Academic Blog for Animal Cruelty- Horse Carriage

Hello NYS assembly member Michael Cusick, 

My name is Shannon Hui and today I’d like to talk to you about banning horse carriages in NYC.

I would like to start with a statistic, close to 70 horses are unaccounted for at the end of each year in New York City. Horses aren’t protected under the Animal Welfare act so the only protection that they have come from local animal control officials. The problem with this is that according to the experts, the anti-cruelty laws aren’t even ideal for horses. The officials also don’t have the resources to monitor whether or not the operators are following the regulations. This makes the whole process unenforceable and difficult to regulate.

Second, I would like to inform you of the instances in which horse carriages create dangerous situations for themselves and the people. Being that NYC is one of the most fast-paced cities in the world, these slow-paced carriages don’t stand a chance. Horses are prey animals and they fall victim to loud noises and startling situations. Because they are thrust into the danger of NYC transportation and traffic, they can easily be scared into making sudden movements and hurting themselves and others. NYC has the highest horse carriage accident rate in the country.

I would also like to mention the conditions in which horses are forced to work in. By law, horses can work for up to nine hours a day, seven days a week. With that being said, I want you to remember how they are literally nose to tail pipe for the majority of their workday. Sucking up exhaust fumes can cause respiratory illness and death. In addition to this, horses in New York City are forced to walk around with steel shoes on concrete floor. This is an unnaturally hard surface and can cause lameness. After a long day of work, most of these horses are forced to go back into stables less than half the recommended size by horse experts. This makes it virtually impossible for them to lay down or stretch their legs after a long day of work. It is barbaric the way we treat these poor, innocent animals and it’s time we made a difference.

To end my statement, I wanted to share a quote with you by Milan Kindera. “Humanity’s true moral test, its fundamental test, consists of its attitude towards those who are at its mercy: animals. “ With that being said, I ask that you, assembly member Michael Cusick have the heart and morality to sign the petition to pass the bill to ban horse-carriages in New York City for in order for us to create a difference, we must lead by example. 

Animal Testing According to BUZZFEED

Animal Testing and what we can do instead!

WARNING: IMAGES THAT MIGHT BE HARD TO SWALLOW

Look at this little guy! Do you see how cute his teensy little hands are? Doesn't he look like he just wants to be loved?

Now look at this guy. This is image they want you to see. This is what they want you to think animal testing looks like. 

This is what it ACTUALLY looks like.

Each year, more than 100 million animals—including mice, rats, frogs, dogs, cats, rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, monkeys, fish, and birds are killed in U.S. Scientists like to use the excuse that it's a small price to pay for science but these animals are forced to pay by inhaling toxic fumes, having to endure getting their skulls drilled in, and have their skin burned off. 

They are treated as if they are disposible. They are forced to live in cages, aren't allowed to socialize, and are tortured. 

IT'S JUST NOT NECESSARY!!!

Animals are biologically different than people. The test results are unreliable and inaccurate. The drugs/cosmetics they try on animals just can cause a different reaction in people! 

Aysha Aktar (a neurologist) states: No two humans are alike in their physiology. Even identical twins differ in their susceptibility to diseases and their responses to medications. If we can't reliably extrapolate from one identical twin to another, how can we expect to extrapolate results from different species to humans?

ALTERNATIVES

Scientists could use more modern vitro/silico methods which consist of studies with human volunteers, advanced computer modeling techniques, and using human cells/ tissues. By doing these methods, studies would be more cost/time efficient and more accurate. 

YAY!!!!!

Academic Blog

Social media has an all-consuming relationship with it's users. Social media has transitioned into a hobby being used solely for social purposes, into being heavily relied on for classes and for future careers. Social media impacts young people who are enrolled in academia. Social media sites, like Facebook, are now used as an interactive communicative resource for students and professors to swap and exchange information quickly and efficiently. Most courses now incorporate social media websites like Facebook and Twitter as class requirements, especially classes focused solely on communication. 
However, there should be more classes focused specifically on social media. These courses should not only be targeted just for communication majors, but should also be offered for business and marketing courses. The use of social media should be offered as general education course because of its permanence and relevance in almost every young person's life. Even if some people are reluctant to join social media sites like Instagram, almost every young professional has a Linkeden, which is used as a networking site. Being able to navigate the social media climate is integral for businesses to market their products. It is important for young college students to be offered courses on social media and how to use it to their advantage, either for personal branding or for business marketing.
Universities should offer more courses on social media because there is specific language that makes communication most effective depending on what site you are using, as well as there is a specific audience. If you are active on Instagram, the communication cues you would use would be visuals with filters appropriate to your layout. If you are on twitter, the language you would use would have to be short and concise, as you only have 140 characters to get your point across. It is important to know which language to use in each social media forum. With each social media site there is multiple channels you can communicate through, whether it be video, pictures, or text. All of these sites use hashtags, which help you communicate with a broader audience, especially if the hashtag is trending.
Social media classes should be taught on college Universities because many businesses are active on social media and use it to promote their businessness. Social media is an integral part of a young professionals life- socially, academically, and professionally. Social media can be used for self-promotion regarding jobs, especially now that employers will do background checks on social sites and generally require employees to have some skill in computer mediated communication. Social Media has become a profession and career in its own right and there should be classes on how to navigate the social media climate to most efficiently market yourself.

Professional Blog- Social Media and reality

 Social Media has become another "reality" for it users. It has become their "best" reality. Social media has laid out a platform for its users to present the best versions of themselves. What you see on social media may not be an accurate representation of the person's real life. Mostly everything on social media is constructed or contrived to heighten the appeal of someones day to day image. It is both literally and figuratively a filter on a person's life. Social media is everyone's highlight reel.   There was an article on babble addressing the way social media can hinder our perceptions of reality. They shared a YouTube Video that I felt strongly validated their point which is a point this blog post is attempting to reiterate.
 Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxVZYiJKl1Y 
 People who use media to present their best selves often forget that the people they follow are doing the same exact thing. The constant comparisons made on social media can be detrimental to young people's mental and physical health and overall affects their sense of self. Recently, a young YouTube and Instagram star, Essena O'neill, came out and openly talked about how social media and her excessive use of it made her depressed and unhappy. The constant need for reassurance through likes made her lose her sense self worth.  She could never get enough likes, or enough attention. She changed captions on various pictures on her Instagram in bikini clad photographs and said "...Stomach sucked in, strategic pose, pushed up boobs."
Here is the article:http://www.buzzfeed.com/beckycatherineharris/instagram-star-reveals-the-truth-behind-her-photos
Social Media and its devoted users are losing sense of their reality.  It is impossible to resist comparing your own life to someone else, especially if their page is filled with glamorous perfectly edited posts.  Social media and it's excessive use by its users is ruining peoples self worth and affecting their mental state.

The Candidates and their Plan

Their are too many issues for me to list for each candidate. Listed below will be their plan for one issue and underneath will be a link to their website to read up on it,. All info comes directly from the candidates website.

Hillary Clinton :
Economic Plan: Hillary believes the defining economic challenge of our time is raising incomes for hardworking Americans.

Too many families are working harder and harder, but still not getting ahead. Our country is standing again, but we’re not yet running the way we should be. From her first day in office to the last, Hillary Clinton will fight for you and for more take-home pay so you can get ahead and stay ahead.

Hillary understands that in order to raise incomes, we need strong growth, fair growth, and long-term growth. And she has a plan to get us there.

Website: https://www.hillaryclinton.com/issues/

Donald Trump:

Immigration Reform: "When politicians talk about “immigration reform” they mean: amnesty, cheap labor and open borders. The Schumer-Rubio immigration bill was nothing more than a giveaway to the corporate patrons who run both parties.

Real immigration reform puts the needs of working people first – not wealthy globetrotting donors. We are the only country in the world whose immigration system puts the needs of other nations ahead of our own. That must change."

Website: https://www.donaldjtrump.com/

Bernie Sanders: 

College: "In a highly competitive global economy, we need the best-educated workforce in the world. It is insane and counter-productive to the best interests of our country and our future, that hundreds of thousands of bright young people cannot afford to go to college, and that millions of others leave school with a mountain of debt that burdens them for decades. That shortsighted path to the future must end.

As President, Bernie Sanders will fight to make sure that every American who studies hard in school can go to college regardless of how much money their parents make and without going deeply into debt."

Website: https://berniesanders.com/issues/

Ben Carson:

2nd Amendment: "It was no accident that our Founding Fathers enshrined the right to own firearms as the 2nd element of the Bill of Rights, immediately after establishing our free speech rights. I cannot and will not support any efforts to weaken The 2nd Amendment.

The 2nd Amendment is a central pillar of our Constitution. Our Founding Fathers added it explicitly in order to protect freedom in the United States of America. It provides our citizens the right to protect themselves from threats foreign or domestic."

Website: https://www.bencarson.com/issues

I know that their are more candidates and more issues but I wanted to give everyone a taste of the candidates leading in the polls. If you would like to read up more on each candidate check out their website. Their is power in knowledge.

Why Don't The Wilpons Spend Money? Academic Blog

The New York Mets are coming off their most successful season in 15 years and the future looks very bright for their young staff and other upcoming prospects.  Now that its the off season the Mets have several areas to address in the offseason.

The big question everyone is thinking are 1)Will the Wilpons and Sandy Alderson give Yoenis Cespedes a 7 year deal? 2) Will Daniel Murphy accept the $15 qualifying offer?

The answer to those questions are most likely no and no.  This offseason you will most likely no and no.  The Mets cannot be handing out big contracts with all the young talent they will have to be locking up in the upcoming years.  Yes, Cespedes was a great pickup for the team in 2015, but giving him 7 years and over $200 million decreases the chance that they will keep all 5 of their young aces.

Daniel Murphy had a phenomenal postseason for the Amazin's and a great 8 year career in New York, but he can get more money elsewhere, so he'll more than likely go elsewhere.  Plus the Mets are high on 22 year old second base prospect Dilson Herrarea.

Now in the following seasons, starting at the end of 2016, the Mets and the Wilpons will have to focus on locking up their young aces.  It will be interesting to see what happens when they get to that point in time.  Even though the Mets play in the biggest market in the country, the Mets had the 21st payroll in the MLB last season.  The Wilpons are very heistant about giving out big contracts.

A big factor in this that no one really talks about, is their role in the Bernie Madoff ponzi scheme.  Its been reported that the Wilpons have lost $700 million as a result of Bernie Madoff.  Many people are saying that the Wilpons are hoarding money because of the payouts they had to do, but its hard to believe that when they are still not one of the highest payrolls in baseball.  It will be interesting to see how the Mets handle the contracts of their young guns in the upcoming years.

The Wilpons Must Spend Some to Keep the Mets a Winning Team

Despite a tough World Series in 2015, it was a great season for the New York Mets and there fans.  For a season that most thought would be a development year for the team, turned into a National League East division title and raising the National League pennant for the first time in 15 years.

Now that the season is over, general manager Sandy Alderson has a lot of decisions to make regarding free agents.  The team has several free agents including Yoenis Cespedes, Daniel Murphy, Tyler Clippard, and Juan Uribe.  It is unlikely the Mets bring back any of these names next season though.

A lot of these guys are asking for too much money or they just simply won't fit with the team next season, so I can see why Sandy and the Wilpons won't resign them.  What concerns me is locking up the young pitchers.

Many baseball analysis's and former big leagues have said that the Mets young pitching could potentially be the best rotation in major league history.  In order to do this the Wilpons are going to have to open up the checkbook and lock these guys up.  The Mets have 5 aces on their team, so they are going to have to be paid top money like aces.  Over the next couple of seasons their contracts are going to expire starting with Matt Harvey at the end of the 2016 season.

As a Met fan I'm so excited for our pitching, but worried about the future and how the Wilpons will handle this.  Event though the Mets play in the biggest market in the country, the Wilpons are very hesitant about handing out big contracts.  They handle the payroll as if the Mets play in Tampa Bay or San Diego.  The time to win is now and it all starts with signing Harvey, DeGrom, Syndergard, Matz, and Wheeler in the upcoming seasons.  The Mets have something very special that does not happen very often.  Its your move Mr. Wilpon.  Sign these pitchers long term and years from now we'll be talking about the greatest pitching staff in baseball history.