#8. The Good Stuff

In my opinion this blog was certainly well written and was a very good and captivating read. The introduction definitely made me chuckle, and the topic was interesting to me. I honestly had no idea about the statistics about marijuana and the comparison between it and other types of drugs. Made me think of what a character from the movie Coach Carter said: "Those are the numbers. Those are some stats for your ass."  It really is surprising and a little terrifying that out of all the dangerous drugs that are out there, one of the most well known ones is marijuana. Makes you want to go and learn a bit more about the world of drugs doesn't it? Creepy.

#7. So Tell Me, How Do You Feel?

This country needs to pull itself together. Or maybe take it’s head out of the sand, especially with all these controversies about the LGBTQ community. On display we have the idiot judge from Alabama who is trying to resist the legalization of gay marriage in that state (OH NO THE GAYS ARE HERE WHATEVER SHALL WE DO?!?!) the dunderheads in North Carolina who are set on the idea of keeping transgender people in the bathroom that matches the gender on their birth certificate which makes no sense considering no one carries their birth certificate on them and the only way that you can see what gender they are is by looking at their genitalia (and if you do actually do that then YOU are the one who is peeping, and should get a harassment complaint on your record with the police.). Drama over here drama over there drama everywhere!  First of let's clear something right up, NOT ALL OF YOU ARE GOING TO ATTRACT A PERSON JUST BECAUSE THE THING INBETWEEN YOUR LEGS MATCHES WHAT THEY LIKE!!! A LGBTQ person is just like you and me in the fact that they find some people are cute and others aren't. You may not even be their type! The stigma here is the exact same that is placed on other people, where if one is bad all of them are going to be. No! It's not like that at all, don't place the mistakes of one or two people on the entire community! It's like saying all Americans are obese just because one is. Another thing, this one in regard to the bathroom bill, what makes you think that they're going to the bathroom to creep on you, or harass you? If anything they probably just want to go take care of their business and it's actually YOU who is creeping them out. C'mon America snap out of it!

#6. Imma Let You Finish But..

I don’t agree. Looking in at my classmate’s blog post “Freedom” I see that she discusses the heated topic of same sex marriage, or as I call it fluff.  I’m not saying that every single moment of a homosexual relationship is like that, because in every relationship there will be some arguments or fights, but moving along. The reason I don’t agree is due to the fact that she brings up religion, *insert eye roll here* something that no matter what will always come up. BUT LET’S POINT SOMETHING OUT. Ahem. The bible also declares that shrimp (Leviticus 11:12), mixed fabrics (Deuteronomy 22:11), abortion (Exodus 20:13) –According to this website “a mammal’s life begins when the sperm from the father unites with the egg from the mother” -, divorce (Matthew 19:9), tattoos (Leviticus 19:28), haircuts (Leviticus 19:27), and working on Sunday are all wrong (Exodus 35:2). How scandalous!  Better put that shirt back on the rack, and the sushi down, and for the love of God put down the scissors and step away from the salon chair! That tattoo you wanted? Don’t even think about it, what are you crazy?! If we were to follow these rules, the world would be a very different place, with much stricter rules, and much heavier penalties. You killed someone accidentally? Too bad honey, he’s still dead and according to Leviticus 24:17 since you killed him, you’re going to have to die too.  And about the reproduction of the human race, sure males may not be able to have children together and the same can be said for females that are in a relationship but what about the couples who are in a heterosexual relationship but are infertile? What are we going to do about them? These couples go through the same problem as homosexual couples who want children and they all deal the adoption process –which mind you is very prejudiced against same-sex couples-, surrogacy and other ways of achieving the same goal: bringing a child into the family. Besides what is this a theocracy? We live in the 21^st century for crying out! Let’s leave the religion to the priests in churches or temples, and the running of the country to the people in that place, what’s it called?? OH YEAH!! The White House, shall we? Oops I have to go! I’m late for my meeting with the leaders of the Gay agenda today we’re meeting in the place you designated us to -hell- and I’m in charge of bringing the rainbow cupcakes! Ciao!

#5. You Want The Truth?

It feels like they’re not even trying. In an honest opinion about the US government is that they’re not even trying to at least be competent about somethings. But here’s the thing, they seem to be trying to appease all those who are within the same social rank (fairly wealthy) and have seemingly forgotten about those who don’t have that amount in their pockets. Since when did the American public just go around living in vast expensive houses where even a pair of shoes surpasses the price of more than $100? We don’t no one does that except for the rich and famous. Another thing, what about the veterans? What about the men and women who laid their lives down for the freedom that this country has, only to be tossed away and forgotten like old toys who are no longer useful for one reason? According to statistics, out of the homeless who are adults 12% of them are veterans with 10% of these being women. 68% live in principal cities, 32% in rural areas/ suburbs, 51% of individual veterans have disabilities which could have come from head injuries, brain injuries, shrapnel, gunshot wounds, and limb loss. Statistics from three different wars which are the Gulf war, Afghanistan War, and Vietnam War reveal that 10%, 11% 31% of veterans, in that order suffer from PTSD. 70% deal with substance abuse problems, and every day at least 22 of these men and women, including active soldiers commit suicide. That’s at an estimation of every 65 minutes.  We as a country need to stop with the feelings of superiority amongst ourselves. We need to learn to join together and thrive as one. Or have we forgotten that when we are unified we are stronger? Whenever the country went through hardship everyone came and joined together to pull ourselves of that position. Think about it, we did that when we suffered the loss of life in Pearl Harbor, when we went through the great depression and through the World Wars. We need to stop with the stigma that one person is better than another, that the amount of money in a person’s wallet or bank account automatically makes said person better than others. That the colour of our skin, religion or the gender that we are attracted to affects our place because that is not true!! We are all human!! We all feel, think and believe different things, not all of us agreeing with each other, but definitely not making us better than others. It’s never been the Independent States of America, but rather the UNITED states of America. Let’s act like it. 

#4. Well Would You Look at That?

What is old, fake, a liar, and a sexist pig? You guessed it Donald Trump. Who by the way is now having members of his own party turn their backs on him! Turns out that while the walking piece of crap thinks he can win over and unify the Republican Party, others are saying “hell no” and have begun to mobilize against him. These members have even come up with a new slogan which is #NeverTrump! I kid you not Republican members are actually going around with this and retaliating against the scumbag Good job kids looks like you’re finally learning something! It’s about time too. What this movement is attempting to do is find alternatives to voting for Trump or Clinton. The strategy that many are following is to support and promote former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, a likely candidate for the Libertarian Party. The reason for this is that” he provides an easy out for conservatives who would prefer to not vote for likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.” The next part of the plan gets complicated since they have two options, A.) “keep working on convincing convention delegates to blow up the rules”, or B.) “Convince well-known Republican candidates to run on the ballot in favorable states, in an effort to deny Trump the electoral votes.”  If things get drastic, -and we all know, drastic times call for drastic measures- they could create a new political party, something which might not end well… But yet again, this just goes to prove how desperate people have become in their attempts to block the road for the presidential wannabe. The worrisome thought in all of this however, is just what would the members of this movement do? And would the price they pay be worth it? 

#3. Bang Bang Bang

For those who own a gun, you’re going to love this! Technology and firearms.. Who would have thought? Apparently President Obama did, considering his announcement of trying to use his power to ‘jump-start long-stalled “smart-gun” technology that could allow only the owner of the firearm to use it’. This is type of technology would be incredibly powerful and definitely end the possibility of any type of attacks on *public places {Luby’s Cafeteria (October 16, 1991 Killeen, Texas), Inland Regional Center (December 2, 2015 San Bernardino, California), Fort Hood attack (November 5, 2009 Fort Hood, Texas) Colorado Movie Theatre (July 20, Aurora, Colorado)} or at schools {University of Texas clock tower shooting (August, 11, 1966 Austin, Texas), Columbine (April 20, 1999 Littleton Colorado), Virginia Tech Massacre (April 16, 2007  Blacksburg, Virginia),  Sandy Hook Elementary School (December 14, 2012 Newtown, Connecticut)}* and the theft of guns. There are various motivators for the production for this weapon, including the safety that it would include for children who might get a hold of the gun, due to the fact that it can only be ‘unlocked’ so to speak-by the owner of the gun, thus preventing the possibility of a child shooting themselves or others by accident. But something that is very controversial is also coming into play, through privacy, since “he also vowed to push ahead with a new federal policy giving the FBI access to more mental health records of some social security recipients to better flag people who might be banned from buying a gun.” Even taking to Facebook writing “as long as we’re got the technology to prevent a criminal from stealing and using your smartphone, then we should be able to prevent the wrong person from pulling a trigger on a gun.“ These steps are intended to start a series of movements that deal with firearms and the limitations/ control that they should have, something that Congress has been refusing to even look at or deal with. This group however, isn’t the only one who is protesting, since the words on Friday captured the attention of not only the National Rifle Association, but police groups as well who were worried about how well these guns would fare in real life situations. The way that this gun would work would be ‘through personalized identifiers like a biometric sensor on the gun grip, a ring sensor worn by the owner, or a digital passcode entered on a wristband.’ Though there are many more ideas to try out and many more steps to go through before there is even a prototype of this gun out for public view, it’s still a fascinating topic that will have many views in regards to how useful and effective it will be.

*For more information on the events and places listed above click here and here.

#2. What is This The Hunger Games?

The struggle is real and it seems like the Republican infested senate is feeling it now! In light of recent events where the chance that Trump may become president seemed to become alarmingly possible, those who want President Obama’s nominee Judge Merrick Garland to achieve a position on the Supreme Court seem to find a new winning argument to present, much to Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley’s annoyance and frustration. This battle looks like it’s going to be intense, so grab your popcorn and enjoy the show guys, and for those who are hoping that Judge Garland DOES make it to the Supreme Court, I only have a few words to say: may the odds be ever in your favor.