Good Cop, Bad Cop

On July 17, 2014, Eric Garner died in Staten Island, New York, after a police officer put him in a chock hold. The tragedy was caught on tape, and Eric Garner was heard repeating the phrase "I can't breath" until he lost consciousness.

 

On August 9, 2014, 18-year-old Mike Brown was fatally shot by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. His sudden death, at the hands of a law officer, caused violent protests.

Those are only two examples of the slew of negative stories regarding police officers in recent Media. It seems that people are being influenced to believe that all cops are violent, racist, selfish monsters who couldn't care less about the safety and well-being of the community. This new anti-cop mentality is causing people to act out all around the country. They are "taking matters into their own hands" by murdering innocent men who bravely put on their uniform everyday with the goal of protecting absolute strangers.

The deaths of those men were a terrible tragedy, as are all untimely deaths, and the men responsible NEED TO BE held accountable. It is important that murderers learn the value of ALL human life. 

 

On December 20, 2014, uniformed police officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos were fatally shot in their squad car in Brooklyn, New york. The double murder is still currently under investigation. 

The belief that all police officers are evil is ridiculous. 

All police officers are human. Are all humans racist? No, right? Therefore, we have reason to believe that not all cops judge others by the color of their skin. In fact, most police officers take their oaths very seriously and are just as appalled as the rest of us by what happened to Eric and Mike. I do not want my son to grow up thinking that he cannot turn to a police officer in an emergency situation.

No wife/husband should have to worry that their spouse is not going to return home simply because he/she wears a uniform and a badge. No child should be told that their mother/father is in heaven because of someone's ignorant vendetta against the police. 

Once again, I encourage everyone to start thinking for themselves. 

Is it simple to make a difference! 

All you really need to do is be respectful and know your rights. This goes for police and civilians alike.

Value EVERY human life!

Christmas Tragedy

Usually, around this time of year we hear stories about miracles and brotherliness all around the world. People go out of their way to lend a helping hand, but a few days ago a horrible event took place in Pakistan. 

The Taliban raided a military school and opened fire, killing 132 children from grades 1 through 10. Many of the children were civilians and all of them were completely innocent. One father commented that his 14 year old son left home in his uniform and returned in a coffin. 

 

Once again, intolerant men were carrying out their perverted view of "justice."

While it is important to remember that this season is about love and thanksgiving, we cannot ignore the fact that children are dying, not just in Pakistan, but all over the world. As we rush into stores to buy presents for those we cherish, many others are suffering and grieving. 

This year, we have to emphasize the true meaning of Christmas: a savior was born into an evil place to save us from the sin that enslaves us all, so that we could have hope for a perfect eternity. 

Thank God that you are safe, comfortable, and warm. 

Thank God that you are able to show your children, family, and friends how much you care about them. 

Thank God that you are alive and well today. 

There are not enough words to express my condolences. 

My heart bleeds for those kids, and especially for theirs mothers and fathers. 

No parent should ever suffer the loss of a little one; no one should ever know that pain. 

'Tis the season to be grateful for the peace in your life in a world that is filled with despair.

Honor the 132 children who lost their lives by living like Jesus, and spreading the love to everyone you meet. 

No exceptions.

It's Getting Hot In Here!

 

No, it's not just you, it is really getting warmer, and the United States is not the only country being affected. The World Meteorological Organisation reported that the global average land and sea surface temperatures for the first 10 months of 2014 had soared higher than ever recorded. WMO also reported that 14 of the 15 hottest years were recorded in the 21st century. 

Global Warming is no longer a crazy, extreme theory, as once believed by many!

Now that people have finally accepted it, what are people doing about it? 

The United Nations weather agency gathered in Lima to discuss climate change negotiations in attempts to prevent the temperatures from rising to dangerous levels. 

While that is a very good thing, we have to remember that it is NOT only up to them! 

It is up to humans to collectively realize this dangerous problem and work together on the solution. 

The best part is that the things we can do to help are so simple!

Tips on bringing downs the heat:

- Change your light bulbs in your home to Energy Star qualified products.

- Carpool to work with your coworkers. Make it fun by sharing breakfast pastries and coffee!

- And one that I hope we all know, REDUCE, REUSE, and RECYCLE!

 

White Rhinos

In case you have not heard, there are now only 6 White Rhinos left in existence since the death of a 34 year old male rhino on October 17. Once those 6 rhinos die, the African White Rhino will be extinct, meaning that there will be no more rhinos in the entire world. 

This means that Nico will only hear the stories of how there was once an animal called a rhino. 

This means that he will see them in pictures and be told that they aren't any more rhinos left.

This means that when he visits the zoo with his class, there will be no rhino exhibit. 

How many more species are we going to kill off before we realize that soon there will be no animals for the future generations to learn about or discover? 

How long before we learn to coexist with the animal kingdom for their benefit? 

Good bye White Rhinos! 

Let's not let this happen again.

World News Wednesday: Ebola

First of all, for those of you who don't know, Ebola is an infectious and generally fatal disease marked by fever and severe internal bleeding, spread through contact with infected body fluids by an Ebola virus, whose normal host species is unknown.

The disease has been a problem in West Africa for decades, but now that it has spread to our soil, it seems like we are finally giving this crisis the attention that it deserves. The US Government donated $750 million dollars to fund a 6 month mission to fight Ebola at a known source; coincidentally, West Africa. 

That's reassuring. 

Meanwhile, as the world continues its struggle to contain the epidemic, the CDC warns us that we have 60 days to get this under control. Read More. And if we don't, we are faced with a challenge that we are not prepared to handle.  

This was not meant to scare anyone!!

I just feel that it is important to stay informed in ordered calmly prepare ourselves, and as a reminder to be careful. I always recommend that if you are really paranoid about something, do some research about it. Fear can sometimes stem from not knowing what you are up against. 

Personally, I don't think we have anything to worry about. I know that we can get this under control, and I am grateful that people are taking it seriously. 

However, history is being made, yet again, during our life time.

We should be aware of that.

When Parents Turn to Murder: Alexis

As many of you know, the month of October is Domestic Violence Awareness month. In order to raise awareness, this week I would like to tell the story of Alexis and her mother, Victoria.

Victoria was a victim of regular, brutal domestic dating violence. Her boyfriend, Freddy Mendez, would repeatedly beat her during arguments and force her to do ridiculous things for him. In one video she speaks about one of the instances of abuse where he punched her repeatedly in the face, threw her in the pool, dragged her out, punched her repeatedly again, shoved her into the closet, and then told her to go make him a sandwich.

One day, he began beating Alexis, Victoria's 3 year old daughter, and he did not stop until she was dead.

Victoria said she stood by holding her 7 month old son, yelling at Freddy, trying to get him to stop. When he finally did, she was left to "take care" of the lifeless little girl. 

Freddy was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole, and Victoria was sentenced to 35 years in prison for "allowing" the abuse, which escalated to murder. But after serving only 2 years, the judge decided to release her. Many people were appalled by his decision.

This country has made a habit of turning battered women into criminals for failing to protect their children in situations such as this one. Many of them face between 20 and 40 years of prison time. 

I believe that there is always something you can do to get your child out of danger. I would even go to the extreme of killing anyone who is physically threatening the life of my son.

But every woman is different. 

I don't think that a woman who lives in constant fear can be expected to make rational decisions, and I don't think that they should be considered in their right state of mind. Who knows how much head trauma they themselves have faced, who knows how much emotional and psychological abuse they have endured.  Many of them have been brainwashed in to thinking that they are worthless and powerless by men who are obviously crazy and manipulative. 

Everyone deserves a second chance. The judge's decision only means that Victoria can grieve her daughter, get her life back on track, seek the help she needs and try to focus on regaining custody of her son and providing him with a better life.

This does not mean that I excuse the child abuse.

Like I mentioned before, there are always ways to keep your baby safe. Leave them in the care of a trusted adult, teach them to call 911, encourage them to tell someone who you know will help, find a hiding place for them in the house that only you know about, physically defend them even if it means getting hurt yourself, or my personal favorite, get out and get help! 

Remember, these women are not alone!

 If you see children with multiple bruises, report it; better safe than sorry. If you hear your neighbors arguing a little too violently, report it. If you see a man (or woman) treating their partner or child harshly in public, report it. If you see a woman with multiple bruises, report it. 

In this world, we have to take care of each other. Together, we CAN...

How Students REALLY Feel About Group Presentations

 

For the love of GOD, if you are a professor and you are reading this, please please please please please STOP giving your students group projects. PLEASE!

Okay, maybe that is a little unreasonable. But it seems like for the past 4 years I have been forced to work with irresponsible and selfish people who either leave everything for the last minute, or who skip out on their part of the project only to leave me to finish all of the work. The funny thing, is that most professors do not care, and insist on making it a group grade anyway. 

First of all, if you are professor know this, WE PREFER TESTS!!!!! 

I understand that you get tired of lecturing the class. Sometimes you want to just sit back and watch a nice presentation, but it is NOT our job to teach our fellow classmates. Nor do they care about what one another has to say. They only care about their grade and how they are going to do when they stand up to present. If they are paying attention, 9 times out of 10 its due to common courtesy.

Now, because teachers and professors are probably NEVER going to stop with this, no matter how much we INSIST that we hate it, if you are in a group to do a presentation or project,  BE CONSIDERATE! 

Do not procrastinate of the your portion of the work. Why? Because, something could go wrong, you won't have time to fix it, and someone will have to fix it for you because they don't want you to drag their grade down. Do what you have to do, as soon as possible. We all are busy, we all have priorities and things that we need to get done. That being said, respect the time of your group members. It is not fair to thrust your responsibilities on someone who has responsibilities of their own.

When you leave your group hanging, they get stressed, overwhelmed, frustrated and angry. Which is completely understandable. We ALL know how hard it is because we are ALL going through it. Let's work TOGETHER, instead of for ourselves. 

People are counting on you.  

DO NOT LET THEM DOWN! 

World News Wednesday : Syria

It is important for the young people of our country to know what is happening in the world around us. Many of us are too focused on silly lighthearted news that does not have any impact on the overall culture of our society. Though that type of news can be nice to hear from time to time, I feel that we are all a part of the human race, after all, we should know what goes on where so that we learn how to help each other, and how to coexist. 

This week I wanted to bring some light to the on-going conflicts in Syria. I am not a very political person, I tend to lean more towards ethics and morality. To me, it is important that every human on the planet, especially the children, has what they need to make their life more enjoyable and more simple. Of course, we all know that any kind of war would make that impossible for some people in the countries involved. This week, air strikes have been launched in Syria, further destroying the lives of millions of displaced Syrians (Video: Official News Report on the Airstrikes ). People who have watched their homes bombed and burned to the ground, families that have been separated, kids who have been orphaned; they all continue to watch in horror wondering when their suffering will end.  

Video: The Aftermath of a Small Syrian Village

Food for Thought:

• If you could do ONE thing to change the life of a Syrian, or to change the pattern of violence that has swept across their nation, what would you do? 
• Put yourself in the shoes of a Syrian for just a few minutes today, try to imagine what our brothers and sisters are feeling just on the other side of Earth.