Printing Press EOTO 1

 All about the printing press. 

 Johannes Gutenberg was believed to have been born in Mainz, Germany, in approximately 1399. He created the printing press in 1440. In 1454 he put his printing press up for commercial use and made around 200 copies of the bible over three years. This was a pivotal moment in history and changed society towards the modern era. The printing press reigned as the best way to print books for three hundred years. 

 The first creations of things similar to the printing press date back to China in the 9th century with what is called, wood blocking using moveable metal. There was also a similar invention in Korea in the 14th century. He got inspiration from the traditional screw press and added letters and symbols that were reusable to create the desired text. Gutenberg owes a lot to the medieval printing press. It was modeled after the ancient wine-and-olive press of the Mediterranean area. A long handle was used to turn a heavy wooden screw, exerting downward pressure against the paper, which was laid over the type mounted on a wooden platen wooden press. It could print 250 sheets per hour on one side. He also invented this oil-based ink used to print his books which is more durable than normal ink and it was clearer to read. 

 Before the printing press, the only option was hand writing which is very prone to human mistakes and would take a lot of time. This means they were scarce and expensive so only rich nobles would have books. Usually, scribes working in monasteries were the ones who would copy books. After the printing press was invented books became worldwide and a lot cheaper. They also preserve information better than word of mouth which has a big impact on the history we know from that era. 

The Renaissance started to boom and got more traction after the printing press was invented. Ideas, discoveries, and religions were able to travel faster and farther. This wasn't just limited to Europe because It spread across the world and impacted countries by spreading European ideals. This also meant that literacy rates increased greatly. People got tired of having to have their books read to them and a lot of people started to learn how to read since it was more accessible to them. 

Religion had a very big impact after the printing press. Protestants spread their religion through these books and shipped them around the world and then more people started to become protestants. Protestantism encouraged the direct questioning of Papal authority, accused Church officials of abuses of power, and emphasized personal interpretation of Scripture.

Scientists were also greatly impacted because of the printing press. Scientist were able to share their ideas across the world. People such as Nicolaus Copernicus and Georg Peurback shared their ideas about astronomy and mathematics. 

Overall the printing press was one of the biggest and most influential inventions of that era. It helped the Renaissance and the spread of new ideas across the world. 

Digital Privacy

 

 

   All of these TED talks I watched were about digital privacy and what the government does with the information we willingly and unwillingly put online. Some examples in the Ted Talks were the police scanning your license plates and keeping track of where you are going even if you don't have a criminal record, leaked nudes, and your digital footprint. 

 

How do these issues affect you? You friends and family?

    If you care about the government tracking you and using social media against you then the issues affect you. If something is leaked online that you don't want on there, there should be ways to get it deleted without months of lawsuits and court dates. There should be more laws about nudes leaked that you didn't consent to. These can affect your friends and family too if they get put in bad situations where they don't consent to their pictures being online. There should be a quick and easy way to fix this problem with the culprit being punished.

What should the government be doing about these issues?

    I think there need to be more laws in place so that people who get put in situations where their nudes get leaked that they can get those photos deleted within 24 hours. I also think the people who leaked these photos should be punished with jail time or fines. They violated the person's life and they shouldn't just get a slap on the wrist. 

What can we do to protect ourselves from invasions of our privacy?

    One way you can protect yourself is by having private accounts on social media. That way you have to accept people if you want them to see your stuff. You can also make sure you use guest every time you are using a browser so it doesn't keep your search history. Another example is using Firefox or another search engine that is more private than Google or Safari. 

Check on Government Power

  Which of the Eight Values of Free Expression resonates with me the most?

All eight values of free expression are very important to the First Amendment. The one that resonated with me the most is the Check on Government power. I chose this one because it makes the most sense to me. I believe that people should always be able to have a say in how their government acts. The government in the USA consists of over 330 million people so not everyone is going to agree on everything but the government should always be doing what is best for our country in the end.

Ways that we have checks on government powers as individuals over the federal government are the vertical checks and balances. This makes it so that individual citizens always have some power over how their country is being run. Without checks on government powers, the First Amendment wouldn't be how the First Amendment is today. Our rights would be significantly different. 

Ways that the individual has power over the Federal is our ability to vote on who is in office. We get to choose who we want to lead the country. This is why you should always research the views of the person who you want to be president because you want the person who you agree with on major issues to make similar decisions you would while in office. 

Check on government power can also apply within the government with checks and balances. Checks and balances make it so not one branch has more power than another and they can veto each other's ideas or decide who has power over what. 

This happens a lot in our day-to-day society. For example, the debate over whether the state or federal have power over certain topics. One of the most recent ones that is very controversial is whether abortion rights should be managed by the federal or state. In 2022 Roe v Wade was overturned and this led to abortion rights being something states could proclaim as legal or illegal. Many people were upset about this and ways individuals can change this decision is through their First Amendment right to speech, press, assembly, and petition. We also can vote on which governor we want in office. That is a check on the state since the individual gets to decide who will be in control of the state. 

Another example that is in recent news is the federal and state fighting over education. Education is supposed to be a state issue but now we have the Board of Education which is a federal organization. Most of the education policy is decided at the state and local level but the federal still has a little hold over education. Federal having any power over education isn't in the constitution but because they provide funding they are able to establish legislation and standards. 

Lastly, social media is a big way individuals have power over the state and federal government. Using our First Amendment right to speech is a way to keep the government in check. Individuals can post their ideas and opinions for others to see which can discredit information and share information about the state and federal organizations. Social media is a big way now people find their news and what people see is happening in our society will lead them to which president to vote for. 

    Overall I think that checking on government power is one of the most important things in the First Amendment. 

The History and Workings of the U.S. Supreme Court

What did you learn about the Supreme Court that you didn't already know?

In high school, I took AP government sophomore year and remembered some information from that class. Most of my knowledge on the government topic was forgotten after taking the AP test. One thing I needed to remember was that there are only nine justices. For some reason, I assumed there would be more since so many cases are brought to their attention but since I now know there are only nine that makes sense as to why out of those petitions arrive each year they only accept 100-150 a year. 

  What is the most important takeaway point about the Supreme Court?

 One of the most important takeaways about the Supreme Court is that the Justices are probably there until they step down or die. I feel like this is an important class because every other branch has an allotted amount of time they are allowed to be in office but the judiciary branch gets to choose how short or long they want to stay. This is big in my opinion because there might be a justice who the vast majority of the public dislikes and there isn't much the public can do about it. Impeachment is an option but has only happened once ever so it isn't very likely. 

    What was the most surprising thing you learned?

    The thing I was the most surprised about is that Justices say they have pre-established views of the case before they go into it. They also said they normally don't change their minds in the middle of the case. That was surprising to me because the best way to do it is to go into a case with an open mind. I feel like going in before you have heard either side and already deciding the outcome might not be the best way to go into a case.  

    How did the video change the way you thought of the Supreme Court?

    Before watching this video I knew about the Supreme Court but I didn't know many details that make the Supreme Court what it is. I learned many new things and understand now how the Supreme Court actually works. I thought the Supreme Court was like 300 judges all taking the most important cases that were randomly given to them. I have now come to realize the justices read every single case and then choose what they would like to do and fight for. It is more personal that way and even more personal that only 9 people do it and not 300. The fact that all 9 Supreme Court justices listen to every single case and give their personal opinion while debating with the other justices over the result of the case makes it so much more personal and important. 

MY TOP FIVE SOURCES OF NEWS AND INFORMATION.

    In this day and age, people want short telling's of true information that doesn't drag on and take paragraphs to summarize. It is truly hard to find unbiased telling's of the events going on in the world today. Most news sources cater for one party or another and speak more opinions than facts. In my opinion, the news is so brain-numbing and just meant to make people feel a certain emotion which is usually hate or anger. That is the reason I don't like watching any news channel because it just makes me mad when I see adults who are supposed to be role models acting not as they should. This is why most of my news sources tend to lean towards more unserious tellings of what is going on in the world.

1) TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/foryou 

    This is my number one top source of news and information. I like it because the algorithm on TikTok changes depending on what I want to see the most. This does make my feed very biased and some to most of the information is untrustworthy. Most of the information on here isn't strictly news and is more of people's interpretation of what is going on in the world through skits to keep the watcher engaged. If I care about a topic of the news brought up on my feed I will look more into the information to see if it is truly facts or not. I only recommend it if you just want a less serious way of news-telling. 

2)Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/                                                  Instagram is very similar to TikTok because the information is biased to my feed and is untrustworthy. I mainly use it for more entertainment than a news source but it does get political from time to time. I would recommend it to people who want a more entertaining way of news telling but wouldn't recommend it because of the very biased and untrustworthy content. Most people who post on this app are more focused on getting views and likes rather than telling a 100% factual story.  

3) Friends/ family

      Friends and family definitely aren't the most reliable source of information but it is a main place I get my news from. For example, I heard that Trump had an attempted assassination because of a friend group chat. Even if we dont realize it every time you talk to a friend or family member you are sharing your bias with them. It is almost impossible to be completely unbiased so I recommend this to people who want to hear different of opinions from people with different backgrounds and values.

4) Radio/ Sirius XM: https://www.siriusxm.com/                                       Every time I get into my car or when I am getting ready in the morning I will listen to Sirius XM. Sometimes on certain news stations, they will tell you information about which roads are closed that morning and what the weather will be like which helps me decide some aspects of my morning. I like it because it is a fast telling of information in between music so it keeps me entertained. I recommend it because there are so many stations ranging from music to sports, and podcasts. 

5) TV News Stations 

   Another way I get my news is by happenstance. The TVs are always on in different cafeterias with news stations so I get news and information by seeing them. An example of this was the other day I was sitting outside of Slane but because of the windows, I saw inside that news stations were talking about Breaking News which was RFK Jr. now endorsing Donald Trump. I saw talk of him doing that when I scrolled through TikTok but seeing that on TV led me to believe it was true. I recommend always being aware of your surroundings because you never know what news and information you can gather from being aware.