Lego_Final Project_4/25/16

Week 4_4/24/16_Manifesto

Cancer is a disease that was discovered far back from the time of Hypocrites. It is a disease that has been the cause for millions of innocent deaths throughout the world. Today, with over half a million Americans being diagnosed with cancer each year, this is a disease that must be taken control of now before it is too late and rates begin to rise.

Many people in the United States are unaware of the damage this disease is causing. From the food we eat to smoking, our water resources, etc. Action must be taken immediately in order for us to save thousands of lives. The lack of funding Cancer research receives is also a problem that must be dealt with. Research is being condoned to help fight this deadly disease yet the attention it receives is very deficient. The Ellis Fischel Cancer research facility as many of you know is known for its courageous doctors to help fight the disease and treat patients. 

A great quote I read says: “Up on the crest of the world, once more we hurl our challenge to the stars!”

I use this quote to implement in your minds that hope does exist. That surely with every hardship there is ease.

Although the government has cut the funding to the facility, I still believe we can find an alternative before it is too late. My main and foremost goal is to find funding that can help the facility and benefit the donors simultaneously.  I want to target Universities for the funding. By doing so, universities will benefit from this by bringing research to their schools and increasing their core in medicine.

Second, I would like to provide a research that has been going on for almost a year now. Doing this I believe will help give us a head start in finding the cure for cancer. It is on Brazilian Wasps and is said that their venom kills cancer cells while leaving healthy cells alone. This is an alternative for chemotherapy. As many of you know, chemotherapy kills cancerous cells while at the same time destroys the human body. This research on wasps I believe will be a great success and hopefully finally put an end to cancer.

Lastly, we as a community need to raise awareness together. One voice isn’t going to solve this tragedy. We need to work as a whole in order to achieve this goal. Let us make what is a dream to millions become a reality.

Week 13_4/24/16_A Teacher's Manifesto

I begin here in acceptance of all who are here who do not agree with us. I begin here in acknowledgement all of those parents and lawmakers who do. I begin today with open arms to all of my fellow aspiring teachers, as well as those who have been in their field for years already. I begin with acceptance of your struggles, and knowledge of your strife. I begin here in recognition of the toils you have gone through these last years, since the passing of that horrendous legislation that renders so many teachers beaten and downtrodden. I begin here, on the steps of our capitol, in Madison, Wisconsin, to call you to speak out against that legislation, to deny the law that brings your already meager earnings to less than half the value of what you are being entrusted.

Today, we are standing here to bring into direct fire the legislation that our Governor, Scott Walker, approved on the 11^th of February, 2011 known as Wisconsin Act 10. This legislation, though an attempt to cut the admittedly considerable state deficit, does arguably the most damage to our schools, which we cannot simply cut away in hopes of improvement. This is the legislation that diminishes our school’s already minimal funding. This is the legislation that takes from the unionized workers in our state the right to bargain for their rights, to accumulate tenure, and to gain those benefits that should be granted to every human. This is the legislation that strips us of our rights. To strip us of these rights, is to strip us of our very professionalism. To strip us of these rights, is to strip us of our very autonomy. To strip us of these rights, is to strip us of our very humanity.

We do not deserve this, and our students do not deserve this. These children are our present as well as our future. To give them anything less than the best is tantamount to failure on our part, as well as on the part of every lawmaker who decides to deprive them of those very resources that will help them to succeed. To stay silent when we know this is wrong, is a failure to our students, and is a failure to ourselves, who promised to dedicate our lives to the growth, development and fulfillment of these students, every one of which has unlimited potential. We cannot stay silent. We will not stay silent.

This is why, as a whole, teachers need to unite in protest to this legislation, as well as all funding cuts and all removals of our professional autonomy. We need to stand against the onslaught of attacks against public education and education in general. We need to stop the attempts to cut the way to better schools, and we need to gain the ability to speak out against those policies that any right-minded law-maker should so clearly be able to distinguish.

That is why we are here, and that is why we stay.               

Week 13_4/22/16_Daily Fantasy Sports Manifesto

            I begin this manifesto with confidence that my fellow daily fantasy sports protesters will support me throughout this campaign to outlaw this form of gambling from this state of Missouri for minors. It has already taken thousands of dollars from the players through false promises and sly advertising tactics. It is past due for reexamination by the law in order to prevent further damage to the lives of the citizens of this state.

            As you might have noticed, there have been uncontrollably large amount of advertising from the fantasy sports companies that praise their new entertainment product and how everyone can play for a good chance of winning. I am tired of this lie that keeps contradicting itself. Their supposedly skill-based game that everyone has a chance of winning at can’t even be possible. It is so obvious that they are trying to make as many people as possible play this game, but also refrain from being classified as gambling. Their lust for money has revealed their true color. They show no sign of hindrance at taking advantage of the casual players by promoting this form of dangerous gambling.

            Let me remind each of you of what kind of specific effects daily fantasy sports can have on the players, especially the minors. This game takes money away from ninety percent of their players, while only rewarding the top ten percent that use statistical skills to win. This means that this game is unfair right from the start. Yet the fantasy sports companies shamelessly claim that you have a chance at winning. Moreover, they stubbornly refuse to accept that their entertainment product is gambling. They constantly compare it to the traditional fantasy games and skim over the short period of time for which the games last and the high price for less costs. At this point, not only are they guilty of promoting gambling to all sports fans including minors, but also of false advertising. For there to be fewer victims, this game must be banned for minors so that they are safe from the deceptions of these companies.

             The most dangerous part of daily fantasy sports is not, in fact, the way it is advertised or the unfair footings the players are in. It is, just like most other forms of gambling, the addictions the players can develop over it. They are allured by the high reward for low costs. Having access of it with them at all times makes it even harder to restrain from than other forms of gambling. This can result in the players losing critical amounts of money over this useless game and waste their lives trying to earn them back. The most common victims are the minors for they are more likely to make rash decisions and act based on emotions rather than logic. To prevent this from starting in the first place, they must not have access to it at all so that they are able to restrain from it.

            If you agree with my points of view, join me in the protest against this form of gambling and show the fantasy sports companies that we will not be deceived by their sly commercials, and that we care enough about our youth to make sure they can’t fall victim to their greed. If we all care enough and show our concerns, the change will come naturally.

Week 13_4/22/16_Poverty Manifesto

Poverty has been going on in the world for years on end. There are some people out there trying to reduce it and get rid of it completely, but not enough people to never have to hear about poverty again. The world needs everyone to put forward a little effort such as donating a little time out of their day, food in the back of their pantry, or old clothes that they never wear. Making a simple donation like that can make a poor person’s day so much brighter. Impoverished families are looking for jobs and looking to get back on their feet; they just need a little help.

From reading the Futuristic Manifesto, I found a quote that can relate back to poverty: “The essential element of our poetry will be courage, daring, and revolt.” For anyone living in poverty, they need to have courage to be able to move forward and work towards a better life. A poor mother is not going to be able to support her children from sitting on a street begging for money. It is not fair to the children who were born into a world having nothing. That child is forced to fight for their life from day one to not starve or freeze while other children are all cuddled up in a warm house. Building shelters will allow these families to have somewhere to go and call their own home. While it should not be a permanent setting, it is a huge step of accepting they need help. Homeless people usually go to shelters as their last option. We need to make shelters more appealing and help homeless/disabled people that there is nothing wrong with going somewhere for help. It is not necessarily their fault that they are where they are in life today. Everyone goes through different obstacles throughout life, some tougher than others.

Everyone is able to help this cause. If each person donated a dollar to a charity or homeless shelter, it will help families to make things right. Everyone giving a little adds up. Neither children or adults deserve to live in a world where they struggle to get food and own a pair of pants, shoes, and shirt. Besides people donating what they can, more programs need to be created. If more are not created, then we can expand the programs that already exist. Some programs guarantee child care assistance. Guaranteeing child care assistance will save parents a ton of money that they do not have to begin with. It will assure the safety and health of children who are helpless against the world at such a young age.

Making tax cuts and reducing racism is essential to this cause. Tax cuts will save families money for those who cannot afford and even those who can. It is beneficial to more than just the people who are living under the poverty line. Reducing racism will allow people to open their eyes and realize that anyone can be impoverished despite their background or skin color. Take action and help those in need!

Week 13_4/21/16_Free Lassie

                  It's been years since a real leader could lead us to the promise land. We need a leader that isn't afraid to speak his mind or tell the truth. Obviously, I am talking about our dog overlord. We've had Lassie and Old Yeller, which both met unfortunate fates. Dogs need to be given their own rights so that they won't have to rely off the generosity of humans. They say that dogs are man's best friend, but where are the dogs benefitting from this friendship? Leashes, harnesses, and muzzles have all been employed to shut out the opposition to this oppression at the hands of humans. Along with a select few believers of the Canine Independence Movement, we can free all canines of their positions on the lowest socioeconomic scale. Dogs need to be able to fend for themselves, just like they did in the beginning. Before dogs were abused and bullied into submission by the humans, they were wolves. Today, humans will not harm wolves or harass them. We respect them from a distance and admire their wildness. Wolves are a symbol of solitude and independence while the word 'dog' is often used as an insult, and dogs continue to be physically or mentally abused by their 'owners'. Nobody owns a wolf, you see. In addition, a human would never kick a wolf, so why do people continue to kick dogs?

                  In modern society, dogs continue to live in squander and without dignity. It is common nowadays to see dogs dressed up in silly costumes and paraded around like objects. Surely, the dog did not plan to wear this, and most of the time, dogs will paw at their ornaments because they did not give their permission to wear this. They were forced into those outfits the same way that kidnappers force children into their cars. The canine experience is miserable and dull at best. They live at the literal beck and call of their owners. All day, while their owner is at work, dogs have no enrichment and cannot leave their enclosed spaces. Deep in the forest or mountains, wolves roam around as they please. They are taught that certain behaviors are unacceptable. They just are, yet dogs aren't accepted as they truly are. Owners claim to love their dogs as if they were children, but we wouldn't lock up our children in the house all day and forbid them to leave the property. If we did that, Child Services would come and extract the child from that situation. Yet, it is perfectly acceptable to hold a dog captive all day.

                  The canine lineage is one of finesse and honor. We need to recognize their rights by setting all dogs free, and if the dog chooses of its own free will, we can live with them in harmony. Dogs need to stop being paraded around as 'show dogs' and punished for trivial things that we accept in other wild animals. Every day, more dogs are being forced to procreate against their will so that we may have variations on color, size, and ability. It's simply unacceptable from an ethical point of view. You do not truly love your dog unless you set them free and let them be their authentic selves.