Climate Change is Real

In Hannah Simmons blog, “Blog Post 7: Why not taking immediate action towards clean energy is going to kill our planet,” Hannah presents a strong argument as to why we as a nation need to move away from fossil fuels, and go to renewable energy. She expresses concerns about #45 possible policy changes to the Clean Power Plan (CPP), and why these changes would be several steps in the wrong direction.

I completely agree with Hannah, and I have been very distraught worrying about what might happen after the review of the CPP. With #45 wanting less regulations on business, I was afraid that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was no longer going to exist, and that the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the land we use for nutrition was at risk. We are hurting our planet by utilizing fossil fuels, and several steps have been made to move towards renewable energy.  We are using solar panels, and some companies like Google, Walmart, and Apple are also using solar panels to power their business. The use of wind power is being explored more, and wind turbines are being installed, and there are many projects in placed to use desalinization to create more drinking water for the increased populations.

Luckily for us, #45’s administration recently admitted that climate change is real. It took them long enough to acknowledge the science that clearly shows that climate change is real, and the US singed the international declaration on climate change. Thank you, Rex Tillerson!

Sooner, Rather Than Later

 Yes, I concede with the fact that #45 is our president, but I have chosen not to speak his name. I have aired my grievance about his acts during his first 100 days, and I have been told that he can only be impeached if he violates the constitution. This is untrue; impeachment is: the act of charging a government official with serious wrongdoing, which in some cases may lead to the removal of that official from office. Bill Clinton, the 42^nd president of the United States, in 1999 faced impeachment when he lied about sexual relations with Monica Lewinsky. His actions did not lead to impeachment, but he still had to answer for his actions or, “wrongdoing.” Impeachment does not mean that #45 would be removed from office, but it would start the process.

So, what has #45 done to be removed from office? Well, first issue that comes to mind is his conflicts of interest. Not only the possibility of him receiving money from Russia, which would violate the emoluments clause if found to be true, but his unethical spending of tax payers’ money at his own golf resort in Florida called Mar-a-Lago; so not only is he spending a lot of time golfing and spending a lot of tax payers’ money; he is profiting from the trips. The tax payers pay for him, his securities, and his visitor’s room and board, their meals, and the cost of travel. He is close to spending more in his first 100 days on golfing than Obama spent in his 8 year of service. He also, promoted his daughter, Ivanka Trump’s brand, and shamed Nordstrom for dropping her brand. When Kellyanne Conway plugged Ivanka’s brand she was reprimanded, the same should be done for #45. Ivanka’s brand’s profits increased after receiving this free publicity. He is recorded stating it is okay to sexually assault women, and that he has sexually assaulted women in the past. There are allegations of him sexually assaulting women and minors; of course, nothing can be done about the allegations unless these accusations like the accusations about his relations with the Russians are proven.  #45 attacks the first amendment and our democracy with his invention of alternative facts. If the media does not agree with what he says, he calls it fake news, and those that are uneducated and gullible believe that the free press is against them; when, in fact, it is #45 that is against them.

Thankfully both of #45’s travel bands, also known as the Muslim bands, have been denied. Now, it would be ideal, if we can get him out of office before he starts another world war. He is creating tension with our neighbors, Canada and Mexico, many other of our allies, and he is poking at the North Koreans. The faster he can be removed from office the better; so, let’s get the process started with impeachment. 

More money for education

In Kelli Roger’s blog, “The Financial Factor in the Public Education System,”  she discusses concerns about Betsy DeVos School Choice program possibly being adopted. The School choice plan includes taking funds from an already tight budget for public education and use the funds to assist private and charter schools.  Kelli has a strong argument as to why she believes that the School Choice Program could be problematic under DeVos, and her numbers regarding attendance was confirmed on the National Center for Education Statistics  (NCES) website. It stated that about 50.4 million students started public elementary and only 5.2 were expected to start private school in the fall of 2016. So, after Trump cut the education budget from 68 billion to 59 billion, the School Choice program could take funding away from continued education for the teachers, the teachers’ salaries, and assistance for special ed, students with disabilities, and low-income students.

I share Kelli’s concerns with Betsy DeVos as our Secretary of Education, and I think Randi Weingarten is right when he said that Trump’s choice of Secretary of education, “makes it loud and clear that his education policy will focus on privatizing, defunding, and destroying public education in America.” I can see why Kelli quoted him in her blog, and I think our children’s education is very important, and needs serious budget increases, not decreases. 

Just say yes

Beginning in the 17^th century, hemp was utilized in rope, sails, and clothing. In 1861 the first decorticator was invented, and hemp was found to be a cheap and suitable substitute for paper pulp.  In the early 1900s Mexican immigrants introduced recreational use of marijuana in America, and marijuana became associated with Mexican immigrants. During the Great Depression people were unemployed, and looked for someone to blame. Studies began on the effects of marijuana, and it was said that it can cause violence, insanity, and other crimes. That is when Harry J. Anslinger decided to use the fear of crime and immigrants to pass the Marihuana Tax Actof 1937. This act is believed to have been created to reduce the size of the hemp industry. In 1952 the Boggs Act was created to set mandatory sentences for possession of marijuana, and marijuana was categorized as a schedule 1 drug. Once a drug is categorized as a schedule 1, it is believed to have no medicinal benefits, and it is difficult for researchers to access.

Today we have 28 states and the District of Columbia that have legalized the use of marijuana for medicinal use, and 8 of those, as well as, the District of Columbia have legalized the use of marijuana for recreational purposes. So, the politicians that govern this country can go to a dispensary, and legally smoke and possess marijuana, but people in the other 22 states can be ticketed, thrown in jail, or even sentenced to death or life in prison for the same act. The hypocrisy is laughable. In those 28 states the "Green Rush" is strong, and these states are profiting from marijuana sales. The local governments are benefiting from all of the taxes. This means more money for schools, parks, medicare, transportation, and other public services. Colorado hit over a billion in legal sale of marijuana, that is 200 million in tax dollars. Imagine what this would like on a national level.

There has never been a single death reported from withdraw from marijuana or from overdose of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), and yet, legal opiate prescriptions are given out daily, and alcohol is consumed daily. Not only is marijuana a safer way to unwind from the day to day grind, but the medical benefits are plentiful. Marijuana is used by patients suffering from chronic pain without all of the side-effects that one gets from opiates, like constipation, addiction, liver and kidney damage, and withdraws. It is used to help reduce nausea, create an appetite in cancer patients undergoing chemo therapy, stops seizures, and help with tremors from parkinsons, and even someone suffering from anxiety could choose to stop taking pills, and utilize marijuana to ease their worries.

It is sad to know that a plant that has many medicinal and practical uses is illegal, because of the fear of Mexican immigrants. A connection with increased violence and crime has not been made directly to the cannabis plant. Crime is because it is illegal, and criminals want to capitalize on the sell of marijuana. When in fact this plant should and can be regulated for public consumption; thus causing a decline in criminal activity. 

Wiretapping? Colluding?

Charles Krauthammer wrote, “Obama Wiretapping? TrumpColluding? We Are Headed Down a Rabbit Hole.” In Charles’ blog he appeals to everyone to open their eyes to the subjects that matter, and stop wasting time on investigations that will lead to nowhere. Krauthammer has a psychology degree from Harvard, and he participated in the creation of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders III (DSM-III). He began writing essays in 1983, and won a Pulitzer Prize in 1987 for an article he wrote in The Washington Post.

Charles describes two, “conspiracy frenzies.” First, is the possibility that the Trump-campaign colluded with Russia, and the second, is Trump’s accusation that Obama wiretapped Trump Tower during the election. Proof has not been provided to support either of these claims. Although there hasn’t been proof provided, Michael Flynn resigned from office, because he falsely denied having conversations about sanctions with a Russian ambassador, and Jeff Sessions falsely denied having any contacts at all. In regards to Trumps accusation of Obama’s wiretapping, Trump holds the office of Commander and Chief, if he wanted to have the information, he could pick up the phone, and order it be done. Unnecessary time and money will be wasted on investigations that will not bring a resolution to these theories. Instead we should be looking at North Korea’s missile testing, and that we are installing an antimissile shield in South Korea.  

I do feel that there are many distractions from POTUS. He is a business man, and he could be using the distractions as tactics, but there are times when I don’t think that he is smart enough for that. Then I remember the quote from The Usual Suspects, “the greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist.” I believe we deserve to know if there were further communications with Russia or not. I think that Trump’s outburst on twitter to accuse Obama of wiretapping his phones during the election is just a distraction to take away from the investigation needed to see how deep the relationship is with Russia and Trump. I do think there are other pressing matters, like healthcare, education, the Endangered Species Act & EPA reform, North Korea’s missile testing, and many more.

Mr. President, you should rethink that.

After reviewing several different opinion columns I came across Danielle Allen’s “President Trump says he wants to fix our divisions, but he may gut an institution that does exactly that,” in The Dallas Morning News. Danielle Allen speaks out about the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), an organization that is dedicated to helping Americans build a shared culture, possibly losing funding with Trump’s proposed budget cuts. She expresses her support of NEH and states that if Trump wants to help fix the divisions in our country, he should rethink his decision to cut the budget for this organization.

NEH was founded in 1965, and it is one of the largest founders of humanities programs in the United States. It has consistently funded digitization of papers of our founding era and leading statesmen and women, as well as many other important historical documents. The NEH also aids veterans through an initiative called “Standing Together. This fund assists veterans in every state in different ways, and has also supported veterans as they go to college. Allen states: Perhaps we are so divided…precisely because we have so profoundly reduced our investment in connective tissue such as the NEH.

I was aware that there were proposed budget to cuts that would affect the Arts, but I had no idea that it would affect an organization like the NEH. To be honest, I was unaware that this organization even existed, but after reading this article I did some research on this organization, and I agree that it is important to bring a shared culture to all Americans. We are currently experiencing a great divide in our country and we need organizations like the NEH. Not only are they helping document history, but they are helping people today to succeed for the future.  I often hear that Americans do not have their own culture, but this organization is trying to document our culture and bring it together.  We are melting pot of people and cultures, and that is what makes our country unique. The decision to rid of the budget for the arts will affect the lives of every American.

La Migra!

On Friday, February 10, 2017, The Washington Post published an article called, "Federal agents conduct sweeping immigration enforcement raids in at least 6 states.” This article describes raids and checkpoints held by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in California, Texas, North Carolina, New York, and Kansas. It states that immigration activists have “documented ICE raids of unusual intensity in the last 48 hours” in these 6 states. The article brings reason to believe that these actions could “be retaliation for those cities’ so-called ‘sanctuary city’ policies.” 

The raids began Thursday night after the decision by the Ninth Circuit Appeals Court decided to keep a hold of Trump's travel and immigration ban. Ice is not only targeting criminals, but is taking anyone that they encounter that is not able to prove citizenship. It was stated that people are being stopped at random and asked to provide proof of citizenship. Protesters are making a stand, and non-profit agencies are doing what they can to provide legal representation to those affected.

I had originally picked an article from the BBC to write about, but as I scrolled through social media I was made aware of these raids happening in my mother’s neighborhood. I initially dismissed the claims; I know how people can exaggerate, and then I started to hear about it more and more. When I read this article, I was overwhelmed with emotions. I started to worry about my friends that are immigrants and their families. I know that they have citizenship, but what if they are caught without proof. I can't imagine living in fear of being separated from my family, or being taken from my home and deported to a country I never knew. Many of these people have lived long lives here, and I know that there are laws that they should follow to gain citizenship. It is also costly to gain citizenship, and many of these people can only afford to support their most urgent needs.