Drew Peterson locked up

One of the most recognized mass murderers in the media, Drew Peterson was finally sentenced again to jail to 38 years in jail for killing his third wife Kathleen Savio. Peterson has been surfacing the news for several years as two of his four wives were found dead and many believe that they were both linked to a homicide committed by Drew Peterson. After Peterson was found guilty back in September of a murder of Savio, his defense team asked for a retrial as they believed the death was due to the accident and that this was not a deliberate murder. On February 21, 2013 they found Peterson guilty once again and as he pleaded for his innocence by saying "I did not kill Kathleen!" that wasn't nearly enough to all the evidence linked to the homicide and that was why he was forced to be locked up in the jail cell for the remainder of his life. His fourth wife Stacy Peterson was also found dead back in 2007, but her disappearance was never solved though several people Drew Peterson was linked to her death as he was believed to be the murderer of her as well. After hearing this sentenced of Drew Peterson going to jail for the rest of his life brings joy to me and many other people around the world. There were never any charges that could be put on Peterson for the death of his fourth wife Stacy because of the fact that there was no concrete evidence in that case, but the point that the jury all found Peterson guilty of the murder of his third wife Kathleen Savio proves that this criminal deserved to be put in jail. This man was an extreme threat to society as he was a possible mass murderer being linked to the deaths of two of his four wives and if this man was free to the public no one knows what criminal mistake he would make next. It's about time that this man was put away and it is nice to see that any joy in this guys face was taken away after hearing his sentencing from the judge.

Murderous Blade Runner

Yesterday on Valentines Day we found out that Double Amputee Olympic runner Oscar Pistorius was charged with the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. After becoming a role model for several young kids and all amputee victims around the world that you can compete with the best in any condition, his image and reputation began to disintegrate as the story of this tragedy began to unfold. Police investigators said that there had been previous allegations of domestic nature and previous incidents at their home, but nothing that was ever serious enough to see something like this occur. The girlfriend of the blade runner started the day off happy as can be as she went on twitter to say "It's a beautiful day! Make things happen. Starting my day off with a yummy healthy shake from my boo,". It is so sad to hear about this tragic event that occurred on Valentine's Day when the life of a young model was taken away when killed by several gunshots from Pistorius. It crazy how his image has flipped so rapidly from being a motivational story when being able to compete at such a high level running with the best in the world and representing his country of South Africa, and then having this burden on his life of having the image of being a murderer. I understand that nobody is guilty until they are proven it in court so we don't know if the accusations are too harsh at these times, but it is completely saddening to hear that the innocent life of this model was taken away.  

Another U.S. Shooting

Today on February Monday 11th 2013, another shooting in the United States occurred as two women were shot and killed inside of a courthouse in Wilmington, Delaware as well as two officers being shot, but were not wounded because of the bulletproof vests they were wearing. The story is still developing as it occurred this morning around 8 A.M., but news reports believe that the killers estranged wife was seemed to be as one of the victims. Ironically this shooting happened on the day that the police chief of Wilmington, Delaware was scheduled to be in Philadelphia to attend a round table discussion about gun safety where Vice President Joe Biden, law enforcement officials and members of Congress were expected to be there. After discussing gun control and all of the shootings that have been occurring the U.S. it doesn't seem like there are anything stopping these criminals from causing tragedies to many families in these murderous acts. When we finished watching the film by Michael Moore of Bowling for Columbine it was clear that the regulations for people to receive these hazardous weapons was way too easy and this was one of the reasons for so many gun killings every year. It is nice to hear that Joe Biden was planning on having a meeting about gun safety because in America it is outrageous to the amount of deaths every year just from gun shootings. The government needs to continue to regulate the laws around gun control and the selling of these weapons and there needs to be a change to stop all of these tragedies from happening so often.

Sexual Assault

After exploring more of sexual assault through the discussions we had in class and within the different articles read I have learned that there are so many sides to these stories and that the people involved in the incidents can vastly change the outcomes of what the consequences are to come in the future. With the article we read about the girl who got raped by two football players that attended Stubenville high school when she was out unconscious shows the impact of how the people involved with the incident significantly changes the outcome. In this town it seemed like the only thing the people cared about was the football and their success as a team and when this terrible event occurred everyone was focused on the players and not the humiliation and pain suffered by this young girl. The same things occur at these fraternities when sexual assault occurs they seem to only be focused on these frats being suspended and kicked off campus rather than what happens to stories of the people impacted by it. I think there needs to be a stop to this sexual assault around the country, but this is just not a reasonable thing that will happen because people will continue to make these choices but there should be a change to how these stories are presented as they should focus on the people impacted not on the other side of the stories that seem to be getting the media attention.

Armstrong becomes weak

After being on the top of the world for the majority of his life becoming on of the best cyclists of all-time winning the Tour De France 7 times, Lance Armstrong finally turned weak as he could not live his life with this lie his whole life and he confessed with his involvement with the most successful doping program in sports history. This story came to a surprise to everyone because it was different than the performance enhancing drugs the baseball players used as it was vivid that they became much bigger and stronger and had a huge impact on their success in the game. With Lance there were never visuals when seeing his body that he was using these performance enhancing drugs so investigations like the ones conducted in the MLB did not occur for him. The story of Armstrong being able to come back from cancer and succeed was a great story that inspired many, but the fact that he cheated his way to have this success loses all my respect I've ever had for him and I give him no praise for the success he had in this sport. It was also great that he was able to raise awareness for his campaign of Livestrong where he raised millions of dollars to do research for cancer, but I do not feel any sympathy for him as he did this in the wrong way and made people feel bad for him while he was cheating the sport. Armstrong threatened the ones that knew about his doping that if they told anybody about the performance enhancing drugs he was using that there would be major consequences for them. After hearing of this story I have lost all respect for him as he ran one of the largest successful doping programs in the sporting worlds history and cheating people into investing into his campaign I will never be able to look at him in a positive way again. 

Manti Te'o

Manti Te'o the Notre Dame Linebacker claims to have been a victim of a hoax in which a girl he created a close relationship and considered his girlfriend was a false person and the news of her death dying from leukemia was never a true story. There are so many skeptical parts to this story that are confusing and the fact that this story received so much media speculation questions my beliefs of Te'o through this story. The story of Te'o and his girlfriend claimed that the unfortunate events of this fake girl being diagnosed with leukemia motivated Te'o to play his best football ever which helped in leading his team to a BCS championship. The thing that makes this story so skeptical is the fact that one of the most recognized college athletes in the country would have a girlfriend through the Internet that he never had face to face interactions with the real person. He could probably be able to get plenty of girls at college, so why would he ever have an online girlfriend? There are many spins to this story and according to one source at deadspin.com that was quoted in the L.A. Times as they claimed they were "80% sure" that Te'o was involved with the whole story. I understand that I do not know how credible this source is, but the fact that this popular football player would ever have a cyber relationship with someone he barely knows. I am curious to hear more information about this investigation and to hear all the facts about it, but though I understand he may have a great heart I believe that he may have been involved with this whole story in order to get media attention as I think he knew about this all along

"Bad Bet" Blog Post Five

Now that I have finished up with Bad Bet by Timothy O'Brien, I have really been able to get a grasp and understanding about the entire gambling industry and all of the aspects that come along with it.  I was able to see all of the perspectives from the lives of the gamblers, owners, employees, and other residents living in these areas along with the impact that this had on their lives. It was interesting to see how the gambling industry impacted the lives of so many people from hearing stories about notorious poker players who dedicate their lives to understanding the strategies of the game and being able to read their opponents to help in making certain wagers throughout and having deception to simply beat out the weaker links in the game. It was nice to see the other perspective of the gamblers on the older side who enjoyed the thrill of playing the slot games when receiving the accommodations of free food and drinks to go along with them as they went to their usual spots with friends in hopes of making some cash. I was able to learn so much information about all of the games in the casinos in the ways to play games such as craps and roulette to learning the strategies that blackjack gamblers take in counting cards to give themselves better odds at winning. It was very intriguing to learn about all the things that go on with the gambling industry and all of the work done by the owners and their respective hotels/casinos. With the history of dealing with Mob members to generate revenue, to the present times of billionaires such as Donald Trump and his adventure of getting loans from several places in order to open many extravagant casinos to compete with the most luxurious casinos in Las Vegas. There are several dangers within the gambling business and with real life situations displayed in this book makes me want to not get too involved with the industry as it can impact my life and cause a downward spiral. I would highly recommend this book to anyone out there as it is  very informative about everything going on within the gambling industry and many perspectives are able to be seen through the different personal stories.