Writing Feedback / 'End of the world 2012' - my research writing [5]

End of the world 2012

Timmy Tan
English 102
Robert Beckwith
March 17, 2012
Timmy Tan
Robert Beckwith
English 102
17 March 2012
End of the world 2012
Will this year be the final year for everyone in the world? I believe that 2012 won't be the end of the world because I feel like there's no way of telling the future. There has been a lot of speculation about 2012 being the final year for everyone, calling the day doomsday. This final day for everyone on earth is supposed to be on December 21, 2012. Having all this media attention and even a movie about 2012, will this year be the end for everyone?

There are a lot of people convinced that December 21, 2012 will be the day that there will be no more humankind on earth, but there are a lot of people not convinced that December 21, 2012 will be the final days for us. To me I just can't believe that someone can predict the world's ending, I'm just not convinced. The reason I want to write about this topic is to provide more knowledge about the end of the world and to show why or why not to believe that December 21, 2012 will be the final day for us. After researching about the end of the world the benefits for both me and the readers is that this paper can determine whether to become convinced or not about the end of the world.

There have been a lot of talks about the Mayan calendar ending on 2012, specifically on December 21 at 11:11 AM, making some people convinced that the end of the world will be here on December 21, 2012. December 21, 2012 marks the end of the 5,125 year cycle of the Mayan calendar, which is called the Great Cycle or the 13 Baktun Cycle. The Great Cycle or the 13 Baktun Cycle is a period of time where at the end of the cycle is where humanity reaches the next stage, where it's a continuous cycle of birth to death to rebirth. The Mayans felt that these cycles have a lot of great power to it and these cycles will become events on the earth.

Many people believe that we will start to experience a number of natural disasters such as volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis, floods, droughts, and many more life threatening natural events. Even though the earth has always experienced these natural disasters people believe that these natural disasters will become more frequent and significantly more intense than the others that we have experienced. Even humans themselves can create their own near destruction if not a full destruction through social, economic, chemical, and nuclear warfare. As many countries are trying to become powerful and trying to dominate the world you don't know how that country will respond to threats from other countries because once someone drops a nuclear bomb that's probably when the world is going to become into extreme violence all over. It seems like everyone is carry a nuclear bomb and the more nuclear bombs are created the more threatened the world and humans are going to be to an end to the world.

As many stories as there are to why the world is going to end there are many people skeptical about the end of the world drama. ''Astronomers and experts on Mesoamerican history say the Mayan apocalypse is likely to be another in a long line of failed doomsdays.'' (Stephanie Pappas, mnn.com). Even Mayans living today believe that December 21, 2012 won't be the end of the world, but just a new beginning. NASA doesn't believe a planet is going to hit the earth because they would have seen this planet called ''Nibiru'' many years ago. NASA scientists also believe that the ''flip-flop'' thing where the Earth's magnetic field will throw civilization back into the Stone Age, or destroy the planet won't happen because according to NASA the planet's magnetic field reverses every 200,000 to 300,000 years and the fossil record hasn't shown any sign of disruption in life.

People believe that all this 2012 drama is so that people can make money off of it. There are going to be things sold so that people will think that they will survive doomsday. There are many believers buying books, food that last long periods of time, bunkers, and many things just for the day December 21, 2012. There was also a movie called 2012 creating more hype to this end of the world drama. Having many people fear that the world is going to end there is going to be people creating things to make money.

Even though there have been many reasons to why December 21, 2012 will be the end of the world for humankind I still believe that there is no way of predicting what's going to happen and that of course there are many threats to the world ending, but nobody knows if or when that will ever happen. I am hoping that December 21, 2012 won't be the end of the world and still believe that it won't be, but I feel like people shouldn't be afraid on that day and to just live your life normally as you would any other day. This end of the world drama is worldwide and it's up to that person to either believe it or not, but I really hope that December 21, 2012 won't be the end for humankind. Nobody really knows that December 21, 2012 will be the end of the world because only time will tell. I just hope that the outcome for December 21, 2012 won't be what everyone is thinking and that life will continue on as always.

Works Cited

Research Papers / 'The DACA program' - Research Paper review [2]

The DACA program being issued

Timmy Tan
English 102
Ryan Jones
October 19, 2012
Timmy Tan
English 102
Ryan Jones
October 19, 2012
The DACA program being issued
The DACA program is a policy, which is abbreviated short for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Since the DACA program is a policy it means that the program can be cut at any point of time. The program DACA has caused a lot of controversy to why illegal immigrants deserve the rights for these benefits. The United States has always been struggling when it came to immigration laws and now Obama passes the DACA program. The DACA program was created for young immigrants in the United States who have no legal status and were brought to the United States as children (''Who Qualifies..''). If that individual is approved for the DACA program they are granted Deferred Action status at the discretion of DHS (Department of Homeland Security) for a period of two years, which gives them two years protection against deportation, a work permit, and drivers license where the drivers license vary by states (''Who Qualifies..''). The DACA program was passed by President Obama on June 15, 2012 and there was an estimated amount of up to 1.75 million people that may be eligible for the DACA program.

As much people there are that are estimated to be eligible for the DACA program most of these individuals are scared to apply for the DACA program. Many of these individuals fear of deportation on them or their family members after applying for the DACA program. These individuals think that they or their parents will be deported now that they have submitted all their information. Other individuals fear if the DACA program being tossed because they think if Obama isn't re-elected and Romney wins, that Romney will cut the DACA program right away and maybe even start deporting the ones who applied already for the DACA program. There are a lot of mixed emotions towards the DACA program, since the DACA program is a policy it can be tossed at any time. As much people that are fearing the outcome of applying for the DACA program there are the fearless people who are still applying for the DACA program because of the benefits. As of September 11 there has been reported to be 72,000 applications, where there were only 40,000 the month before (''What Early...''). There is a lot of speculation to if the DACA applications will go up or down or if they're waiting to see who will be president next so nobody really is sure what's going to happen to the DACA program.

The DACA program applies to certain individuals who are under the age of 31, as of June 15, 2012 (''The Deferred Action...''). These certain individuals also had to fit these certain principles: ''Came to the United States before reaching their 16th birthday; were continuously residing in the United States since June 15, 2007 up to the present time (''The Deferred Action...'')''. The Second principle is to be physically present in the United States on June 15, 2012, and at the time of making the request for consideration of Deferred Action (''The Deferred Action...''). The third principle is to have entered without inspection before June 15, 2012, or lawful immigration status expired before June 15, 2012 (''The Deferred Action...''). The fourth principle is to be currently in school, have graduated, or obtained a Certificate of Completion from high school, have obtained a General Education Development (GED) Certificate, or are an honorably discharged veteran of the Coast Guard or Armed Forces of the United States (''The Deferred Action...''). The final principle to these certain individuals to fit into the DACA program is to not have been convicted of a felony, significant misdemeanor, three or more other misdemeanors, and do not otherwise pose a threat to national security or public safety (''The Deferred Action...''). All these principles I've listed are the individuals who are eligible for the DACA program.

Now that these certain individuals have the right to apply for the DACA program it seems unfair to the rest of the immigrants who are applying for visas, green cards, citizenship, etc. People who are immigrating into the United States that are following the laws have to wait years for their U.S. visas and it can take a very long time just to even come to the United States and gain these benefits like how the DACA program is allowing these individuals to gain these benefits. The DACA program is showing how weak the United States is when it comes to enforcing the immigration laws, now that the DACA program is passed it allows these certain individuals who got smuggled to the United States to easily get these benefits. It seems like the DACA program is unfair to the other immigrants by somewhat cutting in line in front of the other immigrants who have to wait years and years just for this opportunity to live here in the United States permanently and gain benefits. The United States needs to be stricter on their immigration laws.

The United States immigration consists of a green card, citizenship, and U.S. visa. A U.S. visa consists of two types which are called the immigrant visas and nonimmigrant visas. Immigrant visas allow travelers to enter the U.S. in order to live and work permanently in the U.S. A non-immigrant visa allows travelers to enter the U.S. temporarily for a specific reason, such as tourism or business. In order to get a U.S. visa that individual must be secured by those wishing to enter the United States from another country to temporarily visit or work within American territory. Obtaining a U.S. visa can take long depending on which U.S. visa that individual is applying for so it is best that the application is done correctly or else that individual will have to re-apply, which is adding extra years on their wait to live in the United States. A U.S. visa allows that individual to travel to a port of entry, it allows international travelers to be able to come to the U.S. for a wide variety of reasons, such as tourism, work, etc. The process of permanently living in the United States and moving from a country and to be approved for a visa can take years, which is the first step to coming into the United States properly ('U.S. Visas'').

A green card is next obtained after the U.S. visa is complete. A green card is available if that individual belongs to one of the immigrant categories outlined in the Immigration and Nationality Act or by marriage (''Green Card''). Usually all the green card applicants must be eligible to enter the U.S. through employment, investment, family, refugee status, or through some other pre-established means (''Green Card''). Before applying for a green card that individual has to apply for a U.S. visa first. The green card allows that individual to be a permanent residence in the United States, they will also legally live and work in the United States. The green card also lets that individual travel in and out of the country more freely and the green card is the first step towards the U.S. citizenship where one must generally have a Green Card before applying for naturalization, which is U.S. citizenship (''Green Card''). The green card is mainly for that individual to work in any company located in the U.S. territory. Now that the individual has a green card this will allow that person to have more opportunities. Green Card holders allow that individual to legally have their own car, firearms, and any other items the average Americans can own. A green card generally takes only a couple months to obtain or maybe even a couple of weeks.

The final process of immigrating into the United States is to ultimately become a U.S citizen. An individual can apply for citizenship after obtaining a green card that has been valid during the 5 years prior to their application to become a citizenship (''U.S. Citizenship''). The advantage of being a U.S. citizen is the right to vote, being able to reunite your family in the United States. Obtaining citizenship for children born abroad, which means that if you're a U.S citizen and your child was born outside of the country, he or she could become a U.S. citizen automatically. Another advantage of being a U.S. citizen is the ability to travel freely across U.S. borders, by having a U.S. passport that individual can travel overseas with no problem. Another advantage of being a U.S. citizen is to collect benefits such as social security. Another advantage of being a U.S. citizen is to become a federal employee, which means that you can now be a federal worker. Lastly an advantage of being a U.S. citizen is to become an elected official where most elected posts in this country require a U.S. citizenship (''U.S. Citizenship''). A U.S. citizen varies to how long it takes to obtain it; it may take months or maybe years.

Another controversy towards DACA program is to why all of a sudden Obama passing the DACA program right when Election Day is coming. It seems like Obama is doing this for the votes so that Obama can be re-elected as President and to me personally it sure does look like Obama did this for the votes so that he can be re-elected as President. It doesn't seem right to make the DACA program official a couple months before Election Day, just seems so fishy. The biggest issue towards the DACA program is to why these individuals who are illegal immigrants should have the right to obtain these benefits when it can take years for other immigrants to obtain these benefits. It bothers me just because the immigration law was enforced already and there is no need to change anything just because there was a lot of pressure towards the immigration law. I don't think the DACA program should be enforced anymore because I don't think these individuals deserve these benefits any more than the other immigrants applying for their visa, green card, or citizenship. I just feel like these individuals should've applied for their visa like any other person instead of complaining about the immigration law.

Works Cited
- Ilona Bray. ''Who Qualifies for Deferred Action as an Immigrant Student or Graduate (DACA).'' Web. 19 Oct. 2012.
- Proskauer Rose. ''The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Program: its implications for United States Employers.'' 4 Oct. 2012. Web. 19 Oct. 2012.
- ''Green Card' Web. 19 Oct 2012.
- ''U.S. Visas'' Web. 19 Oct. 2012.
- ''U.S. Citizenship'' Web. 19 Oct. 2012.
- Giovagnoli Mary. ''What Early DACA Application Numbers Tell Us about the Future of the Program.'' 13 Sep. 2012. 19 Oct. 2012.