Bellringer 11/10/14

His role will change next because of the Republican controlled Senate and the ideas that will swirl around the capitol. He has been trying to improve veterens' benefits and the overall gun control policies.

Assignment 11/6/14

The first issue I would like to speak on is a possible educational reform that should happen within the county. I had a fellow student mention that the high school isn't even in the top 100 high school of the state; there are many classes that don't even have certified teachers. I have been in higher math classes with a substitute teacher for most of a semester and then not receiving the best education in that field. There are also some teachers as well as students that have a lack of will to educate and be educated. To fix this I will try and provide more money to educational institutes and programs instead of sports or even some policy rules; the attitude will be harder to fix and it is something we need to work better at.

Natural resources are a huge boost to the economy within the county and around us. I believe that we can continue to fuel those ideas and look for other possible sources of energy. We can continue to draw the energy from our Earth and watch how it helps our present economic situation.

I want to improve how the people in my county get to work so I will provide programs and assistance to state road workers and provide funding to repair any roads. When the winter storms hit last year

Bellringer 11/6/14

I think that it is a really interesting and a new way to bring different ideas. I think that there will a lot new bills presented and brought up by Sairah Blair and she has a very effective path ahead of her. This is something that is new and will present many benefits and pave the way for more effective and better legislation.

Bellringer 11/5/14

As every news article is saying,"it was a good night to be a republican!" Many republican candidates won including Capito for West Virginia Senate. There were some female winners but it was mostly males. Less incumbents won last night because many democratic states and counties went Republican. Elections are important so that one side doesn't dominate the government completely, there needs to be a balance of power.

Bellringer 11/3/14

Her argument is that she wanted to die in a peaceful setting on her own decision and without pain. She wanted to die on her own accord, not by the hands of a disease. Those that oppose this argument said that life is a gift and shouldn't be let go easily.

Bellringer 10/30/14

Historically blue Democratic West Virginia is turning away from the Democratic party and moving towards the Republican. This is mainly due to the low ratings that Obama has received from the Democratic party members. I agree that this is happening and that West Virginia might turn into a red state soon.

Bellringer 10/29/14

This supports my decision because it shows the complications of the death penalty and the loopholes that can be made. I believe the court had reasonable doubt to hold the execution and review the details of his case.

Bellringer 10/28/14

I believe that these laws are interesting and it makes me wonder why they had to make these laws. I laugh at some for their stupidity and others and their weirdness. These are just crazy laws made by crazy legislators for crazy people.

Bellringer 10/27/14

The South Koreans are trying to prosecute the ferryman because he abandoned the ship and did not try and help any kids. I agree with them seeking punishment and the open possibility of the death penalty because he didn't even try to help. I believe that the death penalty is a viable option but it needs to be a case by case basis. The death penalty is a great cost to humanity but it also relieves some of the pressures of things.

Bellringer 10/17/14

When treating the various cases of Ebola the nurses are prepped and ready by certain standards laid down by the CDC but they are only given some equipment and that equipment doesn't cover the neck, especially for Presbyterian nurses in Texas. I am a little surprised that the health care system was ill equipped for this and that they haven't made changes to help.

Presidential Report Card

Name of President: ___Jimmy Carter________________________

Number of Presidency:_________________________

Years in Office: ____1977-1981______________________________

In the following ten categories, grade your president from an A to an F. (You may “acknowledge” border-line grades with a – or a +).  You will need to give a 50 word justification as to why your candidate scored as they did. 

Category	Grade	Comments
Ability to handle and deal with a crisis	F	He didn’t commit to fixing anything when a crisis arouse.
Ability to work with Congress and Cabinet	D	He was a rebel in many issues and there was insults and dropped calls within the office.
Character and Integrity	B	He was a very religious and strove for the best for the people.
Education	A-	He started many educational programs such as Head Start and Education and Welfare programs.
Empathy	B	He felt like he knew the American peoples’ view and what they were going through.
Foreign Policy	D	Many crisis occurred overseas during his presidency and he didn’t do much except sometimes sending ambassadors.
Relates to the common man	A	As his policies and legislation stopped gaining momentum he understood the lack of confidence in the government and delivered a speech about it.
Persuasiveness	C	Although he knew mostly what was going on he never did persuade the American people that he was doing anything about it.
Political Experience	B	He was a common man but studied hard and entered his home state’s  political system and become governor and felt a taste of political power and what changes he could bring about.
Public speaking & Communication	B	His public speaking was adequate enough to have his topic be understood, especially in the malaise essay of American confidence in their government.

Many people argue that Jimmy Carter was a useless president that just hid behind walls of his rebellious cabinet, which in many foreign affairs he did, but he was driven to help the common American people by implementing educational and welfare programs as well as the exploration of new sources of energy. 

Bellringer 10/14/14

The main focus of these short films is to educate as many people as possible about economics and the economic system of America today. He wanted to make sure that it is highly accessible on every platform of social media. He was born and raised in Parkersburg, West Virginia

Bellringer 10/ 15/14

This article suggests that the jobs with the most openings and prosperous outlook are those that require trained skill and higher education such as computer technicians, teachers, and many STEM field jobs. It says that companies are desperate to put people into these positions and that these jobs will continue to grow.

Bellringer 10/13/14

I am less surprised by this than usual; it is nothing new in this age. I believe there should be a certain privacy in sending messages but people also need to be careful of what they send.

Bellringer 10/8/14

I'm not surprised by these findings because it is always televised and a common societal practice. I feel like this should be addressed with the managers of restaurants. There should be certain clauses within restaurant legislation.  

Bellringer 10/10/14

I believe that yes she has a choice to take her own life in this instance. Suicide and euthanasia parallel in many aspects but they differ because euthanasia is an assistance scenario since many people are notified in the process. I would feel constricted in a way at first and then I would take a walk to clear my head and then finally make my decision.

Bellringer 10/9/14

It says that the various regions have a lot of expensive ingredients that could be added to a hamburger. This says that these regions have well supported economies. If I was given such a burger I would try to eat but most likely wouldn't be able to finish it.

Bellringer 10/5/14

Click-Bait articles try to drag you away from Facebook itself and from the multiple posts that friends post. Facebook is trying to crack down on these articles so that Facebook is social media again. My reaction to this is that I agree that they needed to crack down on these articles so that Facebook is a more enjoyable site.

Bellringer 10/3/14

I am confused about who proposed this amendment and why it was proposed. I believe that it does violate more rights because in this government they can't tell us to pay to live somewhere other than utilities. People would leave if this went into effect and there would be no money in Belington. The first article was comments and more discussion about it than an overview of the ordinance like the second one. The first one is mainly comments. I still feel angry and confused about this ordinance and think it is a bad idea.

Bellringer 10/214

Ebola is not a major factor of worrying because most countries severely affected by the virus are poor with lacking proper conditions. Norovirus,Measles, and Influenza are most feared and do have vaccines to preent a major outbreak. Some concerns are the conditions in other countries that help spread the disease more.

Bellringer 10/1/14

I believe that he shouldn't have been penalized for the prayer because he was acting on his faith and wanted to give thanks. This deals with the 1st Amendment for the freedom of religion and of speech because they were spoken words and he has the freedom to practice his religion. I would make sure that there is a clause in the NFL for such a time.

Bellringer 9/30/14

These changes will create stricter verdicts, accusations, and charging of rape. It will make lawyers more aware to cover both sides and make sure that they are protecting the rights of all citizens. I think it will make the charge of rape harder at first because defending attorneys will find loopholes with the new piece of legislation but it will become easier after a short while to indict and charge more of rape charges.

Assignment for 9/29/14

1. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eugene-k-chow/online-privacy-fourth-amendment_b_3732670.html
    This article talks about the new age of privacy that we live in and the laws need to catch up. It mentions the ideology that the Bill of Rights was created in an age of

2.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/pat-lamarche/paul-ryan-is-the-biggest_b_5624872.html
This article violates the equal rights of citizens by taking away government programs. It also mentions Paul Ryan's potential abuse of power and how that violates his office and position.

3. http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2013/06/salinas_v_texas_right_to_remain_silent_supreme_court_right_to_remain_silent.html
This article talks about how a defendant was not properly giving his Miranda rights before police interrogated him for an hour and that they used his reaction to make a case. They used this man's silence as a silent conviction that he committed the crime and not that he was using his right to remain silent.

Bellringer 9/29/14

They are protesting for a more democratic and less restrictive government such as free elections.
The fact that they are protesting for such "rudimentary" democratic principles is nearly unheard of and unbelievable in most American eyes.

Bellringer 9/26/14

The low amount of bachelor degrees in West Virginia indicates that higher education is not a value that is very high on the agenda. I think this is low because most people in the state don't think that college is needed. There could be more awareness brought to this issue or presentations to students about how college can be affordable.

Bellringer 9/25/14

President Obama tried to convince the rest of the world by using U. N. delegates and his speech to end global violence. He mainly spoke on the militant groups of Arabian or Middle Eastern Nations. I don't believe he was the most effective since the U.S. began airstrikes that have been continual in this war against terrorism and extremist militant groups.

Bellringer 9/23/14

When opposing a militant group it is always better to have allies on the inside to help create problems from the inside out. It also shows that the views of ISIS are not shared by the entire Syrian public. I believe that Syria will react by becoming more torn and groups will isolate themselves even more.

Bellringer 9/19/14

I believe that since the U. N. has already condemned the militant group it doesn't matter which country delivers the airstrikes and whether that helps out the U. S. on the fight against terrorism. It shows that the rest of the world will not tolerate such violent behavior and will stop it at any cost. Since France is only striking one area it can totally annihilate that area of the militants which is not the best tactic in the book.

Bell Ringer 9/18/14

This article basically talks about how the Islamic State has set up its own government and theoretically is running that government quite well. It has its own court system and the reason the head honcho is alright with allowing such horrendous acts as beheading is that if he doesn't he might be overthrown because that's what his State believes in because that is the sole religion. It shows how the leader Baghdadi has learned some tactics from when he was imprisoned by the United States. This article basically tells the story of the actual formation of the Islamic State and how we mildly helped it form and many of the ideas of a "proper" government are actually in practice.

Bellringer 9/16/14

I believe the reasonable punishment is up to the parents for disciplinary reasons.  The option of corporal punishment is a diminishing factor and is usually frowned upon in today's society.

Bellringer 9/15/14

A young boy around the age of 15 strangled a fellow classmate Autumn Pasquale who was 12 in Clayton, New Jersey. Although the death hit the father hard his attorney pushed him to press charges against the parents of the young man as well as they young man himself. The lawyer's reasoning in in her statement, " If you're going to raise a murderer, you're going to take responsibilities." The single mother of the murderer makes her case against these allegations by saying it was the school system's fault since her child was a special education child with learning abilities and other mental disabilities that didn't allow him to interact as well as other people. Justin had a certain reputation with the school kids of being that kid that would steal things such as bikes or food from stores or his friends. This issue is very controversial because it delves into the ideas of how parenting should be and how much influence parents exhibit of their children.

Bellringer 9/12/14

I am majorly concerned about how close this organizations are to home. I have been trying to keep up with the story and knew that some Americans had joined the ISIS cause because that's what they believe. The intelligence gathering stations set up in West Virginia are interesting to learn about and how close they are. The idea of monitoring people's positions and there conversations is not a new idea but it is still a scary idea.

Bellringer 9/9/14

I am not surprised by the plea since the recession has cut back on many families eating out and cutting back on spending. I think that this has no bearing on American Society since it is already part of our society to get the most things for as little as possible. The business of an organization should never jeopardize the people it is catering to, this includes restaurants as well as other things like law firms or  gas stations. If I could choose to eat anywhere for seven weeks I would most likely go to Cheese Burger Cheese Burger because it has no many choices and interesting combinations to create. I would get a different burger, milkshake, soda, and appetizer each time and then repeat my favorite ones.

Bellringer 9/8/14

Fred Mayer assumed a quiet residential life back in Charles Town West Virginia after he led many daring missions during World War II. His family moved from Germany to America after the first World War in 1938 to live a more peaceful life.  He volunteered to go back into Germany but was eventually caught by the Gestapo to be beaten to the inches of his life. A doctor took sympathy on him and helped him escape so that Fred could set up an elaborate spy ring. He posed as a German officer in full uniform and obtained many important information including the location of Hitler's secret bunker in Berlin. Senator Rockefeller is trying to give the humble old man the Medal of Honor for his heroic deeds.

Bellringer 9/5/14

These fake towers threaten the general public by tapping into citizens' security and privacy by allowing other companies to monitor citizens instead of the NSA.
These towers are near military bases to make sure that there are no attacks against the bases or any other acts of violence that might harm other citizens.
I believe that the government has to have some knowledge base of these towers for the simple fact of there numbers. One or two towers can hide under fake contracts and other corporations, but seventeen towers is a large enough number to be seen and made known.

9/4/14

The impact it will have on India is that it will create a divide in the people of India because of the differing views and intensity of the militant force. They are targeting India because India was under British control for such a long time and Al-Qaeda believes that there was and still is a great deal of oppression to Indian Muslim citizens.
The United States should express some concern but shouldn't take any military action. I believe we should raise more awareness to combat the likelihood of this accusation from gaining ground and turning people's views.

Bellringer 9/3/14

Rick Perry basically publicly condemned Rosemary Lehmburg for her DUI charges and arrest. He threatened to cut off funding, and came through with the threat, to a special unit under Lehmburg that Lehmburg had enacted and had created during her time. The problem is that the program that he cut off was a program that investigated the wrongdoings of Texas public officials.
I believe that he had the right and power to do so but he should have picked a different, smaller program to try and avoid speculation by the public.

Bellringer 9/2/14

I am not surprised that this could happen, I know that the internet and apps or different places with different rules. I mainly worry about what I post on social media, like Facebook, and understand that things can happen. I think that they should be some prosecution since it was a private account. Although the internet is mainly public domain there are still private accounts that need to be protected.

Bellringer 8/29/14

I think the parents are partially to blame for allowing their child with such a high caliber weapon as an Uzi. I personally believe that nine year old children, male or female, should be allowed to shoot guns at a shooting range that are to their caliber and won't create problems in the recoil. Automatic weapons such as Uzis shouldn't be allowed in the hands of any children or citizen unless they are military personal; the problems with the gun safety issue is that people think its either all guns or no guns. Honestly, military grade weapons like automatic weapons should exist only in the military and civilian level guns like shotguns or rifles should be allowed if people wanted them.

Bellringer 8/28/14

The first article talks about the legislative branch and how it operates. It talks about the different parts that consist of Congress including Senate and House of Representatives.
The second article speaks about the rules of the president and his cabinet. It defines responsibilities of the president as well.
Third article is about the judical branch and how that operates; this includes lower courts as well as the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court justices can hold offices for life unless impeached, removed, or convicted of a crime. Right to trial by jury is also mentioned.
Fourth Article gives an outline of how federal and state laws interact and how to bring more states to the union.
Fifth Article recognized the imperfect sight of the Founding Fathers for a perfect government so this article speaks about how to amend or change the Constitution in any way. Two thirds of Congress has to agree to propose an amendment and three fourths of states to make amendment.
Sixth Article says that the Constitution is the Supreme Law of the Land and is the highest law. Federal and state judges must uphold this document in every way possible.
Seventh Article mentions the ratification and establishment of this document. In this section all the names of the men who signed it are in the Constitution.

Bellringer 8/27/14

There are students from North Carolina State University that have developed a type of nail polish that detects date rape drugs to prevent sexual assault. The way this nail polish works is that a person stirs a drink and if a date rape drug is in it then the nail polish changes color. This is a way to prevent the rape culture or reduce the sexual assault at universities. This is a good idea that would decrease the amount of sexual assault. There might be drawbacks that include upping drugs or finding different drugs that can't be detected.

Bellringer 8/26/14

Since the knowledge of a militant group from the Islamic State in Syria has become widespread the U.S. has authorized surveillance flights over the area to locate the regime. The plan is to have intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions within the Syrian borders to try and oppress this military regime that operates in both Iraq and Syria. Although President Obama has not confirmed what actions would be taken, it is believed to be an increase of airstrikes within the Middle-East and these two countries in particular. They also plan to attack and undermine the support for this regime by the Sunnis.

Bellringer 8/25/14

Northeastern California was hit with a 6.0 magnitude earthquake that rattled many stores. It mainly hit the Napa Valley including San Francisco and the wineries or olive oil stores. With the drought that is still going this earthquake put a major deficit in the wine industry and an overall loss of about $100 million worth of business revenue in the surrounding area. The earthquake is the biggest in the area in 25 years and many historic buildings are deemed unsafe to enter right now. There is the possibilities for aftershocks and therefore Governor Jerry Brown has declared a state of emergency to help relieve some of the residents and make sure everyone is safe.

All along the state of California there are breaks in the Earth's surface that might rub against each other and spring up suddenly, these breaks are called faults and the exact location of the springs are called fault lines
An initial report is out right now that this earthquake was caused by the Franklin fault line. The most dangerous fault line in California is usually the San Andreas fault line and it is also the most famous. There might be an actual conclusion of which fault caused the earthquake within a few days.

Bellringer 8/22/14

       Within the nation of America there are many organizations and systems that fail and are big problems. These problems are ones that have existed and persisted throughout many generations to escalate into a behemoth. Three of the most prominent problems are lack of leadership within politics, racism, and police brutality.

     Everyone complains about the government and with good reason, the functionality of American government has fallen into the gutter bowl. It is not so much the people in general but the lack of dispersed leadership in each branch and level of government including local, state, and federal. A way to fix this is dissolve the government into an anarchy and start over with some new leaders or just take the ones that aren't listening to other people out of office and have a new generation of leaders produce a better environment.

      As the older generations pass away and lose their voice the new generations take up the mantle and change the tone of what the public says. Although this is a common theme we do not live in a post-racism society because with the new tone the generations keep racism alive by the jokes and gestures. The topic of racism is always brought up during school when teachers talk about the Civil Rights movement but we never explore the subject more than textual analysis; there is nothing taught about it since it happened in the "past." A way to fix the present situation of racism is to raise more awareness, try to deplore people from making racist jokes, and to spread the message of loving your neighbor as we love ourselves.


The next topic goes almost hand in hand with racism since most police brutality incidents occur because of racism. This can especially be seen in the NYPD police force that has a horrid reputation for attacking African-Americans that pose no official threat and are unarmed; such as the case of Eric Garner where a caring black man who had just broken up a fight was murdered by four police officers that didn't even get charged. There is also the case of Trayvon Marin that shows how assumptions and prejudices have created a divide between police protection and abuse of power by police officers. Police brutality has wide ranges and spreads across the whole nation. A way to fix this is to stop the idea of racism and to give some form of punishment to the officers that attack without any reason.

All three of these are very prominent problems that occur every day to normal people and affect the entire population of the U.S. The lack of leadership in the government has created a faulty government that barely functions together. Racism is barely glazed by teachers and the general population keeps it alive in many different ways including jokes. Police brutality creates a public that is afraid of the very people that are supposed to protect them in any situation they can.  Perhaps these problems won't be fixed in a quick fashion but they need to be fixed soon in order for America to thrive at her best.

Bellringer 8/21/14

http://www.alsa.org/news/archive/ice-bucket-challenge.html

http://www.alsa.org/news/media/press-releases/ice-bucket-challenge-082114.html



I think the ice bucket challenge is a good idea and concept but the overall execution is becoming a different animal to tackle. I believe it has a specific purpose and awareness since there has been almost a 39 million dollar increase of charity funds towards ALS disease. I feel that the challenge was a good starting idea to bring awareness to the disease but it has blown more into a game of tag then a helpful way of awareness.

Bellringer 8/2/14

This article talks about the corporate taxes and how America is raising taxes for corporations. It talks about a certain company that went overseas for lower taxes. The article also talks about how some multinational companies are owning the world economy by their movements.

The purpose of taxes is to create and have money for different national programs or institutions.

I believe the people that have the most money need to pay the most taxes to contribute the most to the nation as a whole.

Michael Brown Shooting BR 8/19/14

1. Local police made the mistake of shooting an unarmed kid named Michael Brown. 

Another mistake that was made was to increase police force and allow for some police brutality within the town of Ferguson.

2. Excessive force is an increase of aggression or violence towards a person without any instigation on the victim's part. I do believe that excessive force was used in this case because of the increase of violence of Ferguson and the surrounding counties including the police using tear gas on citizens. 

3. I would bring together the people and let them talk it out politely and have them come to a general consensus and agreement on the issue. 

Bellringer. Letter to myself

Dear John,

By the end of the school year I will learn how to work more efficiently and will have handled an exceptional workload. I also want to socialize more and reach out to more people to help friends with anything they need. I will graduate from high school and continue on to college.I want to learn more about the world and how it operates as well as more scholastic things like math. I hope to improve my math skills and also improve my work ethics to a degree that is always growing to more potential. The only thing I want to change about my school year and myself is how to create a balance between my work and social life and also my money handling skills.
In a year from this date, I see myself preparing for college and or meeting my new roommate for college. I will have written all my essays for college and be proud of them and the college I go to. In college I will strive for my best and ask questions when I don't understand something.I will also do my best to actually write long-handed letters to all my friends wherever they may be. My expectations will be and are to work hard and not slack off on what work I complete and to enjoy my life as best I can. Another expectation I hold for myself is to not lose my character or personality in any setting at any time, no matter what. Plus I will always be there for the people that I care about. 

Smile Always,
John Terwilliger

Bellringer, Letter to yourself

Dear John,

By the end of the school year I will learn how to work more efficiently and will have handled an exceptional workload. I also want to socialize more and reach out to more people to help friends with anything they need. I will graduate from high school and continue on to college.
In a year from this date, I see myself preparing for college and or meeting my new roommate for college. I will have written all my essays for college and be proud of them and the college I go to. In college I will strive for my best and ask questions when I don't understand something. My expectations will be and are to work hard and not slack off on what work I complete and to enjoy my life as best I can.

Smile Always,
John Terwilliger