Creation of the Compact Disc

The compact disc was invented by James Russell in the late 1960s, but was later finalized in 1980 when Sony and Philips created the “Red Book” standard, which was a series of documents that outlined a 120mm diameter disc bearing music at a resolution of 16bit/44.1kHz. That resolution is the minimum rate needed to replicate all frequencies humans can theoretically hear. The first commercially available CD player, Sony CDP-101, was first offered in Japan in 1982. Nearly 100 years after the first phonograph player was established, the CDP-101 made its way to the US in 1983 and was priced as high as $1,000. 

The creation of the compact disc affected the public positively and negatively. The positives were that compact discs revolutionized the way people listened to music. The compact discs were almost indestructible, and the sound was as good on the 1,000^th hearing as it was on the first hearing. The discs could store nearly 75 minutes of music, which was far more than a conventional album as well as a vinyl record. 

The negatives were that compact discs killed the record industry. Since nothing but light touches the compact disc, the listener doesn’t hear the hissing, crackling, and distortion that often accompanies the playing of vinyl records. Another negative was that the money that compact disc’s sales have brought companies began to fade away because of growing apps like Apple Music, Spotify, Pandora, etc. With compact discs, in order for people to listen to music, they would have to be put in a boom box, a computer, or any place with a CD insertion. People are buying less compact discs because they can listen to music at their own convenience; they can pull their phone out of their pocket, press play, and they get instant music. 

I remember listening to music on a boom box, then an MP3 player, an iPod touch, an iPod, and now I have an iPhone where I can buy songs on iTunes or other music streaming apps. Technology is continuously adapting. The first invention that allowed people to listen to music was the phonograph, then the gramophone, LP’s, multitrack recording, cassette tapes, a cassette tape player (also known as a Walkman), and then the compact disc. The technology used to listen to music continued to evolve after the creation of the compact disc to the discman, recordable CD’s, the MP3 player, NAPSTER, the iPod, iTunes, and now other music streaming apps such as Apple Music, Spotify, and Pandora. I believe that technology needs to constantly be updated in order for people to purchase the products and for companies to make money. 

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Property that Should Allow Public Use

A Lieutenant at the York County Prison stopped a man from filming the facility while standing on the public sidewalk. The man said he intended to educate people about the First Amendment, which grants people freedom from religion, freedom of religion; freedom of speech, freedom of the press; and freedom of assembly.

Tom Shirey, the man who was stopped from filming the prison, said he goes to public areas and films to see if he gets challenged. A quote that Shirey stated that resonates with me is “if you don’t use your rights, you tend to lose them” (Scolforo, 2020). Like this instance, Shirey is using his rights in order to see the response he gets from the police. Not many people use their rights the way he does; moreover, the police are probably not used to seeing this. Although this is not ordinary, the police should be cognizant of what the First Amendment institutionalizes and what Shirey can and can’t do in the area surrounding the prison. 

Since the sidewalk is public property, Shirey has the right to film the prison from that location. This public forum is protected for free speech activities, as long as they remain peaceful.

Above is the video of a Lieutenant stopping Shirey

Speaking of public forums, there are ‘free speech zones’ at public universities in order for students to express their rights. These zones started around the time of the Vietnam War because universities had to contain anti-war protests. Some states and universities are eliminating these zones, and states such as North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arizona restrict the use of free speech zones.

I feel that we shouldn’t need these free speech zones in order for students to express their beliefs. We are allowed to speak our minds; however, if someone were to speak of attempting violence, then that is when something should be done to stop them. 

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Dangers of Technology

As technology becomes more advanced, I believe it has become much easier for the government to stalk us. In China, the government is establishing surveillance of facial recognition, fingerprints, etc. to scrutinize billions of citizens. Obama and Trump insisted Apple create a way in which they could see everyone’s data on encrypted iPhones. Facebook even had an unsecured cloud server leak user’s phone numbers and their name to the world. This exposed data put these users at risk of scam phone calls and attempts of identity fraud. 

We are ignorant to what information gets leaked to the government; however, most people are so obsessed with technology that they don’t care. Apps such as Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube could save your picture in a database for when cops need to identify you. All cops have to do is take a photo and it will be matched to a photo found on your social media page. 

Social media has a pivotal role in the increase of stalking, and the scarier thing is that we don’t know when we are being stalked. Anything you put out on social media is with you forever. Even though it may disappear, as in Snapchat or an Instagram story, these postings will virtually remain in the social media stratosphere. 

In California, police arrested a man for breaking into a 13-year-old girl’s house, whose address he found by observing her posts on social media. We don’t stop to think about someone stalking our social media to track us down because people live busy lives; however, as seen in the show You, some people make it their profession to stalk. 

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Behind the Scenes of the Supreme Court

As addressed in this video, “the Supreme Court of the US remains the most powerful judicial body on the earth” (Stephens, 0:56-0:59). Supreme Court Justices are appointed by the elected President at the time and will continue in the Court even when the President finishes their term. “They deliberate and reach their decisions in private”(Stephens, 1:02), “but their power rests on public faith” (Stephens, 1:17). There are hundreds of Supreme Court Justices that uphold and decipher the 200-year-old Constitution. Even though the Constitution has never changed in the past 200 years, people are treated more equally now than in the past. A Supreme Court Justice stated that no matter who or where someone petitions, everyone gets the same individual consideration. Every Supreme Court Justice shakes hands when they meet before presenting their thoughts on a case because they are “less likely to hold a grudge” (Stephens, 12:20), which I found very interesting. 

"We the People" provide the government with powers. Without the people, the United States Constitution would not have been able to become the standards we must uphold.

Controversy is inevitable in the Supreme Court. The biggest controversies in history have been the Marbury v. Madison Case and the Dred Scott Case. In the Marbury v. Madison Case, it gave the Supreme Court judicial rule to review all actions of the government and deem them constitutional or not. For the Dred Scott Case, the judicial branch ruled that no African American, such as Dred Scott, is a US citizen, which sparked the Civil War. When the Supreme Court speaks, the public obeys. A quote from the video that I found very important when it comes to the law is that “if the Court disobeys or people stop listening, then one of the treasures that make this the freest nation in the world will cease to exist’ (Stephens, 8:47-8:57) and ‘the power of the Court is the power of trust earned—the trust of the American people” (Stephens, 9:48-9:53). With that being said, the Supreme Court continues to function because of the publics involvement in politics.

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