Steroid Use

In response to "My thoughts on where our government is today" by Charlie Dickson.

This blogger discusses the national government in relation to steroid use in sports. He asks whether the states or the nation should decide the legality of steroid use.
I think that it is already established that steroid use by sportsmen is illegal. It is dangerous, and changes the level of competitiveness and legitimacy.
Some may compare this issue to the marijuana controversy; but it is different. Marijuana is legal in some places in very small amounts for medical purposes. Steroids are also widely used in the medical field for an array of legal things. When I had an allergic reaction I was given a type of steroid. But there are different types of steroids that athletes use to increase their performance, not for medical reasons. I don't think there is any lobbying for making this legal. Also, with correct medical records, it is clear whether an athlete is taking them for legal purposes or not.
Imagine the chaos if it was up to the states to decide to make steroid use among athletes legal. If steroid use was made legal in certain places for athletes, which I highly doubt would ever happen, sports would never be the same. Imagine certain teams on steroids playing clean teams!
Charlie comments on Senator George Mitchell's report over illegal steroid use in major league baseball, and believes "it is a bit overkill." Though Charlie feels that Mitchell should have spent time on more important issues I disagree. Showing a strict policy towards illegal use of drugs is a great example. Though it is different than a report on cocaine it still makes an important point. These drugs are used by more than just baseball players. In the bodybuilding industry it is widely used and with very destructive results. Steroids need not be brushed away as unimportant.
In comparison the war in Iraq is a much more important issue at the time being, with unnecessary casualties building every day. But there will always be big issues, and this doesn't mean we have to ignore everything else. Senators must represent their constituencies concerns or else they are not doing their job.
In conclusion steroid use may not be at the top of the totem pole in importance. But, if we ignore this issue it will inevitably give the message of a lenient view of drugs and health. It is established that it is an illegal practice for athletes to use, so it needs to be enforced.

Abortion

It is established that abortion is legal in the United States. Though, in every state the specifics do vary. For instance, in Texas there must be consent from one parent, and in Oregon there are no parental consent or notification laws. This makes every state very different and individual.
Conservatives in the United States are against abortion and are trying to change the laws. Many feel that abortion is against their religious beliefs. But while many just preach this belief very few go further to take the next step. In Austin, there is a catholic church that does do this. They have a helpline that discourages abortions and provides supplies and assistance to expecting mothers. Many preach viciously about the crime of abortion, but don't do anything further. The church I discussed is taking a step in the right direction, for those who do feel abortion is morally and ethically wrong.
But I feel many anti-abortion groups miss a crucial step. Before the abortion comes pregnancy, and not enough emphasis is put on contraception. Many religions are against contraceptive methods; so when many women inevitably get pregnant and are left alone. There needs to be much more education starting at a younger age involving contraception and sexuality. Lack of education leads to increased pregnancy and abortion rates among young women, and those careless habits will continue through their lives.
It can get complex because preaching and educating about contraceptives also gives the idea that sex at an early age is OK. Many young people engage in sexual activity very early on, which can be very damaging. But, it is always better to teach young people to use protection, then to never have sex, which many will. There needs to be a holistic approach to sex education.
Overall I do feel abortion is a woman's right. If someone knows they are not ready to be a parent then that is so important. A women's body is her own and it is not up to older men in Congress to decide that she can't terminate her pregnancy. But, I do feel that abortion is very unfortunate and sad, and it education can be used to lower the abortion rate. A woman that has had many abortions in her lifetime, because she uses it as a birth control method is not acceptable. Life is so precious and great importance should be put on it, but so is a women's right to choose.

Response to Amy and Sean's View on Gay Marriage

It's a shame that it has to be discussed whether two people can marry. I agree that it is not the government's business whether a gay couple can marry.Neither is it people's business that it doesn't concern. The majority of people that are against gay marriage aren't gay and don't understand it fully. To start my argument I will present a point that I believe to be fact and crucial for people to understand.*People are born gay. It is not something they decide, or do to rebel. Some people do deny they are gay, because of societies views on it. This can hurt someone's life tremendously. The problem starts when people don't believe that people can be gay, denying that it is a part of their genetic makeup. So, the people that feel that gay people aren't legitimate treat them as it they have a flaw and are unequal. Therefore they don't deserve the normal rights of an individual. An individual should have the right to marry someone they care about and want to spend the rest of their life with. So, to dispute the opposition of the basic right of marriage, I will take some points from fellow classmates. Sean's arguments are as follows. "If we start to allow this marriage it would be the beginning of ruining the flow of mankind. There are several different problems related in marriage such as allowing Mormonism, one husband having multiple wives, and under teenager marriage." * I'm not sure what is meant by the flow of mankind. Mankind is gay, straight, black, white,handicapped, and unique with different needs.Not everyone fits onto one path.* There is a fear that allowing gay marriage will lead to forms of unacceptable marriage, such as that between two siblings. There are practical reasons for that though. There are genetic diseases that happen siblings have offspring. In gay marriage that is not an issue. Also where is the demand for a marriage between siblings? There is none, or no interest groups that I know of. Large groups of people will not suddenly want to marry their siblings. Amy says: "Now that California has legalized same-sex marriage, that only encourages more previous laws to be challenged in order to fit the lives of our changing society."Changing one law does NOT lead to other laws being changed. If it did then no laws would ever be enacted! Freedom of speech is an ideal we live under. It could lead to the mass overturn of the government, but it doesn't. Laws provide us with limits. Amy says that the idea for same sex marriage only came into our minds as society became more corrupted. This validates my former point. Amy believes that gay people are corrupt. People that have this view will not understand homosexuals right to marry, because they don't understand that it is an undeniable fact of life. These people need to be educated, so they can make informed decisions. Hearing that Amy thinks gay marriage is disturbing is upsetting. Some people base their feelings against gay marriage on their religion. The bible does say marriage is between a man and a women. It also implies that sex is reserved only for marriage.So how many people that base their feelings on gay marriage also don't have sex before marriage?I would like to hear some substantial arguments for gay marriage so perhaps I can understand more where people come from when they refute gay marriage. Please feel free to contact me. I believe that education will help people better understand this issue. That it comes down to basic human rights, and the pursuit of happiness, which everyone deserves. Gay marriage will lead to a happier society, not a tainted one.

Offshore drilling

To solve the energy crisis President Bush recently proposed to end a ban on offshore oil drilling. The amount of oil that could be found offshore is estimated to be sixteen billion barrels by the federal Energy Information Administration. This may be Bush’s last resort to do something to impact four-dollar a gallon gas.
But, it is up to Congress to decide whether this ban will be lifted. Considering the democrats are the majority party it is doubtful that they will vote in favor of Bush. Democrats are known for their environmentalist ideals, and offshore drilling could hurt wildlife. Though some do say if the drilling is done correctly it won’t cause any significant damage.
When I first read this article I felt that perhaps offshore drilling is a small sacrifice needed to ease pain in many pocketbooks, including my own. I spend about $120 a month on gas, and that rate is steadily climbing. It probably wouldn’t cause me that much heartache if the prices went down significantly for a small portion of environmental damage.
The rest of the American public would probably follow suit. If they noticed prices were down, they would be happy about if and support for the Republicans would increase.The majority of Americans wouldn’t delve deep and find out what environmental damage has been done. Though there are many powerful environmental interest groups. Human nature is generally selfish, not in an evil way, but just “must look out for number one” way.
In reality offshore drilling most likely won’t produce lower prices. The Energy Information Administration affirms this. The supply would go up a few percentage points but the demand would still be very high.
I commented earlier that I wouldn’t be too upset over a small portion of environmental damage. But the damage would become greater and greater as our last resort would become our regular source of energy. So after all of our energy sources are drained we are left with nothing.
Alternate fuel is our only lasting hope to solve this crisis. Messing with the environment at the cost of an amount of fuel that wouldn’t sustain us very long is not a solution. For example, hydrogen is an alternate fuel. Resources need to be spent finding a solution that will last.

Former Nazi War Criminal Remains Free

This commentary discusses how the United States unsuccessfully tries to find other countries to deport several Nazi criminals to. One example is former Nazi concentration camp guard, John Demjanjuk. He is 88 years old and still in the United States, because he can't be exiled until another country agrees to accept him. Blogger Meteor Blades discusses Demjanjuk's long trail of becoming a United States citizen, his citizenship being revoked, being exiled to Israel and sentenced to death, his sentence being overturned, and coming back to the United States. Meteor Blades views that in 1982 Pat Buchanan had an antisemitic attitude towards Nazi war criminal:
"Demjanjuk is one of the Nazis the anti-Semite Pat Buchanan chose to defend in the 1980s. For instance, in a 1982 interview with Allan Ryan Jr., then head of the Justice Department's Office of Special Investigation, Buchanan said: "You've got a great atrocity that occurred 35-45 years ago, okay? Why continue to invest...put millions of dollars into investigating that. I mean, why keep a special office to investigate Nazi war crimes. ...why not abolish your office?"

Buchanan makes his point harshly but isn't necessarily antisemitic. He is saying that a horrible event that happened 45 years ago shouldn't be spent millions of dollars investigating on now. He might also be saying it isn't the United States' problem. But I definitely disagree with him. This scenario could happen in the near future, where war criminals from other countries are in the United States for years peacefully awaiting a sentence that might never come. The special office is crucial because it can teach us how to more efficiently obtain justice.

But one must wonder why are these Nazi war criminals stuck here in the United States. Their crimes were committed in Europe, and there are at least five in the United States " staying free and running out the clock." Is the US the only country seeking justice for these criminals, when their crimes weren't committed on our soil? It does show the responsibility that the US should be taking, but along with other countries. We do have huge problems of our own that have happened recently that need to be dealt with. So it is a bit questionable to be spending time on half century old crimes.
Seeking justice is the foundation our country was built on. Those that contributed to the atrocity of the Holocaust should not walk free. It is so frustrating knowing there are those that do, but no system is perfect. Our system of the Bill of Rights provides for individual freedom which can not be forgone under reasonable doubt. Courts simply don't have enough evidence to try these criminals justly. Which makes one hope for a higher power that will seek justice absolutely.

McCain and gas tax holiday

This commentary discusses McCain's idea of a gas tax holiday giving momentary relief to Americans from the strife of four dollars per gallon gas. The blogger ridicules the idea that John McCain can really do anything to help America's high gas prices. McCain's idea is to essentially eliminate the 18.4-cents a gallon federal tax. The blogger discusses the negative effect that this would have.
"This would cost the Highway Trust Fund between $9 billion and $11 billion. McCain hasn’t said whether he’d just increase the deficit to make up the difference, or just let the transportation money disappear, costing thousands of jobs."
This is a good point. But it seems anything that any candidate would propose would somehow have negative effects. Manipulating the economy to be a certain way, and to create supply and demand is impossible. Can any candidate propose a good solution that would actually work? It does seem the president would need a better solution than just shutting off a charge associated with gas, it would have a bad domino effect.
This blogger gives McCain a hard time for his comment on what effect the summer gas break would have on Americans. McCain say that “low-income families could save some extra cash to pay for their children’s school supplies this fall, or perhaps treat themselves to a nice dinner.” I do think this is McCain acknowledging that his proposal can't do much. Even though McCain uses a positive light to talk about his apparently conceded proposal, I think he is just being realistic in a hidden way.
I am wary that any presidential candidate will be able to fix this problem, though I will certainly indulge in wishful thinking. Though they must all propose a way to fix it because it is something that hits everyone hard ;and we look to a potential candidate that can fix all of our direct money problems.

Obama and the death of Clintonism

http://www.slate.com/id/2192825/



A question that has been on everyone's mind for weeks has finally reached it's conclusion. Obama has won the democratic nomination for president, running against H Clinton . What I feel is important about this is not just the outcome, but how it was reached. Many people, including myself do not understand the process.
Obama was selected to be the democratic nomination by the 2008 Democratic Primaries. He was selected through primaries and caucuses which ends officially at the Democratic national Convention in August. To get this nomination the candidate needs at least 2,117 votes from delegates. Which is a majority of the total 4,233 delagates.
Delegates from 48 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico have a single vote each. While delegates from America Samoa, the Virgin Islands, Guam, Florida and Michigan have half a vote each.
Obama ended up passing that total because of his primary victories and superdelegate endorsments . It is estimated that Obama got 2,187 votes and Clinton received 1,922.
After all of Clinton's work what is she supposed to do now? Surely not drift into the background. One of her options includes suspending the campaign to keep the control of her delegates to promote her stance of health care. Or she could give her delegates to Obama which would officially end her campaign to presidency. It is not exact what she is doing, except for gracefully showing her support to Obama.