THIS POST VIOLATES OUR POLICIES; IT'S VISIBLE ONLY TO YOU

So someone went around flagging my stuff yesterday... Not cool! I've been through the Policies & Principles like a million times and the same posts on another community are all fine. I wish Google+ would tell me what I was flagged for. I'm sure it was somebody who didn't like where the conversation was going and decided to go around and flag everything I posted in that community, since it was just one community I posted in. I understand flagging the guy who got really angry at your comment (and the comment about the comment I saw was really bad... It was promoting dangerous activities, very hateful, definitely harassment, and very violent), but don't punish me by flagging all my stuff!

Here are the list of Policies & Principles, and if you can find anything that I say that might even remotely point towards violating any of this, please let me know! I know all my topics are controversial, but that is the government for you!

Illegal Activities

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Hate Speech

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Very sad and depressed,

Emily

Pistol Grips, Shotguns, and ALICE

Troy Landry and sons with two 13ft+ alligators at the market

I was watching The Daily Show with my brother last night and Jon Stewart talked about the gun ban. At first I had a problem with it, since you know... I live in Alabama... where if you don't have some weapon on you, you don't value your life all too much. The news made it seem like Obama was banning everything! Then I found out it was only things like assault rifles. There is a full list here. I have no idea what most of those names mean, but I don't see a pistol or a shotgun on there and I would be super shocked if you needed an assault riffle to shoot a deer. And if Troy Landry can catch them 'gators with just a pistol, you can protect yourself with a shotgun.

Still from the conference with the guy and the pistol grip.

In the satirical news report he shows a clip of a man with a large picture of a shotgun and he is holding a pistol grip. He starts babbling on about how adding the pistol grip to the shotgun will make it illegal. Then it goes back to Jon and he makes a witty comment along the lines of "It would still be a picture of an illegal shotgun with a pistol grip." I was dumbfounded and I came up with the smartest solution in the history of time... Don't put a pistol grip on a shotgun. WOAH! Who knew it was that easy?

Then this lady tells this really detailed story of this woman who injured a burglar with a gun and saved her family from harm. She argued that it would do more harm than good to ban guns. The person being questioned by the woman just looked down at her and deadpanned, "From what I remember of the story, the gun she used would not be on the list of banned weapons." At this point my brother and I are laughing so hard along with Jon Stewart, then she proceeds to stumble over the words "I don't remember what weapon she used." We paused the television at this point to laugh at the stupidity of the statement. You can give such a detailed recount of the incident but you can't remember what weapon she used while discussing gun control.

Scary enough for a date, huh?

Logically, no one needs a freaking assault riffle. I mean, it would be chaos in Alabama if we didn't have shotguns to cock on the front porch while Daddy waits for the prom date of his daughter, but in reality We really don't need military grade weapons for that, shotguns look just as scary (especially in the hands of the father). So I really hate the idea of banning guns all together, but only a select few make sense. People are just so caught up in the fact that the government is banning guns that they forget that they really don't need that arsenal of AK-47s in their back room closet.

What got us in this mess? Oh, right, school shootings... Recently I found out that the media is seriously twisting the story of the Newtown shooting. It's CRAZY! Watch this video and you will no longer believe that Emilie Parker is a real child anymore. I am not denying that it happened, but the media gave a face to the shooting through a non-existent child and managed to misinform it's audience about the whole thing (notice how there are no simulations unlike every other school shooting)

This shooting has the schools frantic. They finally realized that you need to get the hell off campus if the shooter is nowhere near your building. My school has been doing lock-down drills like crazy. They gave us a new procedure called ALICE, and I have no idea what it stands for... Maybe Alert, Lock-down, Inform, Contact, Evacuate? They even showed us a simulation of Columbine and the Theatre students of Auburn University created a video demonstrating the new procedure and the poor kid in the video got shot over and over and over. It was AWFUL! I left the room and vomited after the Columbine video. They even showed the victims begging for their life... I just cannot wrap my head around it.

After the videos (in my AP Government class I might add) we started discussing tactics. Then we got a little silly and started saying "well what if there is a fire and an intruder? They could have set the buildings on fire to get us out." Then we realized... What if there was more than one intruder and we all left the buildings and they massacred us? We came up with a bunch of crazy scenarios and realized that there was no definite way to keep us safe from intruders, but if approached we were just going to have to go with our instinct and let the adrenaline take over and get us to a safe place.

I am sorry, I kind of went on a tangent... Oh well... Best thing to do in both situations is to think logically. You don't need a military weapon and no intruder is safe.

Thanks for reading!

Love,
Emily, The Yellow Umbrella

Brain Goop TV?

I was recently shown a television show... I think Vampire Diaries... but my friend was really eager to get me watching this television show. I watched the first two episodes and my friend asked how I felt about it. I said that I felt that it was going to be boring because the main girl will end up with the blond brother and somewhere in between fall in love with who I referred to as the "evil-sexy" brother. I also remember saying something about her brother getting out of his dark emo hole and progressing into another after loosing a few girlfriends and the sassy blond friend was going to get herself killed. I ranted a little more about how cliche it is and yada yada while she just gawked at me. She said I just zapped through most of the major plot points in each season. Of course I did, it's that predictable.

I have a nack for predicting shows lately. I managed to sum up most of the ABC Family series and a few others after watching the first episode. I haven't mastered sitcoms, because most of the episodes are fillers. Anyway, I am concluding that we need better television shows.

We need more shows that require thinking! Like Criminal Minds before they started connecting conclusions too fast, White Collar, House, Monk, Psych, Bones before the baby, and best of all... Doctor Who.

I like Criminal Minds because it's (or was) about the process of finding the killer. I like White Collar because you can see behind the conman's ways. I like House because he is such an unusually cruel doctor that always manages to find the cure. I like Monk because it's all about the details. I like Psych because it is hilarious and full of 80's references that I actually understand. I like Bones because it introduced me to how the skeleton can tell you someone's life story. I love Doctor Who because I get excited when I actually manage to guess what happens and see the connections (never saw the River Song secret coming... Spoilers).

Television shows need to be more creative. I know there are some shows that you can use so that you can just shut down your brain, but there are far too many! There are channels dedicated to "Brain Goop TV". We need more shows that require thought and education.

If there are any television show writers out there.... HEAR MY PLEA!

Hope you all enjoyed your weekend!

But Have Not Love, I Am Nothing.

"Love is patient Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7

Somehow people think this doesn't apply to homosexuals. 

Yes, this is going there. I'm doing a project on equal marriage rights and some YouTube comments have me really upset. Mainly on this one. You can even see my comment on some bigot-asshole's post. I do not condone swearing, but I am angry and it happens to the best of us (don't deny it).

God once told the nation of Israel, "Do not lie with a man as one lies with a women; that is detestable."

Since people are taking this literally, lets discuss the holes here (pun not intended). One, a man cannot have sex with a man like he does a women, that would be weird if they did since you know... men don't have vaginas. Two, God left out the bit about the woman and a woman but included having sex with your donkey or your neighbors wife. And three, the nation of Israel implies everyone so women cannot lie with a man as they would a woman?

I take my Bible metaphorically and I apply it to everyday life. I still go by the teachings of God, but I don't go around repeating it word for word. God gives me challenges everyday that I am left to interpret for myself. And for all I know, King James felt like throwing some curve-balls.

Since homosexuality marriage rights is the challenge God has given us in modern day society, it's time for me to interpret for myself.

First of... Nobody is anything without love, and everyone is unconditionally loved by God if they choose to accept him. Love also keeps no records of wrongs and is greater than faith and hope.

I know that in in 2 John 6 John says love is defined by God's commands, but love keeps no records of wrongs so breaking one or two of the many commands given by God is not undeserving of God's love.

At the United Methodist General Conference Reverend Adam Hamilton positioned that homosexuality is “incompatible with Christian teaching.” But he also said, “We commit to disagree and respect with love, we commit to love all persons and, above all, we pledge to seek God’s will. With regard to homosexuality, as with so many other issues, United Methodists adopt the attitude of John Wesley who once said, ‘Though we cannot think alike, may we not love alike? May we not be of one heart, though we are not of one opinion? Without all doubt, we may.’” I believe he had the right idea. While it isn't necessarily compatible, it isn't wrong to love.

Sure, homosexuality breaks one command and then another about sex before marriage, but that is only because society isn't allowing homosexuals to marry. Basically, a homosexual couple break no less commands than that of a heterosexual couple. I mean at extremes we have Kim Kardashian and Chris Humphries who were married for 72 days and then Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka who have been happily together for almost 10 years and have raised a beautiful set of twins. How is is okay for the Kardashian couple and not the Harris couple?

In my scientific opinion, there is nothing seriously wrong or unhealthy about it. Obviously the anatomy of a human is able to accept pleasure using same and opposite sex body parts. The prostate and the clitoris are located in those places, by God, for a reason. Sorry for being awkwardly scientific, but it's evident!

There is no definite psychological explanations, but there are some theories. One being the slight (and I mean slight in the minimal perspective) increase in estrogen production in the homosexual male (hence the high pitched voices) during embryonic development and the same for testosterone in female homosexuals. There isn't any harm in an increase in hormones, people take extra hormones all the time. Way more than is required to change the sexual orientation of someone in development. It is in no way a deformation, just a different hormone fluctuation.

In the end, the Bible doesn't completely condemn (doesn't even say they're going to Hell) and psychology doesn't call it a deformation or disorder. The only problem is society and how they interpret God's challenges.

What Makes America the Greatest Country in One Sentence or Less

“What Makes America the Greatest Country in One Sentence or Less”

So... If you have ever watched the Newsroom on HBO, you will understand this post better than others. In my AP Government class we were shown the opening scene (Click here to watch) and told to write an essay on why America is or is not the greatest country. This was my response:

"It’s not, but it can be.”- MacKenzie MaHale, Episode 1, The Newsroom. 

I do agree that America is not the greatest country in the world. The word “greatest” has a very broad definition and everyone will think that their country is the greatest country. William McAvoy, The Newsroom, supports the definition of the word “greatest” with rankings of countries. Some of the numbers have improved since the episode aired, but there is still little evidence that shows that America is the “greatest” country. America is sixth in literacy, Finland is first. It is thirty-second in math, China is first and Finland is second. It is sixteenth in reading, Finland is first. It is sixteenth in life expectancy, Japan is first. It is fiftieth in infant mortality, Monaco is first and Japan is second. It is third in median income, Luxemburg is first. It is third in exports, China is first. America is thirteenth in education and decreasing and Finland is at a steady first. Sadly America tops in number of incarcerated citizens per capita, imports, and defense spending. Defense spending is almost seven times greater than the defense spending in China, who is second in defense spending. And surprisingly 80% of American adults believe in ethereal beings, which also top the charts. America’s chart toppers are not the most desired. Based on statistics, Finland seems to be the “greatest” country, not America.

I think that at one point in history America had the potential to be one of the greatest countries. There was a point that America was full of innovation, imagination, technological advances, opportunities, and so forth. Every country aspired to be America. Somewhere we lost the dream and respect. I didn’t live any time before the end of the 20th century so I can never be absolutely sure of America’s greatness. From what I hear, even though it had its ups and downs, America was a wonderful place to be in the past.

Originally, America was built on a great and powerful idea. It broke away from the most powerful colonizing force and became its own powerful nation. It all started with an idea and then the action that made the idea become reality. In the industrial revolution America built great factories filled with the most advanced machinery. Americans have made iPhones and mobile computers within thirty years of the creation of the household desktop and mobile phone. America used to have ambition and creativity and that was the greatest aspect a country could have.

I can go on and on about the downfalls of America today. McAvoy was right when he said “you are without a doubt a member of the worst, period, generation, period, ever, period.” This generation is full of ignorance, discrimination, bickering, hate, lies, deceit, uneducated politics, and everything in between. We still have aspirations, everyone does, and we just won’t work for it. Yes, we want it all -- the cars, houses, six figure incomes, and respect and admiration for our unparalleled brilliance -- and we don't want to work for it. This generation is born ignorant so that the people who see that this generation is ignorant still cannot be released from ignorance because there are no opportunities anymore because more money is spent fighting other countries wars instead of educating the people of America. That is another problem Americans have, they lost the idea that they once had and replaced it with fast paced action. Americans need results “now, now, now” but are too lazy to learn to be able to do it themselves. That is not even the complete downfall of America.

All I have to say to the government is “Get your heads out of your butts and do something productive.” The two major political parties cannot stop attacking each other long enough to fix a problem. They need to inform the public, they need to educate the public, they need to protect the rights of the public, not sit around and argue over abortion, which males should never have a say in, and the wealth’s tax cuts expiring. The government needs to act logically for the benefit of the public and right now that isn't happening.

As a citizen, one needs to inform and educate oneself to form unbiased conclusions. DO NOT just follow someone else’s ideas, create them for yourself. By doing this you open yourself to so many possibilities and opportunities. You’ll be able to get that six figure job if you educate yourself. You can have it all as long as you are informed. That is all that a citizen can really do for themselves and society.

Overall, McAvoy was right. We used to be great, we aren't anymore. But we still can be.

I hope that this enlightened you all! This is my personal opinion, feel free to challenge it! I welcome challenges.

~Emily, The Yellow Umbrella

Introductions

First Post!

I'm excited! This is my first post. I really want this blog to be successful, but I cannot do it without followers and good posts.

First off... I should probably introduce myself and the blog.

First here are some pictures that describe myself.                         

 

My name is Emily. I am a senior in high school. I basically have all AP classes. I am Christian and very scientific. I plan to go to college and major in Biology under pre-medical. My top choice is UNC Greensboro, because they have a Human Biology program and dorms with bathrooms inside of them. I have some problems with clutter and public bathrooms, so dorm life may kill me. I think I am creative, but I will let you be the judge of that. I can be funny, and I say this because people laugh at some of the things I say that are meant to be funny. I am also the sole author of this blog.

This is The Yellow Umbrella Blog. It has nothing to do with doctors (I will just mention the pains of becoming one from time to time) or How I Met Your Mother. The idea came to me in the shower, where all good ideas arise. A week before this post my AP Government teacher told us about how we needed to express our ideas to the government and blah blah blah. Then my sister's friend, who is 12, wrote to a senator expressing what she feels the government should do. This 7th grader didn't do this for a project or extra credit, she did it because she wanted to use the voice that the Constitution of the United States gave her. After I saw her letter, I felt awful because I complain but never say anything. And hence the blog.

I named the blog after a project my mother participated in during the 90's. It's called the Black Umbrella Project. It is where a group of women held black umbrellas over the faces of women going into abortion clinics. I am different from that. I do not believe in abortion, but I believe that I don't completely understand the situations that led these women to the clinic and therefore they have a right to control their body. I will not personally get an abortion, but that is not what everyone believes and I am okay with that. I've given it great thought and I think that it is better to get an abortion when you cannot support a child and then raise a child in a horrible environment. What I don't understand is the old men who are avidly against abortion. I mean what do they know about child birth? Or raising a child without a father? They don't.

I am also a huge supporter of having the baby and allowing a couple who can raise a child but are not able to have a child on their own. AKA: Huge supporter of homosexual marriage rights. Yes, yes, this goes against what Jesus taught us about a man should not lie with a man, but didn't he also teach us to love and treat others the way we wanted to be treated? I believe love is love whether it be a homosexual or a heterosexual relationship. I also need to treat others the way I want to be treated, therefore if I want to be gifted with marriage then everyone should have marriage. I refuse to get married until everyone has that right, even if it is extreme.

Believe it or not, I am actually a Christian Conservative Republican on top of being a science student. Don, don, don. Confused yet? Well only by definition, of course. I get my beliefs and practices from the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, so I am Christian. I value tradition and am cautious to change and innovation, so I am conservative. I believe that each person is responsible for his or her own place in society, so I am republican. I have taken mostly higher level science classes and plan to go into medicine through biology, so I am a science student. I, however, am not uneducated in thought nor do I just repeat everything my parents tell me without a second thought. I also do not trust everything science tells me because there is room for error. I question. I think for myself. I believe. I have confidence.

My family is a Liberal Democratic Pagan family. My mother is also a High Priestess and a successful blogger (The Bad Witch Files, where I am known as the Bad Child and am often mentioned). If I didn't question, didn't think for myself, and just repeated everything my parents told me I wouldn't be the person I am today. My mother and I often get in heated arguments about our beliefs. Both of us back up our opinions with facts and both arguments seem equally logical. We often joke about the differences in religion/political views. When something technologically goes wrong I would say "What did I tell you about spells in the house" or if something freaky happens, like books flying off shelves, I would say "I told you to get up in them corners" (if you have seen True Blood, you'd get it). And she often jokes about getting me to help out with workshops for her students she'd laugh and say "We solicited the Jesus lover". She also likes to call me Marilyn Munster.

I am also the only Caucasian in my immediate group of friends. I have AP and IB courses and I just ended up with the friends that are Asian. Because we were raised in different cultures we often have clashing beliefs, but we know and respect each other's opinions.

I am the person who stands out in a culture of conformity. I hope to change the fate of Generation Y, the worst generation ever. When I was on a cruise  to Mexico, a Mayan tour guide told me that December 21st was not the end of the world, but a time for change. I need to be that change I want to see in the world. And if it starts with a blog, then so be it. America is not the greatest country, but it can be (if you haven't watched the Newsroom, shame on you).

And that is why I am the "Yellow Umbrella".