Stolen Valor? Stealing Rights?

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/23/us/stolen-valor-act-argued-before-supreme-court.html

After reading this article Im a little worried about myself, a person who takes the first amendment and holds it above all else(for better or worse).  I am struggling to not be okay with this Stolen Valor Act.  My liberal senses are going off;  saying this bad, this infringes on the 1rst amendment somehow or somewhere in the future.  But what I dont have a problem with is prosecuting  people who make these calculated lies to further their own ambitions and increase the size of their bank account.  I mean we do it in a court of law don't we call it perjury.  In the interest of full disclosure yes they do have to swear to tell the truth before they testify changing the rules.  But what about faking our own death?  Its not illegal unless we gain something out of it.  So why cant we fake our lives, it shouldnt be illegal and it is not.  Unless we gain something from it?

The question asked us by Professor Ellerman was if you were in charge what speach would you prohibit?  A huge part of me wants to say none, but there is a piece of me that wants to say that those who go on record and lie for their own selfish gain should too some point be prosecuted (I feel dirty just saying that, I think I need to go shower).

Do you have your card????

California is losing its clubs!! Cannabis clubs are being forced to shut their doors whether they follow all the laws and regulations and have operated and conduct business  correctly or corruptly. There were rumors about club owners not paying the taxes imposed on them to operate as well as clubs are non-profit and they can only except donations from patients for their cannabis needs but they were really making major profits.

Now the reason for the forcing of all cannabis despensaries  to close their businesses down within a few weeks is the operating of such a business is violating federal drug laws. Under United States law a dispensary’s operations involving sales and distribution of marijuana are illegal and subject to criminal prosecution and civil enforcement actions.  

Read thisfor more on the issue!!

The move comes 2 months after the Obama administration toughned it’s stand on medical marijuana. Up until now the Feds had been saying they weren’t going after dispensary’s of medical marijuana as long as they were following the laws. Now property owners who lease space to businesses that sell medical marijuana are forced to either evict them or face their property being seized by the federal government!!!

It seems like Obama is determined show everyone just how big of an ass  he is and  to make everyone in this country hate him. First the healthcare he’s forcing down our throats that we don’t want, then he decided to piss off the Head Catholics Leaders and demand that they provide insurance coverage for abortions and contraceptive which violates their moral and ethical beliefs, and now he’s after marijuana. 

Orlando Police Steal food from Children, and arrest 6 people.

video link

Article Link 

 

In June, 2011 week after week 4-6 activists of "Food Not Bombs" were arrested in Orlando, Florida for.........Feeding the homeless??? These activists were arrested under city ordinance due to the lack of a permit to feed large groups in the Downtown park. When they asked Mayor Buddy Dyer about this matter he stated "Food Not Bombs is using the homeless as props for their political purposes.". In what way could you see this as a way to manipulate the homeless? I would like to ask Mayor Buddy Dyer what he believes is the "Big political scheme" behind feeding the poor and what groups like "food not bombs" have to gain from this.

Tent cities, like this one in Florida, are growing all over America

If it is a political gain that the Mayor is trying to deny groups like "Food not Bombs" he is better off allowing the activists to feed the poor. The reason I say this is because of the huge uproar that police officers created when they arrested these people. Specifically, I am speaking of how the newspaper article had been shared 80,000 times on Facebook within a day and was sent out over Twitter nearly 1,300 times. Hundreds of people commented online, and the Sentinel (Orlando newspaper) has received dozens of emails, some from as far away as Europe, Asia and the Middle East. A few people complained to Orlando police and Orlando City Hall.

 So if the Mayor doesn't want to give "Food not Bombs" a political gain he should have considered how people would have reacted to the videos and articles which gave them positive recognition and therefore, a political gain. Besides this, I am personally angry that tax money is being used to pay officers to arrest people helping the homeless rather then helping the homeless to begin with. I am no politician but is just doesn't make any sense to arrest people for helping the homeless week after week. Maybe arresting people isn't the answer, and there has to be a much better way to deal with this. 

One of the activists stated "One in six Central Floridians are on food stamps. … The organizations that exist don't have the capacity to take care of the need". With this said it would appear to me that "Food not Bombs" is noticing a very important trend in society, UNEMPLOYMENT. The thing that separates them from most people that notice this trend is that they are trying to do something about it and were punished.

 I am unsure of what the true motives are for the Mayor or for "Food not Bombs" but regardless of this matter, it is absolutely terrible to see things like this in the media that show how much of a terrible situation we are in with employment rates and general welfare for the community. If it were not for our countries lack of employment you wouldn't see many groups like "foods not bombs" or homeless people that require assistance. According to PBS, American cities reported a 12 percent increase of homelessness since 2007 on average.

Aborting position on Abortions

                      This week Gov. Bob McDonnell changed hios endorsment on women having to have vaginbal ultrasounds before an abortion. Gov. Mcdonnell seems to have political abitions and after extreme attention brought to the subject he has changed his original decision. This has caused on outpoor of emotions from each side when originaly the major focus this year was the economy. The proceedure entails having to probe the womens vagina. As many as 33,000 signatures were collected aginst the procedure.

http://youtu.be/NQ_S-d68zxo

9 year old boy brings gun to Washington School... Charged with assault

What is a nine year old doing with a gun? How did it come into his possession? Where were his parents in all this? He has been charged with third degree assault? However, where is the liability from his parents or accountability for that matter? This is definitely a criminal law matter... but should the parents be held accountable?

Click here to view link: http://news.yahoo.com/wash-boy-brought-gun-school-due-court-185600088.html

Here is the most up to date info:http://news.yahoo.com/boy-9-charged-shooting-third-grade-classmate-235621597.html

Its Not Politics Its Science

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-rick-santorum-obama-theology-20120219,0,3432071.story
Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum on Sunday denied questioning President Obama's Christian faith but said the president has an environmental belief "that elevates the Earth above man."

I question not when but if certain people will ever "Get It."  Why is it so hard for so many to comprehend that we are destroying our planet. Why do our leaders make us choose between our god or our earth, our happiness or our earth, Human beings or our earth.  Why is it one or another?  Why cant all coexist in harmany?   When are we all going to except that climate destabilization isnt politics like some would like us to believe, these conclusions are based in science.  I feel I need to mention that I am not some tree hugging liberal hippy, I found out last semester if everyone lived like me we would need almost 5 worlds for substainability.  I just feel that if we could stop debating over something that is fact then we could focus more on the solution.

I feel that this issue probably begins as a civil or criminal issue under the jurisdiction of state or federal governments.  But because it is a world issue it should be dealt with at a federal level.  Despite differences in international and national lawmaking processes,  there no clear boundary  where International Environmental Law leaves off and national law begins. In many instances, national environmental laws have been enacted for the sole purpose of meeting obligations imposed by international agreements. 

Integrity, Influence and individuality

Our coat of arms has 3 simple words with a strong impact of what it means to be a member of society. The first is integrity, which is the trait of being honest and having the ability to have morals. The second is influence, which is something that we all believe is something important for the organization and welfare of others in our community. The third word is independence, which  to me is very important in society because it helps people develop originality and creativity within all areas of life. I think that these 3 words are something that everyone can accept as important contributions to a persons life.

Coat of arms on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.132318810224760.22169.100003399243457&type=1&l=26446f9fe4

Childhood obesity: who's responsible?

Childhood obesity is over 50% in America today and there is a lot of talk about what our government is doing to change that. How is it the governments problem to fix it? Have a majority of  people in our society gone crazy? It's not the governments job to make laws or rules telling us how to raise our children. This is a social issue and parents need to be the ones getting asked these questions!!  

Read this!

The values: Integrity, Individuality, Influence are the foundation of our groups coat of arms and it seems to me these are values less and less people are living by today. American's seem to have no integrity anymore and want to pass the blame to someone else so that it's not there problem to fix but someone else's job to clean up the mess they made themselves. It is an individuals right to feed there child what they choose and feel best without the threat of the government or cps taking your child away because they have "junk in the trunk" Parents need to influence and teach their children to eat healthy and what that means as well. Turn off the TV, video game, or whatever it may be and get up and moving! We have become such lazy asses and still wonder why we don't fit into our pants. 

I know I don't want the government telling me how to raise my kids. It's not their job to do so and by letting them make rules and regulations it's allowing them into our home where they don't belong!

The Three I's

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/10/social-issues-politics-2012-elections_n_1267779.html

Another season of Fiery conversations, debates, and flat out arguments are upon us as we head into a presidential election year, and I love it!  In class on thursday we agreed that Integrity, Individuality, and Influence should be on our coat of arms.  For me no values are more vital than these three when it comes to oneselves own belief system when discussing social issues, especially in a election year.  The one down side to this time of year is that certain politicians and media sources use some of these issues in a dishonest way to fire up their supporters to vote for them.  I believe that if some of our politicians had a little more integrity and our voters a little more individuality the people of this country could influence some real positive changes in the future.  Unfortunately I fear that this campain season will be an especially dirty one.

Occupy Spin off Protests School Closures in NY

Protesters rallied this evening to prevent the closing of  over twenty schools in NY. The group is thought to be a spin off of the occupy group. Although efforts were made to disrupt the meeting for the school closures, they were just considered a disturbance. The closures are said to greatly effect lower income areas, as well as schools with learning impaired programs. There were no arrests at the time.

watch this news coverage.

http://brooklyn.ny1.com/content/top_stories/155700/protesters-rally-against-closures-to-no-avail

out of control!!

Today when I turn on the TV it's harder and harder to find something I find worth watching before I give up and turn it back off. I don't understand how it's even a question of what we are doing wrong in raising children into productive, well-mannered teens and young adults in our society. The ethics and morals being taught to many kids today is via what they are watching on the TV. MTV has 'Teen Mom', 'Real Life', 'Jersey Shore' and my new favorite (total sarcasm) 'I Want My Pants Back' watch this trailer video!! "start your boner J,.freezer girls got your pants, and she's cute, funny and surprisingly filthy, and her crotch "just looks angry"!" This is how to "figure life out!"And these are just some of the shows that make me scream, "What the hell?? Really??" I have children age 7 & 5 yr. old twins and cringe at the thought of what will be the "hit show" that their peers will being watching in 5-10yrs from now. I do not have a parenting style where I  keep them sheltered and think I can keep them from what life and the world is really like. Foul language, sex, drugs, etc exist in our society and all I can do as a parent I believe is prepare to handle situations and make good decisions for themselves and dust themselves off and own their not so hot decisions. I just wish the TV entertainment didn't make it harder with the shows they create and portray the glamorous and popular teen/young adult lifestyle in such a messed up wrong way!!

A socioeconomic gap in education

Education Gap Grows Between Rich and Poor, Studies Say

see the article here

Recent studies at Stanford university have shown that there is an increasing gap for success amongst students from different socioeconomic backgrounds. In a country that emphasizes equality and pursuit of happiness for all, you would think that the opportunity to receive an education would be more about choice than how much money you have.

I understand that within the last 15 years there have been dramatic budget cuts to education that have made it almost impossible for students to learn. Elementary school students now share books in class. When I was in elementary school I did not have to share a book nor did I have to pay for lunch because there were financial assistance programs that my family was able to take advantage of. I have met people with children that not only have to pay for their children's lunch but also have to pay for transportation even if it is on a school bus.
I am not saying that it is the communities' responsibility to pay for all student's educations but for those who cannot afford it, what CAN be done? Simply put, I think it is very important that anyone who seeks an education should be able to get one regardless of how much money they have accessible from their family or from their job. I think it is definitely important that government officials take this into consideration.

Qoute from the article:"The problem is a puzzle, he said. “No one has the slightest idea what will work. The cupboard is bare.”

Home-schoolers aloud to play sports at public schools.

 A bill was recently past in Virginia allowing students who are home schooled to Play sports at public schools. Opponents for the bill are arguing that potentially this could take spots from kids that are attending the school. They are also arguing that they wont be held to the same standards as kids in there academic program. There are currently 25 states that now allow the home-schoolers to play. In my opinion letting a child be part of a team will teach them skills they cant learn in school.

http://www.wtvr.com/news/wtvr-tebow-law-could-bring-homeschooled-to-school-sports-20120201,0,4368883.story

Lets Call It What It Really Is.

Since yesterdays ruling in the Prop 8 case was handed down the issue of Gay Marriage is back on the everyones debate list.  I truly believe that everyone has the right to feel what they feel, but I hate how they mask their true feelings about issues with words of lies. When Prop 8 was introduced its authors and supporters used a very narrow definition of marriage to sell to the masses.  The proposition is known as The Defense of Marriage Act, but what does that mean.  We are led to believe that marriage is a Judeo-Christian institution that began with the church, and is a religious act.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  Marriage  has been around long before the monotheistic religions ever began.  Marriage was a way to protect blood-lines especially those of nobility.  It was a way to pass on power, protection, and assetts.  Marriage for love is an Idea that began a little over 200 years ago, before that women were promised to men before they ever met.  And marriage between man and woman as a sacred institution HaHa thats a funny-one, With divorce rates continuing to rise. Lets just call this what it is Proposition 8 The Defense Of  Homophobic Americans Who Dont Believe That Gay Men and Lesbian Women Should Be Afforded The Same Rights As Them, Act.