What John Lennon left behind

What was the lasting impact of John Lennon on this world?  Does his message live on through his death? Does that make him a martyr?


To change someones mind is difficult enough. But try to fathom swaying a few million minds. Reversing a persons thought process to make them question their own ideals is next to impossible. An yet John Lennon appeared to do just that during the turbulent 60's and 70's. Being a prominent public figure as one of the Beatles, he already had what most people didn't which was reach. The size of your audience is as important as your message. He was heard by millions of people across the globe as a promoter of peace, and not just over one war or one dispute, but to achieve peace in general. He changed many minds with his simple messages and harmonious sounds that pushed people to reconsider what was right in the world. Soon he create a belief system, one that rang out cries of protest to tell the world that "all you need is love" and to "give peace a chance". Being an artist he rallied other musicians to use their influence to give his message even more room for growth. His works and ideals inspired countless individuals to gather and protest the war-ridden times using his songs as a rallying call. While not altogether successful at winning absolute peace across the world his works defined a generation. And that generation gave birth to another generation that built upon the ideals they were born without the fear of resentment that John and his generation had to grow up against. His songs and words live on ever more clearer in the light of the modern age, with quotes, art, pictures, and spoken words finding a new generation to inspire and lead, across the pages of tumblr, twitter, facebook, and instagram. Letting all the world know that peace will never die.

The Scarlet H: Social Stigma vs. Health Issue

Why is it when it comes to STDs we as a society have a hard time discussing such a sensitive topic? Why does society look at those with herpes as being promiscuous or "slutty? I think people are scared to have an open dialog about herpes because of a lack of knowledge towards the subject. So what exactly is "The Scarlet H?"

                     Know The Facts!!

There are two types of herpes; HSV1 & HSV2-
both types can live orally and genitally.

In some cases it can be asymptomatic- meaning you show no symptoms or have outbreaks (OBs) of the disease.

One in four people are infected with HSV1&2 orally or genitally.

In a normal STD testing panel doctors do not include testing for HSV1&2 because they assume most adults have already contracted the disease.


Oral herpes can be passed genitally through oral sex is commonly HSV1.

You can contract HSV1&2 even if your partner
doesn't show any symptoms or lesions. Doctors
typically believe its passed through the "shedding"
stage which doesn't produce any visible symptoms.

Some may feel like they have flu-like symptoms
and may overlook or misjudge the initial OB

Once you contract Herpes you have it for the rest of your life, there is no cure for the disease. There is a daily antiviral that can be taken to reduce the amount of OBs and the risk of transmission to a "muggle" (those without H).

Get tested every 6 months or whenever you want to become active with a new partner.

Talk openly and honestly with your partner about STDs and get tested together.

For more info about STDs:

- Contact your doctor
- Call 1-800=CDC-INFO
- Visit www.cdc.gov/std/herpes.

Racism is ubiquitous

Racial discrimination persists in American culture facilitating a hostile social environment. Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) fraternity from the University of Oklahoma brought this issue to the public’s attention after their members were uncovered chanting a racist song, which singled out African-Americans. These incidents are not exclusive to just the University of Oklahoma; they are occurring and have transpired in other well-known college campuses. Racism is prevalent in both white and black fraternities and has developed into a massive problem for the universities’ since they have come to light in the media.

We have this assumption that, with our younger generation, bigotry isn't as widespread as it was during the civil rights movement and the Jim Crow law; however, this type of blatant racism continues to occur in every generation in spite of our best efforts to eradicate any form of discrimination from our society. With the backlash aimed at SAE for their intolerance, we have to ask ourselves just how severe are these types of prejudice in other college campuses and what, if any, recourse can we take to eliminate these egregious behaviors? Unless we bring attention to this issue, and acknowledge that it is still rampant in America we will continue to live in a nation divided, and at war with itself.

By:  Zorah Matlock

What's Good Hair?

Hair. The controversial topic in which many are not enlightened about. I know what you are thinking. "Is this some kind of joke? It is just HAIR"! Regarding the African American community and a lot of other cultures, it is a heated and touchy subject. When black women talk about what classifies as "good hair", the terms smooth, straight, silky, bouncy, non-kinky, not course and my personal favorite: NOT NAPPY(combination of curly and course hair), creep into mind. Noticeably, all of the terms I listed are the common depiction of their natural hair. I am sure a lot of those who are not familiar with African American hair will find it shocking to know that we do not wash our hair everyday. Instead, we tend to wash it once or  maybe even twice a week. I know, it sounds extremely repulsive, but there is a good reasoning behind it! Actually, it is not healthy for anyone to wash their hair every single day. It depletes the scalp from moisture, especially for women of color, because their hair is naturally dryer. Their perspective of beautiful locks generally favors a Caucasian, an Indian, or a Puerto Rican girl's hair. Seriously, every time an Indian girl walks by, I cannot help but contemplate scalping her head and making it my new weave! Of course I am joking... sorta...Overtime, women have spent hours and days getting relaxers (the process of chemically straightening course hair, lasting up to two months if treated properly) which causes major damage overtime, and going through intense pain getting weaves sowed in/extensions. The average middle class African American woman spends nearly twenty thousand dollars per year on hair and hair products. It is a known fact that African American women contribute eighty percent on all hair products. Although it is financially reasonable to pull the natural look, many forbid it. Why are women, such as myself are so eager to make tremendous sacrifices? The answer is really simple. We have made ourselves despite the texture of our hair. We fed ourselves lies that our course, nappy hair is not acceptable in our modern society. To style our natural hair is very brutal and strategic task. I think it is fair to say that it is easier to conform to something that is not natural. My mother always told me everyone strives to be someone that they are not. That statement applies to hair in so many ways.Those who have curly hair want straight hair, and those who have straight hair desire curly hair. People fail to realize that the term "good hair" is not a beauty term, it was a survival term. Let's take a not so nice trip down memory lane to a time period I like to call slavery, shall we? Both male and female slaves who had hair that was smooth and silky were more connected to their master. Kinda like a daughter or son figure. That meant they were more likely to access to liberation in academics, clothes, food etc. They (slaves) were not walking around saying " Oh my gosh, I'm so freaking cute now because I have this type of hair"! It just meant their likely hood of survival was at a higher state. This ideology has carried over time. Most believe people who have weaves or manageable looking hair are exposed to more opportunity. The problem is that most do not comprehend the history of African American hair. I firmly believe and encourage others to do what makes them happy about their physical appearance. It does not make someone less attractive or wiser if they choose to wear weaves or rock the natural look. Do not let someone else define what makes YOU beautiful and successful.You do you, boo boo. You. do. you. 

Tips

 

 

When you go out to eat it is nice to consider the tip in the bill. Tipping is an important custom it promotes the “American myth” that hard work brings rewards. There are a lot of factors that will take place on how much you tip. If you are not happy with your service leave a 10% tip this is if your waiter never came back after they gave you your meal or you constantly have to look for him, if service was okay leave a 15% tip this is if  and if service was great then leave 20% or greater. Most waiters get paid less then minimum wage and depend on their tips to pay bills. The federal minimum wage for tipped restaurants workers is $2.13 an hour. I'm sure we've all had a great server and a not so good server and another thing we need to consider when tipping is, tip sharing. Tip sharing is not a law or a rule, but a lot of restaurants do enforce it. As a waiter you would consider sharing your tip with the host so you can get the best tippers and the bartender to hook you up with strong drinks, you also have to tip the busser to have your table clean and ready for your next customer. Personally tipping is very draining to me, to have to base it on, “was the waiter good?” I most of the time tip 15%, if the service was good. I’ve been to some restaurants that include the tip, not the question her is, is that fair? I don’t know, but one thing I do know is that I was a waitress before and it sucked!!! I could not go back to doing that because to me it’s a job you really have to hustle for. We hear waiters’ complaint a lot of the time because they are not earning enough money, some say they get tipped the same as a non-hard working waiter. Next time you go out to eat consider the tip because you never know, maybe one day that will be you.

 

Dark Girls

                                          HEAR WHAT THEY THINK ABOUT YOU!

       Earlier this morning, I watch a documentary on how black women are view in America's society. As the film begins, the first speaker brakes down how slavery counter America. English men long ago sail into the sea to discover a land full of black civilization and took some of them back to the land we call today, "AMERICA".  So years of slavery went by and the English men release black humans from being their slaves; now with no where to go blacks had to turn to the English men for help. Through those years, blacks was treated whose then when they was slaves, if blacks was in the wrong part of two they would be hung and the police beating, well those was mostly in the 90's. Lately in the days we live today, a lot of Law Enforcement activities in the black community is mention to many times. The slave owners did create a friction between the black community, such as the color of skin. The lighter the better, the darker the ugly. During slavery, slave owners had the light skin blacks in the house and dark skin in the field. Back to the documentary...

         This film showed as test of a young black girl pointing out the good and bad of two colors, which is white and black. They ask her, "Who is the pretty and ugly girl"? and there was a picture of a black and white girl on the paper. The black little girl pointed and said that, "The white girl is the pretty girl and black girl is the ugly girl". They also ask her, "Who is the smart girl and who is the dumb girl"; once again she pointed at the white girl for the more smarter one then the black girl. It seems like as a child the mind has been alter to liking the lighter skin, but why is that. Same with the black men in the documentary, lighter skin is sometimes better; most men prefer a lighter girl over a dark girl. Which makes the black community all messed up, especially for the black women because their own race is putting them down lower then the white society itself. Now there is a lot of women with low self-esteem, addicted to drug or alcohol, and single moms being funded by the government.
      FOR SOME CRAZY....The film mention how global racism is out in the open, Dominican citizen talks about global television and how they do not show black people on t.v. In the store they sell skin cream that makes the skin lighter, kind of what people said about Michael Jackson.

     I know most Americans know this information how the media controls some part of the public thought process. Well that was the last thing this film takes viewers through and try to get them to understand what t.v. is showing to the public. As years pass, there's always something new in or going on in American and if its the NEXT BIG THING then it will be on every broadcast station.
The media helps with America's companies pushing all products and giving society the type of lifestyle to live.

   You must know who you are as a person, then life will float like the clouds in they big blue sky.

-Ricky O.

Landfills: The Buried Truth

Environmental Impact of Modern Landfills

            We've all heard about them I'd imagine at one point in our lives, whether it was through pictures, videos or other forms of media. When you think of the word "landfill" I can guarantee the first image that comes to mind is that typical landfill bulldozer that has the four spiky wheels pushing trash and garbage around into big piles. Sometimes accompanied by seagulls flying around the background. Like these :

This is synonymous with environmental documentaries that show the side of landfills that disgust people in order to prove their point that landfills are bad for the environment. 

But I do not see landfills as it is portrayed in these documentaries, there is another side of things. They are not just piles of our garbage in which we bury and forget about, but it is essentially a form of energy and a process where we can make great organic compost soil. It really depends on the operator or company to be compliant with EPA and local regulations. So long as these landfills are far away from people and pose no risk to the environment around them I will support them.

In order for me to prove this to you, I will try my best in evaluating a local disposal company (that's a better way than saying trash or garbage company) by following a criteria that would impress even the most environmentally conscience people, including myself!

These criteria include: the size and duration of operations (and how long reclamation is) ; if sustainable practices are utilized (Recycling); Proximity to residential or commercial areas.

What makes a good landfill? Does it capture the methane gasses that are released during the decomposing or break-down process? These are some questions that I believe everyone should be concerned with and should be asking themselves, investigate further than what they (the companies) say they do. Don't believe everything they tell you.

Getting away from my little rant, I'd like to emphasize the impact that these facilities can have on the surrounding environments, such as accidentally polluting the ground water through leakage or releasing harmful greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

This is potentially a huge environmental issue that could affect the surrounding landscape with consequences that may take years to clean-up. This is a costly endeavor that the federal government must take up through it's "Superfund" ran by the EPA. There's where all your tax dollars are going! Being used to clean up other people's messes!

Here's a scenario, in case you don't think is an issue:

Imagine if a landfill was planning to be developed right near your house, what would be you initial reaction? 

I can answer that for you, you would be morally pissed and immediately be on the defensive! You would contact your state representative (or find out who he/she is) and complain until their ears started bleeding! You would immediately argue that with the construction of the landfill nearby, it will significantly reduce your property value. You would be concerned with the toxic fumes that smell literally, like a dump. You would be greatly afraid for your safety, not only for yourself but for your kids. Your kids are everything to you, and here you would have something that could in reality, affect their longtime heath and future.

You can play every card and speak out to the media but it will be to no avail. When they want to build a dump it's because they need to and there is hardly anything yo can do about it. I believe the two words are "eminent domain" where you will more than likely be forced to move on your behalf with no compensation and with a outrageous amount of lawyer fees to pay. Sucks doesn't it.

I will update this blog once I have thoroughly concluded with my research.

Until then.

-Jerry Sharp III

Drugs are a very popular addiction that we have going on not only in the United States but all over the world. We look for rehabs, talk at public schools, make commercials and everything else to try and get it through the drug abusers heads. One of the many organizations is the NIDA (National Institute on Drug Abuse) this organization is trying to lead the nation in bringing the power of science to bear on drug abuse and addiction. They provide the most fundamental and essential questions about drug abuse, how they work in the brain and body, develop and test new treatments and preventions, and also support research training. Its great to see that there are people out there trying to stop our citizens from slowly killing themselves, but does it really work? are all these organizations and rehab clinics really doing something? For some yes, and others no. I believe that we can create all the organizations and rehab centers we like but if the drug abuser is not willing to go or do anything about their addiction then it would be pointless. I'm not saying we should get rid of these sources because they are amazing and have a purpose but it truly comes down to the individual using the drug, we have our own minds so we are going to do what we want or think is best for ourselves.






I myself have a aunt that is a drug abuser. She uses meth and heroine. It is upsetting to slowly see her fade away from all of us especially because that is not how our family has been raised. We have tried getting her help but she is in the mind set of "its her escape and she wont stop" we do not support her choices, but when she comes around we show her love and care. Drug abuse is an ugly thing, and its ashamed that it takes over your mind so much and makes you think you cant live without it. If she took the help it would be a miracle but it makes you so hard headed when it comes to putting down the needle. She has gotten better as we've pushed and shown things to her and maybe eventually she will go to rehab but not until she's ready.






This is why I say you can have as many organizations as you please but if the individual seeking help is still trapped in their own mind, the help wont be useful until they are ready.

Un-Answered Questions?

Have you ever been so attached to someone that when they are gone your world falls apart? Have you gone days without eating or constantly throwing up when the one you fell in love with leaves you? Have you ever had those sleepless nights were you either break out in tears or you just have a rush of rage towards everything? Have you ever spent an entire day reliving all of those amazing times you once had or go back and try to figure out what went wrong? I mean I know this sounds pretty stupid, but I'm pretty sure you have already gone thru this. So the real question is how do you keep your head up and keep pushing forward? How do you get the thoughts of getting married and starting a family out of your head? How do you start the process of getting over that person and find someone new?

You hear all of these songs about heart breaks, brake ups, or even my favorite the F that person type of songs. But, covering up your feelings only works for so long. Going out with your friends and talking about it with your best friends or parents can only do so much. Or trying to distract yourself by working out or keeping bust at your job as much as you can to avoid thinking about the pain? I don't have any answers to this topic, just a whole lot of questions and I guess just the want to know am I the only one that has gone thru this? 

I know this blog is a little different.. feel free to express your feelings!!!! 

In recent years the popularity of TOMS shoe company has risen across the world becoming a well known name in the clothing industry. Although they aren’t the only rising brand in the community based shoe organization category, the community building shoe company Oliberte is similar to TOMS. Each company’s mission is to help poor communities in Africa become self sustainable. To be specific TOMS have always promoted their “One for One” deal which gives someone in a poor african community a new pair of shoes when you buy your own. This was the first clothing company that made this kind of promise to its consumers that I’ve come across while researching. Then there is Oliberte a shoe company that is similar to TOMS with their mission. Oliberte is a shoe company that rather than giving out shoes to the poor are actually giving people in Ethiopia a chance to have a job. Every shoe is made by someone who was hired in Ethiopia the entire production team is runned by Ethiopians. They also boast about how they are the world’s first fair trade certified footwear factory.

With two shoe companies having a good cause there must be one that is better to buy from. One of these companies has to be the dominant brand, I choose to rate these two companies by the price of their shoes and if they’re affordable for most customers. Then I rate them on the overall quality of the shoe and what kind of care go into making these shoes. Lastly I rate these companies on how effective their company is on the community they’re donating and reaching out to.

TOMS have a wide price range from the cheapest shoe costing <$50 to the most expensive costing >$100. This gives the customers the chance to shop through their catalog and come across a shoe that is affordable, which is nice since they are a popular company. While Oliberte is more of an expensive company to purchase from, most of their catalog is >$100. This might be a turnoff for many shoppers who want an affordable shoe.

Oliberte really puts effort into making the best quality shoe. Oliberte uses local materials in Ethiopia to make and shape their shoes. Thus making the high price reasonable for the shoes. This can’t exactly be said by the TOMS shoe company, TOMS don’t use authentic materials such as Oliberte does to make their shoes. When it comes to care and quality of a shoe Oliberte surely does win this competition.

Finally to really decide which shoe company is the better choice we have to think about the actions each company is making to better the community they are trying to help. First off, TOMS has been donating free shoes to kids in poor communities all around africa for a long time now. This was a very nice contribution to be a part of as a person who is conscience of where they buy their clothes from. But Oliberte being newly established in 2009 has become a company who basically gives jobs to unfortunate people in Ethiopia. As a consumer who is conscience of where I buy my clothes this alternative is much more rewarding. Knowing that people in a poor community in Ethiopia are getting jobs and are being treated well with fair workers rights makes me feel like I’m helping a bit more.

Overall these two companies are doing a lot to help fight poverty in small african communities. Although it really comes down to the choice of helping out more for an expensive price to helping out less but for a cheaper price. After owning shoes from each company and following their cause I personally like Oliberte more as a shoe company rather than TOMS. Oliberte might be a little more expensive, I feel like I’m getting a better quality shoe and I’m buying and shopping the right way.

Pantene's "Double standard" commercial

Pantene released this commercial back in 2013 where it had originally aired in the Philippines which then went viral on YouTube, to show an awareness to the public that society creates labels for woman. This video has over 80,000 views world wide and had many people talking about it. In the commercial you can see that when a woman is usually seen doing the same thing a man does they are viewed differently: "Boss" switches to "Bossy", "Dedicated" to "Selfish" there doesn't seem be an equality in these titles. Pantene encourages the world to drop these double standards not just for women but for everyone. The first time I watched this video, it wasn't intentional actually, I almost pressed the "skip ad" button then I saw the very first part of the labels Boss and Bossy. I was hooked. Maybe it happened to others that way but after the video finished I began to think about the boxes women are put into such as they are thought of to just be housekeepers and they are suppose to be half way naked in ads to sell things.

Here are some examples of how women are portrayed in magazines and how they differ from how men are displayed.

 If Pantene follows what it says in its commercials we should see some equality in their facilities. I decided to look in the company's executive group in which I had to look in the P&G company and came to find out that 5 out of the 11 members are women. These women have been on a "women most powerful list" on a website called Fortune. This makes it a very promising and very credited to the Pantene company. 

It's time to leave the double standards, Pantene made a first step to make an impact giving equal power to women in their company and creating videos to start this campaign of equal rights. It's powerful, encouraging and believable. 

World Wildlife Fund and PETA

Animals, what are they to us? We use them as a source of entertainment, love, labor, and even have them become our companions. But what about people who don't care for them? Some people disregard them if they have no use to us. We see dead animals on the streets from being run over or being thrown out because they are of no use to them, another life form deciding whether or not another life form is worthy of living. Who are we to say whether or not another life should be ended just because they cannot communicate in our language? As humans we feel a sort of superiority over other life forms, yet we run and hide if they were to ever chase and hunt us down. Depending on the animal, we have to use weapons to fend them off. Are we superior because we can use tools? Monkeys can use tools yet we are still on a higher level than they are. Our sense of superiority also allows us to become arrogant and ignorant. Yes, we have made incredible progress in the last thousand years, we can think for ourselves and better ourselves on a more advanced level than animals do, but does that justify us to decide whether or not another life form should live? While what I've been saying is merely just a complaint with no legitimate use to helping animals, there are organizations in the world helping animals, attempting to conserve them and their environment and giving them rights.
Organizations such as PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, and the World Wildlife Fund, WWF, made it their mission to help animals in need. PETA’s mission is to aid animals that are suffering from a variety of abuse. From being physically hurt to having them undergo environments that do more harm than good are the things that PETA target when aiding animals. With over 3 million supporters and members, PETA are still growing in size. Though I support the cause that PETA is doing, I don’t entirely agree with how they make those commercials depicting the faces of abused animals. By showing those images and asking for a donation, people tend to feel bad when they do not donate. I believe that asking for donations is fine, but to make the audience feel like complete shit afterwards shouldn’t be the message that PETA should be spreading. The other organization that I mentioned before is WWF. The World Wildlife Fund works a bit differently than PETA. WWF’s mission is to “conserve nature and reduce the most pressing threats to the diversity of life on Earth.” While they do ask for donations, they do not make the viewers feel bad. Both organization’s motive are to aid animals and though they have different ways of spreading their message they are still doing it for a cause that seems to only reach a few million people out of billions. 

Bigger stonger faster

The use of steroids is both frowned upon and at the same time encouraged in our media. For example the same year that President George Bush senior signed the steroids control act, he appointed Arnold Schwarzenegger (an open steroid user) the chairman of the presidents counsel for physical fitness. Steve Rogers who is depicted as the ultimate American hero who embodies good and honesty is given a steroid and transformed the great Captain America. In the world of sports and athletics, everyone is always looking for a new trick or tool to gain a leg up on the competition. Many times this leads athletes to the use of steroids. Now when you hear the term steroid, one can easily imagine all the negative stigmas that have been widely broadcaster through the news, media and even government. Heart attack, stroke, roid rage ect these are just a few of the negative affects that we are told comes with the use of steroids. However, in the documentary Bigger, Stronger, Faster it is documented that these accusations have never truly been studied.

Before we decide if steroids are in fact as horrible as we are told they are. I would like to define just exactly what a steroid really is, steroids are in fact synthetic versions of hormones that a body produces naturally. Many steroids are widely used and accepted in the world of medicine such as insulin, cortisone and even birth control pills. However when we hear the word steroid what often comes to mind is anabolic steroids, these steroids are made from the male hormone testosterone. Testosterone tells the body to increase muscle growth along with recover from hard work outs. Steroids, like any drug have side effects and if abused will obviously increase these side effects. Side effects in men include hair growth, acne, raised cholesterol and lowered sperm count. However, all these side effects can be reversed once steroid use has stopped. Contrary to popular belief, there is no proof that steroids can cause cancer, kidney failure and only high doses of oral steroids have been shown to cause liver complications.

While I am not a supporter of steroids in professional and competitive sports and any level, the use of steroids for the average joe is no worse than the use of alcohol for the desired affect that it brings. Anabolic steroids are used by most for personal reasons, to gain a certain muscle definition that was unobtainable without the usage. However, this does not mean that the end result does not come without an extreme amount of hard work. Like any medication/drug there is a risk to benefit scale, but if used responsibly and properly I do not see a reason why steroids cannot be used in a recreational setting.

            In today’s world, we are open and accepting to many different types of steroid usage. Steroids are used for countless medical benefits and is even accepted to mass produce the food that we eat. I believe it is a fair question to ask, why the use of anabolic steroids is considered any more dangerous than any drug/medication that is used for the benefit of the body.

Wounded Warrior Project

The Wounded Warrior Project is a non profit organization for veterans. It has a variety of programs for the Veterans to use how ever they choose. This Program is to really help out the veterans that return home and don't know what to do now. It can really become like a second home for them to be with all the other veterans that are there. The Wounded Warrior Project wants to raise awareness for wounded service members that return home. They are constantly accepting donations to help out the cause.
 They hold big fundraisers all the time. For example, I was involved in one of the fundraisers called Wheelers for the Wounded. This fundraiser is a huge one that typically takes place out in Marble Falls, anyone with an off-road vehicle will go out for the weekend and just have fun wheeling. All the money and proceeds go towards the Wounded Warrior Project and for the big event in which the Veterans will get to ride shotgun with and you drive over, through, around, wherever they want that vehicle to go to. Doing big events like this really helps them out by getting stuff off their mind for the weekend.
You can even find clothing and stickers that you can buy that parts of the proceeds go to the program to help out. I think not enough people know about the Wounded Warrior Project and it should be known. This is a great program to help out the members who have helped this nation and sacrifice everything they have. When these members come back form serving sometimes they won't have anywhere to go or anywhere for them to work at.
This organization is truly a great cause, if you visit their website www.woundedwarriorproject.org it has tons of information about any and everything you would want to know. There is also a link that says "meet a warrior" and it just has pictures after pictures of veterans that you can click on and it will tell you a little bit about their background. One of the big sponsors for the organization is Under Armor, they do all the clothing lines and hats for them which is a really big seller. You will even see tv commercials about the organization and they will have famous actors talking about it such as actor Bruce Willis has been on it.
This organization doesn't just do it for popularity or just to get their names out there, they do it because they truly do care about their warriors coming home and thats why they help the warriors and their families out too, Wounded warriors that return home with injuries, the donations is what helps with the assistance needed for that person. This organization is treating the warriors like heroes which is how they should be treated 24/7 when they return home after everything they have done for their nation.
The Wounded Warrior Project is defiantly going to be around for a long time and it is only going to grow more and more! This is one organization that truly helps out our warriors when they get home for the good of them and their families!

SAPA! San Antonio Pets Alive

San Antonio Pets Alive! Better known as SAPA works hard every day to try and find forever homes for animals and foster homes for those on the euthanasia list. In addition to doing this they also have their own kennels where they can pull animals to safety when there is a room available. When looking at the evaluation side I chose to look into promotional aspects, care, and how they try to adopt out animals.

On a scale of one to ten on the heart wrenching scale there promotions seem to be a 15. Every day compiling a list of those set to never walk outside in the grass once more must be draining. They currently have Facebook ads as well as ads on craigslist making sure that anyone looking for an animal has every chance to see those who are in need the most of a home. With the use of their Facebook page hundreds of animals a year have been saved the pain of a heart stick (where an animal is put down by using a large needle to inject the drugs directly in the heart). SAPA’s Facebook page is also the reason Honey and her newborn pups are safe in a loving home.

Honey and her 7 puppies almost didn't make it out of ACS. With a deadline for euthanasia at 2pm we picked them up at 1pm

When evaluating how they help animals it’s clear that they try everything for an animal so that they are not put down. There is an application process to see if you would be a good match for the type of animal you want to save. Which can be found here at www.sanantoniopetsalive.org . Whenever a dog is adopted out of the SAPA kennel they move forward and pull another dog that otherwise would have died that day. The only animals that SAPA cannot pull and put into their kennels are pregnant or nursing dogs. The shelter environment even in the SAPA location is to rough for such little individuals.. While fostering an animal SAPA even picks up the veterinary bills with the one catch being that you must get it done at a SAPA approved location and at this time I believe there are only two. They even hold adoption events for you to bring out your foster dog and try to find him or her there forever home. . Since starting in January 2012 SAPA has saved 20,000 lives so the question really shouldn’t be focused on whether they help animals it should be how we can help save more

 The 7 pups all at rest a few days later. That chunky pup is Maddie

The conditions inside of SAPA are almost identical to the of San Antonio’s entire ACS system. Slightly large kennels with a bed for every dog in that particular cage and usually no more than two dogs unless they are a smaller breed. With fewer animals though the stress put on the dogs is less than a building in ACS that has over 75 dogs per building. SAPA only holds about 20 at the ACS location with the rest being in foster homes or at the location near the San Antonio Zoo. So if you’re looking to add a new member to your home come check out SAPA and save two lives by making room for them to bring another dog to safety. You could just end up with this cute little guy

 Just because he’s the cutest here’s Hamlet 

Buy a Lady a Drink

Most of us take everyday things for granted, such as clean air to breath, food to eat and water to drink. Around the world nearly 750 million people do not have access to clean water. This adversely affects women who are the ones walking to collect the water for their families, over 200 million hours a day. The struggle these women go through are truly remarkable, collecting 44lbs of water per day just to be able to wash clothes, cook food and bath. For some families in India, it could take 20 trips BY FOOT to collect the amount of water a family in the U.S might use in a day. The hours these women put in week in and week out forces them to lose out on living. Because of the time they have lost, they are unable to get an education or even spend time with their families. Imagine hiring a babysitter for the day just so you can go get water.

Stella Artois, a Belgian based brewing company has taken notice in these women’s struggles and has partnered with Matt Damon's water.org to help stop these journeys with their ‘Buy a Lady a Drink’ campaign. They have donated 1.2 million dollars for the cause and are even trying to get their customers involved by offering a limited edition chalice for purchase. For every chalice sold, Stella will donate an additional $6.25 to water.org which in turn will provide 5 years of clean water for 1 person. The funds raised buy this campaign goes directly to aiding these women, on the water.org website the story of Anita can be watched, they had “a water tap installed in her home a year ago. Having water available at the start of every day has allowed Anita to work on the family business and plant crops, avoiding the long journey to the center of Nagpur to shop at the market for vegetables. More importantly, Anita’s children no longer miss school because of the need to line up at a local water source, only to wait for water that may never come.” (buyaladyadrink.com)

What is great about the commercials is that even though a beer company is sponsoring this movement, not a single drop of beer is shown. The end of the commercial doesn't have Matt Damon taking a gulp of Stella from one of the chalices, there is no Stella 18 wheeler delivering water bottles to the countries affected. Instead, real stories from real women can be read and scene in the ads and on the website, which clearly states who much of the proceeds are actually going to the cause. The "Buy a Lady a Drink" motto cleverly catches the eye and the stories make you want to contribute. Something has to be going right for the campaign because of the 20,000 beer glasses put up for sale, there are none left.

Water.org has a strong track record, they go beyond just digging a well (which eventually might fail) but instead look to aid assistance programs to gain access to municipal water taps and build private toilets. ”Considering the fact water scarcity is one of the biggest threats to global economic and political stability, more efforts such as this Stella Artois-Water.org partnership need to be on the drawing board.” (William Kaye, Triplepundit). 

buyaladyadrink.com

http://www.triplepundit.com/2015/01/stella-artois-wants-buy-lady-drink/?doing_wp_cron=1426792071.3303210735321044921875

Evaluation on "The perks of being a Wildflower"

                                  The Perks of being a Wildflower


      Most people growing up can to relate to what it feels like being an outsider and feeling like your don't have anyone to turn to. People don't realize of even think about what they might being doing to someone just by the words they say and the actions they do to someone. This book is just about that and telling people what it is like being on the other side of someone being bullied. People that have had a rough time growing up rather it maybe from being sick all the time to not having the money that people think you should have, and also to not being the weight everyone thinks someone should be at. They can all have people thinking and saying that your weird and that you don't fit in. The people that do that others need to take a step back and really look what might be going on in someone's life because all they really need is a friend that doesn't judge and might know where they are coming from.

     When I was younger I went through the part of people making fun of me about my weight and I can tell you it's not a great place to be in life. When my whole life I have been up and down about my weight and for me it's not an easy thing to lose it's a struggle everyday for me. I have also been on the other side to where is was making fun of someone because they might be a little weird or that they just are not in the same group of friends that I was in. All of that was when I was a little kid and thought I wasn't hurting anyone's feelings until that one point it happened to me about my weight. That made me realize that everyone is different and amazing person in their own way. 


    When you  are a little different from others and someone try's to bring you down don't look at it as you don't belong, but look at it as that you are one of a kind and they are just not good enough to be your friends if they say or do hurtful things. People can go through their whole life's and fall in love with the wrong people because "We get the love that we think we deserve!" but we all deserve the best out of life and it's up to you to make it that way. Then your can look about on your life and say I over came every bad thing that was thrown my way and I'm a stronger person for that. If anything in life feels like it's getting to hard for you the best thing is to go talk to someone about if because there are people out there that are wanting to help if you just open up and let them. It's not about where we have been but where we are going!

 

 

     This logo is famous around the world now. It's the logo for the HRC, Human Rights Campaign. They are an organization that strives to achieve equality for everyone. This is mainly aimed at lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender men and women here in the United States. The Human Rights Campaign is the largest civil rights organization that is just wanting to make sure that everybody has the same rights no matter where they are. Be that at home, or at work or even their community.  Is the Human Rights Campaign a positive force of good in the world?  To determine that I looked at what they actually do in the world. How they promote themselves, and what their actual end game is.

                Originally they started off as just a fund to support pro-fairness congressional candidates. But when they adopted the new logo, they became so much more than that. They set up new programs to help the LGBT community both in the government and in more regular day to day lives. They also do research, marketing and public relations to help out the community, and when they expanded from the original fund to the organization all of these ventures expanded right along with them. They do so much to keep everyone knowledgeable about what’s going on and fight every single day to make this world better not only for the LGBT community but really for everyone in the world.

                Everyone knows their logo for equality. The red square that symbolizes love and the equals sign for equality. Two years ago the Supreme Court was hearing two separate cases for same-sex marriage, and the human rights campaign urged everyone to support the cause. They changed their logo from the blue and yellow to the new red and pink. They urged everyone to adopt the new logo on Facebook and to change their profile pictures to it. Facebook saw a record breaking 120% increase in profile picture updates and countless memes were made to commemorate this ground breaking court case. The human rights campaign has promotions everywhere. They have TV commercials and a clothing line and even bumper stickers.

                Simply put there is one thing and one thing alone that the Human Rights Campaign wants for the whole country and ultimately the world. Their ideal end game would be a worldwide community where everyone is equal and discrimination of any kind doesn’t exist anymore. It shouldn’t matter what they are what or who you are. Because when all is said and done we are all simply human beings. We all deserve to be treated the same, as equals on this planet.

                The Human Rights Campaign does so much good, so many positive things in world. They don’t even just help the LGBT community but really everyone everywhere. These are rights that everyone should have, not just rich, white, American, straight men, but other races and other nationalities and other orientations. All rights should be available to everyone not just the entitled few. This is what the HRC promotes and supports. I feel and hope that this is something that will be achieved within my generation with their support and everyone else’s. You can’t change the world alone, but in a group as a team extraordinary things can occur.

End It, also known as the “#EndItMovement”, is a coalition of organizations thats are fighting for freedom. They are fighting to end slavery. Currently there are an estimated 27 million slaves globally…. Thats right, 27 MILLION living, breathing, and thinking,  men, women and CHILDREN! On the End It website about-page, they share their mission stating, “Our amazing Coalition Partners are doing the work, on the ground, everyday, to bring AWARENESS, PREVENTION, RESCUE, and RESTORATION. We’re here to SHINE A LIGHT ON SLAVERY together!” The duty End It has accepted is spreading awareness about the continued existence of slavery, and helping fund these organizations. The partnering organizations are doing the physical work that couldn’t be if they do not get funding. But how well does End It help end slavery? Are they accomplishing their task of spreading awareness and generating funds, and are their partners following through?

End It has been using a combination of social media, and social interaction to help spread awareness. They have adopted February 27th as “Shine a Light on Slavery Day”; on this day they encourage those of who support the end of slavery to wear a red “X” on their hand and make a post of their hand online sharing the idea of the movement. I personally think this is a great use of social media, it allows people to get creative while still telling their peers about the mass of slaves that exist today. I also find the idea of the red “X” really smart. To be honest, in a weird way I think the red “X” on a bunch of hands looks super hip and BAD ASS. It is genius too. Although they do have various buttons, bumper-stickers, and apparel, a supporter can for get those and not everyone will ask about it. Further more, not everyone will ask about or see your bumper sticker, but your classmates will for sure ask what the “X”’s are about. I find that they are doing their best at utilizing real life and online interactions to spread the awareness of the issue of slavery.

On their website they have plenty of information on the movement, ways to help, and many statistics concerning slavery and human trafficking. Along with this information, they encourage the users to take action further than just having a red “X” on their hand and instagram, but by building a team of “FREEDOM FIGHTERS”. The concept is that you get 27 of your friends, family, and coworkers to join your team, donate 7 bucks and start their own team if lead to. The site tracks who is in your team and how much funding your team has generated, along with how many people your team members have reached. Although this causes people to have to step out of their comfort zones and ask people to donate and sign up, I still believe that there aren’t many better ways to honestly generate funding without being overbearing. 

The coalition partners are all hard working organizations that together target all forms of slavery. Groups such as “As Our Own”, and “ECPAT” focus solely on the slavery and exploitation of children. As Our Own rescues and provides family environments for children who are involved in exploitation and slavery. Contrastingly, ECPAT helps fight child slavery by as the End It coalition page describes “Ending child slavery at its source by training the private sector, health care workers and others.” As Our Own does more hands on work with the children, whereas ECPAT focus on educating others so that this cruelty can be prevented.

The End It has taken the noble task of spreading awareness and generating funds to end slavery globally. Without awareness it will never end, and without funding the affected individuals won't get help. It has got to take a ballsy group of individuals to aim to end slave in their lifetime for good. Although there are always better or more effective was to spread awareness and raise funds, I do believe End It does it extremely well by using online and real life interactions. The organizations involved are constantly active in fighting the good fight for freedom!

If you are interested in End It and want to know more, visit their site here:

If you would like to join my brand spankin new team feel free to join here:

This blog is a project produced by students at Northwest Vista College enrolled in English 1302.  

In an effort to explore the exciting world of Arguments of Evaluation, a selection of reviews is featured here.  These "reviews" focus on topics that are related in one way or another to a social justice issue. You may find the reviews featured here that examine a particular person, product, event, or cultural artifact (film, book, television program, advertisement, etc.).  


The goal of the review is two-fold: first, to engage the reader in an informative and entertaining critique which is clearly grounded in the principles an argument of evaluation second, to examine a social justice issue from a new perspective and thereby gain a deeper understanding.   

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