The Founding Era

The Supreme Court  

About the Court: 

The Supreme Court has been around for quite some time, though it did not always receive the credit it deserved. The court was once seen below the other two forms of government and people believed it was an option to listen to the judicial system. One famous justice, Marshall, had helped to earn the court the respect it deserves and was apart of the first notion that deemed a legislative action unconstitutional.  From then on, the courts have become a crucial part of our system of government. With just over a 100 justices in all the years the court has been standing they have all remained impartial and attempted to stay out of the media in doing so. Though, the President does attempt to shape the court decisions by nominating his own justice. But, the power mainly rests on the public fate and if they decide to continue to listen to the courts or deem them unnecessary. 

Did You Know?

A surprising thing I learned about the Supreme Court, was that after court cases the justices all come together, and each converse and work together to form a draft. This draft can take up to three weeks to be revised and released to the public. I had always believed the court case itself took up to a week and they made their decision right there and then.  

The most important take-away about the Supreme Court is the court is impartial. The court was designed to not serve the government but the people. The nine justices come together to work to a decision they believe is truly in the people's best interest rather than their own.  It is a form of protection and is apart of the checks and balance system to assure the government is not taking advantage of their power.  

The most surprising thing I learned was that the Supreme Court Cases are open to the public. As silly as it sounds I always thought these court cases were closed off to the public and simply involved those necessary. But, to hear that the justices, sometimes all nine sit in front of these people in the court room , discuss,  run over the case, and form their opinions was  a complete shock to me. 

After watching these videos, Supreme Court Pt 1  and  Supreme Court Pt 2 my opinions on the Supreme Court remained the same, but I certainly came across some enlightening information and would recommend it to others who are interested in learning more about the Supreme Court and its role in the court system.  

Privacy, Online, and Off

Privacy and the Government

As technology begins to grow more and more our privacy appears to be shrinking. Nowadays technology has become so advance it has allowed the government to survey what websites we have been using and how as well as other factors. Now what are these factors you may be wondering? If you have social media you have more than most likely already signed a contract adhesion allowing that social media app to sell your data to private companies, who then sell it to the government. The cycle is vicious and when you end up digging deep into the topic it can be quite overwhelming as well. Some of your favorite companies, apps, or even devices can be taking advantage of the lack of security surrounding your information right this very second. According to Pew Research the use of Social media has grown drastically over the past few years. With every "six out of ten Americans claiming they want to do more to protect their privacy. " The people as a community have grown worried the government as well as other companies are not protecting their personal information and that the laws in place are just not enough to protect the people's rights.

                     How it Affects Us                                                                                                                           

With this information being sold, it can affect me as well as my loved ones in various ways. Our information can be put out on the web for strangers to find and use. Sadly, in most people's cases including young adults around the same age, who have barely started their journey independently, already have a digital footprint as well as other personal information out there. A digital footprint is no joke and with social media, many feel way too comfortable either posting private or inappropriate information that can have a larger affect on their lives later. For example, Tweeting your current location, or where you have been, or like to go. Though an innocent act, it can make you an easy target for trafficking, stalking, or anything else along those lines. I especially try to stress this to my younger sisters,

being that the internet can be confusing and take advantage of those young in age. I feel the internet is hard enough as it is for me to figure out and navigate, let alone them. So not only are these social media apps making money off of selling our personal information but profiting off of and allowing dangerous situations like this to occur, when they allow predators online and target a young demographic. 

                             

   What Should the Government be Doing?

The government should be creating stricter regulations as well as enforcing them. Including limiting the information companies steal and then resell. Advertisements are specifically created for you based off of your recent web searches. While, this may seem small once this information is redistributed, it is unknown what company or who will get their hands not he sites you have been visiting and use it to determine the kind of person you are. That leads us to terms and conditions. While, they are a pain in the butt to ready and many of us skip over them, it is imperative to read to understand what joining a certain social media app binds you too. The government needs to enforce this should somehow create a way to determine if someone has actually read and is ready to commit to the terms and conditions. Along with that some way to confirm age. It is not difficult to lie about your age to obtain status on an app and to ensure the privacy of younger audiences and reassure the fact they are  prohibited from using the app and compromising their privacy she early on.                     

               Ways to Protect Your Privacy

According to the article Digital Privacy Comes at a Price, in order to protect your privacy you should practice "digital distancing". This includes using "virtual private networks with no-log policies as well as Tor – free and open-source software that enables anonymous communication – in order to conceal user location and use from intrusive network surveillance."  Basically, you should avoid accepting cookies on certain websites,

avoid viewing sites that require you to login to see their content, and possibly even install a VPN to encrypt your messages and provide you with a higher level of privacy. While privacy is is currently at risk there is always something you can do to lower your chances of your privacy being breached and your digital footprint expanding.  As long as you remain aware of the danger and are proactive you can continue to safely use social media as well as the internet. 

My Five Top Sources of News and Information

 Entertainment Weekly: Entertainment Weekly is pretty much exactly what it sounds like. It focuses in on the lives of some of the world's famous actors, actresses, models, and whoever else has managed to win over the world. When I feel like keeping up with the latest celebrities, reading about the new gossip between the Kardashians, or what young girl Leonardo DiCaprio is dating now, this is the first source I turn to. The reading is light and fun. Entertainment Weekly manages to keep you updated but not bored and is a fun way to relax and take yourself away from the reality of your own life and into another's for once. 

New York Times : New York Times has always been a source that consistently backed me up in school and I was always very quick to turn to them when researching or simply writing essays. So many of my teachers in the past had reccommend it and after awhile I finally caved. Though I did not exactly grow up in the "newspaper" generation New York Times makes me feel as though sometimes I did . While of course I do love to get information from this source about what is going on in the world,  the current issues, and what good is still left. I also really enjoy Wordle. It reminds me of the Suduko puzzles for some odd reason, and believe it or not but Wordle has really helped me to expand my horizons in vocabulary. New York Times not only provides you with reliable information but challenges that put your brain to work and are enjoyable. I definitely recommend.

 Politico: When it comes to politics, I try my best to keep up and when I manage to do so I use Politico. It is extremely well known for being one of the very few unbiased sites in politics. It is a great resource to educate yourself on both sides of the political parties and allows yourself to not blindly follow one side. It can be hard navigating through politics, especially when it comes to determining the truths from the narratives but Politico makes it easy. If there is a paper you are looking to right regarding politics and not sure where to start this is the place right here. Even if you just want to fact check another site look up that topic and Politico will be sure to give you some sort of clarity. 

Snopes: This is another good site to use when it comes to politics. Again, many worry the truth can be lost through translation on social media or the news and that is accurate. It is a site specifically designed to help you determine what "deep fakes" are and some of the most common misconceptions because of false information that is spread. You can look up the topic or the most relevant ones at the times are linked directly on their homepage. A deep fake is a photo, video, or audio that has been manipulated by either artificial intelligence are specific editing software making it hard for the intended audience, or those who know little of the topic to deem it fake. It is a great website that is designed to prevent the damage done by false information being spread and helps put worry to rest. Another great website that provides clarity. 

The Economist: While this particular website covers politics as well that isn't the sole focus which is a main reason I like turn towards this site. It covers crucial current events, business that happens between countries other than just the U.S. , and other topics as well. This article too tends to be centrist and is not too particularly leaning to one side more than the other. It is published from Britain but the information is still reliable and it is good to compare to sources within the U.S as well. It allows me to expand my horizons and keeps me open minded. It discusses issues with consumers, gross domestic product around the world, and tracks the standing of the economy in numerous places. Overall it manages to cover numerous topics and I enjoy that rather than getting stuck with tunnel-vision.