The discussion on health care in class on Friday seemed a good practice for future discussions. Although many people seemed hesitant about voicing their opinions, when individually called upon, nobody shied away from contributing something relatively original.
At times the conversation seemed circular, apparently due to the fact that everyone seemed to generally share the same opinion; the lack of conflict led to some dead moments, but we were able to recover well enough. It was interesting to converse with my peers about current politics (a new experience, for me) and hear their opinions about political events in our country. We're all so educated.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Pair jailed for Trafalgar Square homophobic killing
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-12283937
Two people who fatally attacked a man in London's Trafalgar Square after subjecting him to homophobic taunts have been jailed for manslaughter.
Ian Baynham, 62, of Beckenham, south-east London, was assaulted outside South Africa House in September 2009.
He was punched by Joel Alexander, 20, and then repeatedly stamped on by Ruby Thomas, 19, as he lay unconscious.
The Old Bailey jailed Thomas and Alexander for seven and six years respectively.
"BBC News - Pair Jailed for Trafalgar Square Homophobic Killing." BBC - Homepage. Web. 26 Jan. 2011..
Two people who fatally attacked a man in London's Trafalgar Square after subjecting him to homophobic taunts have been jailed for manslaughter.
Ian Baynham, 62, of Beckenham, south-east London, was assaulted outside South Africa House in September 2009.
He was punched by Joel Alexander, 20, and then repeatedly stamped on by Ruby Thomas, 19, as he lay unconscious.
The Old Bailey jailed Thomas and Alexander for seven and six years respectively.
"BBC News - Pair Jailed for Trafalgar Square Homophobic Killing." BBC - Homepage. Web. 26 Jan. 2011.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Store Clerk Shot
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/01/store-clerk-shot-during-robbery-in-long-beach.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+lanowblog+(L.A.+Now)
Store clerk Sor Phouam,53, was shot and killed by two robbers in Long Beach. The investigation is ongoing, and occurred just two weeks after Long Beach police Chief Jim McDonnell announced that the city's crime rate was at its lowest since 1971. About 36 murders were reported last year, a drop from 2009, when 44 murders were reported, according to the Times' Homicide Report.
Vives, Ruben. "Store Clerk Shot, Killed during Robbery in Long Beach | L.A. NOW | Los Angeles Times." Los Angeles Times. Web. 23 Jan. 2011..
Store clerk Sor Phouam,53, was shot and killed by two robbers in Long Beach. The investigation is ongoing, and occurred just two weeks after Long Beach police Chief Jim McDonnell announced that the city's crime rate was at its lowest since 1971. About 36 murders were reported last year, a drop from 2009, when 44 murders were reported, according to the Times' Homicide Report.
Vives, Ruben. "Store Clerk Shot, Killed during Robbery in Long Beach | L.A. NOW | Los Angeles Times." Los Angeles Times. Web. 23 Jan. 2011.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Student's Gun Goes Off in School
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/01/gunman-apologized-shooting.html
Two Gardena High School students were injured when a gun in a student’s backpack accidentally discharged about 10:40 a.m.
One girl was shot in the head, and is in grave condition at a hospital. The other victim, a boy, was wounded in the shoulder. According to Robert Alaniz, an LAUSD spokesman, the gun discharged when a 10th grade boy either dropped or bumped the backpack containing the weapon.
Two Gardena High School students were injured when a gun in a student’s backpack accidentally discharged about 10:40 a.m.
One girl was shot in the head, and is in grave condition at a hospital. The other victim, a boy, was wounded in the shoulder. According to Robert Alaniz, an LAUSD spokesman, the gun discharged when a 10th grade boy either dropped or bumped the backpack containing the weapon.
Two-Column Web Journal
Brigitte Wilcox
Mr. Palo
Gov P4
18 January 2011
Two-Column Web Journal
Facts/Arguments from the source · Healthcare costs are skyrocketing · Tens of millions of Americans are uninsured due to increased costs · Healthcare plan designed to reduce inefficiency and improve healthcare quality | Personal Response I wonder how healthcare can be both improved and reduced in cost, but I accept that I don’t know enough to understand it and still believe it is possible. |
Citation:
"Barack Obama and Joe Biden's Plan to Lower Healthcare Costs and Ensure Affordable, Accessible Health Coverage for All." Organizing for America | BarackObama.com. 2008. Web. <http://www.barackobama.com/>.
Facts/ Arguments from the source · By 2017, one dollar out of every five spent in America will go toward healthcare costs · The US healthcare system ranks last or next-to-last on five dimensions of a high performance health system: quality, access, efficiency, equity, and healthy lives · Obama's plan calls for a ten billion dollar federal investment in healthcare information technology over five years. | Personal Response This article uses irrelevant facts to persuade its reader: although the US healthcare system maybe be CURRENTLY ranked next-to-last, the point of the plan is to improve it. This article harps on Obama’s lack of detail in his plan, but it too lacks detail about what detail his plan lacks. |
Citation:
Ragain, Michael. "Obama's Health Care Plan." American Thinker. 2010. Web. 18 Jan. 2011. <http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/03/obamas_health_care_plan.html>.
Arguments/Facts from the source · plan provides affordable, accessible health care for all Americans, builds on the existing health care system, and uses existing providers, doctors, and plans · patients will be able to make health care decisions with their doctors, instead of being blocked by insurance company bureaucrats · Under the plan, if you like your current health insurance, nothing changes, except your costs will go down by as much as $2,500 per year. If you don’t have health insurance, you will have a choice of new, affordable health insurance options. | Personal Response This sounds ideal, but now I’m questioning if Obama can really deliver on his promises. It sounds too easy. And couldn’t patients already make health care decisions with their doctors? I never particularly liked the people who spoke so vehemently against Obama and his ideas for health care reform, but now I’m beginning to question its credibility. |
Citation:
"Health Care | Change.gov: The Obama-Biden Transition Team." The Office of the President-Elect. Web. <http://change.gov/agenda/health_care_agenda/>.
This research has made me confused about what I think of the health care plan. It sounds ideal; apparently it will improve the quality of currently existing health care plans while simultaneously reducing costs on both individual and national levels, but how is that possible? Neither side was particularly clear on the “how” details: pro-planners simply declared that these things would be true without any evidence to support it, while anti-planners screamed that these things were impossible without explicating how.
In general, if Obama can really deliver what he promises in his health care reform, than I am for it. If the health care reform is passed but does not live up to its expectations, then I would have to wait and see what the consequences are before passing judgment. Somehow, however, I doubt that it will truly change my everyday life either way.
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