Armed Teachers by: Juliet Moeller

At the start of your blog I began thinking this would be just another rant about how teachers should be allowed to carry weapons at schools to protect the children and themselves from school shooters. After I finished reading, I could see that you gave this topic much thought and created a plan on how to execute the idea of having armed teachers in school. I have children who attend school and the thought of a possible school shooting happening where they attend crosses my mind often. Although having armed teachers to protect them seemed like a good start to combat the possibility, I was still skeptical on how I or anyone could trust teachers to carry a gun on campus just because we assumed, they’d protect our children. What if the teacher isn’t capable of that responsibility? What if it is a teacher with permission to carry who does the shooting next time? What if a student gets to the teacher’s weapon? How do we control those outcomes? Your plan to have mental health screenings, extensive and proper training, and the suggestion of how to keep the weapons secure and safe gave me the feeling that there is a possibility it could work. With more detail and information on how this plan could be executed, I agree that these could be important steps towards making schools safer.

https://julietgovernmentfall.blogspot.com/2018/12/armed-teachers.html

Should vaccinations be mandatory for adults and children throughout the United States?

Whether or not vaccinations should be mandatory by the State and Local Government has been debated for years. Proponents of vaccinations state that vaccinations are safe and could easily be the greatest health development of the 20th century. Opponents of vaccinations state that children's immune system can fight most infections naturally. Injecting questionable vaccine ingredients into children can have serious side effects. With great arguments made on both sides of this debate the big question is are these vaccines even worth the damage they could potentially cause our children and whose choice should it be whether or not to vaccinate his/herself or their children? 

Many if not all vaccines contain harmful ingredients that can cause serious disorders and health issues. These harmful ingredients include but are not limited to Mercury compounds, Aluminum, Formaldehyde, and Glutaraldehyde. These harmful ingredients have been linked to autism and neurological harm to the human body. They may cause side effects such as cardiac impairment and central nervous system depression. All vaccines carry a risk of life-threating allergic reactions for children and could potentially cause real damage to a child. Not only do these vaccines have the potential to cause harm to children but it infringes upon constitutionally protected religious freedoms. There are several religions that oppose vaccines and mandatory vaccinations to make these individuals with religious preferences against vaccinations go through a long drawn out process to be exempt from vaccinations is against the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. This Amendment states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”. Government should not be allowed to intervene in personal medical choices, one should have the right to make his or her own decisions on what their bodies endure or what does or doesn't not get injected into their bodies. The government should not have the power to make medical decisions for us. 

Blog Stage 6

Constructive and reasoned criticism or commentary on Our Government Needs Gun Control 
https://whatmakesyoupoli-tick.blogspot.com/2018/11/our-government-needs-gun-control.html


While reading your blog, I could sense your strong and passionate stance on gun control. You were clear on your views and backed up your arguments with a few events and statistics.  You also gave insight on how gun control laws have worked in other countries and how we could adopt some form of their plans, which I felt was informative. I think links to the sources of your information could help strengthen your argument even more. I also think adding a few of your own ideas on how you would make gun control work could also make your stance more powerful.

Should the U.S Government approve Trumps plan to build a wall between the United States and Mexico?

Donald Trump’s plans to build a 2,000-mile-long wall, extending from Tijuana to Brownsville has been the argument of many discussion throughout the world. Valid strong arguments on both sides have been made, but the big question is if this is really going to solve all our problem with immigration or is it merely covering up a gaping wound with a bandage?  

Our nation prides itself on diplomacy and thrives because of international economic transactions with our fellow allies. Not only would this wall would jeopardize our relationship with our closest allies and trading partners, it would send a message that is literally the opposite of that represented by the Statue of Liberty; which is known to be the universal symbol of freedom and has been one of our country’s strongest symbols. With this wall we cut off this country’s ability to not only accept but also turn our backs on the truly desperate people emigrating from Mexico. The United States should send a message of freedom and hope to those seeking a better way of life instead of sending a "keep out, we do not want to help" message at our border. This wall and borders won’t stop people from wanting better lives meaning that they will never give up on trying to get that.  

Along with the message that this wall would send, the issue of who will fund this wall is another conflict of Donald Trump’s plan. This wall was estimated to cost 8 to 12 billion dollars to build. With the Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto saying his country would not pay for the wall under any circumstances, most likely the American taxpayers would have to front the bill. The environmental impact is another issue up for discussion when it comes down to building this wall. Physical barriers such as walls and gates hinder migrating wildlife. The plans of this wall being build show the fence will fragment wildlife refuges and private sanctuaries. Dozens of environmental and land management laws are being bypassed in order to build this wall.  More than 30 laws are being waived, including the Endangered Species Act and the National Environmental Policy Act. This wall would go cut into Indian territory in southern Arizona and may cause disputes with the people who live near the border. In order to prevent flooding in areas all around Arizona, New Mexico and California the wall would need to have run off spots.  

At this point, there are too many uncertainties and unanswered questions for our government to make a plan to build a wall along the US and Mexico borders. It may seem like a good solution in the short term, but it is too uncertain the effects it may have in the future. Building this wall could have a detrimental impact on our economy and environment. 

Don’t let Trump’s use of celebrities distract you from his criminal-justice failures.

I read Sally Q. Yates’ article titled: Don’t let Trump’s use of celebrities distract you from his criminal-justice failures. Sally Q. Yates served in the Justice Department from 1989 to 2017 as an assistant U.S. attorney, U.S. attorney, deputy attorney general and as acting attorney general for a short time in 2017. In her article, Yates tries to tell Trump supporters and those who agree with Trump’s decisions regarding his direction on criminal justice reform, not to be distracted by President Trump’s public sit down in the Oval Office with Kanye West to discuss Mr. West’s advice on criminal justice reform. She states that this is just a distraction from the fact that Trump’s administration has reverted to the “lock them up and throw away the key” practices of the past. Yates tries to encourage us not to lose sight of the reality that people’s lives, the fairness of our justice system and the safety of our communities hang in the balance. Here are some examples she gives of how the criminal justice system has been during Trump’s administration:  

“Under President Trump, we have returned to the indiscriminate use of lengthy mandatory minimum sentences for lower-level, nonviolent drug offenders. His administration has erased significant strides in police reform across the country — not only refusing to move forward with previously negotiated consent decrees but also refusing to help police departments as they seek reform assistance from the Justice Department. It has revoked guidance on the potential legal consequences of excessive fines, fees and cash bail that criminalize poverty. It has reversed a mandate to reduce and ultimately end the use of private prisons that are less safe and do not rehabilitate inmates. It has abandoned the “clemency initiative” launched by President Barack Obama that commuted prison terms for more than 1,700 low-level drug offenders.”  

I agree with Yates that we should all be cautious with Trump using a celebrity as a way to engage us and makes us believe he is really trying to make an effort to reform the criminal justice system. There are many elements to the criminal justice system that needs to be changed, which I think she pointed out and backed up her argument with sufficient evidence and understanding. Yates also gives a few ideas of her own that I think could help aid in the process of criminal-justice reform. Overall this is a well written article, with strong opinions from Yates who had thorough research and evidence to back her views.  

 

 

Is Trump Driving Women away From the GOP for Good?

On October 8, 2018 Politico Magazine wrote an article by E.J. Graff titled Is Trump Driving Women away from the GOP for Good? This article takes a deeper look into how Trump’s Election and his performance throughout his term has contributed to the shift of educated female voters. Female voters have been switching from being a Republican to either being an Independent or to join the Democratic party. This shift has been slowly accruing over the decades but President Trump’s Election and actions throughout his term have accelerated this change dramatically. Trump’s actions have proven that he has little to no respect for women and his attitude towards winning at the expense of others has turned many educated women voters away from the Republican party. Outraged with Trump’s behaviors towards women, along with many other actions made by the President, many Democratic and Independent women sprang into action. Dramatic spike in women running for office along with becoming involved in local political organizations followed Trump’s Election. The rapidly increasing number of educated women that have recently rejected their lifelong Republican identities is considered to be the breaking point for women in the GOP. This shift in women turning away from the Republican party could potential hurt the Republican Party in the long run. 

This article is a good read for anyone following Trump’s Term. It points out how his attitude and actions towards women could potentially be hurting the Republican party by losing a big portion of support from educated women for many years to come. 

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