Post 2: Synopsis of the Supreme Court

    My upbringing was somewhat unique in the way that I could have named one or two Supreme Court Justices by age 11. My mother is a lawyer who first studied at Duke University and later earned her law degree at George Mason University. "Antonin Scalia Law School Grad" rang proudly on her tongue and in her social media biographies. To her, truth is sacred and the law provides a way to honor God through her profession. Knowing this about my mom, what she did, and the institution she believed in, was a great foundation as I entered my United States History classes. 

    The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is quite easy to understand partially because the Constitution never outlined the specifics, thus the first SCOTUS took the liberty to create a simplistic system. It was created in 1789 by the Third Article of the Constitution. The first SCOTUS had six members and they decided the term would be for life to cut out any bias timely politics brings to the table. They met for the first time February 2, 1790.

    The Justices are nominated by the sitting U.S. President and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. There is a chief Justice who presides over the SCOTUS and takes care of more directional things. The first Chief Justice was John Jay. 

First Chief Justice John Jay

    Today there are nine Supreme Court Justices. It's the perfect number to keep majority but not by much, because while the law is the law our political and moral bias's play into our interpretations of the law. In addition to taking care of cases that come their way they also play a big role in impeachment trials as well as sit on the Board of Regency for the Smithsonian Institute. And above all else, the Supreme Court's job is to interpret the laws of the U.S. Constitution in a fair court. The precedents they set may prompt congress to create amendments or laws, but the courts simply apply situation to the Constitution. 

    While my mother's favorite, Antonin Scalia, was a notable Justice, there are other incredible notable Justices who have paved the way for this country in all cases Civil and Criminal. 

    One of the most important judiciary's from the ninetieth century is Justice John Marshall. He not only served as Chief Justice for 34 years, but he set a precedent for what the relationship between the judiciary and the rest of the government. During the case of Marbury v. Madison Marshall's judiciary decided that the principle of Judicial Review, or how the courts can strike down laws that they deem unconstitutional, would be a power of the courts. 

    Another incredibly influential Chief Justice was Earl Warren. He was part of the judiciary in the 1950's and 60's and decided on important things like Brown v. Board of Education, which ended segregation of schools and constituted the "Miranda Right's."

Chief Justice Earl Warren

    Only in the last 60 years did the first Black man join the court and 40 years ago the first woman joined the court. 

    With the recent death of Justice Ruth Baders Ginsberg, President Trump and the Republican Party have a big decision to make. The Supreme Court has made and will continue to make some of the biggest decisions for us as Americans. The direction of our country depends on those justices and their interpretations of the constitution. 

Post 1: My News Soures

As citizens of the 21st century we are all consumers of media and information. Wether it's dinner table gossip or your subscription to the New York Times you are always recognizing, engaging, and processing information that may not directly effect. 

The age of print journalism is nearing an end, thus Generation Z kids, like myself, are finding new interesting ways of finding our news. Here I will share five ways I most often get my news and stay up to date

1. The New York Times

The New York Times is as traditional as a news source as it gets. Almost everyone has heard of it, considering it has been around since the mid- nineteenth century. In my opinion, the NYT is flooded with amazing opinion pieces and a pretty moderate and fair take on things such as politics, foreign affairs, and Covid-19 updates. If I'm ever seriously wanting a solid article this is where I'll go...but that truly isn't very often. I may only go on the NYT once a week.

2. Instagram

The social media networking app Instagram is probably where I get the majority of my news. Instagram the main place I go for finding out everything from the local gossip to what President Trump said today. Many of my friends are socially and politically minded, thus their stories are lined with posts that lead to articles upon articles. The validity of all media should be taken with a grain of salt, especially when it comes from somewhere like Instagram, Snapchat, or TikTok. While reliable sources for day to day happenings may be harder to find, I have found some amazing accounts that document some of the amazing things that happen everyday in out world like the @goodnews_movement, who are a team of journalists who post about things like grade school girls being gifted $140,000 because they were seen tryingto access the Wi-Fi outside of Taco Bell.

3. My Mother

This is my mother Jennifer Dacey, and in all seriousness she is my main source of news. My parents have been politically involved their whole lives, even holding office themselves. At the moment she is working on the grassroots Trump campaign, so she is never short of political opinions. We talk on the phone a few times a week, and she alwayshas the latest up to date news. WhileI appreciate her dedication to the political state of our country, we don't always see eye-to-eye on topics so I do a google search or two after each conversation. I decided to include this because politics was our every night dinner conversation growing up, and Fox News was the after dinner special, which I think says a lot about how I consume news as an adult.

4. Darling Media

Darling Media is a company that creates encouraging social media contentalongside self-care and business advice for women. Darling is structured like an editorial magazine but they also have an onlinesubscription. I love reading Darling because they publish stories like "Wisdom to Filter the Voices That Speak," which is a piece on being conscious about how you're letting speak into your life. I find this to be a more productive use of my time when it come to choosing news resources because no matter how important foreign affairs are, they aren't affecting my day to day life.

5. John Krasinski's Some Good News

Some Good News is John Krasinski's, quarantine-born, YouTube series showcasing the goodness of humanity during this time. Again while this is not a traditional source of news, I find it to be the most positive and hear changing news I can consume through the internet. Not to mention his daughters painted the logo in the back.

While my news choices are most definetly unique and not your typical show, I find them to be what works for me at this time in my life. I worry that our consumption of harsh media can grow our anxiety exponentially. For now, ignorance is bliss.