Blog 8

Playground bullies written by Michael Russell was a very well thought out commentary. He provided great examples of bulling when it comes to politicians. He indicates about a “war tax” that was mentioned by the groups and members of congress who do not agree with the President’s decision. I was very pleased with this article and the message it is portraying. I completely understand that while some are out playing a game of golf other are in the line of fire protecting those playing golf. Yes the subject of war is not an easy subject but it is something that has to be done. And since we have been at war for 8 years we need to finish what we started. If the Afghan people want a change, they need to work with the American troops and work as hard as our men and women are doing to bring upon that change. They need to embrace the help that our troops are there to provide. I can only hope that the sacrifice these men and women and their families are doing is for the good of another nation.

Blog 7

The war in Iraq has been going for over 6 years and it looks to be going longer then wanted. Why did former President Bush go to war? We like to think because Osama bin Laden attached our twin towers in New York City. However, I feel like the government might have already known that an attach to our nation was coming. Former President Bush used that attack as a way to put our troops in a foreign county to try to control. It is known that Iraq has the biggest oil industry and I feel that former President Bush was going after that. We have lost so many lives and we continue to lose many more. What have we accomplished, we have yet to catch Osama bin Laden and we have no idea as to where he might be. The only one who is suffering is our troops. They have to deal with the deployment to a country where we are not wanted. They have to deal with the fact that they are coming home without a limb. Or they are coming home with post traumatic stress and depression. And our government is now moving our troops to Afghanistan after 6 years in Iraq. How many years are our men and women going to be there? How many more lives is our government willing to lose? When will the families of those troops be able to hold their loved ones? In my opinion, I don’t feel that moving into Afghanistan is going to change the outcome. Osama bin Laden is still out there and he is in hiding. He will come out when it is time to attach us again. Having thousands of our men and women out there risking their lives is not the solution to finding Osama bin Laden.

Blog Stage Six: Comment on a colleague's work #1

In the article Blog Stage 5: Is Our Justice System Fair? written by John A M, he indicates about our unfair justice system. The case he mentions is an unfortunate even that took place in our local city. Unfortunate unfair jail time is something that happens all over the World. It happens because the cops, media, judges, prosecutors, and even then family of the slain want to put blame on someone weather they did the crime or not. Our justice system is not always fare in my opinion because the decision of whether one is innocent or not is made by human and not by evidence. The article LOS ANGELES TIMES: Innocent but executed? proves that no matter how much evidence one has to prove their innocence there is still a human behind the decision. This article also hits home because it’s a Texas case and it involves our own Governor Rick Perry. This article clearly shows what I have stated, that decisions are not based on the evidence but on image. Gov. Rick Perry is concerned for his image and not concerned that an innocent man might have been executed. This is unfortunate and we can only hope that events like this will never happen again. Unfortunately events like this will continue to happen until the people who run the justice system do right the right thing and use the justice system right.

Illegal Alien

The topic of illegal aliens is something that I am very much interested because of my Hispanic roots. The United States is working very hard to get rid of all the illegal aliens and I really don’t understand why. People say that the illegals are taking away the jobs of the U.S. citizens’. It’s funny because what I see when I dry through a new subdivision are Hispanic man doing hard labor I don’t see the white man doing that. I see Hispanic women cleaning toilets at a hotel I don’t see a white woman doing that. I see both Hispanic men and women picking crops during the day or night weather it rains or shines. And these men and women get paid under the table but their pay is less than the bare minimal salary. Now I can see that the illegal aliens are not paying taxes, so why instead of trying to get rid of them why don’t we given them a citizenship so that they can pay taxes. I think out government would gain more in taxes if we just made the process of becoming a citizen a bit easier.
We also have our current top of health care and how our taxes are going to pay for the insurance of illegal aliens. Now let’s think about it, a U.S. citizen has an accident and they don’t have health care where would they go to? The hospital because the hospital cannot refuse medical service weather the person does or does not have insurance. Now the hospital has medical expenses that need to be paid so they ask the government for assistance and the government assists them from the taxes they collect for the American people. So now, our taxes are paying for the medical services that were provided to a citizen now are we going to discriminate against our own as well. Why not put something in play where all the American people benefit from it.
Our government has tried very hard to get rid of all the illegal aliens to try to protect our country. If I remember correctly the attack to our twin towers in New York was not done by illegal aliens who crossed the border from South America or Central America. But yet we are spending millions of dollars to build a fence around our borders to stop the illegal aliens to come into our country. Why not spend those millions of dollars in our children’s educational system or in something more productive.
At the end people are still going to think what is best for them and not what is best for our country. I strongly believe that our country would be a lot better if we worked with our illegal aliens. Provide them with proper documentation so that they can pay taxes and they can pay for their own health care. Our country is supposed to be the land of opportunity and prosperity not the land of fear and hopelessness.

Pre-Existing

In the commentary Health Insurance Companies Tell Women: You’re a Pre-Existing Condition written by Allyson Kapin provides a little more about health care companies and what they have the right to do. I was in complete shock to read that pregnancy is considered a pre-existing condition and could not be covered in a lot of states. If one becomes pregnant the insurance company has the right to just cancel one's coverage. Just to avoid paying millions of dollars on medical claims. How selfish can these health care companies be? Also to find out that women pay more than men for the same policy insurance. That just because we are women we are immediately considered as pre-existing condition. I wonder if any of these people whom have had their insurance cancelled are COE’s or business owners. A reform is needed to help not to hinder the American people. As long as there are greedy people out there we will never be helped. This article was very informative for me; it provides details on the insurance companies and what they can do. This article is for everyone to read and to understand that the only one benefiting from a no healthcare reform are the health insurance companies. We need to come together and stop arguing about how the health reform will cause deaths for the elderly. As a woman I don’t want to get pregnant and be afraid that my health insurance has the right to drop me and consider my pregnancy pre-existing. How ridiculous can the American people be?

Open your mind

The commentary “Open your minds, America” on CNN, written by Rudy Ruiz on Sept 3 2009, provides information on how closed minded we the American people are. The words “flip-flopper” in the political worlds is a big issue now a day. Politicians would rather stick to what they have said even if they are wrong then to be labeled as a “flip-flopper”. Mr. Ruiz indicates 3 reasons why we close our minds: “labels, lifestyles and listening”. We immediately label someone as a "bible-thumper" when we hear the words “God” or “moral”. We are quick to categorize because of the way we think, work, and live in this digital world, instead of doing our own research. We don’t ask because we don’t want to listen to a long complicated response. Mr. Ruiz also writes that changing our minds is not a character flaw but a manifestation of higher intelligence. I completely agree with Mr. Ruiz in this commentary. In order for our country to move into a better place for everyone we need to open our minds to new things. Instead of labeling people we should start listening to them and then maybe we could have a second opinion. We need to stop thinking that what is right is what we have thought of all along. Let’s go to town hall meetings with an open mind, willing to see someone else’s point of view. But they key to a better America is we need to be willing to listen, willing to open out minds to new ideas. If we, the American people, are not willing to open our minds, then there will never be progress in our country. This article in my evaluation could not have been written any better. He is blunt and forward with his message to the American people. The author said it best, “opening our minds can only enhance the prognosis for our most cherished patient: America.”

Apology

In the article No more apologies for outburst against president Rep. Joe Wilson R-South Carolina has stated, "I am not going to apologize again." Immediately after the Presidential speech Joe Wilson issued a statement apologizing for his inappropriate behavior, and called the White House to apologize to President Obama. The response to Joe Wilson’s outburst greatly shows how deeply we are divided over the issue of healthcare reform. After his outburts Democrats and Republicans have each raised more than $1 million dollars for re-election next year. I enjoyed this article because it has shown that an apology is much more than just words. If Joe Wilson does not apologize at the democratic house floor the democrats plan to censure him. How hard is it to say, "I'm Sorry"? It was not hard for him to yell at our President while he was addressing the joint session of Congress.