Equality

There is a new controversy on the new soda tax. Some people are fine with this tax because they know soda is bad, and it is something a lot of people do buy (that shouldn't) so it would help stimulate things, but is it right? Would we be better off taxing one cent on everything? It would be equal and would make it easier to get the money we "desperately" need. Is this the cost of success? The more you make and sell your product the more likely you will be taxed. Why can't we make thing equal between everything. There would be no product discrimination. Even though it does not benefit you or your health I still don't think soda should be ostracized into this tax group, everything should be.

Family

People make family an important part of your life, and that's great but I don't think most of the things they say are necessarily true so I don't really believe in family family family. They like to say family is blood, but everyone is technically blood and everyone is related in some way shape or form. Just because someone is more closely related to you doesn't mean they are better people, or are always going to be there for you. Friends and other people can be just as good as family. They make it seem that family are the first ones to love you, and give you unconditional love which isn't always true. Would you choose the people who raised you your whole life even though they aren't "blood" or your biological parents in the end? Others can care for you just as much or even more. I know so many people who have family that hurts them,and I don't understand why they would keep that connection with them and see them as anything if they get treated badly.

Now I'm not saying to dis own your family because they have taken care of you (if they have) since whenever, but this thing that people say about it just isn't always true. Just remember the people that have always been there for you and those who love you.

Are prisoners doomed to fail?

After prison is it societies fault that 60-70% of people go back to jail? Does prison provide a nice home for former inmates that make them return or does society make it so hard on released felons that make them resort to crime to survive? Does bad credit, inability to get a job/make a living, bad reputation, the ostracizing of former inmates, and change in lifestyle make it nearly impossible for people to stay clean? Maybe we need to focus on how to make prison more efficient because the statistics are shocking, this is also a lot of tax payer money going into this so if we were able to fix the prisons we would be paying less money for them and of course have less crime. The most profitable American industry is the privately run prison industry. That sounds a little weird to me as well.

According to www.ojp.usdoj.gov the Recidivism of Prisoners Released in 1994 was Released prisoners with the highest rearrest rates were robbers (70.2%), burglars (74.0%), larcenists (74.6%), motor vehicle thieves (78.8%), those in prison for possessing or selling stolen property (77.4%), and those in prison for possessing, using, or selling illegal weapons (70.2%).
Within 3 years, 2.5% of released rapists were arrested for another rape, and 1.2% of those who had served time for homicide were arrested for homicide.
The 272,111 offenders discharged in 1994 had accumulated 4.1 million arrest charges before their most recent imprisonment and another 744,000 charges within 3 years of release.

So do you think we need a better system? We can avoid so much, if only...

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/rpr94.htm

http://usgovinfo.about.com/library/weekly/aa060702a.htm

and to see The Business of Correctional Facilities
http://thisis50.com/profiles/blogs/the-business-of-correctional

Is It Right?

It kind of came to me today. I thought about whether it's right or wrong or morally/ethically incorrect to defy an unjust law. For example we all know the story of Socrates, he was innocent for our laws, but he was corrupting the society by instilling all these ideas and defying the gods. In the end he chose to stay in jail when it was possible to escape and take the death sentence. They say his moral fiber was so strong he couldn't have left, but would he have been wrong to? Obviously the sentence was unjust, so would it have been okay for him to run from this?

Even though we must follow the rules and laws that pertain to where we live, should we always ethically follow them? Would it have been okay for any martyr to run from their death sentence because it was wrong? I guess if we always did we could never change what we feel is wrong and unjust? How do you feel?

Health & Shape

So I'm pretty sre you all know about your health and how in shape you are. You've robably heard everything I know so there's not really much to tell you about it. The thing is that it feels amazing. Even though it seem shallow, we do looks upon looks a lot, but you can't help it that's the main way we perceive. Shape is a good representation of your health for the most part. I like working out and just getting stronger, the looks are second. Now that I startedwith football I feel like I'm in real shape again. I haven't been like this since I was in boxing. Since we always want the hard things in life, I've always wanted abs,becasue I have been a little big. Now i finally feel like im my closest to it and that's my motivation for t, and to soon love everything we do and get past how hard it is. I can't wait til A.D. (active Dynamics) is a piece of cake. So right now I'm eating this chinese food like a beast, I got home a little bit ago from a long practice. I feel good, and want to get better. Do your thing be better, look better, and feel better.

Moving

Moving can suck if you really don't want to, but moving can be a great thing in your life. To move physically or mentally, it's all good. Last weekend I finally moved, and even though it's not as convenient as living in front of the school it's good. It's always good to move, or change. Moving on after a relationship, and letting go of something you really loved so it loses the control over you. Moving mountains, to go up against a situation, or obstacle, against all odds, something great and just push. Moving or changing for the better, you'll always have the memories, but sometimes you can't do more if you don't move. So move away from your safe zone, move away from what holds you back, move on, or just move and begin anew.

Streets On Fire

Streets on fire toniiiightt

I was listening to this song by Lupe Fiasco called Streets on Fire and it totally reminded me of the situation that I last blogged about. The general public is pretty dumb, vacuous and too credulous. Everyone begins to play the name game or have some sort of knowledge out of nowhere. It's funny how people come to conclusions with no proof and people believe it.

One part of the song goes "The poor say the rich have the cure The rich say the poor are the source Revolutionaries say it's psychological war Invented by the press Just to have something to report Some say the first case came from a maternity ward Some say a morgue, some say the skies, some say the floor Whores say the nuns, nuns say the whores And everybody is sure The scientists said it only infects the mind The little boy said it only infects the girls The Preacher man said it's gonna kill off the soul A bum said it's gonna kill the whole wide world"

This is exactly how people react. It's sad, maybe this has been you. Don't believe the hype. You know the swine flu actually originated in California, some scientist say. Truth is hard to find who knows. Here's a live performance of Streets on Fire.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82ZuOjJqiLU

Kinda Funny

Swine Influenza, big topics today for everyday people. I feel as if This has gotten Way out of proportion and is not as worse than everyone thinks. It's funny how now they're stating to call it h1N1 (the stand that's affecting us today) because pork companies don't want to lose anymore business. Now whether the influenza can affect us or not from pork food it's funny how fast businesses will tell you it's okay to have their product. It reminds me of the pharmaceutical company that bought the vaccine company in Europe. Medicines and vaccines are completely different. Medicines make people feel better and control whatever they have, but you have to keep taking them. On the other hand vaccines pretty much stop you from catching whatever your trying to avoid. Different companies and essence under one branch, seems a little weird. Why would a company buy another company that is almost the opposite of what they're trying to do. Like Mc Donald's buying Y.M.C.A.. Maybe I'm just being skeptical or maybe it's something more. Think about it.

Plastic Surgery

Plastic Surgery as we all know is when you go into surgery to change yourself i.e. any part of your body such as tummy tucks, liposuction, botox etc. So today we were having a discussion about this guy who got a job as a terrorist analysist. He later got a sex change and applied as a woman and did not qualify for the job. The government settled later on the case he made. So since the class got to crazy and dumb or one particular girl what do you think?
Was it wrong for them to deny the guy when he came back as a woman?
Is there a line for plastic surgery? Changing a part of you or you as a whole? Is it still just plastic surgery or something different when it involves changing your sexuality?

Truth

What is truth? Can you really define it?
Some people may think truth is fact or it is something true. Is there any definite truth?
It's all based on perspective and that comes from all of our senses. But can or senses really be trusted? We see things that aren't there, hear our name in a crowd when no one called it, and blind folded we would probably confuse so much with touch, taste, and smell. So if we can trust truth can we trust ourselves to create it?

The dictionary can define it as conformity to reality or actuality; a fact that has been verified. I think truth is belief. What you believe to be true is truth to you. For some people god is a fact and no denying it. Some people think evolution is fact and it's obvious. So fact can easily be discredited. There is no way to be a 100% unbiased so truth is automatically opinion.

So is there absolute truth out there?

You Do What You Have To Do

Back in 2003 there was this 13 year old girl, Savanna Redding, who was strip searched at school because she was said to possess potentially lethal over the counter medication. Basically the story was that an honor student and other students told the principle and faculty that she had ibuprofen pills. They immediately called her down to the office. A school nurse and assistant principle stripped searched to find the alleged pills. In the end the girl didn't have the pills.

Now Savanna is 19 and going to the Supreme Court to fight her case for the 3rd time on a higher level. Two courts have already ruled that the school had every right to search her. She says she since then has been traumatized, has few friend, trust issues, and rarely goes outside. Out of emotion and personal morality you might think this was totally wrong and the school should never had the right to perform the search. I seem to have the perspective difference, and I as well as the other two court hearings agree that the school had the right. people are devastated because they searched her and found nothing, well what if they did? Would you change your mind on how the situation was handled? If they found the drugs on her, you would be applauding the school staff for handling it so well. These are safety precautions, we do them for a reason. The situation might have not ended so good if the outcome had changed. On the other hand pills are extremely hard to find and can be hidden virtually anywhere on/in your body. Some people think they should have notified her parents, well what difference would it have made? Parents wouldn't be comfortable and if she had nothing to hide there should be no problem. Some people think age makes a difference. Drugs and illegal items or substances are still illegal and harmful whether your 7 or 70. Maybe a strip search has a little harsh, but you have to do what you have to do if you want to do your job, and the school staff is there to secure their kids, the students. Some people also say you could get ten kids to lie about something, but do we not trust the kids and see what happens or do we at least figure out the truth and ensure safety. Listening to is beneficial, I mean why do you think there are crime watchers hot line numbers and ways to inform the government when there might be an attack.

In the end I think the school board did the right think and it's justified. The real question is what do you think?

Beauty

Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. A quote we're heard before. Beauty is based on perspective because what is our definition of beauty? Is there something out there that is beautiful and we can all agree? I think the reason we can't agree is because it's always changing. Our definition changes and evolves with us like everything else. We are said to always crave what we don't have and maybe that's why we think for example slim women are beautiful. See in the medieval times bigger women were considered beautiful and it was because if you had money and were rich you could afford food to eat and get fat. Now in America getting fat is something anyone can do with ease or cheap. It's hard to maintain a "beautiful" image now. Is that why we love slim women, because it's harder to get that? Maybe we aren't shallow, we just love wanting what we don't have and isn't easy to achieve. Think about it. What do you think?

So Is It Right?

I heard about this mother who wants to use her dead son's sperm to put in a woman and then raise the child as it's grandmother. The story behind it is that her son always wanted to be a father and have kids and a family. The son was killed in a fight so his mother wanted his dream to live on. The court gave her approval to do this, but should this happen?

What I'm thinking is I'm pretty sure the son wanted to be there for his kids and have a family not just make the kids. Kids grow up everywhere without their parents or only one, but he should have a father and it must kind of suck when he finds out how he really came about. I hope people don't take this as people playing god because that's just bullshit. I guess it's just people doing what they can do. We'll see what happens. What do you think?

What Is The Root?

One time I was asked if you can be moral and ethically correct in business. The answer is no. Sure some may try and luckily succeed but for how long. Business is money. Money is lies deception money is greed and lust. Money is the root of the evils because it is the symbol for what it is now. Money is cheating and stealing. Money is never enough. Money succumbs and feeds like a symbiote. Money lives before and after you while we live in between. Money is power and control. Money is the motivation and the want. Money is unethical and immoral. Money is happiness through opportunity money is the center of good unless tainted with blood money is good and bad like everything else but is money the cause or are we?

Downloading Music

So I hear Major labels are going against Independent Labels in the music business. Looks like sales are so low Indie records are getting close to the same numbers. Is the cause pirated music? I know I download music off the Internet, I only have a couple of real Cd's, but I don't think I always download because I don't want to pay. I have so much music that I wouldn't want to pay for most of it, and if I had to I would give it up. I think music quality just isn't as good as it used to be. Some albums I would go out and buy, those are the amazing ones I know are going to be great and love. That doesn't happen very often though. Even if it does the music gets bootlegged way before I can even get to the store and when I have all the songs what's my motivation to buy it?

Life after downloading... I don't think the music industry would recover so quickly if magically downloading music for free stopped. It would take a while for sales to go up again if they even do. We'll see how they can fix this problem. I say make better music, but there isn't money being made so i doubt labels while cough up money for those expenses. So would it be better at an Indie label? They don't make much money either so how do we solve this problem? Every question reminds me of the economy, it's funny how they correlate, you can juxtapose.

Nice Things

We all love our possessions and material things even some that aren't material. Money, cars, clothes, technology and all that good stuff. I love it too. It's like everything we work hard for and all the value we put into the dollar bill into our valuables. I love my chain, the computer i bought, my phone and everything I have I appreciate it and everything.

...Sometimes I just wish I just didn't have anything at all. No money, no chain, no anything because maybe I would be happy and not have to worry as much about it. Everyone hates it when they get robbed and when people steal from them. I hate it too, but losing things and getting them stolen are two things I just can't get over regardless of what it is. About a month ago my student ID got stolen and someone used the money in my account to buy lunch. I was out money and I card i needed, and it was probably a "friend" who stole it. I never kept anything in my back pack because it might get stolen like in 9Th grade when I left my ipod in there and someone took it during P.E. Probably someone I knew too. About a year ago someone broke into my house and stole my computer and some of my parent's valuables. A few days later I got everything back. I was so happy to have something returned to me and I appreciated our police force because it's a can't live with them, can't live without them relationship. Even though I got my stuff back just having to go through all that was a pain and to find out it was a friend who I let in my house before along with some other kid who stole my stuff. It hurts and it's so fucked up. A few weeks after people got into my car, all they got was some change but still. After everything when it happened I always felt like I wish I just didn't have anything and things like this wouldn't happen and I would be happier and I wouldn't have to always worry. I wouldn't have to always check I have my stuff, ever day when I get home I wouldn't have to walk through my door and hope everything is still there, I wouldn't have to worry about people being in my home.

It's ironic because this all happened in Weston, the rich place with more money and higher class residents. I lived in Fort Lauderdale for 13 years and never had my house robbed. Maybe it was because we didn't really have anything nice for people to take. I think about all this because my friend got robbed way worse than all of those combined and doubled, twice in a row the past weekend in Southwest Ranches. I remember my uncle and aunt got robbed at gun point in my old neighborhood while I was two blocks away so are we safe anywhere? Can you ever avoid this? I hate it.That's why I don't steal because I know how bad it feels.

Contradiction

Life is ironic, I've said it before. There's a lot of things we call or do that seem to contradict each other. There are simple ones like we drive on a park way and park on a driveway. There are plenty especially over the media broadcasts like people saying don't watch TV and they're on TV saying it. The other day I noticed a big one. It's against the law to be over .08 BAC (Blood Alcohol Concentration) and drive. Drinking and driving is punishable by law and people see it as one of the worst things someone can do because they bring endangerment to themselves and the surrounding. You see alcohol commercials on TV, I don't know why because kids can't drink, but it's fine whatever the problem is billboards with alcohol. The same people who tell you don't drink and drive have you think and drive about their product. I know it's just a sign and people can stop and keep alcohol in their car, but ads are there to make people want whatever their advertising so how does this affect the driver who just wants to relax, get away and have fun?

Team Sports

One of the best forms of art there is. No better way of getting a group of people together than team sports. I started practicing for football at the bay and I just "feel" so much more. I would never be proud of my school if it wasn't for this program. Coming together as family a group of individuals who don't even know each other is an amazing thing.

As I'm writing this I'm at Dolphin Stadium watching Puerto Rico Vs. U.S.A. in the world series. A week ago I would have told you I hated baseball. Now I watched two games on TV and the third here at the stadium. I'm watching the highlights of when japan beat Cuba in the last world final. Just the feeling from the past footage and everything got to me so much I had to blog about it. When they won the happiness and joy of everyone on the team. Nothing else in the world even mattered. Its good to forget and just be happy. Listen go watch a game and get into it and join a team and love it.

Selfish

When is it okay to be selfish? Is it ever?
I have these middle of the nights thoughts and the other night it came to me. Is it selfish to have all the knowledge in the world and not tell a soul because of what we would do with it?
It's kind of sad how you can make something with good intentions for humanity and you see the exact thing you created for good used for bad.
Is it that wrong to want to do everything for yourself and care just about yourself?
After having nothing is it that bad to want everything?
Aren't we programmed to survive for ourselves.
To have beauty and want to keep it for yourself, I think that's selfish but who are we to take what someone makes for our personal use. It's selfish how we profit from someones pain, but it is how we gain.

Serious People

Why do people get so mad at my jokes? THEY'RE FUNNY! People get so serious and I'm just like chill haha. If people aren't getting serious they think I'm serious. For example the people I started hanging out with new people and some of them like Emanuel like to think everything I say serious and get all these misconceptions. Or when I'm playing around with my friends girlfriends and they take it for real and tell their boyfriends/my friends and they get mad at me. People need to relax and chill. I guess I can see myself getting mad about jokes, but come on. If you know me, you know I laugh at everything and can make a joke out of anything.

I remember once when I with my girlfriend at the time and she was getting so hard while I was just having a good time in the bad situation. You see we were stuck at this food place and it started raining before we started walking to the mall. She was all pissed and just ugh ruining her day while me, the optimistic one, was all happy saying it could be way worse because it could. I've been in worse situations. She then was like "my god don't you take anything serious" and that's when I realized I'm like my dad because people always said that to him and he was never going to become something. It's like what's the point of being sad and miserable there's nothing you can do about it, and it could be much worse. Don't worry, be happy. I think this is why in V for Vendetta I loved he part when Evey ask V if he took anything serious after he was joking and he says that he truly cares when he jokes about things or is serious, I don't remember i just loved that part.