editorial review of classmates blog

http://iansapathy.blogspot.com/2011/03/planned-parenthood-at-risk.html?showComment=1302112262996#c7929765404781834767

Should Marijuana Be Legalized?

Simply put ,yes. Marijuana has been proven to be less harmful than alcohol and tobacco when used in moderation. Granted that is in moderation. Even if used excessively, I believe that it is less harmful than drinking too much booze. Also, if marijuana were legalized there would be far less “criminals” being supported by taxpayers in our prisons. This also would free up time in our courts and police departments for them to focus on more serious crimes, like rape and murder. This legalization would also in turn eliminate many drug dealers. Another reason is because there are proven medical benefits for cancer patients and those who are suffering from depression. So many Americans do not seek help for depression and end up with terrible consequences from it. If a simple joint could help them, then I say “Go for it”. The FDA could regulate the safety of the product and our government could profit off of it instead of having to pay for it through our tax dollars. If our government taxed marijuana in the same way it taxes alcohol and tobacco this would be a huge revenue for it. The fact is, if people want to smoke pot, they will. Since this drug is not as harmful as alcohol or tobacco, then why not let it be legal and government regulated? Maybe they could pass a law that states that you have to be 18 or 21 to possess and use marijuana like tobacco or alcohol. I believe that government legalization and regulation of marijuana would be a general plus for our economy and our citizens as a whole.

Fewer Troops Needed In Afghanistan

http://elections.americablog.com/2011/03/haley-barbour-reduce-troops-in.html

In the blog above Haley Barbour, a republican, is expressing his opinion for the US to pull troops out of Iraq. He is quoted as saying,”What is our mission? How many Al Qaeda are in Afghanistan. … Is that a 100,000-man Army mission?” He continues with,” I don’t think our mission should be to think we’re going to make Afghanistan an Ireland or an Italy or a Western-style democracy”.

FINALLY!!!! I have been saying this for a couple years now. Why do we need so many soldiers over there for so few Al Qaeda??  Fewer terrorists should mean fewer soldiers. It is a waste of our time, lives, and money to try to reform and rebuild a country that wasn’t anything like ours to begin with. We cannot force our beliefs on others. They have a totally different history and religious background than we do in the United States.  I am on board with Haley Barbour. Bring the majority of our troops home. Let’s stop trying to fix everyone else and work on our own problems at home. 

Should Guns Be Allowed On Campus?

http://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/03/08/etzioni.guns.in.school/index.html

This article is about many states, including Texas, that are considering allowing students and teachers on college campuses to carry fire arms to defend themselves from "gunmen". Amitai Etzioni is a sociologist and professor at George Washington University. His opinion on this issue is that if students and staff are allowed to carry guns on campus that there would be more deaths due to gunfire. Many students would pull the trigger out of just anger and accessibility while others who are not used to close combat warfare would miss their target and injure and kill  their friends and classmates. This also would put the teachers on high alert at all times as well, I would presume. I have to say that I completely agree with Etzioni. This decision would be more dangerous than it would be helpful.  The state could believe that people are capable of making sane judgement calls most of the time, but we never know when someone will go "off the deep end", and when they do, why should they already be armed and loaded?... This is totally crazy, in my opinion. If anything, I say let the staff have a personal firearm, but not the students. The amount of staff is considerably smaller than the amount of students and hopefully the staff will be more rational than the average college student who is also under the stress of passing their classes and exams.

Rising gas prices

USA TODAY-Bernanke-testimony

This article deals with our economy crisis happening right now. Gas prices soaring to record levels along with high unemployment is causing major concern over just how bad this recession could turn out to be. Bernanke is for the approval of a $600 billion buy of US Treasury bonds through June to help out with this crisis. Problem is, with unemployment so high and gas prices very high as well, workers cannot ask for raises and firms are not hiring more employees. The economy is quickly going downhill. It also talks about the rising food prices contributing to this recession. Bernanke is set to testify in front of The Senate Banking Committee and The House Financial Services Committee regarding these issues. Hopefully they can come up with an answer to this economic crisis facing us today.

My not so Political Bio

I have never gotten too involved in politics and never been involved in any political debates simply due to a lack of knowledge and/or interest in the subject. I consider myself to be a Liberal and usually vote, if I vote at all, Democratic. I am pro-choice and believe that there is little that one person's vote can do to change anything major in our country.
This being said, I am hoping through my US Government course to gain the knowledge needed to understand and make a stand about political issues affecting this beautiful country. I also hope to be wrong about my vote not counting, but I really don't see how one vote could ever affect an entire country.