Melting Pot

A CNN Article is written by Christian Lander. A Canadian immigrant, he shares his opinion on our view of those that enter our country. He states that immigrants started as white Europeans but today are from all over the world. He hints that we should be more accepting of immigrants because everyone here was an immigrant to begin with.

                        “In the popular myth, immigrants arrive as huddled masses yearning to be free and most of the women wear scarves around their head. They move to the Lower East Side or some other suitably "ethnic" community, they change a last name, they learn English and within one generation they are welcomed into the country as ethnic Americans and granted that wonderful privilege of checking the white box on the census.

                        The reality is that America has a long history of welcoming immigrants who will never be able to check that white box on the census, and unfortunately that means America also has a long history of discrimination against those people regardless of their status in the country. Just one example would be the treatment of Japanese-Americans during World War II contrasted against the treatment of German-Americans.

                        But all of that was in the past right? Well, ask yourself this: Who is more likely to get pulled over and forced to show his papers in Arizona today? A first generation Canadian immigrant, or a 10th generation Mexican-American?

                        What I hope this census will force the country to deal with is the fact that white immigrants like me will never again make up the majority of people that come to this country...”

                       The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Christian Lander.

I most definitely agree with this opinion. Every person living in America besides Native Americans is an immigrant. We all came from someplace else. There shouldn’t be discrimination of any kind just because some of us were here first. What difference does that make? It shouldn’t make any at all.

My ancestors were from Germany. If I am considered American, then so are the people whose ancestors came from Japan or Mexico. And if my ancestors were allowed to make a home out of America, then others should be allowed as well. America is a melting pot of cultures, let’s keep stirring.



Article Source:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/04/29/lander.who.am.i/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29

Picture Source:

http://iron.lcc.gatech.edu/~ntrivedi6/blog/?tag=melting-pot

How Many Text Messages Did You Send Today?

A CNN article tells about a recent study taken by the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project. It shows that teenagers send an average of 100 text messages each day. If you count twelve hours in a day, they send about 8 messages an hour which is like one very seven minutes. Basically, they text ALL the time.

            "Texting is so functional and efficient," said Amanda Lenhart, a senior research specialist at Pew, when asked to explain the survey results. "It's convenient and fits into those small spaces in daily life. You're not talking about much, but you're telling people you're connected to them (CNN)."

Lenhart is correct in saying that texting is a way for us to communicate. It is definitely a convenient way to keep in touch and I would be a hypocrite if I said I didn’t use it. I am just as guilty as any other teen of sending many, many text messages in one day. We also tend to text more than call. Teens make or receive about 5 calls a day. Compare that to 100 text messages. I also think it’s safe to say that we text our friends and call our parents. It’s just what we do.

But how do we send so many texts in one day when half of the day we are in school? And the other half we are in a sport or doing our homework or spending time with family or friends…? The answer is that we text ALL the time. Whenever we have a spare second we whip out our phones and text someone. I know I do it. And I can’t be the only one because I have people to text every time I have a spare second.

I’ve got to say that Lenhart’s light-hearted view on the topic makes me a little worried. Texting should not be an all day occurrence. Sure, it’s a way to communicate but it should not be a way in which we live our lives. Our phones should not be a medium for experiencing life. They should be stuffing, not the turkey.

Put your phone away every once in awhile and go live a little. Be a real person, not a name on someone else’s cell phone display screen.



Article Source:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/04/20/teens.text.messaging/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29

Picture Source:

http://www.candrugstore.com/blog/2009/05/is-texting-causing-more-problems-than.html

Connecticut Bishops say “Hush”

Connecticut State Rep. Beth Bye sponsors a bill would that lift the statute of limitations on sex abuse victims in Connecticut. Currently, a victim has 30 years after their 18th birthday to file charges. The new bill would lift this.

Bye supports the bill because it allows any age group to have access to the courts. Also “anyone older than 48 who makes a sex abuse claim against the church would need to join an existing claim filed by someone 48 or younger.” (CNN article) This is to make sure that “frivolous” lawsuits do not take place.

Connecticut Bishops however have spoken up against this bill. They worry that it would open cases in which "key individuals are deceased, memories have been faded, and documents and other evidence have been lost." (Letter written by Connecticut Bishops) Basically, they don’t want to dig up old skeletons.

I understand that the statute of limitations was put into place to save money. It is so hard to find evidence of a rape that happened over 30 years ago. A lawsuit based on little evidence takes a lot of time and effort and it might not be worth it at all. But any person should have a right to go to trial. This new bill protects this right while saving the extra expense. If a person older than 48 has to join an existing claim, it combines two cases in one. They can still have their case heard but it doesn’t cost twice as much.

I do not agree with the Bishops’ concern. If a person was abused it is not the victims fault and they should not stay quiet about it just to protect the reputation of the person that did it. That person is responsible for his actions. If the victim wants their claim to be heard then it should be heard.



Article Source:



http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/04/11/connecticut.abuse.bill/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29



Picture Source:



http://www.freedomsphoenix.com/Article/050933-2009-05-30-how-a-bill-becomes-law.htm