Obama Statistics Since he took Office in 2009

This picture shows how much things have changed since Barack Obama has changed since he took office 5 years ago. Obviously nothing good have come from his presidency and as of now nothing is looking up for these next 2 years for Obama and for other American in the U.S.

Raising Prices

            Since the ObamaCare health care has been launched eight million American citizens have signed up for the new program in about six months. This is a low number compared to what President Barack Obama and former Secretary of Health, Kathleen Sebelius, expected. But after new numbers came out recently showing that costs for state governments to fund ObamaCare is skyrocketing and government officials are showing their rage for this new insight and they are calling for an entire overhaul of ObamaCare.

            Taxpayers are taking a huge punch after some new numbers about how much ObamaCare expenses costs for each state for each person that signs up for ObamaCare. According to FOX News, Hawaii has taken the biggest blow with each person costing almost $24,000 in federal funds. That is almost three times more than any other state in the United States. The average for the United States for each person is just under $1,000. Also, with only 8,500 people signed up for ObamaCare in Hawaii the program cannot be self-sustaining. In Hawaii alone ObamaCare would need to have 150,000 people to keep the program running smoothly. Obviously this is not the answer for health care and is actually costing the state government more money than it did before.

            Not only has it cost the government more but it has cost the normal person’s health care insurance to rise significantly. Deductibles have almost doubled and some people are even losing their insurance because of ObamaCare. The situation is becoming worst as time goes on. Nothing is being accomplished and money is being wasted on something that has not worked at all in the first seven months of the program being launched. Even though universal health care would be a major help to everybody in America it just cannot be done. This has been demonstrated in Canada. Health care is available for everybody in Canada but taxes are way higher than here in the United States. The money to pay for these programs have to come from somewhere and it all comes from the people. No matter what the citizens in the country do they will always be paying for it in some way, shape, or form. Higher taxes would lead to economic depression because people wouldn’t have as much free money to spend as they pleased. This would just cause more problems than anything else.

            ObamaCare has been proven over and over again to fail in some way. Nothing can come good from this program and should be overhauled before any more damage is done. The way health insurance was presented before ObamaCare might not have been the complete answer but it is defiantly better than what is in place now and it should be changed as soon as possible. 

Religious Freedom Jeopardized in America

Prayers held at government meeting across the country have been going on for decades if not centuries here in the United States and thanks to the Supreme Court it will continue to happen. A religious favoritism case took place earlier in May and has been a debate for quite some time. The court justices made the right decision and helped protect our rights as citizens to practice our own religion whenever we please here in the United States of America.

                The United States was founded because of religion and it is stated under the first amendment that any person can practice their own religion without being persecuted by the government. This court case made me sick when I first heard that this was even going to be presented. A Jewish lady complained that a Christian prayer was being presented at a town meeting and brought up a lawsuit. But this shouldn’t have even been brought before any judge let alone the Supreme Court. If a Jewish prayer would have been said and a Christian would have complained the entire nation would have judged the Christian for trying to limit their rights. But if a Christian tries to show their own freedom they are seen as hypocritical and are tried for saying such things. This entire situation is a joke and shouldn’t even be discussed anywhere let alone the United States of America.

                Any person can show off their religion wherever and whenever they want. It doesn’t matter if you’re Christian, Muslim, or Jewish you can practice your own religion without any judgment. That is what’s wrong with today’s society. Everybody takes everything personally and doesn’t take into account that they could be in the exact same situation. You don’t see Christians trying to persecute atheists for not believing in God and they shouldn’t because it is the person’s right to believe in whatever they want. But if Christians are leaving them alone then atheists should also keep their mouths shut.  

New Way to Vote

Democrats have been thinking about imposing a way to cast a person’s vote for a candidate through the internet. This has also prompted the Republicans to make a move as well to try to move toward internet voting. This was brought up at an Iowa Committee Meeting earlier this week, according to FOX News. This would lead to more voters for candidates and would reach a much larger amount of people if it was done online. But what are the risks and how would this be carried out in the first place?

                I think that if voting did move to an online ballot there would be major flaws in the system. Even though computers are accurate most of the time there are always errors that can occur. With so many people going to one particular website it could crash instantly and lose all of the votes casted. Hackers would also be a problem. They could infiltrate the system change votes or crash the system. With the technology that people have there is no way that this could be stopped and hacking would be the biggest problem that they will face. The cons outweigh the pros in this certain type of situation and there would be launching problems just like the Obamacare website that opened up to the public later last year.

                Some good things about the new way of voting are that more people would have access to voting. United States citizens who are out of the country can vote for the candidate that they choose. This would lead to more votes being cast and could lead to all-time highs in votes in the United States. Also, with the internet being such a huge factor in today’s society and all young people are on the internet in some way it could lead to more young people voting in political elections. Younger people have lost some interest in politics today and it has hurt the political realm of America. The more young people a candidate can get the better off he or she will be throughout the election.  

                Elections in the United States has been the same way for a hundred years and maybe some change wouldn't be such of a bad thing for the way elections are ran. Not only could it lead to record showings for elections but it could persuade younger people to actually partake in political elections and rejuvenate how young adults think about politics. The more people that vote the bigger of an impact politics will have on society. But even though these things might be true the problems would be too great for this project to be carried out. It would lead to more problems than solutions and would hurt politics more than anything.   

Nigerian Terrorist Crisis

The Middle East and the United States are on high edge this week as investigators try to locate 300 Nigerian girls that were abducted a few days ago. There is not much time due to the fact that these girls could be gone forever in just a few days or weeks. The Boko Haram, the terrorist group that kidnapped the girls have gloated about the abductions and says that they will never be seen again (FOX News). Time will only tell if we find these innocent girls and can we race against the clock to make sure that they all make it home and for them to be healthy when they return.

            Millions of girls across the continent of Africa are abducted every year. Most of them are just normal girls who go to school, work for their family, or even might have a family. The Boko Haram is the main culprit for some of these kidnappings. The girls that are taken from their homes only have a few days or maybe a week before they are sold at auctions to become sex slaves. They do not stay in Africa either, these women are bought for only a few dollars and then distributed to Eastern Europe and Asia. Very few stay on the continent of Africa. This is unlike males who are kidnapped in Africa. Males are summoned to become child soldiers or start working for terrorist groups at very young ages. These women will face very brutal and bad lives and when they are gone they might never be recovered. This is why there is such urgency to find them in a timely manner.

            The United States has been involved for the last few days and not too many leads have shown up across the country of Nigeria. This is why this search must start right away. After about one week of being kidnapped these girls could be anywhere in the world and then it is almost impossible to find their whereabouts. The time is ticking and there is only so much time that investigators can deal with. Now if the girls are found it will be very hard for them to go back to where they once lived and live a good life. If any of the girls get any type of sexual disease they will most likely not marry which will ruin their credibility in their society. Having kids is all that they can do especially in a third world country like Nigeria and they will be looked down upon even though they had no choice.

            The urgency of this matter is very high. Time is almost gone and they have to be found sooner than later. But with very good investigators from the United States we will most likely get to the bottom of this and hopefully bring these young innocent women home to their families.  

All Fun and Games

The White House held its annual dinner party in Washington D.C last night and stars from all over the country came to celebrate the tradition. President Obama, who spoke at last night’s party, joked about all of the issues he has faced throughout this fiscal year and tried to loosen up the crowd with some jokes about the failure of the Obamacare website later last year. All of these jokes could be taken the wrong way. But the real question is, what was the point of all these jokes when this website could hurt a family who really needs health insurance?

                These jokes made by President Obama kind of frustrates me and some people might take offense to these types of jokes. Many people in the United States needs health insurance and because of the failed launch many people might not have gotten it at the time that they wanted. I understand that Obama doesn’t have to use his own health care system but millions might need it for their own good and joking about it cannot make anything much better for him and the entire Democratic Party.

                This is what irritates me about President Obama. He feels like he has nothing to lose so he says what he pleases. Even though he can’t run for President again in 2016 (thank God) it doesn’t mean that he doesn’t have a responsibility as President of the United States to make sure this nation is better off when he leaves and President Obama has not lived up to those expectations. So joking about the matter is relatively funny.

                If Obama wants to joke about something then maybe he should joke about his tenure as President. Millions of lives rely on health insurance to make sure they can get the help they need and deserve and joking about it is not going to anybody at all.

Racism in America

Over the past year or so well-known people have drawn a lot of attention for racial slurs or other racist remarks. These people who have been white have led to heavy fines and even suspension from games or club events. Now racism is never a good thing and I am not saying that at all but when does a normal conversation turn into racism? The N-word is highly unacceptable and should not be used by anyone not just the white community.

                Racism will not end in this world unless racism is gone from every person in this world no matter if you are white, black, Asian, Hispanic, or whatever a person may be. A black person using the N-word should be penalized just as much as if a white person would say. This would be the way to stop the racism in this country. I know that in the United States and around the world that racism will never be “cured” but taking steps to prevent this will help bring change to society.

                The thing that I do not understand is that it is acceptable in today’s society for a black male or female to use the N-word freely and not get scrutinized for it. What is the difference? I do not care if it is a “thing” within the community, if you don’t want other people to use such a word then wouldn’t you think to stop using it? It just doesn’t make any sense to me. How is it acceptable for any person to call a white person a “cracker” and it is funny all of a sudden but if a white person uses a word then it is completely repulsive? I am not saying any of this is right because it isn’t but it proves my point.

                Now racism and discrimination has been a problem for a long time but it is only because we allow it to happen. We all know that it doesn’t matter what skin color you have because we all have a brain. It is like some racist people are stuck back in the 1800’s. We are all the same people and it doesn’t matter what we look like because we all have the same ability to be smart individuals in this world.

                Racism in this world will never actually end. Some people will still believe that some people are inferior to other which is a complete lie. It doesn’t matter who you are or what you do we are all human beings. And just because we have a different skin tone doesn’t mean that somebody is not a human. We all just need to take a step back and reflect on the problems that this world faces for racism. It can be prevented but only if everybody puts in a good foot forward and actually tries to end it. It can be done all we have to do is work at it and it can be accomplished. 

Death Penalty Debate

The death penalty has been around in the United States for decades and has been a debated topic over the last thirty or forty years. But after a lethal injection went wrong in Oklahoma a few days ago people are again questioning if this is “cruel and unusual punishment” which is illegal under the American Constitution. There are some problems with the process of the death penalty and some states have outlawed the action but is it cruel and unusual punishment? And what are the consequences of the death penalty as a whole.

            According to FOX News, an execution went haywire in Oklahoma after a new substance for the lethal injection was introduced. An inmate was injected with the new substance and after falling unconscious experienced heavy breathing and convulsions from the injection. After this occurred the inmate experienced cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead. This has brought up a lot of debate whether this was “humane” for the inmate to experience such a horrific death. But what people have to think about is what that person might have done to get into that situation in the first place. The inmate that was killed shot and killed a man after he was getting caught robbing a house. After that he buried the guy with two accomplices hoping that the body would never be found. What he did was cruel and unusual.

            I am not saying that convicted felons should all go through a time of torture because that should not be the case. But defending the criminal after doing such a harmful thing not only to the man killed but to his family is a bit crazy. The killer should have no room to talk about any type of punishment and if he wouldn’t have done such a thing in the first place he would not be in the situation to be executed. Defending a killer or rapist for what they did is ridiculous. A person has the decision to kill a person and the victim might not be able to do anything about it. The killer should get a fair trial but should not be defended after being convicted.

            The death penalty is in no way a cruel way of punishing people. If people are going to be stupid enough to kill another person out of cold blood or rape some innocent person they need to be stopped. If people know the consequences of their actions crime could go down. The more strict rules we have against these types of crime will make sure that people will not do them. It keeps everybody in check and makes sure that every victim get the justice that they deserve. 

North Korea Missile Tests

Tensions are rising in North Korea as they try to launch their fourth nuclear missile test sometime in the near future. This always leads to more tension between North and South Korea and leads to the United States either putting sanctions on the secluded country or us making threats of using military force. These both are not always effective and lead to more conflict.

                North Korea is the more shut down country in the entire world. Everything is monitored and there is absolutely no say in the country’s government. And the only way that they can show off their “power” is by testing off missiles that do not always work. I put the word power in quotes is because they have no power in anything that happens in the world. They believe that they are the best nation in the world when in reality North Korea is the worst.

                As the people in the country live in poverty the Supreme Leader, Kim Jong Il, lives in the best way possible. All of the people are brainwashed and if anybody tries to speak out against the government they are thrown into prison camps. Not only is that one person thrown into the camps but relatives are too because they think that because one family member does it the rest are rebels too. It is just a messed up society that will never be good in any way, shape, or form.

                As North Korea tries to assert their power the United States has to stay on their guard. North Korea will do anything to show what they have and will stop at nothing to prove themselves.  

Agreement with the Philippines

Territory disputes are a problem between the countries of China and the Philippines and the United States is a huge ally with the Philippine government. Even though we are huge market sharers with the Chinese we still do not want to help them financially and defiantly not militarily. An agreement between the United States and the Philippines has stated that the number of American troops in the Philippines will rise and will stay like that for the next ten years, according to FOX News. With China being a huge industrial power that makes a lot of the United States’ goods this could lead to some problems. Also, this contradicts what Secretary of State, John Kerry, has said about the size of our overall military and this will lead to more troops.

                China is a huge producer of clothes and electronics for the United States. No matter where you go to buy clothes the tag will say “Made in China” and all iPhones are assembled in China. This agreement with the Philippines could hurt some relations with the industrial powerhouse. China has become more aggressive in Eastern Asia and has led to many disputes over land especially in the Philippines which makes up almost 10,000 islands. The Philippine Army is neither big enough nor strong enough to take on the Chinese government. This is where the United States comes into play. With China being a communist country we as a whole do not want them spreading and we want to keep them in one place. The United States has been allies with the Philippines for decades and this is why we are helping them out. It will strengthen their country and help protect them from the Chinese if anything were to happen militarily.

                The only problem I have with this agreement is that there are other places we could have our troops at this time. The Russian Army is being way more aggressive against the Ukrainian Army and we have showed no sign of aggression by the United States. At this time these situations should be dealt with first before we make agreements with other countries. Also, it contradicts what John Kerry has said about the size of our military and that it needs to be reduced. This could lead to an influx of soldiers being sent to the Philippines therefore defeating the purpose of reducing our army. Reducing our Army in the first place could be dangerous not only for the United States but for the entire world. Many countries rely of the U.S to look after them and reducing the size could affect that.

                Even though there are some upsides to provide more troops for the Philippines other issues have to be addressed. As long as China does not hurt any people are try to invade any part of the island nation we should worry about other problems that remain especially in Eastern Europe. Only time will tell if anything will change and the rest of the world relies of the United states to “police” the world and make sure everything is kept in check. 

Keystone Debate

TransCanada Corporation has been trying to set up a huge oil pipeline that runs through the heart of the United States.  This “Keystone” pipeline is becoming a huge debate in Congress and for environmentalists. But do the pros out-weigh the cons? And could this pipeline help boost America’s economy and help create jobs?

            The Keystone Pipeline has been debated and rejected several times in the last few years. It would help supply the United States with oil that has not been available to us before. This would reduce gas prices significantly and would create a ton of jobs. According to Forbes.com, just the construction of the pipeline would create 42,000 jobs alone. That would help our economy right away but there is a lot more. After the pipeline was constructed almost 140,000 jobs would be needed to look after the pipeline and also run the pipeline. That is enough jobs to fulfill the normal job growth the United States sees in one month which is an amazing statistic. It is obvious that this would help our economy just in the first six month to a year of it being constructed. Also, with more oil running through the United States, we will not have to ship oil from the Middle East or other parts of the world. It would drop gas prices and help alleviate the high prices.

            There are some cons that are associated with the creation of the Keystone Pipeline. The environment could be affected with the construction of the huge pipeline. Keystone would run almost 3,000 miles from the middle of Canada all of the way to the Gulf of Mexico. That is a lot of land to go through and it could cause some problems. This is the biggest reason why this project hasn’t been carried out in the past. President Obama had the chance to enact the project before the 2012 elections. But instead of doing what is right for the nation he believed that his image was more important to environmentalists. I am not saying that the environment is not important because it is but there can always be revisions to make sure the pipeline goes around a lake or a forest so nothing gets damaged or torn down.

            If the pipeline does not get approved soon I believe that the project may never happen. The Keystone Pipeline would not only create jobs but it would boost our economy up even more. President Obama has to swallow his pride. He does not need to impress anybody anymore now that he is in his second term. He should do what is right and that is making sure this project goes through as planned and make sure it goes smoothly. 

Medicare Payouts

Medicare is a huge social reform program that helps millions of elderly people in the United States pay for their health care. Even though this is a good thing some money is being wasted on something that you might not think of. And even though the amount does not seem like a lot in the big picture but that money could go a long way in paying for some program or facility that is for the better good of society.

                FOX News has reported that over $12 million of Medicare payments have been paid out to people who were deceased. Yes, you read that right. These people who have been dead for some time were still getting payments from their Medicare funds. Whether the money was being sent to the families of the deceased family member or the payments were just transferred into the unclosed bank account $12 million is now gone.

                Even though this story sounds quite bazaar it probably happens all the time. Either the mailing process was out of whack or nobody notified the government that the person was dead that should have known to stop giving out the payments. It just goes to show that with over 300 million people living in the United States it is very hard to keep track of every person at any given time. 

Syrian Backup

Ever since the President of Syria started using chemical weapons on his own people the world has been on high alert. A Civil War that has been going on for at least two years seems like it could not get any crazier than it already is. Nobody has made any gains after peace talks were abandoned and fighting did not end. Obviously the United States has backed the rebels throughout the war and the United Nations and other countries around the world have tried to protect innocent people getting caught up in this fight. It seems like this will never end which is probably true but what can the rest of the world do to make sure that democracy wins and the dictatorship ends?

                According to FOX News, the United States has armed the Syrian rebels with a, “small number of advanced weapons.” This is after the peace talks broke down back in January and nothing has been settled in the last couple of months. These weapons include antitank missiles and guns to protect the rebels from the relentless Syrian Army. Until the President of Syria is either overthrown or flees the country there seems to be no way or reason for the rebels and the Syrian Army to stop fighting. This could take a few more years just for some progress to be made. All this is, is a never ending circle of violence that in reality will never be stopped or won without intervention from other first world countries. That is just the tough reality that the Middle East has to go through every single day.

                I would have no problem giving weapons to the rebels, especially when the Syrian Army is as aggressive as they are. But can the United States and President Obama really trust these rebels? Giving weapons to rebel groups has come back to bite us in the past. When Afghanistan was being invaded by the Russians in the 1980’s, the United States gave the Afghanistan people weapons to ward of the attacks. After this was done, the weapons fell into the hands of the very well know extremist group, Al-Qaeda. This not only led to problems in the Middle East but it led to dangers here in the United States. Because of Al-Qaeda the United States has been trying to take back over control of Iraq and Afghanistan for over a decade and they are still a huge threat to society in the Middle East and all over the world. That is what could happen in Syria if the U.S isn’t careful.

                Even though I do believe in helping the rebels somewhat in their ventures, I hope that this time around we are most cautious about whom we are giving these weapons to. Hopefully the Syrian rebels can be trusted and these weapons won’t fall into the wrong hands. If that does become the case we will be looking at another long and hard fight that could just lead to more problems not only in Syria but across the world. The more influence Al-Qaeda has on different societies in the world the more of a threat they cause to the free world and that could lead to a whole new war that could be very destructive.  

No Faith

Trust in President Barack Obama has been going down after his failed launch of ObamaCare and some other factors. Tough times like this always happen sometime or another for every single President that the United States has had. Being distrusted is one thing but being called a liar is another thing. Recent polls have said that a majority of Americans believe that Obama is a flat out liar to the people of the United States. This is something that not only hurt the President but it also hurts the credibility of the entire government in Washington D.C.

            A recent poll done by FOX News has suggested that over 60% of people who were surveyed believed that President Obama, “lied about significant issues,” most of the time. This is not just Republicans that took the vote because if that were the case the number of people who would agree with that statement would have been 100%. But even civilians who side with the Democrats believe that Obama is lying. Just under 40% of Democrats and just over 60% of independents believe this. Being called a moron or idiot is one thing but being labeled as a liar could be the worst thing somebody in politics could be called. Anybody else that has lied about major issues, especially in politics would be fired or forced to resign but why not Obama? I believe this is because he always blames his own issues on his cabinet and his coworkers in Congress and in the White House. Take Kathleen Sebilius for example. All she was trying to do was follow through with what Obama had given her to do. Even though the launch of ObamaCare did not come out very smoothly, Sebilius took all of the blame, not President Obama. This is why he is having all of the problems that he has to deal with that this time.

            President Obama also has nothing to lose. It is not like he can for President in the United States again, so why not give it all he has and hopes it works out right? Wrong. The Presidents job is to make the country better off than when he came into office and this is not being fulfilled under Obama. He is experimenting with different techniques that are not working and it is hurting not only the economy but also he is making people distrust the government and that is the last thing that they need.

            Everything about Barack Obama is sketchy. He has not made any progress in making this nation better and he is inevitably hurting the U.S more than helping. Our debt is not getting smaller and our deficit is not shrinking. Obama might go down for being the worst President of the United States ever and these are the reasons why. He is labeled a liar and he has not followed through with any of his plans. It is hurting our nation and after the 2016 elections conclude we all just need to move on and focus on making this nation bigger and better than ever before. 

Who's to Blame?

With ObamaCare costing almost $1 billion in just a few years you would think that the new program would be a hit and help millions of people who do not have health insurance. But after a rocky launch of the new Health Care website, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, resigned just a few days ago (FOX News). Was this the right move? And was the disastrous launch entirely Sebelius’ fault?

                Even though that Sebelius should have taken some of the blame she defiantly should not have been the main problem in the launch of the ObamaCare website. Obama should also get most of the blame for being a very poor supervisor in the creation of the website. It was President Obama’s idea to launch this health care bill and he should own up to his mistakes too. There has been a trend where Barack has deflected his issues off of other people and will not own up to his own mistakes. He set Sebilius up to fail by not guiding her in the right direction and it came back to hurt the entire Democratic Party who supported ObamaCare. This is really the entire Democratic Party’s fault for backing up a program that was set up to fail in the first place.

                This is where the Republican Party differs from the Democrats. The Republicans try to save spending on things that are vital for the function of the United States but the Democrats seem to fund different programs that not only cost a boat load of money but also hurt the American people. Millions have lost their insurance plans due to ObamaCare after they were promised that they could keep them and were pretty much lied to the American people. It not only hurt President Obama but it hurt the entire Democratic Party. Approval ratings plummeted and it seems like the Republicans are going into this November with a full head of speed and they are all hungry to take back the Senate from the Democrats.

                This entire situation has been a huge mess. American tax dollars have been wasted on one website alone and that money is gone forever. The thing about this is that Obama will face no further consequences after he leaves office in January of 2016 and he will just pass the problems that he created off to the next President of the United States. This will just lead to more problems that we don’t have time to handle and that is what’s scaring me to this day. 

American Pride

Almost a year ago to this day the deadly bombs went off at the Boston Marathon in Boston, Massachusetts. These bombs killed three civilians and injured hundreds more at the finish line of the coveted Boston Marathon. Not only was the tragedy hard to fathom but the fear of people after the two alleged bombers were on the loose. But after a week of searching the two brothers that planned the plot were captured, with one being shot and the other one put into custody. But after a year to recover from the attack the city of Boston has come back stronger than ever and this year’s Boston Marathon will be the biggest and best one that the country has ever seen.

                The city of Boston was reeling for almost a week as the stresses of the loose terrorists were around the surrounding area. After the two terrorists were captured the entire city tried to go back to normal. But the one thing that brought everybody together was the three sports that banded everybody together even before the unfortunate event. It helped mend the entire city and help ease some of the pain. The Boston Red Sox and the Boston Bruins had their games right after the bombings happened and the turnout was phenomenal. The National Anthem was not only sung by one person on the ice or field but by the entire crowd of people. It really showed how much pride we have as being Americans and that we love this country more than anything on the face of the Earth.

                This event not only brought the city of Boston together but it united the entire country. We took pride in our country and it really shows that even though we go through a lot it never phases us and we come back even stronger than before. That is what’s great about the United States of America and that is why we are the best country in the entire world.  

The First Shots

Tensions are heightening in the troubled nation of Ukraine. The first gun battle between Ukrainian army and a Russian militia began early yesterday and was deadly. FOX News reported that between these fights, five people were killed and many people were wounded during these “battles”. This is the first sign of aggression between the two nations after Russia put troop all along the border of Ukraine and of Russia. With tensions running high a war could break out at any moment and could lead to further action not only by those two countries but also could lead to intervention from countries around the world and the United Nations.
 
Even with sanctions against the nation of Russia, signs of aggression between the two enemy areas keep rising and rising. Ukraine thinks that Russia is trying to overrun the country and take over to expand its already huge country and spread the value of socialism farther west. Russia, on the other hand, is saying that all they are trying to do is protect the humanity of Ukraine and keep them in order. Obviously this is not the case. Russia is always trying to expand and become more powerful and this is a huge opportunity for them to do so. This will not only help Russia spread their ideas of Communism but it will also help gain them more power from other countries. Russia is trying to gain respect and this is the only way in their eyes to get it. It might not be the smoothest of plans but it is defiantly getting other countries like the United States to look at them and show them a bit of respect.
 
          When you really look at the whole picture and why this started it is really Ukraine’s fault. If it was not for revolts in the capital city of Kiev this would never have happened. This revolt led to uncertainty in the Ukrainian government and led to people voting for them to join the nation of Russia as a whole. Russia can use the land of Ukraine as a buffer zone against the more democratic western countries therefore helping their cause out in the long run. There is always some sort of chaos that is folding out in the eastern part of Europe and it will never be contained. It is like the Middle East, if an ideal, like Communism, is still around it will always be an issue. Somebody will always try to advocate for these values and will always cause corruption. It will never be peaceful as long as these bad ideas are still with these people.

Unless other countries get involved to stop Russia this will just be a never ending cycle of violence. Nothing good will ever come out of these corrupted nations and will always be in chaos. It does not matter how hard Ukraine tries to fend off the Russian Army because the Russians are just way to big and strong for the Ukrainians to fight. Sadly we will have to get involved to suppress these issues. Let’s just all hope that we can help stop the aggression and bring back peace and prosperity to the nation of Ukraine.

Identity Theft in America

Taxes are due here in the United States in the next week or so and millions of people are getting tax refunds from the Federal Government. But even though billions are being refunded to credible accounts almost 4 billion dollars’ worth of “bogus” tax refunds are being given to fraudulent accounts around the nation.

            According to FOX News, over 1500 new investigations were opened throughout the year of 2013. That is an increase of almost 70% in just a year (FOX News). Hackers and scammers take get people’s private account through Social Security numbers and then create account in which they can obtain government money during tax season. Identity theft is growing worse and worse as technology gets better. Criminals go to hacking because it is easier to get away with. It is near impossible to track down good hackers and some of this money is not going to be found at all.

            People might think that only certain people can have their identities stolen. This is completely not true. Even high government officials can be targeted in these attacks. A story also written by FOX News tells us that even America’s own Attorney General, Eric Holder, can get his identity stolen. Now the people who tried to get Eric Holder’s information were caught pretty easily which in most cases is not the case.

            Most people find out about identity theft way too late. Unless people have a good grip on where there money is going and who has control of their money or somebody has Life Lock, anybody can have their identity stolen. It could wreck a person’s credit score which would make it very hard for people to get loans to buy a car or a house. It can ruin a person’s life if not handled in the right manor. You can never underestimate the sneakiness of these thieves and you might lose a lot of the things you worked very hard for to get in the first place.

            The first thing a person needs to know about identity theft is that it CAN happen to anyone. It doesn’t matter if that person is tall, short, rich, or poor, it can always happen. Also, people need to know how to protect themselves in a case of this happening. Whether it is signing up for a theft prevention company such as Life Lock or some other way people need to protect themselves. If people can remember these things they should be in good shape and not have to worry about the consequences of identity theft. 

Inmates getting Benefits

ObamaCare has helped millions of people get affordable health insurance for them and their families. But now a few states are trying to enroll prison inmates into the health care system to try to help cut costs for the counties and the states around the nation. But is this loophole in the Affordable Health Care Act good for the government and should it be outlawed?

                This loophole found by a few states across the country is a plan to make sure the state does not have to pay for the costs of an inmate being sick. The costs would go back to the federal government and would save states such as Iowa millions of dollars just throughout one year. This could be a very bad thing for President Obama and for Congress as this would add unwanted expenses for taxpayers.

                Personally I believe this should be outlawed. If killers and rapists are getting the same care at no costs to the state it just is not fair. There should be no loophole and it should be voided in the bill. Nothing good will come out of this. States should take responsibility and pay for their inmates and not shoot it back at the government.

                If this is held up, taxpayers will have to most likely pay for these expenses. Even though the people pay for this sort of thing the cost will go up and hurt the economy in the long run. Not only will you be paying for it but it will be paying for inmates who don’t always deserve what other people who can’t afford health insurance. This should be shot down right away to make sure it protects only free citizens in the United States. 

Wanted: Republicans

The United States government is an amazing thing. We were the first country ever to switch power from Republicans and Democrats back in the early 1800’s without any bloodshed and this still happens to this day. Now after several years of Democrats holding the senate a new poll has showed that the American people would rather see Republicans control the House and Senate than Democrats. This is after a very high rise in debt and the rise in our deficit over the last few years. November is a huge time that decides where this nation would like to head and it is all about the power that both the Republicans and Democrats want in our government.

                Democrats and Republicans are the complete opposite of each other. Democrats are big spenders who want more of a bigger government. Republicans on the other hand are conservatives who want to cut spending and have a smaller government. But right now with debt being high and our economy just getting on its feet again after the recession in 2008, it seems like Republicans would be the way to go. Spending cuts would start to somewhat take a bit out of our outrageously high debt. It would also get our deficit to lower numbers and thus help our economy start booming again.

                Republicans also would cut back on unemployment benefits and other benefits. This may not seem like a good idea but it will cut costs and make people go out and find a job. Democrats are huge into extending these benefits and it has cost the taxpayers more than what we have gotten from these programs. Also, like I have said in previous blog posts we need to stop spending our money in a useless fashion. This money that we save can either go towards reducing our debt or go back to the people in some way, shape, or form. It will benefit not just the lower class citizens but it will benefit everybody in the United States.

                A shift in power is nothing new in America. We can see it every two years in Congress and every four years during the Presidential Elections. Sometimes change is good for people and will help more people around the country. With cuts to our spending and our deficit we can build up the economy once again to be even better than it was before the recession. Democrats have showed they cannot get it done so it is now time for Republicans to show what they can do and prove they are best fit to run our nation. 

Close to War

With the Crimea crisis under way in Eastern Europe many people are thinking that not only is the Ukrainian army going to war but the United States might as well. This could lead to even more chaos that the world does not need. It will affect the world economy and will threaten national security all over the world. So would this even be a good idea for Russia to invade Ukraine and take over? For Russia it might be a good thing but for the rest of the globe it could be catastrophic.

 

            Russia has been threatening to take over Ukraine ever since uprisings in Kiev has led to chaos in the eastern corner of Europe. Not only has it been stressful for the people for people of Ukraine but it has put pressure on the United States and all of the major third world powers. Sanctions have been put in place by the United States and by the United Nations. If Russia does in fact invade and take over Ukraine it might turn in to a full blown war in Europe and could impact the world in ways we haven’t seen before.

 

            Even though sanctions have been put in place it really does no good for the most part. Russia is going to do what they think is best for themselves and try to carry its power further west. Right now there are 40,000 Russian troops on the border of Ukraine. This is just a ticking time bomb. Once one soldier crosses over into Ukrainian territory it will be hell. A war between the two nations will lead to many casualties and will lead to retaliation by the United States. Even though the U.S is most likely going to help out Ukraine it is just going to lead to more problems for us. This has nothing to do with us. No Americans have been killed, injured, or captured so there is no point for us to get involved.

           

            The main reason the United States doesn’t want Russia to expand is because of power. The more Putin expands the more influence he has on these broken countries. It goes back to the Cold War days where the United States wanted to contain Communism just too a few places. The more Russia expands the more Communism expands as well. This is the last thing that America wants. We want to promote democracy and that is what we will do if this happens to become a war. We do not want Russia to become any more powerful than they are now and the only country that can halt the Russians is the United States and we will do anything possible to make sure that we come out triumphant and leave the Russians in a desperate position.

  

Malaysian Mystery

                Search teams from around the globe have gathered in the surrounding seas of Malaysia to search for a missing Boeing 777 that has been missing for almost a week now. There has been no sign of the commercial airline in almost a week and there were no distress calls made of any trouble. Was there a mechanical emergency? Or was it more? As of right now nobody knows and this could take weeks to figure out what really happened.

                If the plane is found within a month of crashing officials will be able to find a black box that is withheld on the plane. This box is nearly indestructible and has all the information that investigators need to find out what exactly happened to the plane. The black box contains all of the voice calls, distress calls, and all of the talk between the pilots throughout the flight and would help bring this case to a close. The only problem with this is that the box with all of this information only keeps sending a signal for only one month and when that time is up, all of that info is lost forever.

                No matter what happened to the passenger plane people’s lives were at risk. Investigators need to do whatever possible to put an end to this and give friends and families of the passengers the good or bad news about the situation. And the sooner they can do this the sooner everybody will have closure about the situation.

                Terrorism is a possibility in the disappearance of the airplane. It was reported by Fox News that two passports were stolen from a Malaysian airport. This could have led to a hijacking and inevitably ended in the crashing of the plane. As of right now that is the only evidence that officials have been able to find. Almost two hundred and forty people were on the ship. Of those people there were thirteen different nationalities, three United States citizens, and two children on board. This is devastating to all the families and friends that are anxiously waiting to hear the fate of their loved ones. 

Ukraine Uprising

There has been a lot of speculation over the Ukraine crisis over in Eastern Europe. If Russia gains control of the troubled country of Ukraine, Europe might be in a bit of trouble. This entire situation will most likely not go through but if Russia has any say they will do anything in their power to obtain the rights to own Ukraine which will help spread the ideal of socialism. That is the last thing that the United States and the rest of Europe want to see.

                Ukraine has supposedly voted to join the country of Russia by a staggering 95% approval. This seems like a terrible idea because of all of the trouble Ukraine has had with Russia in the past. Russia is not going to help Ukraine in any way, shape, or form. The only reason Russia wants to get Ukraine in the first place is to gain more power and spread the policy of socialism to more countries in Eastern Europe. This is a very alarming move to the United States and for the United Nations. Not only will this threaten the spread of democracy but it will threaten the authority that the United States has in that region of the world.             

                Even if Ukraine does join Russia, it will not be recognized by the United Nations which makes up almost every nation in the world. President Obama and the White House Administration have rejected the vote. This does little to nothing at all but it just shows that the United States is not happy and disapproves of the entire situation.

                Now even though this is a very serious matter I do not think that there needs to any military action taken by the U.S. But even though I say this there will probably be some time in the future when we send some type of air raid or even troops to Russia. The thing that we need to learn is that nothing will change in that part of the world. Even if we overthrow President Putin, there will always be another person to take over that has the exact same ideals as Putin did. It is the exact same way in Europe as there is in the Middle East. Nothing is going to change and we need to realize that.

                Even though Ukraine is a troubled nation and needs to be helped, the United States needs to make sure that Russia does not become any more powerful. With more power comes more socialism which is the last thing that we need to deal with right now. Let another country like England or Spain deal with the issues in Russia. The United States has its own problems right now and this is just another setback that the U.S does not need now or ever. 

Soldier Cuts in the U.S Military

Secretary of State John Kerry has spoken lately about the United States Military and diplomatic plans for the future. First is to get out of Afghanistan and Iraq, second is to control the violence in Syria, and third is trying to keep Russia under control after “invading” Ukraine a week ago. The fourth provision might surprise some people and the plan now is to cut the number of troops to pre-World War II levels. With all the violence and conflict we are involved with, is this a good idea? Or could this just hurt our power and credibility even more?

            The United States has been the top world leader since the end of World War II and it is mostly because of our military. It was the United States who changed the outcome of World War I and World War II and it was because of our experience, resources, and size of our military. Cutting soldiers could be a grave danger to not only ourselves but to other countries that need our assistance around the world. I have always been against getting involved with conflicts that have nothing to do with us but if we are going to do it in the first place we better have a strong and big Army to fulfill the needs that is wanted by our allies. This could make us weaker in the long-run and make it harder for us to control areas that we want to control.

            Congress has also talked about cutting some spending from our military budget. Even though this might be a step in the right direction (because it would save us money) there are many other areas that should be cut before our military. Our Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines is what keep this nation safe and cutting spending is not the answer right now. We are not at peace with most of our conflicts and they are not going away anytime soon. We might be able to cutback in the future but now is not the time.

            With the Middle East still being in an unstable stage and Eastern Europe in riot, cutting back on spending will only make it worse for people living in those areas of the world. The United States is the world’s cop for a reason, it is because we can get the job done quickly and do it right the first time and all of that credit should be given to our military. Cutting back is not the answer and could just lead to more problems if it is put in place here in the next year or two. 

Political Ads

Political ads are probably one of the most annoying things a person can see while watching television. The candidates are either trying to bash each other or trying to show what they have to become a part of whatever they are running for in the political field. There should be no room for these ads and they should never be shown.

                Do any of these ads actually work on normal people watching TV? For some, yes, and others, absolutely not. Most of these ads are false anyway and never really show the true problem at hand. They are more about trying to overshadow somebody than tell the people what they could do to actually help this country in some type of way. These never really do anything to persuade people to one side or the other.

                The other problem is about these advertisements is how far in advance they show them. Some are even coming out today and we are still a year and a half away from Election Day. These issues that some of these politicians bring up now will not be relevant when their time comes to be either elected or not.

                All-in-all none of these ads are helpful for society. Whether they are arguing over stupid issues are trying to show how family oriented they are they really never help. The thing they should really focus on is their political stance and debates to win over people instead of trying to hinder another person campaign along the way.  

Olympians Must Pay

With the twenty second Winter Olympics under way hundreds of athletes are going for gold in their respected sport. Many will try but only a few will succeed. With the United States a top competitor in every Olympic Games over the past century. The U.S Olympic Commission gives compensation for athletes who receive a gold, silver, or bronze medal in the coveted Games. But do these athletes get to keep all of those earnings or do they have to give some of it back up to the federal government?

                Winning any Olympic medal is second to none in any sport and these athletes deserve to be paid for their accomplishments. For every gold medal that an American wins at any Olympic event gets rewarded with $25,000, silver get $15,000, and bronze get $10,000. This is highly earned and they should be able to keep it all right? Well this isn't always the case. According to FOX News, the United States Government can take up to 40% of those earnings just like a normal working person would. This is because that money they receive is considered a normal income check, so that means income tax can be taken out of that check they might receive. That means that if Shaun White wins another gold medal in the Snowboarding Half Pipe event and receives $25,000 he could have to give up almost $10,000 to the federal government!

                This might seem like the government is ripping these athletes off but this actually make sense. People who win the lottery and supposedly win let’s say $235 million dollars really only win $200 million after taxes. So it is not like these athletes are being singled out. This is in retrospect the same as getting a paycheck from your own employer the Olympic Commission would be the employer and the athletes would be the employee and with each paycheck there is always tax reductions.

                The real huge debate about this is that people are saying other countries are not taking taxes out of other athletes reward money. But the thing is we are not other countries. We have guidelines and these people should not have to be waived out of this clause. That is their job and that means they should be treated just like everybody else who has a normal job working as a teacher or even as a fast food worker.

                No matter what job you may have you are always going to be taxed. That is sadly just how things work out. I bet if any person was about to receive $15,000 even after taxes they would be pretty darn happy. Just getting the gold medal is a huge accomplishment and this is just one other reward for all of their hard work that they put into their job to be the best athlete that they can be no matter what the case may be.  

Losing Jobs

ObamaCare is in the news once more and it has just gotten worse and worse for President Obama and his administration. This could lead to the economy to go down and the stock market to keep heading down over the next few months. Jobs might be going up but it does not mean that employees will get everything they want from their employers.

            According to several reports from economical experts, the ObamaCare health care law could cost America almost two million full time jobs in the end. You might ask, what would a health care law have to do with jobs? The answer is that health insurance cost a lot! Even before the ObamaCare law went into effect health insurance costs cost companies millions a year to give their employees full health care coverage. With premiums being at the highest rate ever more companies are not hiring full time employees or will downgrade their own employees to part time instead. This is the result of the raising health insurances prices.

            Companies who once gave their full time employees health insurance have decided that the financial hit for them paying for all of that has gotten too high. This could lead to drastic changes in our own economy and could lead to another mini depression. Job growth will go down and welfare for the unemployed will go up and it will just get worse from here. Health insurance policies have either doubled or tripled under President Obama’s health care. This just shows that this will never work. No matter how much money we do put into this issue it will never become good enough to help out America.

            I think we need to abandon this plan (even though it won’t happen under Obama). Instead of having other people pay for others health insurance why doesn’t the United States fund a law that makes college for students more affordable or even free. If we can educate people better and get these people well paid jobs they would be able to afford the health insurance that they can’t afford now. I have said this before, this is a socialist idea that can never work. It is said to say we are a country made for middle and higher class. But over the past decade America has turned into a place where a person is either rich or very poor. The middle class is disappearing and that is who President Obama is expecting to pay for these other people’s health insurance plans who are in the lower class of America.

            I don’t know how the democrats have gone on with this plan for universal health care for so long. What good has it done? We can’t even get the website running let alone the entire plan as a whole. This country’s economy needs to stabilize before we do anything drastic and this is the thing that could sink America again and is hurting the credibility of the United States of America. 

Syria is falling behind

President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry have said that the country of Syria is way behind schedule on delivering all of its chemical weapons it promised to give up late last year. What could this mean? Could the United States threaten another attack? Or will we just let them be and let the United Nations take over once and for all?

                Syria has been under fire for allegedly using chemical weapons against its own people who are fighting in a civil war for freedom. This has led to backlash from the United States and the UN. After the U.S threatened to attack Syria they decided to give up all of its weapons to the United States. Ever since they made this promise they have only shipped out five percent of their weapons (FOX News). This has led to backlash from other countries and might lead to more action taken by countries around the world.

                I would not be surprised that if Syria does not give up most or all of their chemical weapons in the next month or two the United States will start talking about the chances of attacking the Middle Eastern country. This should never happen. This will just lead to more chaos and might start another war that we do not need to get into. As long as the weapons are destroyed in a good fashion we should just stay out of their affairs. We never helped Sudan when they were struggling with their civil war. Sudanese officials were killing thousands of its people there was a huge genocide of people. That was much worse than this and we should just stay out of this conflict.

                This is a mess that will not be cleaned up easily. With a crazy President in Syria and the entire country in flames this will take several years to sort out. And I think that we should stay out of other countries domestic affairs just for the sake of our own good.  

Illegal Immigration in America

Immigration in America has been a huge conflict and issue for the past couple of decades. To this day in the United States there are over 11 million illegal immigrants that call the U.S. home (FOX News). Some of these people are taking some jobs from fellow Americans and some are even gaining citizenship. This is what the Republican Party is trying to tackle and it will not come easy to as time goes on.

                Paul Ryan is a head spokesperson for this movement to secure the nation’s borders from illegal immigrants. He has said that the United States needs to worry about, “Security first, no amnesty, then we might be able to get somewhere” (FOX News). He is exactly right until we actually bring up our control on the borders we will never get anywhere with this problem. Border Patrol needs to be heightened to strengthen the border running along Mexico and even up on the American-Canadian border. Once we start controlling those aspects of America we can start looking at and solving problems inside of our nation.

                No matter how you look at the situation illegal immigration is a huge problem in America. People from other countries are trying to get into the United States to make a better life for themselves, but they will never really live the “American Dream” unless they do it the right way. Becoming a citizen might be a difficult thing to do but it is definitely possible. After a couple years a person can apply to become a citizen and after a test they will become a United States citizen. This makes their lives even better because they never have to hide behind a curtain and be scared of being deported ever again. It just makes life easier for them and for our government.

                Another thing we need to stop doing is giving these illegal immigrants chances to come to the United States. Just last year our own government was giving young illegal immigrants who were going to college free tuition to attend their school. If the United States government cannot even give money to legal residents of this country for schooling why in the heck would they give it to someone who isn’t even here on a visa? Maybe if we can start limiting their opportunities this would not be such a big problem.

                This country has the technology and resources to fight this problem. With a little time and effort we can finally start tracking down and eliminating the number of people crossing our borders illegally. If we can do this we should be able to restore the United States back to where it was beforehand. There will always illegal immigrants crossing the border some way or another. But if we can reduce the number drastically over the next decade or so it will help America out tremendously. 

2014 State of the Union Address

President Obama gave his annual State of the Union Address to the United States earlier this week. The mandatory speech is given by every president no matter what once a year to reassure the American citizens what the United States is going through and what there is to expect in the upcoming year. This year President Obama talked a lot the initiatives of the country and how we should, in a paraphrase, take the bull by the horns and get through our legislative and economic problems.

            Barack Obama even praised his ObamaCare health law and even said that even though the congressional Republicans do not like the new health care law they would pretty much have to live with it (Washington Post). Even though there has been major problems with this law he stands behind it and I completely get why he would do such a thing. This bill has been his entire presidency. There has not been any other significant idea or law passed that has had such a huge impact like his universal health care law, ObamaCare. I do not agree with the bill itself but at least he is somewhat confident that it will run its process and work in the long run. If he does not have confidence then who will?

            Obama also discussed how he will try to find ways to get around legislation to help American families and businesses (Washington Post). Even though this might seem like a good thing at first it does not solve the bigger problem that is at hand. America has a fragmented Congress and even if President Obama tries to get around this it will never work. Also, why doesn’t he try and fix these areas of our government instead of trying to go around it? If he can solve the problem in Congress, which I don’t think he can, it will help more than beating around the bush.

            The minor things he talked about was renewable power, Iran Nuclear restrictions and equal pay for women. He says that women and men should get paid equally to men. I completely agree. If a woman is doing the same job they should get rewarded the same amount as men do in that same area of work. Iran has been a threat for nuclear weapons in the Middle East and throughout the world. New restrictions could help relieve some of the stress from Iran, Israel, and the rest of that surrounding area. If we can somewhat control Iran then we should be able to take steps forward and control other parts of the Middle East as well.

            Even though President Obama promised all of these things to the America people it does not mean that they will become true. He has promised so many other things throughout his five years as President and not too many of them have come true. It seems like Barack Obama is becoming tired and the people not be the only one giving up on him but he might even be giving up on himself. Nobody will know until next year at the next speech and nobody will know if any of this will become true within this next year (I doubt they will).

Debt Ceiling Debate

Here we go again. The United States is about to hit our debt ceiling again after heavy debates which led to the raising of the debt ceiling in late 2013.  And like always the Democrats and Republicans cannot come to terms on a long term deal that would somewhat stabilize this nation’s government and the economy. We all knew this would come up sometime but did we really think it would be this soon? I mean come on it has only maybe four months since it has been raised you would think that they would learn by now.
The House of Representatives and the Senate is like a rivalry now in our government. Both sides want to get what they want and “win” in their arguments. It seems like they are only for themselves and not for the better being of the American people. They might have come up with a new budget deal but it was only temporary and only a budget that lasted a few months. This clock is ticking and we are at a standstill once again.
The Republicans would like to cut not only millions but billions of dollars from out federal budget. This would help relieve some of our astounding debt and bring down the nations deficit. This would be a good thing for this country even if it took a decade or so to play out. The Democrats think that cutting spending would hurt the economy and would hurt the lower and middle class. But the real case is that the more money we save the better our economy will be. We can start paying back our debt some and get this nation going back in the right direction before the recession hit in 2008.
It doesn’t matter what side you are on. It should just be common sense to cut money and start paying off the $17 trillion we owe to companies and other nations. If we can start to do this we will be in good shape but until that time comes we will just be running in circles and getting nowhere.

Egypt Heating Up

It has been a long three years in the Middle Eastern country Egypt after a “revolution” started back in 2011. But after deadly attacks ravaged the country right on the anniversary of this revolution the country seems to be turning again into a rebellious regime willing to fight again. The United States has been behind Egypt for years but if this violence keeps up, how much of this can we really support over time?

                Hosni Mubarak was overthrown as President of Egypt just a little over three years ago this week. The people got what they wanted in the end but there has still been corruption in the region (like always). After the newly elected President Mohammad Morsi was taken over through a coup by a military group after pressure from the general public. This has just led to more tension between the government and its people which have led to some violence. In early January bombs were set off in the capital city in Egypt which killed fifteen people and led to uprisings throughout the city. Over two hundred people were arrested due to these uprisings which were started by Mohammed Morsi’s supporters (FOX News).

                Again the United States has showed their support for the country of Egypt. Secretary of State John Kerry assured the Middle Eastern countries such as Egypt, Iraq, and Yemen were all supported and backed by the United States government. This goes back to our nation becoming the world’s cop and babysitting every country that has an uprising. I do not see England getting involved or France or Spain. Where are they in the predicament? They always wait to see what we do first then act off of that. I understand that the United States is the strongest military country in the world but we have to learn how and when to choose our battles. We just are starting to get out of the economic depression that has hit this country and have started to pull out of the war effort in Iraq. If we give every country help we will just drive ourselves in to a bigger and deeper hole that we cannot even get out of right now. I would like to see just once a country like Spain take a step forward and help these nations out a bit. They are closer and could even help us out after everything we have done to try to keep the Middle East safe over the past decade or so.

                Even though I know it will never happen, I think we need to stay out of international affairs. Even our first President George Washington said in his farewell speech that America should keep to themselves and out own people before interfering and helping others. It might seem bad but if this country is not stable economically and domestically how can we make another country or region a good all-around stable nation? It just can’t happen like that and it shouldn’t happen like that. Let’s just worry about ourselves before we go and worry about someone else for a change and maybe we can get back to what we do best as an entire country.  

Debate Over Guns

Gun laws have been the same way for over a hundred and fifty years here in America. It is stated in the Second Amendment that any American can bear arms and own a firearm. But after there has been a spike in shootings in schools and other recreational areas around the country politicians and other organizations have tried to get strict gun control laws to try to cut down on these shootings. But is this a good idea and are the guns even the real problem in this entire issue?

              I am going to say this one time and one time only, guns do not kill people but people kill people. I do not get how some people can say that guns are the issue. Who pulls the trigger? Who loads the gun in the first place? You guessed it! A human being does all of those things. A gun cannot pull the trigger for itself or load itself. There wouldn’t even be guns if humans would not have invented it in the first place. Saying that guns kill people is like saying spoons make people fat (it’s cliché but true). It is the person’s decision to pull the trigger and that how it has always been and it will never change.

              Some people might say that they could at least have stricter background checks on people who are trying to buy guns. Even though this might seem like a good idea it could just lead to more laws restricting the use of firearms. It is a domino effect. If one law is passed even if it is minor it will lead to more laws that restrict our freedoms as an American citizen. That is why the National Rifle Association is against any laws on gun control. With one law there could be a thousand possibilities and could just lead to more restrictions.

             There is only one solution that will lead to safer usage of guns. All we have to do as a nation is teach people how to use guns correctly. If we can do this there should at least be a decrease in incidents involving firearms. Another thing that could reduce the violence of guns is get people who are mentally ill help. If we can help them they should not have to turn to violence and maybe go on a rampage. With this we should be able to keep our friends and family safe no matter what the case may be.

              As American citizens we have to right to own and bear arms. Our Founding Fathers put it like that and it should stay like that forever. If we can just teach people to use guns safely none of this should be a problem. And we all need to remember that it is never the guns fault for shooting somebody it is the person behind the guns fault and that will never change.

Middle East Still Fighting

Over the past two or three years the United States military has started to send almost all of the deployed soldiers back here to America. This is a great for all of the military families who have to wait and worry about their loved ones overseas. The worst thing about all of this is that ever since we have pulled out of the Middle Eastern countries terrorist attacks have gone up and some politicians believe that maybe we should stay a bit longer.

                This post kind of ties in with my very first blog post about the United States being the “World’s Cop” and that we have to babysit all of the other troubled countries around the world. I am still sticking with what I said my first blog post by saying that we should just stay out of these troubled countries around the world. The United States would have to stay in that country for a million years to make sure that these areas were safe. It is not worth our time, money, and effort to help a country that, 1.) Would never help us in return, and 2.) Probably never fully pay us back for everything that we have given them. America has not only given these nations our money and supplies but we have given our own blood to protect these nations that seem like will never be in peace, EVER!

                I think the main reason that we have invested so much time in these areas is because of the major oil industry that they have established in countries like Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq. Without that we would have no reason to intervene in their affairs. This entire region would be the wealthiest region in the entire world if they stopped fighting. The oil is plentiful and they would make billions if not trillions on that alone.

                Again, I think we should just stay out of all the chaos that comes with these Middle Eastern countries. No matter how hard we try I do not think there is a solution to the major conflicts that arise out of this disputed region. Let us just mind our own business and worry about our own people before we decide to intervene with people from another country. 

Legalization of Marijuana: Good or Bad?

     Marijuana legalization has been a major topic in the headlines over the past year and there are millions who are advocating for the drug to be legalized so that it can be used recreationally, like cigarettes are now. But is this just idea healthy for this nation? Or could it lead to an even bigger problem than it always has been?

            

       Colorado and Washington have been the only two states to fully legalize recreational marijuana for anybody to use no matter what the case. Is this a good idea though? In my eyes I do not believe that this is such a good thing for the general public. Drinking and driving is already a huge problem in this nation that takes thousands of people’s lives a year. So you would think that smoking weed and then going out to drive would lead to the same problem. Also, a drug is a drug which means that it changes how the body works. It makes a person, “high”, which does not help how their body works and can even put themselves in dangerous situations that could get them or someone else hurt. My last point is, what good does marijuana do to a person? Yeah you might feel amazing for a little bit but after it is gone you want to go back. This could all lead to an addiction which could lead to even more harm.

                

      Now even though there are a lot of cons to the legalization of marijuana, there might actually be some pros hidden in some places. One pro would be that it might actually help boost the economy in the places where it is legalized. According to the Huffington Post, the state of Washington will get $1.9 billion in revenue over the next five years because of marijuana costs. This could lead to a huge boost in the economy and help fund other projects that might be needed throughout the state. Another positive that comes from marijuana selling is that it will cut off millions of dollars from illegal drug trafficking companies that would distribute this drug when it was illegal. This money would not go towards illegal projects or groups but all the money would go to the state and might even help the entire city as a whole.

               

        Colorado and Washington are just the experimental states that will help determine if the legalization of weed throughout more states will actually help more than hurt in the long run. It also makes sense why Colorado chose to legalize the drug, I mean they do not call Denver the “Mile High City” for nothing, right?  

Tennessee Stands Up

       With the ObamaCare health care law still under heavy debate by both Democrats and Republicans, the voice of most people haven’t been heard. What do the people want? Do they actually like the idea? Or do American citizens think that this is a waste of time? I guarantee that people have reason from both sides but all the congressmen on Capitol Hill are fighting and are not listening to the general public. Democrats have promised some things that cannot be trusted and maybe that is why some states are deciding to fight about against this federal law.

        According to FOX News, the Tennessee legislature is going to try to challenge the ObamaCare law and hopefully outlaw the health care bill that has had so many issues over the last four to five months. They Tennessean government believes that their health care plane, “TennCare”, is working for more than their 1.2 million people on the program. This really takes me back to the history books and all the way back to the late 1860’s. Southern states back in the late 19^th century passed a nullification act that would nullify or ban any federal law from being used in the state government if they decided to ban the law. What Tennessee is doing is on a lower level than back 150 years ago but it is on the same line of things. The question is, will any of this work?

        To most people this might sound like an absolutely crazy idea to try to overrule the United States government and to an extent I do agree with that statement. Even though I do not agree with ObamaCare and what it has to offer I do not believe that a state should be able to nullify a federal law whenever they please. If this does happen, it will set a precedent for future laws to come. Some people think that the Tennessee legislature is just making themselves look bad. Rep. JoAnne Favors states that, “It’s wasting a lot of energy and time. It’s just causing our state to look silly.” I do agree that this must be taking a lot of effort to keep this going I do not believe that it is making them look silly. Until this is deemed unconstitutional by the federal government they can move along with this. This is just the state of Tennessee speaking their opinion and finally someone is being heard.

         Even though I do not believe that this will ever happen, I do think that this shows that some or most people do NOT want this health care act in this country. Maybe if everybody was heard this wouldn’t even be a problem anymore.