Blog Post #6: Someone else's EOTO

I wanted to talk about the evolution of motion pictures. As someone who really loves movies, I wanted to look at my group members' presentation and really see the history of motion pictures. I thought it was interesting that the original version of the kinetoscope was thought of as a toy for children to play with. While I absolutely love movies I also understand the negative effect that it had on the theater and plays around the world. However, I do find it somewhat interesting that the US movie scene is so popular internationally. The US movie market and production is so incredibly dominant worldwide. Other countries certainly make movies, but it seems as though they essentially can't break into the market due to the fact that the US movie industry is essentially a monopoly. Some of the biggest celebrities on the planet today are American movie stars and I don't think this is a coincidence. The fact that the American movie scene is so dominant and popular across the globe is what makes stars like The Rock, Robet DeNiro, Tom Hanks, and Robert Downey Jr household names all across the globe

Blog Post #5: Antiwar

 I feel like sites like these often get shadow banned and/or blacklisted due to the fact that they often contain information that could paint the government in a negative light. Even though, under the first amendment, speech against the government is protected. However, as we can clearly see with the recent online censorship problems, Freedom of Speech doesn't seem to carry as much weight as it used to. These websites, especially the first one, seem to expose and show the people the side of the US military that the government doesn't really want you to see. The second site, The American Conservative, seems to be a sort of "gateway" site that contains little snippets of artticles by different authors. 

I think the biggest reason that these websites aren't in the mainstream media is due to the fact that they show information that the government wouldn't necessarily want the people to see. Due to the nature of the articles, the government would prefer for the people to see them due to the fact that it shows a negative side of the government.

Another big reason that their aren't many really big antiwar movements is due to the kind of enemies that the US has been fighting recently. The majority of anti war/anti terrorism over the last 10 years has been domestic. This causes and interesting dynamic between anti war protesters and the people they are protesting against. If an act of domestic terrorism occurs and a group goes out and protests against war, unlike during the times of Afghanistan and Iraq, you are protesting against your fellow Americans. While Americans protesting against eachother is no
thing new, it certainly holds a different dynamic when it comes to specifically anti war protests

Blog Post #4: EOTO

 Starlink

If you want to talk about recent major advancements in modern technology, there are few that are, simply put, as cool as Starlink. Elon Musk's latest project, Starlink, is a system of space satellites which have the sole purpose of providing high speed reliable internet to remote parts of the planet. When I say recent, I do mean recent. As a matter of fact, the first Starlink satellite launched in 2019. Not only did Starlink launch its first satellite only a few years ago, there was actually a Starlink launch just the other day on Saturday, September 24th. It is very cool to know that there is such a large-scale operation, that is meant for the betterment of the globe, going on as we speak. Starlink is a rapidly growing global operation with, as of September 2022, over 2,300 satellites in Earth's orbit and over 500,00 subscribers across 32 different countries using the services provided.

The history of Starlink is a short story. Elon Musk, who has an exorbitant amount of money, decided that he wanted to venture into the world on satellite internet. As it was Elon Musk making this venture, he wasn't about to do it halfway. So he partnered with his own company, SpaceX, in a mission to use their rockets to launch Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit (LEO for short) to provide high speed satellite internet to as many people as possible. While there is no "problem" per say that Starlink is solving. What it is doing is making the world more connected, and in today's day and age nothing is more powerful than connections. As well as making the first world more connected, it is also making it possible for connections to be made to any more remote areas of the world. These remote places could even be in the middle of the ocean, or even on a plane flight across the world. 

Not only is Starlink quickly becoming one of the global leaders in high speed internet. It's doing so while not breaking the bank of its everyday customers. Starlink is remarkably cheap for what you are getting. For worldwide high speed satellite internet you pay $110/month, as well as a one time fee of $599 for the Starlink satellite that you will receive for your home. Don't make the mistake of thinking that Starlink is only for your home. Starlink also offers a plan for businesses as well as RVs and Boats (yes boats). While the RV plan is a similar rate ($135/month and one time fee of $599). The Maritime fee is SIGNIFICANTLY more expensive ($5,000/month with a one time fee of $10,000 for two high performance satellites). 

However, Starlink is not without its problems. One of the main complaints is the lack of availability in urban environments, and even when connection is available, it is often slow due to the high number of people using the same satellite, Astronomers worry about the effect that the satellites will have on the visibility of the night sky (due to there being so many in LEO). Some scientists worry that the number of satellites that exist within the Earth's orbit could be a limiting factor when it comes to future deep space and potential shuttle launches. 

Blog Post #3 Eight Values of Free Expression

Reflect: When talking in class about the evolution of the First Amendment, there was emphasis placed on how the founding fathers inded for it to be vs what it is now. We talked at length about the Shield of First Amendment Protection and how there are things that are protected, like free speech, but also how there are certain exceptions to that rule, like threatening POTUS. The "Marketplace of Ideas" is a value that has existed in the US since the beginning. Recently we may have had some problems with falsehood being pushed ahead of the truth, but you could say that is the natural course of the truth and falsehood "freely grappling". It also is present in this value that by having the truth and falsehood "fighting" out in the open for the people to see, it makes the truth more palpable and strong.

Reflect: When it comes to the seventh of the eight values of free expression, promoting innovation, I think this might be the most consistent and apparent in American history. America has long been known as the innovation capital of the world. If you were only able to use one word to describe America, innovation would certainly be in the conversation. Check on Governmental Power is arguably the most important of the values because if the government is allowed to do whatever they want with no regulations then there is nothing to stop them from taking away all of the other values on this list. This value has been put into danger recently with the very high amounts of censorship that has gone on by the government recently. As we talked about in class the fact that the government has openly admitted to working with the FBI to help suppress and censor posts that put forward ideas that are contrary to the current administration feels like a blatant intrusion on our first amendment rights. Promoting Tolerance is obviously hugely present in our lives today. With all the recent racial turmoil our country has faced it is more present than I can ever remember. Race has been one of our country's longest standing issues and by increasing tolerance for all people we can move in the right direction.

Connect: I feel like the cross-country connection that has come along with the large-scale introduction of social media and other internet functions has largely helped to "Protect Dissent". Recently we have had some trouble with censorship, but the introduction of social media has allowed anyone, no matter how big, small, young, or old, to have a voice and make an impact and get their views out there. Because of this platform it has allowed all ideas of any kind to get out into the world. Of course there is some negative that comes along with the ability for anything to be seen, but it also allows thoughts or opinions that may otherwise not be heard, to be heard and given credibility.

Blog Post #2

 1) This might come as a surprise to learn that I didn't know this, but I wasn't aware that the Supreme Court was established so early in our countries lifetime. I know that the SC was by no means a new thing, I just wasn't aware that it was founded in 1789.

2) I thought it was interesting that the chief justtice has the ability to decide who gets to write the report stating what the Supreme Courts' opinion is.

3) I was surprised to learn that even though it had its first meeting in February of 1790, they didn't actually hear any cases in their first term and that they were focused on organizational procedures.

4) It has made me realize even more how flawed the system behind appointment and continued service of justices is. It has become a more apparent problem that justices should be younger and more intune with the majority of the population.

Top 5 Sources of News and Information

My list is comprised of the 5 sources that I visit and read the most. Not necessarily the top 5 most reliable sources out there.

1) IGN: This is an American gaming news company. IGN is one of the oldest gaming news webistes out there, launching in September of 1996. I like IGN due to theuir, typically, non-bias reviews. There have been a few controversies when it comes to their reviews. However, when it comes to large video game news companies. You would be hard pressed to find any company with a greater reach or influence than IGN.

2) Bleacher Report: Founded in 2005, Bleacher Report is a sports reporting network. They are one of the most reliable and trusted sports reporting networks out there. Some people worry that when reporting companies get too big there could be a drop in quality. However, this has certainly not been the case with Bleacher Report. They're atricle quality is just as high as ever.

3) Fabrizio Romano: Fabrizio Romano is the top journalist in the world of soccer. He is a widely known and respected journalists on the planet (epsecially in Europe). Even though he is a tier 1 journalist he uses twitter as the main route for him to get his reports and news out to the public. Although he does have a regular news column and his own podcast.

4) The New York Times: This one is pretty self explanitory. Founded in 1851, The NY Times is one of the oldest and longest running newspapers in the US. They are one of the most trusted news sources. Although, even with their long and proud history, they have had some problems recently with being bullied into only reporting one side of certain stories. While this isn't necessarily their fault, as censorship is such a big problem, it is still causing there to be a bit of one-sidedness in their reporting.

5) JPA Football: I know there has been a lot of sports outlets on this list, but these are the places I go to the most. JPA is a small journalists who is very on top of all things football. He often gets news out places like Bleacher Report, mentioned in this list, ESPN, and any other big sports network. It is cool to see a smaller jounalist be so in tune and on top of news. Another one of the benefits that goes along with him being a smaller outlet is that he is not under any of the extra political or outside pressure that may or may not be placed upon the bigger outlets.