Comparative Politics Blog

  The firefighter's union in Tallahassee has been at an impasse regarding contract negotiations for over a year. Firefighters are resigning at a concerning rate, and the fire department is understaffed as a result. If I were to pick a single current issue that our mayor and local elected officials should focus on it is this. The fire department are a crucial yet often overlooked type of first responder. The problems they deal with are unique to their department, and the importance of expertise in this matter cannot be understated. Firefighters need unique training and must deal with unique and severe mental strain as a result of their jobs. Even after they have retired firefighters see incredibly damaging long term health issues related to a career of physical strain and smoke inhalation. It is a dangerous and often thankless job, so the fact that the capital of the state cannot find money to pay their union wages is plainly ridiculous. This points to a larger issue I have taken wi...

  The 13th paints an overwhelmingly grim picture of the American justice system and the ways in which it operates to furnish American business interests with an exploitable underclass. The film roots the prison industrial complex firmly in the context of American history, and the inexorable ties it shares with white supremacy. The documentary begins with detailing the way institutional white supremacy transitioned after the abolition of slavery, to a more covert cultural force that obfuscated its motives behind the rule of law. The 13th amendment holds slavery to be illegal unless the person has been tried and duly convicted of a crime. This was subsequently used as a legal loophole by rich white business owners to get incredibly cheap labor from prisons. The documentary details how a cultural conception of black men as inherently violent and threatening gave the rich southern class a moral underpinning for incarcerating them en masse. Through this connection the documentary portra...

  My daily screen usage was around an hour and a half, the majority of which was devoted to entertainment. This was honestly surprising because I thought it would be more. It feels like I’m always looking at my phone for texting, entertainment and even school. It’s very normal for people my age to be constantly on or by their phone. In many ways day to day life has changed and morphed around cellphone use. Most students use the canvas app to get updates on their school work and grades. This app is also used in many cases to complete and submit work, all on the students smartphone. One can’t reasonably be expected to keep a job without access to a smartphone. Work updates and schedule changes are communicated exclusively via text, to not have a phone could severely harm a person's employability. Most of the ways in which we interact socially have moved online with social media and dating apps. It is virtually impossible to exist in the world today without a smartphone. There is no c...