Recreational Marijuana

Along with the very important, presidential election we had this past week, another critical issue was voted on, that has the capacity to change the way we view our government, as well as our culture. Two states, Colorado and Washington, approved an amendment that would allow for the recreational use of marijuana, as well as allowing any person to grow up to six plants for personal use.This means that any person over the age of 21 would be allowed to possess up to one ounce of marijuana, without being prosecuted by any state officer. Notice, though, that I wrote "state officer." This is important because although the state governments of Colorado and Washington have allowed the use of the plant, federal law still exists that classifies marijuana as a schedule 1 drug, which means it is considered one of the most forbidden drugs by the federal government. This would imply that any federal agency could still have the authority to prosecute anyone in possession of marijuana, even if they are within their respective state's boundaries.

Many other states, 16 to be exact, also have laws allowing the use of marijuana, but in these states the plant is only allowed to be used medicinally. The federal government is also having the same problem with these states, as it is with Colorado and Washington.

Many people are now asking, "What Now?" Will the government be passive with these new laws, allowing the possible eventual end to the prohibition of marijuana, or will the government find a way to counteract the laws? Some experts suggest that to attempt to null these laws, the government could withhold certain types of federal funding, such as highway monies. At this point no one is certain what will happen with the laws enacted, although in due time, some kind of effect will appear.

Personally, I feel like the legalization of marijuana is long past due. Not only is marijuana less harmful than alcohol, but it has even been proved to have health benefits as well. The strict conservatives, as well as the federal government, who are opposing the legalization of the plant need to open their eyes. Not only will the legalization help the government gain more trust from the citizens, especially the younger citizens, but it will also reduce the number of people in jails significantly. Also, as a result of these new laws, the illegal cartel industry, which is mostly in Mexico, will lose billions of dollars, and that money will instead be in the hands of the state governments.

Romney-Ryan Tax Cuts and Block Grants

In this Huffington Post editorial, the author, Arther Delaney, focuses on what plans vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan, who is running along side Mitt Romney, presents as his plan if elected to office. Ryan, in his first policy speech since joining the election, proposes that he and Romney will rid Americans of these
"safety nets" that the Obama has put into action, because he suggests that "Americans are better off in a dynamic, free-enterprise-based economy that fosters economic growth, opportunity and upward mobility instead of a stagnant, government-directed economy that stifles job creation and fosters government dependency." The author then writes that Ryan, and the Romney Administration, would convert federal anti-poverty programs into "block grants," which are fixed amounts of money given to the states, so that these states can decide how to utilize the money, rather than the central government's programs.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/24/paul-ryan-poverty-speech_n_2010827.html#slide=more244543

Overturning Roe v. Wade?

In the editorial I will be using, titled "If Roe v. Wade Goes," which was published by the New York Times, the unstated writer discusses presidential candidate Mitt Romney's stance on abortion, and what repercussions the overturning of the Supreme Court decision of Roe v. Wade would have. According to Romney, abortion should only be allowed in certain cases such as rape, incest, or if the birth puts the mother's life at risk. If Romney were to win the election, and the court decision was overturned, then it would be very likely that abortion would be made illegal in most states, especially where republicans are the majority. The author of this editorial writes that the effects of this occurrence would not be good, because women would still find a way to conduct an abortion, whether it involves leaving her respective state to a place where it is legal, leaving the country, or even abort the fetus themselves, which would be very dangerous to the health of the woman.The New York Times writer then goes on to give yet another example of Romney being flaky on this campaign, when he writes that when Romney was running for the Senate in 1994, he was an advocate of the Roe v. Wade ruling, and he even once spoke of a young woman, who was also a close relative, who died from complications from an illegal abortion. Also, the family of the young woman even requested that donations be made to Planned Parenthood, the organization that Romney and his running mate, Paul Ryan, are currently trying to dissolve.

In the article, the writer, who the reader can assume is not a conservative, first starts out by discussing Romney's prejudice on abortion, and how it would affect the country. But, in the final two paragraphs the writer begins to really show his emotion towards the subject when he opens up his opinionated section of the editorial with, "We do not need to guess about the brutal consequences of overturning Roe." The authors purpose in writing this article is obvious: to appeal to anti-conservatives by discussing an issue that most liberals feel strongly about, and revealing Mitt Romney's ideals, which one can assume are intended to appeal to the strict conservative demographic. Personally, I am aligned with the author on this subject. Romney and Paul's stance on abortion is outdated, and it has no place in our evolving society. In my opinion, it should be up to the woman with the fetus inside her womb to decide if she wants to give birth to a child or not. Also, a point that I feel very strongly about, is that religion should never be involved in politics. Although religion does set a good moral value system for a nation, it also holds back the society from advancing, and even takes away certain rights that should not be tethered with, such as the right to abort.

The article is HERE

September Jobs Report

This TIME article, which I feel is very important to our government, and possibly the world as a whole, talks about the September Jobs Report, which showed us that although the employment rate is only steadily increasing, the situation is still getting better and better, which could dramatically help President Obama in winning his reelection by depriving the republican candidate, Mitt Romney, of one of his most crucial debating topics. The rate, which just fell to 7.8% this month, is a result of 873,000 people who acquired new jobs, 10,000 of which were government jobs, which were thought to be decreasing. Also one figure that excites is the 86,000 more people that have jobs than was predicted in July. I think anyone who is interested in the election and bettering our country should definitely take note of facts like these, so one can make an informed decision in the election. The welfare of our economy and government is in our hands, so it is crucial that citizens don't submit to propaganda and focus only on the things that really matter, like this. I think Obama hasn't failed this country yet, and I think that people claiming our country's problems come from him, are only conforming to the typical republican ideas. I, myself, don't necessarily support Obama, but I do think that he hasn't had the chance to show that he can make a difference for us.

For the link to the article, click HERE





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Introduction to Me

As you can tell by the URL of the page my name is Nicholas Dorsett, or Nick for short. As a result of being raised in a lower-middle income family for the entirety of my life, most of my political ideals tend to be aligned with the liberal agendas, although, I do often find myself agreeing with conservatives as well. I don't really feel like I have neither enough life experience with politics, nor enough money to definitively call myself either a democrat or republican. Even though I don't recognize myself as part of any political party, I do have many ideas on which direction our country should be heading, as well as how we should get there. I believe that sometime in the future, maybe not in our lifetimes,  economic ruin will exist in every corner of the Earth unless certain ideals are put in to place, and also if others are removed. Personally, this blog is something I am excited about, as I have been looking for a place to document my feelings about politics, so hopefully, with this Government 2305 class I shall educate myself about the governmental systems, as well as sharpen my mind to what is really going on in this world.