Stand Your Ground Law

SYG law has been a huge topic that has came up in many different cases. This law has allowed a lot of innocent people to go to jail and guilty people to go free. In several cases such as the Trevon Martin, Marissa Alexander and the latest Jordon Davis cases in my opinion are and are not examples of the stand your ground law. Trevon Martin was an innocent person who was walking home from the store and because there was break ins in the area and he had a hood on his head he easily became a target. The neighborhood watch person who committed this crime was told not to follow this man and he did anyway and ended up killing this young man. Marissa Alexander on the other hand had report abuse in her relationship and because she shot into the air she was sentenced to a x amount of years in prison. Jordon Davis was killed due to the volume of the music him and his friends were listening to.

Jordon Davis murder lawyer is now trying to use this law to say that Dunn saw a shotgun that's why he fired into the SUV that Davis was in. Rather or not he did or did not see a shot gun 9 times was way too many times to fire at someone. Marissa Alexander reported her abuse and still felt threatened nobody knows the situation she was end when she did what she did but she had reports n file so why is she sitting in prison right now. Trevon Martin's killer has lied to police and has been set a bond and released and went back to jail and he still hasn't even been sentenced in this young man's death.

SYG law has allowed drug dealers to go free of murders and other illegal things they do. It also have people scared to possibly defend themselves because they don't know if they would honestly be in the wrong or not. It seems that everybody is now trying to use this law and say anything to get off this law should be examined closely and also explained in public so a person can know what to expect as a outcome to a crime they commit. This law is trying to be used to much in cases where it shouldn't even be brought up. Some people can use this law and some can't to me this is a special law that should only be used when evidence is available such as Marissa Alexander's case.

Graduation Increase

Being a graduate of Terry Parker's class of 2011 its a good feeling to hear that the graduation rate is on the rise. More graduating students is good it doesn't exactly mean more kids will be in college but it's good to even have a high school diploma.

Florida's federal graduation rate rose by an unprecedented 3.9 percentage points in 2012, moving to 74.5 percent of students graduating from high school within four years.
 

Within in 4 years the graduating rate has increased which is good. I think this would have a lower crime rate because kids are so focused on finishing what they have to do to get out of school. I applaud the kids for trying so hard but I also think it has alot to do with the dedication of the teachers and the parents pushing the kids to do their best and being by their child side 100%. This is a good look overall.

I think it doesn't matter how many years you are in high school as long as you walk across the stage with a High School Diploma. These high school student are making not only themselves proud put their parents and the whatever state they stay in.The good part about this report is that the most risk schools such as Andrew Jackson and Raines High school are also seeing increases in their graduation rate, this shows that the students and staff at each and every school are working as a team to get the job done and out of school.

Could've Been Avoided

This was a sad story to hear about. This young innocent teen was killed due to the volume of him and his friends music.

Davis was killed Friday night when 45-year-old Michael Dunn shot into the SUV Davis was inside, authorities said. Police said Dunn fired his gun eight or nine times in a dispute over loud music.
 

Jordon Davis was killed on Friday November  23, 2012, the day after Thanksgiving at a gas station on the Southside of town. Jordon was in the car with 3 of his friends when Micheal Dunn appaerntly parked next to them in the parking lot of the gas station and asked them to turn down their music apparently Dunn asked them to turn the music down and they didn't. This resulted in Dunn pulling out a gun and firing it 8-10 times, Dunn fired his gun and Davis ended up being the life that got taken away too early.

This is a situation that could have easily being avoided. I feel like that everybody is entitled to their own opinion and have their different music that they listen to. These four teens had their music up loud because that's what they enjoyed, Dunn has his own opinion on how high a volume should be on music. Dunn could have avoided this by easily moving his car or simply ignoring the music they had up. Davis was in teh back seat of the SUV, Dunn's lawyer is now saying that the teens had a shotgun in the truck.

This is the second teen from Wolfson who have died within a 6 month period. First it was Jackson now it's Davis, these both were senseless crimes and neither if these kids deserved to die. Jackson was sleep in her bed and a car ran a stop sign and killed her and now Davis was shot and killed. The crime right in Jacksonville is rising tremendously and it's sad that the kids who are getting their life took are so young and still have their whole lives ahead of them.

In 2008 I Witnessed & In 2012 I Took Part

Four years ago, it was a first, the breaking of a racial barrier. Tuesday night, it was history redux.

In the midst of national splintering and a time of deep ideological animosity, Americans elected President Barack Obama to a second term. And thousands rejoiced in his victory, one that seemed sweeter and, perhaps, more significant.
 

On November 07, 2012 Americans all over the world voted for the Barack Obama to have his 2 term in the white house as the president of the United States. As my followers on twitter was saying last night as we watch the election this was a "finger nail biting" election it was so close to call. Some Obama supporters had gotten butterflies in their stomach at the beginning of the race because Romney was up on his electoral votes, which determines the president  by who ever reaches 270 first. I personally applaud Mitt Romney for even stepping up to the plate and running for president, but we just couldn't afford another  (Mitt)stake compared to what George Bush did when he was in office for 2 years. From watching the debates I think both the president and the governor had both pros and cons on why they should when the seat of being the nation's president. I saw on Facebook, Twitter and even Instagram that their were several people saying that Obama didn't deserve to have that seat again. My problem with that is everybody who was eligible to vote Bush into office for 2 terms gave him 8years to screw up the world why can't Obama have 8 to fix it?


I also saw on the internet where Romney stated that he was going to take several things from Americans if he were to get into office, things such as foodstamps,financial aid, medicare,medicaid,and the abortion. To me this race wasn't in Romney hands because taking financial aid from a college student that means less opportunities to do better in life and dead end jobs. So me as a college student and several other college students didn't want to have to drop out of college. As far as medicaid and medicare there are so many elderly people who can't afford health insurance so why would he want to take the health insurance they do have away from them. They wouldn't have any way to prolong their lives or go through certain operations or even get prescriptions. These are older men and women that aren't working. I can personally understand the foodstamps because their are so many young people abusing the system they get foodstamps and either sell them or have a crab boil or cook out when they can easily get up and get a job just like everybody else. And abortion I think any woman should be able to have control over her body. I personally don't believe in abortions but if a woman feel as though she doesn't have the ability to care for a child, yes she shouldn't have sex, but why can't she have an abortion and have another baby when she feels she is able to care for a child.Also what about woman who are getting raped and ending up pregnant what are they to do if they aren't in a stable place to care for a child but can't get an abortion? These were cons that I didn't like about Romney because I feel like he was only thinking about himself and his family.All of his kids are grown with college educations. Everybody isn't able to have a full ride to college so why aren't they able to use what they have. I think the nation made the best decision every and they wont regret it.

Tragic Story

 

News4jax reported on October 22 that the Monday before (10/15/12) this mother f 3 was walking her dog in the Jacksonville Beach area and was caught in the middle of gun fire and is now paralyzed. Her mother spoke to channel 4 news and was pleading for two suspects that are at large to turn themselves in.

Iesha Mann was shot in the back when she was caught in the crossfire of a gang-related shooting in Jacksonville Beach. She was walking her dog near the intersection Third Avenue South and Seventh Street South the night of Oct. 15 when she was struck by the gunfire.
 

One suspect was also shot and later arrested on attempted murder charges. This story is so sad to me because this beautiful young life has changed tremendously and these suspects don't have a care in the world. They can't even swallow their pride and turn themselves in and admit that they were wrong. This young lady have two handsome boys that as of now she can't be apart their lives the way she or them would want her to.To me it's even sadder when one of her boys go to her and tell her that he's glad the bullet didn't kill her cause it would've killed him too. You would think that if these men have kids they could relate because they wouldn't want it to happen to them or their kids mother but they are still out like they did nothing. Iesha is appearing to be a very strong woman. Most people after this type of incident would probably think their life is over but she has hope. her mother stated that she told her that she's just glad to be alive and also told her mother don't cry for her pray for. Now that's a strong woman,the fact that she's still pushing on and being strong shows that she wouldn't let things get her down. Reading the comments on News4jax , there was one that stated that this young lady was on section 8 and should be careful and mindful of where she decided to move at. In my opinion I don't think Section 8 have anything to do with this situation so what if Iesha is on Section 8 that doesn't give these gang bangers the right to paralyze someone and still be on the streets. People need to be mindful of what they say because this mother is hurting, no mother ever want to have to go through this and for people to say things like this and they haven't been through it just shows their lack of concern and sympathy. May God be with this young lady every step of the way on her road to recovery.

 

Playground Safety

News4jax reported on October 25 that last year in December that a 3 year old was at daycare and picked something off the ground and put it in her mouth.The little girl's mother was on the playground at the time of the incident and was the one who saw it and told her child to take it out of her mouth. Once the child removed the item from her mouth the mother noticed that it was a used condom. This specific daycare is part of the Head Start program run by the Jacksonville Urban League on Ionia Street and is alsothe site of the city’s Robert F. Kennedy Community Center and Park.  This incident has resulted in an entire year’s worth of fear and worry for her mother that the child has a sexually transmitted disease or possibly HIV because the condom tested positive for gonorrhea and it can take up to a year for these kinds of diseases to show up.

During a interview the mother broke down because of the last year of fear her and her child have been through. The mother stated that if it happened to her daughter it can happen to someone Else's daughter.

“I lift up my head and I saw her put something in her mouth and I was like, ‘get that out of your mouth!’ And someone said see what she had in her mouth and that's when I found out she had a condom in her mouth," explained Sanders.

 During the interview when Adrienne asked Sanders what was going through her mind when she realized what her daughter had put in her mouth she said,

“Honestly, I was like what the hell is that? I was very upset, I was shaking, I was crying."
 

This is a very sad case. The mother had to experience her child in this situation and now her  and her child's life has taken a tremendous change. This mother doesn't know what to think. I've read this story and also say it on the news the day that it aired. I have now read the comments that's below this story where people saying that a 3 year old wouldn't put things in their mouth that the little girl would be out of that stage at the age of three and other things such as why is the child care facility the one to blame.

Number one I've worked in child care before. At the age of 3 kids actually do still put things in their mouth, they are still kids at the age of 3. The overall age for a child to be out of the stage of putting nasty things in their mouth is normally around the age of 3 or 4 but you also have to realize that a beginning stage of a 3 year old they aren't fully 3 yet they still have I guess you would call it a 2 year old mind. So yes it is possible for a 3 year old to still put things in their mouths.

Secondly I do agree that the daycare should partially be at fault for the simple fact of that after working in child care one of DCF's policy is to check the playground before taking kids out to play. When an employee inspect the playground they are suppose to search for everything from insects to trash. Apparently what ever worker, if any, that inspected the playground that morning either didn't do the proper procedures or really didn't do it at all because if they did they would have saw this condom and would have gotten gloves to remove it from the playground. And this particular daycare should have been very cautious because this facility is also open to the public.

To me there isn't an excuse in the world that this daycare can give to the news or DCF because this little girl's life can change forever. And now when she get older she'll have to live with that because a worker didn't do their job and DCF wasn't even notified of this incident. There has been so many different incidents at day cares lately some parents are going to be very nervous about putting their child into a daycare. I'm not a parent yet and I am nervous for the sake of my future kids,do nervous to the point where I don't want them in a daycare until they are old enough to actually know better and talk because this child care workers aren't paying any attention to the kids that's their responsibility.

 

Homeless Shelter

Every where you go around the city of Jacksonville you will see a homeless person. It's very sad that alot of people are down and out in this way, and to think that these numbers are still rising day by day. On October 17, 2012 News4jax reported that city officials were considering using the old downtown Jacksonville Armory Building at State and Market streets on the edge of Springfield as a possible day shelter for the homeless is ridiculous. Alot of people may be upset by this and the building that the city may potentially use for the homeless shelter but we all have to think about the way these people feel about being homeless period. I think this is something the city needs compared to the amount of homeless people are downtown and around the city period.

The armory is one possible site, and so is the old Lee and Cates Glass building downtown on Forsyth Street. The city was also considering using a building next to a community corrections center downtown on East Church Street, but it was recently torn down.
 

This would be good for the city to get some of these people off the street. Considering the fact that winter is right around the corner these people are going to be under a bridge cold and not able to get the warmth we have because they don't have anywhere to go. Homeless people come from all aspects of life, some are people who lost their job and then resulted in losing their home, and some are Vets,people who fought for our country and to protect us. I don't think any Vet should have to sleep under a bridge and not have a home cooked meal or a hot meal at all, these are people who fought wars, and for the country so that we can be free. I think using this building or any other building Downtown would also be a good idea because it would be convenient for the homeless who want to get off the streets, the bus station is there, a few convenient jobs that may or may not hire these folks. At the end of the day we can't just think about ourselves and the fact that we have a warming, cozy home to go to every night we also have to think about these people also so I'm in favor of using the building for a homeless shelter.

Welcome Home Troops

Around 100 troops returned home early Sunday morning to their loving families ready to greet them from their Afghanistan deployment. These soldiers were greeted by their families and other Americans. The unit spent over 6 months on deployment due to a Operation Enduring Freedom.The 202nd Red Horse deployment is an engineering unit stationed at Camp Blanding. Most of the troops live in Northeast and Central Florida.

Jasmine Harris' father were one of these troops that were welcomed home.

He missed my college graduation, but he bought me a new car as a graduation present, somehow he made that happen from Afghanistan," Jasmine Harris said.
 

These troops are dedicated to their job and are always willing to sacrifice their families and their lives to serve our country.We often sit back and don't think about what these families go through while their loved ones are gone away  for months at a time. These troops get alot of respect from me as a person because they don't have to do what they are doing they made the decision to swear in the military and serve our country.

They missed so many events when they are gone away,and their families always feel some type of emptiness when their loved ones isn't at the table for Thanksgiving, or isn't there to watch them open up their gifts on Christmas. So if we were to somehow take a walk in these families shoes we would have some sense of what the feel and should appreciate them 100%.

 

Insane People In The World

It's a very hurtful thing when any parent trust someone with their kid(s) and later finds out that the person is nothing but a monster. These people are getting as bold as a lion doing anything to kid(s) and assuming the police are so silly that they'll get away with it. News4Jax stated that the police released a statement saying that the child was in life threatening conditions after the babysitter called 911 and reported the child as unresponsive,the police stated that the child was taken to the hospital with life threatening conditions due to swelling of the brain ,which indicates foul play.

Jacksonville police said the man was watching four children younger than 5 years old, including the 11-month-old baby boy, Wednesday morning at Ribault Bay Village Navy Family Housing in the 1000 block of Bunker Hill Court in Mayport.
 

Not only is the babysitter being questioned but this was also a Navy family,so these are people who are serving our country. It's no telling how many times they have left their kids with this babysitter and if he indeed do something to the child this now rise questions on what else could he have done to the child at some point in time.

I think that if the job was too hard for the man or he felt as though he could no longer handle it he should have been an adult about the situation and let the parents know that he could no longer handle the job. But instead if he did, he  chose to harm an innocent child and now that child is fighting for his life while there's nothing wrong with him.

These babysitters and daycare centers are rising more and more questions for parents on what they are doing to their kids while they arent around. These parents are going to begin not trusting no one with their child or are going to start requiring certain things for someone to babysit their kid. People can't be trusted just because ypou know them. Kids are blessings and no child deserve to be harmed in any way.

Monsters Out & About.

The Columbia County Sheriff's Office on Wednesday night arrested a 42-year-old Arkansas sex offender who they say admitted he traveled to Lake City to meet a 17-year-old girl for sex.
These monster are increasing day by day. I don't know if it's them or the minors want to grow up so fast and throwing themselves at these older wo/men.

Swanson was convicted of rape and sexual battery in Arkansas and is listed as a Level 3 sex offender in Arkansas. That state defines a Level 3 offender as offenders with "a history of repeat sexual offending, and/or strong antisocial, violent or predatory personality characteristics. These are individuals whose offense and criminal history require notification throughout the community."
 

 News4jax stated that the girl's father called the police to report that he thought his daughter had sexual contact with Swanson. After Swanson was apperhended he confessed that he had traveled from Arkansas to Lake City to have sexual contact with the girl and also stated that he had met the young girl through a chatline. My question is where are her parents when she's on these chatlines and giving older men an open invite to come to her home or home town for sex. I don't thing that it is safe to be over protective of your kids because they are still going to be sneaky and do what they want, but some parents I think should monitor their kids more carefully,especially the minors with these type of people walking around.I think not only should these wo/men be getting in trouble for what they do I truly think the kids should get some type of eye opener or punishment.It's a difference in walking in public and just being lured off and raped and giving an open invite to your house. Many people can't help themselves if they are being raped but these young kids who are offering sex to grown men and women without a hesitation can help themselves because they can avoid that in many ways if they stop trying to grow up before their time. In situations like this both parties are wrong he knew better and she did too. I don't think these sick indivduals should be out and about when they get ready, especially if they have a past and is already registered as an offender.I just hope this new generation of kids slow down before it's too late for them and these grown wo/men stop jumping for the first thing that offers sex to the them.

Michelle Obama Visit to Gainesville

 
On Monday, September 17,2012 first lady Michelle Obama spoke to gator fans,graduates and current students of UF at the O'Connell Center. Michelle helping her husband reach out to college students. During her speech Michelle stated that her and the president understood what student debt felt like.


Our combined student loan bills were actually higher than our mortgage, so when it comes to student debt, believe me, Barack and I have been there," she told the understanding crowd.
 

Michelle brought out a huge crowd today in Gainesville.I think it's very important that the Obama's are reaching out to not only citzens of america but also to college students. Reaching out to college students is good because some colleged students don't understand how important it is to vote. For Michelle to mention to the crowd that she and her husband has felt what they feel with student debt I'm sure it was a eye opener for most of the students. Some people may feel like nobody knows how it feel to be in college struggling day by day to pay off loans but when your first lady can relate to you that's a huge deal. You now have someone to relate to and as Michelle stated in her speech that's why her husband fought so hard to keep interest rates down and double pell grant. They are helping college students out tremendously and each and every college student should and I'm sure they do apperciate all that the president has done.

This is a swing state and a lot of people are going to go out and vote for him, and they’re targeting the right demographic, I think, to get them moving," said Breton Hamewood, a recent college graduate. "Students don’t really vote all the time, so it’s hit or miss. They don’t realize how important it is.
 

 





Crime Rate Increase (Raines Shooting)

Crime rate increase day by day.

Jacksonville's crime has had a tremendous increase in the last couple of months.Just recently on September 08 2012 William M. Raines incountered another shooting at a night football game. New4jax stated that the male was in his late 20s and was in critical condition.



A man in his 20s is in critical condition following a shooting near Raines High School after Friday night's football game against Lee High School, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.

Officers responded to the 6000 block of Raines Vikings Way in Northwest Jacksonville about 9:30 p.m. Friday.

JSO Sgt. Dan Janson said a fight broke out near the parking lot after the game, and as police tried to get through the crowd to stop it, shots rang out.

"Obviously there was a lot of pandemonium going on, the crowd got pretty upset. The officer discovered that one person had been shot," Janson said.

 

 

The crime rate in Jacksonville has gotten to an all time high. Reading the article police say witnesses stated that the fight started after a soda was thrown. Due to the fact that a soda was thrown it lead to a fight that then lead to gun play. JSO has let so many officers go seems to me they really needed those officers. We have citzens killing over the simplest things from a drink being thrown to drugs. JSO to me needs to step their game up because to many people are being injured over nothing. Ok its understandable that JSO can't stop people from shooting and hurting others but they can try and get these folks off the street. This crime rate is so bad you have some people who are scared to walk out their door.They are moving from neighborhood to neighborhood to get away from crime but every where we turn its a crime. This has to stop.