Commentary about Prop 8

I could not have agreed more with my peer Edgar Jann Palomo's editorial "Prop 8" about Proposition 8 and the outrage over homosexual marriages.  I will try not to focus on my religious views as much.  As we know this topic is among popularity with Arizona's immigration law.  Just last week Judge Vaughn Walker overturned Proposition 8, in which 52% of voters were against allowing same-sex marriages in California.  I am a heterosexual female, but I do support homosexual marriage.  I believe everyone has the right to love and to be happy in what ever way they may choose.  Homosexuals are a minority along with hispanics and african americans, so why follow in the footsteps of our past, and oppress someone because they are not like the majority?

Edgar states how although homosexuality is a sin in the Bible, he believes the Bible is similar to our Constitution, in which it was written "...to adapt to societal changes."  Well Edgar, I am religious, however I am not angered by anything that you have stated, shocking right?  Well I actually have the same thoughts as you.  Yes, I do follow rules according to the Bible, as much as I can, but you cannot expect everyone to do the same, which goes along with the diversity of our country.  Yes the Bible states that homosexuality is a sin, but believe me everyone sins on a daily basis and Jesus did die for our sins.  But the way that I have come to think of it is that not only do people have different religions and beliefs, but regardless they are going to do what they want to, and who are we to get in the way of that?  If they are stopped then they will find some way to get around that barrier, as we have seen they are more than determined to fight for their rights.  I suppose that our country as a whole may be opposed to homosexuality because they may think that if their children are exposed to it then 'it will have an affect on them' too.  If this is a thought, then obviously the same can and should be said for today's secular and sexual music, which kids pick up on faster than they do school assignments.

Back to the subject at hand, what I agree with most is that individuals should not look down on or try to force their views or opinions on others to make them conform to their ways.  As I have previously stated I am religious, but personally I could care less what someone else does, as long as I know what I am.  People should live life how they choose, and deal with what ever consequences there may be.  "People should be allowed to live their life as they please."

Great editorial Edgar!       

Illegitimate...Unqualified...Conspiracy!!! What To Believe?

Conspiracy theories have continuously been a topic of discussion and great concern in our society, but it has also been a great interest for me.  Do I believe in conspiracy theories?  I will just say that anything is possible!  There has been much speculation that people such as our Founding Father's,  past Presidents and the current President of our country have had some secret and seek to rule our country and take away our freedoms.  What captured my interest for this assignment was this ariticle from CNN which makes a claim that "...presidential illegitimacy have risen as respect for the office has fallen."  Yes, every presidential candidate will NEVER meet EVERY citizen's expectations in one presidential term,  I do not have to think, because I know that this will never occur, because 'you' cannot please everyone.  President's have been said to be illegitimate because people felt they were not qualified for the position.  They have been considered illegitimate because of some of their choices as President, concerns over what they wear, and even for Obama "...coming seemingly out of nowhere to win the presidency...."  I believe that things such as policies that Presidents have formed would have caused me to be suspicious and find them illegitimate, but other things are very amusing and to a certain degree down right ignorant.  According to Constitution we, the governed have the right to 'make changes to our government' if we do not feel that officials are doing their job.  We have the power to vote, my point being that if people believe the President to be illegitimate or believe in different conspiracy theories, why don't WE fight for change or fight for answers.  Though ideas and opinions have been brought up, can we truly judge ANY person without evidence and just hear-say?  Facts are needed!  

Marijuana Beneficial?

I chose the commentary Benefits of Marijuana Reform from The American Machine Blog.  I chose this article because I too agree that the use of marijuana should be legalized.  I do not smoke, and I am not a fan of it, but I do agree with this commentary and that smoking marijuana should be legalized.  This blog discusses the possible economic gains of legalizing marijuana in the United States.  If legalized such gains may come from "...the taxes that could be set on marijuana-similarly to the tobacco taxes...," causing a large increase in revenue for our country.  Also, because it is a trending and controversial topic, it has been said that marijuana can be used for medical purposes. 

The blog also discusses how the government would save money if marijuana was to become legal, because money would not be spent on those persons in jail for having posession of marijuana.  Because money is spent on prisoners we lose money because there are so many, but if none are convicted of this specific charge then our government would be saving money, even if it is just a little.  I definitely agree that drug kingpins would lose power if marijuana was to become legal.  

A few concerns of mines if marijuana is legalized are what will stop people from growing it themselves, or how much would the person be allowed to intake?  How do we keep the youth and underage people from smoking it?  Lastly, would this cause concern for another law to be put in place with this reform? 

When Will Our Opinion Really Be Worth Something???

I am young, so my first time voting was in the 2008 presidential election.  Before I joined this course, I did not have much knowledge about the government.  Needless to say I was naive, because I did not think that what goes on in our government affected me as much as it does older persons.  I have proven myself wrong and have found great interest in the electoral college.  The electoral college system is a topic of great concern, and it is one that is discussed frequently. 

I for one happen to find the electoral college system unfair and biased.  During elections there are popular votes, which are the votes of the people, and there are the electoral votes which are the votes of the electors selected that are supposed to represent the people's choice of candidate.  However, it does not always turn out that way, and in return causes an outrage.  During the election period candidates encourage citizens to go out and vote for the candidate that they believe will listen to their issues, and once this is done then the electors are to vote.  The electors are supposed to vote for the candidate they were chosen for at which the people voted for, but this does not always happen.  Though electors are supposed to vote for a specific candidate they can vote for another one of their choice, because they are not obligated to do so.  So therefore this could be a waste of votes, which would completely disregard the voice of the people.

An example of its unfairness is one of the well-known and contraversial presidency election of 2000, between Al Gore and George W. Bush. Candidate Al Gore won the popular vote by an outstanding margin, but candidate Bush, at the time won the electoral college by just won vote, awarding him as the President of the United States.  This opinion based article from The New York Times explains how the electoral college came about and is unfair.  I believe that the electoral college should be abolished because the people, also known as the governed are the voice of our country and have a say in how our government is ran, and that it meets the needs of the people as a whole.

Experiment Gone Wrong???

I have chosen the article titled "Obama Administration—An Experiment in No Experience" from the blog site Redstate, which reflects views of more conservatives. According to the publisher of this blog, this may be one of the greatest tragedies of presidency for our country. The article tells how Obama, unlike those that served as president before him, is inexperienced and incompetent of being a leader and governing our nation, along with his entire administration. Then, the author went on using evidence from recent issues of how President Obama handled the BP oil spill, and the racial issues with Shirley Sherrod at the USDA to support his claim. The audience the author is trying to reach is the American nation as a whole, to persuade them that by electing Obama it was a mistake, even relating his presidency "...to having a cafeteria manager suddenly elevated to Chief Executive of a large food-service company." However, I do not find this source to be credible, I find it one-sided and unfair. How can it be said that the cabinet members do not have experience, when they have either worked in the White House before or had been through congressional hearing to be in that cabinet. I really do not understand how the arthur feels that this is the fault of our president, these issues have been growing and occuring over time. The authors claim is that Obama and his administration are inexperienced because the lack of success in their proposed plans. Evidence provided is "...the President forcing through health care reform legislation earlier this year when poll after poll showed that a majority of Americans believed the program to be unnecessary and too expensive."  Each president of the United States has had their fair share of issues, and thus it will continue for the future presidents as well.

If You Don't Stand For Something You'll Fall For Anything!

I do agree with the commentary after reading this article, because I know how some of the programs listed have really helped out our nation. "The clause was the legal basis for any number of statutes of enormous benefit to society. It is why we have the Clean Air Act. The Clean Water Act. The Endangered Species Act. The Fair Labor Standards Act, setting a minimum wage and limiting child labor. The Civil Rights Act of 1964, which outlawed segregation in the workplace and in public accommodations." I do support the health care law because many do not have health care and now that it is in effect, I feel that later it would improve our health as a nation. I am a minority and from my short time on this Earth, I have personally seen family and friends who feel that the government does not care, because they do not have the financial support to get its attention. People with money, most whom are Repulbilcans, run things because their position financially. I do feel that a lot of republicans either do not care or choose not to look at the situation, because they do not want to help out their fellow citizens. Republicans are all about making money and we have seen what that has led to. This is a country that is supposed to be the supreme power over the world, and everyone wants to follow in our footsteps.  But I feel more than anything that instead of going forward we are stepping back in time. We are becoming more separated because we as a 'people' are so stuck in our ways, and too stubborn to move towards new things that could help with progression. I feel, that no one is willing to get out of the mindset of wanting power and being in control.  I believe that the Constitution was written so there could always will be room to roam and make changes. I do not fully understand the interstate commerce topic, however I do understand that the US is over all the states. How can a state tell the Federal Goverment what to do? Majority of the minorities feel that things are far from perfect but can say that I they are finally being heard. We do not hear too much about the little people/ parties, because majority of these news outlets are working for those two major parties. I feel that if it was Bush or another republican trying to deal with some of the issues at hand, then it would not have been as much controversy as we are seeing over the current issues.

Obama's Progress on Exports

Obama says new export initiative off to good start

This article posted by Houston Chronicle discusses President Obama's plan for exportation of goods, and how it will help our economy increase financially. He believes that by removing trade barriers and opening new markets abroad, global exporting of more goods will be positive, and we will bring in more revenue. However, the issue with this article is that the plan that Obama has mentioned will take more money from us in order to put the plan into action. This could cause an uproar because the plan is not gauranteed to be successful, we would have to take out loans,which could increase our debt. Also, our economy is still recovering from a recession, and there is fear that we may be headed towards another one.

As of now, our economy is slowly falling apart. The unemployment rate is still high, almost reaching 10%. Will we be able to expand the exportation of goods, and in return expect financial gain from it, or are we setting ourselves up for another downfall? Depending on the result we may not be able to come back from it.