Exercise #1. Gun Control

       The Controversy of Gun Control       

"Gun control has been a popular issue that boils whenever acts of gun violence occur. There has been countless numbers of citizens and lawmakers that have been debating this issue of gun control for more than a century, and there is not a definitive decision. Guns, weapon technology, gun ownership and even gun control laws can have unexpected consequences. The creation of a national gun registry would create privacy issues, and the use of outdated or unclear gun control laws can result in the loss of life. Unfortunately  a perfect gun control solution hasn't been created. There is not a way to know if gun control will make the nation safer or more dangerous until we try. If America cannot adopt strong gun control laws, maybe we can adopt safer ways to use their guns." 

http://openreader.org/the-controversy-of-gun-control/

For centuries, there has been arguments on both sides of the topic. There are people who believe there should be strict laws, but U.S citizens should be able to own guns if they desire. There are also people who completely disagree with this, and do not believe U.S citizens should own or obtain a gun unless they are part of government or military. The main argument and question has been- which side will cause a greater good to the country? Will future laws demolish the violence and murder, or will it increase? Will people be able to protect themselves and their families, or will it begin unnecessary issues? The debate on gun control will continue to be thrown back and forth between ideas until a decision is made. Overall, there is no way to foresee the outcome until the United States government actually takes action and makes an ultimate decision.

Statistics on Gun Ownership
- 40% of all US homes have guns
- 81% of Americans say that gun control will be an important issue in determining which   Congressional candidate to vote for. 
- 91% of Americans say that there should be at least minor restrictions on gun ownership;
- 57% of Americans say that there should be major restrictions or a ban.

Proponents of gun control -

• Do not believe that state and federal gun control acts do enough, and gun rights advocates believe that the laws sometimes go too far.
• Believe that stronger laws can prevent the loss of life occurring. (Even people who are proponents of gun control agree there are some people that should not be permitted to own a firearm).
• Currently, gun control laws prevent criminals, mentally ill individuals and children from owning guns. But there have been times where children and deranged people have acquired weapons and used them to commit massive crimes. 
• "Law reviews from the 1970s cite America's high rate of gun-relate crimes compared to other industrial countries as a driving factor begin gun control legislation. Statistics like this prompted New York to successfully reduce its crime rates by putting gun control law into action."
• These groups believe that enforcing guns will help people protect themselves.
• Proponents believe that creating subtle laws, but allowing citizens to carry guns will make a safer and more comfortable place. 
• Gun massacres most often use legal weapons: According to Mother Jones, of the more than 70 mass shootings in the United States in the last 30 years, about three-quarters of the guns used were obtained legally by the killers. Pro-gun control advocates believe tougher gun laws could have potentially prevented these crimes.
• Gun control laws protect children and families: Moms Demand Action, a grassroots group founded in response to the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School, believes guns in America are creating a public health crisis that is attacking children, citing statistics that show nearly eight American children are shot and killed every day. The group says stronger laws are the answer to protecting children.
• Background checks will help keep guns out of the hands of people who should not have them: Americans for Responsible Solutions, supported by former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and her astronaut husband Mark Kelly, advocates for background checks to prevent criminals, domestic abusers, and seriously mentally ill people from buying guns. The group says laws requiring background checks have prevented the purchase of guns by nearly 2 million people who should not have had them.

Opponents of gun control -

• This group argues that Americans ultimately have the right to bear arms.
• Laws would prevent people from defending themselves and a persons property lawfully.
• Opponents support and understand the rights of recreational use, sport shooters and hunters.
• Opponents often cite the Second Amendment. ("A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.")
• The main argument opponents make is that "the right to own and use weapons is an undeniable personal freedom guaranteed by the Constitution.
• These groups of people feel that if strict gun laws are enforced, school shootings and mass murders will continue and increase.
• These people believe only specific groups of people should be allowed to obtain a firearm.
• “Self-defense is a fundamental right,” says the National Rifle Association's Institute for Legislative Action. The group points out that the right to bear arms for self-defense is protected in all states as well as the U.S. Constitution. Handgun restriction laws have been struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court.
• Violent crime goes down when more people legally carry guns: Right-to-carry laws have been on the rise in the U.S. since the early 1990s. At the same time, violent crime rates have decreased. The number of privately owned guns has risen by about 100 million. According to the NRA, “Through 2010, the nation’s murder rate has decreased 52 percent to a 47-year low, and the total violent crime rate has decreased 48 percent to a 37-year low.”
  
• Widely supported gun bans don’t deter crime: The Federal Assault Weapons ban, signed by President Bill Clinton in 1994, expired and has not had enough support to be renewed. The NRA argues that research shows “assault weapons,” or those certain semi-automatic guns designated in the ban, “have never been used in more than a small percentage of firearm-related violent crime.”

Video below published on Dec 15, 2014

"Two years after the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School -- and for the first time in more than 20 years -- a majority of Americans support gun rights over gun control. Judy Woodruff talks to Carroll Doherty of the Pew Research Center and Joseph de Avila of The Wall Street Journal about shifting U.S. opinions on guns and safety." -PBS News Hour.

The news report in this video states that because of the Sandy Hook shooting, many people have decided to support gun control. Many people in the United States (especially families of the children that attended that school) see the potential danger that can continue if the government doesn't pass a law for stricter gun control. A mother of a son who died during the Sandy Hook shooting is said to be suing the gun company that the killers weapon was from. Many of her acquaintances and listeners see the the danger and agree with her decisions. Because of the amount of public school shootings that have occurred, many parents see first hand how children were in danger, and do not want it to be one of their own. So overall, the public support for gun control has increased since the Sandy Hook shooting.

On the other hand, there has been stories on how the Sandy Hook shooting was in fact a fake, and never actually happened. There have been countless amounts of videos and articles proving the falseness of the act even happening. Some videos include police dash cam footage, which show no children ever exiting the school. There are also pictures and links to Facebook pages that were made called "Donations for Sandy Hook shooting" prior to the shooting even happening. Many people also believe that the U.S government staged the Sandy Hook shooting in order to pass the limit of gun control. Many believe that the government wants to remove the option of citizens owning firearms because they are afraid it will give people too much power.

Ultimately, is the government trying to make a better place for the U.S citizens, or are they beginning to feel threatened and want to obtain all the power? The answer will never officially be found because the government only tells us what they want to tell us. The gun control law can change tomorrow, in a month, or in a few years. In the end, no one knows what the future holds. In the meantime, we just have to sit and wait.

Sources-

http://openreader.org/the-controversy-of-gun-control/

http://www.ontheissues.org/background_gun_control.htm

http://www.newsmax.com/FastFeatures/gun-control-pros-and-cons/2014/09/28/id/597212/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpatEfWj3is

Can Blogs Revolutionize Progressive Politics

“Can Blogs Revolutionize Progressive Politics?”

  1. Why do the Democratic leaders embrace blogging as a potential political communication considering the traditional media landscape in politics?
           

- Democratic leaders embrace blogging as a potential political communication because it allows them to release their campaign ideas in a much easier way. This is also useful because they can connect with younger demographics by using social media websites.

2. Blogging encourages a participatory culture. In what way does the participatory culture in blogging expand digital media convergence?

- Blogging encourages digital media convergence because when someone writes on a subject, anyone who views it can post his or her thoughts on the matter. Blogs can be shared around the world and are connected with friends and family. Blogs can be passed from one person to another, and can be accessed virtually anywhere.

3. In the article, the author says: “The ability of the Internet to erase geographical distances can become a structural weakness in elections where district lines and eligibility are key.” How can blogging counter this weakness in the process of turning the net roots to grassroots?
           

-Because of the ability to access information so easily, it is much more of a regular everyday feel opposed to being complicated. Bloggers create stories so the readers have an emotional feel and are impacted by the topic. This turns net roots into grass roots because you can simply subscribe to someone’s blog and receive notifications every time they post a new story. By doing this, you can stay connected with certain blogs that interest you. This can be compared to when you subscribe to a magazine or newspaper. You subscribe because you are interested in the news or stories you are receiving from the author.
 

4. The author spends the second half of the article discussing the lack of diversity in current blogosphere dominated by elite bloggers. Please use the concept of digital convergence to explain how blogs can become the real bearer of freedom, democracy, egalitarianism, and participation in the new media communication?
            

-Blogs can become a huge bearer because absolutely anyone has access to a computer, can share the information they have in their thoughts. Anyone can make comments on the blogs containing their own thoughts as well. It can turn into an endless debate or conversation over a story. If you are trying to receive opinions, a blog is the perfect place. Blogs are a perfect outlet for digital media convergence because of its accessible and astounding opportunities.

Virtual Revolution

“Virtual Revolution” part 1, 2, and 3.

1. The web is celebrated as the revolutionary technology that is great leveling of humanity creating equal opportunity, equal access, and equal potential. However, there are only a quarter of people on the earth who can use it. How do you explain the controversial argument here?

            - Not all of Earths citizens have access to the web because it is not available to everyone. Although that is true, everyone has the possibility to reach the web and to be connected to it. This is with the exception of senior citizens and children under the age of 5 who may not use the web. Eventually, the web will be connected to everyone.

2. How is Wikipedia the best example to implement the leveling ideas of the Web rooted in the cultural revolution of 1960s, namely the Libertarianism in the counter culture? How does it explain some of the digital convergences?

            -Wikipedia is the best example because anyone can edit or leave their ideas and opinions. Any person with access to the web can log on and submit their thoughts on a subject. This is an example of digital convergence because information we may have once had to look up in books at the library is now at the click of a mouse online.

3. How does the Web make it possible for different kinds of digital convergence?

            -This is possible because you can make information viewable to basically anyone who is looking for it. Convergence can only happen if many people consume the information.

4. How can the Internet become a challenge for traditional authority? Use the political landscape changes in some counties to illustrate your answer.

            -This can become a challenge because nowadays it gives regular people the rights to feel empowered. The government was forced to make changes when regular people became one large and powerful voice via the internet. The web has given everybody the chance to voice their opinions, and not just specific or (rich) people like in the past.

5. Do you believe that getting information free can set us free eventually?

Why or Why not? Do you see any concerns of the complete freedom or self-expression without limit on the Internet? Why or why not?

            -Access to information is a very powerful thing. It can produce many opportunities for people to get notice and to have their voice heard. The Internet makes us free by allowing us to access any type of information that we choose. There is nothing we cannot find by searching the web. With all this freedom, there are some people who take advantage of it. Which sets people over the edge. Sometimes, limit on the Internet is a good thing, which is why there are parental settings on most computers to monitor children. Although everyone loves his or her freedom, sometimes its best if we don’t obtain all of it.

6. In traditional media communication, it has the “vertical” authority. In the

Web communication, it becomes “horizontal?” How do you explain the change? How does this create the possibility for digital media convergence?

            -The web has horizontal authority because it is everywhere similar to the sun shining so it has to be monitored. Traditional media is the vertical because it needs to be overseen as a whole, similar to a shadow.

7. Why is that the Web is free critical for the success of the Web itself? How does that clash with the corporate business ideology? How does that pose challenges for copyright issues at the same time? What will happen if the Web is not free?

            -If the web is not free it will not be important. People will go back to their old ways of finding news and read a free newspaper or listen to news by word of mouth. Some people may value the web so much that they will be wiling to pay for it. The reason the web is popular is because everyone can use it and it gives us power. Without the power, it is useless. The corporate world wants to remain in power and stay successful, which is why it clashes with corporate businesses.

Digital McLuhan

Questions for the article “Digital McLuhan”

1.     What are the differences between the pre-literate acoustic world and the alphabetical visual world? How does the media of television become a part of the acoustic world?

-The pre-literate acoustic world is the world viewed through pre-literate eyes, a world of no boundaries in which information emerges from fixed positions but anywhere and everywhere. The acoustic world is how we get in touch with the world using our senses. The alphabetical is when everything we see has a meaning. Television is a part of the acoustic world because it can send information and distribute content to anywhere around the world.

2.     Why does the alphabet have the segregating tendencies? How exactly does the printing press reverse the segregating tendencies?

-The alphabet has segregating tendencies because in the beginning, texts were only readable by one person at a time. It was very difficult for things to be copied and released to large amounts of people. The printing press reversed this because it increased the number of copies that can be published. More people can view a single item at the same time.

3.     How does the alphabetic communication in online communication make cyberspace acoustic? How is the online acoustic world different from the television, radio, or print acoustic world?

-The alphabetic communication in online communication makes cyberspace acoustic because the alphabet is a set structure that we base our language off. To this day we continue to use the alphabet in print form, but in diverse and innovative ways. Online is different compared to radio, television, and print because the internet gives us the ability to write whatever we desire. We are able to chat and interact with people quicker and easier compared to radio and television, which partakes a longer response period.

4.     Not only do we invent media and media technologies but also we select their uses in different contexts. What are the two selection criteria? According to the selection criteria, please discuss what will happen to our online communication in 20 years.
-The two selection criteria are 1. We want media to extend our communications beyond the biological boundaries of naked seeing and hearing of media as “extensions” across time and space. 2. We want media to recapture element of that biological communication which early artificial extensions may have lost. In the next 20 years, media will continue to evolve until the end of time. Technology will continue to replace itself to find new, innovative versions. Technology will also continue to advance and discover new efficient discoveries.