Bellevue, PTSD, and Fireworks

      Every body loves the Fourth of July weekend. There are barbeques, concerts, flags, family, friends, and above all fireworks. Every body loves fireworks!  Actually, not every body.  Bellevue, Nebraska is pushing for a 10 P.M. curfew for fireworks on the Fourth of July weekend and a 12 P.M. curfew on the fourth to help veterans with PTSD. Veteran Matt Clark says he loves fireworks accept for when they are at night and are unexpected. When trying to sleep, the loud booms send him back to the fields of Iraq and sometimes send him into flashbacks that can sometimes last up to thirty seconds.  Clark and other veterans believe that a set curfew would help them cope with their PTSD because there would be less unexpected explosions.  Cities like Omaha and La Vista have a set curfew of 11 P.M. but no one really follows it and the cities are pretty lenient. Bellevue veterans are getting lots of support for this set curfew but it's going to be a long road because Nebraskans love their fireworks.

      Setting a curfew for 10 P.M. in Bellevue during the Fourth of July weekend is not going to help.  If this curfew was in fact passed, not many people are going to follow it.  There are always going to be kids running around lighting fireworks late at night.  This would be worse for the veterans because then the fireworks would be more unexpected.  Unexpected fireworks are the main reason for the 10 P.M. curfew but this will only make it worse. Some people with PTSD put on headphones or go into the basement where it is quiet and this might be the best solution.  Lighting off fireworks is something the cops can't stop and the heroes with PTSD have to endure. 

http://www.omaha.com/news/metro/to-help-veterans-with-ptsd-bellevue-considers-p-m-fireworks/article_36f0a816-43fc-5ea4-b819-aae4820a1ba2.html?mode=jqm

     Fireworks over the city of Omaha, Nebraska

It's Clinton NOT Hillary

      Hillary has been all over the news recently ever since she announced that she is going to be running for president in 2016. With all the attention on her, one question has arrose. No not why she wears so many different colors of pant suits but why do we call her by her first name? According to a University of Utah study, Hillary has been called by her first name four times more than Barack Obama during their 2008 election competition. Is it sexist? Since she might be the next president, some think that calling Mrs. Clinton "Hillary" is disrespectful and sexist. There are no male candidates that go by their first name.  There is no "Bob" or no "Steve" running for president.  Calling Clinton by her first name is a stereotype of woman that they have to be "approachable".  All candidates  should receive the same respect by being called by their last names.  After all, we are not buddies with the president. 

      Whether she likes it or not, Hillary will always be Hillary.  The name has stuck.  In my opinion, this first name basis is an advantage to her.  If the citizens are on a more personal level with her, she will capture more votes.  She has distinquished herself from her husband ,President Clinton, in many ways but when it comes down to voting day, people will be voting for Hillary not Clinton. 

http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/14/opinions/drexler-dont-call-her-hillary/index.html

Hillary's multiple colors of pant suits

Free Shamu

      In 2013, a man named John Hargrove came out with a book stating that the lives of killer whales held in captivity at Sea World are being destroyed. He talks about how as a kid he used to marvel at them and that one day he himself would be a killer whale trainer. When he achieved this dream of his, he came to soon realize how powerful and deadly these creatures are and how poorly mistreated they were.  He says killer whales aren't meant to be held in captivity and that they shouldn't be treated as circus acts. They are predators that can turn on you at any moment. For example, a whale named Tilikum drowned and tore apart a woman trainor named Dawn. Hargrove said that they had a good relationship but it comes to prove that killer whales are still wild animals. The whales at Sea World have little room to swim and they often get in fights with other whales.  John says the whales should be released back into the ocean in special ocean sanctuaries.
      I agree with Hargrove. Killer whales should not be held in captivity to perform shows. However, it is sad that it took John to realize that these animals are being mistreated by becoming a trainer himself. Whales are meant to be in the ocean, not in a swimming pool. The reason for Tilikum acting out against Dawn was because he is frustrated. The whales know this isn't their natural environment. They want to be free. Sea World should close down and stop breading killer whales just to make a cheap buck.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/03/150329-orca-blackfish-seaworld-dolphins-killer-whales-ngbooktalk/

 John Hargrove performing a stunt