Re: Obama Administration

          I am in agreement with Candice on the job that the Obama administration in doing for our nation. Mr. Obama seems to be a down to earth, truthful leader that is honestly trying to do the right things for our country.  I thought that the whole birther situation was a big waste of time and ridiculous. I do not really care where somebody was born as long as they can lead our country with dignity and pride. On the topic of providing help during domestic disasters, I have always been concerned with how our country seems to always have to be the one to go in and save the other countries when there is disaster or trouble. Are we going to have enough resources to take care of the many possible disasters that we could have right here in our own country? With the economic problems we are having here in our country and looming government shut down, it is a wonder that we were able to help the recent victims of the tornadoes. I am also upset with the amount of aid that has been given to Pakistan for help with the hunt for Osama bin laden. Pakistan was just playing both sides, taking aid from the U.S while probably receiving money from Al Qaeda to hide Bin laden. It is ironic that when the U.S goes in without the knowledge of Pakistan they are able to find Bin Laden right in the middle of Pakistan. Yes I know how important it is to show terrorists that we will hunt them down wherever they go no matter how long it takes, but we need to pick better allies. We spent billions on aid to Pakistan, while they just sat on the fence and played both sides. That money was needed for our own economy for job growth and disaster aid here at home. I do believe that President Obama is a strong leader and can do good things for our country. He became President when our nation was having major problems here at home with the economic down turn and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. I believe that if given time the Obama administration will do good things for our country.     

State worker job cuts

            In the Austin American Statesman there was an article concerning some new proposed legislation that will cut thousands of state jobs. The main point to the article is how the state employees are upset that they will be losing some benefits and possibly be pushed into early retirement. The article is saying how these state employees might want to jump ship and find employment elsewhere in the private sector. I do feel for these people, our current economic situation is dire and depressing. My opinion of this article is what are these people thinking? Don’t they know that the current economic problems are affecting the private sector, too?
            Every sector is dealing with budget cuts and downsizing. In my opinion, they all should take pay and benefit cuts to help balance budgets. Encouraging state employees to jump ship does not seem like the answer. As the old saying goes the grass is not greener on the other side. I was laid off from a job in the home building industry and had to take a job at half the pay just to because I couldn’t find one in my field at the same pay. Considering how high the unemployment rate is, having the additional job seekers unnecessarily in the market will only make it worse. This is our current situation and we have got to just accept it and move forward the best we can.

Our country has been living high off the hog with nice big pay checks and comfortable jobs, spending money frivolously for a very long time. We could pick and choose between whatever job we wanted.  Now we have to be much more careful with our spending and learn to appreciate the simpler things in life. These days, just having a job is a blessing and much more appreciated than before, similar to the people that lived through the great depression in the 1920’s. We are all learning to respect money and to live life frugally.  The silver lining in this situation is if we can adjust and make it through this current economic down turn we will all have a greater respect for what we have not how much we have.

“Are We Really Giving a Helping Hand?”

Harry’s commentary on the United States involvement in other countries called “Are We Really Giving a Helping Hand?” makes a lot sense to me and how I feel about things that have been happening lately. Why are we always the country that has to go out and save the poor abused inhabitants of other countries? Sure it sounds like the noble gesture of a kind and caring country, but it seems to always come back to bite us on the hand. Just the ones in my lifetime have been pretty bad examples of giving a helping hand. Vietnam was a huge mistake and a total failure. We probably abused their citizens and caused more destruction then their government ever did. I know that we did do some good over there and saved some lives, but was it worth all the American soldiers that were killed for very little? Iraq and Afghanistan are going in the same direction as Vietnam. Have we really learned from the past or do we just keep repeating the same cycle.   What about all the money that is spent on wars, does that help us a home or not? Could we not take care of our own home front a little better such as providing a little more security to our education system and those involved in the preparation of our children and their future? So I agree with Harry and say stop increasing the national dept trying to save the world. Fix the problems in our own county before giving a helping hand to others.

No guns on campus!

No guns on campus!

The current debate about allowing guns on college campuses or anywhere in public is pretty scary to me. I don’t have a problem with protecting your home or property with a fire arm, but I don’t think it is a good idea out in public places. I would support a higher level of a security force on our campuses verses a 18 year old or anyone having a concealed hand gun on campus. I think that the time and maturity that it takes to be able to respond correctly and safely to a threatening situation takes years and the kind of experience that you are not going to get, or want to get in a concealed hand gun class. Let’s leave the job of public security to the professionals, not your everyday citizen with a few hours of hand gun training and no psychological evaluation.

Most police officers don’t even fire their hand guns in their whole career due to the extensive training that they have and by using more diplomatic means to calming a threatening situation instead of pulling out a gun and blasting away till the situation becomes stable. We have been influenced by too many Hollywood movies were the poor victim saves the day by shooting down all the bad guys and then going on with life like nothing ever happened.  

I have never been in a situation where a gun or a shooting took place, so I am not able to comment on someone’s view on that side of the debate. The people that had to be victims of some of the recent school shootings is horrific, and I truly feel for their pain and loss.  Would the outcome have been different if guns were allowed on campus? My thought is probably not. In fact, in some cases there may have been more casualties. All I know is that once that bullet leaves the gun the damage cannot be undone or easily fixed or replaced. Bullets can travel very long distances’ and go through walls, so even if you were able to hit your intended target the bullet can still go on and kill an innocent bystander that you may be trying to protect.  

We have millions of our solders that have come back from war suffering from post traumatic stress disorder. This seems to prove that when people are in an environment where guns and violence occur is a very traumatic experience. If we allow students, who are mostly immature, the right to carry arms it could create a hostile/unsafe environment and should be avoided at all cost.   

Pitts: Ruling shows why it's not easy being America

     I found this article  “Pitts: Ruling shows why it's not easy being American”   in the Austin American Statesman by Leonard Pitts Jr. of The Miami Herald dated Tuesday, March 8, 2011. Mr. Pitts has commented on a very sensitive subject to our nation. The importance of free speech verses the respect that our young military solders deserve after sacrificing their life for the freedom of our country.                                    

      The issue concerns the case of a church group called The Westboro Baptist Church an independent Baptist church known for its extreme stance against homosexuality and its protest activities, which include picketing military funerals and desecrating the American flag. The group believes that the tolerance of homosexuality is causing the demise of our society, and the death of our soldiers is God’s revenge for homosexuality. They are just like some bratty kid trying to get attention by acting out against the golden rule of man” do unto others as you would have them do to you “.   This group picketed the 2006 funeral of a 20-year-old Marine, Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, his father, Albert, sued and won a $10.9 million verdict.  I think the majority of Americans would say that this verdict was right and a fitting punishment for such an evil act. Westboro appealed the verdict to the Supreme Court and won, because they are granted the right to

express their views under the freedom of speech clause protected by the First Amendment. This editorial is written for all Americans and it shows the strength of the first Amendment and the importance of free speech whether you agree with the content of the speech or not. This is a very valid editorial because unfortunately it is true and verifiable by many other credible sources.  I think a new law should be passed that would require a one mile barrier between any military funeral and the Westboro group.              

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mack

In USA Today a member of their staff   wrote an editorial, “Our view: Fannie and Freddie should fade away” dated 2/15/2011. The subject is on the Obama Administration’s plan for reforming America’s housing finance market.

They plan proposes several options, one being doing away with the government backed mortgage programs called Fannie Mae and Freddie Mack which the writer agrees with. He discusses how the attempt by our government to fix this area of the economic meltdown has been unsuccessful. There are very few people that have not been affected by this financial crisis in one way or another. It is slowly damaging all areas of the country and the world by causing unemployment and foreclosures, just to name a few.

The writer’s opinion is for the slow fade out of these government programs. He believes that the programs have not worked and it would be more effective to get mortgage business into the private sector and out of the government’s hands. His article is credible because he is discussing an actual plan that the government is working on, not his interpretation of it.

I support his claim; it makes sense that our government needs to take a different approach in the housing and mortgage business. We cannot afford to ever let this problem happen again especially at the tax payers’ expense. The new road to reform is going to be tough, but if we don’t make the necessary changes now we will just end up repeating our past mistakes

New Abortion Bill Proposal

     A new Abortion bill up for consideration that would require doctors to
perform a sonogram, describe the fetus to the patient, and play fetal heart beats seems a little barbaric to me. Abortion is a big issue in our society and it does need all of our attention to come up with solutions to curb the misuse of this option. After first reading about this bill, all I could think of was just how medieval it sounded.
     The obvious reason for this bill is to try and dissuade the person from having the abortion by exposing them to the signs of the life within them. This seems to leave them with two options, keep the baby, or put the baby up for adoption. These are plausible options that have problems of their own. Most of the women/girls getting abortions today are very young, sometimes getting pregnant on their first cycle. Unfortunately, even though they are physically able to get pregnant, they are not emotionally, mentally, or financially ready to raise a child.
     Adoption is another viable option instead of abortion. It is very admirable for the women who can make this choice, realizing  they cannot give their babies the things that are necessary for a healthy, happy life. They have the insight to think of what’s best for the child and not for themselves. Not everyone facing an unwanted pregnancy has this strength or wisdom.  Most of the people having abortions today have a good idea of what they are doing and expect the physical, mental, and emotional ramifications that go along with it. I have always been Pro-Choice and a strong believer in sex education and providing resources about safe alternatives when there is an unwanted pregnancy.
     I do not believe this bill is the answer. In fact, it seems excessive and inhumane. I think the issue needs to be addressed when children of both sexes are young, including sex education and prevention. Parents, schools and churches all need to be on board with the solution to try and reduce the number of abortions performed every year through abstinence and protected sex.
     I found this article in the Austin American Statesman, it is worth reading because this is a topic that effects almost all of us. No matter what side you are on the controversy brings out a lot of emotions in all of us.