Should the state of Maine make panhandling illegal? Why or why not?


     The state of Maine should not make panhandling illegal. Panhandling is a way of making people aware of the poor and homeless.

Record numbers of homeless people crowding into shelters doesn't do it. People lining up outside soup kitchens doesn't do it. Reports of children showing up for school without having enough of the right food they need to be ready to learn just get well-meaning shrugs.But the sight of someone with his hand out - especially when he is standing in a median strip with a sign - people feel compelled to act.

People are dying because they are without shelter and food. Panhandling is their way of speaking to the public, it lets others know that these people are in need of our help. The fact that people have to stand in a median strip with a sign to get others attention, means that we aren't doing enough to help the poor and homeless in our community. Until we find another way to make people aware, panhandling should not be illegal.

Do you agree with the author that the threshold should stay where it is? Why or why not?


Yes I do agree that the threshold should stay where it is. No matter how much the threshold is lowered, lets face it, there will always be idiots out there who won't pay attention to it. It doesn't make a difference how many people get caught in the act of drunk driving, it won't change how these people think because it is what they wish to do.

         In Romeo and Juliet, I honestly disliked a huge majority of the characters, but I do like Rosaline. I know she didn't have any lines, and she was only mentioned a few times, but I believe she did have an impact on this play. Rosaline is Romeo's love interest in the beginning of the play and the reason Romeo is so upset, claiming he will never love anyone else. If Rosaline hadn't been in the play it is highly possible Mercutio and Benvolio would not have brought Romeo to the Capulet's party to cheer him up.  If Romeo didn't go to the party then he and Juliet would not have met, and we can make the assumption that no one would be dead.
          Also, Rosaline plays an important part in characterizing Romeo's immaturity and moody nature.  He drops his love for her so quickly, showing that he is both impulsive and not entirely serious. So as you can see Rosaline plays an important part in Romeo and Juliet.

Write a prediction of what will transpire throughout the rest of the play. Please give specific details and explain how this story will play out.


     So because of the prologue, we already know Romeo and Juliet commit suicide, ending the feud between the Montague and Capulet families. I predict that Romeo finds out about the wedding for Juliet and Paris, and comes back to fight for her, or do something stupid like that. Romeo fights one of the Capulet's or Paris, and gets seriously wounded and Juliet thinks he's did so she decides to be idiotic and kills herself to be with him. There's a lot of fighting and a few other people die. Then it turns out that Romeo wasn't dead and when he learns that Juliet is dead he kills himself. Juliet and Romeo are buried together and the families never bother each other again.

Summarizing Romeo and Juliet


            The play Romeo and Juliet starts off with a sonnet, telling the reader what is going to happen in the play. We are told where the story takes place, Romeo and Juliet die, the Montagues and Capulets have a grudge against each other, and there will be a huge fight. However the readers are not informed when or how these events happen.
            In Act One of the play, there is a huge fight between the Capulets and the Montagues, which was started by Sampson Capulet. They are said not to fight again, or there will be consequences. Then we meet Romeo, who is upset over Rosaline, a girl who he supposably is in love with. His cousin Benvolio tries to cheer him up, but fails, and the scene ends with Romeo saying he will never love again. In scene two the Capulets decide to throw a big party. Juliet is told that she is to try and get along with Paris, because she is suppose to marry him. Instead she meets Romeo, who wasn't even suppose to be at the party, but his cousin Mercutio had connections with the Capulets and Romeo got in. Romeo and Juliet meet, they "fall in love", and at the end of the party they learn that their families hate each other. Romeo sneaks over the Juliet's balcony and they talk and he asks her to marry him, and of course she says yes.
            Only the friar, and Juliet's nanny know about the wedding besides Romeo and Juliet. After they get married Romeo goes to see Mercutio and Benvolio, but Tybalt; who saw Romeo at the Capulet's party, decides to come along a pick a fight with Romeo. Romeo refuses to fight him because they are family now, but Tybalt doesn't know that, and starts to beat up Romeo. Mercutio steps in and Tybalt and him fight. When Romeo tries to stop the fight, Tybalt stabs Mercutio and Mercutio dies. Romeo then fights Tybalt to the death to avenge Mercutio and kills him, but in doing so he becomes a criminal and runs off. The Capulets don't believe Benvolio is telling them the truth about Romeo and Tybalt, and Romeo is banished from Verona. When Juliet learns this she is more upset about Romeo's banishment, than her cousin's death. We leave off with Romeo sneaking out a Juliet's room, and runs off to Mantua, and Juliet learns that she is going to marry Paris on thursday. When she says she won't, her father throws a giant fit and says Juliet will either marry Paris, or he will disown her. 

For your blog today, we are going to stray from the rubric a little bit. I don't need you to reference the article you are reading. I need you to reference the play. Please come up with a new situation that you can think to put Romeo and Juliet in without straying from the Shakespeare's themes. For example, in Warm Bodies, the theme of forbidden love is present, but instead of being from rival/feuding families, it is between zombies and humans. Be creative and explain how at least three of the themes would remain consistent.

Alright so say that there's a cop (Romeo) and a criminal (Juliet). So say Benvolio and Mercutio are also cops and want Romeo to come with them on a mission. Romeo winds up arresting Juliet and they fall in love, and obviously that's not suppose to happen, because cops and criminals hate each other. Then Romeo sneaks over to Juliet's prison cell and offers to help her escape, and Juliet says yes. Juliet's convinces her cell mate to help them escape, and they do. SoTybalt's apart of Juliet's little gang or something. Tybalt wants to kill Romeo because Romeo arrested Juliet, but he doesn't know that Romeo has helped Juliet escape from jail. Tybalt tries to fight Romeo, but gets into a fight with Mercutio instead and kills Mercutio. Romeo then kills Tybalt, and Juliet's little gang of criminals say that if they ever see him near their streets again they'll kill him.

Based on what you know about Romeo and Juliet, how are these two stories similar? How are they different? Use examples from the article to support your claims.


Hodhan and Elmi's story is very similar to Romeo and Juliet's. For one they are both really stupid and completely unrealistic. Both men fall in love when they first spotted either Juliet or Hodan. In the end they all die, and they can't be together because of their families and who they are. Oh and both Elmi and and Romeo write poems about their love for Hodhan and Juliet, and they are five times older than Juliet and Hodhan.
Unlike Romeo and Juliet, Elmi and Hodan's families are not enemies, just from different social classes. There is no fighting that leads to a bunch of deaths, it is only Elmi and Hodhan who die from depression. Romeo and Juliet commit suicide so they can be together, something a pair of idiots would do. Elmi and Hodhan's story didn't last only three days, and they married other people and tried to move on unlike Romeo and Juliet.

Do you think Shakespeare is relevant today? Why or why not? Please remember to use examples from the text to support your claim.


Of course Shakespeare is relevant today. So many phrases that we used he had created, for example: Fight fire with fire, vanished into thin air, laughing stock, wear your heart on your sleeve, and all sorts of other phrases. Shakespeare with a huge impact on society today.

The characterization in Shakespeare also stands out, making Shakespeare relevant on a personal level to many people. His plays continue to be performed not because Shakespeare is famous, but because his characters feel very vivid and alive to viewers. While they may be kings, queens, and princes, they struggle with the same issues that many playgoers do, and they have very multidimensional, human characterizations on the stage which people can associate with.

 I have to agree that Shakespeare's characters are very easy for many to relate to. Romeo and Juliet is probably relatable for most teenagers. Maybe not the whole love at first sight and suicide part of the story, but about two people who can't be together because of an argument. They don't have to be in love with someone either, sometimes parents won't let their children hang out with certain people because they think that person is a bad influence on their own kid. I doubt it'd ever go as far as a huge family grudge and the problem results to suicide, but you get the main gist. The plays Shakespeare writes are very easy to relate to.

For your blog today, I want you to write a Shakespearean sonnet. We will go over the criteria on the board, and I encourage you to take notes. I don't expect you to finish during class today. It will be due next class; the beginning of next class.


Everyday you wake up feeling sad,
Your life is sometimes difficult I guess.
Really though it can't be that bad,
Other people deal with a bigger mess.

So don't you dare cry tonight,
Don't you shed a single tear.
Many have bigger monsters to fight,
Stop hiding in that shadow of fear.

Can't you see you've got it good,
Compared to a lot of the rest.
Maybe you should change your mood,
This should take a load off your chest.
Others deal with monsters much worse,
Treat your problems like a blessing or curse.

Please write your blog today about the two characters you met at the Town Meeting yesterday. Who were they? What was their job? Did they tell you anything interesting about themselves? Where did they stand on the law being passed? Why?

I met the plague and a nurse at the Town Meeting yesterday. In all honesty I didn't really get a lot of information, the plague was really simple, it's a sort of disease and its job was to get people sick. The plague didn't really care about the law considering it's not a human being.

The nurse is basically a nanny that takes care of rich people's children. She doesn't want the law to be passed because people in the Nobility class have to pay taxes. If they have to pay taxes that means they lose money, and if the people she works for loses money they can't pay her as much. That's about it, she didn't tell me anything interesting about herself like her hobbies, opinions on the Queen, she was a spy, if she was batman or not.

Dear Nathaniel,

           A law has passed allowing the poor to get a job and money. I'm pleased to know that the king is    sensible enough to create a law that helps our community for once, unlike our queen, who does nothing to help. Mary Queen of Scots would be a much better ruler than Queen Elizabeth. Anyways, since I am apart of the Nobility class I have to help by paying taxes that will go to the poor. I could not be more happy than to do so, after all it will be helping them a great deal. Also because of the new law the children, elders, and the sick will be given the help that they have been needing for so long. Children will be sent to an orphanage were they will be taken care of, and given a profession for the future when they grow old enough to work. Although I worry about those who are unwilling to work at all. They will be whipped in public until they make the decision to go and find work.
           I hope that things are going well for you, like things are going well for me. Maybe you could come and visit sometime, or I could come and visit you. After all I do miss Rose, William, and you quite a bit. Good bye for now.

                                                                             Sincerely, 
                                                                                     Ester 

Journal Entry #1


           Today I had to help with the plans to over throw Queen Elizabeth so Mary Queen of Scots can rule. We have to be more careful though, the Queen is catching on to us. My friend, John went missing a week ago and some believe he was captured by authorities. More and more of us are disappearing which is making it harder to go through with our plan. I am worried about being caught by the authorities, who knows what will happen to me if I am. Going through with this plan puts me at risk, and I am starting to wish I hadn't joined the Clergy after all. It is wrong to doubt my beliefs, and since I am committed to the Clergy, I cannot back down now.


Journal Entry #2

           I was caught by the police today during a riot against the Queen. They tortured me and several other Clergy's who were caught as well. They want to know where the rest of the Clergy are, but so far no one has said anything. I haven't seen any signs of John, and I worry that he may have been executed. If no one give information about the Catholic Clergy then we may all be put to death. I want to tell what I know but I know if I do then I will be a traitor.

Clergyman

Clergy is a term used to the formal religious leadership within some religions. A clergyman, clergywoman, clergyperson, churchman, or cleric is a member of the clergy, especially one who is a priest, preacher, pastor, or other religious professional. Catholic clergy in the Elizabethan Era were mostly considered traitors, and they were chased aggressively in England. Pope Pius V declared Elizabeth a heretic who was not the legitimate Queen and her subjects no longer owed her obedience.The pope sent Jesuits and seminarians to secretly evangelize and support Catholics. They wanted to replace Queen Elizabeth with her cousin Mary Queen of Scots, and several times plotted to overthrow her. Priests were often tortured or executed after caught unless they cooperated with the English authorities.
Schools were taught the official religion decreed by the Queen. Those who didn’t practice the official beliefs was often dangerous and those who believed in the “wrong” religion risked their wealth, freedom, and life. Clergy were mostly Catholics such as Bishops and Monks. People who supported Catholicism in public were excluded from the professions, sometimes fined or imprisoned. Bishops lived a life of luxury and dressed richly. They’d wear a hat called miter and wore many of the same clothes as the Federal lord. Unlike the Bishops, Monks wore loose linen or wool tunics. Men wore wool pants under their tunis and when it was cold they wore wool cloaks. The Clergy were people who worked in the church. It was a separate class once, then became classified under Nobility (gentlemen).

Do you think Mr. Smith has a right to whistle wherever he chooses, or do you think he should be stopped?  Why?  Please support your argument with information from the text.

To start off, who ever wrote this article was honestly wasting their time. There are much more important things to write about than a man's right to whistle in public, I don't understand the big deal. Mr. Smith can whistle where ever he wants whenever he wants, and if someone doesn't like it then that's too bad for them because that's the way life works. You get what you get and you like it and if you don't, well then that's too bad.

Two months later, Smith was arrested and taken to jail after police received complaints about his whistling in front of Starbucks at Middle and Exchange streets. The charge again was disorderly conduct.
According to the July 3 arrest affidavit, Smith was whistling loud enough to disturb businesses and people in the area. After being warned to keep the noise down, Smith allegedly started singing louder, "intentionally to annoy bystanders."
Smith's May summons landed him in court. Court records indicate he pleaded guilty on Aug. 22, 2012, to the disorderly conduct charge and agreed "to curb disorderly behavior (loud whistling) in the future."

To go so far and arrest a man for whistling too loud in public is really dumb. A simple "Hello sir could you please stop whistling? It's distracting me from my work." would have done just fine, but sending Mr. Smith to jail is taking it way to far. If people are a loud to carry guns in public without getting in trouble, I am pretty sure Mr. Smith should be able to whistle as loud as he wants. 

Do you agree with the author? Why or why not?

Yes I agree with the author, because gun movies do influence people. I know for a fact, because there are younger kids on my street, who somehow get a hold and watch these movies. They think that guns are cool and pretend to use them in games. They may only be young, but if they continue to think the same way when they are older, then that's a problem.

There's a huge distinction between reality and the movies. But we have a casual acceptance of guns and gun violence that we need to change if we want the slaughter of innocent people to slow down and, hopefully, eventually stop.

Gun movies send out a message, having guns are cool and it's ok to carry them with you. It's doubtful the director meant to send out that message, but it's there all the same.

Do you agree with the author of the letter? Should teens go to bed earlier or does school just start too early?  

Honestly I think school starts too early. Living with younger siblings, I've notice that younger kids wake up earlier than teenagers do, and have plenty of energy. I think that they should switch the time for elementary kids and high school, I wouldn't have a problem waking up at eight to go to school. Also it's harder for teenagers to do their best at school when they wake up early, and that has an affect on their grades. They don't have the energy to do the best that they can do this earlier in the morning, because they have no energy. I'd rather go to school later and get good grades than go to school early and get bad grades.

Identify who the protagonist of your novel is and explain how you came to that conclusion. Use specific evidence from website to support your claim.


The protagonist in my novel is Winnie Foster, and I know this because the book is written in her point of view. She is the character that shows up most in the book, you read mostly about her, you don't need to be a genius to figure out she's the main character.

Usually, in a story, the protagonist wants to reach a goal, but many obstacles are in his path to reach this goal.

Winnie's goal is to runaway from home because she doesn't like how her life is controlled every minute of the day by her mother and grandmother.

 There can be more than one protagonist or antagonist in a story.

I suppose if there was to be more than protagonist in Tuck Everlasting it would be the Tuck family. There are a few chapters that are even written from their point of view in the beginning. Their goal is to make sure no one ever finds out that they live forever or how they live forever, because if so everyone would want to live forever. No one would grow old, the world would eventually get too crowded because no one could die. The Tuck's play a huge role in this book and are far more than minor characters. 

What are you going to do for your project?  How are you going to accomplish this task?  What materials do you need?  

Making a poster about scenes in Touching Spirit Bear, almost like a movie poster. Work on it in workshop and in class. We need poster paper, water colors, pencils, markers.

What do you think this poem means? Please use examples from the poem to help support claims.


This poem means simply you always have a choice in life.

And looked down one as far as I couldTo where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

There are two paths, the first that has been ignored many times, just for how it looks. The other one is clean, better looking, and many people have traveled down that road. It is a quick statement of how the human mind judges things by what they see, not what they know. Seeing the first path, people assume that where they'll end up is bad. That is only an assumption, they can't possibly know what is at the end of the first path if they have never seen it. Yet they have made up their minds based on a silly guess that could be far from right and they take the path that everyone else has.

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference

This is an example of someone who took the other option, who decided to take a chance and go where everyone else has ignored. People choose the same path others took, while this guy made his own path; he didn't follow everyone else. The point Frost is trying to get across is you should never judge things based on looks, and the choices you make shouldn't be based off of other people's choices. If you never make your choices on your own, or you never take a chance and take the road less traveled by, you will never know if you made the right choice.

Do you think teachers should be armed? Why or why not?


Teachers should definitely not be armed, it only adds to the danger. Not only is it dangerous, it sets a bad example for the kids. It teaches them that you can solve violence with violence, which is not what we are aiming to teach them.

 "A gun safety course and good aim are not enough to prepare someone for a once-in-a-lifetime gunfight in a crowded school full of vulnerable students. Police and military personnel train strenuously to prepare for these situations, and even they sometimes make a mistake."

 Teachers are meant to teach children new things, they are not police. They weren't taught how to handle these situations, that's what the police are for. 

Do you think we should bring back the draft?  Why or why not?  Please support your argument with details from the article.

Yes I do think we should bring back the draft. In the past decade, more than 2 million soldiers have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. "The Iraq war took more than 4,422 lives and wounded some 32,000 in nine years; to date, 2,168 American soldiers have died and 18,215 have been wounded in Afghanistan." We are running out of heroes, who are willing to risk their lives and fight for our country, while the rest of us are sitting at home waiting for a miracle to happen. If we sitting gets us no where and that is what a lot of us are doing, going no where. Drafting people is a way of giving them a push in the right direction, to do something if they want a change.

Do you think it is fair that Time Warner charges people to lease their modem?  Why or why not?

No it isn't fair because they didn't inform people that they were going to start charging people. Time Warner just went a head and started charging people with out them knowing and made it harder for people to pay.

What is social justice? What are some of the issues that our society faces in terms of social justice?


Social justice is to treat all those in a community, equally, despite their race, religion, or who they are. Some issues are the "greater good" isn't being pushed to be a free thinking society.

Why did the governor pardon these people?


They pardoned these people because they were falsely accused of firebombing a grocery store in Wilmington, North Carolina. 

Introduction Paragraph

      Too often when people make a decision, their choice is affected by what they favor, and what they dislike more. Celia, a slave was trialled for the murder of her master Robert Newsom. Newsom had bought Celia, in the summer of 1850, brought her back to his farm in Missouri, and raped her. Over the next five years, Newsom would constantly rape Celia. Between 1851 and 1855, Celia had two children, the second one was Newsom's son. During in either February or early March 1855, Celia became pregnant. with another slave's child who she loved; George. Despite the effort Celia could not stop Newsom from assaulting her while she was pregnant. June 23, 1855 Newsom came into Celia's cabin and attempted to rape her again, and in defense Celia grabbed a stick and hit him hard on the head twice, killing him. Celia later admitted to killed Newsom. She was trialled, and found guilty for murdering Robert Newsom. During Celia's trial, Judge Hall made it impossible for Celia to be found not guilty, holding that the Missouri rape law did not apply to slaves, who were considered the property of their master. This put Celia at a bigger disadvantage than she already had. Since Celia was pregnant and a pregnant woman couldn't be executed under the Missouri law, Celia's hanging was scheduled for November 16, 1855. After giving birth to a still-born, Celia was helped to escape on November 11, 1855 and returned after the original execution date passed. On December 21, 1855 Celia was finally hung for her crime. Discrimination of race can often lead to an unfair trials, like Celia's, lowering the chances of African Americans being found not guilty. Often this makes the defendant guilty; no matter the evidence proving other wise, because of his or her race.

Based on what you have read, what do you think the best course of action is for the state of Maine?


     Based on what I've read, I think that Maine should allow a company to mine for gold, silver, and other deposits. This act provides jobs for many of those who have been struggling to find one. Despite the risk they are taking by doing this, there isn't really another option at the moment to consider, people need jobs to earn money now. However if doing this harms the water quality, this idea may not work out so well after all. Bald Mountain is said to the last relatively untouched place in the East, with a value beyond economic measure.