Blog 2

Typically we're raised into our beliefs such as religion or politics and we don't stray from them when we get older. Our beliefs dictate the solutions we present and to deviate from that would be unfathomable to most. There are many problems in this world and because of it many sides find themselves in very heated debates arguing their solutions. Lots of these problems many claim there is only a single solution. Illegal immigration is one of those issues, most either want closed borders with Mexico or an open border.

There are several groups advocating closed border with Mexico, claiming the illegals that cross over are a drag on our economy, they smuggle illegal drugs over and are a cause of many crimes in the United States. The Minute Men are one of those groups who have even gone so far as to post volunteers at the Arizona Mexico border to call the border patrol when people are spotted trying to come over illegally. It is of this groups viewpoint that illegals are also a burden on our hospitals, racking up medical bills and not paying them. They claim illegals use our social system and receive social benefits, while at the same time pay no taxes by getting paid under the table. There have been examples of illegal criminals murdering U.S. citizens then fleeing to Mexico knowing that the Mexican government will not extradite murder suspects assuming they will face a death penalty in the United States. Another group of people thought to cross over the border are terrorist from middle eastern countries. Terrorist realizing the border is very porous know they can cross over it without a paper trail allowing them to remain unnoticed in the United States until it is time for them to commit some terrorist act. It is examples like these that people for closing the border use to fuel their argument that the U.S. Mexican border should be walled up and closed so no illegals may get across.

Several groups advocate an open border claiming the treatment of illegals is inhumane and it's unjust to prevent people from wanting to live a better life. In Phoenix Arizona a pregnant illegal immigrant Ala Chacon was arrested and forced to give birth while shackled, then wan not able to hold or nurse her baby for 70 days. There are many cases such as this in Phoenix of women being shackled during and after childbirth causing much discomfort to the pregnant woman. Families are often split up when one parent is an illegal immigrant and forced to leave the country. Pro open border groups also claim because it is so hard to get permission to come and live in the United States many die trying to cross the harsh desert to get to the United States. Our economy some claim is benefited by these illegal immigrants. By working for low wages they keep cost down and allow many things to be more affordable. To prevent the inhumane treatment and keep the economy moving the U.S. Mexican border should be open for all to freely come and go.

There usually only seems to two solutions for the illegal immigration situation in America and that is to open the borders completely or close it off. Senators John McCain and Edward Kennedy tried submitted a bill involving a guest workers program which would allow illegal immigrants a path to become documented and legal in conjunction with securing the border better. This is a compromise that both sides didn't like and as a result the bill was never passed. President Obama has a similar solution to secure the border, improve the immigration bureaucracy to allow immigrants to enter the U.S. faster and to remove incentives to remain illegal in the United States. Again though because this is a compromise solution it is being put on hold for now to be tackled another day even though the new Arizona illegal immigration law has created a huge worldwide controversy. It seems that for certain problems there is only one solution that will appease a particular viewpoint, and in a case like illegal immigration there are so many complexities to the issue it's hard to imagine a middle ground that both sides can meet at.

Propaganda

Organizations and governments often spread their ideology through the use of propaganda, spreading slanted information to either further their agendas or to discredit some other group. Worldwide governments have been using propaganda to sway public opinion for many years. In the United States free speech allows us the right to use propaganda in the public unlike many other countries that forbid public displays of viewpoints that don't coincide with the governments.

It is the pride of this nation, the United States of America, that anyone can stand up and vocally oppose our government without any worry of retaliaion. When President Obama gave a speech at a Democratic fundraiser for California's Senator Barbara Boxer a group of gay rights advocates started chanting over his speech. Whether their views of gay rights are accepted by the majority or not doesn't matter, they have that right to express their opinion publicly. To compare this with Canada, suprisingly they have a different veiw on free speech. When conservative Ann Coulter attempted to participate in a debate at the University of Ottawa the vice-president of the university Francois Houle warned her, " freedom of speech is defined differently in Canada than in the U.S. and that she should take care not to step over the line." There are times when just speaking or protesting aren't enough to sway others to a viewpoint and groups borrow from the techniques of adverstising agencies and implement a propaganda campaign.

As a recently as the Iraq war the United States government used propaganda in several ways. Pre-war our government convinced the public it was necessary to invade Iraq by exaggerating and lying about weapons of mass destruction housed in that country. At the start of the war leaflets were dropped over Iraq to persuade the Iraqi military that our fight is with Sadam Hussein and not them. During the war it was discovered in 2008 the New York Times uncovered that the military was feeding only good new about the war to convince the American public everything was going well. Governments aren't the only ones guilty of this type of propaganda, pro-life groups have been doing it since before Roe vs. Wade, they often have posters depicting aborted fetuses in grimm ways. A positive use of propaganda is when an organization like M.A.D.D (Mothers Against Drunk Driving), use propaganda to display posters of horrific accidents caused by drunk driving to discourage the use of driving while intoxicated.

Despite the sometimes untasteful tactics used in propaganda it is a cherished use of free speech in the free world. As soon as a government restricts the use of speech based on morality or tastefulness it becomes a dictatorship or communist type regime like the one in China. Recently China has censored much of the internet so that they may control the information the people receive. Anything that has to do with democracy or revolution is censored on the internet in China along with many other ideas that go against the communist government. Thomas Jefferson wrote, " all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights," is probably the best way to describe our freedom in the United States. It is these freedoms that make the United States stand out over all other countries.

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What is the role of modern technology in generating, spreading or sustaining conspiracy theories?

Modern technology has enabled many groups to spread their theories of conspiracy worldwide. The Internet itself has acted as a catalyst spreading conspiracy theories like a viral epidemic by way of email, web pages or podcast. DVDs, television programs and even radio programs such as coasttocoastam.com allows a podium for conspiracy theorist to stand up and preach their fantastic tales. Technology is not used just to spread the word, it’s also the tool organizations use to implement their conspiracy agendas and generate the hype, such as reversed alien technology, Nikola Tesla’s notes and Nazi technology are just a few that are claimed to be used.

Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez in one of his weekly television broadcast claimed it was the United States that caused the Haiti earthquake and then attempted to seize the country with our military. The claim seemed so bizarre to mainstream media that it became widely watched on YouTube. Machines that can cause earthquakes are not a new idea, it was Nikola Tesla, the inventor of AC generators which we still use today, once claimed he invented a small device which can cause small earthquakes. After his death it’s been rumored the United States government seized all of Tesla’s notes to continue his many inventions, including the earthquake machine. ₁

Not long after the terrorist attacks on the United States on 9/11 theories came out stating President Bush allowed the attacks to happen. A highly regarded conspiracy theorist Jim Marrs is just one of many that spreads this claim. On his website one can purchase DVD’s of his lectures, contribute to his forum, read his blogs or purchase any of his numerous books. Using these media sources Marrs claims the United States wrote documents in the 1960’s proposing to make terrorist attacks in the US and blame them on Castro, just to give us cause to invade Cuba. It is these documents that the Bush administration used as an outline to attack our own country just so we can invade oil rich nations.

Roswell, New Mexico 1947 marks one of the most famous UFO incidents in history. The general consensus is that a UFO crashed and the United States military retrieved an alien spacecraft and a few aliens hurt from the crash then covered the story up by claiming a weather balloon mishap. Dr. Joseph P. Farrell has a different theory which involves Nazi scientist that fled to Argentina after WWII. Dr. Farrell claims these Nazi scientist had developed saucer shape aircraft far beyond our current technology and flew them over the United States in an attempt to show their strength. To further his research Dr. Farrell accepts donations online using credit cards which will allow him to continue his radio and personal appearances lecturing about his theories. To find more information on UFO history and keep updated on current UFO sightings MUFON ( Midwest UFO Network) offers a newsletter that can be delivered to an email address for free from the website mufon.com.

Conspiracy theorist have embraced the podcast in order to cheaply and easily inform the public about there causes. Podcast are an extremely convenient way in which one can keep updated on conspiracy theories. The ability to download an audio or video show and put it onto an mp3 player to listen to at work, home, in the car or wherever is convenient and easy. Itunes offers an abundant amount of conspiracy podcast for free.

The use of modern technology has enabled the public to become more aware of many conspiracy theories that exist. The Internet has become the main technological breakthrough that has allowed the world to connect and communicate through its many inceptions like web pages, emails, podcast, live streaming video, blogs, and public forums or discussions boards. Online retailers like Amazon.com, Borders.com or Barns&noble.com have made it easier for people to search and acquire books on conspiracy theories whether it’s a physical book or a down loadable one which can be put on the Kindle or the new Ipad by Apple. Conspiracy theorist are using the new technologies with great success in spreading there ideas and will continue to do so with new future technologies not yet invented.

1.Nikola Tesla's Earthquake Machine: With Tesla's Original Patents Plus New Blueprints to Build Your Own Working Model. By Walter Baumgartner.