Blog Post #3- The Supreme Court

     The head of the Judicial Branch in the U.S. government is called The Supreme Court Of The United States. This can also be called SCOTUS for short like how The President Of The United States we shorten it to POTUS. This is one of the three branches of our government, the other two being the Legislative Branch and the Executive Branch. One thing that I did not know and I think is also important for others to know is the Supreme Court has the responsibility of evaluating all the laws in the United States and determining whether or not they are constitutional. Another important thing I learned was that each Supreme Court Justice had their own big accomplishments that were very different from each other. This surprised me because I had assumed they all handled very similar things and did not have very much diversity from each other. The Supreme Court was also created by the constitution back in 1789. This also gave congress the ability to create inferior Federal courts.

    One important thing I took away from learning more about the Supreme Court is that they also have the power to check on what the Executive and Legislative branch do. While all branches have the ability to also do so, for example, to impeach the President, that would be part of the checks and balances. It is the Chief Justice who goes to join in the trial with the Senate. Surprisingly, Congress was the group that made the decision on how the Supreme Court was organized. Congress decided that it would consist of six justices who would then serve until retired or died. The Supreme Court also handles more than just civil cases. For example, they weighed in on a case where public schools were violating the First Amendment. 

Blog #2- Privacy

    Privacy on the internet has always been a big deal for me and my family. My parents would not allow me to use social media until I was a teenager because of everything they had heard on the news about the privacy issues that come with being active on social media. Privacy has always affected me on social media because in our generation it is normal to share everything about your life on the internet. Things like this have led to me having my accounts get hacked and having my personal information shared to strangers on the internet. One way privacy involving social media and the internet has affected my family is we will talk about something and then later on be seeing ads for it on social media.

    The government has a lot of power to fix many privacy issues that occur online and on social media, although it does not seem like they are taking the right steps to do so. One thing I think the government should do is place more restrictions on what people can post and have more age limits set on certain social media apps. Another thing I think the government could do is to be more strict about what different websites and companies are allowed to do with the information they gather from their users. Finally, after watching a TED Talk about what law enforcement is allowed to do with our personal information, I feel that the government needs to be more strict with them and not allow them to be above everyone else just because they are a part of law enforcement.

    One thing we can all do to help maintain more privacy in our lives is whenever you are finished using the internet, whether it be on a phone or laptop would be to clear your search history your web browser. Another thing we can all do is when a website asks you to "accept all cookies", be sure to select no and that will immensely improve the privacy you have. Finally, after watching another TED Talk, I learned we can all try completely shutting down our phone when we are not using it because this prevents from any listening in it may do to your conversations and where you go.

Blog #1- My Top 5 News Sources

    Fox News is one of the main sources I use to read about what is going on in the world. One of my favorite things about this source is how I can to watch it on my television or go on the internet and read about it. Along with that, I also enjoy how they give updates so quickly on breaking news and serious situations that are occurring around you. Overall, I would have to say I think this source is great for quickly informing people about what is going on and for what they should be aware of.

 

    This source is easily my favorite because I receive phone calls at least once a day from a family member to update me on what new things are happening in the world. My family tends to be my main news source, although this source can be biased to what their opinions are about the situation. I would recommend this source to others because most of the time you and your family will have the same beliefs and viewpoints and therefore you will agree on how they are telling the news they heard about. 

    Social Media is a great news source, as there are multiple different companies who will produce different types of news for you every day. This source also allows you to hear other people's opinions on the news, which can also change the way you interpret it. There are apps like Instagram where you can find ads about the news or even follow news stations. While there is also TikTok where you can hear about information from influencers and hear their opinions on the story being put out there. I would recommend this source the most to others because you have the opportunity to hear about a variety of different news that will cater to all age ranges. Along with that, most young adults have some sort of social media so they can easily access this as one of their news sources.

    My friends are another great source I use to receive news information. They will tell me about all the things happening between celebrities on social media and even real-world problems that are going on. Having friends who tell you about news is a great way to receive information because you can also hear their opinions and their sides of the story. Along with that, you are able to share your own opinions with them.

    When I want to find out what is going on involving sports, I like to use the app Bleacher Report. I think this is a great news source to use to find out what's happening in the sports world. It has news about every team in every sport and allows you to see the scores of live and past games. This app also allows you to share your opinion with others about what is happening. This source can be a great way to hear about the sports world because it is talking about fact rather than having people give what they think about what is happening.