Will the War On Drugs In Mexico Ever End?

            Nicolas Botero’s blog post, The Drug War; from Juarez to Congress, touches very close to home for me. I grew up in Matamoros, Mexico, a city that has been heavily affected by the war on drugs in Mexico. I have seen the violence escalate to a point where people can’t leave their homes to go to work, school, or even to the grocery store because of fear that they will be shot in the crossfire between rival drug cartels and the military. There are often grenade fights that destroy buildings and homes. There have been shootouts on my street and cars blown up a few streets down. This war became very real to me when one of my friends lost his life. He was driving home one night and got caught in a shootout between two rival drug cartel groups. He was shot multiple times and was killed. He was an innocent young man on his way home that lost his life for no reason at all. This war is responsible for the lives of thousands of innocent people.
            I agree with Botero that the United States government hasn’t done enough to help Mexico and to help end the violence that it is enduring. The United States invaded Iraq with no real motive but doesn’t bother to help their neighboring country of Mexico in desperate times. I understand that Mexico is a dangerous country and the lives of U.S. citizens would be at stake but something has to be done. I agree that if marijuana was legalized, it would help decrease the violence and crime in Mexico because there wouldn’t be a high demand for it here in the United States. However, I don’t know if legalizing marijuana here in the United States would end all of the violence that is happening in Mexico. It is true, as Botero points out, that the police and other government officials are very corrupt and are likely allies with many drug cartel leaders. I do not think that marijuana legalization will happen anytime soon in the United States, even with our huge deficit, because our country is very conservative and bases many policies on its morals.
            A recent article in the Huffington Post, titled “U.S. Guns From ATF Operation Fast and Furious Found at Mexico Crime Scenes,” tells of how 122 firearms that were originally part of an undercover U.S. operation have been found at crime scenes in Mexico. Some of these firearms were also found on their way to drug cartels. These guns and weapons were part of an operation that was supposed to track weapons going across the border but the operation went bad. Even worse, some of these weapons were found at the murder scene of the U.S. Border Patrol agent in Arizona last year. This story shows how the United States is being careless when dealing with the war on drugs in Mexico and it is time to step up their efforts. This war is on the border of the United States and may eventually spill onto U.S. soil if the government doesn’t make more of an effort. I think that maybe stricter gun control policies in the United States would help decrease the number of guns and weapons that are transported from the United States to Mexico. There isn't a clear ending in this war for Mexico but hopefully if the United States starts helping out more, the violence and turmoil will decrease.

Don't Ask Don't Tell Finally Repealed

            After almost twenty years of being in place, “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” has finally been repealed. This is seen as a major step in gay rights and their movement for equality in laws and government. I am surprised that President Clinton, who was a strong Democrat, had signed this policy into action. However, times have changed and I’m glad that President Obama was finally able to repeal it. American soldiers have had to lie about their self identity and sexual orientation for years now and they are finally able to be their true selves. I don’t think that it was fair for a man or woman serving in the Armed Forces to have to hide the fact that they were gay. A person’s sexual preference isn’t what matters when making important decisions during combat. A soldier who is willing to risk their life for our country should not be discriminated against when they are risking so much. When you think about the qualities and characteristics of a soldier, you think about bravery, discipline, strength, and honor, not about whether they are homosexual or heterosexual. I don’t really understand how a person being gay would affect their performance in the military but many people thought that it would create a distraction during intense times.
            “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” has been responsible for the discharge of at least 13,000 troops, according to a report in the Washington Post. Many people are considering this a huge step in civil rights because gays will no longer be discharged and discriminated against because of their sexual preference. President Obama had made repealing DADT one of his campaign promises and it is good to finally see him make good on it. The Senate voted 65 to 31 in favor of ending DADT and then President Obama was able to sign the ban into action. Many people have tried for years to get DADT repealed, even top officials in the military didn’t believe that it was an appropriate policy and realized that it didn’t benefit the military at all. This is a huge step in the path to gay rights and hopefully will open more doors in the time to come. President Obama summed up the repeal of DADT by saying, “It is time to close this chapter in our history. It is time to recognize that sacrifice, valor and integrity are no more defined by sexual orientation than they are by race or gender, religion or creed.”

Time To Do Away with Abstinence-Only Education

After reading Katrina Freund’s blog post, GOP doesn’t stand for Giving Out Protection, I completely agree that abstinence based education in schools is just not working in today’s schools and youth. Most teenagers are sexually active and do not wait until marriage to have sex. It doesn’t make any sense to be teaching something that isn’t relevant to teenager’s lives. Abstinence is the only 100% way to not get pregnant but it doesn’t mean that kids are going to stay abstinent. With almost half of high school students having sex, I think that the focus should be on teaching sex education that provides sufficient information about contraceptives and safe sex. This blog post provided a lot of interesting facts and I agree that a teenager being sexually active isn’t something that just became popular. With abstinence-only education not working, I think it is time for politicians, especially the Republican Party, to realize it’s time for real sex education to be taught.
            This blog post reminded me of an article I read in the Huffington Post earlier today, Rick Perry Asked Why More Kids Are Getting Pregnant in Texas. This article revealed that Texas had the highest teen birth rate in the country. Texas lawmakers had cut sex education from two six-month courses to a single course on abstinence only. The article also revealed that by 2009, 94% of schools in Texas were not teaching any kind of sex education besides abstinence only. In different Texas school districts, students were being handed information that used fear tactics and Jesus, not facts. Students are being taught that the Bible says premarital sex is immoral and condemned. I do not see how trying to scare students with the idea that if you have sex you’re going to go to hell or get an STD is helpful. Students should be taught the facts about sex and how to practice safe sex. Texas teenagers also find it really hard to get contraceptives and sometimes even need parental consent. Even when Governor Perry was provided with the statistics of teen pregnancies in Texas, he still said that abstinence works and thinks that it is still the best way to teach children. He completely ignored the facts that show that abstinence is obviously not working in Texas and throughout the United States. I understand he is a very religious and conservative politician but his decisions affect the lives of millions of children. He shouldn’t be basing his policies for one of the most populated states in the country around his religious and personal beliefs when it is harming teenagers' health and overall life. 

Higher Education for Undocumented Immigrants

          There are currently millions of unauthorized immigrants living the United States and a large percent of them live in Texas. Currently, all undocumented immigrant children are guaranteed a free public education from kindergarten through high school because of the Supreme Court case Plyer v. Doe. The Supreme Court decided that all children have the right to a free education and realized the harm that being uneducated brings to a child’s life. The problem in today’s society is not about undocumented immigrants going to public school but it has to do with them being able to attend colleges and universities.

           During President Clinton’s term in office, he created a law that discouraged states from allowing unauthorized aliens to receive higher education benefits and many states still follow this law. Undocumented immigrants are not able to receive in-state tuition rates at any university and this makes it extremely difficult for them to afford college. Many undocumented immigrants live in poverty and denying them financial aid and an in-state tuition rate makes it almost impossible for them to attend college. I grew up on the border with Matamoros, Mexico and I saw the extreme level of poverty in both Mexico and the United States. I feel that giving undocumented immigrants who already live in the United States the chance to attend college fairly would be beneficial to society and the economy.  Even with a college education, illegal immigrants would not be able to legally work in the United States. Working illegally and for less than minimum wage hurts many immigrants and continues the cycle of poverty for their families. I think a solution to this would be the current proposed DREAM Act that Democrats have presented to Congress.

           The DREAM Act would allow immigrants to attend colleges by paying in-state tuition rates and would also be a way for them to gain their legal residency. Immigrants would have to meet certain requirements, like being a certain age and not breaking the law, but they would eventually be able to gain their citizenship by graduating from college or serving in the Armed Forces. I feel that the DREAM Act is a road to citizenship for thousands of undocumented immigrants and a chance for them to really start thriving in America. A child cannot be denied a higher education or chance at a career just because they were brought to America by their parents without a choice. I feel that a federal DREAM Act would help benefit the growing population of immigrants throughout the country. The United States and Texas need to create a more progressive immigration reform and the best way to do this is by starting the DREAM Act.

Debt Ceiling Talks: Republicans Their Own Worst Enemy

The article, “Debt Ceiling Talks: Republicans Their Own Worst" was written by Andy Sullivan for the Huffington Post. This article caught my attention because it is putting light on who to blame for trying to fix the debt. The problems surrounding our country’s debt have been all over the news and internet and it is becoming difficult to understand what each party is fighting for. I feel that this article sort of helped me understand what both the Democrats and Republicans want to happen with raising the debt ceiling. This article was written for a more liberal political blog and the author was probably trying to reach his liberal readers. This article also criticizes the Republican Party and says that they are starting to go against each other. Sullivan says that Republicans in Congress now not only have to go against Obama and other Democrats but now the Republicans are starting to fight each other. Sullivan says that Republican leaders are making it clear that all Republican members of Congress won’t pass any deal that includes increasing taxes. Obama and House Speaker John Boehner were trying to create a plan that both sides would be happy with but members of both parties quickly said they would not pass it. Sullivan says that dozens of Congressmen aren’t even interested in any sort of deal between the parties and that is a pretty scary thing.  Many Republicans in both the House and Senate are criticizing Boehner because he has been trying to work out things with Obama and they believe Obama is influencing him too much. Sullivan makes it clear that a lot of the fighting between both parties is caused by the upcoming presidential election in 2012 and has nothing to do with the debt ceiling problem. Both parties are trying to blame the other for the controversy in hopes of hurting their chances in the election.  I agree with the author that both parties should be blamed but by reading the news recently, I feel that the Republican Party is more to blame. There have been Congressmen that have come out and said they will vote against anything that Obama proposes, even if it will better the economy and country. American politics have become very divided and I feel that people are losing hope in both parties. I think that the Democratic Party is trying harder at compromising with Republicans to get something passed so that our country’s economy will not collapse and default. I think that Republican Congressmen have become very selfish and only care about getting a Republican president in 2012. Also, any mention of tax increases for the wealthy, even with them being at their lowest since the 1950s, makes Republicans refuse to approve anything. 

To win the Afghan War, we must fix the politics

          Michael O’Hanlon wrote an opinion article in USA Today titled, “To win Afghan war, we must fix the politics.” O’Hanlon has a lot of credibility because he has written books about the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and has been a security and military strategy analyst for different institutions. I feel that he is trying to reach a more liberal audience because he doesn’t agree that military power will help Afghanistan in the long run. Obama has recently proposed that 33,000 American troops will come home from Afghanistan by next summer and that the U.S. will continue to target terrorist organizations in other countries like Pakistan. O’Hanlon believes that in order to ensure Afghanistan’s future, the political system needs to not be dominated by only a handful of people and money needs to flow into the entire country. If only a few top leaders control the money, O’Hanlon believes that the Afghan population will continue to revolt and the war will never end. The author feels strongly that a true democracy in Afghanistan won’t happen unless there is a checks and balances system. He believes that it is up to the United States to teach Afghanistan how to fix its political problems and they should learn a lot from us. The United States is heavily responsible for the political system that is currently set up in Afghanistan. The U.S. helped select Karzai as president in 2001 and helped create its new constitution in 2003. The constitution is set up in way that only allows Karzai to hire governors, propose a budget, and set rules for elections. Karzai has become an almost autocrat and democracy is not likely to evolve. O’Hanlon believes that the U.S. should use quiet diplomacy to make sure that Karzai steps down after his term limit and to increase the amount of money going into the political system.

       I do agree with the author that the United States has an obligation to help create a stable democracy and political system in Afghanistan because we are responsible for destroying their previous form of government. On the other hand, I think that it is going to take a lot more than just creating a real democracy in Afghanistan to make sure that the United States is able to pull out. A large part of the population in Afghanistan doesn’t support the United States or its efforts and is likely to continue to rebel and revolt. The United States can’t expect for all of Afghanistan’s citizens to want to go along with us. We have killed thousands of innocent civilians there and we are sometimes looked at as the enemy. Even if we create a democracy and make sure that voting takes place, all of the revolts and attacks aren’t going to just stop. We are responsible to a certain point but I don’t think that only a democratic form of government is going to help the United States win the war. This may be a problem too big for the United States to conquer. 

House Rejects Efforts to Prohibit Funds for Libya

        
        Today, MSNBC reported that the United States House of Representatives voted against an effort that would deny funds for the United States’ military operation in Libya. This was considered a win for President Obama in the struggle against Congress over war powers. The House voted 229-199 against a measure that would have denied the use of U.S. funds to help in the NATO mission against Gadhafi and his forces. Many members of the U.S. Congress have been trying to argue that President Obama has violated a term of the 1973 War Powers Resolution that requires a president to gain congressional approval within sixty days of U.S. military force use. The House also voted today that the Pentagon is not allowed to provide “military equipment, training or advice or other support for military activities” to rebel forces to fight against Gadhafi. The total cost of the use of military force in Libya has been about $715 million and is expected to increase to $1.1 billion by early September.
            I chose this article because I think that it is important to follow news about Libya. There has been a real struggle between President Obama and Congress on whether or not the United States should be helping NATO in Libya. Our current economy is so bad that I don’t know if I think that we can afford to be spending billions in a military struggle that doesn’t really involve us. It is important to try and understand where President Obama is trying to go with Libya and what his real purpose for being over there. There are billions of dollars and innocent lives that have been lost. I think this article is relevant to everyone in the United States because it shows that Congress isn’t trying to cut spending, especially military spending in countries that we aren’t even at war with.