Blog 6 "Mental Health is the issue"

In “Technological advancement” blog post 5, Robert talks about how he thinks mental issue is the main reason why gun violence is increasing in America. I couldn't agree more with what Robert had to say about the mental illness and how “Better mental health is essential and must become the next main focus for government in order to make peace a foreseeable future.”

            I myself think someone who is mentally ill may be unable to make logical decisions and the perception they receive of reality may be tainted by the illness they have. Recent studies have found that the likelihood for committing violence is greater for people with a major mental disorder than for those without. Moreover, new data suggest that more than half of the nearly hundred massive shootings that have taken place in the United States since 1900 were carried out by people either diagnosed with a mental disorder or with demonstrable signs of serious mental illness prior to the attack. I believe Gun laws pertaining to those suffering from mental illness should be more restrictive or else, gun violence will continue to happen. 

            While mass shootings often stir considerable controversy and debate about issues like gun control and mental health, gun violence is a severe public health crisis that is often poorly addressed. In order to find a solutions we need to invest a lot more research into understanding the causes of the problem and developing evidence-based policy solution to it. Until both sides of the debate  take mental illness serious, none of our present policies or ideas will do even little to stem the rising tide of gun violence in this country.

http://mynewblogthatiscool.blogspot.com

Blog 8 "I Feel the same way" ( DACA)

In “Lizeth Benítez” blog post 7, Lizeth talks about her current frustration on congress ability to come with an agreement on DACA  (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) recipients. Being a Dreamer like herself , I can completely understand how she currently feels.

The trump administration is moving aggressively to end temporary legal protection for hundreds of thousands of immigrants who’ve been in the US for years or decades, while calling on congress to solve the problem with a permanent solution. Congress has become entirely too comfortable ignoring problems when they seem too difficult to solve. This issue is not something we can ignore and in order for Congress to act on it, we should force them, otherwise, like president trump.It will continue to be ignored.

As a future nursing student and a DACA recipient, I now feel like my future, along with Lizeth and many other Dreamers is uncertain. The fact that My life and future depends on this can be both sad and frustrating. When I first found out Obama passed the dream act, the first thing I did was enrolled into school. Four years later, all my hard work and good grades are in jeopardy of  being put into no use. I've put to much effort into this just for someone to come along and take it away.

With DACA hanging in the balance, America has a group of people on the verge of being socially integrated, but legally isolated- socially championed, but legally victimized- in a way we’ve never really seen before. The choice between reconciling the law with the reality and creating an unprecedented chasm between the two lies with congress and the white house. The stakes could not be higher.

http://lizethbenitez86.blogspot.com/

Blog 7 "legalizing marijuana"

Legalizing marijuana is a very controversial and intrusive issue in our society today. Although many have made malicious remarks about it in the past, and even still in the present, the truth and beneficial facts of marijuana are finally resurfacing. Unfortunately , our society has become a very critical crowd toward the legalization of marijuana due to the stereotypical view of the kind of people who are considered “pot smokers.” this contorted perception of a lazy and unmotivated America is the logic behind keeping marijuana unattainable to our citizens. While carefully examined by many people all around the world, the benefits of using marijuana easily outweigh the disadvantages of the plant. Although many argue that the it can lead to further drug use, the plant has showed nothing but leverage to people who have serious illness and chronic pain. The legalization of marijuana would be tremendously beneficial to all types of people in America.

Today, thousands of patients are able to use marijuana as an effective method of treatment for symptoms of certain ailments. Some studies have shown results that the benefits of using marijuana for medicinal reasons far outweigh the negative health matters that may be associated with its use, and therefore should be an accepted method of treatment for some patients who are suffering with illnesses such as multiple sclerosis, cancer, AIDS, and eating disorders. This is possible because fourteen state governments across our country have acknowledged the effective healing properties of the plant and have legalized its consumption for medicinal purposes with the consent of a licensed physician. If marijuana could stop one of your family members from being in pain, why wouldn’t you want them to have it?

From an economic perspective, there would be numerous benefits to legalizing marijuana. Not only will the economic impact of legalization of marijuana help save the government on law enforcement expenses, but it will also encompass the possibility of large sums of revenue from the market supply and demand of the newly legalized product, generating an impressive profit from sales tax. As a new industry emerges within the workforce, desperately needed employment opportunities will arise across the country, stimulating the economy by initially providing thousands of  new jobs.

Illegal drug sales trafficking is one of the greatest sources of income for organized crime, and will continue to be so as long as they remain in control of the drug market. By legalizing and regulating the sale of marijuana, this income stream for organized crime would be heavily be impacted. Once legalized, there will be plenty of legal producers and suppliers, which would result in the price per unit of marijuana to dip significantly.

    All in all, marijuana should be legalized and the policy should be changed immediately. There is too much good to come from this policy changed not to do it. Marijuana can clearly help make this country better for the people in many ways. Health being the most obvious but as well as boosting the economy and helping drop crime rates/illegal trafficking

Blog 5 "Is the wall worth it"

Immigration has been a recurring issue in the United States for a very long time. Many illegal immigrants have been reported to cross the United States borders every year. Such reports have sparked the United States government to pursue an initiative of expanding the power of the government to secure the borders of the nation against illegal immigrants. In 2018, it’s estimated that there are about 12.5 million illegal immigrants in America. Of those, 84% of them come from central America, Asia, and the largest amount coming from Mexico. Building a border wall to keep out illegal immigrants won’t just cost billions of US dollars, it would also affect the US economy, and environment.

 The wall comes with many costs, some obvious though hard to estimate, some unforeseen. The most obvious is the large financial outlay required to build it, in whatever form it eventually takes. From acquiring land, paying the workers, and actually building the fence. President Trump claimed that the wall would cost only 12 billion, a department of homeland security (DHS) internal report in February put the cost at 21.6 billion, but that may be a major underestimate. The estimates vary so widely because of the lack of clarity about what the wall will actually consists of. Homeland security specification state that it will be either solid concrete or a see-through structure, sunk at least six feet to prevent underground tunnels and ideally 3030 feet high but no less than 18 feet. With all these innovations, if immigrants still find a way to get through. Was you hard earn money put to good use?

Immigrants have always been vital assets to the U.S economy and contribute greatly to the nation's total economic output and tax revenue. All immigrants, regardless of legal status, contribute to the American economy. The 12.5 million unauthorized immigrants living in the U.S today contribute 11.64 billion in state and local taxes each year. The social security administration estimates that unauthorized immigrants contribute a net of 13 billion in payroll taxes annually, which helps strengthen the social security system. Immigrants have historically played an important role in the building of the United states; a border would not only decrease the economy but affect the people that rely on the resources. 

The wall will also have significant environmental costs in areas that host some of the greatest biodiversity in North America. Altogether, more than 100 species of animals that occur along the U.S-Mexico border, in the Sky Islands are as well as in the Big Bend National Park in Texas and in the Rio Grande Valley, are endangered or threatened.

As a nation build off immigrants, Who really own the U.S. If the native Americans would of build a border across the U.S. a long time ago would the U.S even exist? If so, would they have want the border as bad as they want it now?