Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Isaac's Storm

Well, I haven’t finished reading the book "Isaac's Storm" yet but so far I find the book to be very interesting. I really like how the author Erik Larson takes this true event and makes such a good story out of it. The detail to me is quite amazing and I never seen a book formatted quite like this one. When I first looked at this book I thought it was going to be like reading a history book, with just the boring facts about the hurricane in Galveston in the 1900's. When I started reading I noticed that this is not true. It really is a gripping account of the storm. It gives the reader a different perspective and shows the storm through the eyes of Isaac. I also found it amazing that over 6000 people could have easily been saved by Isaac or many other people. I never knew that Galveston was such a popular and striving place before the storm. It was referred to as the New York of Texas, and its amazing what one storm can do. The book shows the relationships between many different people, and it also shows you what the Weather Bureau was thinking. Cuba's weather Bureau warned the us about the storm but we didn’t want to listen. I really like this book because it shows you so many different ways of thinking, and explains why people were thinking this way, not by just telling the facts but by putting together a good compelling story. Anyone who is interested in history, or just likes reading a good book, I would recommend Isaac's Storm. It is a great account of history and it also a great story. It is likely to change what you think and know about the hurricane in Galveston in the 1900s.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

A New Strategy For The War On Drugs

James Q. Wilson wrote an essay about the war on drugs. He makes a solid argument why we shouldn't legalize any illegal drugs. I personally think if people want to do drugs then let them. If people know about the effects of drugs and how they can harm you, and they still want to do them, who are you to tell them they can't. You might think my ideas are a little crazy but if someone wants to do drugs I don't think its any ones business as long as they're not harming other individuals. Overall though it is probably a good thing that many drugs are illegal. It would be kind of depressing to walk outside and see crack heads everywhere and people dead from overdoses. I don't know if this would actually happen but its a possibility.
The law says many drugs are illegal so we can be protected. Yet, since drugs are illegal you have many gangs and illegal organizations. These people often hurt many innocent people. So, because these drugs are illegal many people are getting hurt.
When people talk about legalizing drugs, the main drug they talk about is marijuana. Mostly everyone agrees that drugs like cocaine, heroin, LSD, meth, extacy...ext. should be illegall, but many people think marijuana should be legalized. I'm not really sure where I stand on this opinion, but the more i think about it doesn't sound like a bad idea to legalize marijuana. It seems to me like alcohol is a lot worse drug than marijuana. When people drink alcohol they are alot less aware of whats going on then when someone smokes weed. Also when people drink they often make careless decisions and hurt other people. When people smoke, it seems like, they mostly relax and just chill. Also, alcohol and tobacco can both be argued to have worse long term effects than marijuana.