Obama's Inauguration

William Gavin, a speechwriter for ex-President Richard Nixon, remarked that there isn’t really any point to inaugural address. Of course they help inspire the people, but what do they inspire them to think about? “The national desire to be inspired, to be uplifted, to be made to feel deeply, to be swept away every four years, is the mark of citizens who have forgotten that the major goal of political rhetoric should be to argue clearly, to make distinctions, not to blur them, as most eloquence does.” Gavin’s idea proposes that inaugural speeches can also make people forget about the political goals set for the president. “I think the greatest benefit our new president could make is to announce at his inaugural that he will not make State of the Union addresses before Congress (not to mention the assembled Supreme Court!) in the annual ritual of marathon, usually mindless, slogan-filled, applause-line speechifying, but instead send a written message.” Gavin hopes that Obama could meaningfully inspire the audience, and leave a long lasting impression to make people know and be aware that all political goals will be achieved.
I hope Obama will have a plan for improving the economy. Although he talks about raising taxes as a necessity for helping the economy, I hope they aren’t raised too much. People, these days, need money to eat.

Reducing Time and Space

Dr. Ghosh uses the program called skype to interact and spend time with his wife and kids who live 9,000 miles away in New Zealand. Dr. Ghosh lives in his Philadelphia office and never has time to take a trip to New Zealand. Therefore, skype, as well as other programs (AIM, MSN, etc.) helps people reduce the time and distance away from each other. Dr. Ghosh’s wife is an assistant professor at the University of Otago in New Zealand.
“‘Families today are undergoing all sorts of strains that didn’t exist before and are simply having to adjust to make things work,’ said David Popenoe, co-director of the National Marriage Project at Rutgers University, who says the challenging economy may force more couples into commuter marriages for the sake of a paycheck.” I definitely agree with David’s statement and strongly recommend that families use programs like skype to keep them together. However, I prefer other programs like AIM and OOVOO to help keep families together. OOVOO is highly recommended because one can keep in touch with more than one person at the same time.

Cyberbullying

After receiving a message in October 2006, Megan Meier killed herself. The message was sent from a Missouri woman, Lori Drew, who disguised herself as a teenage boy. “Andrew M. Grossman, senior legal policy analyst for the Heritage Foundation, said the possibility of being prosecuted for online misrepresentation, while remote, should worry users nonetheless.” Andrew understands that people need to protect themselves from any online criminals.
This is a violation of freedom of speech. Personally, I think that Megan should’ve not been talking to people she doesn’t know. She should have more common sense and not talk to strangers. If someone told me that the world would be a better place without me, I’d simply just block that person and never talk to them again. If someone tries or feels any need to harass me, I would just delete them out of all my buddy lists and contacts. If that doesn’t work, I’d change my phone number, screen name, and make a fake identity. I’d use a code of language that only my true friends and family members know. Lori Drew probably had a good reason towards why she said that offensive statement. If she didn’t have any good reason, then she just lacks common sense. During her years in prison, I hope Lori understands and learns a value lesson from what she did. Lastly, lying about your identity shouldn’t be a crime because you’re just protecting yourself from people who negatively impact the world, like Lori Drew.

“Teenagers’ Internet Socializing Not a Bad Thing”

Parents think the internet is a waste of time, but the kids are actually learning from it. The two main priorities of good parents are the safety and education of their kids. Normally, some people might think that in order to receive a substantial education, books must be involved. However, new studies by the MacArthur Foundation prove that this theory is completely inaccurate. The internet is unlimited and withholds numerous articles that are filled with information about current events. These articles are divided into subcategories such as finance, politics, and news stories. Some examples of financial news in the world today are the drop in the value of stocks, as well as, the debate on the auto industry bailout. Politics on the internet might involve Sarah Palin’s view on the next Alaskan senator. Some news stories might deal with the cyber bullying going on. The other day, a thirteen-year-old girl committed suicide after being virtually harassed by a local mother and two other people. “Those concerns about predators and stranger danger have been overblown,” (Ms. Ito, University of California). Although safety is an issue on the worldwide web, most people usually just socially interact with their friends. If everyone did that, then there wouldn’t be a need for parents to worry about pedophiles.
I use the Internet to socially interact with my friends and check homework. I’ve just started a Facebook account last year and it’s been doing pretty well. I haven’t had any threats or negative comments posted on my page. In addition, I use various search engines like Google to help me find research about a certain topic for school.

Internet Use

I use the Internet for several things like checking my e-mail and doing homework. Unlike my parents, I’m on the Internet almost all of the time. They’re pretty much inexperienced with the knowledge of how the Internet works. As a result, they receive their information from the television or atlases. On my leisure time, I’m online talking to my friends. Lately, I’ve been online longer than I usually am due to continuous school and community service projects. Some of my favorite websites are AOL, NYTimes, and CNN. These websites always keep me updated on current events. Sometimes, I just randomly surf the web and encounter numerous interesting articles. For example, I read a phenomenal news story a couple of weeks ago. The event took place in multiple parts of the world, where extraterrestrial-looking organisms were discovered. One of the species looked like a turtle without any shell; however, its head resemble that of a vulture. This creature washed up on one of the shores in Montauk, NY. Internet use also serves a great purpose for communicating with teachers or distant relatives. I think that many people should learn more about computers and how they benefit the world.

Safe Blogging

Safe blogging should be taken into perspective by any blog creator or blog writer. Blogs are usually written about certain topics such as animals, political debates, and the economy. Sometimes, teachers would create blogs so students could talk about a homework that has been troubling them. They could seek help on a certain homework problem from either another student or the teacher.
In order to avoid getting into trouble, the rules of the blog contracts must be followed at all times. No plagiarizing is one of the most important rules in making a blog. The person should choose to write something meaningful as their summary of the blog and not copy and paste someone else’s words. Don’t make threats and respect everyone’s opinions and ideas. Lastly, only use first names due to obvious safety purposes. The creator of the blog takes full responsibility for everything that is posted in the blog.