What's the worst crime you can commit? Murder? Embezzlement? Burglary? These are all felonies and carry high jail times, but I think the worst crime where there is an actually victim is rape. No other crimes put nearly as much of an emotional or physical strain on the victims. Shouldn't we show a little more Respect for Rape Victims?
Sexual assault is a very heinous crime. Rape kits are easy to acquire from the victim--though it is an extremely intrusive process--and even easy to test. You acquire the sample and you test the DNA. Simple as that. Right? Not according to "the long arm of the law." In 18 percent of the nations open, unsolved cases, no forensics evidence has even been submitted to a crime lab. Now that is pretty outrageous.
A little bit about sexual assault cases:
One out of every six women will be sexual assaulted in their lifetime with college age women being four times more likely to be victimized. Just think: A vast majority of the people in this world know someone that has been a victim of sexual assault. You may ask around the people you know and figure out that not a person knows an rape victims, but that doesn't mean that they don't know any victims. The more likely answer is that the victim just hasn't told anyone. 60 percent of the cases aren't even submitted by the victims themselves. Stunning isn't it?
Yes rape is an outrageous crime but what makes it worse is that 73 percent of victims know their assailants. Almost three out of four victims know who attacked them. Despite all of signs leading to sure fire conviction only 6 percent of the assailants ever do any jail time.
Shouldn't law enforcement at least show the respect for those victims who don't know their assailants and are actually courageous enough to come forward after such an event? Maybe we need to raise the numbers for the number of attackers who spend time in jail. We have the ability to protect the victims. Why don't we?
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Semester Book Review
This semester I’ve been reading some realistic fiction novels. These are my favorite types of books, especially the ones by such authors as Dan Brown, John Grisham, and Tom Clancy. my parents have always read and their books of choice have been thrust upon me from a young age. Every time my dad goes to Little Rock he always buys a brand new paperback from Barnes and Noble so I have always had a plethora of books at my disposal.
• The Broker by John Grisham—2 books
This is a great novel. The plot is very windy and shadowed and I really didn’t ever know what was going to happen. It is action packed and takes place in the ancient streets of the Italian city Barcelona. I also really liked how all the streets, cafés, and plazas were all accurate and real. A recently pardoned prisoner tried to broker a deal to give the world’s most powerful satellite surveillance system to the highest bidder. CIA—not knowing who built of owned this amazing system—sent the prisoner to Italy and slowly leaked the news of his whereabouts to the other leading countries in the world to try to find out who is trying to keep this satellite secret. Along the way the prisoner makes a few friends and makes contact with his son that he rarely communicated with when he wasn’t in jail. In my opinion this is one of Grisham’s best works and this is a novel that everyone should read.
• Angels and Demons by Dan Brown—3 books
This is the prequel to the very popular yet very controversial The Da Vinci Code. The main character Robert Langdon, a Harvard University symbologist, is faced with the quest of uncovering the mysteries of a secret society called the Illuminati, and unraveling the plot of this brotherhood to annihilate Vatican City. The main theme is the conflict between science and religion which is extremely divisive. This is an action-packed novel which I really like. Again in this novel all the churches, villas, plazas, and art pieces are real and accurate. Though Dan Brown has only written five novels with two of them being completely unrelated to all the others, he is a great author and I think everyone should read all his books.
• The Broker by John Grisham—2 books
This is a great novel. The plot is very windy and shadowed and I really didn’t ever know what was going to happen. It is action packed and takes place in the ancient streets of the Italian city Barcelona. I also really liked how all the streets, cafés, and plazas were all accurate and real. A recently pardoned prisoner tried to broker a deal to give the world’s most powerful satellite surveillance system to the highest bidder. CIA—not knowing who built of owned this amazing system—sent the prisoner to Italy and slowly leaked the news of his whereabouts to the other leading countries in the world to try to find out who is trying to keep this satellite secret. Along the way the prisoner makes a few friends and makes contact with his son that he rarely communicated with when he wasn’t in jail. In my opinion this is one of Grisham’s best works and this is a novel that everyone should read.
• Angels and Demons by Dan Brown—3 books
This is the prequel to the very popular yet very controversial The Da Vinci Code. The main character Robert Langdon, a Harvard University symbologist, is faced with the quest of uncovering the mysteries of a secret society called the Illuminati, and unraveling the plot of this brotherhood to annihilate Vatican City. The main theme is the conflict between science and religion which is extremely divisive. This is an action-packed novel which I really like. Again in this novel all the churches, villas, plazas, and art pieces are real and accurate. Though Dan Brown has only written five novels with two of them being completely unrelated to all the others, he is a great author and I think everyone should read all his books.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Medi Janes
Weed, marijuana, cannabis, chronic, hash, pot...the list goes on and on, but whatever you call it it is the most used "illegal" drug in the world. I don't believe in using this drug recreationally but I condone the use of it medically. There will have to be a well planned course of action to go about legalizing this herbal treatment. An editorial from the Dallas Morning News brought to my eyes how some states are mature enough to handle this privilege while others are not.
I've been taught in every single health class I've ever taken the effects of marijuana use on the human body. Although it has been known that smoking anything (including cannabis) can be harmful to the lungs and throat, even the experts can't agree on the effects of the other methods of administering this therapeutic plant. In every circumstance of the medical use of marijuana there are experts arguing on both sides which makes it very hard to judge and determine who to trust and believe.
If you have ever had someone you love or someone that you are close to go through a bout of pain and suffering then you know how painful it is not just for that person but for everyone around them. Cannabis treatments could help easy that pain (amongst other symptoms) while its chemical make up is just as safe, if not safer, then other drugs used for treating similar symptoms. The issue then becomes a moral one: if you could ease a cancer patient, a patient suffering from Alzheimer's disease, or any type of terminally ill patient, would you?
I've been taught in every single health class I've ever taken the effects of marijuana use on the human body. Although it has been known that smoking anything (including cannabis) can be harmful to the lungs and throat, even the experts can't agree on the effects of the other methods of administering this therapeutic plant. In every circumstance of the medical use of marijuana there are experts arguing on both sides which makes it very hard to judge and determine who to trust and believe.
If you have ever had someone you love or someone that you are close to go through a bout of pain and suffering then you know how painful it is not just for that person but for everyone around them. Cannabis treatments could help easy that pain (amongst other symptoms) while its chemical make up is just as safe, if not safer, then other drugs used for treating similar symptoms. The issue then becomes a moral one: if you could ease a cancer patient, a patient suffering from Alzheimer's disease, or any type of terminally ill patient, would you?
Monday, October 12, 2009
Sentence 12
His sentence:
Are we obsolete?
From Angels and Demons by Dan Brown.
He uses this rhetoric question to raise the question of the outreach of the Catholic religion.
My sentence: Can you there?
Are we obsolete?
From Angels and Demons by Dan Brown.
He uses this rhetoric question to raise the question of the outreach of the Catholic religion.
My sentence: Can you there?
Sentence 11
His sentence:
Science, you say, will save us.
From Angels and Demons by Dan Brown
He sets off "you say" with commas to show the procession of the phrase.
My sentence:
The movie, she said, will change you.
Science, you say, will save us.
From Angels and Demons by Dan Brown
He sets off "you say" with commas to show the procession of the phrase.
My sentence:
The movie, she said, will change you.
Sentence 10
His sentence:
Somehow, as though the words were flowing from God himself, he spoke the modern language...delivering the ancient message.
From Angels and Demons by Dan Brown.
He juxtaposed two contrasting words to show the complexity of his argument.
My sentence:
Somehow, as if the text was flowing from Shakespeare himself, he wrote the next novel...using the classic style.
Somehow, as though the words were flowing from God himself, he spoke the modern language...delivering the ancient message.
From Angels and Demons by Dan Brown.
He juxtaposed two contrasting words to show the complexity of his argument.
My sentence:
Somehow, as if the text was flowing from Shakespeare himself, he wrote the next novel...using the classic style.
Sentence 9
His sentence:
We see UFOs, engage in channeling, spirit contact, out-of-body experiences, mindquests--all these eccentric ideas have a scientific veneer, but they are unashamedly irrational.
From Angels and Demons by Dan Brown.
My sentence:
He sees the hole, starts running, avoids contact, the unforeseeable, linebacker--all these sporadic ideas pass through the tailback's mind, and they are instantaneously processed.
We see UFOs, engage in channeling, spirit contact, out-of-body experiences, mindquests--all these eccentric ideas have a scientific veneer, but they are unashamedly irrational.
From Angels and Demons by Dan Brown.
My sentence:
He sees the hole, starts running, avoids contact, the unforeseeable, linebacker--all these sporadic ideas pass through the tailback's mind, and they are instantaneously processed.
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