How Supreme is the Supreme Court?

The Supreme Court of the United States or (SCOTUS) is the head of the judicial branch and is the highest federal court in the country. This court has ultimate jurisdiction over any laws within the US who also reevaluates the constitutionality of the laws. This court is so influential, it has tried to be replicated within other nations, however our court is the most powerful in the world.

I was unaware that it was established from the Judiciary Act of 1789, signed into law all the way back to George Washington. Now, the Supreme Court takes on about 100-150 of the 7,000+ cases that request reviewal. And in the first term, the Supreme Court did not hear any cases. The court now, only reviews the cases that are of the utmost importance, but have the most impact on the American people, or the ones that the justices want to hear, they don't have to select the most popular or demanded case. 

The court started with only six justices, where now, we have nine. The first court was made up of Chief Justice John Jay, John Rutledge, William Cushing, John Blair, Robert Harrison, and James Wilson. Currently, the justices that represent the SCOTUS, are Chief Justice John Roberts, Clarence Thomas, Samuel A. Alito, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Neil M. Gorsuch, Brett M. Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, and Ketanji Brown Jackson. 

The most important take away that I learned, was that the Chief Justice presides over trials of the impeachment against a President. I did not know that the Chief Justice was the one who oversaw those trials, I assumed it was only the legislative branch that was involved. I knew Senate had a say on if the President gets acquitted or not, but the fact that the Chief Justice gets this role is very surprising to me. 

Online Privacy? What's that?

 In the TedTalk by Juan Enriquez, he speaks about how your digital footprint serves as an online tattoo. Tattoos are permanent, and so is your digital footprint. No matter how hard you try to cover up your tracks, whether it's clearing your search history, using an incognito browser, or even logging in and out of accounts to remove your name from certain systems, there is always a digital footprint. Personally, I don't think the government should be able to collect this kind of information. Why should they look deep into my digital footprint to try and predict my next move online?

Whenever you open a new program, get a new iPhone, or even just create a new Target account, you are asked whether you agree to the terms and conditions. Now, do you actually read the terms of service? Probably not. However, this one click is a big part of your digital footprint. This accept button is locking you into a contract, called a Contract Law. This is a contract where one party has negotiating power, meaning as soon as you hit the accept button on a terms of use agreement, you have waived those rights to complain.

Data Mining is another huge invasion of privacy often used by social media companies such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, etc. The photos and videos you upload to these platforms don't only go to your friends. They are in the eye of everyone, including those working for those companies. There are computer systems that search through images, and display advertisements based on what you post about. For example, if I were to post a photo on Instagram while holding my new puppy, most likely, I'd get ads for PetSmart, BarkBox, Chewy, and other pet brands, to try and entice me to purchase things for my new furry friend. How did they know I got a new puppy? Data mining. 

As much as I benefit from the personalized ads, I think it is a complete invasion of my privacy. Although I choose to share certain things online, I only think it goes to my friends. My family information can even be viewed! The government and other companies have free access to any of our information, which is unbelievable to me. I think they should have to pay for our information to only learn about us as a population, not as individuals. 

My Five News Sources

Today, news is everywhere. From your phone, bulletin boards, and even just word of mouth, you are always hearing and reading the news. There are many places where I search for my news, but there are also sources I do not trust as much. I prefer sources that share some of my same beliefs so I can see topics that interest me, I am passionate about, or that I would like to become more educated on.

My Family

While being at college, it is very easy to become overwhelmed by other information, or simply block out the news that isn't directly related to campus. However, I have stayed in very close contact with my family and friends who update me on things that impact them, as well as things that are broader, and will concern everyone. My mom is my biggest source of news since she provides me with her thoughts of the daily news, but also, she keeps me informed on what is happening at home, so I can make educated decisions on elections, or other important matters, so although I have been physically absent from my community, I still remain in the loop. 

Fox News

Ever since I was little, Fox News was the channel my parents always watched. I grew up watching the anchors on the channel, and I have learned a lot from them. However, I prefer Fox News over other outlets because their beliefs align with mine a lot more than other sources. Although their news is more biased, I usually agree with their stances on subjects, so I am being informed on topics that I would normally search for due to my interests and stances on politics and social issues. 

The Aegis

With being far from home, I really enjoy reading the news from back home. The Aegis is my counties local newspaper, meaning I see a lot of people and places I am very familiar with. This isn't always my go-to outlet, but I often get sent articles from family and friends about events happening in my hometown that I am interested in seeing. I like to keep up with my hometown since it is where I call home and it often showcases the people I interact with on a daily basis. 

ESPN

Since I am a Sports Media major, I really enjoy the world of sports. More specifically, I love reading and seeing news about collegiate athletics. I get a lot of the information on my teams' standings and their scores through the ESPN website and the notifications I get from the ESPN app, when games are happening live.

The Baltimore Sun

The last place I get my news is from The Baltimore Sun. Like The Aegis, I get a lot of my news that is happening at home from this outlet. I live about 45 minutes outside of Baltimore, so a lot of news that gets published in The Sun, often relates to me and my hometown.