Extra Credit #4

This chilling article is about a pair of sisters 15 and 11 years old who were charged with killing their brother. The brother supposedly beat her and locked her in her room. This led to the 15 year old sister sneaking through a window in her parents bedroom, getting the handgun, loading it, and shooting her brother once. She claims that this was not the first time that this had happened. Also, on numerous occasions the parents would lock her in her room with only a blanket and a bucket. This led to the parents getting charged with “child neglect causing great bodily harm”. This is punishable by up to 15 years in prison. However, the decision to try these girls as adults has yet to be determined. A Florida prosecutor has 30 days to make this decision.

I personally feel that the 15 year old should be tried as an adult because the murder was clearly premeditated. However, the 11 year old did not play too big a role in the murder of her brother as she did not pull the trigger. Also, being only 11 years she has a greater chance for rehabilitation than her sister who carried out the crime. I do agree with the charges being brought against the parents because no child deserves to be treated so poorly, no matter what they did. There is nothing a child can do to deserve being locked in their room and given only a blanket and a bucket.

Extra Credit #3

At the Mexican-American border in California, a truck containing 15 tons of weed was stopped and seized. This is the second largest bust to date in America. The first being 17.6 tons, which was also caught crossing into California from Mexico. The truck was passing through Monday night when it came to the U.S. Border Patrol. As usual, the truck was X-rayed and the patrol officer stated that the “objects inside didn’t look right” (CNN). Another officer opened the back doors to see bricks of weed wrapped in plastic stacked from floor to ceiling. In total, there was 1,296 weighing in at 31,598 pounds which has an “estimated street value of $18.96 million” (CNN).

I find this very stupid. I do not quite understand why someone would take the risk of hauling 15.8 tons of marijuana across the border. It is obvious that they are going to X-ray the cargo of the truck, especially when it says “mattresses and cushions” on it. The patrol officers would want to make sure that what the truck says the cargo is, is actually in the truck. In this case, there were a few mattresses at one end of the truck and the rest was weed. However, I would like to see the punishment that is given to the driver of the truck. Unfortunately, this article did not give that information. This is because this just happened 3 days ago, so it’ll take some time to try him/her.

Extra Credit #2

Last week, a finalist in a cooking show on the Food Network was found dead in a wood stove. Her and her husband were reportedly killed and their bodies put into a wood stove leaving only remnants of the bodies. Police got a call regarding suspicious behavior at Robert Jason Owens’ house, a contractor who was working for the victims at the time. The call pertained to the discarding of items in a dumpster. The police obtained a warrant to search Owens’ house and there they found the remains of the TV star and her husband in the wood stove of his house. The finalist, Cristie Codd was five months pregnant at the time. Owens is being charged with two counts of first-degree murder, murder of an unborn child, and breaking and entering. Also, Owens’ apparently confessed to his wife that he had killed Joseph Codd, the husband to Cristie.

This is a very odd story to say the least. There was no motive that the police released at this time. Their only connection was that Owens’ was the Codd’s contractor and that he had done some “odd jobs” for the Codds in the past. It is an ongoing investigation so the police could not release much. I would like to follow this story to see if there was a motive or if Owens just went insane.

Underground Economy

The Underground Economy is the untaxed labor of millions of people around the world. In the United States, it is most commonly known for people working under the table. This means that these people earn a flat rate of pay, whether it be hourly or otherwise, that never gets taxed by the state or the nation's government. Their pay is still taxed by the goods they buy or the things they may own, but their income is untaxed. This can be a very good thing, especially if you are the one getting untaxed income. It helps many people survive. These people either can't get an official job or choose to work under the table. However, it is detrimental to the government. It prevents the government from collecting a percentage of that income that could help the country and/or state better its economy or environment. In the United States, the Underground Economy accounts for 7% of the nation's GDP all of it tax-free. In my opinion, I feel it will never be completely stopped even though it is detrimental to the nation.

Spoils v. Merit

There are many examples of the spoils system throughout the United States' history. One of them being Jackson's spoils. This is when Andrew Jackson won the election of 1828 and he gave government jobs to his supporters. The merit system was instituted to try to prevent this from happening again. Although it is not 100% effective. The merit system requires good credentials in order to receive the position you are applying for. This means that the person who is better fit for the job will be hired over someone who knows somebody else. This may sound strange because we all know so many people who get jobs today because they know somebody in the industry. We also hear of people getting away with certain crimes because they know certain people or hold certain positions. This is why the merit system is not 100% effective. Just a few years ago, our President, Barack Obama, pardoned his uncle who was drunk driving and had been in this country illegally. This is another demonstration of the spoils system at work. I believe in the merit system. One should have to work for the things that they want or have. People should not be receiving jobs or getting away with felonies just because of their name or status. When people work for what they have they are more likely to be a contributing member of society. If someone is just given a job they are more likely to take it for granted because they will "always be able to get another". Who you know and who you are should not make a difference. I would rather work for everything I have than be given the world.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/08/29/obamas-uncle-charged-with-drunken-driving/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spoils_system

Cell Phones and The Constitution

I feel that it is necessary to obtain a warrant in order to be able to search someones phone, tablet, laptop, or any other electronic device. Just because it has access to the whole world does not mean the whole world should have access to it, just the owner. I feel it is a serious infringement upon the 4th Amendment right if any electronic is searched without a warrant. In the article, it is stated that this was ruled upon with a 9-0 decision (17). This means that every Supreme Court Justice agrees. This is very rare too because in this day and age "5-4 rulings... have become almost standard" (16). The 5-4 separation comes from the conservative liberal split (16). So for this case to be a unanimous decision is a very big deal. This has a big impact on future cases going forward as well. In many cases around the country electronics are used as evidence against the accused, but now law enforcement will be required to obtain a search warrant before they can search the device. 98% of Americans aged 18-29 have cellphones and of those, 83% have smartphones (16). This just shows how big electronics can be in any case in the country. If that many people have them at that age it is safe to assume that more than 75% of the population of the United States owns an electronic device that is connected to the outside world. This case has a big impact on future cases going forward and i completely agree with the ruling.

Head Of State

Head of State is a comical movie that pokes fun at today's political system. In the movie Mays Gilliam, the main character, is instructed to say what the people want to hear rather than how he really feels. This relates to today's political system because a candidate in any political position will do exactly what they are told to do in order to appear the way the people want the person to appear. When he finally mans up and says the things he feels, he gets a big push of supporters due to his down to earth and relate-able personality. This is what ultimately wins him the election and the presidency.

Over the course of his candidacy, Mays Gilliam evolves as a candidate but not a person. At the beginning of the movie he tells a man that he would drive him to work if the man could not get there. In the middle of his candidacy, the same man could no longer get to work and Mays Gilliam stopped what he was doing to bring the man to work. As a candidate he only started of has an alderman who had no intentions of ever becoming the president of the United States. His political platform did change a little bit but that is only because he stopped listening to the people trying to tell him what to do.

He also portrayed a more stereotypical candidate at the beginning of his campaign. He did this by doing very many speeches and stating that where ever he was, the people there were the backbone of the nation. This relates to many candidates in today's politics because they just tell people what they want to hear. Mays Gilliam is what many people today would hope for in a candidate. I am not referring to his political platform but to his openness and to his sense of reality that he had upon the world. He was a very down to earth candidate and I feel that many people would like to see someone like this run for presidency in the future of this country.