Ain't Scared of your Jails

Watching the documentary about the beginnings of the civil rights movements opened up some interesting thoughts. I loved this film. The whole thing stood out because that time in history is an incredible American achievement for black people in America. It is hard to understand a hard time in history because sometimes it is too difficult to endure, or it does not seem like that big of a deal, or like this time period when America seemed to be an embarrassment. I loved the line where the mayor of Nashville, Tennessee said, "I answered that question morally since I am a man." He mentions this after answering very truthfully about how he disagrees that a person should not be discriminated in a restaurant or refused service based on the color of their skin. I loved Diane Nash and how she was the one who asked that question. I am ashamed of the time where people were so ignorant and even stubborn about the racism in America. How could anyone honestly treat a human as if he or she were a nobody.
The fact that the college students had so much bravery gave me the chills during this film. They were making a stand and doing what was constitutionally fair and right. The sit-ins were a brave step towards many movements to come like the bus boycotts and the freedom rides. I enjoyed this film thoroughly and hope to see more like it.

Ain't Scared of your Jails

Ain’t Scared of your Jails was a fitting title for that documentary. The Freedom Riders in that video were scared of nothing. It was very inspirational to me for the people who would take blows to the head, name calling, and violence without retaliation. Also, many seemed to have a relatively gentle and forgiving spirit toward their abusers! It’s hard to take a hit without retaliation. It’s even harder to take it without hating those who hurt them.

They also had a strong desire to do what they did. Besides taking physical abuse, they also took jail time. In the documentary, many of the demonstrators chose 33 days in jail over their 50 dollar fines, because they didn’t want to support the arrestors. As a response to going to jail, one man stated, “It became a crusade. It became a badge of honor.” The demonstrators were strong, relentless, and devoted. They were the Freedom Riders.

Freedom Riders

After watching Ain't Scared of your Jails, I learned many new things. One thing that really stood out to me were the Freedom Riders. The freedom riders were a group of people who rode on interstate buses into segregated southern United States. The freedom riders were brutally beaten many times throughout their journey. Many times there were white freedom riders that were beaten as well. An African American freedom rider talked about one of instances a white freedom rider was beaten, he said, "Its like they didn't see the rest of us, for like about maybe 30 seconds they didn't see us, they didn't see us at all." The freedom riders were taught not to fight back, so all they could do is run or take the beatings. The freedom riders stood out to me because I feel that it was amazing how these men and women continued to ride these buses even when they knew the consequences to come. It takes a lot of courage and strength to do what these men and women did.

"Keep Your Eyes On The Prize, Hold On"

I learned about the Freedom Riders. I never knew about that aspect in the Civil Rights Act. The horrible things that happened to them when they rode the bus anywhere; they were beat and ridiculed and the "n" word was used a lot. They knew when they got on the bus what could and would probably happen to them. Even they white supporters who rode the bus with them were severely beaten. One man was beaten so horribly that he would be damaged for the rest of his life. This entire movie is pretty powerful and sends out such a strong message about following your beliefs and doing what it takes to be heard and make a change for the better; it shows that you don't have to be a violent extremist to make a difference in the world. Peaceful action can take you further than violence. The ones who were in the wrong were the white community who violated their neighbors' rights as citizens of this country. They only wanted to be treated equally. The Negros paid the same state tax; they put money into the economy by shopping in the same stores as the rest of the community. They hold jobs as teachers, lawyers, clergymen, doctors; they work in stores and businesses as the cleaning crew they are seamstresses, receptionists and secretaries. They were well educated, sometimes even more so than many of the whites that despised them. They were a large part of any community and yet they were largely ignored and treated poorly. Dr. King came into the picture and helped to keep the black community inspired and to not give up hope on something that they all deserved and what he knew was coming if they remained a united front and kept going. "Fear not, for we have come too far to turn back now" is what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. told them.

The Department of Energy has announced its selection of 23 businesses and 13 educational institutions to allocate roughly $151 million dollars in the first round of grants for Advanced Research Projects - Energy (Arpa-E). This funding will go to the advancement of projects such as liquid metal batteries that will drive down cost, creating bacteria that could naturally produce gasoline, and crystal growth technology research for low cost LED lighting. The graphic above describes the investment in research by the US government over the past 56 years in selected fields.

Food Coloring can cause hyperactivity in kids

In this article it is talking about that it is not the natural sugar that makes kids hyperactive but actually the artificial coloring that is in the foods. Food coloring is used in frostings, sprinkles, drinks, cake mixes, and other packaged foods. In 2008 the Food’s Standard Agency (FSA) requested major food manufactures to ban six artificial food colorings. On the foods containing these food dyes there is a warning on the label about how the activity of kids can be affected. The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) also called out 8 food dyes. This being another reason why it is better to stay away from the packaged foods and eat real foods, such as fruits, veggies, grains, and eggs. The dyes that are being called out by these two organizations are: Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Red 40 (both groups) · Yellow 10, Carmoisine, Red 4 (FSA) · Blue 1, Blue 2 Green 3, Orange B, Red 3 (CSPI)

- Give Up Meat To Save The Planet -

I came across a very interesting article titled, Climate chief Lord Stern: give up meat to save the planet. So essentially, stop the global warming crises by giving up meat. This is from a leading authority on the all-mighty quest to save the earth.

The article mentioned that methane emissions are twenty-three times more powerful than that of carbon emissions. It goes on to mention that methane emissions from cows and pigs play a significant part in the amount of greenhouse gases. Talk about a fart joke!

Essentially, what is being asked here is to simply give up meat because of the dangerous emissions it gives off. To quote Stern, "Meat is a wasteful use of water and creates a lot of greenhouse gases. It puts enormous pressure on the world’s resources. A vegetarian diet is better."

People want to feel important, they want to matter. If humans are to blame for global warming, the gut reaction of people is, "What can I do?" By doing this, you are willing to solve this so called problem, at any costs – even if it means higher taxes, more regulations, purchasing different light bulbs, driving fuel-efficient cars, and giving up meat. Essentially, surrendering your personal freedoms, liberties, and your way of time at the expense of contributing to the "cause."

It amazes me to think that the United States it the leading country to fight this "challenge." Why haven’t more populated countries, like China and India caught on to this, or even share the blame? Look at their pollution size to ours.

The Earth is roughly 4.5 billion years old and has endured volcano eruptions, tornadoes, hurricanes, meteor impacts, earthquakes, tsunamis, and so on – so how can it be that breathing CO2 emissions is going to make or break us?

Yes, recycling and conservation is crucial and a vital piece of survival. There are only so many resources in the world, and it is important to conserve them. And of course, if you witness someone deliberately polluting such as littering, polluting the oceans, dumping chemicals in a lake and so forth, that’s stoppable. That can be fixed. But to go to the drastic measures of claiming that man made actions are altering the climate is absurd.

One more thought – how are the proposed taxes on all energy usage in the future going to stop the alleged man-made global warming – ah, excuse me, I mean climate change, or whatever name this will be changed to in the future to help further this cause?