Blog post #4

If you have noticed in my other blog posts I had switched from "Rolling Brown-outs" to the Patriot Act for my third blog post. The reason being, even though there is still a controversy with "Rolling Brown-outs", lately there hasn't been much activity within it. So since I was just finishing up my project on the Patriot Act I knew that there had been some recent protest and talks about it. So I thought it would be a good idea to research it a bit more and base my third blog post on it. So since I have to subjects I thought I would just talk about my plan for both of them.

Patriot Act:

As most of you know the Patriot Act was made in response to the 9/11 terrorist attack. It was written to reduce restrictions on law enforcement agencies ability to have access to different things like telephones, email, medical records, financial records, and so much more. This, of course, created a uproar within the American people. Many people were haunted by the fact that the law enforcement agencies could track all types of communications and get their hands on whatever records they wanted. There was no privacy and they felt that this was extremely unconstitutional.

Ever since the Patriot Act was written and passed, just a few days after 9/11, a lot of people have gone on strike and have done many other forms of protest against this Act. So, many things I would do and set up wouldn't be much different then what they have already done. Though there has not been much change of the act in favor of the protesters, other people have become more informed of the situation through what the protesters have been doing. So I think the best way to keep people informed and communicate our problem is to keep the protests going. I would possibly hold a walk where there would be a point A and point B. People would start at point A and walk to point B as they hold signs and such, just to let people see this is a problem and we are fighting for it.

Now on a more personal level I would definitely write a letter. Even though he is not president yet and may not become president, I think the best person to contact would be Ron Paul. During his republican debates he has made it very clear how he feels about the Patriot Act. He says, and I quote, "I have a personal belief that you never have to give up liberty for security. You can still provide security without sacrificing our Bill of Rights." Though he might not be able to change the act himself, if he supports us, it would give us someone higher up within the government to speak for us, and get others on our side. 

"Rolling Brownouts":


To try and fix this budget problem within America, the government has targeted firehouses and firefighters. The government has closed down firehouses across the country in many different districts. Which has resulted in many citizens protesting against it. By taking away firehouses in different districts it has put many people out of work, but mostly in danger. The firefighting company places firehouse in different districts, far enough from each other where they could help out each other but close enough to their own district so they can be the first ones there. But with many districts and towns loosing their firehouses, there have been many incidents where the firefighters have not been able to get there in time since they are traveling twice the distance they would have to if there was one within the district or town. This has effected not only the firefighters but everyone else to. Its a huge safety hazard.

Thought there have been protests here and there for it, I do not hear much about "Rolling Brown-outs" towards firefighters. So my first goal is to make the problem known. Many people are willing to help out firefighters, since they risk their lives everyday for us, so holding fundraisers that could be fun for families but informational to parents could really help. There is also a thing that firefighters do every year where they go out to and walk up and down streets with their helmets and boots and raise money. We could do that but have signs and t-shirts to explain the protest. An finally writing to the government never hurts, I am not sure who exactly we would write to but a person within some power would help. Its always good to get an inside man to help out. But for "Rolling Brown-outs" I would start smaller and make my way up. If the government has not already seen the damage it has cause by taking firehouses out of districts and towns I really don't think just writing letters to them will help. We have to inform the people, and make this bigger first.