The NSA Scandal

Ever since the terrorist attacks on the two World Trade Center buildings on September 11, 2001 national security has completely changed. Instead of just walking through the check-in gates at the airport, a person now must go through a series of searches to make sure something like 9/11 never happens again. Most people understand this precaution but over the years the United States National Security Agency or NSA might have gone a bit too far. The NSA is accused of spying on phone calls and emails of people who they think were a threat to national security. The only problem about this is that the National Security Agency was spying on innocent Americans that were not a threat to American National Security

Even though the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centers in New York City happened and the need for more security was necessary, the constitution has NOT changed. The NSA has violated the constitutional right for people to be as private as they would like without the interference from the government. And the only way that they should be searched or spied on is if the government has reasonable doubt that that particular person is a major threat to the American people. For all we know the government is turning into a Big Brother government that is watching our every move and hearing everything we say. We might never know but this is very concerning for the people. 

If the people are not confident that the government is protecting them the right way and not putting their nose in the middle of everything then what is the point of even having a Constitution to protect our own rights. I do understand that if there is a certain person or group that the government and the NSA thinks is a threat to the American people and the country that they should do whatever it takes to make sure that we the people are protected, even if it means spying on them. But if a person is being listened to and is not an accessory to a crime or threat then they should be left alone. This all just leads to trust issues between American citizens and the U.S government. Nobody wants to have to look over their shoulder all of the time to make sure someone is listening or following them. We all need to feel safe and if these NSA allegations are completely true they need to stop right away to make sure they do not lose the trust of the people as a whole.  

Is President Obama's second term going to be a Lame Duck session?

Is Obama’s second term as President of the United States going to be a Lame Duck session for him over these next three to four years? With the House of Representatives and the Senate being split between Republicans and Democrats, the chance for any substantial progress in the nation’s economy and other issues are very limited. This may lead to nothing really changing over the next three years and for no progress to really be made in Congress.

         

 Normally, Lame Ducks happen in Congress when a congressman is in the in-between period of being replaced by another congressman who has beaten him in an election. Not many things are dealt with and it’s a down period before the new congressmen take their position in the House or the Senate. Now, just one year after beating Mitt Romney in the 2012 Presidential Campaign, President Obama is in a position to become a Lame Duck President until he is replaced in 2016.

         

 What is keeping Obama from actually getting things done in Congress? Well, it’s this simple, the two sides in Congress can never agree on anything. The House is run by the Republicans and the Senate by the Democrats and without them agreeing on certain issues that concern the United States nothing will get done. This puts President Obama in a bad situation and he becomes the “neutral” side of things. Even though he is a Democrat he has to work with the Republicans across the aisle to get things done. Instead, the two parts are so far apart in their views that it seems like nothing at all can get done. Even though they can’t agree and get along, Maureen Dowd says to the New York Times, that it’s   "Actually, it is [Obama's] job to get them to behave." It is Obama’s job as President of the United States of America to make sure the two sides come together and compromise even if they are very far apart in their ideas.

         

 In other words, President Obama is putting this on himself. Yes, it would be easier if both the House and Senate were controlled by all Democrats and Republicans, but that simply is not the case. Unless Obama and his colleagues can make both the Democrats and Republicans cross the aisle and actually agree to terms on major issues that we face here in America nothing will get done and President Obama’s second term as President of the United States will be a Lame Duck term and just make things worse for Congress and the people.

 

 

-  Click on, Lame Duck Presidency, for more details on this topic

 

Obama Care

With the new budget trying to be passed in the House of Representatives and Senate, the biggest thing keeping the Democrats and Republicans apart is the highly debated topic of Obama Care or the Health Care Reform plan that President Obama has been using as the nation’s health care plan over his tenure as President of the United States.  With this plan, it will not only hurt the American economy but also the average middle class citizen in the U.S.

You may ask, what is this plan called, Obama Care? This act was signed into action in 2010. It tries to supply all people of the United States with affordable health insurance to help with any health issues they might have. Even though this sounds like a good thing for the United States and its people it actually has big problems. The first problem is that people who already have health insurance have to pay a higher premium and payment whenever they go to the hospital. Instead of paying just one hundred dollars a visit to the emergency room or hospital it has been raised almost fifty dollars over the last few years under Obama. This might not seem like a lot of money in this day and age but if a person goes to the hospital a few times a year the money really starts to add up.

 Another problem about Obama Care is that businesses have to give health benefits to any employees working more than forty hours a week. With this being said companies have been limiting their employees to fewer hours so they do not have to give them full health benefits thus saving money for the company. Even though it benefits the company itself, it hurts the economy. With fewer hours given to middle and lower class workers the less money they have to spend of items they need to live and want to have. This leads to less money in the American economy and hurts it in the long run. Third, it costs a lot of money for the government to even fund this health care plan. This plan calls for 1.1 trillion dollars in funding over the next ten years. This will just add to our debt and deficit over these years and just be another factor in the decline of the American economy.

Even though there is a need for more people to have health insurance in the United States the cost of this bill is just way too high for the already rising debt. There has to be another way for the government to be quick and efficient in finding another way in funding a health care plan. And if this doesn't happen soon it could hurt the entire United States of America not only now but in the future as well. 

 

Another Government Shutdown

        In a little over a week from now, the American Government is set to shut down if Congress does not agree to another budget for our nation. Now you may ask what does this mean? It means that everything like national parks, museums and monuments, that are funded by the national government, will be shut down and won't be able to be visited by the people. Why is this happening? It's happening because the Republicans, who run the House, and the Democrats, who run the Senate, can't agree on a Federal Budget to fund the American Government.              
             
         This has happened several times over the past four to five years and I'm sorry to say that this will happen as long as Congress is split between Republicans and Democrats and also with a Democratic president in Barack Obama. With the Republicans wanting spending cuts not only on general spending but ObamaCare as well. Democrats want to reduce the deficit but fund Obama's health care plan.
 
         Even though the two sides probably won't reach an agreement in time they will most likely come to terms soon to keep the nation running as long as it can. The only thing is, is that it will only keep it running for a short period of time. And if you ask me, it might be a good thing for a government shutdown to take place. National parks and such might be closed but it will save the government some money, and with the national debt already at 15 trillion and counting, saving some money won't hurt. And until the President, House and Senate are all either Democrat or Republican, nothing will get done because they are so far apart ideologically. So until 2016 when a new president and a new Congress is elected it's going to be a lame duck season for the entire United Stares of America.

Second Amendment Rights in America

Another horrific tragedy struck the United States in the Washington D.C area on Monday. According to Fox News, Aaron Alexis, an American veteran, entered the Washington D.C Navy Yard and shot and killed twelve people and was killed during this rampage. Because of this, I feel it’s appropriate to talk about gun laws and how it could affect us in the long run.

 

 Ever since the Second Amendment was passed during the original Bill of Rights, Americans have been able to own and carry guns with them. But with nineteen mass shootings over the past four years, some Americans, Congressman and even Barack Obama have considered making stricter laws on gun ownership and have tried to pass laws to get stricter background checks on people wanting to buy guns. As I do agree with the attempt for stricter background checks, I do not agree with Congress trying to “change” our Second Amendment freedoms of owning and carrying a gun. Another thing is that not only is this unconstitutional but wrong to tamper with something that we can never really control. It’s not the gun’s fault for pulling the trigger and killing or harming innocent people, it’s the person’s fault. It’s like saying that pencils misspell words or spoons make people fat! It’s not the objects fault it’s OUR own fault for these types of actions that can be stopped and we need to look at ourselves before the guns.

 

 As long as these weapons are used by a human being and not moving and shooting by themselves we need to look at who’s the real problem. We need to spend more time helping these people who have mental disabilities and sicknesses rather than blaming it all on the firearm itself. With more veterans than ever before PTSD is becoming very common. This can lead to traumatic mental issues that can lead to something like what happened in Washington D.C. The shooter who killed twelve people in Washington D.C had symptoms of PTSD, which could have led to what had happened on Monday. We need to get these people help for their problems and needs, to make sure these types of things don’t happened as often and even better not happen at all! So remember next time you’re hunting or just on the range shooting you’re gun that you’re the one pulling the trigger and whatever a person does with that is his or hers responsibility not the weapons.

 

 

The World's "Cop" aka the United States

Over the past two to three years the Syrian Government has been in a Civil War with the rebels over freedom and rights. The rebels are trying to overthrow the person they voted into office a few years earlier, President Bashar al-Assad. With the uprising of the Syrian Civil War and the use of chemical weapons by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad the United States is put in another tough position on whether we should take military action against President al-Assad and his regime.

 

 The only problem about this is that NOBODY else will take action unless the United States jumps right in. France has said they will get in the fight only is the United States takes action and England doesn’t agree with getting involved at all. This is just another situation where the United States must be the world’s “cop”. It always seems as if the U.S must jump into every conflict that happens overseas and there is never really any reason for us to get involved. Yes, it’s terrible that the Syrian Army is killing innocent people but why do we have to be the guys to go in and resolve their issues? With our debt already and with the Iraqi war coming to an end, there is no reason to go in unless it threatens the likelihood of the American people. Also, even if Congress denies the attack on Syria, President Obama still has the right to attack on his own behalf being that he is the Commander-in-Chief. Not only is this wrong but immoral. The entire fate of this attack really depends on one man and that man is Barack Obama. It will just deepen our debt crisis and may even put the American people at risk for danger.

 

                With this said there has been some resolutions thought about by not only the United States but also the Russians. Russia has said that there’s a chance that Syria will hand over all of its chemical weapons to the U.N thus hopefully ending all of the chaos and killing of innocent men, women, and children. But can we really trust the Russians?

 

The reason I say this is because there has been some tension between President Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Even though this is for the good of the world, are they only trying to pull a quick on the United States and the world to make them look better and more “powerful and influential”. The only thing I can say is we all have to sit on the edge of our seats waiting to see what happens. Will Syria follow through with handing over their chemical weapons? Will Congress reject or approve the attack on Syria? And the biggest question there might be is how long it will take before all of this settles down? One month? Six months? A year? Time will tell and hopefully this all gets sorted out in a timely manner and this all gets resolved as quick and clean as possible.