TU Tuesday- Crime

http://www.timesunion.com/default/article/Mo-man-convicted-of-murdering-infant-son-3407642.php

http://www.crimevictimsunited.org/measure11/murderguidelines.htm

http://www.ehow.com/about_5466082_murder-sentencing-guidelines.html

Question: How does a jury determine how long a person's sentence is? What factors contribute to the sentence?

I read an article about a man who was convicted of killing his 8-month-old son who he claims was kidnapped by intruders while the man was knocked out. The article explains "The 31-year-old Carthage man faces 10 to 30 years in prison when he's sentenced April 30." According to the Sentencing Guidelines as Applied to Murder "Sentencing guidelines specifies "presumptive sentences" for each crime. The presumptive sentence depends on the classification of the offender based on his or her prior convictions." So a huge factor in determining a sentence is their history and if they have previously comitted crimes or been in trouble with the law. Although most people recieve the original sentence the judge can make changes or alterations based on certain circumstances. "Under specific aggravating circumstances, the judge can go up to twice the presumptive sentence (upward departure). Under specific mitigating circumstances, the judge can order a lower sentence (downward departure). " Factors like whether the offender cooperated with the state or played a minor role can make a sentence longer or shorter. Judges must oversee all aspects of the crime. The Murder Sentencing Guidelines describes what they look for. "Murder sentencing guidelines in most jurisidictions take into account considerations such as the the reason for the murder, how it was committed, why it was committed, and any special characteristics of both the victim and the murderer, such as age, disability, or vulnerability. Courts may also consider the murderer's criminal history, and whether the death was related to other crimes such as a drug deal or robbery." Sentencing can vary depending on the state or country you live in. Some states require a death sentence, some have manditory life sentences and others have different minimum sentences.

Creative Contest II Blog

"Well it looks like it's clear who the winner of the race is!"

Scruples

10. You lose a $25 bet with a friend. Do you wait until the friend demands the money before paying?

If I lost a bet of $25 with my friend I would wait until they demanded the money to give it to them. If they don't ask me for the money then I wouldn't feel bad not giving it to them. I'm not hurting them in any way because they're not losing any money and nothing bad is going to happen if they don't get the money. They would be okay without an extra $25 in their pocket because it isn't a huge amount of money. If they really wanted the money I'm sure they would remember to ask me and make sure I give it to them. I don't think a bet over $25 would affect anyone's friendship and I think a lot of times if it's a bet with your close friend you won't take it as seriously as a bet with someone you might not like. Usually people make bets with eachother to prove the other person wrong and have the satisfaction of being right. The money is just another way to rub it in the other person's face that you won. I wouldn't give my friend the $25 unless they demanded for it.

My Blog Idea

Now that we're all sophomores in high school we have to start thinking about our future, whether we like it or not. Most of us are 16 years old or will be turning 16 this year and have made many great accomplishments throughout these years. For this blog describe what you hope to accomplish in these next 16 years of your life. Where do you see yourself in the future?  Will you go to college? Will you get a job, get married or have kids? Where do you think your life will take you?

My example: With all the hard work and effort I put into school to get good grades, and also playing competitively in soccer, I would hope to have accomplished a great number of things in the next 16 years of my life. I will have gone to at least four years of college, maybe more, depending on what I study in college and what is required for my profession. Right now I am looking into studying communications in college but that could change. I believe I will be able to get into a prestigious college if I continue to keep my grades where they are. I also hope to continue my soccer career through college. I play on a highly competitive team that is ranked 4^th in the state. I don’t want to base my college decision on soccer but I will use soccer to help me get into certain schools that may be very hard to get into academically. After college I would definitely be looking to get started in my career, maybe an internship somewhere and gradually work my way up from there. I hope I can move out of my house and be independent. With a few years of working I think I could earn a salary that would allow me to pay for my own living conditions instead of relying on my parents. Once I get comfortable with my job I think I can become very successful if I work as hard as I do now. I see myself getting married and starting to raise a family 16 years from now. Before I do that, though, I would love to travel around the world. Seeing Europe, South America and Australia would be an incredible experience. If my life turned out exactly like this I would have almost nothing to complain about when I’m 32, but along the way I know many things will change. I hope to be a successful and accomplished person but this is only the beginning and I have a long way to go.

Revisions

Blue

I stare at the aqua ripples of the waves

as they swiftly roll to the sand, over and over.

I look far out to the horizon

where the deep water and bare sky meet,

and are blended together by a sapphire pastel.

Almost as if someone rubbed their thumb over the colors, creating brand new ones.

The endless periwinkle sky is everywhere I look.

I feel calm as I lie down and gaze

at this indigo picture, painted so smoothly, perfectly.

Each component is a different brush stroke.

A cool breeze sweeps over me.

I'm so relaxed I could fall asleep

to the sound of the waves

as they hit the sand over and over.

I Wish I Knew

I can't even begin to explain

or morph it into words.

I can't take it back

when I’m not sure where I went wrong.

I know it makes no sense;

I can’t say I know the answer.

I'm trying to figure it out,

but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared.

This time will be different,

I can promise you that.

But I can't promise it will work,

we'll have to take a chance.

Lauren - your first poem, Blue, is lovely with strong images.  I think your second poem would be improved if you also used imagery instead of being so direct in telling the reader what is going on.  I suggest you free-write for 5-10 minutes, and see what images pop up.

Mimi Moriarty

I Wish I Knew

I wish I knew how to tell you

but my voice is on mute.

Trying to morph my thoughts to words

is an impossible struggle.

I wish I knew what was

running through your mind.

The deep look in your eyes

makes me yearn for answers.

I wish you knew

how much this is haunting me.

I wish I knew whether to follow

my mind or my heart.

Blue

The aquamarine ripples in the waves

climb on top of one another

as they roll to the sand, over and over.

Where the deep water and bare sky meet;

they are blended together by a sapphire pastel.

It’s as if someone rubbed their thumb on the horizon,

morphing together the calm navy ocean

and endless periwinkle sky.

This indigo picture is a beautiful combination

of peace, harmony and calmness.

I believe that my second poems are better than my first ones.  I thought Mimi Moriarty’s advice was very helpful for my poem I Wish I Knew. In the first poem I was too direct with what I was saying. I told the reader exactly what I meant instead of showing them with imagery. I used her advice and free wrote for a few minutes just to see what images popped up in my head that I could use for the poem. In the second poem I said “my voice is on mute” and “this is haunting me”. This gives more visual for the reader and room for their interpretation. My second poem for Blue was also better than my first one. I decided there were certain things that I could take out that weren’t very important. I also decided to take myself out of the poem instead of saying “I look out to the horizon” I just described it without saying “I”. I think cutting down the poem to just descriptions made it a lot better because there was no extra lines or unnecessary things like me being in the poem.

I= Eight People to Emulate

1.Shelby Iapoce- I played varsity soccer with her this year and she works harder than anyone I know. She exceeds in everything she does and pushed me to work hard too.

2.Isaac Malsky- One of the most intelligent people I know. He is very independent and is always discovering new things or ideas. I hope I can someday be as smart as he is.

3.Isla Fisher- A very successful actress (starred in "Confessions of a Shopaholic".) She is funny and beautiful and I would love to be as succesful as she is.

4.Ian Harding- An actor in one of my favorite television shows "Pretty Little Liars". He is a very talent actor.

5.Isaac Deyo- My cousin who has some learning disabilities. He doesn't let that stop him from striving to do his best everyday.

6.Kathy Ireland- A beautifull and successful famous model and business women. She opened her own line of clothing.

7.Laura Ingraham- An extremely successful writer and talk show host. Author of several books and has her own radio show. She is an inspiration for any women who wants to become successful.

8. Jeff Immelt- The chief officer of General Electric which is one of the biggest corporations in the world. It takes a lot of work to achieve what he has done.

TU Tuesday - Culture

 use text quoted directly from your article in your response and put it in quotation marks.  Then, respond to it by including a link to a POEM from that same culture that connects to the article and use text quoted directly from your poem in your response and put it in quotation marks.  The Power Standard this addresses is:
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Interpret, analyze, and evaluate culturally diverse narratives, poetry and drama, aesthetically and ethically, by making connections to other texts, ideas, cultural  perspectives, eras, personal events and situations.  Self-select text to respond and develop innovative perspectives.

Link to article: http://www.timesunion.com/default/article/Israel-police-New-attack-on-Palestinian-property-2259634.php

Link to poem: http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/jerusalem-12/

I read an article about an attack in Jerusalem on Palestinians by Jewish extremists. There have been tensions between these two groups in Israel for a very long time and is a very tough conflict to control, causing problems within the country. The Jewish extremists were protesting Palestinian settlements. The article explains what happened "The words "price tag" were spray-painted on the house in Beit Ummar, a town near the West Bank city of Hebron, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said." The article also talks about how the Hamas militants, who took over the territory, have limited some of the rights of the people like being able to export goods to Europe. "Also Wednesday, the Israeli military said Gaza furniture makers will be allowed to export their goods to Europe this week for the first time since Hamas militants took over the territory in 2007." This article can be connected to a poem by Nizar Qabbani about Jerusalem. He writes about the struggles faced by Israelis, "Oh Jerusalem, the city of sorrow. A big tear wandering in the eye. Who will halt the aggression? On you, the pearl of religions? Who will wash your bloody walls?" He  is describing the violent conflicts between Palestinians and Jewish people that are described in the article. He writes to ask for an end to the violence and for peace within his country. Both the article and poem show the problems faced by this culture and how they wonder when peace will come. "Oh Jerusalem my town
Oh Jerusalem my love
Tomorrow the lemon trees will blossom
And the olive trees will rejoice
Your eyes will dance
The migrant pigeons will return
To your sacred roofs
And your children will play again
And fathers and sons will meet
On your rosy hills
My town
The town of peace and olives. "