Author Archives: cfarias23

Coti Farias
Holly Pappas
English 101
May 1, 2014
Rough Draft – Argument Essay

Government monitoring of internet activity and surveillance cameras are very necessary. The many terrorist attacks that have happened in America have made it necessary to monitor people’s activities in order to ensure people’s privacy. Monitoring internet activity and using surveillance cameras should be put in use because they will prevent any future terrorist’s attacks and find perpetrators on the internet that might be doing suspicious activity. Therefore, to ensure people’s privacy and protection the government needs to be constantly vigilant. However, the government must be careful not to overstep their authority and stomp on people’s rights by collecting unneeded data including credit card numbers, travel itineraries, texts and downloads.

Ordinary citizens need to know who is using the Internet in dangerous ways. For example, who is learning how to make a bomb, who is learning how to use chemical weapons, or who might be planning for an attack on them? People who are using information like this from websites should be considered dangerous and be red flagged by the government. Today, states take in many immigrants who religious beliefs vary greatly. Some radical Muslims, for example, have carried out horrific acts against the United States. It only makes sense to monitor Internet activity because of all that has happened since 911 to the US. Someone viewing how to make a bomb on YouTube needs to be red flagged before he or she gets a chance to commit a terrorist act against the US. Out of necessity the National Security Agency (NSA) has been storing and capturing web pages and later analyzing them (Von Drehle).

Having surveillance cameras in stores, at streetlights and in the city street corners has become routine. It is a great way to prevent any threats or attacks before they happen and later on to catch the perpetrators with indisputable evidence from the surveillance cameras. Now, most stores in America have video cameras for lesser crimes. For instance, theses cameras can catch thieves at stores, burglaries at banks and provide great footage from crime scenes to be used as evidence during court proceedings. Also, police departments have license-plate cameras along with fast-pass lanes to tack cars’ speed and location. In addition, satellites are great for surveillance. For example, by using Google Maps, government agencies can capture the street view and live images of people, cars and more. All this technology is necessary for our protection. A case in point is the Boston Marathon bombing in Boston in April, 2013, which was a senseless act of terrorism that killed and maimed many innocent civilians. In a CNN article, Josh Levs and Monte Plott quotes, “In addition to scrutinizing images of surveillance cameras in the area, the FBI likely was issuing subpoenas for records from cell towers in the area to isolate and trace calls from around Copley Square at the time of the blasts, according to a former federal law enforcement official who now works in the intelligence community” (CNN). That was a truly tragic event for Americans. If it weren’t for the surveillance cameras at the site of the bombings, the government officials would have caught the two brothers who set off the bombs.

However, has the US government’s desire to keep its citizens safe actually infringed upon their personal rights which are guaranteed by the Us Bill of Rights? Has the US government overstepped its authority? Some think is has. They argue that monitoring the Internet is obviously important, but ensuring people’s privacy is just as important; some even sit it is more important. They claim that the NSA should not be listening to people’s phone calls and viewing our emails. Moreover, they also should not be collecting information about bank balances, credit card numbers, text messages, downloads, medical records and even people’s travel itineraries. Alarmingly, this is not all that the government has been doing. According to the Washington Post, “Every day, collection systems at the National Security Agency intercept and store 1.7 billion e-mails, phone calls and other types of communications. The NSA sorts a fraction of those into 70 separate databases.” This means that the NSA stores billions of information about people from the ways we communicate with each others.

By them monitoring the internet, one could argue that the government is invading its citizens’ privacy, which the Bill of Rights ensures. In an online debate about this, results show that 53 percent disagree with this. They say that it isn’t right; they have enough to do instead of watching what we do, there violating the fourth amendment and it’s unfair to the general public. Some people even say that the government is wasting money. One poster from the debate says, “No it would mean a loss of privacy. Everyone should be free to put everything they want on the Internet, and if you think some things are inappropriate such as porn or anything else then doesn’t go searching for it. If the government controls it then they will see all your private issues. I hope then one day you’ll understand what I mean.” I understand how this upsets real people in the world, and they feel that it is unneeded for us but there are important reasons as a whole state it is needed. Even though it is invading are privacy, it is making the world safer for us to live in each day because they can stop something terrible from happening if caught through the internet.

In conclusion, it is very important to have the government monitor the internet so the United States doesn’t get attacked again in any manner. By them monitoring it will make the world a safer place to live in. If anything like 911 even happens again, wouldn’t you like to know that it could have been stopped if they monitored the internet activity because someone was plotting an attack on America? Monitoring in general is important for America, to know that people aren’t trying to hurt us, and even for children safety online.

Work Cited:

Drehle, Dave V. “The Surveillance Society | TIME.com.” US The Surveillance Society Comments. TIMES, 01 Aug. 2013. Web. 30 Apr. 2014.

Levs, Josh. “Boy, 8, One of 3 Killed in Bombings at Boston Marathon; Scores Wounded.” CNN.
Cable News Network, 01 Jan. 1970. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.

Preist, Dana, and William M. Arkin. “A Hidden World, Growing beyond Control.”
Washingtonpost.com. The Washington Post, 19 July 2010. Web . 28 Apr. 2014.

“Should the Government Monitor the Internet?” Http://www.debate.org/opinions/should-the-
government-monitor-the-internet. Debate.org, n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2014.

Research Question: Should the government monitor internet activity?

Sources:

http://nation.time.com/2013/08/01/the-surveillance-society/

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/aug/11/nsa-internet-surveillance-email

http://www.infowars.com/the-u-s-government-is-monitoring-all-phone-calls-all-emails-and-all-internet-activity/

http://www.debate.org/opinions/should-the-government-monitor-the-internet

Coti Farias
Holly Pappas
April 15,2014
Final Draft Annotation

It was nearly 70 years ago the U.S had adopted the food stamp program which was a experimented government program. It began in May of 1939, when a unemployed factory worker known as Mabel McFiggin was one of the first people to collect food stamps during the Depression-era. Food stamps helped aid the people struggling with supplying themselves with food. In this article written by Randy James, he stated that “Food stamps originally came in two colors: recipients bought orange stamps, which could be used for any kind of food, and they were given half that amount in free blue stamps, which could be used to buy designated surplus foods (all but the most destitute had to make some payment to receive food stamps until 1977)”. In this article James explains how the two different colored food stamps represents two different kinds of benefits and what can be purchased as well as what can they receive with them. In this article from Times, James states that “about 20 million people made use of the original food stamp program, but its popularity dwindled as prosperity returned, and the program was stopped in 1943”. What this means was the food stamp program was a successful program to help aid struggling people.

The amount of money a family can receive depends on many of several factors such as the number of people living in the household. It also depends on the source of income the household is receiving this is to determine how much a family can receive from the food stamp program and if they qualify. Also the source of income varies from employment, child support, and social security. The expenses will count toward your benefits such as rent, electric bill, gas bill and the cable bill. The family size can size from two to six or even more family members. The more family members you have living in the household the more likely a family can receive benefits but if you receive a source of high income this can affect the qualification of the food stamps. A family who receives more than the amount to qualify for can affect SNAP benefits and could decrease the amount of food stamps they could receive this SNAP Standards (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program).

In the article “Cut in Food Stamps Forces Hard Choices on Poor” from the NY Times, writers Kim Severson and Winnie Hu states that last year during November, people who had received food stamps were cut on their benefits. The article interviewed people that received these benefits and who got cut during this time. One lady said “I try to get most of the things my daughter eats because I can hold the hunger — I’m an adult — but she cannot”(N Y Times) This is so sad that parents are suffering because they are trying to give everything to their children to eat because of a cut in their benefits. Another person who got hit hard during this cut was Leon Simmons, 63 he says “I don’t need a whole lot to eat,” he said, who spends more than half of his monthly $832 Social Security income to rent a room in an East Charleston house. “But this month I know I’m not going to buy any meats.” This reduction in benefits has affected more than 47 million people like Mr. Simmons says N Y Times. Cutting benefits for people that receive this money, impacts them greatly. Cuts like this can change how a person eats from healthy to unhealthy, having less money to buy groceries means that they can not purchase fruits and vegetables for proper nutrition for a person. This means that if the cut was very large, someone will now go from eating fruits, vegetables and meats to buying frozen dinners and packaged food which has high sodium. A decrease in food stamps have a negative effect on the people who are aided by it because it is one way they support themselves and with a cut their everyday diet is affected as well.

There are many requirements to be eligible for food stamps in Massachusetts. You must live in Massachusetts, meet the financial eligibility requirements, have a social security number, must be a U.S Citizens, and meet the work requirements. Other ways you can receive this benefit is if you’re homeless or pregnant. If you do not have a stable home to sleep at it’s considered as homeless, they will then decide if you quality. Some people can not receive SNAP assistance because of certain reasons which include; non-citizens, don’t have a Social Security number because of immigration. Seniors and people with disabilities can apply for food stamps and get accepted. Seniors and people with disabilities applying is different than others. They do not have to meet food stamp work requirements, can have a telephone interview or home visit instead of going down to the office for an interview. You can apply for food stamps by filling out an application and either bring it, send it, fax it or complete it online to the Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA). The DTA is in charge of the food stamp program and makes the decision if you apply or not. You can also apply at your local Social Security Office if you receive SSI benefits.

Other programs to help families are utility bills and telephone services. When eligible for SNAP benefits families are automatically enrolled in the utility discount rate programs. This includes help assistance with heating, electricity and gas. If you apply you can get 10% to 15% off the utility bill. Telephone services that can be provided if eligible are either SafeLink Wireless or Assurance Wireless. Theses telephone services provide a free cell phone with free 250 minutes.

Work Cited:

Severson, Kim, and Winnie Hu. “Cut in Food Stamps Forces Hard Choices on Poor.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 07 Nov. 2013. Web. 09 Apr. 2014

James, Randy. “Food Stamps.”Time. Time Inc., 14 Sept. 2009. Web. 09 Apr. 2014.

SNAP Program Income Eligibility Standards

General Eligibility

Other Benefits

Utility Discounts

How to Apply

How much money can a family receive?

The amount of money a family can receive depends of many factors in the household. It depends of source of income, expenses you pay for and family size. The more family members you have the more much your likely to receive but, if you receive a source of income the amount of money for SNAP benefits can decrease. For example, a family of three with a mother and two daughters; if the mother is on disability and a daughter is working the amount of money will decrease because there is a source of income in the household. (SNAP Program Income Eligibility Standards; http://www.massresources.org/snap-financial-eligibility.html#deductions)

Who is eligible for food stamps? (http://www.massresources.org/snap-general-eligibility.html)

There are many requirements to be eligible for food stamps in Massachusetts. You must live in Massachusetts, meet the financial eligibility requirements, social security numbers, must be U.S Citizens, and meet the work requirements. Some people can not receive SNAP assistance because of certain reasons which include; non-citizens, don’t have a Social Security number because of immigration. Seniors and people with disabilities can apply for food stamps and get accepted. Seniors and people with disabilities applying is different then others. They do not have to meet food stamp work requirements, can have a telephone interview or home visit instead of going down to the office for an interview.

Are there other programs to help people like food stamps? (http://www.massresources.org/snap-benefits.html#otherbenefits) (http://www.massresources.org/utility-discounts.html)

Other programs to help families are utility bills and telephone services. When eligible for SNAP benefits families are automatically enrolled in the utility discount rate programs. This includes help assistance’s with heating, electricity and gas. If you apply you can get 10% to 15% off the utility bill. Telephone services that can be provided if eligible are either SafeLink Wireless or Assurance Wireless. Theses telephone services provide a free cell phone with free 250 minutes.

Where can you apply for food stamps benefits?(http://www.massresources.org/snap-apply.html)

You can apply for food stamps by filling out an application and either bring it, send it, fax it or complete it online to the Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA). The DTA is in charge of the food stamp program and makes the decision if you apply or not. You can also apply at your local Social Security Office if you receive SSI benefits.

Do you need to have a drug test to be eligible for it?
When did food stamps begin and why ?

How much money can a family receive?
Who is eligible for food stamps?
When did food stamps begin and why ?
Are there other programs to help people like food stamps?
Where can you apply for food stamps benefits?
Do you need to have a drug test to be eligible for it?

Can some things be taught or are most things inborn? Persistence is to learn to keep moving forward in spite of how difficult something is. It’s about staying positive through out difficult obstacles to reach a goal. Goals you could reach while being persistent might be buying a car or house, getting a degree, or even trying to get a promotion at work. Sometimes trying to reach a goal can be difficult and you may want to give up but the question still remains who can teach persistence?
In the article “Persistence is learned from Fathers, Says Study” by Mikaela Conley states that “persistence can be taught from fathers by those who listen to their children, having a close relationship, set appropriate rules, and also grant appropriate freedoms” (Conley 9). Fathers who commit to doing this with their children can lead them to a successful path in the future. Teaching persistence is like climbing a ladder, you must teach one step at a time. Showing a child how important and meaningful something is can be done by encouraging them even if they don’t believe in themselves so they can reach their goal. For example, if you tell your child to keep on trying especially when they receive a bad grade in school they will strive to do better next time because you’re persist to keep on going. By letting them know not stop because something is difficult in life like school is teaching them how to be persistent.
Not only fathers can teach their children to be persistent but other family members as well. In Tristan’s memoir he talks about how his parents and grandparents continually reminded him about never giving up on the challenges he had experienced and had to stand up to every challenge that came his way. Tristan’s parents and grandparents taught him how to overcome the challenges like learning how to ride a bicycle step by step. Learning how to ride a bicycle takes times, even though it can be easy with training wheels but a difficult experience to transition from training wheels to riding without it. They pushed him not to give up because he would get it one day. Over time he finally managed to ride a bicycle without training wheels because of his grandparents were so supportive toward his difficult struggle to ride a bicycle.
Even though parents can help teach how to be persistence so can Health Care Professionals. In Jeff’s memoir he states that he had a difficult struggle with his weight during his high school years. He also wanted to play football but because of his weight his blood pressure was too high. He struggled a long time dealing with this but over time someone helped him. His mother’s friend, a nutritionist had helped him with some knowledge how to live a healthy lifestyle. The nutritionist taughted what’s good to eat and what’s not, good eating habits and how to read the nutrition facts of products. He struggles with his weight and want’s to do something but doesn’t know how till the nutritionist helps him. He then sets a goal to lose weight from all the advice he had received. He started going to the gym to achieve his this goal over time. Losing weight can not happened over one day or one week it takes lots of time, dedication and persistence toward reaching the goal. Having a health care professional teaching someone how to reach a goal with some basic knowledge on a topic has taught Jeff how to be persistent to lose weight in this milestone in life. Not only has he learned a lot about the body works but he now has the mindset to reach his goal in the future.
Although parents, grandparents and health care professional can teach persistence in the article “Can kids be Taught Persistence?” by Jennie Rose quotes “ that’s a skill that parents can certainly help their children develop – but so can teachers and coaches and mentors and neighbors and lots of people” (Rose 4). This states that parents can teach persistent but community helps can too. For example, teachers can help students with learning math like fractions and to keep trying to solve the math problem until it’s solved. Coaches can by learning to deal with failure when they lose a game. Mentors teach how to be persistence by guiding students to the correct lane and helping with life issues.
However, persistence takes time to overcome, it’s about wanting to get somewhere – reaching the top. Almost like climbing a mountain, as you climb you see the top as much as you want to get to the top to see the view. You must continue to struggle each step to reach the goal. Anyone can teach you how to be persistence from parents, grandparents, health care workers, teachers, coaches and much more but it all relies on you doing the continued effort to reach top of it all. You must put everything in to get what you want in life, the people helping you is just one step closer to the prize.

Work Cited Page:

Conley, Mikaela. “Persistence Is Learned from Fathers, Says Study.” ABC News. ABC News
Network, 15 June 2012. Web. 03 Mar. 2014.

Rose, Jennie. “Can Kids Be Taught Persistence?” MindShift. Blogs.kqed.org, July 2012. Web. 03
Mar. 2014.

http://tristanridesflat.edublogs.org/2014/02/17/memoir-final/

http://jeffstew.edublogs.org/2014/02/03/memoir-rough-draft-persistence/