Try Screeching Halt!

In a recent article written by one of my classmates (http://americanperceptions.blogspot.com/), the topic of our country’s economy, mainly because of this war, is addressed. I honestly couldn’t agree with her more on the issues she addresses.


Inflammation is inevitable and our budgets just aren’t meeting the requirements. We have to cut out activities in our lives that we enjoy doing because we can’t afford gas prices. I bought a new car in August and then it cost $30 to fill; just since then it has gone up to $40 to fill. It’s not just gas prices going up, either. It’s food, clothes, basically anything you can think of. The stimulus checks that SOME people (some people aren’t even receiving anything) are getting here soon are probably going to go towards bills or debts, not going out to spend money to stimulate our economy.


The cost of the war, $3 trillion dollars, is so incredibly ridiculous; it’s almost hard to believe. Our country will be trying to pay all this money back for a very long time, which doesn’t make prices on anything look like they’ll be going down anytime soon. The bottom line is that we need to get a change in the presidential office soon and end this war before our debt and prices rise any higher than they already are.

Change We Can Believe In

Everyone knows and, most of everyone, is out there voting for either Clinton or Obama. But who should really get the Democratic spot? My personal opinion says Obama. When I watch his speeches or debates, I feel like he is truthful and real. Maybe Hillary is truthful and real, too, but I just don’t believe it.


One thing that catches my eye, and we have had a discussion board on this, is voter fraud. He wants to sign into law his legislation that has “harsh” penalties for people involved in voter fraud. I think that this is a huge issue, especially with it coming time to vote for the next, new president of our country. It is not fair to anyone to have someone jack their identity and vote for them.


Another HUGE issue is our economy. Prices are going up and wages are staying the same. Obama plans to have a tax cut for the working class and also provide a more simple way to do taxes to save money and time. I think that a tax break for the working class is exactly what this country needs. So many families are working really hard to make ends meet and they still aren’t connecting.


Obama also wants to keep jobs here in our country instead of sending them off somewhere else. Our country needs jobs here for everyone to make their money and make ends meet. He also wants to raise the minimum wage. I think that raising the minimum wage is something that ALWAYS needs to be done. Inflation is extreme and our wages don’t cover a lot of expenses anymore.


Obama wants to change the fact that we spend $1.4 billion on foreign oil everyday. We need to start using less oil in our cars and machines and reduce carbon emissions, which is what he plans to do. He also wants to invest $150 billion over the next 10 years in clean energy. Our world is literally melting away and he wants to help do what he can by requiring renewable energy and promoting hybrids.


I could go on for days about why we should vote Obama into office. Clinton may have some of the same ideas as Obama, but I can’t seem to believe her, for some reason, that she’ll actually follow through with what she says. I do believe that Barack Obama is a change we can believe in.

Legalizing Marijuana

In an article recently written by one of my classmates, labeled As the Machine Turns (http://americanperceptions.blogspot.com/), she addresses the issue of legalizing marijuana. This has been an issue for as long as I can remember, being debated in high school classrooms, and now in college as well. I also am not a pot smoker, but I do agree with many of the points that she brings up. First of all, a lot of people smoke marijuana anyway, and I know that’s not a good reason to legalize it (we can make killing people legal right just because a lot of people do it), but it definitely would open a door. That could be good or bad; bad in the sense that if we are legalizing marijuana, why can’t we legalize other drugs? It could be good because it is already used for some medical purposes


My mother always used to say that if you get into marijuana, it is a gateway to all the other drugs that are worse. My peer also addresses this issue and I agree; marijuana itself is not the gateway, it’s the market where it is sold. Some of the drugs in the medical market that are already legal seem like maybe they should be the ones illegal! There are a lot more addictions to prescribed drugs than I think a lot of people realize.


Like she said, “Hundreds of thousands of Americans die every year from tobacco, prescription drugs, and alcohol, yet there has never been 1 single death EVER from consuming marijuana.” I also agree that, when I grow up and have kids, if they’re going to be out doing whatever they want, I would rather have them smoke a joint and chill on a couch all night long instead of getting completely drunk and trying to drive, or drive with someone drunk and end up killing themselves or someone else. Times are changing and I think it’s time for a change on legalizing marijuana.

Do we stay or go?

Should or shouldn’t we stay in Iraq? After the election in Iraq in January, 2005, many people would say that we need to get out of there. Many people think that we should have withdrawn the troops after we captured Saddam Hussein. I am not sure when we should have, but I think that we definitely should have withdrawn the troops way before now.
I have personally had someone close to me die over there fighting and I know several others that have been there or are there now. The last soldiers I talked to about it said that they knew what they were fighting for originally, but now that they have captured Saddam Hussein and he is out of the picture, soldiers are just getting killed by roadside bombs while trying to deliver food to other camps or while on small similar trips.
We are essentially paying for our family members, who are over there fighting, to get killed. Soldiers I have talked to have told me that the Iraqis don’t even want them there anymore. Soldiers also have to stay longer with extended contracts, basically against their will because they don’t have the draft in order and enough people are not signing themselves up.
Why do we need to get Iraq’s security forces up and running? We made our country on our own; other countries can stand up for themselves and do the same thing. It is not easy running a country, as anyone could guess, but someone needs to do it. It is not our job to go into other countries, thinking we are bettering them, and try to change them to be like the United States.
The exit strategy of wearing them down and then building them back up that they had originally was not a good idea and didn’t work. What they ultimately need to do is pull the troops out. Men and women in our armed forces need to rest and see their families. They deserve to have a break.

Iraqi Officials' Charges Dropped

Qassim Abdul-zahra and John Affleck from the Austin American-Statesmen (http://www.statesman.com/search/content/news/stories/world/03/06/0306iraq.html) reported that on Wednesday, March 5, 2008, two Iraqi officials were let free. Minister Hakim al-Zamili and Brig. Gen. Hameed al-Shimmari were charged with kidnapping, murder, and corruption. The charges were dropped because of the lack of evidence. Apparently, “The collapse of the case struck a blow to U.S.-backed national reconciliation efforts.” Some people said it “considers today as a black mark and a grave setback in the history of the Iraqi judiciary system. What has happened today is a big mistake that should be corrected immediately; otherwise, the country will be drawn into disaster.” The article also mentions that five days after the US pulled its troops out of north Iraq, Turkey began fighting again. I think that it is obvious no matter what we try to do by regulating over there, it doesn’t help. The best thing we can do is stay out of it. I don’t know why we were even involved in the case for these two Iraqi officials in the first place. I have had a family member die in Fallujah and I have talked to a couple of other guys that have fought/are fighting over in the Middle East. Every one of them that I have talked to and asked if they think we’re doing the right thing by being over there has said, “No”. They said that at first they had reason to be over there fighting, but now, no one wants them there and everyone is just getting killed. It drives me nuts hearing about the men and women serving our country and dying. The people in the Middle East are going to do what they want to whether it’s what we agree with or not. We can’t make peace in the world on our own, and I think that we need to get out of there and out of their business.

Obama wins 10!

Barack Obama pulled ahead as he won his 10th straight state, Wisconsin then Hawaii. Many say that Hilary Clinton needs to win Ohio and Texas to keep up in his battle. They are getting ready to battle on Thursday night, here in Austin. Obama seems to be targeting a lot of younger voters. To me, he seems more genuine about issues and he really will fix the problems our country has. Clinton just seems, to me, that she is saying anything to get any voters. Surprisingly, Obama had just as many white female voters in Wisconsin as Clinton. When I first heard that Hilary Clinton was running, I assumed that women would vote for her just to have a woman be president. John McCain has clearly won the spot for the Republican Party, so it’s all eyes on Obama and Clinton. Many think that Obama doesn’t have enough experience to be a president. I guess time will tell, if he does win. What kills me about all political issues is the criticism that they lay on all their opponents. I think that they should all just worry about what their plans are and stick to them. Voters will follow what they promise. This also includes character or policy. I am personally drawn to Obama because of his character; I also think he has good policies. I hate it when the candidates just bash each other for their policies (“plagiarizing” and what not). Stop criticizing each other and work on what you believe and what you’re going to do to better our country!

All Eyes on FEMA in Tornado's Aftermath

So everyone's heard about the tornadoes that have occurred recently in the southeast, right? Now everyone is turning to FEMA for help. Can they help? This question arises among many citizens in the states that have been affected and even states outside of them. Many think that FEMA did not help during hurricane Katrina and they won’t do much to help now to fix the damage done by the tornadoes. The question of how effective FEMA really is is starting to turn into a political issue and a blaming game. Who is really to blame for these catastrophes and their cleanings? Mother Nature? President Bush? Or is it the local and state legislature? Can we forget about blaming everyone else and just clean up the mess?! Read this article and make sure you leave a little comment/message, on the bottom with the others, to get your opinion out!