Week 9 - Illicit Crime

Illicit crime is a big skeleton that is in every countries closet. No one wants to go and buy a 20,000 dollar purse when they can buy the same thing or a knock off for 40 dollars on the streets of Hong Kong. But in the end it is something that needs to be brought to the light. We do not need to be so naïve in this world to believe that a purse is just a knock off and it will not affect anything else or anyone else for that matter. Well, wake up world! Every time you have some kind of knock off sold on the streets you promote drugs, violence, illegal weapons, war, and even illegal human trading, aka slavery.

It does not seem like those things could even relate what so ever to the other. But low and behold, they do. When someone ships a load of illegal fabrics to make purses, what makes them not want to make even more money by sticking in a kilo of heroin in with it? A good way of looking at this type of trade is like looking at the effects of drugs themselves. If you have marijuana once a month, what would stop you from trying cocaine or any other type of drug? You are already doing something illegal, why not try something different? Marijuana has been labeled a gateway drug. Well, selling illegal items could be the gateway drugs to selling illegal weapons or helping people bring in humans that they are putting through slavery now or prostitution. They could even be selling humans for body parts!

Either way, it’s absolutely disgusting and ILLEGAL! I admit, I too have bought things that were knock offs. I never knew how intertwined those horrible things are with that purse I wanted to get. Lord knows it won’t happen again.

Week 8 - Update on Supreme Court Case

As of today I have researched new things about the court case of Roe vs. Wade. I found out some very interesting facts about the case in 1973 as well as what "Jane Roe" is doing today.

Apparently she had been at the Notre Dame graduation ceremony when President Barack Obama had been speaking. She was protesting the protestors that had come to speak about how they do not believe in what President Barack Obama stands for. Those different ideals include things such as: Abortion and Contraception, the War, and other very liberal things. Because Notre Dame is a Catholic University, they feel that President Barack Obama's precense was rude and unwelcome since he is a democrat and that he represents things that the Catholic Church looks down upon. By the end of the day, she had been arrested.

Going back to the court case, I have been very successful in finding out information because the Roe vs. Wade case is still such a controversy and people still are fighting for and/or against it. This woman has some real guts for going around and getting arrested so many times. I am almost positive that it is such a hard thing to be in the media eye as a person that has no morals or is going to hell. And maybe it is not the media’s eyes but it is more so the people of the United States who have the idea in their head that she can’t be a good person because she believes in something that their God has “said” is punishable. It is just amazing to me that people are so hateful towards each other over something that they allow to rule over them. I do not believe faith is bad, but religion blinds people from things that in any other situation they would be so rational about. It's truly amazing what people will do to stand up for their beliefs.

Week 7 - Pacific Heights

In the movie “Pacific Heights” a tenant comes in and decides to drive the landlords absolutely insane. The rights of the landlords seem to be blurred in the movie because of the fact that laws are different in every state. In San Francisco, California, apparently if you take possession of the room you attempt to rent before any rent is given to the landlord and change the locks the landlord has to evict you through the court because the tenant now has rights. Although the rights were forcibly taken, they are granted by the state and therefore have to be fulfilled by the landlord or legally removed from the premises. This was the law in the movie. I am not sure if this is true in the state of California. To my knowledge if a lease was never signed nor consideration given then the tenant has no legal right and the landlord would have a certain amount of time to remove the tenant from the premises.

Another law that I know of that is in San Francisco is that if a person who signed a lease and has children but decides to not pay their rent, they have six (6) months free to be able to find another home. But they can only do so if they have children.

Laws like that tend to protect the tenant over the landlord. I personally believe it should be the other way around. There are a million more risks being a landlord than a tenant. The landlord would have to open his/her home to a stranger and take a lot of liabilities that would/could end with court, fees, and/or the loss of the home entirely. As far as having a family and being kicked out on the streets, I can understand why the courst would feel it was correct to keep a family in a home for a period of time, but for six months is rediculous. It should never be that long.

Week 6 - Greed Is Good

Wall Street is a messy place. It is loud and crazy. Yet, the most interesting thing of Wall Street and “big business” is all the people that take and take without earning it. Getting a one million dollar bonus is outrageous. I suppose if you make five billion it is absolutely nothing, but when the person who developed the R.E.E.T. earns a two billion dollar bonus in 2007, you wonder how that money was accumulated in the first place.

It scares me to think that people will buy a business and rip it to shreds like in the movie “Wall Street”. There can be so much more to come from fixing up a place and then giving jobs to more people while still earning millions of dollars. People are lazy these days. They want a quick fix and move on to the next thing. It truly sickens me. A great analogy would be that banks and other individual companies are like guys in an office betting on a football game, who are other companies and peoples jobs. Those guys take their bets and throw in the dice. At the end, someone wins and someone loses. It’s just more often that everyone below the position of a CEO or President seems to lose. Funny how that works out?

"The anger at Wall Street only grew at the news that Merrill Lynch, after reporting $15 billion of losses, had rushed to pay $4 billion in bonuses on the eve of its merger with Bank of America." To me that’s such a waste. People are hiding money to pay other people and themselves while companies, families, individuals, cities, and the entire country falls apart. What a disappointment in American culture, and even more in Americans who actually say they are Americans. What a disgrace.

Week 5 - Bong Hits For Jesus

I completely agree with Professor of Law Steven B. Duke of Yale Law School. I truly believe that if we legalize marijuana that there would be a lot less violence and a whole lot more money to go around. If you look at the facts that he explained such as, “…Marijuana is a relatively safe drug. No one has ever died from a marijuana overdose nor has anyone gone on a violent rampage as a result of a marijuana high.” it just shows that at the very least, marijuana should be legalized. I am a believer in that if you smoke, drink, shoot up or anything else that deals with drug use, you will do it. People always do what they want, legally or not. So, we might as well make a profit from it. Also, we might as well help other countries and our own country by stopping all the gang wars and violence on our streets and in our homes.

This situation is not going to be over soon, and it is not going to end easily. But if we get off our white horses and stop looking at what is legal and not legal compared to what is right and what will be the best outcome, will only allow good to come from it. Just because something has been banned for such a long time does not mean that it was the right thing to do. This law has been in effect since 1933. If you look at slavery, it has been around for more than 5,000 years but we as human beings and Americans know it is bad to have slaves, then why can’t we look past this outdated law of illegal marijuana.

In the end, people of all ages, races, and backgrounds will continue smoking, quit smoking, start smoking, try it, hate it, love it, like it, or never even touch it. So, we need to stop being so blinded by our moral and ethical stupidity and start doing what will be the best for our country and for its people.

Week 4 - Crimes & Torts

Partners: Amanda Reed, Teri McNab, Holly Eager

Crimes

False Advertising
Bar Gambling
Lieing Under Oath
Speeding
Trespassing
Illegal Gun Use
Battery with a Vehicle
Battery with a Deadly Weapon
Corruption of Judge
Paid Witnesses
Leaving Scene of Accident
Stolen Vehicles/Goods
Attempted Murder
Assult
Kidnapping
Refrainment of Trade
Driving on Private Land
Failure to Stop at Construction
Failure to Pass Lawfully While Driving
Failure to Wear Seatbelt
Driving Without License
Crashing into Police Officer
Endangering the Public
Fraud

Torts

Sexual Harrassment
Distruction of Property
Trespassing
Leaving Scene of Accident
Attempted Murder
Assult
Kidnapping
Endangering the Public

Week 3 - Comments

I can definitely agree with some of the things that this person has said. For instance, I agree with the fact that there are worse laws in other countries and that the United States is definitely a sanctuary to a lot of people that are facing these horrible things in their everyday lives. I believe also that we can agree upon the fact that there are some outrageous state laws that are still in play. He also brings up the point about our economy and how certain laws that people push to get passed end up hurting us in the end. It is truly a shame. Even more shameful is the person who is getting these ridiculous laws passed is someone who obviously broke some type of law to get disbarred. Just because a person is a public figure or politician does not mean they are good people, and it does not mean, even more so, that they know what they are doing or talking about. It is absolutely ridiculous.

http://armamentscrolls.blogspot.com/2009/04/what-i-think-about-current-laws-in.html

There are a few things I agree and disagree with this person. As far as certain laws that need to be removed, I do not believe that any law that says you cannot do something such as “J walking” should be removed from our system. The reason being is that it endangers other people. I am a person who fully agrees with the fact that if you do something to yourself and cause only yourself harm and/or endangerment then that is your own problem. A good example of such laws is one he brought up. “Click it or Ticket” is the perfect example of a stupid idea. Now, I am all for people being safe and buckling their seatbelt, but if that person decides to not buckle up and they end up in an accident, then they are the only person getting harmed in the situation. I believe the only other way to cause any harm to anyone else would be if your body ends up hitting someone or damaging property. I know it sounds harsh, but it is the truth. Let people make their own mistakes.

http://efanimation.blogspot.com/2009/04/what-do-you-think-of-law.html

Week 2 - Thoughts of the Justice System

The justice system in America is completely messed up. If a lawyer makes a mistake with handling anything, he or she could either have their license, or whatever they call it, removed. Now, I understand that it’s their job to do something correct. If I messed up at my job I’d be in a lot of trouble as well. But I don’t agree with the fact that if a person was proven guilty, but someone messed up the paperwork that the entire case is thrown out and then the lawyers get attacked. People make mistakes, and I just do not believe that a small paperwork mistake could jeopardize everything that those lawyers have worked for to bring some kind of justice to light.

So, what else can I say about the justice system? Well, I do believe that there are a lot of laws that are somewhat backwards. I mean, there are still laws on the books that no one has ever taken off that are just completely ridiculous. For example, you cannot park your elephant in Miami Beach for more than thirty minutes or that you cannot serve apple pie without a slice of cheddar cheese in Wisconsin. I don’t understand how these laws are still in play. It’s absolutely ridiculous.

I do appreciate everything that the justice system does offer me. If of course this happened to me, I could sue a company because I was attacked by wild geese on their property. I could also sue a company for being electrocuted because I used their brand of blow dryer in the shower because it did not specifically say that I could not use it in the shower. America is great that way. You can sue for anything and a lawyer will back you up one hundred percent of the way.

Week 1 - What I think of Lawyers

I personally believe that there can be good and bad lawyers. Not just in the sense that a person is good or bad morally or ethically because that in general doesn’t even matter. What matters is how well they do their job. I do not believe that any lawyer can truly care about a person, even the good ones. The reason being is because a lawyer at the end of the day is just someone you pay. They are strangers and will never know you.

The only lawyer who would ever be truly good to a person in need is if they are family and not the backstabbing family either. Now there are the lawyers who strive to make this world just a wee bit better. They are few and far between; if you look hard enough you can run into one. They always want some money, and most likely more than what you can afford. But the good ones will help you out at the end of the day and bring justice to your little world. If the person who is in jeopardy and needs the lawyer is a good person in the first place that had some wrong doing towards them, then they will end up being able to find a good lawyer as well because good people have instincts. Let’s just hope the good person isn’t a moron though.

In any case, lawyers take oaths to do good, and most end up doing so because if they stay good in the eyes of the people that are hiring them, they’ll continue to have business. That’s the whole point anyways, if you have a good reputation you will continue to have people flock to you and be referenced to you. The bad lawyers though, well, they end up getting their comeuppance, whether that’s in this life or the next.