Presidency=No more BlackBerry

When Barack Obama takes office he will do so without one of his most prized possesions: his BlackBerry. Throughout his campaign Obama's BlackBerry has never been far from his side, in fact normally it was attached to it (by his belt). But that will change when he assumes his role as President. An article in the New York Times describes Obama's use of his BlackBerry and e-mail. He must give up his BlackBerry for security reasons and also because of the Presidential Records Act. The Presidential Records Act puts the president's correspondence in the official record and in public review. Throughout the campaign Obama relied on his BlackBerry to stay in touch with friends and keep informed on current events. His briefing books were sent to his Blackberry, or if too long, to his laptop. According to friends, his messages were crisp, properly spelled and free of emoticons. Obama will no longer be allowed to e-mail once he becomes President. Obama is not the first president that will deal with the loss of this important technological advancement; three days before inauguration President Bush sent this message," Since I do not want my private conversations looked at by those out to embarrass, the only course of action is not to correspond in cyber space. This saddens me. I have enjoyed conversing with all of you." During meetings in which BlackBerrys had to be placed in the center of the table Obama could be caught sneaking glances at his. 

Last week in class we talked about how our society has become increasingly dependent on technological devices, even the future President has developed a BlackBerry addiction.  I was surprised to learn that the President was not allowed to send e-mails, although this makes sense from a security standpoint,  it is very inconvenient. I also found it interesting that Obama would get distracted by his BlackBerry in meetings, just like many people are distracted by their phones in class or while talking in a group. It is sad that he must give up something that has been so useful to him, but it is a small sacrifice for being the leader of our nation. 

"The Enemy Within"- A new Perilous Times artifact?

While reading this Saturday's Chicago Tribune I noticed a big picture that said Witch Hunt, intrigued I began to read the article. It was a book review about an author we have read in class, John Demos. Demos has written a new book "The Enemy Within: 2,000 years of Witch-Hunting in the Western World", which also relates to our Perilous Times unit. Demos contradicts the beliefs that science has eliminated the belief in witch craft by mentioning that day-care child abuse and sex-ring scares that occurred in the 1980's and 1990's. In Bakersfield California, four people were convicted of Satanism based on the claims of ritual killing of infants and animals. Also in California, there was the McMartin preschool case in which children were intensely questioned, resulting in tales of sex acts and Satanic rituals. This questioning led to 63 spin-off investigations, which resulted in no convictions. Demos believes that similar cases developed in Minnesota, Texas, New York, Tennessee, and Massachusetts (also home to the original Salem Witch Trials). Demos states that "Witch-hunting was, and is, a cross-cultural, transhistorical phenomenon". He also says, " always and everywhere, charges of witchcraft were grounded in a web local, immensely personal relations." The article also mentions "The Crucible" as another artifact that connects with-hunting to a modern day event. 

I believe that excerpts from Demos' book could be really beneficial to the Perilous Times unit. With the exception of the Red Scare, we didn't really examine any more recent "Witch-hunts".  It could be an interesting addition to the Perilous Times artifacts. 

If you are interested in reading the article here is the link: "The Enemy Within: 2,000 Years of Witch-hunting in the Western World" by John Demos -- chicagotribune.com 

(picture from www.amazon.com) 

Just Google your chance of getting the flu!

Sounds ridiculous right? Well, in preparation for flu season Google has teamed up with the US government's Center for Disease Control and Preventions. Here's how it works: Google has invented a way to monitor flu outbreak's by tracking users' illness related searches. What is the benefit to this new system? It is much faster than traditional flu surveillance programs and also provides maps and graphs that show the intensity of flu outbreaks in the United States. Google believes there is a correlation between how many people google flu symptoms and the amount of people that are actually sick.  Google hopes to give people advance warning of flu outbreaks and help America stay healthy. 

I found this to be very interesting, but one has to question the accuracy of this survey. Could someone just be interested in the flu symptoms, while not actually having any of them? The answer is yes, so it may cause the intensity of the flu to be inflated. Despite this flaw it still could be very helpful if you are curious to know the amount of people that have the flu in a certain state. Also, it is easier to update than traditional flu surveys, which could offset its inaccuracy in the searches. Google also provides a flu shot locator, making it easier to find a convenient location to get vaccinated. I believe that this is an interesting and helpful resource in flu trends (in case you are wondering Illinois flu activity is low).