Thesis: The advantageous stem cells can be found from more things than an aborted fetus.

Human stem cell research is plagued with the notion it can only be found from an unborn or dead fetus. This in fact is untrue. Since majority of the opponents of this research are religious and anti-abortion groups, it makes sense for these groups to attack the idea of stem cells coming from human embryo cells. Pope John Paul II, is among the stem cell protesters; he stated, “A free and virtuous society, which America aspires to be, must reject practices that devalue and violate human life at any stage from conception until natural death”.

The religious and anti-abortion groups use the argument that life starts at the moment of conception and killing an unborn baby is inhumane. Looking at this from this point of view does make stem cell researchers appear to be mad scientists, but this is not reality. One week old embryos are considered blastocysts still and not human. Blastocysts are a cluster of cells that is all. A cluster of cells is not a human yet. Majority of scientists do not consider embryos to be a person until at the very least two weeks old when it develops its primitive streak/ first evidence of a nervous system.

One can put the aborted fetuses argument to rest due to  a team at Advanced Cell Technology in Massachusetts. By extracting one cell from an 8-celled embryo, they were able to use that cell to create more through mitosis.  The 8 celled mouse embryos, now 7 celled embryos, was implanted into a female mouse; the same was done with another mouse, control group, but all 8 celled embryos were left alone. The female was still able to bare the 23 mice to full term the same as the control group from this experiment that had 8 celled mouse embryos. The single cell that was removed and multiplied created 100 stem cells. In this study no mice were harmed, the embryos were safe, and stem cells were still able to be collected without death to the unborn mice.

Another way stem cells can be obtained without harming an embryo is called “altered nuclear transfer” or ANT for short. In the process known as ANT, the stem cells were extracted from cloned embryos. By extracting human eggs and emptying its nucleus, the group of MIT scientists were able to place donor skin cell nuclei into these cells. This forms something similar to Dolly the sheep that was cloned and produced in the 90’s. Since cloning is considered unethical, this group of scientists infected the donor skin cell with a virus. This virus blocked the action of the Cdx2 gene which is essential for formation of the placenta. Without the placenta, it is unable to be implanted back into the womb. This disqualified the embryo as a “true” embryo making it a “pseudo-embryo”.  As a result, the desired stem cells are able to be obtained without an aborted fetus being utilized.

Sources:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/2001/08/09/cases-for-and-against-stem-cell-research.html

https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn8164-two-ethical-ways-to-harvest-stem-cells/

Rock Stars- Harmless Individuals or Devil Worshipers

Rock and roll is not the music of Satan. It is a canvas of many different topics. Rock musicians do not have dark forces in their intentions. Many of their songs highlight positive values, life lessons, and random events. Performers like Jimmy Buffett, the Beatles, and Bruce Springsteen would never be thought of as linked with the devil. But like every debatable topic, there is always a rebuttal argument (which can be rebutted with the right evidence as well). In this case, the main rebuttal argument is that seemingly harmless Rock stars, including the ones listed above, have actually been involved with dark forces in one way or another.

Yes, these singers do mostly sing about happy situations. But they have also dabbled with influences of Satan. Uncovering this truth will prove that Rock and Roll has darkness running entirely through it, even in the areas that appear the brightest. For example, Jimmy Buffett, the founder of Margaritaville, is beloved by fans for singing songs about relaxation, maritime life, and cheeseburgers in paradise. However, he does have one song that mocks God and promotes blasphemous behavior- “Too Drunk to Karaoke”.  As David J. Stewart explains, “Toby Keith and Jimmy Buffet encourage booze drinkers to drink, drink, drink… until you’re ‘TOO DRUNK TO KARAOKE.’ The video is a disgrace, encouraging alcoholism and irresponsible behavior. Jimmy Buffet is the icon of a laid-back lifestyle, an icon of relaxation and the king of ‘Margaritaville’ (after the song for which he is most famous) …Yet, Mr. Buffet embarrasses me as an American when he glorifies the sin of drunkenness, an evil which has utterly destroyed millions of our nation’s families, wreaking havoc from coast-to-coast.” Jimmy Buffett, with this one song, has gone against all that he is known for.

The same thing can be said for the not-so- Fab Four. John, Paul, George, and Ringo are known as the pioneers of the British Invasion. Millions of fans loved them, especially attracting the attention of girls as the four cute guys from Liverpool. But the quartet was not the innocent boy band that they appeared to be. The most blatant proof of this can be seen (and heard) in their infamous album, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.  The front cover of this album features the four Beatles surrounded by controversial figures from history- including Marilyn Monroe, Karl Marx, and Bob Dylan. The most unsettling figure included however is Aleister Crowley, a well-known English occultist. His inclusion is a clear sign that the Beatles were fans of occult rituals. Another indication that these men were not the most perfect of guys is the meaning of the song, “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”. A close analysis shows that the Beatles in this song are glorifying the effects of taking a drug- LSD. These seemingly innocent men could not resist highlighting the influences of the Devil.

Unfortunately, New Jersey’s The Boss, whose music is loved by people of all ages, could not resist the sweet temptation either. This resulted in an unanticipated action by a popular coffee shop chain. As reporter Dave Lifton mentions, “Starbucks banned his latest album, Devils & Dust, from its stores, in part due to explicit lyrics in one of the songs. The track in question, ‘Reno,’ describes an encounter with a prostitute, and mentions both oral and anal sex.” To really hit this point home, here are some lyrics from the previously mentioned track- “She slipped me out of her mouth/’You’re ready,’ she said/She took off her bra and panties/Wet her fingers, slipped it inside her/And crawled over me on the bed.” This song unabashedly promotes sex, one of Satan’s favorite values.  Starbucks can’t have this song play in its shops, and it should not be play anywhere else either.  Even Rock and Roll’s brightest individuals have been motivated by darkness.

Now is the time to shoot this rebuttal argument down. Jimmy Buffett’s song “Too Drunk to Karaoke” is an attempt by him to connect to a younger audience, one that likes to listen to songs about “hardcore” partying. He enlisted the help of Toby Keith to write the song, as his music is known to promote wild behavior. So technically, the song is actually Toby Keith’s, with Jimmy Buffett’s name receiving top billing. Plus, the song is very much Country (Keith’s main genre), making it an entirely different beast than those of Rock and Roll. Moving on to the Beatles, it must be recognized that they are just rebellious young adults. They used controversial figures including Aleister Crowley in order to set themselves apart from other bands, and because they found these individuals to be memorable in history, which is what they wanted to become. Concerning the song “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”, there shouldn’t be any attempts at over-analyzing. As the website Shmoop explains, “John Lennon said in many different interviews that the song title was simply inspired by a drawing that his four-year-old son, Julian, brought home from school: ‘My son Julian came in one day with a picture he painted about a school friend of his named Lucy. He had sketched in some stars in the sky and called it ‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,’ Simple.’ The other Beatles and even the real Lucy herself (a former schoolmate of Julian’s who recently passed away) have since confirmed this story.” A little boy’s drawing inspired the song, not drug use. With Bruce Springsteen’s song “Reno”, there is a similar situation as Jimmy Buffett’s “Too Drunk to Karaoke”- it is not Rock and Roll. The Boss’s whole album, Devils & Dust, was his attempt at being a Country star. And his song is not promoting sex with a prostitute. The final lyrics are “She brought me another whisky/Said ‘Here’s to the best you ever had’/We laughed and made a toast/It wasn’t the best I ever had/Not even close.” Springsteen is saying that his experience with this woman of the night was not that great. A closer look into even the most brightest of Rock stars shows that darkness does not completely consume Rock and Roll at all.

As a brief addition to this attack on the rebuttal argument, it should by mentioned that a popular offshoot of Rock and Roll is Christian Rock. This form of music centers on songs related to promoting faith and good lessons in a contemporary fashion. Many of these tunes are even used in churches today to liven up the crowds. If the rebuttal argument was true, then even Satan has tainted the supposedly harmless Christian Rock performers. And that revelation will make the church institutions look like hypocrites.

Rock ‘n’ Roll is not the music of Satan. Rebuttal arguments can try to disprove this, but will only be setting themselves up to be rebutted as well.

Works Cited

New Source Lifton, Dave. “Why Starbucks Banned Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Devils and Dust’” Ultimate Classic Rock. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2016.

New Source Shmoop. “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds Meaning.” Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 13 Nov. 2016.

New Source Springsteen, Bruce. “Reno.” Azlyrics.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2016.

Stewart, David J. ““Too Drunk To Karaoke” Hit Song Mocks God.” “Too Drunk To Karaoke” Hit Song Mocks God. N.p., Aug. 2013. Web. 13 Nov. 2016.

Slut Shamers, Cockroaches of the Internet

It should come as no surprise that women experience harassment on the internet. Through the disguise of anonymous usernames hateful and misogynistic insults can be hurled at whim by the “trolls” that get pleasure from tearing down a women’s self-esteem. When insults revolve around a woman’s sexuality or sexual promiscuity they are typically known as “slut-shaming”. Due to the over-abundance of slut shaming occurring through social media, some would think that a woman’s sexual freedom is being policed and limited; and to an extent this is true. However, women are now more than ever overcoming slut shaming and taking control of their bodies. In fact through the connectivity of social media and the internet women have reclaimed the term “slut” and have come together to overcome and destroy slut shaming.

Women do not get to experience the same sexual freedoms that men do,though, through progressive social media use the idea of women being equally sexual beings is becoming normalized. Nicki Minaj is a famous rapper, known for capitalizing on her assets, to say the least. Besides having impressive talents and an eye for business opportunities, she also combats slut shaming. Her music video for her song Anaconda received a lot of criticisms for being too sexual , her response being “I went overboard with the video to show that I’m not going to hide. And those big-booty dancers I have, they’re not going to hide. Black girls should feel sexy, powerful and important too.” Minaj also contributes to Amber Rose’s Slut Walk foundation, which combats slut shaming, double standards, and helps sexual assault victims (Anglis). Minaj has a prominent social media presence which normalizes her sexy style and encourages girls to be confident in their sexuality. The foundation reclaims the term “Slut” and uses it to empower women to overcome the gender based obstacles that stand before them.

Again, social media is a breeding ground for slut shaming, for instance Miley Cyrus received over 306,000 tweets per minute during her 2013 VMA performance, most shamed her for her seductive style of dancing (Menza). Not only through Twitter, slut shaming occurs though Instagram, Facebook, and even Snapchat. The argument here is not that slut shaming has been eradicated through social media, in fact it is quite the opposite. The congregation of women (and men) tired of seeing post after post filled with condemning ideals has caused people to actively use social media to put a stop to slut shaming. These groups of individuals have been able to use the connectivity that comes with the internet to be able to constitute a clear and united voice with many goals. To spread acceptance, encourage people to become comfortable with themselves, and stop slut shaming, among other things. The website, Stopslut.org, is aimed at not only stopping slut shaming but also rape culture as a whole “Using a revolutionary play, a book and storytelling-based activism workshops, StopSlut aims to transform rape culture into a culture of CARE– communication, accountability, respect and empathy”.

Rape culture also plays a major role within the realm of the internet and is a key factor when it comes to slut shaming. Looking at current events, after the results of the 2016 election were announced and people were disappointed that Donald Trump was the President to be, they turned to their best weapon, social media. Trump is often associated, infamously, for his “Grab her by the pussy” comment thus his ability to still be elected is thought to be a result of our inherent rape culture in the United States. A man that has clearly stated consent is not something he values highly when it comes to sexual advances, was still thought to be a suitable world leader for our country. Rape culture often minimizes the seriousness of rape and sexual assault and perpetuates the idea that women are sexual objects to be lusted after and even “grabbed” without concern  to their comfort or safety. Protests voicing dissatisfaction with the electoral college’s decision for Trump were organized via Facebook pages, Instagram posts, and the twitter-sphere. Hashtags like #antitrump, #nevertrump, and #dumptrump all brought the people who were against Trump (for various reasons including racism and homophobia) together to voice their concerns. One of the biggest concerns being his treatment of women and perpetuation of rape culture.

Slut shaming is not a new concept, shunning women for being sexual has been commonplace for centuries. Lewis Mark Webb sums it up best when he says (in reference to comparing slut shaming historically to modern day)  “the Roman Republic with recent cases on the Internet, and I maintain that the focus of this slut-shaming, namely sexual virtue, has remained the same over time, but that the unregulated nature of the Internet has increased its scope and impact.” The magnitude seen through the internet is rather unique; people are not afraid to say inappropriate things online because there are no consequences for it.  That is, until now. People are getting tired of hearing misogynistic and dated thoughts one after the other and the convenience of anonymity has also given them the ability to type right back. The internet has started to change from a place where slut shaming can bloom, into a battlefield where intellectual logic is used to combat the backwards rhetoric that has overstayed its welcome.

Thesis:Based on current research, these acts of violence involve citizens who are also African American. In this paper, I will discuss how African American males are historically targets of these senseless acts.

So while people are scared for their lives and trying to figure out while they are not being protected by the people that took a oath to protect all citizens are now doing the opposite.  People are afraid of there lives , even when a officer pull them over for a example they will each out both hands up in the air and say don’t shoot. The reason for this because they are scared of their lives since their have been too many police shootings in the past.