TOW #28 - I owe you

     On media, US veterans are treated with great respect and admiration from the American public. Yet, the harsh reality of the soldiers' everyday lives are not vividly portrayed at times. In 2011, thousands of American veterans were "stop loss" soldiers, meaning their active duty service got an involuntary extension.  In a political cartoon on the controversial topic of discussion, Jeff Parker reveals the  unacceptable federal treatment to the United States soldiers by alluding to another famous drawing.
     Uncle Sam, one of the key political drawings of the past century, is referenced with the play on words in order to express the unacceptable "stop-loss" policy.   While the original depiction of Uncle Sam is a serious painting, Parker changes the facial tone to a guilty expression.  In addition, the original phrase, "I want you..." is modified to "I owe you" in order to intensify the stigma. Parker depicts Uncle Sam in this manner to ultimately condemn the actions of the government for not paying over 50,000 "stop-loss" soldiers and vets. The stance of the soldier also strengthens his argument as the he disapprovingly looks upon Uncle Sam's guilty expression. The tense relationship between the two men accurate represents the uneasy nature of the growing problem with American veterans. Overall, Parker condemns the governmental actions as their decision are affecting not only thousands of veterans, but also their family as well.
     Hence, through the depiction of a uneasy relationship between Uncle Sam and the American soldier, Parker effectively disapproves the actions of the federal government. With the allusion to a historically famous figure, millions of Americans can relate to the unacceptable choice of keeping American soldiers in foreign countries for longer periods of time, without paying them.

TOW #27 - Under the Trump Tax Plan, We Might All Want to Become Corporations

      Less than a year into his presidency, Donald Trump is making huge strides to reform the taxing system, for better or for the worse. In his new plan, President Trump plans to cut down the tax for corporations and small businesses across America, all while maintaining higher taxes for wage earners. With this new plan, Neil Irwin, the senior economics correspondent for the New York Times, believes that many loopholes are going to be involved. Irwin argues that Trump's new reform policy will benefit high end corporate moguls and lower class members will seek loopholes in order to reduce personal taxes.
      For low income citizens, or even lower middle class members, President Trump's plan will be a financial burden. However, because the new system benefits citizens working in corporations, Irwin believes people will "play the game" and maneuver away from high taxation. To simply explain the cost benefits and disadanvantages of the new plan, Irwin draws a parallel by stating, "My earning are labor income; I happen to be in the 28 percent tax bracket. Suppose I instead formed Irwin Scribblings, LLC, a "company"... could contract with The Times to provide articles about economics for a rate equivalent to the value of my current salary and benefits".  By exemplifying the new system through a personal point of view, Irwin effectively captures the "loophole" in which millions of Americans will begin to seek in order to reduce annual tax payment. By creating an own "Irwin Scribblings LLC", Irwin believes US citizens will cut their rates over ten percent, a significant portion of people's income. However, the new policy is not the first time these tricks have been sought out by the public as Scott Greenberg, an analyst at the Tax Foundation states, "As long as you have differential rates, there will always be incentives to try to classify income in ways that take advantage of whichever rate is lower". Through a reference to a credible expert in the field, Irwin effectively capture his argument as he validates his point that people will continuously attempt to find "incentive" to reduce the taxes, such as joining a corporation in order to manipulate Trump's system. There will always be a large portion of the American population that seek new ways to "play around" the system and this always has and will be a continuous economic pattern.
     In one of President Trump's first major economic reform policies, thousands of high corporate bosses will reap the benefits from the changes, all while millions of Americans will end up paying nearly double the percentage of the high end workers. In all, Neil Irwin believes there will evidently be a loophole around these new reforms, and will continue to cause more and more Americans to cheat the system.


Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/28/upshot/under-the-trump-tax-plan-we-might-all-want-to-become-corporations.html?_r=0

TOW #26 - The smartphone is eventually going to die — this is Mark Zuckerberg's crazy vision for what comes next

    Just in the past decade, the world has experience a technological boom with the rapid innovations of the Internet, smartphones, and most notably, social media. With nearly every American staring at their smartphones every single day, technology has undeniably made huge advancements.  However, social media mogul, Mark Zuckerberg, believes smartphones will eventually die off. Zuckerberg created a 10-year plan for Facebook, a long term program that projects to make even greater advancements in the technological realm. Rather than a hand held device, Zuckerberg believes that his plan can transform everyday lives through the use of cutting-edge technology.
    Facebook boldly projects a society that has never been seen before: a world without screens. Many wonder how this is possible, given the fact that the company's application itself runs on devices with screens. For Zuckerberg and his team, they believe that smartphones are only part of the beginning stages of their ten year plan.  In the future, the hope is that, "instead of smartphones, tablets, TVs, or anything else with a screen, all our computing is projected straight into our eyes as we type with our brains". While hand-held devices have already altered the lifestyle of millions of smartphone users, the company's projection will revolutionize how humans see, hear, and perhaps, think. The use of artificial intelligence to virtual reality may soon change the fantasy into a reality considering Facebook's rapid technological advancements that Facebook has made. Just in the past week, the leaders of virtual reality, Oculus "unveiled Facebook Spaces, a social VR app that lets denizens of virtual reality hang out with each other." By the end of the ten year plan, the connectivity between humans will undoubtedly alter as there may be a dual-universe in which people live in. The human behavior and interactions between one another may never be the same if the company's plan holds true.
     With incredible innovations and inventions quickly making great strides, Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook may have a serious impact on individuals' everyday lives. In less than a decade, humans may completely change their daily habits thanks in part to the "crazy vision".


Link: http://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-f8-mark-zuckerberg-augmented-reality-2026-2017-4

IRB Post #4

For the final marking period, I have decided upon reading Star Struck: Seeing the Creator In the Wonders Of Our Cosmos. The book integrates the scientific world with the religious world as the professor of Eastern University examines evidences of the existence of God through the means of studying astronomy. I am excited to read this book as I believe this may expand my knowledge of the natural world as well as develop my faith even further.

TOW #25 -IRB The Closer

     Mariano Rivera, one of baseball's all-time bests, has won almost all possible accolades throughout his highly successful 19 seasons as a New York Yankee. Starting out his career from a long, slinky kid from the streets of Panama to closing out numerous World Series Games under the bright lights of Yankee's Stadium, Rivera's journey toward success is far from ordinary. Rivera is truly a "legend built from the group up" who continues inspire people through his version of the "American Dream".
     While there are 29 other Major League teams and millions of non-Yankees fans, all baseball fans can agree on one fact: Mariano Rivera's career was undeniably one of the best in MLB history. But what separates Rivera from other Hall of Fame players such as Nolan Ryan, Cy Young, and Steve Carlton is his journey towards being on a Major League roster. As a young, naive Puerto Rican teenager, Rivera dealt with obstacles that most American baseball players do not face in the already difficult race towards the Major Leagues. With language barriers, fierce competition with well-prepared players and no friend and family to support him in the United States, Rivera constantly fought through the difficulties. Yet, in the midst of all the difficulties, Rivera revealed his strong mentality as he explained his philosophy as “I just try to take away what I can from every situation, to always keep learning. Life is hard. Life is humbling. I do all I can to keep it simple”. The tenacious personality was what got him through the hard hits in his life, and his firm mindset and humble personality led to great success throughout his long career. Now, he is an inspiration to not just American fans, but to Puerto Ricans back at home and all around the globe. Rivera will not only be remembered as a dominant force for nearly two decades in the Majors, but also a true professional in which all people can learn a lesson or two through his story.   
      Although Rivera eventually received notable accolades and will be remembered as Major League Baseball's all-time saves and ERA leader, thirteen-time All-Star, and a five-time World Champion, he did not by any means just "receive" these goals. By overcoming long day and nights, Mariano Rivera made history through his incredible motive. Through his composed character, Rivera is not only a baseball player, but a great role model from which everyone can learn from.

TOW #24 - Visual Text "Urbanization Is Killing Us"

     Just in the 1900's, the only 14 percent of the world's population lived in urban areas. In 2008, the entire world was met with unprecedented urbanization with nearly an even split amongst people living in urban and rural areas.  While there have been many economic and social benefits with the population growth in cities, environmental effects have been an undeniable drawback.  In the street art image, the artist emphasizes the fact that urbanization has detrimental consequences to human race through the integration of personification and irony.
    The facade of this particular building is like none other, containing a meaning and a soul on the surface.  While the exterior of most buildings contain plaster, bricks, or concrete, the painting on this building personifies the undeniable issues with urbanization.  By drawing a human like figure eating trees, this metaphorically reveals that humans are destroying trees in the process of building urban areas. By giving life to the building, the artist gave a powerful meaning and purpose for the building, as civilians can see the personified building directly speaking to them.
   In the message that the mural attempts to convey to humans, the artist incorporates irony into the mix to strengthen the idea of the human obligation in preventing rapid urban growth. While the artist could have painted the same picture on a canvas, he rather placed it on an urban building itself in order drive home the point. This ironic placement of the painting makes the civilians living in the urban areas think about the effects of urbanization and its harmful impact to their environment.  By strategically placing an anti-urbanization drawing on a city building, the ironic situation makes more people recognize the need for less urban growth.
   While urbanization does have both beneficial factors and detrimental consequences, the artist effectively conveys the idea of the inimical effects that urban development can have on humans. By adding human like life to the building and strategically placing the drawing in an ironic location, the artist opens up the eyes of humans on the environmental consequences of urbanization.

TOW #23 - Global Ranking Of Happiness Has Happy News For Norway And Nicaragua Listen· 2:58

        The Global Hunger Index. The Gross Domestic Product. The Gross National Product. All these statistics are essential in evaluating the current state of a nation as well as their development as whole. While these data can be easily calculated when the data is collected, is it possible to measure the level of happiness in a country?  The United Nations recently revealed the rankings of the happiest countries around the world, an unique form of statistical data calculated for each individual nation. While the idea of ranking counties based on a mood may seem questionable, when analyzing the rankings, interesting patterns and meanings can be uncovered in the process.
      Currently, Norway and many other Scandinavian countries have topped the charts in terms of their overall emotional satisfaction, and the geographic locations of these countries are only one of many similarities. When closely examining these developed countries, not only do they share great wealth, but are also share "all the main factors found to support happiness: caring, freedom, generosity, honesty, health, income, and good governance". While the idea of ranking a country based on the citizens' feelings may seem arbitrary,  the patterns that emerge from the rankings reveal that the countries are not randomly ranked, but rather carefully placed in the order of the combinations of many vital factors for a healthy and happy country.  It is not merely a coincidence that the wealth European countries with high levels of income, health, and stable government are the homes to the happiest people in the world. In fact, researchers interview over 1000 people per country annually and ask numerous questions ranging from simple emotional health questions to complicated questions that identifies the "people's perceived level of freedom, generosity and trust - both in each other and in their government and businesses". While this data may not require number crunching such as GDP and GNP, the feedback that are collected are utilized to identify a sociological pattern within the 190 plus countries in the world. Clearly, continuous research that goes towards identifying a country's level of joy is much more sophisticated than many may think.
      Hence, while the global ranking of happiness may seem as a basic, unprofessional ranking system, when examining the factors that are included in putting the countries in order, one can see that the data is not merely made up, but rather a coagulation of intricate studies done by researchers.

Link: http://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2017/03/20/520859626/global-ranking-of-happiness-has-happy-news-for-norway-and-nicaragua