Commentary #2

After reading Ignite Incite's blog "be the voice, NOT THE NOISE" I don't think I completely agree or completely understand what your trying to say. First, I'm not sure where you are headed with the introductory paragraph. When you talk about "cancelling out" what are you trying to say. I guess what your saying about the noise is that people need to be more educated about political issues, specifically the stimulus package.

As far as the stimulus package goes I think it's fairly valid. The intent of the package is not to get people out of a jam by giving them money. It's to encourage them to spend the money on clothes, dining out, and other expendables so that the economy can stabilize. Once the economy stabilizes(if it does, I'm no economic analyst) then prices would stop rising as quickly.

I don't see the stimulus package as a form of welfare, nor do I think Americans expect these packages to keep coming every year. For one thing you had to file taxes to even qualify. If you didn't work last year you could hardly file taxes.

Of course the Government is concerned about the financial problems of individuals, the government is supposed to care about yours and my plight. That's their job. With the economy in the state it's in somebody in the government should be doing something to boost it.

Overall I think your missing the point of the stimulus package which is for the economy, not for individuals in financial trouble.

To find her original commentary http://igniteincite.blogspot.com/2008/04/whose-noise-and-who-is-ten-percent-who.html

Gay Couples Have the Right to be as Miserable as Everyone Else!

Over the past years gay marriage rights have been a big issue in America. Some people could care less whether or not men marry men or woman marry woman, while others believe it is morally wrong and should never be legal. The main argument against gay marriage is simply that it is wrong and that marriage equals man plus woman. This is not a question of it being morally wrong, it’s a question of civil liberties not being granted to American citizens. By telling them they can’t marry one another, government is denying them a right that is given to all heterosexual persons over eighteen. Homosexuals who have long-term relationships have every right to make medical decisions in emergencies. If a bi-national heterosexual couple gets married the foreigner is granted American citizenship, this is not possible in the case of gay and lesbian couples. Is this not a country known for its freedom and liberty, who is government to tell people they can’t marry one another. The Bill of Rights clearly says we have freedom of religion, if we have this freedom what is the problem. The people that believe gay marriage should not be legal are mostly Christian’s or other religious people. Being gay is perceived as a sin according to certain churches and America, well it’s a country not a religion. The only time morality is an issue is when it is violating someone’s civil liberties. A man marrying a man doesn’t hurt anybody much less violate anybodies civil liberties.

Commentary on Editorial

I myself am personaly pro choice, at least for the most part, and I found a lot of the points you made very interesting. I do believe that every baby should have the right to live, they are tiny and innocent beings who havent done anything to deserve death. Dont you think its funny how many people who are pro-choice dont agree with the death penalty. So its ok for an innocent baby to die, but not an adult who chose to take the life another. I agree that rape is traumatic but i dont believe a girl who is impregnated by her rapist should have to have that baby. This is one of few instances when I think abortion is justifiable. The memory of the rape would be enough to deal with on its own. You would not really ever understand unless you became pregnant due to rape. Your view about the economy is unique but over all I find to be somewhat irrelevant. Abortion is not going to impact the population or the economy significantly, most people are still going to have kids. Your right when people get pregnant accidently they should still have to take responsibility for their actions. If I can have a kid at fifteeen anyone can. People who feel they cant handle that responsibility could always put the child up for adoption. I find myself aggreeing with the overall message and think you bring some interesting view points to the table.

Obama: Secret Muslim Terrorist?

Have you heard that Barack Obama is a Muslim, or that he goes to a black supremacist church? Many people have the tendency to base their judgments for candidates on false information given to them through the media. These faulty generalizations have been extremely irritating
me. I hear these generalizations not only from the media but in everyday conversation with my own family. From one extreme to another, first he’s a Muslim now he’s a bad Christian.
Why should it matter if Obama is a Muslim? It has nothing to do with his ability to help, or run a nation. Yes, 9/ 11 was caused by terrorists who like to use Islam to justify what they did, but how many Christians have blown up abortion clinics, killing innocent people saying it was gods will. Does this make all Christians bad people? I understand that people have a gut reaction as a result of 9/11 but they need to step back and reevaluate whether or not their beliefs about Muslims are valid.
In light of the recent evidence that Obama is not a Muslim, attacks have been made saying that he goes to a black supremacist church, and also supports a preacher who makes inflammatory comments about America. The Trinity United Church of Christ describes itself as “Unashamedly Black and Unapologetically Christian” which tells me that they don’t hate white people, their just proud of their heritage and faith. It’s no different then those that attend Greek Orthodox or Polish Catholic churches celebrating their ancestry. As far as inflammatory remarks made by the rev. Jeremiah Wright, Obama’s Preacher, goes, who hasn’t had a mentor or close family member who has said things that were controversial, disagreeable, or just plain wrong. Obama can hardly be held responsible for anti-American comments made by Wright. People need to begin taking a second look at what is heard through the media ,and not just accept things at face value.

The Need for Gun Control

Most Americans have very different ideas about gun control, some believing we need more of it while others think it is fine the way it is. I read an editorial entitled " Gun Crazy " from the New York Times that discusses the need for gun control due to the increase in gun related deaths, and the recent tragedies at Northern Illinois University as well as Virginia Tech.

As a result of the New York Times liberal leanings the editorial specifically calls on Democratic presidential candidates to make gun control a larger part of their campaign.As the editorial points out, "No single measure or combination of measures can ensure that deranged individuals are prevented in every instance from shooting up a crowded classroom or shopping mall", but stricter regulations could reduce gun violence. The editorial suggests stronger regulations such as mandatory background checks ( including gun shows), one gun per month limit, and a ban on military style weapons. All this is very reasonable except for the part about the ban on military style weapons, after all the reason we have the right to bear arms is to protect ourselves from tyranny. If as citizens we wanted to revolt against a tyrannical government we would need to have more than just pump action shotguns. I do however believe that stronger gun control is necessary and that democrats need to step up to the plate.

With the presidential election coming around the corner we do need to be reminded that there are more issues at stake then just the war in Iraq and health care. "Gun Crazy" does well to remind us that gun control should be somewhere at the top of that list, and that we should be challenging our candidates to come up with viable solutions that still protect our rights.

Political Identity

I chose to do a commentary on an article called " When 'Identity Politics' is Rational " which discusses whether or not voting for somebody based on their identity, race, religion, etc. can be reasonable. Before reading this edititorial I would have never thought that voting for someone based on such silly things, like gender, could ever be logical. I'm not saying it is logical all the time, but for certain reasons, it is.

In identity politics sometimes people vote just according to things like sharing the same religion and dont take into consideration the persons capability of leading. They side by saying things such as " he is my brother" or " he is Southerner" so i will vote for him. Instead of thinking about the things the persons accomplished or what their views are they make their decisions without any information on the candidate. Though a lot of identity traits such as gender and religion help make us who we are they shouldn't be the basis for all decisions we make These people need to start learning how to vote as a citizen not as a tribe.

However as the writer pointed out identity politics can be positive. One example he gives is when an African American votes for a black candidate,not for the sole purpose of being black ,but because the candidate is more likely to identify with the obstacles he or she faces in society. This is perfectly rational because their voting on the basis of their interests not just because "he is one of mine and I have to support him". The author goes on to give reasons why women and Jews would also want to vote in a similar way. The author's point of view is as he says " all interests are special interests" and that no one can vote for a candidate without basing it on their own interests.

Bush' s Budget Cuts

I've chosen to summarize an article from the "New York Times" which explains a budget Bush will propose this coming Monday. There are a pros and cons to this budget. The budget would give 19.7 million dollars more to"State Children's Health Insurance Plan"( coverage for children of low income families). Spending on this program for the next five years would end up being 45.1 billion dollars which would allow the program to meet what it had set out to do. The budget would also allot more money to border security and help protect New Orleans against storms like hurricane Katrina by building levees and flood walls. In this proposal Bush is also asking for 2.4 billion dollars for the Food and Drug Adminstration whose job basicly is to make sure what were eating, and medications we are taking for health conditions, is actually safe. The money would allow more FDA workers to go to other countries and inspect things before they were sent to the U.S.

Though this budget allows more money for some programs it takes away to much from other important ones. Poison control centers would be cut by 62 percent along with rural health programs which would be cut by 87 percent. This budget would completly end the community service block grant that helps low income families with neccesary things such as houses and food, along with a programs designed to care for people with alzheimers and treat ones with brain injuries. Bush would also like to end the Hope IV program which restores old and damaged public housing, and makes them livable. Many education programs such as Even Start will also suffer cuts in there budget. This budget provides more money for some programs but then completly takes everything away from others which I believe are, for the most part, equally important you cant rightfully give millions of dollars to one program and take all funding from another away. I believe this article is well worth reading because this budget will effect many americans everyday life and because it gives you an idea of how much it costs to keep needed programs in effect.