3rd Sethe

Should the Government have the Power to Choose What People Name Their Children?  https://clipart.world/baby-clipart/baby-clipart-transparent/   I was scrolling through my news feed when  I stumbled across an article revealing Kylie Jenner and Travis Scott's newly announced baby name, Wolf Webster. While I do not think it is the most hideous name, it definitely does sound straight out of a storybook. Celebrities like Micheal Jackson, Kim Kardashian, and even Elon Musk are known for giving their children creative or ridiculous names. Sometimes these are just the names they give out to the public to hide the true identity of their children, but either way I pity these children for the bullying they will likely face.  This made me wonder: are there any limits to what you can name your child? Apparently, there are, and the names vary by country. A standard across most of the world is that you cannot have a symbol in your name. The same goes for numbers and roman numerals. More interest

 Rakshan Patnaik Week 11 The Power of the Internet in Today’s Society This is my second attempt writing this week’s blog post, right after I found out my previous attempt got deleted. The one time I write on Blogger.com directly, instead of Google Docs, Blogger glitches and does not save my work. But this got me thinking.  As work, trade, and education move and depend further and further online, the importance of online applications and the success of them increasingly affect the outcomes of these aforementioned things. In my case, rather than hand-writing, we have to type our blogs on Blogger. It has been happening frequently in the case of Blog comments, where the website glitches and does not save/submit what I wrote. This is the first time it happened, deleting a significant chunk of writing, thus wasting all the time I spent writing.  This is just one example of the increasing power of the internet and technology in all aspects of society. We have to question whether this is

Emily Nguyen Week 11 Power of the Human Brain Surfing through Google for this week's blog topic, I came across the commonly asked question of, "What is the most powerful part of the human body?" Answers varied widely, ranging from teeth enamel to the tongue muscle. Of course, interpretations of power could be based on physical strength, which also has its own sub categories, but I decided to write about the human brain. For the sake of making this blog post short, sweet, and quick in order to tend to my POAS assignment, I will reach the minimum word limit through filler words and interesting facts about the power of the human brain. The human brain is arguably the most powerful part of the body, given that it is responsible for our actions, several bodily functions, and is the command center for our nervous system. This wrinkly organ is the drive behind several masterminds and brilliant individuals today. Its capacity to store information is unlimited. Some even say that

The Energy Imbalance Imagine waking up in darkness. No phone, computer, heated rooms, warm water showers, etc. No power, no energy. The modern world is highly dependent on energy— our world seems bleak without a United States-level access to energy, but most of human history has had a fraction of the energy we currently consume. The human race’s advent from the cave to an agrarian society took hundreds of thousands of years while the movement from the invention of the lightbulb to globalized megacities powered by electricity took hundreds of years. Our energy use is unprecedented. The most common type of energy that the world uses is electricity, and its uses go beyond comfort. Without electricity, poverty spikes, economic growth slumps, and living standards drop. Many countries have become increasingly dependent on electricity, but a large portion of the world still has no access to electricity. 13 percent of the world, or a billion people have no access to electricity, and the number

Billionaire Philanthropy                                                                                      PC:  theweek.com "No amount of charities in spending such fortunes can compensate in any way for the misconduct in acquiring them" - Teddy Roosevelt When John D. Rockefeller, an inordinately wealthy businessman in oil, proposed the establishment of the philanthropic Rockefeller foundation, he was hit with harsh criticisms and scrutinies that no amount of philanthropy would reimburse Rockefeller's previous wrongdoings in his rise to power. Other figures of that time, including John Haynes Holmes and Frank Walsh, claimed that foundations of the type that Rockefeller was suggesting was "repugnant to the whole idea of a democratic society" and "a menace to the welfare to society," a rather odd and initially conflicting statement considering that the purpose of philanthropy was to give back to the public and increase societal welfare. A common criti

  Riddhika Parmar Week 11 - 2/16/22 The Power of Momentum I am taking Physics this year and I love how the concepts I’m learning relate to the real world we all live in every single day. One physical concept, momentum, essentially means : “the strength or force that something has when it is moving forward, as in ‘The wagon gathered/gained momentum [=it moved faster] as it rolled down the hill. The wagon lost momentum [=it moved more slowly; it slowed down] as it rolled up the hill’” (merriam-webster.com). Physics becomes so interesting when it is applied to non-tangible concepts too. For example , the “strength or force that allows something to continue or to grow stronger or faster as time passes, as in ‘The company has had a successful year and hopes to maintain its momentum by introducing new products’” (merriam-webster.com).  The concept of momentum can be applied to junior year of high school. Junior year is considered the toughest year for just about every high school student. Is

 Carolin Pan Week 11 Plants Recently, I have been quite obsessed with plants. After I managed to accidentally kill my succulent, I decided to get a monstera to take care of. (For those of you who don’t know, the monstera deliciosa is a plant that has large fenestrated leaves.) I wanted to keep the monstera in my room but my dad warned me that during the night, plants will absorb oxygen and emit carbon dioxide. He claimed that the plant would be potentially harmful to my health. Although I usually do not question his bio-related claims, I decided to do some research about the validity of this claim.  source:  https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0150/6262/products/the-sill_monstera_variant_medium_grant_cream_5b593882-bf40-445c-be26-e8cd6b3ddbe1_768x.jpg?v=1644276103 It is true that plants emit carbon dioxide at night, but according to the article “Can plants kill you at night?” the right position and amount of plants in your room will leave you with a sufficient amount of oxygen so there i

Time Isn't Money; It's Power Time structures everything we do. As far as we are concerned, it cannot be manipulated, created, or reversed. Everyone imagines time differently. It can be seen as a force pushing us forward, something stationary that we are constantly moving into, something rushing through us and into our past, something moving alongside us, etc. Like most abstract concepts, time cannot be seen, but its impact on anything from random items to the universe proves just how powerful it can be.  I imagine time in two ways. In the present, time seems to blow towards me like wind, so fast that a moment becomes history the second I think about it. In the long term, I imagine time like a block of gel, stationary as I squish my way through. The difference between these two comparisons is how I imagine the future. In the short term, I know exactly what I want to do and how I want to do it. While in a never-ending war with procrastination, time seems to quit only once my head

Why Leaders Should Study Hostage Negotiation Strategies Imagine you are shopping the isles of Trader Joe's—my favorite grocery store—when you hear gunshots and realize you are being held hostage with an active shooter. This is exactly the scenario roughly thirty people experienced on a Saturday afternoon in Los Angeles, when a suspect who had just killed his grandmother walked into a Trader Joe's and would hold everyone there captive for three hours. If it was not for Marylinda Moss, a mother of a high school student in the area who was able to negotiate with the shooter, there is a good chance there would have been more lives lost that day.  Hostage situations are extremely frightening because one person holds so much power over innocent civilians that even SWAT teams with mass weaponry are fearful to act. When I think of abused power, power struggles, and even the power of language and communication, these hostage situations are what come to my mind. According to Justin Boro

While reading my Obama book for my POAS project, I came across a strategy used in the Senate called the “filibuster,” which can prevent laws from passing. During filibusters, Senate minorities “[talk] endlessly and refuse to surrender the floor,” consequently bringing “Senate business to a halt”(Obama 250). This method originated in 1805 when Vice President Burr had the Senate remove a provision that let the Senators end a debate and ask for a vote. Today, for a bill to pass, Senators need to debate, have a super-majority deciding to start a vote, and a majority during the actual vote. However, if the minority group gets 41 votes, they can essentially end a debate, preventing the law from being voted on. This loophole is used frequently to ​​get “all sorts of concessions from frustrated colleagues,” making it harder to pass laws (Obama 250). Thus, Senators have the power to limit progress on a bill by simply using their voice and not backing down. You may wonder, if Senators can stall

  Powerless People Making the Change Why do we focus on the people who use power for their own needs? Why don’t we give the proper credit to those who make a real difference in the world? We should be focusing on them instead of the ones who seem to anger us for their abuse of power.  We as a nation hand power to several people. Sometimes during elections, we have no choice but to vote for a person because they are a better fit than others. I remember my history teacher saying “We didn’t vote for Biden because we believed he was going to make a difference. We simply voted for him because he was better than Trump.” It struck me and made me realize that not everyone we have to hand power to will use it for good and at times, we have no other option. That being said, we seem to focus so much on the people who abuse the power they are given that we don’t put enough effort into applauding those who made a small or major difference to help those around them.  For my POAS, I chose to do

Rakshan Patnaik Ms. Benedetti AP English Language and Composition 2 February 2022 Paranoia, Power, and Butterfly Effects           I recently saw someone in a video say that they had no regrets because every decision they made shaped them into the person they are today. I have often thought about this prospect but in a negative light. I’m always paranoid about making the right decision or choosing the right course of action because it could be the deciding factor between a dream and a disaster.  As course selections come up, this time of year has typically been filled with paranoia and lots and lots of consultation with my parents over which class will get me into the college of my dreams or the career that makes me happy. Also, today in history, we had a college presentation by the counselors. This time of the year only heightens my paranoia regarding every single decision until I’m off to college. I don’t think this indecision due to this reason is unique to me. Each moment, choi

 Riddhika Parmar Week 10 - 2/2/22 Money and Power Online shopping has become a staple to modern living, for a few key reasons: it’s less expensive, it requires less work, and it’s easy to see if the item you want is available.  However, with so many people relying on online shopping, smaller in person businesses are losing customers and shutting down , while companies like Amazon are becoming more and more powerful . . . and rich. I really noticed it in the pandemic.  My family had started to regularly order everything on Amazon rather than go out to a store to get it. As the pandemic continued into its second year, I began noticing empty shelves in stores. Some of my favorite items have disappeared completely, because stores were no longer stocking them at all. I know some of this is due to supply chain issues, but it also has to do with the fact that certain things are not bought very frequently so the store is just deciding that if some people really want it, they should find an alt

Carolin Pan Week 10 Power of Compassion Compassion is the sympathetic feelings of concern for the misfortunes and sufferings of those around us and the wish to help them. Recently, a few of my friends have been greatly impacted by their final semester grades and the stress of starting the new semester off with decent grades. To show compassion I have spent quite a few hours talking to and texting those friends, encouraging and reassuring them. I must admit that I find having compassion for others quite difficult. Though when others show me compassion (such as comforting me during my mental breakdown after a math exam), I feel less unhappy and more emotionally restored. I would like to say that I am quite compassionate, sometimes. When others tell me about their crises or ask me for advice, I may spend the entire day thinking about ways to help them with their issues. When I see my friends feel any sort of unhappiness, I feel the need to comfort them. However, I find that I often sacrif

Questions About the Fallacy of American Democracy Who holds the power in our country? Is it lay citizens, the economic elite, entrenched businesses, or mass-based interest groups? In an era where the US is one of a few rich and powerful countries without adequate healthcare, maternity and paternity leave, gun control, high minimum wage, and free public colleges, an important question is frequently brought up: does the US government really represent the preferences of the majority of its citizens? A study by Martin Gilens and Benjamin Page looked at the impact of preferences of different US-based groups on public policy enacted by Congress and the president. They found out that the most influential groups were economic elites and narrow interest groups, while mass-based interest groups and the general public had no impact at all. The peoples’ influence on public policy was “a minuscule, near-zero, statistically non-significant” number. The Annenberg Public Policy Center at the Universit

Emily Nguyen Week 10 Power of Nature Upon surfing the web in attempts to find a blog topic, I came across various natural disasters, such as tsunamis, earthquakes, floods, etc. Frequently searched questions on Google have asked about the most powerful thing on Earth. (The answer was gamma rays, but for the sake of having something easier to write about, I chose to write about Earth's natural disasters.) We often think of power as a concept and a social construct amongst people, but one thing that is out of all humans' control is nature– including California's unpredictable weather, droughts, floods, and much more. Of course, we have contributed greatly to the severity of climate change, which has had a serious impact on the frequency and extremity of such disasters. However, apart from the nearly irreversible damage done, the rest of what mother nature has in store for us cannot be prevented. Snow storms have created the idea of snow days, shutting down schools. Fires have

 The Power Within I have always felt that one should find the power to live life to its fullest. "Why did 'power' come into mind?" you probably did not ask. Well, I have to assume that I have control over my body, mind, and, therefore, my life. Unfortunately, nothing is ever that straightforward and simply staying motivated, focused, organized, positive, etc. is more difficult than it seems. I need to find and use the power within myself to choose how I develop my life and, more importantly, what makes me happy. Choosing a career is the next step in my life, and I cannot help but ponder over what factors should influence my decision. I can see myself doing anything and cannot pinpoint what makes it fulfilling. A career will allow me to make a difference to the world, so I have to choose how I want to make that difference — with my voice, wealth, skill, etc. — and whether I have what it takes to do so. In general, the moment I believe I can stay organized,

Urvi Bhuwania 10: Who Should We Give Power To?                                                                PC: augustachronicle.com     Power, in some shape or form, is something that everyone craves and something that, at least to some extent, everyone has. But there are a few select people in the world who are chosen to have an especially large amount of power, for example, the leader of a country or a CEO of a Fortune 500 company. So, when given the choice, who should we choose to give such immense power to?     Although it seems counterintuitive, power is usually best given to those who don't really want it. This translates to the more commonly referenced idea that the best leaders are those who don't set out to be leaders, but why? If one had to choose between the shy kid in the back of the class who is always doing their own thing to a person who is always attempting to taking charge and speaking out to give power to, it seems like an easy choice to pick the most outgo

  Is Gaining Power Worth It?        Research shows that several start off with good intentions to make this world a better place and to help those around them. When we embark on a journey filled with unknown rewards, we do each and every action out of love, respect, honor, and selflessness. Even those who don’t anticipate the power at the end of the road, don’t always use it to continue doing good. As Ketlner said, “People tell me all the time how they experience this in their own organizations….As one person described it, ‘all of a sudden my boss has forgotten my name, interrupts me and doesn’t listen. It’s total bullshit.’” Ketlner began referring to this as a “power paradox,” meaning when people start to get even the slightest taste of power, everything starts to slowly spiral out of control as the individual receives more power. As Ketlner gave that example of an individuals’ boss, his boss must have been just like him at some point and worked his way up to his position. Once he d