History: Natan Sharansky

There are many names throughout history that pop up as extra-ordinary. Whether they had tremendous courage, foresight, generosity, or they just happened to be in the right place at the right time.

Natan Sharansky was one of those people who was born into hardship but stood up against the adversity and never lost himself. He was born in the USSR to a Jewish family, and applied himself in sciences. He became a Soviet dissident and was arrested under the suspicion of being a US spy.

After spending numerous years in work camps, he was traded his freedom for two Soviet spies. For giving so much to the US he was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

He was also listed as one of the 100 most influential people by TIME magazine.

Politics: Transportation of Military Remains

As Memorial approaches one cannot help but to think of our fallen service men and women coming home, some intact, some apart, some taken from us.

I have been recently reading a lot about the rights and rituals associated with fallen military members, the changing of the guard at the the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, why we have a memorial day, etc.

It makes me proud to see that our government makes it a priority to get our fallen soldiers back to their families. Here is some information regarding the Transportation of Military Remains.

Etymology: Savant

Let's begin by defining Etymology; from Merriam Webster: "the history of a linguistic form (as a word) shown by tracing its development since its earliest recorded occurrence."

The movie Mercury Rising got me thinking about smart people, a.k.a. Savants. These people have innate abilities, such as memory, mathematical calculations and artistic expressions.

The word is named after a women from the 1940's named; Marilyn vos Savant. She is known in the Guinness World Record for having the highest IQ. To achieve this rank she took many intelligence tests and even wrote a newspaper column where people wrote in to try and stump her.

Her IQ has always been a case of controversy but then again, isn't everything beyond our understanding controversial.

History: The Trial of Socrates

It's always intriguing how history remembers people, will they be honored or vilified?

Socrates was a Philosopher from the ancient Greek times, but what most school students are taught about him is some of his great discovery/insight; Socratic "Teaching" method, which changed how people communicate with each other.

With everything in life though, there is an end. For Socrates, his end was by trial, and then sentenced to death. The means of execution was through drinking of Hemlock, the red dots on the stem are believed to be the blood of Socrates.

A little extra food for thought is that people suspect Socrates of being Autistic.

Politics: Pro Tempore of the Senate

I have been serving on my college campus's Associated Students Board of Directors for about 2 years now, and I am the current longest standing senator, in the United States Senate I would be called the; Senate Pro Tempore.

In most assemblies that position is elected but in practice it is typically the most senior member. The reason a position such as this is create is in case the Executive branch leaders are incapacitated. The Pro Tempore is the third in line of succession after the President, VP, and Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Its good to be in "it" for the long haul.

Publish Post

History: Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

One of the highest honors a person can hold is in service of one's nation, and for those who have lost their lives they are given the highest respect.

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is for those "known but to God", and it has been guarded since 1937, and for those who serve this nation I can guarantee it will continue to be guarded unto we all pass.

A soldier fights not because he hates whats in front of him, but because he loves whats behind him.

Politics: State Secrets Privilege

Another huge interest of mine is in Public Policy and Politics. I love to learn about laws that can either disclose or remove information from the public. One of these laws is regarding Evidential Law, it allows the court to choose to use testimony or not.

The State Secrets Privilege is a law that allows the court to exclude evidence from a case based solely on the claim that it could be sensitive information or a harm to national security.

I believe the incipient for this post was due to a news broadcast that was discussing the rights and influence of the government in court heairngs especially regarding tort laws.

Society: Boxing

After watching Manny Paquiao defeat Ricky Hatton, one of the announcers compares Pac-Man to a boxing legend, Henry Armstrong. That instantly got all my friends watching the fight to ask, "who is Henry Armstrong?" so I jumped on my Blackberry and quickly Googled him.

Born in 1912, African American and Native American boxer, and he is the only boxer to hold three world championships at the same time!

Definitely someone to check out

Psychology: Ethics

So I have a huge interest in ethics, how to choose them, improve them, and test others to see their true values. If you were to study adolescent development or any human development course you would probably have a section on ethics, a person's values, or morals...

A few months ago a friend of mine told me about a way to test people on their ethics. It is called the Heinz dilemma; developed by Lawrence Kohlberg.

These dilemma's ask "what-if" questions, so there is never a "correct" answer but instead what matters is that person's justification behind their motives.

Purpose:

So I like to ask a lot of questions, not to be annoying, just so I know. It seems like one of the common questions asked of me is; how do you know that?

My typical response is because I read and ask a lot of questions. Another characteristic of mine is how I do better when multitasking, I like mind-mapping and that's why I love Wikipedia.

I hope to provide insight into topics that in my mind are not always connected but are definitely interesting, hope you enjoy.