Aftermath of 9/11

   The War on Terror has caused such intense debate between a large sum of Americans. This was all caused from the tragic terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001. So many families were greatly affected by this. Many people lost friends, parents, grandparents, sons, and daughters. Many towns and communities faced hardships from these attacks and my town, Manhasset N.Y, was close to being the most affected small town regarding the number of deaths from the community. Nearly 50 residents from my town were killed and it still affects us today. People did not know how to handle this and couldn't understand what sick people would create such disaster to our nation.
      Al Qaeda, led by Osama Bin Laden, was the extremeist group who preformed these attacks. The American people wanted revenge. The only logic way to do this was to go to war. Many people opposed the war but as a strong nation many people also believed we couldn't just sit back and not fight back. The people who oppose it maybe don't know what it feels like to have someone close to them, hop on the Long Island expressway, into the city and then never come back. Its something that will tear you apart and leave you at a point where you want action to be preformed. George W. Bush had no choice but to respond to these attacks. Our nation went to war against Al Qaeda and the great terrorist leader, Osama Bin Laden. On May 2, 20011, our navy seal special forces know as "Seal Team Six' found Osama bin Laden and killed him. This put our nation to a point where we knew America got its payback. People will never forgot the that tragic day and ail never forget the many who risked there lives for the people of our country. America is the strongest nation in the world. We were not going to let cowards attempt to tear down our nation in any way, shape, or form.

Justin Bieber

      Justin Bieber started out as a young innocent child with an amazing voice. He was noticed by big time agents and music producers for his talent at such a young age. People wanted to make something big out of him. The public thought to themselves, "What's there not to like about this kid?" He's a small-town kid from Canada with a single parent mother and incredible music talent. But honestly Bieber, is no different from any other star/childhood star. A great example I like to use is Michael Jackson. Jackson was on top. Refereed to as the "The King of Pop". He clearly had issues and was probably one of the biggest Hollywood downfalls. Bieber has an extremely large fan base and right now is probably number one in pop. His actions off stage are some indications of his downfall. He has gotten in trouble with the law and is not known as this cute child anymore. His comments about Anne Frank were extremely questionable about what type of person he is. Many people were greatly affected from the holocaust and Anne Frank's experiences. Bieber's comments only caused anger form the public. He is also a very immature person. He cannot grow up. There needs to be a point for every hollywood star to get there "stuff" together and grow up. Hollywood and the celebrity lifestyle will take a toll on anyone in that position. There are extreme amounts of pressure and temptations. Its the ones who learn to grow up that make it out alive. From recent news and past evidence Justin Bieber is not one of those people.

Johnson & Johnson

     The first thing I think of when I see the label for the Johnson & Johnson company I think of innocence and how a lot of there products were made for a baby's health. Now my thoughts have completely changed.  They payed $2.2 billion to certain types of advertising and to provide certain drugs to patients of a retirement home. These certain drugs had horrible side effects and were life threatening. This caused a lawsuit against the company. It is crazy to think that the company who would frame innocence of a child and provide products for babies and young children! This act is absolutely disgraceful. The fact that they do not care about the lives of these elderly patients makes me question what drugs were used in there past products. Did they use certain drugs that were dangerous in there products to children? They should be ashamed of this stunt they tried to pull. I hope there was no incidents like this in the past that perhaps no one knew about and they got away with it. I will never trust there products from now on.

NYC Smoking age

      Smoking cigarettes is an issue that has had many negative effects worldwide. It can lead to lung cancer and many other diseases. In New York City the smoking age has been raised to 21 from 18. From my personal experiences, New York City is covered with smokers and second hand smokers. Just walking down the street you can smell that harsh tobacco. If people think this will solve the problem of less people smoking in New York City, they are wrong. This will just cause a problem with the law. More and more teens will find a way to buy cigarettes and use them whether its from fake identification or simply having someone older than them buy it.
      Underage drinking is a problem in the U.S. and now after this change in law, "underage smoking" will also be a problem. Almost every teen is able to buy alcohol. What makes people think this won't be the same with the purchase of cigarettes. I, personally support this new law. Smoking cigarettes has absolutely no positive effects. The problem with cigarettes is the aspect of addiction. Nicotine is an addictive substance and has "hooked" many people to smoking. This is another reason as to why this law will not cause a lower rate in the amount of people in New York City who smoke.
      In a sense smoking is part of the New York City culture. This law may have a positive affect and have a lower turnout of smokers than beforehand but ultimately will not be the case. It is almost too easy to purchase something illegally in our present day era. Smoking will always be a problem and this law will not stop that.

Pirates

    The perception of a pirate is view in many different ways. A pirate is in a sense a classic American icon. People view pirates as these whiskey-loving hardcore men with eye patches, peg legs and parrots on their shoulder. Kids dress up as pirates for halloween. Disney has created many movies that give the wrong perception of pirates such as "Pirates of the Caribbean" or "Peter Pan".
      Ultimately, pirates are not what the public or media portray them as. They are ruthless criminals who's main goal is to kidnap for hostage purposes and to steal and rob other boats out in sea. The question I ask myself is "could disney and other organizations in the media be wrong for this perception they put on pirates?" This can almost give them the view as a hero to kids. Kids wanna dress as pirates for halloween. They become engaged in the idea of a man sailing the sea searching for gold, but the real life aspect is a man sailing the sea searching for innocent people to steal from with deadly weapons. Pirates should not be a social icon to the public.

Government shutdown

The government shutdown has been caused by one key factor; congress not being able to pass their spending bill. This shutdown has caused much heated debate over America. I believe the main reason for this debate is caused by the American people's view on Congress. During this shutdown many services will continue to be funded suc as Social security, air traffic control, the active military and CONGRESS. The fact that congress was the reason for the shutdown and they are still getting paid creates a sort of anger to many of the american people. Many people are also upset over the fact that this government does not only affect the jobs of government employees but small businesses as well. Many politicians believe that they should continue with this shutdown instead of trying to find a comprise. This is honestly frightening to the American people and the shutdown needs to be ended.

Biker gang

The motorcycle gang incident was something expected from a group of men who try to portray themselves as tough and in a sense "lawless" or above the law. The bikers were causing a scene and rallying up together on the highway. This is something most biker gangs tend to do. They want to create the image that they own the highway. This gathering created hazards and traffic. Alexian Lien was fed up and decided to drive his SUV right through the gang and paralyzed one of the bikers. The question that comes up involving this incident is 'Was Lien right or wrong?". The family of the biker who was paralyzed is pressing charges and wants to take Lien down. Lien was with his family and wasn't going to let these men stop him from what he was doing and make sure they understand that they cannot do whatever they want. These bikers almost live in a fantasy world. They are grown men who get enjoyment from driving around in there bikes and try to intimidate the public. Lien had every right to try to avoid these men and give them the idea that they are not above the law and cannot create hazards. He was chased for miles on the highway and later dragged out of his car and beaten in front of his wife and 2- year old child. These men had no right to create such problems. Lien was not intending to hurt anyone but these bikers had every right to cause violence. That is where the bikers are wrong in this situation. Lien was minding his own business and going about a regular day. It was the bikers who created conflict and in the end beat a man in front of his family which I think is tragic.