Comment on Yaseri's Government Blog.

In my classmate's blog, Yaseri's Government Blog, she discusses gun control and tighter restrictions on buying guns in Texas along with the US. Firstly, she states that "People are using guns as a way to commit suicide..." (Yaresi). She brings up a static that says two/thirds of all gun deaths have been suicide and this is a main reason for stricter gun laws. If a person is severely depressed and is contemplating suicide, they will find other ways than a firearm to do so. People battling with severe depression have wild decision making skills and don't know what they are doing most of the time and if they want to, they will take their life by any means necessary. She then states that "58% of Texas residents voted that there should be no more restrictions on the current process of purchasing a gun. Although the majority of the voters voted for no more restrictions, 6% of those voters voted that "only criminals and the mentally ill" should be restricted, 2% of the voters voted that we should "increase penalties for gun related crimes", and finally 2% of the voters voted for restrictions "only for assault weapons"" (Yaseri). This poll proves nothing, as the 58 percent of people who want no more restrictions on buying guns is the majority and the people who want more restrictions only amounts to 10 percent. However, guns have been a huge problem in areas like Chicago and Baltimore  and I believe there should be restrictions in those occasions. But for the most part, the 2nd amendment needs to be protected at all cost because if we deem one amendment unfit then we will look at all of them and then we could be discussing if we should have freedom of speech taken from us. 

Blog Stage 7

The topic of abortion has been a hot topic in the recent years. Abortion is the ending of pregnancy due to removing an embryo or fetus before it can survive outside the uterus. Their are people who identify themselves as pro-life or pro-choice, I am pro-life. The slaughter of an baby before it has even entered this world is cruel and wrong. The fact that people are wanting to legalize the killing of  a human life, is absurd. The murder of any life should not be legalized and should be a punishable offense. According to The Endowment For Human Development "About 3 weeks, one day after fertilization, is when the heart first begins to beat, the sound of the little heart is too soft to hear. Very soon thereafter, they can see the motion using ultrasound technology" (Campbell). According to the New York Times "not until the end of week 5 and into week 6 (usually around forty to forty-three days) does the first electrical brain activity begin to occur" (Gazzaniga). Most women don't get abortions until way after five or six weeks, so technically it could be considered murder. However, there are some exceptions to this, there are cases of woman getting raped and impregnated and want to get abortions because they don't want to constantly relive that memory through seeing that child. I would agree, and say that would be a tough thing to do, to have something horrible like rape happen to you and then have a child come out of that and see that child everyday would be rough. The aborting of a child is wrong and should never be considered while pregnant. If you are willing to have sex and not use protection then you should face the consequences of having a child. 

Blog Stage 6

While reading my classmate Athen Steele's post Uncle Sam, he came up with extensive list of why President Trump should not build a wall. I am neither pro or anti "build the wall" however he does bring up great points which are worth thinking about and researching. He brings up the topic of drugs entering the country, job loss to border patrol, and finical loss within the country. Athen states that "Some people think the wall would keep people out and also keep drugs from coming into our country. What people don't realize is that if bad people want to do bad things then they will find a way" (Steele). This is somewhat true and someone false, WOLA states that "U.S. officials estimate that 90 to 94 percent of heroin consumed in the United States today comes from Mexico, which is now producing about 70 tons per year" (Isacson). However, most of the drugs transported are not going across the border but through "ports of entry" which are small caves designed to transport drugs. The thought that people will lose jobs to the wall is ridiculous, people will firstly need to be hired to construct the wall, supply thousands of jobs to construction workers and others living on the border. Then their will also need to to be people to look after the wall and scout the areas near the wall. Lastly, this would be an operation that costs hundreds of millions if not billions of dollar to construct. However, if the wall would start to be constructed and President Trump does not get re-elected, I don't think the next President would waste all that money and put us in even more debt than we already are. The wall is something that could or could not be done, and I personally feel as if it will have little to no affect towards to fixing the United States drug epidemic or the crime wave in Mexico. 

Blog Stage 5

          For centuries now people have smoked and used marijuana for several different purposes. Ancient China was known for using hemp to do things like line pottery, and to make clothes and shoes. According to the UK Cannabis Internet Activist "...in 1972 an ancient burial site dating back to the Chou dynasty (1122-249 B.C.) was discovered. In it were fragments of cloth, some bronze containers, weapons, and pieces of jade. Inspection of the cloth showed it to be made of hemp, making this the oldest preserved specimen of hemp in existence". Marijuana has been found in ancient tombs in China and was also used a burial shroud in ancient China. Marijuana has been proven to be resourceful and less harmful than what people in the past previously thought.   

          Marijuana has been illegal in most states for 81 years now since the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937. California has had legalized medical marijuana since the 90's and recently states like Washington and Colorado have had marijuana legalized recreationally. Colorado made a record 1.5 billion dollars with marijuana sales in 2017. According to The Cannabist "Colorado collected upward of $247 million in taxes and fees revenue from marijuana sales, according to state finance data" (Wallace). Its time for the US government to take up and see what is front of them, states that legalize cannabis make hundred millions of dollars in taxes. That is enough for renovations to the cities in need, constructing roads or highways, or just doing anything that a certain city really needs. 

Blog Stage 4

    In The Volokh Conspiracy article "Don't Take Too Much Comfort From Surveys Showing Widespread Opposition to "Political Correctness""  (http://reason.com/volokh/2018/10/13/dont-take-too-much-comfort-from-surveys) author Ilya Somin discusses "political correctness" and how it is affecting society today. According to a study done by Yascha Mounk and Robby Soave around 80% of Americans are not in favor of "political correctness". This goes across all ages and races, 82% of Asians and 87% believe political correctness is a problem according to the Mounk and Soave study. This is not just a race thing its a people thing, citizens want to be able to speak their mind without having someone harass them for saying something they believe.
    Political correctness is something we need to get rid of in this country, as Americans we are entitled to freedom of speech and to speak our mind. I'm not saying that I condone people saying something racist or discriminatory, its just that when the government says people can't say certain things then that will stretch to citizens not being able to say bad things about the government and coulee lead to censorship. If the government mandates what we say then we will not be truly free and America will not be what it stands for, which is freedom. 
    My generation is being told not to say the things they truly feel because it might hurt someone's feelings. America was built on being free, and having the choice to do or say whatever you want and if we try to change that, America will no longer be what it was. Political correctness is something that needs to get out of everyone's head and needs to be left alone to avoid citizens getting their freedoms taken away. 

Blog Stage 3

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/04/opinion/brett-kavanaugh-supreme-court-vote.html

The article written by The Editorial Board of the New York Times, talks about the Brett Kavanaugh case and its most crucial topics. The article discusses Kavanaugh's the crime of 1982 when he supposedly sexually assaulted and his credibility. Kavanaugh has already lied about the files that "...he claimed, implausibly, that he was not aware that files he received from a Senate staff member, some labeled “highly confidential” or “intel,” had been stolen from Democratic computers"(The New York Times). He quickly changes the subject and avoids when questions, when asked if he had ever blacked out from alcohol he states “I don’t know, have you?” Judge Kavanaugh clearly does this several times and it is very obvious. The article continues on about his mistakes but then discusses how this will affect the Supreme Court. this would be an embarrassment to the Supreme Court and "Some Republicans have warned that if Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination fails, no decent person will ever want to be put up for the Supreme Court again"(The New York Times ). The article does a great job of presenting facts in an orderly fashion over the hearing. The New York Times mostly aims to the Liberal side and does a great job of creating a story, based on facts, of the fall of Republican Brett Kavanaugh who took down Bill Clinton and played a huge part in the policies of George W. Bush which included torturing of detainees. Overall, I would agree with most of the things in this article, Brett Kavanaugh is definitely lying and can not be trusted. I would also agree that this would be a huge embarrassment to the national government to appoint someone like this, to one of the highest positions in our government. However, it is hard to judge someone for something they did 30 plus years ago. It makes for a interesting story and a great read for someone who wants to learn more about the case. 

Blog Stage 2

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/21/obituaries/marilyn-lloyd-dead.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FUnited%20States%20Politics%20and%20Government&action=click&contentCollection=timestopics&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=5&pgtype=collection

Marilyn Lloyd, a pioneer in terms of women in politics, died this week. The first woman ever in Tennessee to hold a seat in Congress and did it with great success. She was put into the world of politics after her husband was killed in a plane crash. She held her ground on several things that she believed was right, even if it went against her party. Stood up for women's rights in the 90's and advocated for women's health after defeating breast cancer. This article is important to read because it tells the story of a pioneer in politics. A woman who truly stood up for what she believed in and did not let anything get in the way of that. Before her husbands death, her only experience in politics was helping her husband run, and was then through into the world of politics after his death. She adapted and overcame the odds. A woman who should be remembered for generations to come.