Immigration

Indeed, if the government had devoted more and enough time and money , including honest manpower to this illegal immigration issue before now, the result would have shown a decrease in number of illegal immigrants into the United States. For a truth, Arizona’s new immigration law passed recently was a wake up call for the government. Congress and the White House now felt a greater urgency to act on border security after Arizona passed a law directing it’s law enforcement officers to be more aggressive in seeking out illegal immigrants. I commend the government for realizing the need for urgent action.


I also think that in the course of approving this $600 million for more agents and surveillance drones on Mexican border, the government should also make sure that this new 1500 agents are not corrupt officials or agents. This is because, from the way I see it, before now, the government has been beefing up the security at the various border and yet, there appear to be increase in the number of illegal immigrants into the country on daily basis. Which means that something is not right some where, it appears that the agents at the border patrol might be corrupt. So, as the government is gearing up to tighten up Mexican border, it should also tighten up corrupt agents border, in order to achieve the goal of decreasing the number of illegal immigrants in the country.

Alexendra Jackson (classmate blog 7) US GOVERNMENT in this editorial said “Racism is now becoming more and more of an issue between the government and the public”, yes I agree with him, but also between the government and the states, as in the case of Arizona v. U.S Justice Department. On the issue of racism, I do not blame the Census Bureau of Manhattan in screening out applicants with previous arrest records or minor offenses. This is because we all know or have heard about the type of violence going on in the streets of Mexico, and it is this same people who migrate mostly illegally into U.S. They did not leave their violent nature behind in Mexico, I believe they came in with it. And in no time violence and crime rate will increase due to these illegal immigrants, especially in the Southern States.

Our View on retirement income: Afriad Social Security won't be there for you? It will.

Every American who funds social security deserves to collect the benefits of prior year funding. In this editorial, by Veronica Salazar, in USA TODAY, she tried to calm the fears of those who think that social security might be on it's way out.

Socail Security is a safety net that keeps millions of our elderly out of poverty, and the young people today, in the next 20 years will not be so young anymore, so the decisions of today will surely affect the events of tomorrow. She said "Social Security is still a moral and political obligation with few paralles in American Society, it's no joke that it has been called the "third rail of American Politics (touch it and die)". Yes, I agree with her, that every worker who have dutifully worked and had Social Security taking off their paycheque every payroll period  for decades has every right to expect the government to live up to it's end of deal and provide retirement income when the time arrives

From my understanding, the last time in 1983 when social security had problem, congress stepped in and fixed the problem, that is really part of their job, if social secuity is running at a deficit recently, that is because the federal government is owing the trust fund, and has not paid the money it is owing. I also know that all current year taxes are used for current year benefits. which means, if the social security is dipping into the red right now, the government has an urgent task to rescue it just like they did before in 1983, for it is their job to do so. i believe that social security is going to be around for a long time, it is not going anywhere yet, not even in the next 27 years.

"The Silicon Valley of Pot"

To comment on this editorial wirtten by Jill Mangham from the blog Read My Lips. She talked about the legalization of Marijuana in the state of California. She appeared to be against the legalization of marijuana due to the ill effect it has on our society. Yes I agree that the negative effect will be more on our growing youth, but that is a far cry, because marijuana is sold at every street corner in this country, government's effort to stop illegal use of marijuana is not making any impact on the users.


Anyone who's been on a college campus or to a Phish Concert can tell you that Marijuana is readily available to just about anyone who wants to seek it out. From this fact, it means that the infrastructure for the illegal cultivation and sale of marijuana is already firmly in place. So, in my opinion, I would say that if legallizing Marijuana in California will help boost their dying budget,by taxing the producers and sellers which will yeild huge revenue for the government, it is worth a try.

I had this experience sometime in 2007, here in Austin, I was getting gas in a gas station, when some guy walked up to me and asked if I wanted "Weed", I was lost with the question, because I had no idea of what he was talking about, I've never smoked a cigaret before in my life, so when I asked him what he meant by "Weed", he walked a way causing me behind his breath. When I got home, I narrated the incident to my husband, he told me that the guy meant Marijuana. My point being that we should keep the moral aspect aside, Marijuana is out there any time of the day and night, it also comes to you even when you did not solicit for it.

So if legalizing it will become a major source of tax revenue and jobs, I suggest that California State government should go for it, because it will only make a difference in their budget by increasing it, rather than in the number or age of people taking Marijuana, it is already out there.

Ethics Panel's Rangel Counts show Integrity restored

Indeed, the article in this editorial from Washington Post indicates that some sort of integrity is being restored in the ETHICS COMMITTEE of the House of Representative. One of the rule of this committee is to ensure that the house standard of conduct are being kept by all members of the house. But in the recent past, Ethics Committee has been noted for favoritism and they slack in their role of ensuring good conduct among house members. With the case of Charles B. Rangel, the Committee is indeed moving towards restoring their integrity which is shown in their seriousness to hold Mr Rangel responsible for his actions irrespective of the post his is holding in the house or the powers that come with the position. Charles B. Rangel who is a long-serving member of the Democratic party majority, has walked the halls of Congress for 40 years and is the chairman of the powerful Ways and Means Committee. This means that Mr Rangel ought to know the rules and regulations of the House the he is chairing. But instead he abused the power given to him by the constitution and grew overly comfortable wielding the powers however he saw fit. And by so doing, he has not shown any regards for the laws, rules and regulations of the United States and the House of Representative. The Ethics Committee's steps in reprimanding Mr Rangel is a good step in restoring it's integrity and Mr Randle and others like him should be thought that no one is above the law, not even those that makes the laws. He should be held responsible for misusing his office in violation of the House standards of conduct.

Tennessee Lt. Governor Wonders Whether Islam Is A Religion or A 'Cult'

The author Amanda Terkel in this article from the liberal political blog Think Progress is centered on if Muslims in America should be allowed to put up a local islamic center that would include a pool, gym and school in addition to a Mosque. In this particular issue the Rutherford county commission in Tenessee has already approved the plan. From my understanding, the first amendment right is still in existence and it includes freedom of religion. It looks to me like that right will be in violation if the American Muslims in Tenessee is denied the right to put up a place of worship which is the mosque. Yes, I understand, the violent nature of muslims, and no American citizen is in any hurry to forget the impact of September 11, 2001. I, myself can't forget the ordeal we all went through during that period, and the pain that it left in our hearts. The Tenessee's Lt.Governor Ron Ramsey (R) said he opposed the project because it might bring "Sharia Law" into the Stated, and woundered whether Islam might be some sort of 'Cult'. I believe that our Muslim neighbours in Tenessee, knows that no other law can coexist with U.S Constitution, that the laws in the Constitution, are supreme here in the U.S. While we are trying to maintain peace and accomodate our Muslim American brothers, we should be careful not to voilate the constitution with one hand by denying them the right of freedom of religion and worship, as we defend our constitution by opposing "Sharia Law'

Tennessee Lt. Governor Wonders Whether Islam Is A Religion or A 'Cult'

The author Amanda Terkel in this article from the liberal political blog Think Progress, is centered on if Muslims in America should be allowed to put up a local islamic center that would include a pool, gym and school in addition to a Mosque. In this particular issue the  Rutherford county commission in Tenessee has already approved the plan. From my understanding, the first amendment right is still in existence and it includes freedom of religion. It looks to me like that right will be in violation if the American Muslims in Tenessee is denied the right to put up a place of worship which is the mosque. Yes, I understand, the violent nature of muslims, and no American citizen is in any hurry to forget the impact of September 11, 2001. I, myself can't forget the ordeal we all went through during that period, and the pain that it left in our hearts. The Tenessee's Lt.Governor Ron Ramsey (R) said he opposed the project because it might bring "Sharia Law" into the Stated, and woundered whether Islam might be some sort of 'Cult'. I believe that our Muslim neighbours in Tenessee, knows that no other law can coexist with U.S Constitution, that the laws in the Constitution, are supreme here in the U.S. While we are trying to maintain peace and accomodate our Muslim American brothers, we should be careful not to voilate the constitution with one hand by denying them the right of freedom of religion and worship, as we defend our constitution by opposing "Sharia Law'

BP Says Oil Flow Has Stopped as Cap Is Tested

In this article written by Campbell Robertson and Henry Fountain, from The New York Times, they seemed uncertain about the future of the well also about government and BP decision concerning the stability of the cap. I agree with them in the aspect of the government wanting to close the well permanently as an option, I believe that the government and BP can still find a long lasting solution on capping and keeping the oil well open at the same time, the reason being that, the oil well in question is one of the major oil wells in the Gulf of Mexico. For now, the cap is an interim measure until a relief well can plug the leak for good.

For weeks, the BP spill camera — which along with terms like “top kill,” “containment dome” and “junk shot” made up a growing list of phrases that many people wish they had never learned — had shown a horrible chocolate plume of oil pouring upward from the broken blowout preventer, a symbol of government and corporate impotence. The plume has been a constant presence in the corner of TV screens, mocking reassurances from officials on the news programs who describe the latest attempt to stop the gushing.
Though the exact amount of the oil that has poured out of the well may never be known, it was suddenly and for the first time a fixed amount. The disaster was, for a little while at least, finite.
At the White House, President Obama called the development a “positive sign,” though he cautioned that the operation was still in the testing phase. “I am very pleased that there’s no oil going into the Gulf of Mexico,” Kent Wells, a senior vice president for BP said, “but we just started the test and I don’t want to create a false sense of excitement.”

After long weeks of fighting with the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, that endangered human and sea lives, and countless livelihoods were put in jeopardy, especially that of the fishermen. finally the undersea cap solution came, and it appeared to be working, so far no oil leak has been noted since the cap was put in place.


As the test began on Wednesday some hydraulic leaks were noticed, the test continued on Thursday, though it may appear for now that the BP oil spill is far, far from over, but they have certainly made a huge improvement in the attempt to stop the spill.