The Real Victims of Music Piracy 

In life, we all know that when we make an action to anything, there will be a consequence, good or bad, to the decisions and actions we make. You tie your shoes, you wont trip. You study for a test, you’ll get a better grade. You eat a meal, you wont be hungry, and so on. For the most part, our the effects of our actions are generally pretty obvious, and this is no different with the subject of file sharing of pirated music. If something is stolen, it is going to cost someone. One of most common misconception by people who use file sharing to illegally download pirated music is not that they don’t think anyone is losing profit from their actions, but focus on the wrong people who are losing profits.

“Artist aren’t even losing that much money from file sharing.” This is an argument that pops up a lot when looking into debates on file sharing and pirated music. On a high end royalty deal with a record company a band will make about one dollar for every CD sale. By  downloading a CD and not spending money on it to buy it legally, you are depriving that artist of a one dollar profit. If you take in account for ever CD that is downloaded illegal, the band or artist is deprived one dollar from every fan that doesn’t pay for their intellectual property. Although the artist is losing money because of the immorality of those who steal it, it is true that this is a small percent of the artist income. Artists make the largest percent of their income from going on tour and selling merchandise. The real people who are at risk of losing their income are the various workers that go into CD production. Those who are in the music production workforce like record producers bookings and studio managers, studio technicians, record and mastering engineers, and many others are at risk of losing their jobs now more than ever because of the amount of people that do not pay for their music.

The secondary claim in regards to who gets how much from CD sales by those who defend file sharing is that record labels profit too much from CD sales, which is not necessarily true. The record labels do make more money than the artist, but all around not that much more. On standard CD sales, record labels only make two dollars per ten dollar CD sold. Although they are making double what the artist makes, that leaves eight dollars to pay for the salaries of those who were involve in the production of the album and to the store that is selling the album. Because people are illegally downloading pirated music without real regard to who is being harmed and cheated, there is a negative economic result. An entire industry is failing because they are not able to enforce laws easily on those who willing commit a crime. From 1975 and 1999, US shipments of recorded music increased at a steady rate from $5.8 to $12.8 billion. But between 1999 and 2008, around when Napster and illegal file sharing of music first came onto the scene, the annual US revenue of physical CD sales fell from $12.8 billion back to $5.5 billion. Because of these kind of dramatic losses in revenue, many people have lost their jobs in the industry from cutbacks in spending.

“Nothing in this world is free.”

This is something my parents told me when I was growing up, and I am sure I am not the only person who has heard this saying. And ain’t it the truth! If something is free, there is always a catch or a reason for it. Being able to download music for free and not hurt anyone is obviously not achievable because someone is losing money that should be made. But what most people don’t realize is that when they are downloading their favorite artist’s pirated music, they are also hurting themselves and the other fans. When a major artist loses sales on CD sales, they need to make up for that loss in some way. Over the past decade, concert ticket prices have skyrocketed. Each year it costs more and more to see your favorite bands because of the loss of CD sales and revenue from their actual music. This is also why merchandise for bands is at ridiculous prices.

When I saw Blink-182 and Weezer for the first time in the summer of 2009, ticket prices were about $50 a person for lawn seats after additional fees and charges. On top of that, a sweatshirt I bought (which was destroyed when shrunk in the wash) was another $50. When I saw Blink 182 again this past summer, ticket prices were even higher for the same venue, and the merchandise was also at a similar price to the concert two years prior. Going to this with my girlfriend, who I paid for her ticket and bought her a shirt, surely burnt a hole in my pocket. I bought my Blink 182 CDs legally, some on iTunes and others on hard copy from different stores, but I was still punished by outrageous ticket prices because of the loss in profit from those who illegally downloaded it. There are also other factors that go into ticket prices, such as the ten dollar “convenience fees” on websites like Ticketmaster and Livenation and the rise venue charges from companies like Clear Channel, but pirated music and its effect on the economic status of artists and record labels is a main cause in this rise in prices.

There will always be freeloaders in the world, but saying that stealing music “isn’t a big deal” is only setting a bad example for young people who are now stealing and thinking nothing of it. Those who are against file sharing and pirated music should not try to just fight against those who are stealing music, but educate others on the real problems with file sharing. People must be aware of the effects of their actions when they steal other’s intellectual property and kn0w the consequences.

Work Cited

How Much do Music Artists Earn Online

Music Piracy and its Effects on Demand, Supply, and Welfare

Jobs In Recording Studios

Why Are Concert Ticket Prices So High?

The missing link between violence in games and violence in real life…remains missing.

     Aggression is not simply a negative force. The same desire that can cause one to destroy and corrupt can cause another to excel and innovate. Aggressive action caused by envy of another’s higher performance or paycheck can instill a drive to improve oneself just as easily as it can create the desire to tear down the more sucessful.While there are many studies that link an increase in aggression to violence in video games, they do not speculate at the effects of this increase. Worse, the most frequent tests that conclude a higher level of aggression are flawed in several basic ways. Thus, considering the current evidence, there is little support for the conclusion that violence in video games causes any direct or noticeable harm.

            The most common test for increased aggression is the 29 question Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire, which was first published in the 63^rd Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. It tests for physical and verbal aggression, as well as anger and hostility. Physical aggression measures the likelihood of provoked as well as unprovoked violent physical contact between the subject and either people or objects; verbal aggressions measures the subjects tendency to argue and disagree with others. Anger measures the subject’s temper and how often they get angry, and hostility tests what the subject thinks of their friends and strangers (Buss-Perry Questionnaire). On the surface, it appears to be very complete; however, by examining the questions themselves, it is clear that they have numerous faults and should not be used to show an increase in negative aggression.

One of the major problems with the Buss-Perry Questionnaire is that a majority of the questions ask about past actions. For example, in the first nine questions relating to physical aggression, 3 of them ask about controlling the urge to strike people, if the subject gets into fights more then the average person, and if they have threatened anyone in the past (Buss-Perry Questionnaire). In a short term study, the answer to these questions changing does not indicate an increase in aggression, because these actions are in the past and thus cannot be changed by any current actions. Rather, it shows a change in perception regarding past actions. While a study over a longer time period could track a change in these questions, the fact that they have no context or timeframe attached to them mean that it is equally possibly that a change in perception is to blame for the changes, not an increase in aggressive actions. The other sections have the same problem, with the questions relating to anger and verbal aggression being composed almost entirely of this type of questions.

The next faultthat quickly becomes apparent when reading the questions is that they do not necessarily show an increase in aggression that causes harm. The 5 questions on verbal aggression are a sterling example of this, because responses that are more aggressive can usually be seen as a virtue rather than a fault. For example, question ten reads “I tell my friends openly when I disagree with them” (Buss-Perry Questionnaire).  But being unafraid to voice a personal opinion is highly prized in many individual-oriented cultures, and the question provides no context to help determine if this is a situation that would be better served by remaining silent. The lack of context on this and many other questions necessarily leads to different subjects relating to them in different ways – question 10 can be applied equally to disagreeing about the tastes of food and disagreeing about significant social and moral issues such as gay rights or abortion.. All of the verbal aggression questions are in this same ambiguous vein, and the section on hostility fares little better. Two questions in the hostility section, “I am suspicious of overly friendly strangers” and “When people are especially nice, I wonder what they want” are taught to children from an early age to avoid them being taken advantage of, and can easily be seen as a virtue as well as a fault.

The second commonly used test is the Hot Sauce Paradigm. In this test, the subject is given a bowl and four different types of hot sauce ranked by spiciness, and to give select the type and amount to be given to a person down the hall who explicitly does not like spicy foods. This test is generally seen as more persuasive because it measures a direct act of aggression rather then simply  asking questions and trying to determine the aggression from the subject’s responses. One major issue with this test, as posited by Dominik Ritter and Mike Eslea in the study “Hot Sauce, toy guns, and graffiti: A critical account of current laboratory aggression paradigms” is that there is no alternative to giving hot sauce. Thus responses are not testing if an aggressive response would occur, but rather the severity of a forced aggressive response. There is also a significant disconnect between the subject and their supposed victim. If the subject was considering taking aggressive action that would hurt someone physically or verbally, in almost all situations they would have to take into account the reaction from that person. With this increased distance from the person, it becomes much more likely that the subject will chose a more aggressive response, since they have more emotional distance as well as less danger to self (Ritter). The final problem with this test is one of scope. Giving someone too much hot sauce is a less grievous offence then physically hurting someone or even verbally deriding them. It is incorrect to assume that these two situations are analogous, because the stimuli needed to convince a subject to give someone more hot sauce may be very different then the stimuli needed to move them to more aggressive or violent actions.

Clearly, there is little evidence to support that violence in video games causes direct harm. The two most common tests are severly flawed, as one tests more for perception of aggressive acts rather then aggression itself and the other creates a situation that is rarely applicable in nonlaboratory environments. Further, even if both tests are accurate despite these flaws, neither gives sufficient evidence that this aggression will only lead to negative results.

Works Cited

Buss-Pretty Aggression Test. Link

Ritter, Dominik, and Mike Eslea. “Hot Sauce, Toy Guns, And Graffiti: A Critical Account Of Current Laboratory Aggression Paradigms.” Aggressive Behavior 31.5 (2005): 407-419. Academic Search Premier. Web. 11 Apr. 2012.

In 1970 there was roughly two hundred thousand people serving time in America’s state and federal prisons. Today there are currently one and a half million people incarcerated in our prisons with another seven hundred and fifty thousand prisoners in our local jails. Even though there is significantly more prisoners locked away today the crime rate is roughly the same. The department of Justice says that thirty to forty percent of present jail admissions are people involved in “victimless” crimes or crimes with out a targeted victim so the only one affected by the offenses is the culprit. Of the victimless offenders thirty one percent of them were arrested for crimes related to drugs, and around twelve percent of them are offenses related to marijuana. Considering our jails are already overcrowded and offer little help with actually helping fix a person’s drug problem these people should not even be sent to jail in the first place.

In the 1980’s legislatures in America approved stricter sentencing laws dealing with drug offenses. The feds led the way enacting the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 and the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988.  Along with other requirements the laws made several mandatory minimum sentencing laws for drug related crimes and also affected Sentencing guidelines causes the judge in most drug cases to lose discretion, which is normally an essential part of the sentencing process. This is what increases the amount of people in the court system exposed to jail time. This proves that the War on drugs is a major cause for the severe “prison boom”.

A new cause should hereby be activated. That is ending this war on drugs and decriminalizing these victimless crimes related to drugs to effectively reduce populations in prisons and not sending people to prison who don’t necessarily deserve it, while also not “adversely affecting public safety, according to the findings of a study published this week by The JFA Institute, a Washington, DC criminal-justice think tank.”

The study also goes into how the Western European countries that have more liberal drug laws don’t see the violence seen in America due to drug trafficking. So not only would ending the war on drugs be the cause of more non-violent offenders out of prison and in treatment where they need to be it will help put an end to the violent offenses from even happening (also reducing prison population).

Ending this War on Drugs would be a drastic improvement. The “decriminalizing illicit drugs, along with enacting modest reforms in sentencing and parole, would” cause taxpayers to save “an estimated $20 billion per year and reduce the prison population from 1.5 million to below 700,000.”

Decriminalizing Pot Will Reduce Prison Population, Have No Adverse Impact On Public Safety, Study Says

http://www.drugwarfacts.org/cms/mms

Athletes Over the Edge

Anyone who follows major league baseball knows that anabolic steroid use is a constant problem. The number of players who have been caught using, admitted to, or suspended for steroid abuse is undeniable large. What everyone does not know is why these elite athletes decide to abuse anabolic steroids. They do not understand that even for talented athletes the pressure to take steroids and improve their game is great.

“The never-ending expectations of audience and the desire to enjoy an invincible winning streak have allured many sportsmen to take steroids” (“Athletes Using Steroids”). The pressure put on athletes by their fans and managers cause them to seek any means to enhance their abilities. It is not different then the pressures that young students face everyday that cause them to stoop to cheating. Sometimes the pressure from their parents causes them to study, and when studying is not enough they resort to cheating to get the approval of their parents. This is similar to what is happening to athletes. Athletes practice and practice but sometimes they still can’t seem to achieve success at such a high level so they resort to steroid abuse. Even those athletes who do reach the top may be forced to use steroids in order to stay in the spotlight. Some athletes believe that they need the increased muscle mass and endurance.

People who oppose anabolic steroid use may say that the pressure on athletes is no excuse to use steroids. They argue that if they need to get better they should just practice and work hard. What these critics do not understand is that sometimes just practicing isn’t enough. An athlete at the level of professional baseball practices and works hard non-stop and sometimes reaches a point where all the work isn’t bringing any result. Sometimes they need a nudge to get them improving again. This nudge comes in the form of anabolic steroid use. These athletes may see an improvement after using the steroids and begin to be hooked on the success. This may cause some athletes to become addicted and take steroids constantly. Anyone who has worked constantly at something but could not succeed can understand where these athletes are coming from.

If the pressure of advancing to the spotlight is not the cause of anabolic steroid abuse then it may just be simply that they work in making them a better athlete and in turn cause them to earn more money. Using steroids cause athletes to gain mass, strength, and speed very quickly. With these increased attributes athletes may make it to the top of their sport. Some athletes do not play for their love of the game. Some play for money and prestige(“Steroid Abuse in Sports”). The athletes that are the most successful generate the greatest incomes. This causes athletes to take anabolic steroids and strive to become one of the best in their sport. For instance, Barry Bonds made an estimated $188,245,322 during his MLB career(“How Much”). Do you really think Barry Bonds would have made the millions he did if he never took steroids. He would have still been an extremely talented baseball player and maybe even one of the best. But, he would have never the home run record without the help of steroids, therefore he would have not made nearly as much money as he did. This means that the desire to excel is one of the main reasons for steroid abuse (“Steroid Abuse in Sports”). Imagine someone having the opportunity to put their talents over the top and become one of the greatest athletes in the world. If that could be achieved by taking anabolic steroids there is not many athletes who have worked hard their whole life to achieve this goal and be the best that will say no. People doing whatever it takes to make money and be successful is not something new.

Works Cited

 Athletes Using Steroids

Steroid Abuse in Sports

How much Money

Team of Numbers

Baseball has been described as a game of numbers for years, the numbers that are involved in baseball are used in sabermetrics. Major League Baseball teams are set on sabermetrics to help determine what players will fit their team best and give them the greatest opportunity to win. Some teams have done well using sabermetrics, while others are still at the bottom of their divisions. Sabermetrics is a vital part in scouting and looking for players to help your team win games, but will not result directly in wins or championships.

Teams have had success while using sabermetrics, some of these teams include the Tampa Bay Rays, and Boston Red Sox.  Their records have dramatically increased, and they have become two power house teams in the American League, also making the American East division one of the strongest in all of baseball. Players that the Red Sox have taken from the use of sabermetrics have included Dustin Pedroia, Clay Bucholtz, Jonathon Papelbon, and Jacoby Ellsbury (Simmons,1). Sabermetrics were used on a player like Jacoby Ellsbury, and some of the statistics that caught the eyes of the Red Sox organization were fielding percentage ( amount of putouts divided by the amount of total chances the player has) and also on base percentage (the percentage that the player will get on base per at bat). These two statistics have been useful for the Red Sox and Ellsbury has proved that those two statistics are a big part of his game. In his first three years in the major leagues Ellsbury had on base percentages of .394, .336, and .355 which are great, his fielding percentage has also been a 1.000 (which is perfect) in 2007, 2008, 2010, and 2011.  The Rays on the other hand were trying to just rebuild their whole team around young talent, some of which included Carl Crawford,  Rocco Baldelli, B.J. Upton, and Scott Kazmir.

Not all teams have success with their sabermetrics, almost all teams use sabermetrics as a main tool in drafting and getting players in the offseason and during trades. Some teams pick players and they just do not produce how they were predicted to and also they may just not produce in the major league. Throughout the major league a system called PECOTA (Player Empirical Comparison and Optimization Test Algorithm) has been used to determine project how many wins a team will have based on 3 factors Major-league equivalencies to allow us to use minor-league stats to project how a player will perform in the majors, baseline forecasts which use weighted averages and regression to the mean to produce an estimate of a player’s true talent level, and a  career-path adjustment which incorporates information about how comparable players’ stats changed over time (Swartz, 1). PECOTA has projected wins for every team, and it showed that teams were either over projected or under projected. Three examples for teams that were over projected would be the Pittsburg Pirates, Cleveland Indians, and Arizona Diamondbacks. The Pittsburg Pirates were projected to have 72.4 wins but actually had 57 wins, the Indians were projected to have 87.2 wins but actually had 69 wins, and the Arizona Diamondback were projected to have 84.4 wins but had 65 wins (Swartz, 1). This proves that plugging statistics into a computer and letting the computer determine how many wins a team will have is not the best way to determine if the team will be successful that season or not.

There have also been players that have been projected by sabermetrics to not have good seasons, and they have had amazing seasons. One such player is Jose Bautista of the Toronto Blue Jays. He has played in the major league and minor leagues since 2005, but even before that his minor league statistics showed him to be a pretty good hitter not very many homeruns, and a low slugging percentage. Going into the 2010 season that was still what was being said about him until he had 54 homeruns that year and a slugging percentage of  .617, then in the 2011 season he hit 43 homeruns with a .608 slugging percentage. That is unheard of, he all of a sudden just got so much power, and started hitting  the most homeruns in the major leagues. This is an example of how the PECOTA is not an effective way of determining players because it gave the number of homeruns that Bautista would have and it said he would have 18, not 54 or 43.

Statistics are a big part of baseball, but it is something that is more effective after the games and developing after seasons. Before a season it is not the best thing to determine the effectiveness of players and their season averages. Players have some things that statistics cannot calculate those things are experience, heart, and streaks. Championship teams usually go on streaks towards the end of the season and they start winning all their games, also all the players are playing at their best. Statistics cannot calculate if a team is going to go on a hot streak towards the end of the season or on a cold streak. Heart is one thing that can never be measured by a statistic and can determine if a team will win games and maybe even a championship. Players that have a lot of heart will do anything to win, they will do whatever the team needs them to do to win games. Experience is another thing that cannot be measured by statistics and that can prove to be a big part of winning games. Experienced players can provide guidance to younger players and they have been in the major leagues for years. These things can provide a better chance of winning games than numbers from years prior. Sabermetrics will be a part of scouting because it has been around for years, but there is no guarantee that it will help in winning games or getting players to help win a championship

Works Cited

“Jose Bautista Stats.” Toronto Blue Jays. 2011. Web. 11 Apr. 2012.

Simmons, Janet. “Eyeballing the Sabermetics game.” ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures, 06 Mar. 2012. Web. 11 Apr. 2012.

Swartz, Matt. “Ahead in the Count.” Baseball Prospectus. 03 Sept. 2010. Web. 11 Apr.

Gangs aren’t the way to go

Originally, a gang was just a group of friends hanging out after school. Violence was never a big factor in that type of grouping. Now in today’s time whenever you hear the word gang you immediately think about the negatives that it brings to the world. Before the bloods and the crips came you had gangs such as The Civil Rights Movement advocates, or even The Black Panthers, who fought for what they believed in. Now gangs fight because they were looked at wrong or over money and drugs.

Most people were joining motivational groups to help cope with what society was offering to them, but today no one can sit and say that the gang they are in are contributing to make society better. Many people today join gangs to help them escape from life or from the reality they don’t want to face. It is said that may teens join gangs because they need a sense of belonging. The fact that a child grows up without a father can be very devestating to them. So they go out and search for the male bonding that they do ot have because they do not have that positive male role model in their life to play that father figure. In results of that they end up finding bonding within gang members that they sometimes can relate stories to.A father is suppose to be the guidence that keeps their child on track. He is suppose to turn his son into man not a gangster. What needs to be understood is that the presences on a male role model changes the perception on a childs life. If most fathers never left, then most gang members wouldn’t exist.

Other children that do have a father still happen to join gangs. Some reasons for that invole the fact that they might live in a neighborhood where they have no choice but to join a gang. Some grew up watching a life of crime from family members, brothers, close friends or even their parents. Even if a teen seems to be following behind the wrong foot steps, it’s never to late to show them the loving they need. As a mother who has to play the father role as well, the teen might feel as if she should show them extra attention knowing that a piece of importance in their life has been taken away.

Money happens to play a great role in joining gangs as well. Teens who desire for all of the finer things, begin to adapt to the mindset of doing whatever it takes to get them. If growing in a neighborhod with drug dealers, and multiple murders happening teens might handle situations differently then others would that are not in that type of environment. There is a saying, “Money is the root of all evil” well that seems to be true when on the news everyday you hear about young people in gangs getting killed over money. Gangs are the image of young teens living the luxury life, which makes other teens join their gang or other gangs because they want more.

Self protection happens to be a must in the world we live in today.No one is one hundred percent safe today. With all of the random killings happening in the world, anything is possible at any moment. Gangs are committing most of all crimes that are happening today. Gangs are the image of protection. If one fight then they all fight. Teens look for this when living the life of a steet person. If they are doing crimes such as: murders, stealing, robbing people they want to know that they are going to be protected during this life of crime. Because a gang member is surrounded by loyalty, they consider themselves as a family which gives them the sense that nothing will happen to them.

Works Cited

Just Say No

Understanding Why DaMan92 April 12, 2012

No Acceptance Tiki33 in Issues, March 10, 2012

Although many aspects of American society are getting healthier: McDonald’s has become a considerably healthy establishment, the last fifteen years or so has seen a spike in the organic and natural foods industry and, in part due to First Lady Michelle Obama’s “get fit” programs, it has become increasingly more important for Americans to exercise and consume healthier foods- and yet, in 2011, obesity rates increased in 16 states and the rates did not decline in any state (F as in Fat). According to F as in Fat: How obesity threatens America’s future 2011, a report from Trusts for Americans Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), 12 states  now have obesity rates above 30 percent; merely four years ago, only one state had a percent ranking that high. Shocked by these statistics the report examined exactly how obesity has grown over the  past two decades (F as in Fat).

Twenty years ago, no state had an obesity rating of above 15 percent. This year, in contrast, 38 out of the 50 US states produced obesity ratings of over 25 percent. For the 7th year in a row, Mississippi has maintained its leading spot as the number one state with the highest level of adult obesity (F as in Fat). The report noted that the fastest growing obesity levels reside in the south: Alabama and Tennessee have experienced intensified rates; this year, the slowest growing levels occurred in Washington DC, Colorado and Connecticut. The highest obesity rates remain in racial and ethnic minority adults, along with low income families (F as in Fat).

While American’s might be seemingly be increasingly getting fatter, many public health experts are claiming that it might be too soon to see an increase in American obesity levels due to the fact that the nations efforts to slim down have only begun in recent years (Rochman). The fact that obesity rates are not reclining has nothing to do with the fact that public health programs are not promoting healthier diets along with more physical activity. Or, that an individual’s personal goals and efforts to obtain their dream weight are not working. Dr. William Dietz, director of the division of nutrition for the CDC, claims that efforts to ward off obesity are in fact working fine. Comparing the anti obesity efforts to the 1950 anti-smoking efforts when medical professionals released the conclusive evidence about the link between smoking and caner, the doctor asserts that for approximately 15 years, smoking rates remained at a plateau and even increased for sometime (Rochman). It is the same concept with tackling the issue of obesity in America: it needs time and further developed tactics to achieve reduced levels.

Ironically, these medical professionals are basing their evidence off of a faulty scale for evaluating a person’s body fat percentage. The BMI system, which is a ratio of height to weight uses criteria that is neither gender or age specific in men and women over the age of 15. The system also fails at identifying the difference between a person’s muscle mass with their actual body fat; since muscle weighs more than fat, a physically fit and healthy human would appear obese. Based on the fact that the nation’s current obesity levels were raked based on a system that is not accurate, it is impossible to accurately identify weather or not Americans are actually getting fatter or fitter.

F as in Fat. “F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America’s Future 2011.” – Trust for America’s Health. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Etc. Web. 12 Apr. 2012. <http://www.healthyamericans.org/report/88/>.

Rochman, Bonnie, Maia Szalavitz, and Alice Park. “CDC: U.S. Obesity Rates Plateau Overall, But Men and Boys Are Getting Fatter | Healthland | TIME.com.” Time. Time. Web. 12 Apr. 2012. <http://healthland.time.com/2012/01/17/u-s-obesity-rates-remain-stubbornly-high

The effect of slavery is has its negatives and positives. The positives come from blacks wanting to prove white people wrong and actually make something out of their lives which caused them to work hard. But even working hard didn’t change what the whites thought about them. The negatives were discrimination, less opportunities, being treated bad, and being looked down on. The things that blacks had to go through as a race was extremely crucial. No one should have to go through or experience the things that they did.

The Thirteenth Amendment  freed black slaves in the U.S, however, as a race we still suffered. The racial comments, thoughts, actions, and mindsets of whites did not change immediately. Blacks were still neglected by society and dealt with discrimination. They were freed physically but not mentally. Whites still felt like blacks were inferior to them and they were born to serve them.  So many laws were passed to protect blacks after slavery, the physically pain was over but as a race blacks still had to deal with negatives.

Unfortunately, slavery is the “heart of conflict” between white and blacks. Slavery still had a big influence on blacks even after emancipation. The Union Army even encourage blacks to go back become a slave again to avoid the discrimination that they would face. I don’t think I would be willing to go back and work for anybody but what can I do if no one is willing to help me? It was hard for them to find a job, a place to live, and reunite with their family. Its almost like they went from being slaves to complete bums. They were basically forced to deal with the hardships of being a slave or be set free with nothing at all, which reminds me of the NFL lockout!

Professional football players are expected to accept the way they are treated because of the amount of money they are paid. Slaves may have not of been paid a lot of money if any for the work they did but their had to accept the way their were being treated. After the emancipation some slaves choice to go back and some slaves choice to  go try and live on their own. At the time slaves did have a choice just like football players have a choice to quit the team. People always seem to bring up the fact that Adrian Peterson could just quit, however, its irrelevant because after the Thirteenth Amendment slaves had a choice as well.

As many years went by things began to become better for Blacks in the US. Racism still exist but not as much as it did after slavery ended. The black community is given more opportunities to work, own a house, live peacefully. However, because racism still exist blacks still face more discrimination then any other race. Personally, I believe white men still feels superior to have a black person working for them. The perfect example will be football.

All the team owners are white an 72% of NFL players are black, which are more then have half. Professor Hodges made a good point he said, “wealthy white men still gather in rooms to decide how many times a year to put their mostly black players onto the field to put on a show for the fans.” They are rich due to the black players performance on the field. How is it that they make more money then the players who work hard to play the game? I’m not saying that they shouldn’t be paid, however, I am saying they should not be making more than the players!

I can not think of anything to describe the labor of the NFL and what the players go through but “slavery by another name”. The team owners have just as much power has a slave owner did. I agree with our former President George Bush, he described slavery as “one of the greatest crimes of history.” These people should not get away with this hidden from of slavery. The NFL should actually be investigated, in which they were but I still feel as though some changes need to be made.

WORK CITED

Wendy, Koch. “Some offenses get apologies.” USA Today n.d.:Academic Search Premier. Web. 12 Apr. 2012.

Von Drehle, David. “The Way We Weren’t. (Cover Story).” Time177.15 (2011): 40-51. Academic Search Premier. Web. 12 Apr. 2012.

Ruef, Martin, and Ben Fletcher. “Legacies Of American Slavery: Status Attainment Among Southern Blacks After Emancipation.” Social Forces 82.2 (2003): 445-480.Academic Search Premier. Web. 12 Apr. 2012.

Lewis, Harold T. “`They Call Us To Deliver Their Land From Error’s Chain’.” Anglican Theological Review 77.4 (1995): 455.Academic Search Premier. Web. 12 Apr. 2012.

The Embryonic Advantage

The intervention of religious and political organizations has led to a huge set back in the fields of regenerative and therapeutic medicine.  Because current United States lawmakers have deemed the application of embryonic stem cells in medicine to be immoral, the field of regenerative medicine has suffered a setback of over two decades.  Stem cell research and the use of stem cells in patients with degenerative diseases is nothing short of a miracle, however by banning funding for this particular type of stem cell research a short ceiling for potential healing is established.  Embryonic stem (ES) cells differ from all other cells by two crucial characteristics being their pluripotency and their ability to replicate indefinitely. (Zacharias 635)   These two characteristics are what make ES cells the most beneficial option for preventing and reversing tissue loss among patients afflicted with degenerative illnesses.

Pluripotency is the ability of stem cells derived from embryos to differentiate into any of the more than 220 types of cells in the human body.  And because these cells are able to replicate indefinitely, their potential to cure diseases is truly limitless.  Based on previous research trials by Geron Corporation, a California-based biotech company, researchers have found that embryonic stem cells are able to repair myelin sheaths (of the spinal cord) and will most likely be able to restore some of a patients mobility. (Reinberg)  In other words a paralyzed individual stands to regain some of his/her mobility back after undergoing embryonic stem cell therapy.

When compared to other methods of stem cell therapy, such as those derived from bone marrow tissue for example, the differences are enormous.  Cells taken from bone marrow are only able to differentiate into other bone or cartilage cells.  This means that they are utterly useless when trying to give a patient back his bowel function or mobility after a paralyzing automobile accident.  These fixes can only be accomplished with the utilization of ES cells, and would lead to sensational gains in quality of life, as is apparent.

Laws and regulations currently stand in this country that this type of procedure is not allowed.  A country founded by innovators that has been known to provide the best in so many other fields, such as NASA’s space program, superior defense programs and technology is quickly falling behind when it comes to saving and improving the lives of its citizens.  Because religious principles have stood in the way, this nightmare has become a blinding reality in the faces of those who understand its true potential.  United States programs have remained the best because of continued funding, for example in 2011 the Department of Defense was given $548.9 billion in funding, NASA alone received $6 billion all while the funding for embryonic stem cell research has remained steady at $0. (US budget 2011)  Without the necessary funding the potency of embryonic stem cells will never be realized.

The cause of the current policies concerning ES cell research dates back to 1996 when the Dickey-Wicker Amendment was passed stating that no federal funding should be given to research in which any part of a human embryo was destroyed.  After wading through the current state of muddlement concerning issues like this, it becomes clear that this amendment itself stemmed from the fact that most people holding political offices are of the opinion that a human embryo should be regarded as a living human being and therefore has rights protecting it.  Being that the point of this essay is to establish a cause and effect rather than to establish why this point of view is incorrect, delving too deeply into the contradictory nature of this opinion is unnecessary.  However, it is important to note that there is an obvious inconsistency among these same politicians when it comes to defining a life, such is the case in the current abortion laws.

The cause of these preventative laws has its basis in Christian ideals that have invaded political agendas and have swayed the decision making process.  While ideals that are held by over three quarters of the United States population should not be disregarded all together, but rather should be used at discretion and weighed against what stands to be lost.  In the case of ES cell laws, what stands to be lost is huge gains in quality of living, independence as well as lives themselves.

Works Cited

Zacharias, David G. et. al. Science and Ethics of Induced Pluripotency Mayo Clinic Proceedings 2011 Academic Search Premier. Web. 11 Apr. 2012.

NEW SOURCE: Reinberg, Stephen. OKs 1st Embryonic Stem Cell Trial Washington Post. The Washington Post, 23 Jan. 2009. Web. 11 Apr. 2012.

NEW SOURCE: FDsys – Browse BUDGET. U.S. Government Printing Office Home Page Web. 11 Apr. 2012.

In 1990, District Attorney Charles J. Hynes created a program called the Drug Treatment Alternative Prison (DTAP). The program was established to help nonviolent drug offenders with their drug addictions. Other than helping drug offenders with their addiction, the program has also reduced crime and the costs of prison. When DTAP participants were compared to a group of individuals who were placed into prison, instead of the DTAP program, evaluations have shown that DTAP participants and graduates were less likely to be rearrested, reconvicted, and replaced back into prison. Making programs like DTAP more beneficial than prison.

According to the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, “participants who completed the program and graduated were 33 percent less likely to be rearrested [when compared to prison comparisons].” In a two-year study fifty-eight percent of prisoners were rearrested in the second year. Only forty-three percent of DTAP participants were rearrested in the second year. DTAP graduates were even less likely to be rearrested with only thirty-nine percent of them being rearrested after completion. The DTAP program is successful because the DTAP program is about three times longer compared to other residential drug treatments. Unlike most drug treatments, DTAP provides fifteen to twenty-four months of residential drug treatment. The DTAP program is longer because studies have shown the longer a participant stays in treatment, the more likely they maintain being sober.

Not only were the DTAP participants less likely to be rearrested but they were also less likely to be re convicted. In fact, forty-five percent of DTAP participants were less likely to be re-convicted when compared to prison comparisons. In the two-year study, forty-seven percent of prisoners, thirty percent of DTAP participants and twenty-six percent of DTAP graduates were reconvicted. A reason why DTAP participants might be less likely to be rearrested is because the DTAP program was designed for drug offenders to succeed. In fact, the fear of going to prison rather than a treatment center is a factor why DTAP participants complete the DTAP program successfully. DTAP participants rather be a part of the program than be sent away to prison.

Lastly, DTAP participants and graduates were less likely to be placed back into prison. Again according to the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University,” [of participants who completed the program and graduated] 87 percent [are] less likely to return to prison, than the comparable prison group.” Fifteen percent of prisoners, five percent of DTAP participants and two percent of graduates were given new prison sentence.

In conclusion, prisoners were more likely to be rearrested, reconvicted, and replaced in prison when compared to DTAP participants. DTAP graduates were the least likely to rearrested, reconvicted, and replaced in prison. With that being said, programs like DTAP are more beneficial to drug offenders than prison. Programs like DTAP, help people live better drug-free lifestyles

Press Releases:.” CASAColumbia.org: News Room: INNOVATIVE DRUG TREATMENT ALTERNATIVE TO PRISON PROGRAM REDUCES CRIME, PRISON COSTS. The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, 2003. Web. 02 Apr. 2012.

“Program Description.” KCDA HOMEPAGE. District Attorney King County. Web. 11 Apr. 2012.

“Crossing the Bridge: An Evaluation of the Drug Treatment Alternative-to-Prison(DTAP) Program.” CASAColumbia. The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University. Web. 11 Apr. 2012.