Legalize it

I completely agree that in our modern day, marijuana should not be a concern. Marijuana is scientifically proven to be less dangerous than BOTH alcohol and tobacco, both of which are legal and regulated. Why is it that the government will allow us to harm our bodies with the powerful toxins in alcohol and tobacco, but prohibit the use of marijuana which is proven to help a multitude of health problems? The common misconception of marijuana being a "gateway drug" is simply an excuse from people who advocate against it. From 2014-2017 in Colorado, recreational marijuana sales went from $303 million to $1.1 billion, so the argument that it would harm the economy is simply incorrect. Since 2014, recreational marijuana has substantially aided Colorado's economy and has created countless job opportunities.

https://kaitsmith5.blogspot.com/2019/04/its-2019-marijuana-should-be-least-of.html

Foreign Policy

In this blog post I am going to be talking about Foreign Policy in the US government, and more specifically about how President Trump has dealt with the conflict in Israel between the Palestinians and Israelis differently than President Obama.

President Trump’s stance on foreign policy in Israel is completely opposite from that of former President Obama. President Obama was extremely critical of the Israeli government’s efforts to increase the settlements in the West Bank, which led to poor relations between the US and Israel. President Trump on the other hand supports Israeli settlement of the West Bank. Ways in which Trump has done this has been by publicly backing Netanyahu for his upcoming election, of whom desires to have Israeli sovereignty of disputed territories especially in the West Bank. Another way in which Trump has differed from previous foreign policy regarding Israel is moving out of the Iran Nuclear accord, and most importantly, moving the US embassy to Jerusalem. 

Jerusalem was once named a neutral international city for both Palestine and Israel. However, when Trump moved the US embassy of Israel to Jerusalem, he identified this as the capital of Israel, effectively removing any Palestinian control of Jerusalem and completely giving the claim of Jerusalem to Israel and nothing to Palestine. Because of the US support of Netanyahu by Trump, Netanyahu is more likely to set a hard line on the settlement of the West Bank, which will likely cause and intensify violence between Palestinians and Israelites in the disputed territory as the Palestinians becoming more and more suffocated by Israeli power. 

Criticism

The blog I have chosen to critique expands on the Eskom crisis and why the lights keep going out in South Africa. I really appreciate how this author has chosen to write about something that contains personal value to him. He states that he and his parents lived in South Africa for some time. I believe his blog was more substantial because of his South African ties. The author elaborates on the dangers of power outages in South Africa considering that Eskom is one of the biggest power utilities in the world. The author effectively portrayed the message of the article they had read and brought to light the most important issues. The authors blog overall was strong and very well put together. This blog is very easy to follow and stays on track rather than focusing on unimportant details. His commentary was very compelling and spiked my interest upon reading it. I agree very strongly with the author that we need to take more time to look into the problems that other countries may be facing. Here in the United States we sometimes tend to overlook other countries because of how good we have it. The author emphasizes that other countries face serious issues and they should not be taken lightly. The author could have included more specific examples of how business productivity was affected and what effects exactly does the Eskom crisis have on the economy. However, the author constructed this blog very well and chose to write about something that interested them, which I believe to a very well constructed blog. 

https://oscareve.blogspot.com/2019/02/eskom-crisis-why-lights-keep-going-out.html

The Battle of the Guns

Our government is led by our president Donald Trump a very powerful conservative who is very passionate about his views. A right-wing gun lobby The National Rifle Association is fighting to stop the extension of the Violence Against Women Act that assists victims of domestic abuse. This act would give law enforcement the ability to strip domestic abuse offenders of their weapons. The NRA is very against this and for that reason is fighting for the provision not to be passed. This provision would also stop a wider range of people charged with domestic abuse from buying any guns in the future and the NRA believes that is unacceptable. Originally this act stated that if you commit domestic abuse and you are or formerly were married to that victim, you would not be able to purchase guns in the future. This new provision includes if you commit domestic abuse, even if you have no formal relation with that victim, in the future you will not be allowed to buy guns. Personally, I believe it is very dangerous for a person charged with domestic abuse to be allowed to own a weapon. However, not all domestic abuse cases are as extreme as they may appear. Citizens of the United States have the right to bear, because it is written in the constitution. That being said, I do not believe it is wrong to take caution when determining how freely convicted individuals of a substantial crimes can purchase weaponry. Taking caution sometimes leads to regulations being put in place to help ensure our safety. Regulations may be made, and I may or may not agree with them, however they should not interfere with the rights that are given to us at birth.

Alabama Prison Officials won’t say why Prison Strike Leader is in Solitary Confinement

In his blog “Alabama Prison Officials won’t say why Prison Strike Leader is in Solitary Confinement” Brian Sonenstein writes about a prisoner that was leading retaliations and put into solitary confinement. Mr. Sonenstein works as publishing editor for Shadow proof and a columnist for Prison Protest. He has published an abundance of blogs for credible websites and is currently building his collection. In his blog the author believes that Alabama prison officials are withholding their reasoning for putting a prisoner in solitary confinement and that he should be released. He is making the claim that this prisoner is being punished cruel and unusually; meaning his eighth amendment right has been violated. Supposedly, the prisoner was put in zip ties and directly transferred to a new prison. The author attempting to find a reason for this prisoner’s placement in solitary confinement visits the wardens. All three provide the same response and don’t give a defined reason, all three were just “following orders”. The author concludes that he could not possibly find the real and only truth but speculates that he was put in solitary confinement unjustly and should be returned to his original prison. This author has chosen to believe the prisoner and according to him he has feared for his life at some points in this prison and rebellion was his only option. I am hesitant to decide who I believe is in the right and wrong in this situation. If it is true that the prisoner violated the terms of his probation then it is understandable, depending on the severity, that he would be put in solitary confinement. However, if this man is only causing a retaliation to defend his life then the terms of his probation may have to be violated and the use of solitary confinement would be significantly unjust.

https://shadowproof.com/2019/03/13/alabama-prison-officials-prison-strike-solitary-kinetik-justice/

The College Bribery Scandal and the Uberization of Graft

In “The College Bribery Scandal and the Uberization of Graft” opinion columnist speaks on the situation involving wealthy families paying money for their child’s admission into different prestigious colleges. Not only does Farhad Manjoo currently write for the New York Times he also has wrote for many other respect newspapers such as The Wall Street Journal and Fast Company. Previously Manjoo wrote for the Times’ State of the Art column where he established his credibility as an opinion columnist.  One might think that the author’s target audience is all the students who were cheated during their college admissions process, however that was not his intention. His true target audience is those responsible for allowing wealth to invade our education system. Manjoo makes the claim that there is in fact different college admission systems for those who are wealthy and those who are not. William Singer, who supposedly played a very important role in all this corruption, stated that he could practically guarantee your child’s admission into a particular school for a fee. Mr. Singer referred to this route as the “side door” for getting into college. The author breaks down the importance of wealth into simple terms. Wealth’s only significance is not to purchase different items. According to the article “it buys power and influence, it buys class and it buys permanence” and possibly even political power. If the integrity of our own education system is put into question, the foundation of American society, how can we trust our government that was elected by the people. I believe the wealthy have a significant amount of control in our government. However, I also do believe that there are good people who are working everyday to fight corruption caused by the wealthy. 

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/13/opinion/college-admissions-bribery.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage

President Trump has recently directed the Department of Defense to begin work on a legislature regarding the "Space Force". This legislature (Space Policy Directive 4) will make the "Space Force" a subsequent branch of the U.S Air Force, with hopes of it becoming a separate military branch. If the "Space Force" is made an independent branch, it will be the first new military branch in over 70 years. While some believe Trump's idea of a "Space Force" will incorporate the radical ideas of Hollywood production, the realistic goals for the "Space Force" will be to create more advanced anti-satellite weapons and missile detection. More details in relation to cost will be released with Trump's 2020 budget proposal. "Space Force" will act as our countries defense against foreign attacks by means of the last frontier.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-signs-directive-ordering-pentagon-to-draft-space-force-legilsation-for-congress