Sunday, October 11, 2015

Stop Dreaming Donald

2016 Presidential Candidate
Donald Trump
For a second time, Donald Trump has been accused of using the band Aerosmith's song "Dream On" to power his campaign. Representatives from the lead vocalist, Steven Tyler have now sent another cease-and-desist letter to Trump's campaign. Inside this letter it states that they do not "have [their] clients permission to use 'Dream On.'" It is very reasonable why this is a potential issue because it could make it look like Tyler is connected to Trump's presidential bid not to mention that it isn't even legal. It doesn't matter if the two are friends because if Mr. Donald Trump doesn't have Aerosmith's permission to use their hit song, or any of their songs in that manner, than he is not legally able to use it.

Aerosmith
I know that Donald Trump is a powerful billionaire and that he must get in legal trouble frequently. He might win these kind of cases frequently, but the problem is that I think that it adds to his ego. It could make him feel like he is untouchable because he has the money to hire the best lawyers in the world. Personally this kind of behavior is not what I would envision in a president of the United States. Nothing like breaking the law before voting day. In saying this, I understand that there are many people who strongly support Trump's ideas and decisions in life and in his campaign. It is just my opinion that this is not a good idea to break the law twice and still expect people to trust you with the nation's government. I would like to think that our future president would create a good image for the rest of the world to see the country.

Saturday, October 3, 2015

Shooting in Oregon

Oregon college shooting suspect Chris Harper-Mercer is seen in a photo taken from his Myspace account
Undated photo of Chris Harper-Mercer from his Myspace page
Just on the first day of October, a 26 year old community college student named Chris Harper-Mercer had attended his English class just like any other day. The thing is that that is only what all of his peers and teacher thought. During the class, this student opened fire on everyone else in the room using military grade weapons. It turns out that he brought six guns that day and 5 ammunition magazines. Eventually the police caught up to the gunman and he was killed in a shootout. In this school shooting, Harper-Mercer killed nine students and teachers, while injuring many others.

According to friends and neighbors, Chris Harper-Mercer was a kind of "awkward loser" who was always seen riding his red bike. He lived with his mother who was friendly to the whole community. While she would chat with other people, Chris would keep to himself and not engage. After a thorough search of their apartment, police found seven other guns.

Unlike some other mass shooters, Harper-Mercer was an army boot camp dropout who flunked out in 2008. After extensive chaser, investigators found through his social media that he was fascinated by the Irish Republic Army, was frustrated by organized religion, and tracked mass shootings that happened all around the world. He seemed to urge others to watch a Virginia shooting from August and stated that "the more people you kill, the more you're in the limelight." There was also a message posted on 4chan, a racist and misogynistic forum, that described an upcoming attack, but it is unproven if it was commented by Harper-Mercer.

 Yes all of the guns that he used in the crime were legally registered, but that doesn't make it right for him to be able to use them. I have mixed feelings towards gun control, but if the laws were a little stricter, then there wouldn't be over one shooting a day. In the 274 days so far of 2015, there have been 294 mass shootings. Learn more towards gun control here. Now I'm not saying that no one in the United States shouldn't be able to own a gun or weapon, but that restrictions for registering for a gun are much more intensive so that the police potentially have more leads before crimes happen. I hope that changes will be made and less people die each day, but hoping will only get us so far.


Article describing Oregon shooting time.com

Thursday, October 1, 2015

The Next Super Star?

Over the past couple of years, a few players in particular have been hyped in the basketball community. One of which is an 18 year old from Jackson, Mississippi named Malik Newman. Currently Malik is a freshman at Mississippi State University following his father Horatio Webster who played there from 1996 to 98. As a senior at Callaway high school, he was named as the #1 shooting guard in the country with a five star rating according to Rivals.com Malik managed to win state with his school team. Along with this, he played in McDonald's All-American Boys Game in 2015 and the 2014 FIBA Under-17 World Championship where he was named MVP.

This is a pretty impressive resume for anyone to have. Of course experts and basketball fanatics all question what will happen with this young prospect. Is it possible that Malik could become the next Ray Allen, Kobe Bryant, and dare I say, Michael Jordan? As of now it is nearly impossible to know for sure he will go on the ranks of legendary point guards and hall of fame players. At the very least, I hope that he makes it to the NBA by the end of college. For these guys, sports are everything and they have been competing and training for basically their whole lives. With such dedication and accomplishment I feel like these kind of athletes like Malik Newman deserve to get far in a career that they love above everything else. I know how it feels to love something so much that you dedicate all of your time to it. Sports are the center of my life as well.

Now as much as I list all of Malik's accomplishments, one must think about what would happen if he is not drafted to a professional team. My father once told me that he went to school with a guy who was the valedictorian of the high school and was accepted into Harvard University. He was such a big shot until he started the curriculum, couldn't handle the pressure, and then moved back to Kearney, Nebraska to study Russian literature. My one worry is that Malik has potentially reached his "peak" in skill and can't progress any further or even starts to stack off during his college season. Let's say that he doesn't become part of a team like the Houston Rockets or Miami Heat and can barely pass any of his classes in college. Wouldn't it be sad if he went from a starter in the McDonald's All-American Game to working behind one of McDonald's cash registers?

Of course this are unlikely situations that Malik could be in, judging by his progress as a basketball player, but I can't help but wonder if he is in over his head or if he doesn't continue to put forth the same amount of effort in university. I personally support Malik Newman and his future and hope that he becomes successful. Where do you think he will be in ten years time? Is he overly hyped?

To read more about Malik Newman, check out him and his stats at espn.com