Thursday, April 21, 2016

The Ostrich

Do you know ostriches can’t fly?
Weighing over three hundred pounds,
Wings spanning seven feet wide,
Standing nine feet above the ground,
The ostrich is the largest bird species.
With phenomenal leg power
The ostriches kick can kill,
Also enabling it to run at speeds over forty miles per hour.
Other birds soar above the ostrich
Amazed of its incredible abilities,
Thinking how nice it would be to possess just a pinch.
But the ostrich stares back wishfully;
The ostrich can do many things
But from the ground, it can only dream,
Because no matter how hard it tries
The ostrich will never fly.

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Daily Discourse: Gun Law, Is There a Middle Ground?

Welcome back to another Daily Discourse! Two parts in and I'm already slacking off, oh boy! Maybe I should just make it Weekly Discourse--that doesn't sound as catchy though *Sighs*

Anyways, let's talk guns! Our speaker for this session is the polarizing Ben Shapiro. Whether you hate him or love him, you have to respect the mans debate acumen. The embedment below contains the full interview but this link should take you directly to the gun control segment. They talk about a variety of issues, which I may or may not use in the future, but the focus here is on gun control. He makes key points that I believe both parties can agree on--the prevalence and mismanagement of mental illness in the U.S. 

Thought questions:
  • Does solving the mental illness issue solve gun violence? If so, how do we achieve that? If not, why even bother addressing it?
  • If amendments were made to the constitution, why can't an amendment be made to this law?
  • Criminals don't care about the law, what impact would a nationwide ban have on criminal related gun violence?



Monday, April 4, 2016

Daily Discourse: Is Physical Military Intervention a Sound Solution for Conflict Mitigation in the Middle East


Hey guys!

In the spirit of seeking growth and improvement of this blog, I will be expanding its scope and content. One of the reasons I started this blog was to have a platform to analyze topical issues and have discourse around said issues. Starting with this series, I will officially be taking a new approach to the content of this blog. In contrast to my prior posts, which were more closed-ended in their presentation, this new series will aim to foster discussion from the audience. In order to embrace this, each Daily Discourse post will be brief, only highlighting key points on the topic at hand and posing thought questions. 
The series will feature a speaker who, in my opinion, has an insightful and seemingly unbiased assessment of topical issues. There will obviously be selection bias due to my personal views but I will always present speakers that approach the topic from a logic-driven viewpoint rather than pathos-driven. 
Above all, the ultimate goal of the blog still stands firm, and that is to inspire and seek enlightenment through discussion. I hope the new additions will greater serve this purpose. 
On that note, here is Noam Chomsky speaking on the genesis of Isis. The video is part of a full interview but the point is essentially made in this segment. I found this clip interesting because it gives details on the invasion of Iraq during the Bush era and he speaks on the mechanisms that might have led to the formation of ISIS. 
Some thought questions to consider: based on this knowledge, is physical intervention in the Middle East, like some of the presidential candidates suggest, a sound solution? If yes, what are some factors to consider in order to avoid the recurrence of the consequentional outcomes from the Iraq invasion? If not, what are some viable and effective alternatives to the rising threat of ISIS? 
Give the video a look, and let the discourse begin!

Enjoy