Don't get rid of national prayer day.

In response to my colleagues blog about getting rid of national prayer day, I don't think we should get rid of nation prayer day. You're right if it does violate the first amendment, then why even have it in our pledge of allegiance. I can remember 10 years ago over this topic, and to me people just want something to complain about, (not trying to be rude) but if nothing's happened in the last ten years and looks like nothing will change what's the point to keep bringing this up. Sure voices want to be heard and that's fine but after a while, you know just keep it to yourself. Being that we are in America WE have rights, so with that being a freedom we have, if you don't believe in any religion, then you don't have to do anything, simple as that

Offshore drilling to end.

I think we as American citizens should stop offshore drilling, though we need oil to keep the refineries going I think we should fine other ways to drill oil than doing it offshore. According to culturechange one single oil rig can dump more than 90,000 metric tons of fluid into the ocean, can drop 25,000 pounds of toxic metals such as lithium, and lead into the ocean, and can pollute the air with as much as 7,000 cars driving 50 miles a day. Some of the accidents that have came from offshore drilling is the case in 1992, Chevron USA pleaded guilty to 65 violations of the Clean Water Act and paid $8 million in fines for illegal discharges from the company's production platform of the California coast. Just 5 years later Chevron was fined 1.2 million for operating a well off the coast of Ventura with a broken ant-blowout valve, a key environmental protection on an offshore oil well. To me this company should have had a strict punishment in 1992, but again just five years later and still nothing happened (at that time) there seems to be a problem. Two states who are strongly putting their arguments against offshore drilling consist of Florida and California. According to environment Florida the Deep water Horizon catastrophe caused 210,000 gallons of oil to be spilled into the Gulf each day, the day they hoped would never come may soon be here. According to American Progress the top ten reasons to stop offshore drilling or stop expanding offshore drilling are We can’t drill our way out of the energy crisis, We don’t have enough oil to meet our demand, Oil companies have not utilized the leases they have now, Offshore drilling would have an “insignificant” effect on long-term prices, Drilling could lock us in to a future of expensive gasoline, Production would be expensive, would not start for a long time, and would have no short-term effect on oil prices, There isn’t enough drilling equipment, We can’t refine the oil we would extract, Drilling more oil now is not the path to a future based on alternative energy, Debating offshore drilling in sensitive areas distracts from real solutions. With all these reasons to stop offshore drilling, I believe it’s important to put an end to it and deal with what we have on land, yes it’s dangerous no matter what, but I’d feel people and other environments would be safer from offshore drilling.

Keep the Space Program

In relating to my colleagues blog about “What would Neil Armstrong think?!” I know for a face he’s upset. This past week Armstrong wrote a letter to the President in anger for canceling the space program, after all he kind of took the space program we know of now to the promise land, by doing something merely impossible. I also agree when my colleague says, “what do the hundreds of thousands of people think about this?” Me personally I am not a big space person, but know information about what’s gone on in our space explorations as a little kid, I say it’s a shame to get rid of. As far as leaving the Russians in control, and me know a lot of about the relations between Russia and the United States, I would have to agree with here, it’s not a good thing, there’s to much there for the possibility of conflict happening at some point. I think the United States should do our think, and Russia should do their thing, and we should keep our space program alive, I mean there’s just too much History, and we should embrace it.

Human Trafficking

As an American, and a Criminal Justice major, I think the American government should do something more with the issue of Human Trafficking. Yes our law enforcement agencies are all involved, but I believe if the rest of the American Government were to get involved I personally believe we can slow this industry down, or finally bring it to an end. Bringing this 42.5 billion industry would be a great success, people, parents, and especially children wouldn’t have to be afraid anymore, or be scared to do anything anymore.

How this all starts or the process of someone being trafficked is, is that the victim is promised jobs, great opportunity, and this life that better than what they had. As soon as they accept this job (which turns out to be false) they are just stripped of everything rights, dignity, and even pride. But when they are not servants even as so much as one attempt to escape, this people who abduct for a living do an extensive background check on the entire family. So they threaten the victim trying to escape you leave, we kill your family. So in the end they stay, and are subject to more violence.

According to the National Human Rights center in the United States alone, there are 10,000 forced labors, around one-third of whom are domestic servants, and some portion of them children. This people who are in modern day slavery are from everywhere, Mexico, Europe, and Asia, and just as we receive people from other countries, people here in the United States are being shipped across various international borders.

In past years government help has been useless to some people. In 2000 Congress passed Trafficking Victims Protection Act, promising 5,000 temporary visas each year for survivors. Only about 450 persons have received the T-visas or other benefits. Another reason why so few are taking advantage of the opportunity given to them, is because when being questioned by law enforcement, it’s a painful thing to talk about it, and especially with children, who come here alone, when they’re being ask what happened often they are too traumatized to talk about, and so then authorities have no proof of a kid being a survivor of trafficking. Also to much is being focused on the sex slave part of trafficking, instead of the forced labor, yes the sex slaving part is worst, but to put an end to it all we’ve got to take care of the whole thing not just one over the other.

In conclusion, I think efforts to be this industry down need to be sky high. In 2009 Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, started a campaign entitled “Hidden In Plain Sight” trying to bring this to an end. I believe the lack or trying to do anything about this issue is just as the campaign slogan says “Hidden In Plain Sight”, most people don’t see it so they go on thinking there is no problem, but there is and it‘s a major problem. I believe this government has all the tools necessary to bring this issue to a halt, and I know we’ve got issues else where but this is here at home, these are innocent fragile people MOST of whom are kids.

Money of the Social Secuirty

According to Soren Daytons blog on RedState, he presents to us how this years Social Security Trust Fund will dish out more in benefits than it takes in, in revenue. I believe he wrote this story, because he wants to direct this problem to the baby boomers, being most baby boomers are going to retire within the next couple of years. Soren also mentions that passing the Health Reform Bill adds to this crisis, which to me no matter what the Health Reform Bill is going to be an advantage and disadvantage on some things, so to say it’s going to add more to the Social Security crises, is kind of premature. To keep audiences interested, whether it be the baby boomers, or the young generation he should keep the facts coming, and let us know maybe what other sources who know about this problem don’t want to let out.

The basic argument Soren is putting out is how not only is Social Security will dish out from their trust fund, but now how the new Health Reform Bill will be a crisis added to this. The one assumption I believe Soren states is how the new Health Bill is going to be a massive effect on this Social Security crisis. After reading Soren blog, I think the U.S. Government should look and see if they really need to dish out so much money, or dish out what’s absolutely necessary.

In reading this blog Soren has provided evidence that yes Social Security is a mess he states “This year, the system will pay out more in benefits than it receives in payroll taxes, an important threshold it was not expected to cross until at least 2016, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

In conclusion I believe that arguments is successful, and it does convince me that the Social Security is in a rut right now, because if you’re paying out more in benefits, than receiving in payroll taxes, that’s a bad problem.

Dream of Returning?

As I read Gregory Rodriguez opinion in the Los Angeles Times about “Fewer Mexican Immigrants Dream of Returning” I agree with everything Rodriguez said. I believe his intended audience was generally the Mexicans who are from Mexico, and the Hispanic population here in the United States. I also believe he is trying to reach out to Americans in the sense that, if Mexico’s own people who immigrated to the United States don’t go back, then why should Americans go for anything? After reading Rodriguez opinion I believe that he is trying to capture the audience to think of Mexico in a positive way, even with the violence and corruption going on, because it has such history, and beautiful places. The basic argument of this opinion was to reach to people that Mexican immigrants who are living in the United States, may not want to go back to Mexico with all the drug wars going on, “Today, fear of violence is keeping more people focused on their futures north of the border and changing longtime patterns of assimilation and migration.” Another thing I liked about Rodriguez opinion, is the sources he has in order to make this article visible as far as anyone in the United States not going to Mexico such as mentioning the murder of El Monte educator Bobby Salcedo, who is a second generation Mexican American who urged people to boycott going to Mexico, and even told the Pasadena Star-News, that he would never visit Mexico again. Some evidence to people that may not go back to Mexico, is that yes the first and second generation Mexican Americans will be affected, but the third, and fourth are already living at a profound from their grandparents and great-grandparents homeland. In conclusion I believe that Rodriguez opinion is a successful one. Since I do watch a lot of the news and I like to keep up with current events, and since I have kept an eye on this drug war in Mexico, this argument/opinion doesn’t change my mind, I’ve always said if I've got no business in Mexico I have no reason to be there.

Border Protection

Being a Criminal Justice major, I thought it be fitting to post an article about a Homeland Security Agency. I was reading the Post Chronicle, and it deals with the border protection, and how Obama submitted the 2011 budget proposal, which includes cuts to U.S. border security. I think this issue is important, because we need this security(maybe at an all time high now), just in the last year or two violence has erupted massively, with killings everyday, and how can we protect Americans here on the home front with all these cuts happening, especially with Homeland Security?