecting dissenting opinions is crucial. If everyone wasn't free to have their opinions and or fight for what they think is right, we would no longer have a democracy. This is exactly what our founding fathers tried to escape from when leaving the English monarchy. 

    In conclusion, all eight of the values of free expression are extremely important in their own way. No matter if it is to speak out about the government, or voice your opinions, everyone should always have the right to believe what they want to believe. With that, being able to express it and make it known. This is exactly what the eight values are all about. Reading these eight values has not only increased my knowledge but also made me have a great appreciation for being able to express myself freely. 

Blog #2- The Supreme Court

    Prior to doing research, watching the informational video, and reading about the Supreme Court on the History Channel, my knowledge of the Supreme Court was relatively limited. I felt I knew the basics, or for better terms, what I learned in high school history class. I never realized how important they really are and the impact they have on all of our lives. 

   Let's start off from the beginning, how the Supreme Court came to be. The Supreme Court was established in 1789 by Article Three of the U.S. Constitution, which also granted Congress the power to create inferior federal courts. When George Washington, the first president of the United States, signed the Judiciary Act of 1789, it stated that the court would be made up of 6 judges. These justices were to serve until they either retired or died. After these 6 justices were chosen, they were first set to meet on February 1, 1790. However, due to limited transportation and no access to cars or planes, the meeting had to be postponed until February 2, 1790. This first meeting on a cold day in New York City was the start of it all.

  The most surprising thing that I learned was the evolution of the Supreme Court from then to now. As I said before, the original Supreme Court was composed of 6 individuals. Since then the number has been altered six different times. Finally, in 1869, Congress decided upon 9 seats in the Supreme Court which has remained the same since. I also found it very shocking that the original Supreme Court did not have its first case until over a year after its founding. This is crazy to think because today's Supreme Court gets thousands of cases a year and has to turn away most.

    I can confidently say that I have learned so much more than I ever knew before about the Supreme Court. I think the most important takeaway is realizing the prestige of these officials and how they come to have a seat on the Supreme Court. In the article, it says that the judges are nominated by the current president and then later confirmed by the Senate. It is extremely hard to find yourself on the Supreme Court and with that comes a lot of power. Additionally, above all in the court is the chief justice. They are the ones who set the schedules and plan the weekly meetings. 

    This article has really opened my eyes to how much I really did not know about the Supreme Court. I am very glad I took the time to learn more about the people who actually have such an impact on not only the government but also our everyday lives. 

Blog Post #1: My Top Five News Sources

     As a 20-year-old college student, I have to admit I don't stay updated with the news as much as I would like. I don't always have time to sit down and watch the news with all of my schoolwork and activities.  However, quick news stories are what mainly catch my eye. That is why most of my top five sources convey their news stories in the form of short films and photographs. The five news sources I will be talking about today are TikTok, Instagram, The Daily Podcast, Apple News, and Snapchat.  

#1- TikTok 

    TikTok is one of this generation's most popular apps. It is definitely the most commonly used app on my phone, and it also takes up most of my screen time. Users can post about any topic or subject of their choice to entertain their audiences. TikTok videos range anywhere from 10 seconds to 3 minutes. This makes it very easy to get caught up scrolling and scrolling throughout multiple videos. On TikTok, you can find videos on any topic you would ever like to learn about. Many mainstream news companies also have TikTok accounts and condense the top news stories into short clips making it very easy to get quick and reliable news on the go. 

#2- Instagram  

    I think Instagram is one of the best and easiest ways to stay up-to-date without taking up much time. On Instagram, you get to choose the type of content you see by following the accounts and or people that interest you. Although there are short videos on Instagram, most of the content is conveyed through images and short captions. I really enjoy the ability to pick and choose whose content I see and what content I am not interested in. I mainly use Instagram to get celebrity, fashion, and Hollywood news. 

#3- The Daily Podcast

    The Daily is a podcast conducted by The New York Times. They come out with a new podcast covering the most important national and global news every single day! I absolutely love listening to podcasts especially when I am driving in the car. This is definitely the source I use to get my updates on politics and worldwide updates. All of the episodes are around 25 minutes in length making it incredibly easy to listen in a short car ride or when while I am cooking or cleaning at home. 

#4- Apple News

    Apple News is a very convenient news source for Apple product users. Every day on my iPhone and Macbook I get notifications of hot and important topics of the day. I really like how you don't have to go search for it, it automatically sends the news right to your screen. These stories are normally brief and easy reads that carry a lot of information. I often find myself checking my phone for a text or phone call and ending up seeing an article that catches my eye. 

#5- Snapchat

    My last and final new source is Snapchat. Besides TikTok, I use Snapchat constantly throughout the day. Not only is it a great way to communicate with friends, but it is also a great way to get pop culture news updates. Many celebrities, influencers, and pop culture media outlets have accounts you can subscribe to. Every day these accounts will make posts and videos that will automatically pop up on your Snapchat when you open the app. I would say I get about 40-50 percent of my news from this app.