Earth needs OUR help!

Hello fellow classmate,
     I could not agree more with your post! All this man cares about is money and does not stop to think how much he is hurting our beloved earth. All the hard work Obama did is worth nothing now, it is sad to see how this man is digging us so far down a hole and before we realize it we will be buried in it. If just for a second politicians stopped caring about money and more about the environment the world could be different. Not everything is money, one way or another one can always find a way to get or make money, money will always be there...
    But what will not always be there if we continue in the route we are now, is our Home. Earth needs our help and it needs it now! Yes Global warming is real, and one can absolutely feel the temperature rising! Like you stated in your post, " if the republican party is so family oriented then why don't they stop for a second and think about what kind of world their children and grand children will be living in?" and that statement could not be any more true!! As everyone knows one of the most important things about family is a home, and we have a great big blue one filled with natures beauty. So my question is, if they really are family oriented why are they hurting theirs families home, most importantly why are they destroying it. In reality, EVERY single living person on this earth needs to realize that our home needs our help, and if everybody stopped and took one second to make a change in a way that will make our Earth better for a brighter tomorrow no matter how big or small it is, we would not be worrying if we, our children or grandchildren might have a home to live in the following years.

Sanctuary Cities

     News that hit home. In the Texas Tribune, Julian Aguilar, posted about the "Sanctuary Bill". On Thursday, "a bill that would "outlaw" "sanctuary" Jurisdictions in Texas cleared its last procedural hurdle on a party-line vote of 94 to 53." The Senate Bill 4, requires State authorities such as sheriffs and police officers subject to a Class A Misdemeanor if the do not Cooperate with Federal Authorities, as well as honor the requests made by Immigration agents. This bill also provides Civil Penalties with violations, the infractions climb up higher after the first offense.
     Democrats were not so pleased specially after the their defeat the night before where an amendment by Matt Schaefer made the version of the bill more "punitive." This amendment allows for Authorities to ask a persons immigration status during detainment. Democrats and immigrant rights groups feel this is more of a "show-me-your-papers" type of bill. Now the bill will go back to the upper chamber where senators have the option to accept the changes made by the House3 or to call for a conference committee.
     This Bill targeting Sanctuary cities is no longer a U.S. National Government problem but now a Texas problem since it has now hit home, to where as before for those soley from Texas never really seemed to be affected. Many democrats and Immigration right groups are immensely upset. They feel that the "Senate Bill 4 is a bill authored by republicans, put on the House floor by republicans, passed solely with Republican Votes, The republicans own this lock, stock and barrel. They control this place, and Democrats fought as hard as we knew for 16 Hours. "Rep. Rafael Anchia from D-Dallas states that he hopes they are satisfied because "If your goal was to use immigrants for Political Gain, you have succeeded. If your goal was to strike terror into the hearts of immigrants so they go home, you have succeeded."Rep. Mary Gonzales a Democrat from El Paso Texas states that " A lot of you know I am Angry, and I am not sure how to get over it. But I have every right to be angry when peoples lives are being dramatically impacted. I hope today you go home and you think, 'What am I doing here? Am I being a person of Integrity'"
      In a post from the Houston Chronicle , critics feel that this "sanctuary cities bill" will have a negative effect, leading to racial profiling and law suits. Although there are many cities around the U.S that are already a sanctuary city, this one hits at home, a home with thousands that could be affected and has the potential to create chaos. In a post by James Barragan in the Dallas News, Freshman Rep. Diana Arevalo a San Antonio Democrat, stated that "You are Hurting Families like mine. You are tearing them apart!"

Help Americas Heroes

Ronnie, I could not agree more with your argument! The United States of America NEEDS to offer FREE health care to "Americas Heroes." Like you stated in your argument many veterans do develop health issues after serving our Country and have limited resources to help pay for them, which should not be the case. You guys sacrifice everything for our Country. Many leave their families while they are deployed or stationed in a different city, State or Country and miss many precious moments. Although there are holidays, discounts and all that other good stuff that is not enough for what you guys do for our Country. And if the VA is really over funded and the only problem is it's administration, then they need to get with the program and fix it. It is not our veterans fault, and just like our veterans did their job the VA should do theirs. 

America NEEDS To Offer Free College!

The United states of America should stop offering the "Student Loan Forgiveness Program" and instead offer free college to all its citizens. In today's industry, you need a college degree or some sort of certification to be considered for most jobs. In many jobs a college degree is required specially the ones that pay "really good." But any college student can agree that it is expensive, and to have a student loan forgiveness program was great, until last week, when the "Education Department" made a statement where they tell borrowers that they cannot rely on the programs administration to say if they qualify for forgiveness or not and that the approved letters could be rescinded at any time. Although the forgiveness program offers great benefits for its borrowers, like, after the ten years that their borrowers have worked in a government or non profit organization their debt is cleared, we would not be in debt or even stress about this program to see if you even qualify and if you do to later get a letter that states otherwise, if America just offered free college. It is unbelievable and sad to hear stories of those who do not go to college because they cannot afford it, and those who do go end up owing more than they will make in a lifetime. You have not even graduated, when you realize that those years that you spent getting an education for a good future will be doubled in the years that it will take you to pay off your student loans and any money you will make, will really not be yours since most of it has to go to your student loans, which as stated above might take years before you can even pay it off.

"The Terrible and the No Good, Very Bad, TV News"

Donald, Walter and "The Terrible and the No Good, Very Bad, TV News," is a blog by Marty Kaplan posted in the Smirking Chimp where he argues how "everyone knows that TV journalism failed us during the 2016 campaign, and how everyone knows the Media is clueless," for example about Trumps election how all the blues turned into red and it was all a shock, but he feels that maybe, "Sometimes something everyone knows is wrong."

Following statements from other media where they state that Americans no longer have faith in the media,  Kaplan feels otherwise, in a quote he congratulates journalist for their hard work, and feels that not all media is "clueless", Kaplan states that, "It’s always worth celebrating good journalism. But I can’t think of a more urgent hour than this to honor journalists for stepping up to their civic responsibility to face reality."

I cannot help but to agree with Kaplan, yes the media has disappointed us but not all media is the same. This is a problem for us Americans, since at the end of the day we are not sure who to really believe, but like Kaplan argues, I too hope that at the end of the day "at a dangerous moment, TV news can countervail against propaganda, paranoia and a president who calls news media “the enemy of the people” and “scum.” Since after all we Americans and specifically new generations rely on mass media for our news over our Government, and without at least one reliable political journalist or a media outlet, what can we hope for our future. 

"Fake News is the Enemy of the American People"

In the Liberal Blog "Crooks and Liars", the Author argues how The President of the United States is nothing but a "Perpetual Victim". President Donald Trump, attacked the media in a CPAC Speech where he claims, " Fake News Is The Enemy Of The People, They are the enemy of the people. Because they have no sources. They just make ’em up when there are none.” Trump claims that the media dropped off the word "Fake" and completely rearranged what he had said, but the author thinks otherwise since the media did no such thing. The author of the article believes that Trump is just making things up, and is portraying himself as a "Perpetual Victim".  He feels that Trump wants to discredit legitimate news sources and favor the propaganda outlets that usually give Trump "Good Stories". He states that Trump is nothing but a "petty, two-bit, banana republic despot."

I can not help but agree with the author and what he believes about Trump, but I can not help to argue that Trump is not the first person to try and portray themselves as a perpetual victim of the media. But at the same time I cannot help but agree in Trumps statement "Fake news is the enemy of the American people", because the media only shows what they want to show.  They do not show the big picture, they show what the people want to hear, and most times the do not show the real important information but instead information that in a couple of years might not matter. And that is what I feel is wrong with our Government, we believe what the media tells us but don't realize that some times it really is "Fake News".

"Take Precautions"

Mexico is warning its citizens living in the United States to "take precautions" and to stay in contact with consular officials after the deportation of Guadalupe Garcia de Rayos, an undocumented mother who had a routine visit with the US Immigration authorities. Garcia de Rayos was deported back to her "native Mexico" on Thursday, February 8th, 2017 just 24 hours after her routine check in with immigration authorities. This was Garcia de Rayos eighth visit since her 2008 arrest and conviction for using a fake Social Security number. In previous meetings the married mother of two was released  and able to return to her family, but this week she was detained and deported. Her attorney argues that this was a result of President Donald Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration. US immigration officials argued that there was nothing significant about her case,"She committed a crime and her deportation order was enforced."

"The case involving Mrs. Garcia de Rayos illustrates a new realty of the Mexican community living in the United States, facing the most severe implementation of immigration control measures," Mexico's Foreign Ministry said in a statement Friday. Activists argue that this may cause some unauthorized immigrants who fear deportation to skip routine checkins with US immigration authorities. City Councilman Greg Caspar from the Texas Capital says that the children in Austin Texas "have not come to school" and "families ... have locked themselves into their apartments" in the last 24 hours due to the actions of ICE.

"About 160 people have been arrested from a dozen countries during a five-day, five-county operation aimed at undocumented criminals, immigration fugitives and people who re-entered the United States illegally after deportation." ICE states that these arrests were part of what is called a regular "enforcement surge".  Mexican Foreign Ministry urges immigrants to 'know the risks" in the following statement, "It is important that fellow nationals familiarize themselves with the different scenarios they might encounter and know where they can go to receive new information and know all their rights."

I found this reading very interesting since I had heard rumors going around about ICE doing these operations but I never thought it was real until this article. I love the way the article tells the story of the families as well as the one of the officials in full detail and embedded links to articles with more information about the case, it is worth the read.