As We Look At This Thing Called "Us" - Pt. II

The media is one of the most powerful and influential forces known to man during this present day. Considering this fact, it is easy to recognize why minorities (of race, gender, sexuality, etc.) would be upset since they are severely underrepresented. Turn on the television and almost any channel will be showing the same thing: white people, such as the photograph above. This may not seem like a big deal, but children of all ages, genders, and races who watch television (as most do) unknowingly begin to form generalities about the people and things they see. This is how discrimination is born, and next to nothing is being done to prevent or improve this situation. Advertising companies are reluctant to include minorities because whites make up the largest amount of cash flow. However, with minorities being the fastest growing group in terms of income, why are advertising companies still ignoring them? Are companies afraid of losing current customers; are minorities still not included in the term "us"?

Find out in my exciting new paper!

P.S. Sorry for the late post! :]

abstractionization

Every place in the world is a product of its own history-- and for that matter, every person, too. While the term 'Pennsylvania Dutch' is recognizable to most people, few know anything about their history or how they have shaped the culture of Central Pennsylvania. Who were the forefathers of the Kutztown area, and what significance did their presence have on our modern culture? Kutztown and the Pennsylvania Dutch explains that and more. Read it to gain a better understanding of Kutztown's past, a broader perspective on the present, and a vision of the future.

A little late but here goes

There are so many different places in a city. Each place has its own environment and is like its own contained world. It is very common to see these contained worlds existing so close to each other. All About Kutztown takes you on a guided tour of three very different environments in Kutztown that exist right next to each other. These places are beautifully detailed and there are many true stories of people that can be found in these environments.

LIBRARIES

Although many might view libraries are boring, dusty, and old, in today's world libraries are just the opposite. Libraries have reinvented themselves into a whole new meaning over the past decade. Tall ceilings, comfortable seating, and works of art make libraries glow with beauty. Along with libraries themselves, librarians have also begun to change the way in which they are viewed.
Steve Ambrose, a historian and well-known author, was quoted saying, " In small town America, the library is the heart of the society." A library wears many hats for the people of which is serves. A library offers resources such as collections of books, Internet access, and much more. Along with this, libraries offer many activities to their communities that stress the importance of reading.
Librarians are successfully changing the way in which they are portrayed by the public. Many perceive them to be uptight, sophisticated women, but in reality not all are this way. They are normal individuals just like you or I.
Libraries truly are works of art. Communities use libraries for resources, technolgy and pleasure reading. As far as the public is concerned, libraries hold the key to their world of knowledge; a world that will forever be in existence.

Stop.. BLOG TIME!

Illegal immigration is seen by some as a net loss and a drain on our American society as a whole. Nativist sentiment today has led to our current immigration debate, putting the lives of nearly 20 million illegal immigrants in this country into uncertainty. The funny thing is that people held the same views over a century ago when millions of immigrants came to the United States from all over the world. These immigrants faced rejection and hardship on a daily basis from the country that had accepted them as well as native-born Americans who wanted them out. However, despite all of this difficulty, these people defined the American melting pot and created the nation that we know today. “The Immigration Debate in a Historical Perspective.” is an in depth examination of immigration during the late 19th and early 20th century which strives to compare this period with our current debate and to place it in it's proper historical perspective. We shouldn't view new immigration as a threat or a drain on our society but rather a new wave in the growth and development of our nation and the people who inhabit it.

Abstract, wooohoooo!!!

Imagine a world with no laws… no morals, no values, no ethics… Would you survive?

Our world relies on morals, whether we realize it or not. Without “right and wrong” or “good and bad” our world would be nothing but chaos, pain, and torment. Our ethics dictate the places we go, the people we surround ourselves with, the things that we do…everything can be connected to morals in some way. They are essential for a functioning world. So then I ask you…

As humans, are we morally obligated to serve and better humanity?

Jane Jacobs seems to think so. In her essay, “The Use of Sidewalks-Safety” she discusses the “intricate, almost unconscious, network of voluntary controls and standards,” that are used by citizens to keep the streets and sidewalks safe when law enforcement cannot. These citizens are working for a better humanity by protecting one another from harm. The ethics and moral values of the world are discussed in Moral Philosophy. Many well-known philosophers studied why things are “right” and “wrong” and how we come to those conclusions.

Is it our duty to be good, caring citizens?

Are there certain moral “laws” that are universal?

Are we born hardwired with a certain sense of what is acceptable in the world?

Read “The Philosophy of Ethics” to find out.

Abstract, in the writing sense, not in the art one. Le sigh.

Archetecture and their surroundings isn't something that the common American would say crosses their mind daily, unless a job requires it. That's true in the fact that it's not a lie, but also untrue in the fact that the enviroment around us makes more of an impact than that. On a more emotional level, a "welcoming" or "forboding" space will affect how we relate to both it and each other. People can affect what feeling a space gives off, whether they mean to do so or not, which shows values, but the surroundings can also help shape these values. From right here on campus to other continents, "Architecture and the Formation and Maintenance of Community" takes a look at a few examples of what happens when buildings and/or communities have quality problems and what is, or isn't, being done to change this issue, and the repercussions from that.

English Testing Only: Better for Whom??

Is it fair to give students a standardized test in English, when they don’t understand English?? Will doing this help them learn English?? Will this assess if these students are “proficient” accurately? Basic logic tells us that students, who don’t know English, won’t do well on a test in English. Whether they know the subject matter or not, giving someone a test written in an unknown language doesn’t give accurate results. There are some accommodations on the PSSA tests that were made for students that don’t speak English, but these accommodations are not nearly enough to help the problem. A mixture of logic, statistical evidence, and stories show the ways these accommodations fail the students it is claimed they help. While it may not be important to everyone that Spanish-speaking students be given a fair deal when it comes to education and standardized tests, some of these students are a part of our generation. The future is in each generation and fostering communication instead of misinterpretation and alienation would create a better world during that time.

Illegal Participation on the Illegal Immigrants. 5 yard penalty, repeat 1st down

American society today gives a lot of attention to sports. The Super Bowl is an unofficial holiday in this country and what better way to give attention to an issue influencing the United States than with a comparison to sports. What is causing havoc in sports? Steroids. What is causing havoc in the United States? Illegal immigration.
The government has decided to take action on both steroids in sports and illegal immigration. Awkwardly enough, more progress seems to have been made with the steroids issue. This is where I come in. I will show you the comparative points of illegal immigration and steroids and how each are impacting this country. Athletes are role models to kids and what they do becomes the right thing to do. Illegal immigrants live in the US and take advantage of federal programs that they do not need to pay taxes for. What is being attempted to be done to stop or prevent both problems from occurring will be addressed thoroughly. Local and federal laws to punish illegal immigration are the starting point for curbing the impact of illegal immigration. Suspensions and fines by sports organizations are prevalent but are starting to increase in severity as well as federal government intervention. Within the paper, Major League Baseball is the main focus for the steroids portion of the paper since this is the most noticeable sport with a steroids problem.
So as I asked in my previous entry...what do a migrant worker and Mark McGuire have in common? A lot. The government is breathing down both of their necks and neither want the government to know about their actions. That's a start.

ABSTRACT!

Communication is a tool used by all trades. Farmers, salesmen, prostitutes - each uses communication in their own way. But could communication be an influential factor in our sense of belonging? Think about it. Is there any other way you could become a part of a community without any kind of communication? No pens, no paper, no words. No sounds, no pictures, no messages in the sand. Could we really build a sense of belonging without communication? "Communication and it's influence on our sense of belonging" builds an argument that yes, communication is a key factor in building our sense of belonging within a community. But what else about communication affects our sense of belonging? Read on to find out!

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hey guys, last minute words... sw33t deal with the blog. WE'RE ALMOST DONE OUR FIRST SEMESTER YOU GUYS!! I'm stoked, so I don't know about you guys. It's been a great class [seriously, it's the only one I haven't skipped all semester], and I've really enjoyed sharing discussions with you guys. It's too bad we can't have a swap session and read everyone else's papers.. I feel like our discussions will go on with no sense of closure.. :\ anyway, good luck on finals you guys! and have a great holidays!! :)
- Jeni

American Apple Pie, but with out the American Apples

With Christmas around the corner, grocery stores are stocking up on all the must-haves of the holiday season. Items such as sweet potatoes, turkeys, green beans, and the like are being ordered in from across the country to satisfy Americans' stomachs. Before you take a spoonful of mashed potatoes, however, take a moment to think about where they cam from. If they aren't instant mashed potatoes, then they came from a farm, probably in the US. And who harvested these potatoes? Probably not the farmer, unless they happen to be organic, then the likelihood of being handpicked by the grower increases but isn't guaranteed. Most likely this potato was picked by hand, by an immigrant worker. According to farmers' own estimates, about 70 percent of the 1.2 million hired workers tilling fields and picking crops are illegal immigrants.
The United States agricultural community of today is in a position where it can NOT function without illegal immigrants. Right now there is a shortage of this labor force due to the tighter border control and the push for deporting all illegal immigrants. This nation can not afford to lose the immigrants because there is no one to replace them. There are countless tales where farmers who advertised for workers received little or no response to there ads. Americans do not want to do the work that these illegal immigrants are willing to do. As for the suggestions to replace the illegal immigrant work force with prisoners, a domestic work force, and/or machines is unrealistic and doomed to fail for a number of reasons. The solution needed is a way to let illegal immigrants become legal through a legal process. A certain program named AgJOBS can do this, however it is currently at a standstill in Congress. This country needs illegal immigrants, if: it wants its farms to stay on American soil, its economy to not crash, and its apples for its American pie to stay American apples.

An unwelcoming and discriminitory face

Recently Hollywood announced that the 29 year old actress, Reese Witherspoon would be earning 29Million dollars for her upcoming movie. With Hollywood dominating a bulk of the multibillion U.S economy, should we begin to question why there are 600,000 recorded homeless people in the United States? As crime rates, homicides, and newly formed antihomeless laws are continously growing the homeless population is becoming further removed from the rest of the nation. Is our nations sense of unity falling apart or have we simply excepted our countries lack of compassoin and care for its own citizens as common ground? Who deserves here, who belongs, and is our country turning on itself to keep the needy away? The facade the United States wears will only last so long before its unwelcoming and discriminitory face is revealed.

My Father the Alien

Growing up in Middle of Nowhere, PA a lot of people looked at my father differently. All of my friends' dads had blonde hair, blue eyes and had "normal names" like John or Mike. Whereas my dad was Aurelio Castilla, the guy with tan skin and a thick accent. I quickly became accustomed to explaining that he was from Colombia where everyone spoke Spanish and the sun shines all the time. One day a little boy who lived in my neighborhood overheard his parents discussing my father's "alien status" which led us to believe that my father was a Martian.As children we were completely unaccustomed to the ideas of green cards, and legal aliens.
It's apparent in today's society that a majority of American adults are foreign to these ideas as well. With the recent influx of illegal immigrants from Mexico and other countries, Americans often wonder why if these people claim to be so innocent and hardworking why they don't just come over here legally. Although there are a variety of ways for one to become "legal" through visas, citizenship, etc it is not as easy as many think. The process takes a lot of money and time, two things that people who are struggling to survive do not have.
This paper is not meant to condone illegal immigration. Its purpose is to make the average Joe understand a little bit more about the difficulties the immigration process entails.

I just want to say...

All I wanted to do was skip a line in my blog and add a nice little SIDEBAR but it wouldn't let me when I pressed enter...so...I just want to say goodbye to everyone! It has been FAB and FUNNY and I'll really miss writing...A special thanks to Dr. Mahoney for also being FAB and FUNNY and for all the help! Fare the well ! Say hello when you see me! -Colby

Honest Abe a Babe?

Image in politics? It's everything...from that foxy babe in the tie and suit to the steely gaze of the done-up eye, we are undeniably affected by these images, whether positively or negatively. For instance, it's not unusual for a woman to have a "campaign uniform," or for those devilishly handsome Presidents to have wicked affairs. We see it, acknowledge it, accept or reject it, and then vote depending on our feelings. I delve in to it, analyze it, wonder...wonder about Marilyn Monroe and JFK, wonder about Abe Lincoln and his (lack of?) looks...I get sentimental over George Bush and a turkey, and get sick over Clinton. Why? Supposedly, there are still people who pay attention to the words, who disregard the faces...but for those of us who judge that book by it's cover, beautiful or otherwise, we are moved by it, motivated to vote or abstain, to trust or refuse. Image in politics--it's intense, important, and above all, maddeningly interesting.

I Pledge Allegiance...

The process of becoming an American citizen is something many go through each year. At the same time, with so many immigrants coming into the country one has to wonder why more aren’t becoming naturalized. This process seems like the simple solution to reduce the number of illegal immigrants living in this country. Is it really that simple though? What is naturalization, how did it start, and what does it entail?

In my paper, I answer all these questions so you, the reader, can have a more complete understanding of an important aspect of our American culture. The information is presented in an informative manner in order to explain the naturalization With the issue of immigration being such a hot topic right now, it is important to know about what would appear to be an easy solution to the problem of illegal immigration. Find out about naturalization in this paper.

Forget the Apocalypse, Suburban Sprawl is Destroying the Earth

Space use efficiency is a little used term that has a large effect on the Earth and its future. The population of humanity is obviously rising, and to compromise for that increase, human living space is being expanded. The question is, is it over expanding?

Suburban sprawl is the migration of humans from compact cities to spread out housing developments. Suburban sprawl is obviously present in this country with its population density that is greatly decreasing from year to year. This wouldn't be a bad thing if it wasn't for all the negative effects that this has had. A short list of these effects includes offsetting fragile ecosystems, driving an array of species to near extinction, and increasing pollution levels. Believe it or not these factors are leading the planet to some potential major shifts in the environment that will have drastic consequences.

Interesting research has been done on what these effects consist of. As the dominant species on this planet, it should be our responsibility to control these negative effects to ensure that the future does not burden generations to come. There is no time like the present to start working on using the planet better. Before we destroy the future, the efficiency of the use of space on this planet must be addressed.

FACES not FIGURES
Is the way in which a person views the world a result of the combination of personal experience and his/her unique makeup as an individual? Or, conversally, are the sterotypical confines that are frequently imposed upon people just and accurate and really the key factor in the formation of a person's opinion?

Two Towns of Jasper is an ideal case study for this subject because its premise was the individual. The filmmakers did not focus on the hard facts of the case but more upon the individual reactions to the crime itself and to the issues the crime brought to light.

Using this example as a guideline, I explored the different personal responses to the subject of immigration. I found that it was clearly inadvisable to use characterizations such as "white people hate mexicans" or some such other stereotypical nonsense. I found white Americans who were activists for immigrants and others who were very much against it. I found immigrants themselves who had a highly degrading outlook on other immigrants. I found immigrant teens who were fired up about the "injustices" being shown to illegal immigrants and a legal teen who, despite a difficult life here, does not display any animous towards "real Americans."

Immigrants and natural-born citizens alike need to realize that numbers don't tell the real story- people do. Taking the time to listen to people instead of assuming how they will respond is the only way to truly understand another person.

My Challenge to YOU!

“Our county is spending too much on immigrants!” “Immigrants are dumb!” “Why should we be responsible for educating immigrants?!” “Immigrants are lazy!” “They should stay uneducated!” These are the types of things you may hear when it comes to the issue of illegal immigration or immigration in general. Through this paper we will explore some of these issues, keeping in mind immigrants are just as human as you and I, and everyone else.

Are there clear costs that immigrants are costing us?
Should immigrants be banned from education?
Are we criminalizing immigrants?
If we don’t educate immigrants will they cost us more money later?
Should we punish immigrant children for their parents’ decisions?
Do immigrants really want to learn?
Do immigrants want to assimilate into Americans?
How can we educate immigrants effectively?
What’s the purpose of education?

These questions help to guide this paper and shape it in a way that is educational and personal. I try to speak to you, the reader, in order to get you to figure out where you stand on some important issues associated with immigration. I want to give you a view into immigration that you may have never experienced before. I want to give a voice to a side of the immigration debate that often goes unheard. I want to challenge you to consider new thoughts and ideas.

the federal government on illegals...

So right now all i really know is that I want to write on what bush and his people are doing about the illegal immigrants. I mean I know they are putting up a 700 mile wall but thats really about it because my first immigration paper focused more on what the governors opinions were since that was the campaign going on around that time. I haven't found much information yet due the crazy amount of work i have had recently but my ideas are basically to write about the government's immigration policy that is in place now, what they have to say about all the illegals coming in and what they plan to do about it.

To the left is the Hall Tower of Mechanicsburg, PA. Although it was
located less than 5 miles from my high school and was visible from two major highways, no one I knew seemed to know anything about it. A research paper assignment from my (amazing) 11th grade history teacher gave me an excuse to satisfy the curiosity about the tower that had plagued me since I first noticed it as a child. Working on the project was boring and frustrating at first, but once I uncovered a few details, my research took me all over my area hunting down people to interview, spending hours in the State Library flipping through microfilm newspaper articles, and sneaking onto the property to take pictures (and getting chased off several times by angry rednecks). When I finally turned in my paper, I had uncovered a truly fascinating story about a madman who built an enormous mansion and then fought to keep it through financial ruin and criminal charges. When he finally was forced to sell the property, he purposefully destroyed most of it, leaving behind only the charred remains of the tower (which was actually built to house his collection of European church bells).

So that leads me to what I'm planning to do with this paper. I was trying to think of something that I would enjoy and which would inspire me to become as involved and motivated as I was with the Hall Tower. Also, I wanted to do something that related to me personally that I could research with fieldwork, rather than a topic that had only vague significance to my life and would require dull hours hunting down articles online. I wanted to focus as well on the idea of public space we've been examining in class. So, I'm hoping to research what secrets could lie in the history of Kutztown's spaces, and how they could affect our life here. For example, the Hall Tower now attracts cults and is covered in satanic graffiti. Very few people know much about the unpleasant history of the place, yet for some reason it attracts satanists rather than happy picnickers. Clearly, the function of a space is effected in some way by its history.

So basically, I want to take the exploration of public space that we've worked on a step farther to incorporate extensive detail into the history of the spaces, and hopefully I draw some connections between what I find out and the way that space effects people's lives. I'm not sure what particular places I'm going to focus on, but I'm hoping that a visit to the Kutztown Historical Society will turn up something interesting.

Finally, here's a picture of Mr. Food in the 1800s.

Armor or concrete?

After careful consideration, I think I have an idea for a topic that would be a valuable addition to our class discussion thus far. I don't want to put too much flash into this post in case the idea isn't what we're actually supposed to be doing, but I would like to do some research into security in the United States in the post 9/11 world. One of the things that stuck out to me was the decision in Washington to cut funding on the war on terror to pay for a concrete barrier along the Mexican border and I think that a paper that examined the war on terror and how it relates to national security would be an interesting topic.

A Spark of Light in the Dark

**Disclaimer**- This blog is not all pretty-full because I am still undecided as to a topic. Sorry! It'll be pretty soon, I promise :)

I have been absolutely brain-dead this past week and have been at a loss for what to write about. I started looking back on my notes from the stories we've read and something caught my attention. In "The Use of Sidewalks-Safety" by Jane Jacobs she mentions how law enforcement does not enforce ALL safety... most safety is enforced by the citizens in the area. This sparked something in my mind and I realized that it seems as though it is our unspoken obligation, as fellow humans, to protect our own kind. Sort of like an instinct, you could say. If I can, I think I'm going to try to write my paper on our moral obligations as humans.

Tell me what you think!

Just what does Mark McGuire and a migrant worker have in common?

Well, when I dwell on the idea that the government wants to crack down on illegal activities such as illegal immigration, I start to think of other activities that the government is trying to crack down on like the drug problem in professional sports. All of the same ideas connect illegal immigration reform and the steroids controversy plaguing sports. Everyone knows that something must be done. Efforts are being made to thwart (yes, I said THWART) both of these problems but are coming up short. Illegal immigrants are still crossing the border and athletes are still taking steroids. Neither problem has a definite solution and its impact in their desired fields is speculated extensively. The idea for this paper would mostly be to show the impact of these problems and how people and the government view them as problems.

Over the past couple of years, Congress had hearings on the steroid problem in professional baseball. The baseball players at that hearing were, to name a few, Jose Canseco, Rafael Palmero and good old Mark McGuire. All testified that they either never took steroids or questioned why they were being asked that question (McGuire mostly). Bud Selig, commissioner of the MLB, started to enforce stronger penalties for offenders. At the same time, legislature throughout the country are trying to do the same thing with illegal immigration. Trying to enforce stronger penalties on illegal immigrants. In my perspective, Mark McGuire trying to shy away from admitting he took steroids (because we all know he did) or Rafael Palmero lying to Congress that he never and would never take steroids (he was caught taking them a few months later) is about the same as someone trying to cross the border with a fake ID. The ID is fake and the person knows it but they want to try and con somebody into believing them for their own benefit.

The premise of this entire paper is to show a couple things. First, it is to show how damaging this problem is to society (since kids look up to professional athletes) in relation to how illegal immigration is damaging society. Second, it is to show how the government is acting towards this issue when they do not have to (with stricter penalties being enforced and congressional hearings). This will link with how much the government should act towards the illegal immigration problem, which is something that the government IS responsible for. Another look on these topics is how people are sympathetic of both issues. For the steroids use, having record books with asterisks next to names to show the record was made by someone who used steroids. For illegal immigration, amnesty for those who cross the border illegally.

To walk where there are no sidewalks

Jane Jacobs writes that streets with busy sidewalks are the safest for people to walk on because there are street watchers. These street watchers are guardians of those who walk infront of their homes and businesses. In a world full of strangers, you are able to be safe.
What about where there are no sidewalks? As you walk on a path through a woods or along a dirt road, who is there to watch you and make sure nothing happens to you? Space is the issue now. Both space and how you interact with this space.
This space without sidewalks is slowly becoming populated. More and more people are coming into rural areas. Mostly they are getting away from the bigger cities such as New York City or Philadelphia. It is alot like a chain reaction, or like a filter. As an example, people who move out of NYC to say the Poconos because the real estate is cheaper and it is not the far to drive, people from the Poconos are then moving to say Wilkes-Barre or other cities, people from Wilkes-Barre are then moving to the "country". What are the effects of this increase in population in rural areas? Farms are closing down to sell their land because they can make more money in real estate then with their dairy profits. Rural America is changing.
The environment across the world is being affected due to an increase in population growth and thus increase in pollution. Humans need to know how to deal with this space because that's all we have. The rural communities need to be looked at and the environment needs to be too.

Bananas to Arizona

"It's difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it." - Upton Sinclair
I've decided to start an entirely new blog entry. Despite the suggestions and what Mahoney said about being able to relate the subject of bananas to things we've talked about in class, I just don't really see it going anywhere. Fair trade is certainly a big issue, but one which has never really struck my fancy. The subject of organic gardening, however, did seem like it might be fun to pursue, but in the end I decided against this as well. I wanted a topic that would not only be interesting, but one which would also be beneficial for me to be knowledgeable about. Environmental issues have always interested me, and since I'm an environmental engineering major, I decided this would be a good subject for me to learn more about. Instead of choosing one issue to research thoroughly, I decided to research many issues in one place: Arizona. Next year I will most likely be transferring to Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, and I figured I should know about the environmental issues going on there. I found one article about global warming and how it was affecting many national parks in the United States including Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in Arizona. I also found an article from the Sierra Club about the use of snow making in the Arizona Snowbowl. (I took the picture on the top when I was in Flagstaff a month ago - I was up 12,000 feet on Mt Humphrey, part of the San Francisco Peaks, in the Arizona Snowbowl.) Other issues of great concern in Arizona are fire management and air quality especially in the Grand Canyon. (The lower picture was taken by my parents when they visited the Grand Canyon last April.) Also, I recently read an article in National Geographic Adventure entitled "Along the Devil's Highway: A Border Odyssey", directly linking environmental issues to our discussion of illegal immigration in class (I also talked about the effect the 700-mile fence will have on the environment in my paper). I think this is a good start, but I'll keep looking for additional information that I think will be interesting.

As We Look at This Thing Called "Us"

Lately I've been thinking about the tattoo that I am hoping to get for my birthday (December 9th, yeah!) and it led me to ponder other types of prints. As I'm writing this blog, I am watching Spaceballs- you know, the Mel Brooks movie that spoofs Star Wars. There is a joke throughout the movie that consists of "Spaceballs: The Move" being printed on all different kinds of merchandise. The current "print" I am reading is Stranger Than Fiction by Chuck Palahniuk. I enjoy reading his work because his writing is so fresh, edgy, and controversial. Many of the elements in his stories are disturbing or obscene, and for some reason I am attracted to that kind of writing. Regardless, many other people are drawn to this sort of element. All of this questioning about "prints" steered me towards the media, which opened up an entirely new can of worms; why do the news and media include some groups and exclude others? Television shows such as South Park and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart are based on combining several different elements to draw viewers in: current events, humor, and personal bias. Exclusions are constantly being made in the media, even if it is only for entertainment value, and the viewpoints of the producers and those involved are impressed upon observers. Think of something as simple video games; children are trained from the very first level to automatically judge the “enemy” and to prevent them from interfering with your own person goal. Take note, I am by no means bashing video games; I absolutely love them and this is only serving the purpose of an example. What factor determines who is to be included and who is excluded in the media? I find it interesting what constitutes “who belongs”, and what defines “us”. Apparently, it depends upon whom you ask and the circumstances of the situation. I came across a few interesting things that relate to my possible topic: the rule of exclusion in the news, an article that discusses how the media influences gender roles and how things may change in the upcoming decade, an article discussing the media in Hungary and how they broadcast an imaginary and "happy" image, and this is only the beginning. The media is the largest form of communication across the world. Beginning in preschool, children are taught to accept everyone for who they are and that everybody is different.. but is that truly how America, as a whole, feels?

Did I Do That??

Ever since I came to Kutztown I've found a friend in the Rohrbach Library. Call me a nerd, but the library makes me happy. I can escape from my crazy tragic not so perfect life and lose myself within the walls of this masterpiece. I think I found the place where I belong. It relates to the rhetorics of belonging that we have consumed ourselves with over the semester. For my research paper, I'm pretty sure you're going to be excited to hear that I will probably incorporate the library some how or another. I swear (girl scouts honor) I wasn't always this nerdy.

All About Town

I have finally decided on a topic for my blog paper. I have decided to build off of the report on how Kutztown University uses space and write about how the town itself uses space and is organized. Kind of like an "All About Kutztown." Just so that makes sense it is a reference to a board game series from the early eighties. The only reason I know about the All About Town games is because I have the Scranton edition buried in my basement at home. In all seriousness however It was really kind of fascinating to walk around Kutztown and watch the buildings and people transform literally from street to street. On one street you see rows of broken down houses, garages with smashed windows, and a couple suspicious looking people that may or may not have been making a drug deal. Cut through an alley and go one street over and you see rows and rows of small, almost identical red brick houses and the only people outside are raking up leaves. In the blog report I am going to attempt to show people the many sides of Kutztown.

Well, now that my computer hung up once...

Well, let me try this again because one of
the sites I was using as a joke link hung
up my computer.

After all this talk about illegal immigration and how these so called "aliens" are stealing our jobs, not to mention our first paper on public spaces, I would really like to research something that we haven't fully touched on yet. Of course, I'm not just talking about writing a paper about this or that, but a concise idea which expands the class conversation that we have already started. With all of the things going on in Iraq, not to mention that fact that my Uncle Tom is serving his second tour with the Marines in Baghdad, I think I'd like to write something about the war in Iraq. What though, I have no idea yet... maybe something about Saddam?

...oh crap, I think my roots are showing.

Okay, so, I liked the first paper the best, with the analyzing architecture that I did. And at first I was going to do more of that type of work on architectural styles. Now, I'm leaning away from that--though bits and pieces are going to come up no matter what--since it's too broad, and just. No.

Instead I'll be writing about what I mentioned in class, how communities form their identities from the buildings around them. Need to do a lot of searching--what was the group mentioned in class last time anyway? Augh, can't remember. Anyway, let's see. I'll have to define what I mean by "community": maybe location seeping into identity? There'll certainly be mentions of culture, but focus on the buildings. Mmmm, buildings.

And what positives and negatives would creating identity like this have? Does it seem to work? How long does it take for a community to lose the identity they had during construction enough to build themselves around a new interpretation?

...I need to figure out what exactly to search for when I'm not caffinated. Because I, um, tried the large americano thing again say... 24 hours ago, and I still can kinda feel it. Oops.

And maybe throw my current main motivation into it. No, I never seem to learn. Shut up. <3

ducks are cute but they probably dont belong in pools...

this duck is not only cute but probably doesnt belong in a pool..

right now i am basically just brainstorming but i have one idea that is really top notch inmy mind...not quite top notch actually buti guess you can see workable. regardless, i remember when we discussed this article about fenway park or some park that wouldnt let people spend time there in order to keep out homeless people. im bringing this back to the concerpt of who belongs. where do homeless ppl belong and why? what can we do to help them find a place that they do belong? or is it our responsibility at all to help those in need? these are just some of the things i hope to discuss in my research paper.

my topic, hopefully

Are we out of Iraq yet? ha, just a litle post-election excitement. So I have no idea what I'm going to write about. Speaking of Iraq, that reminds me of the war on terror, racial profiling, hmmm, stereotyping. Stereotypical spaces, people, music, stereotypical genres of music for groups of people. Maybe I will look at the target audiences for various genres of music or different bands. What is the profile of the average, say, Primus fan? That's a tough one.
To investigate I could look on different bands' websites and see if that tells me anything about their audience. It would be interesting to see what bands are in it for the money, like most popular music out today, and what bands are out to make genuinely good music. I think a band's fanbase could be a decent indication of a band's main intention for creating music. For instance, if a band had a really good album, then their next album wasn't so great, maybe they tried to appeal to a wider audience and "sell out".
Also, perhaps I could examine why hip-hop has been such an enormous infuence on pop-culture the past few years. Or how any type of music has been an influence in the daily lives of the people who listen to it.

I suppose I'm supposed to brainstorm stuff for this essay tonight...such as that wall (not this wall or this wall)...or maybe other issues such as Kutztown University and mullets...but I just wanted to post a picture of Itchy and Scratchy





actual version-----------------------------------------

I came to the realization that the Earth as a whole is just one enormous "space" filled up with a variety of little "spaces." These spaces are consumed by a variety of different things. There are man made spaces and natural spaces. One key issue that must be realized is that in order for a man made space to be created, a previously natural one must be destroyed. The destruction of nature is necessary to an extent in order to advance our civilazition, but the question we must ask is when does it go from "survival of the fittest" to greed. Beaches are destroyed every day for the purpose of tourism. Natural wetland habitats are filled for strip malls. Forests are clear cut for enormous stadiums and apartment complexes. Have we, as humans, began to take more of the planet then is rightfully ours? Are we destroying the planet we call home? I hope to determine through my research the extent of the destruction of natural habitat and the exact affect that this will have on key species and habitats. I intend to determine if we are after all worse for this Earth then any other species that came before us. I think I will probably focus more on the marine spaces because this topic is so broad.

a) Pictures were not uploading for some reason tonight? (I got one picture to work, still confused why?)
b) I swear I had all the links worked out then I hit spell check and it deleted them so I'm to pissed to do it again right now, maybe later tonight. (edit:now putting them in...again)

Why we hate

In this class, the topic of language and the barriers it creates has been covered extensively. Closely linked to this topic are the issues of language discrimination and how this ties to racism. In my anthropology class, we recently watched "Two Towns of Jasper." This sparked a conversation surrounding the different histories involved and how these affected their interpretation of the event. It would be interesting to research both immigrant histories and white history, from the standpoint of both races on each other and on themselves, and show how these experiences have affected the current issue of racism.

The most obvious place to begin is with those who are among the "typical american" population- those who are of the older generation and are strongly opposed to the influx of illegal immigrants, particularly Mexicans. They may just be resistant to change or still affected by the racist history they grew up in.

Then there are those who have seen and experienced the negatives brought about by illegal immigration. They are among the seemingly small group of people who have a difinative reason for disliking illegal immigrants. The book Looking for America in Chicago details how some people feel threatened by the immigrant influence in America and how they feel this is affecting their culture, their lives, and their voice.

Some Americans, buisinesses and private citizens live to exploit the fact that illegals cant speak out for themselves without risking exposure and deportation. Some are immigrants themselves, who having come here legally have little respect for those who give them a bad reputation.

The overwhelming consensus seems to be that everyone in America hates illegal immigrants, but there are those who strongly support, if not their actions, their rights as human beings.
These foundations compose the group that is "Americans for the Outsiders." They are concerned with making sure the rights of immigrants are protected.

Unfortuately, but maybe not suprisingly, it is very difficult to find any information coming directly from the immigrants themselves. However, there are some first hand accounts, which provide intersting insight into how they feel they are perceived by outsiders and how immigration has and is affecting them.

blog paper!

So, I deleted what I had written here before. Why? Because that's not really what I want to write about. I'm so SICK of computers [and I'm a Computer Science major.. yikes!].

Anyway, I pulled out some of my old schoolwork the other day to look for some old notes of mine, and I came across my photography binder. I'm a closet artist [gasp], and in high school I took two black and white photography courses amongst others, but the photography was my favourite. The last project we did concentrated on photographing a theme.. and we got to wander around Philadelphia for a day to do it. So I picked communication... and I shot four rolls of 36-frame film on it.

That's the backstory to my idea for this paper. I wanted to take a look at how communication influences the rhetorics of belonging that we studied.. how maybe, by communicating with a society through art, graffiti, writing, or regular old speech, someone could feel like they were a bigger part of a society - and how when people don't communicate, you don't assimilate, you don't become one with the society. Does that make any sense? I hope it does. I kind of wanted to be able to, as a part of being able to "research" this topic, walk around campus and Main Street and take pictures of anything that communication applied to - kind of like a photojournalistic type of paper... the point of this paper, I'm thinking, is to prove that maybe, through communicating in many different senses of the word [reading a newspaper, grafitti, etc] with something or someone, you felt like a better part of [insert place here - probably Kutztown, since unless I walk around Philadelphia over Thanksgiving or use the pictures I already have, ...]. Instead of researching it through articles [well, I guess I could find articles by artists, or something like that], it would be more of a field-research paper, I guess. I hope this all makes sense in words!! :
What do you guys think? Trash the idea, or work on it a little more, or ...?

Ricketts Glen

Well I don't really know what I am doing for my final paper. I was thinking about writing about space, perhaps space by Ricketts Glen or Red Rock. It's beautiful up there. But really I'm going to need alot more thought about what I am going to write about. Ricketts Glen is known for its falls. Alot of senior portraits are done there and people from all over vacation on the mountain. There's a Lake at the top of the Mountain called Lake Jean. It's an older state park. It was close to being a national park but that never happened. You should visit, but don't litter!:)

Delish Babes in Politics? mm mm Good!

Surprise! It's me. So, class got me thinking on Monday--thinking of some sort of silly, intriguing topic that fits me, fits the type of junk I enjoy-- I don't know if this really applies, if we really "talked about it" in class...but I'm thinking---let me bounce off of my love and admiration for Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta, and the article that described him as a "dapper 50 year old mayor..," and let me focus on the effect that appearance has in politics, the effect it has on particular issues, the effect on the public's perception of this person, etc. etc.---but I don't know. We didn't focus on it, per say--at least not much, I know I personally brought it up though, so we'll see--it's like, I'm trying to take the issue of language, of immigration, of visual imagery, of public discourse, and roll it all in to a big ball, and then stretch that ball....like, a lot.

SIDEBAR: Would Marilyn have sung Happy Birthday to JFK if he wasn't handsome?

Would Billy and Monica have messed around if he looked like this?

It is HIGHLY unlikey...and part of the reason I'm fascinated with this whole appearance topic, and the idea that perhaps politics is just one big beauty contest.

(((((Maybe I'm just lonesome for a man, and that's forcing me to look up pictures of babely old guys. Maybe it's my love of tough men--you know, no messin' around--I told a friend once that Joaquin Phoenix as Commodus in Gladiator was my ideal man--he came to the conclusion, from that statement, that I want a maniacal, evil, horrible, pasty-white mate. )))))

That all sounds nasty.
Nasty, but true.
What do you think?

My father is an alien

Growing up my friends would often ask why my dad was different than me but I never really noticed anything wierd about him. They would say that he talked funny and looked different than me. One day my friend Jon-Jon asked me what it was like having an alien as a daddy. I laughed but realized he was dead serious. He said that he had heard his parents talking and they said my dad was an alien. So I went home and told my mom the horrible news since I assumed she had been duped, that she had married a martian. She smiled and told my dad and he explained to me that since he was from another country he was considered an alien to this country just like how Martians are aliens to our planet. He showed me his green card which is actually pink and explained to me what it meant.
It took me many years after that day to fully understand the significance of that piece of lamanated paper he held in his hands.While doing research for the illegal immigration paper I stumbled across a lot of reports of people saying that the reason why there are so many illegal immigrants is becuase it is so difficult to become legal. Many people can only dream of getting their hands on green cards and I realized how lucky my father was to get one. So after doing so much research on illegal immigration I would like to study the opposite end of the spectrum, the process of how to become a legal immigrant. I would research the many types of visas there are both temporary and permant and the steps involved in become a natuarlized citizen.

Edit: After searching for more articles on green cards and immigration I found this one interesting website that portrays "do it yourself immigration." The website sells kits for people who are trying to get green cards, visas or citizenship legally. The kits include step by step instructions on how one can gain legal entrance into the U.S.A for a mere $60. One of the kits is made for people marrying a U.S. citizen and this reminded me of the movie Green Card which is about an annoying Frenchman who marries an American woman that he does not know so that he can gain a green card. So after looking into all of this I definatly want to include the extent of money and time that some people are willing to spend in order to gain residence in the U.S.

How do you become part of the American club?

Throughout the class discussions of immigration, I remember wondering several times why immigrants just didn't become American citizens. I didn't know much about it and it seemed other people didn't know too much about it either. It might help me to understand why a seemingly simple solution might not be so simple after all. I think it would be interesting to look into the naturalization process and what it entails.

It seems strange to me that someone can be born in this country and automatically have the distinction of an American citizen. Babies are only learning to open their eyes so they have no say in the matter. No one asks them whether or not they want to be part of this country. Yet, you have full grown adults with the desire to be part of America and this country is seemingly making it a challenge for them to do that.

Immigration is such a hot topic right now, it's been talked about in almost all of my classes this semester and I would really like to learn about all sides of this issue, especially when it comes to possible solutions.

Banana Boats

So, I've been thinking about bananas a lot lately. I'm not sure why... My boyfriend gave me one yesterday, and ever since I just can't get them out of my mind. Also, something that was strange, yesterday evening I ate another one and it had a Curious George sticker on it. Weird. I keep thinking they must have some relationship with immigration - but I'm still thinking. Anyway, bananas got me thinking about the song Day-O by Harry Belafonte. It's really a great song. As I continued to let my mind wander, I remembered that this song was used in Tim Burton's Betelgeuse. I love this movie... I haven't seen it in years, but I'm definitely going to again soon. I also came across this slightly humorous animation about Osama Bin Laden. And in the end I really have no idea what I'll be doing for the next paper. Let's just hope we get our papers back tomorrow (and that the democrats get a clean sweep in this election - god knows we need it)!

Standardized Me, Scotty

I was thinking about immigration and the way that Hazleton is printing important documents only in English when I thought about the standardized testing that keeps coming up in my Perspectives on American Education class. Standarized testing is very controversal with both sides vemenously defend their veiw. Unforunately both sides insist that they have what is best for the students in mind. These standardized tests cause problems for many children that have spoken English their entire lives. The PSSAs are given in English, so what about those students for whom English is a second language or haven’t had time to learn much English yet. Students that just moved into the country that have only a very basic knowledge of English have to take this test. Those students logically probably won’t be doing particularly well on that test. Those students could know the information and understand it, but if they aren’t “proficient” at reading English, they may not know what the question is even asking. As for math, these students may do better at math, but they probalby wont' be able to explain the problem in English or understand some of the word problems on the test. Some of the word problems confuse English "proficient" students with what they are asking, expecting a student that is just learning English to understand these is irrational.
As for the title, I just couldn't get the picture of young students lined up to get to go through the transporter, but to be become exactly alike instead to go somewhere else. Instead of "Beam Me Up, Scotty," it was a weird form of conformity. That made me think of A Winkle in Time and the planet where "It" rules all to the point where all small children play outside at a certain time each day each bouncing a ball in illusion. I realize this is probably one of the fallacies from pysch class, but it's what i thought of. Feedback anyone??

HELP!!!!!!!!!!!

Alright...so I'm really pissed because I just typed this and my computer decided to be mean and delete it all for no reason. So, here we go again for the second try.

I was thinking about the first paper that we wrote, looking at the space of Kutztown. In that paper I remember mentioning the importance of education. I thought this might be a good topic for my paper. Why is education important? Why do we need education? These are things that I could go from. Since we never talked about this issue directly in class I feel that it would add a lot to our class converstation.

I also got thinking about the last paper we did on illegal immigration. It was something that really caught my interest, and I would kind of like to look into it more. I'm not exactly sure what I would do with this issue though. Maybe, I could combine this topic and the importance of education idea and come up with something like educating immigrants. I could look into this issue and see if there are multiple sides to it, and what those sides are. I could look at the different ways in which immigrants (illegal and legal) are educated. This way I would be looking at immigration in a way that wouldn't be killing the issue.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After thinking about it I think I've decided not to do the topic of educating immigrants, but rather just the topic of the importance of education. I could look at the different benefits of education. There are obvious reason, but maybe I could find some other reasons. I'm not sure exactly what I'm looking for...but I'll know when I find it. I could use statistics to show the importance of education also, that way there will be some proof.

I'm not sure if this is exactly what I want to focus on. I know I want to do something with education...I just can't quite figure out what. It probally doesn't help that I have way too much other school work on my mind right now. Maybe later today in class someone will be able to help me out with an idea...HELP!!!! PLEASE!!!!

Rewinding A Bit

This is an awesome picture I took after we wrote the first paper. It was taken by the front of DeFrancesco, and I know you can't see, but 75% of the people in the picture are smoking - completely solidifying my point. Enjoy.

What are you talking about Mahoney???

Here I sit...bewildered? Maybe, but thinking about my research assignment. I am thinking about immigration...but I've heard a lot about that. What's really on my mind is the elections. No, not the Nicaraguan elections and Daniel Ortega the former Sandinista leader. Nope. the Mid-term elections...especially in Pennsylvania.

Why is this so hard?

Even after all of this debate in class, I'm very unclear on my decision about illegal immigration into the United States, because it is a touchy subject with several key points, be it pro or con, that make perfect sense in the context of the debate. Personally, I think that a more moderate program based on political compromise may be more beneficial than a plan that drifts towards extremes.

What I would have in mind if I had any say politically in the issue is beyond me. It just seems to me that the issue has been polarized in a political arena to such an extent that it is broadcasted as a black and white issue, rather than one that could be solved with some common ground in the middle. For example, I believe that laws such as the ones in Hazleton that penalizes those that offer basic necessities and jobs to illegal immigrants are too harsh, for they strip them of their ability to live at all. However, other laws, such as the one that governs our policy on native-born children which gives illegal immigrants incentive to sneak across the border should be abolished.

Other areas come into play as well. The US economy is reliant on migrant workers to provide some of our labor forces and immigrates, both legal and illegal, contribute to our labor pool. However, with a continued flow of illegal immigrates coming into the United States, there is the side note that native born citizens are losing their jobs to illegal immigrates who will work for lower wages. While it is not an easy issue to deal with economically, other solutions such as globalization may prove to be the long-term solution, allowing for some of the wealth of our country to flow into the coffers of other countries where living conditions will improve as well.

I really think that most of this just went around in circles, with me chasing my own tail. I think I'm just going to stop trying and do something else...

Illegal Immigration and Such...

700 of the 1,951 miles of US - Mexcan border will be walled. What kind of wall? I have no clue. Could be a thirty foot embattlement, or it could be a picket fence. Hell, I'd say, save the money and go ahead with the picket fence idea. Either way, it'll be about as effective. You're covering a little more than a third of the border. That's like a medieval castle having a moat to go around 3/4 of the city. This wall will not be the immigrant-stopping juggernaught that I'm sure it's made out to be. Um, hi? The people will just WALK AROUND IT. If they're willing to walk illegally across our border to get into the country, they'll take the extra time to go around our obstacles. And, if this 700 mile area is the heaviest illegal immigration spot, why don't we just send a few bombers over the border there, and nuke the towns on the other side? That'll send a message to Mexico, right? Come on people... if you're going to do something, do it right... build the damn wall all the way across or continue to do nothing. The way I see it, illegal immigration needs to be brought to an end as much as we can help it (note that I do not offer a solution for this) and legal immigration needs, from what I understand, to be made a little less difficult. If the people can come here legally (and would benefit from doing so, from what I know) then why wouldn't they? On the other side of the coin, we could pass legislation to make illegal immigration punishable by death, and set up patrols to shoot anyone who tries. Crazy, huh? It's just as outrageous as doing nothing. From my perspective, building a wall that covers only 36% of the border is as good as doing nothing. Which, I think everyone understands as unacceptable.

ps - Andy, I'll smack you with my pimpcane!

USA all the Way

Hmm. So let's see. My thoughts on Immigration. When it comes to serious issues such as this one I find myself having a very neutral opinion. I tend to agree partially with both sides of the argument. I find it really hard to make up my mind when it comes to this issue.
For instance I completely agree that in no way should we delegate English as the one and only language of the country. It to me is unfair and unjust. We should welcome other languages and cultures with a warm and understanding heart. English is a very difficult language that takes years upon years to master. I myself still am discovering things about the language I was born and raised to know. America wouldn't be American without a wide variety of people that we have. We all blend together to made the USof A. Although some immigrants might travel to America for the wrong reasons whether it be for illegal or criminal uses, along with these bad come many more good. Immigrants are completely stereotyped and we fail to relieve them of this burden. In no way do I think we are better than these people. I would say we are more fortunate to live in a place with so many great opportunities.
On the other hand I agree that immigration is a growing problem. I agree we must find some way to stop illegal immigrants from coming to the US. Along with this I believe it would be so much better if the process of citizenship was easier. It seems that the tests they must complete are long and hard. I want immigrants to become a part of this country. I want them to take advantage of the privileges that we have and they have not yet experienced. In no way am I saying that immigrants shouldn't be apart of America. I want them to become legal and enjoy their stay here and not have to live in isolation because they are scared of the consequences of getting caught.
America is continuing to grow and change daily. We as Americans must choose if we want it to change for the better or for the worse. This is our homeland and we have to embrace new citizens into the arms of our nation.

immigrants...

So .. I don't know how I feel towards this whole immigration thing. I agree with things on both sides. I feel like it is definately a problem, but I also feel that the war in Iraq is a bigger problem. I don't think they should have taken the huge lump of money from the funds in Iraq to build a wall because in reality if people want to come to the US they are going to find a way whether there is this big wall in the way or not. Also, the government says how big of a problem illegal immigrants are and that there is soo many of them in the US, but maybe if they made it just a little more easy to be here legally then this wouldn't be such a huge problem. I also don't think its fair to question or card everyone that may be an illegal immigrant because what about the ones that are legal? They are going to be put through this inconvenience on a daily basis just because others are violating the law. Its not their fault, they did things the right way therefore I don't feel like they should be put through this just because our government didn't do their job in the first place. In the end I guess I don't really side a certain way but thats what I think!!

Perhaps a little too impartial...

I have always been an impartial person. I see the pros and cons to both sides of any issue... I can put myself in another person's shoes and understand why the feel a certain way about an issue. Perhaps I am a little too impartial. I often wonder if this gets me into trouble, because I have a hard time finding how I feel about many a topic. But I am beginning to digress...

Immigration- it's tricky. I feel that, despite certain negative images we possess in others' minds, America is a pretty kick ass place. We are free to do whatever we want, whenever we want. We are successful, diverse, and living it up with that American Dream. I know that if I were struggling in another country, I would want to come here. In fact, I would probably do whatever I had to do to get here. So, in that aspect, I can relate to these immigrants. In fact, I want them to have every opportunity that America can give them. And as I sit here, spacing out, blaring my Humble Pie cd, I realize how trivial my problems are compared to these immigrants. Many face persecution and tremendous hardship, while I'm sitting here wondering what to wear to the club tomorrow night. So from that perspective, I feel that we should be helping these people out instead of trying to keep them away, as if they were disgusting vermin.

But then there is the flipside- I cannot help but be influenced by others such as my family, and how they view the subject. In all honesty, I come from a very racist family. If the topic of immigration comes up in conversation, the first thing said will be something awful. I am not saying that i feel this way... but I am saying that another side of me thinks, "This is our country, we work hard to keep it this way, and now they are going to come in, steal our jobs, etc." I feel horrible for thinking that way sometimes. So from this perspective I feel that if they are going to come in, fine, but the government should really crack down on who comes in and why, yadda yadda.

Like I said... for me, it's a tricky subject. And based on other blogs I have read about this issue, I would say it is tricky for many others as well. Issues like this make me realize that a lot of our world's problems could be fixed with a little more Peace, Love, and Understanding.

Head? Meet desk. Again, djf;usDG;DJK.

Okay, so the more I think about immigration issues, the more I want to kick something, because, well, it's making my head hurt and I can't verbalize exactly what I think, and it's just frustrating me in general, 'kay?

And of course there's the fact that I should care about it, if only for the fact that it's a decent-sized issue that will be dealt with politically, whether it should be or not, and I'm trying to be politically active and informed and all that good stuff. I... just don't, really, when it gets down to the nuts and bolts. On the large scale, I'd say that yeah, lessen the hoops immigrants have to go through to become citizens so they can to it legally, find a way to legalize those who are already here and really want to be citizens, help those who just want to earn money for their families to do that and do more humanitarian stuff globally so they don't have to come here to make money, but.

Maybe I'm just too jaded to care, because real life is rather lacking. As the cliche goes, life isn't fair, and hey, what I'd like to do would end up trying to make it more fair. Everything that sounds good in theory will probably fail in practice, because of first people, and second chaos. Y'know, butterfly effect and all that? Nothing is a vacuum, "right", "wrong", and laws are just social constructs maybe made more permenent that they should be, and wow I'm a bitch.

Ohgodsthisisnotcool,can'twriteapaperlikethis. *flails*

------Imm's------

I sit in the back--I see it all, I hear it all--I take it all in, think about it, analyze it. I had an opinion on the topic a few weeks ago, and after all this talk, I realize......
I still have the same opinion.
Something needs to be done about illegal immigrants--Sure, some of them are coming in--intelligent, pure, longing for a better life for them and their family--but some of them are coming with bad intentions--bringing crime and gangs and terror....
SIDEBAR: I feel like I've said all this before, and I'm feeling slightly ho-hum today, so if this post is less than inspiring, I apologize.-------
Anyway, I don't care how long and difficult the legalization process is--if you're really that excited about coming to America, to start a better life, you'll plug along, you'll go through with it--and I'll respect you for that. But the true illegals--coming to smuggle drugs or take our jobs, invade our innocent towns and cities (i.e., Hazleton,) need to leave. Get 'em out. Build the fence. Make the US English-Only. Ship 'em back. My "frame" might sound harsh, but it's my opinion. I'm conservative, old-fashioned, and prefer a simple, direct resolution to the whole thing.
Which is probably not realistic, possible, feasible, or even imaginable for some, but hey!
You never....
ever....
know.

I wish...

I know a lot of people have strong opinions on the topic of immigration, but personally I find it hard to side with one side or the other. I feel like I’m in the middle. I’m the type of person that always wants to help everyone. I feel that this makes me side with those who say we should get rid of immigration laws and make it easy for people to enter our country. Since I also know two people who are trying to obtain US citizenship I feel greatly for all those immigrants who are stuck in this long and complicated process. These reasons make me believe that instead of the US making it harder for immigrants to come here we need to make it easier. We need to help people in other countries who don’t have the amazing opportunities that we have here in the US. If people are fleeing for religious or economic reasons I believe we should welcome them.

But then the realistic side of me kicks in and says, “NO!” I see the potential problems that this openness to immigration could cause. If immigrants come to the US and many of them end up staying here and never returning home that could lead to some serious over population problems. The US can’t take on all the problems of the world…I realize that. I just wish we could.

foreign affairs

On this issue I’m still torn. Something must be done about illegal immigration, if only due to the large number of illegal immigrants in the country. The process of getting a green card should be made easier so that less people feel inclined to get here in a illegal fashion. However, this doesn’t solve the whole problem of how our country deals with foreign affairs, which is part of the problem itself. Although we are focusing on illegal immigration from Mexico, there are illegal immigrants from other areas too. In order to change the consistency of illegal immigration, we must try to communicate better with other countries and possibly help countries that have a problem with all their citizens fleeing to increase their standard of living. However, I don’t suggest doing through a war, which tends to pit countries against each other. This won’t stop illegal immigration from happening, but it may decrease the number of illegal immigrants per year. As for what to do about the illegal immigrants already here, I’m still unsure about what would be best. We can’t just break up families and tell them to get out, but letting everyone stay may make give the wrong idea to more people that want to immigrate to the United States. For now, I think that the known plan that will work the best is trying to find and document all of the illegal immigrants correctly including the amount of time they have been here, the illegal immigrants that just came to the United States within the last few months would be sent back and the others would be allowed to stay. Using this method, people that have been living here for long periods of time won’t be thrown out. I think that we need to get rid of the born on American soil and you’re an American idea, because many illegal immigrants risk their lives because they want tier children to have a better life.

If I Ran For Office

I know am a more informed citizen on the issue of illegal immigration; however, all that I have learned has not done much to change my opinion on the situation. I have more information at my disposal now with which to defend the opinions I do have though. I am not a supporter of complete compassion towards people who come here illegally, but nor am I in favor of the complete absence of compassion. I don’t think that people who have not come here through the proper channels should be able to enjoy the same benefits as those who have. I don’t agree with major league baseball players who set records using steroids, and I am a strong supporter of tightening regulations and stiffer penalties for those who break these laws, but I also don’t feel that it would suit any purpose to try to go back through and take those players who cheated out of the record books. In my opinion, what’s done is done; it’s more important to work to change things in the present and not dwell on the past.

I don’t think that this wall will do to much to keep out illegal immigration; however, it is a strong sign that the United States is getting serious about fixing this problem. That alone is a step in the right direction. I also am not in favor of anything that will negatively affect those immigrants who did come here properly. If these immigrants will suffer as much from these new regulations as illegal ones will, then that is not a good solution to the problem.

Illegal immigrants shouldn’t be sought out once they’re here. I agree strongly with the new laws that were implemented in Houston; that if someone is found in violation of another law, police have every right to find out if they are here legally or not, but as long as they follow the other laws of this country, I feel that it would be a violation of personal rights to arrest someone just on suspicion of being an illegal.

Legally Summing it Up

To try and put together my final thoughts on the topic is going to be difficult, but I feel from all the discussion I have put together a concrete opinion. I do feel safe stating that I believe the immigration process needs some sort of ammending. I also feel safe stating that the current system is very flawed, especially when it is estimated that as many as 12 million people live in this country undocumented, unlawfully, and dangerously. It is unlawful because the law states to live in this country you must be a citizen or a documented guest operating under conditions the Government states. It is dangerous because who knows who these people are? Yes the average illegal immigrant (a term I use only as what it states, someone who immigrated here illegally) likely means no harm to anyone, but out of those 12 million people the number of drug traffikers, terrorists, murderers, and everyday criminals who the government doesn't have any record of is enough for alarm. I think it is only fair to everyone if all people are regarded to under the same system who live inside the country border, and the only possible way for that is to overcome the immigration issue. Steps to be taken to resolve it are not as easy to come up with. It is likely impossible to gain documentation on everyone in the country, but the number 12 million definitly needs reduced. Everyone here illegally has in fact broken the law and needs to be dealt with accordingly. That doesn't mean they shouldn't be offered citizenship, but they must be punished. And if my view seems to be one demensional, I have personal experience involving an extremely close relative who to my knowledge worked around the system to gain citizenship, and I know that dealing with this problem would prevent that from happening in the future. It does sadden me that honest people like that may be denied access to the land I love, but if nothing is done there won't be a land to love much longer. This issue is a rising hurdle in the future operation of this country, but with enough thought, creativity, and compromise, an acceptable solution is likely. In conclusion, something must be done, the current system is terrible, people cannot live here unknown to the Government.

Law and Order: MBP (Mexican Border Patrol)

*dun dun* (Law and Order sound) October 17, 2006 10pm North Campus
haha Sorry, I had to. (On a side note, I have NEVER watched Law and Order once.) Okay, here's my stance on the whole illegal immigration debate for this paper. If you cross the US border from any country in methods that are illegal by the United States' standards, then that is illegal and is a crime. I do not believe that an illegal immigrant should be immediately deported if they are found out to be living here but they should be given time or fair warning first before getting deported. Jobs ARE being taken by American citizens by illegal immigrants. You cannot tell me otherwise because they have to be taking them from somebody, aren't they? The best way that I can think of changing this is for those who want to come to the US to better their lives to find the legal ways of coming here and not trying to sneak in.
There should be ways for immigrants to gain citizenship in a more time-efficient manner. I know that marrying a US citizen automatically makes you a citizen but at the same time, that can be illegal if it was done for the sole purpose of gaining citizenship. 7 years is somewhat of a long time to become a citizen. 5 years is just as long to receive benefits from the government. I would cut the time at least in half but that is just me. I am not the one creating the New Berlin Wall in Texas. There better be graffiti on it like Germany's wall in a month, that's all I gotta say.