Peer Blog Critique 2: "Education Is Important, But Can We All Afford It?"

             I totally agree with Veronica Lira's article and find myself in a similar situation where I've had to work full time to pay for college and even skip out on a couple semesters because the funds were not quite there. The steady increase in tuition is definitely not helping, and things won’t get any better unless some change is made. I want believe that a Master’s degree is not going to be the requirement to make a decent living in the United States, but I do see where you’re coming from in that more and more occupations are requiring higher levels of education to for work. I feel that even a Bachelor’s degree will not fail to propel people into the middle class, however, and after obtaining one, continuing education may not be as much of a struggle.

There are scholarships and government aid programs to help students, but I’m not confident that this is enough. In fact, I think there are likely cases in which some students receive a little too much aid that goes toward things that are not school related. One of our peers actually wrote an article recently that suggests an alternative that may help make education more affordable for everyone, “Free Education inAmerica,” check it out, it may interest you!

Support Obama's Immigration Initiative

Obama issued an Executive Order on November 20^th this year hoping to move towards fixing the broken immigration system we have within this country. The order insists on helping illegal immigrants that have been living in the country illegally. There has been talk about retaliation from the Republican-dominated senate in an attempt to halt the Presidents efforts. They’ve taken to referring to the President as an Emperor and claim that his actions are unlawful and unconstitutional.

Now, I do understand that legislation should be required to commit the country to such a policy, but rather that the sheer opposition that has been found in some more radical members of the GOP, House Speaker Boehner, for example, they should take a step back and attempt to work together and form a compromise. I fear that the Republican majority may seek to completely dismantle Obama’s efforts, which arguably, could result in more controlled immigration. It has been roughly estimated that there are around 11 million immigrants living in the United States illegally. Obama wants to move focus to national security and public safety rather than focusing resources on deporting citizens who abide by the law. Citizens who pass background checks, pay taxes, have been living in the country more than five years, and have children who are United States citizens would be allowed to stay. The majority of voters support Obama’s initiative and even some Republicans are not in abhorrent opposition of it.

Being a Hispanic-American who grew up about 10 miles from the border to Mexico, I may be somewhat biased. The illegal immigrants I’ve known are amongst the hardest working people I've ever met, and they, for the most part, work to give their children and families a better life. They love this country and what it stands for, possibly more so than some native born Americans. I just urge our government to support Obama in trying to give them a better chance.

Peer Blog Critique: "Gas under 3$ Nationwide"

          Maybe I just don’t watch the news enough, but I had no idea that the average gasoline price for the nation hadn't been below $3.00 per gallon in four years. What struck me about this article is that I had noticed a similar feeling of astonishment in my recent trips to the pump, which is awesome. The explanation of why the gas prices had risen and fallen is great and easy to understand for someone who is not very well read up on the subject. The only part of the article that I questioned, for lack of a better word, was that the reduced price of gasoline would save the average person only $50 per year. When I thought about my personal usage I thought it would amount to more than that, but in the future, a cited source would quickly clear up the air. All in all it’s a good commentary, and I’m happy to hear that prices are only going to continue dropping in the coming year!

Keeping Volunteer's Rights in Mind

          In wake of the recent “crisis” our country has had on its hands with the Ebola Virus, some of us have been on edge and hostile towards how the Government is handling things. Yes, Ebola has taken nearly 5000 lives in 2014(1 of which from within the United States), but we need to remember that Africa is far less developed than the United States, and in Liberia specifically, they reportedly have only a few dozen doctors for their population of about 4 million. That is incredibly low, and it is no surprise to me that in such an underdeveloped country Ebola has spread so fast and begun to take so many lives.

           Ever since Ebola has landed in the United States, the media seems to be over blowing its severity and causing a bit of panic in our people and perhaps in our politicians. A nurse was recently quarantined in New Jersey for days after returning from West Africa, during which time she was sealed in a tent in isolation without any evidence of being sick. While I do commend the intentions the state’s governor had with this policy, forcibly quarantining these volunteers is too radical.

          That is exactly why we need the government to create standards for all states to follow, so we can be sure that no person’s rights are at risk. Along with that, any volunteers wishing to give aid should first be subjected to a retraining on the latest guidelines regarding prevention of the virus.

          Ebola is not as infectious as all of the recent commotion suggests it is, but I strongly feel that requiring volunteers to agree to isolate themselves in the comfort of their home for a few weeks after returning would be wise and in everyone’s best interests. This way prevents any state from causing any future outrages, and also ensures that anyone who is unknowingly carrying the virus does not have as large a chance to spread it around.

          I don’t personally believe that there is any vast risk that we will all meet our end because of this, but I would argue that having good measures for prevention set by the government is the next best thing from a cure. 

Should We Really Be Paying This?

I recently found an article on the New York Times website entitled “Paying Afghanistan’s Bills” and I found it to be an extremely interesting read. The author is unfortunately not identified, but considering that it is the New York Times Editorial Board, I would expect that the writer or writers are credible.  It is an editorial from the New York Times and I feel that the author’s target audience in this writing is not only those who oppose our international aid efforts during a time of financial weakness back home, but simply all American tax payers. The author’s purpose is to inform the reader of the great expense that we make as a country to Afghanistan’s reconstruction, and to express a little frustration over how Afghanistan is handling their part. The author does not spare a moment to bring up the “fraud and abuse” of the foreign aid money the United States has sent, however also makes it a point to recognize that pulling out financially could make our war efforts in vain. He or she still suggests that Congress should be fully prepared withdraw if the struggling country does not make better efforts to ensure that our assistance is used properly. I believe the author to be hopeful that the situation will get better with a new president at the helm who seems determined to deter corruption. Even so, with a recent agreement to provide aid until at least 2017, and the country of Afghanistan in poverty, this isn't going to be over soon. I completely agree that things could be handled better and I hope the new president Ashraf Ghani can help show us what our investment is really worth. 

I have been hearing and reading a lot about Scotland’s vote to secede from the United Kingdom that failed to pass today and I found an article about a poll asking citizens about secession in the United States. The results showed that almost a quarter of the Americans who voted would support their state’s secession from the United States. I feel that some of the support to secede could be influenced by the Scottish movement to do so, but personally I would vote against it. Some disgruntled citizens cite the government’s failure to act and policies like Obamacare as their reasoning, while others in Texas simply claim that “we don’t need them.” I don’t think secession is this country’s near future, but it’s interesting to wonder if any of our states could break off and completely sustain itself someday.