More Troops? Really?

It is ridiculous that eight years after beginning this war on terrorism we are so far off course that it is frustrating. I backed the war when we first went in. We all thought our main purpose of going into it was to take out Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda. We, as a country alone, cannot stop terrorism completely. I agree with Over the Hills and Through the Woods that in the beginning we had other countries standing behind us and year after year one by one they backed off and were not supporting us as they once did. At some point I understand why. We lost our reasons for being in war. We got sidetracked with Bush's need to seek revenge for what his father went through and it cost us trillions of dollars and many lives to make him happy. I support the troops in their want of defending our country but at what point should our government say enough is enough. We have not succeeded in the ways we would have hoped. I in no way believe that there should be more troops sent over to fight because more than likely not even half of them will come back alive. What is the point in starting peace by breaking it? I am all for bringing world peace but we are going about it the wrong way and I agree that the moment we pull out all hell will break lose and who will the world run to for support? The United States. I feel had we taken care of business 8 years ago we wouldn't have to worry about this at the moment. I am happy that Saddam was captured and executed but at that moment it was time to stop Al Qaeda not keep fighting a useless war against something we cannot fully stop.

In a time when we should be counting on our government and our president to pick us back up and make us the strong country we once were we are back in the position of being disappointed. Our dear Mr. President has once again failed to live up to his actions during the electoral race. Instead of bringing our troops back home he is sending more out. Whether it is to help bring the troops home or not there are other options like destroying the one person we went to get in the first place, Osama Bin Laden. Then again, our government somehow managed to lose him in an attempt to seek revenge for George Bush, Sr. The smart thing to do is to always send more people in because more troops are dying. In my opinion the one smart thing Obama has tried to do is getting rid of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. May have started out promising but has only then protected those abusing the "closeted" soldiers for once they came clean with the torture they were to be removed from the army. Obama is trying to protect those soldiers who want to serve their country and be not only proud to do that but be proud to be who they truly are. For that I will commend him.
On the other hand we have the health care reform bill. It has officially passed and many I assume are proud about it. From the beginning I have been on the fence about whether it is for the better of our country or not and what the small print was to the bill. Now that the bill has passed the small print has finally gone public. The upside is the stimulus package people will get to help pay for their health insurance. The downside to that stimulus package is that you will have to pay it back in taxes; more than you are paying now. Another upside to the bill is those employed, whether you have been there 6 months or 10 years, will be covered for life. The downside is for those who are not covered and do not partake in the stimulus package will be fined for every month you are without health coverage. The cost of health care, even with the stimulus package, is still too much for many Americans to pay and because of that you get fined? How reasonable is that? Whether this is something the senate drew up themselves or Obama did, Democrats are the majority chair holders and for their fight to help the small Americans they sure are not doing a good job at it. In hope for a better future, Obama needs to prove to us that we made the best choice in President. I voted for him expected a change and all I have received is disappointment.

Time for equal rights

Through facts and humor Notes on a Nation present a commentary on the state of union in which same-sex couples are not allowed to share in the sanctity of marriage as those of opposite couples. There was a time not too long ago when whites and blacks were not allowed to communicate with one another, when blacks were stoned and spit on for walking down the street and in time that subsided and we now have elected a black President. As issue like gay marriage has been and will always be an issue and in time the same issues we had of yesteryear with African-Americans will be in our past as well. In 2008 when California decided to legalize gay marriage it was a huge step for equal rights, minus the benefits of marriage through the government such as taxes and health care, Within those few short months many residents of California and the many who ventured out to the state to marry were as happy as could be and within those few short months it was also taken away by Proposition 8. Luckily those who had the privilege of being married are legally still married but the opportunity was taken away for many others until Maine decided to legalize. Now Maine has put it back on the ballots to decide whether to keep it legal or take the privilege away. When it comes to those who disagree with same-sex couples getting married are those of religious intent. To each his own when it comes to your own opinion and state-of-mind but no one should be denied the same rights as everyone else. Growing up Catholic I came to know that God made each of us in his own eyes and he loves us no matter what. Catholicism is one of the oldest religions in the world and if they can respect and welcome with open arms the gay community then why are other religions or churches so ignorant? In today's society it is time to learn to love one another, accept one another, respect one another and help one another. Notes on a Nation provided a pie chart to the effects of gay marriage to prove a point, I do not see the-end-of-the-world happening because of it. Do you?

It has been almost one year since Barack Obama was elected President and in this one year what has Obama accomplished? Nothing. In following politics I have seen President Obama speak at numerous engagements and to numerous crowds about what he plans to do like the health care reform, getting the troops out of Afghanistan, declaring peace, helping to get rid of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy and more. Shouldn't at least one of those promises have been made by now? Health care is in election at the moment with its supporters and many debators. If the health care reform bill passes how will it effect you and your loved ones? Are you for it or against it? These are questions circling inside many Americans minds over this issue. How do you feel knowing that the government could be in control over a life and death situation? Being in office only one year Obama has only declared one issue: Health care. Does this mean that we should expect only one issue to be taken care of every year he is in office? It took eight years for President Bush to ruin America and with Obama wanting to set out and "change America" he isn't doing a great job at it so far. Obama has another three years to change our situation and change our minds. Respect should be given to Obama and his administration for what they are wanting to do and what they are trying to do but people want answers and relief that they are not getting. Our government needs to help its nation, not destroy it.

Media's lack of attention

On October 14, 2009 Steve Benen took to his blog, Washington Monthly, to discuss the media’s lack of attention to the gay rights rally that happened on Sunday October 11, 2009 particularly one network: Fox News Channel. The gay rights rally had the same turn out as September’s Tea Party Rally but was deemed more news worthy than gay rights. Benen took to Jon Stewart’s coverage of the matter where Stewart pointed out that Fox, who loves protests and angry Americans, spent 3 minutes and 42 seconds between the hours of 6 a.m. and 9 p.m. covering their issues while in the same day they spent 8 minutes and 16 seconds covering the much smaller protest of parents in New Jersey over the song their children sang about President Obama. The only on-air coverage they showed of the rally didn’t even come from their own network but an aerial view of the march from ABC. To add more concern to the lack of attention it got NBC spent less time covering it than they did with their “Honeymoon in Hell” special and CNN sent a camera crew to the march but didn’t assign an on-air correspondent to cover it. MSNBC was the only network mentioned in Benen’s commentary to have sent a reporter out to the rally. 75,000 Americans looking for equal rights wasn’t news worthy to many and Fox News proved that. The intended audience for Benen’s commentary are those to fail to notice everyone as equals. Both Stewart and Benen are speaking out to Fox News Affiliates and other networks to realizes their mistake and hopefully change their course of action when deciding what they find newsworthy and not. It is sad when a network like Fox chooses to show a supposed spot of where a much smaller protest took place and choose to ignore 75,000 people marching in front of the United States capitol that happens to be right outside of their window.

The Health-Care Ego Trip

Robert J. Samuelson, a columnist for The Washington Post wrote a logical opinion about the health care reform bill President Obama is pushing. In the article Samuelson's opinion seems justified by statistics he researched and his comments based on them. For example, according to one study being uninsured leads for 45,000 deaths in America. As sad as it is that those 45,000 people die from lack of professional health care does it mean that those 45,000 people, given the opportunity to have insurance, would take it? According to Samuelson in another study, 10.9 million who were eligible for insurance didn't take it in 2007. In a figure cited by Baucus, the number of Americans who die from being uninsured in "itself is an unreliable statistical construct built on many assumptions." By a base of 351 deaths, 60 of them were uninsured. When averaged out the percentages weren't far apart (3 % insured to 3.3% uninsured).
To quote Samuelson: "The point is not to deny that the uninsured are more vulnerable...the point is that estimating how much is extremely difficult." To pull from personal experience, I agree with Samuelson's opinion about the health care reform for the most part. I am uninsured at the moment but do not plan to be for much longer. It is unfortunate that I lost it but at the same time looking at the percentages of those eligible to receive insurance to those who are not really delegate how much the reform may help or may cause more trouble to our ever growing recession. Politicians want us to believe that they are god and that it is their destiny to serve for our government and to make our laws but to us it makes us suspicious for their decisions and the bills they are trying to pass.
A bill like that Health Care Reform seems like a great plan on the outside but along side the big print there is also the small print most people don't read. Our question is: What does the small print fully entail? The Wall Street Journal recently pulled a poll amongst their readers and according to their responses just over 40% opposed Obama's proposal and another 39% were undecided. I believe you can add me to the undecided poll.

Obama reaches to youth for support on health care bill

In an article written by National Public Radio, Obama set out to talk to the youth generation about his new health care bill. On Thursday, President Obama spoke to a packed crowd at the University of Maryland's Comcast Center about their importance to helping the bill pass because of it's defining struggles to our generation. We, as a generation, make up a big chunk of the uninsured. According to Obama the solution rests in the young, healthy people due to our lower usage of health care, our premiums will help the overall coverage for the older generation who need the health care but lack the insurance to cover their statuses. Speaking on a personal note, I am for the bill strictly because I just lost my health insurance not too long ago. I was covered under my parents plan but due to my age now I was knocked off. I am searching for a new health care coverage and to be able to have this plan go through will help me in the long run for my health because I am a very complicated individual because I tend to injure myself often through sports and natural activities like walking. Obama believes that America needs the voice of the young people to transform the nation and so do I, the question remains, "Are You Ready?"