Fit to be Citizens Response

In the chapter "Interlopers in the Land of Sunshine" the city thought "confining these problems to a single city space seemed both possible and rational.” Does that mean they were discriminating against the Chinese for the “greater good”? A lot of the social Darwinism seems very similar to Nazism; if history repeats itself then America has ADD. So really what would qualify as the greater good? As a society how far can we go today to abuse people to achieve that “greater good”? In the article from The San Diego Reader “The Ugly Trailer Park across the Water” the city deemed the park to be unprofitable and wanted to get rid of it. The city put up fences around the area, took away basic amenities, and posted security guards who harassed the elderly. I guess money is worth breaking ribs and face planting senior citizens to the City of San Diego?

Last year in class we talked about how one war justified the means for the next, first the enemy was labeled as Nazis, then the communists, and now terrorists. I think this concept also applies to racism. Segregation set the terms of engagement for the Chinese, Mexicans, and Japanese populations. The use of propaganda was used in newspapers to enforce the racism the city wanted just as war propaganda cultivated nationalism through fear. I mean even Hitler used “scientific” evidence to condemn the Jews but today we know that the evidence was nothing short of pseudo-science. Another question might be once racism has been thoroughly repressed, nature abhors a vacuum; will regionalism become a problem in the future?

Socratic Seminar Response

Coming to the seminar I had a burning question: “Do the laws put in place by the government truly protect us?” And then Rachel brought up a good point, how many people are actually in jail for a violent crime? According to cga.ct.gov in October of 2008 only 14.5% of inmates were jailed for a violent crime (Assault, Homicide) with drug offenses being the most prosecuted offense with 19.5%. Now if you want to count in other crimes that aren’t violent but affect our safety, it comes out to 23.4% of inmates. (Reinhart) This begs the question: are the laws really there to keep us safe, or is there another agenda behind enforcing them?

In California there’s a law that states “Animals are banned from mating publicly within 1,500 feet of a tavern, school, or place of worship.” Does it make us any safer? I don’t think so. To put this in a more serious light, depending on your criminal record, California’s “Bad Checks Law” can be a felony, having fireworks can land you anywhere from $1,000 and a year in jail to $50,000 and up to three years in jail and this also counts as a felony. Receiving stolen property can also charge you with a felony and anywhere from $1000 to $10,000. Under Penal Code 484 and 488 with the shoplifting of property valued up to $950. Although the offense is a misdemeanor, a second offense can be charged as a felony under Penal Code 666 (Petty Theft with a Prior). What makes this law particularly bad is that you can do this on accident by having an item that didn’t scan properly and still be convicted. Now all of these laws don’t make us any safer (and there are plenty other laws like this) on top of this California has the three-strikes law, it says that if someone commits a third felony after committing two prior similar felonies, then the sentence is a mandatory 25 years to life. (Lawyers)

          

       What also popped up during the seminar is the question do a society’s morals and ethics shape the law? And if this is true, what would compel us to put such harsh penalties on minor offenses? If you commit Assault, you get up to six months in county jail and a max fine of $1000. Does this paint a messed up picture? 3 small felonies lands you 25 years in the clinker, you violently assault a human being and you only have 1 year? And get this, if you commit second degree murder, if you avoid the life sentence you only stay in jail for 15 years! How does our society count 3 felonies worse than taking the life of a human being?

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Lawyers, Los Angeles Criminal Defense. Shouse Law Group. 2011. .

Reinhart, Christopher. BREAKDOWN OF PRISON POPULATION BY OFFENSE CATEGORIES. 22 October 2008. .

RE: Brandi

http://brandicoley.blogspot.com/2011/04/semester-dos-honors-blog.html

June 15th, 1942

Dear Samantha,

I fear this may be my last letter for a while, we've failed the Filipino peoples and MacArthur. I write this as I hide from the Japanese, falling back through the country side. My battalion survived the invasion, but we don't have enough men to continue defending. I'll be fine, there are plenty of places for us to hold up in. Good to hear you have my back with the planes, send us a few when MacArthur returns? You won't believe how hospitable the locals are. They gave us something like lemonade, but instead of a lemon it's a small orange fruit, I wish I could have sent you some it's even better than what Mom and Dad made. The weather here is hot and humid, I think I'm sweating through my helmet. This letter left with the last US aid to arrive. I'm running out of parchment to write on, keep your head up and let MacArthur know we fought the good fight but we need him to get back here - with love from your brother Sam Stanford

Blog 11

If you were President, how would you confront the multiple issues surrounding the Geneva Conventions that we have discussed in class over the past week?

First order of business would be to crack down on past cases, and re-word the conventions so laws don't say "Don't do this..." it will be "If you do this, this WILL happen..." clear cut punishments that lawyers can't weasel around. Even though people will always manipulate the language, you can always trust evidence, and to achieve this I would setup a cell of investigators that does specifically that, they'll be committed to reporting on the story from a 3rd perspective. It'll take some more refining to make sure it won't become biased and how do they report on the bigger picture. What they report will be secretly shown to the jury during deliberation to compare to what they just heard. So if any of the lawyers warped anything it will become obvious.

Blog 10

"When World War II started in 1941, my Grandpa and his family escaped towards the mountain because the houses were bombed and raided by the Japanese. Due to the harsh life in the mountain, three of his brothers and two sister died because of sickness. They only ate whatever they can harvest in the mountain like yams and some vegetable leaves to survive. Sometimes they will use their banca (small boat) to fish but when Japanese planes came to do an air raid, they have to hide in an enclosed area not to be seen!

They went under the Japanese regime. Sometime during the day, Grandpa said they were obliged to watch a Japanese show and taught how to count in and speak Japanese. You were not allowed to yawn or close their eyes at all!

If you don’t obey, or stay focused you get slapped many times or you get killed.

One day, a Japanese army was patrolling my grandpa’s area and my grandpa

saw how this Japanese soldier used his bayonet to toss a baby in the air and killed the baby with his bayonet. He cannot forget that grim sight.

His sister got spared by a bayonet because as the Japanese was going to attacked her, the door was swayed by the wind and the bayonet landed

and poked the door instead of his sister. His sister’s life got spared!

My Grandpa wanted to get drafted in the Philippine Army during this war at the age of 17, but his Mom freaked out and fainted when she knew! My Grandpa backed out!

As promised, Gen. MacArthur returns to the Philippines and lands on the island of Leyte. This marks the beginning in the liberation of the Philippines on May 20, 1944. That time, my Grandpa was already 19 years old. They ended up migrating to Bataan where he and his older brother were adapted by a priest and sent them to continue high school. Then he followed his brother and stayed in Manila after the liberation. His brother pursued to be a doctor and my Grandpa wanted to be a Pharmacist. He worked in a Pharmacy and learned how to mix medications and give shots for cough. Being a Pharmacist didn’t happen because he ended up being an Accountant. He migrated to a City close to Bataan called Olongapo, where the Americans established a military base facility. He applied as an Accountant at the Naval Supply Depot. This where his love story started…

He met my Grandma Amelia Salang who worked as a secretary of the Admiral in Naval Air Supply Cubi Point. They got married December 7, 1957."

Without WW2 and the US involvement in the Philippines I wouldn't even be here. It was because of the US my grandpa got a job and met my grandmother. And maybe if he did enlist, there's a good chance he wouldn't have met my grandmother either. Without the 4 freedoms it might not have been a priority to even liberate the Philippines from the Japanese atrocities.

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

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2U32LVgFYI

WW2 Imagery

Not sure of the background info but this is WW2

This reminds me of the "last war always creates the means for the next" because the last one was fought for liberty, so is this one.
Glenn Grothe 1942

This poster is a scare tactic, saying that if he isn't defeated your freedom from fear will be taken away

A smiling japanese officer, with his civilian victims in Nanking

It's an example of how when somebody is indoctrinated with the thought he is higher than his fellow humans, this is only one step away from that.

Semester 2 blog 8

1. What stands out to you most in this interview?

When the interviewer said "A rather large weapon." vonnegut could have agreed or gave a simple acknowledgment or short answer but he gave a rather detailed paragraph. It really shows how much of a writer he is outside of just simply writing on paper.

2. What experiences led Vonnegut to write Slaughterhouse Five?

The bombing of dresden how he survived in a meat locker in a slaughter house

3. Prior to reading Slaughterhouse Five, what would you like to ask KV?

Do you think you could have written slaughterhouse five without waiting all those years?

Is there anything that gives you inspiration or would you say inspiration is unpredictable?

http://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/3605/the-art-of-fiction-no-64-kurt-vonnegut