Comment on Classmate's Blog (Blog 8)

Reading Sydney's blog post titled "Nature Was Here First" was a full pleasure and definitely was a good read. My classmate immediately grabs my attention with a quote from our President saying "Americans should embrace their national parks as symbols of the planet’s beauty and history—and help protect them from the ravages of climate change". I feel like this was a great opener to her editorial and captured the attention of her audience. 

She then went on in the next paragraph to argue that she is not proud that our country is "trying so hard to fix problems that we have created so willy-nilly." This statement in itself is quite the statement and I have a lot of respect for someone to say "Hey, I am not proud of something that our country has done." She then goes on to say a quite witty comment that portrays here as being slightly hypocritical in a humorous way. However, just by saying that she build relation with the reader. I know that I am sitting here writing with a couple lights on that I don't need and therefore can join in on her witty hypocritical party. 

My fellow classmate then goes on to state two important facts that do ring very true to me. The first is that the earth was here before us. Secondly, we cannot anticipate how much longer earth will last while not trying our best to preserve it. For the remainder of her post, she talks about how President Obama has been doing more good than harm and a much better job at preserving our planet as well as promoting more Eco-friendly policies. 

My classmate Sydney finally concludes with her concerns that we will not preserve this earth until it is too late. That is a concern shared with many, including myself. She then ends on a note that leaves a bit of an after taste to take with you by saying that this year marks the Centennial Anniversary for the National Parks System. Then she explains that this means that “we have been told by the government to conserve, respect, and admire these specific parts of the environment for 100 years" but yet we are "still continuing to have to be told by the government how not to kill the planet." Overall, I felt as though this was a very solid piece and had some very passionate arguments behind it. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this piece and recommend others to read it as well. 

Unity in the Midst of Crisis (Original Editorial #2)

It seem as though in the midst of our world, havoc has been brought upon the world in many places. In the past year or so there have been several terrorist attacks across the world. On November 13th, 2015 there were multiple brutal bombing in Paris that left 130 dead and over a 100 in critical condition according to BBC News.  Then Belgium was held under a terrorist attack on March 22nd 2016, which left 31 people dead and 300 more people injured according to CNN. Then recently, our own Orlando, Florida was victimized as Pulse Nightclub was held under a massive shooting that left 49 dead and 53 injured, making this shooting the most massive in our nation according to CNN.

All of the events were tragic and heartbreaking to hear. Personally, after each of these tragedies when I heard about them my heart immediately dropped and it hurt to hear about this. My heart hurt for all the victims, family and people who were involved. It was something I never wanted to hear, nor does anyone in their right state of mind want to hear either. It is horrific. Something that lifted my heart a little, and I'm sure it did others, was seeing the support from all around the world for these countries that had been attacked. Paris is a famous one because they will light the Eiffel Tower the same colors as these flags.

After Orlando

After Paris

After Brussels

It was a beautiful act for in the midst of other countries' crisis, for the world to come together and support those in need. From there I began to think that this support should not have to be temporary. There are terrorist groups out in the world that are gaining momentum and beginning to become more and more violent. It must stop. There must be peace for the protection and security of our world. It would be a smart and unionizing idea for countries around the world to stand together against these terrorist groups. The United States is strong and has a large military, but it will be stronger with an alliance with governments around the world to stop these horrid terrorist groups. This in and of itself could bring some peace and unity in our world which is much needed. A strong alliance is what could very likely be the answer to diminishing these terrorist groups as well as develop strong diplomatic relationships with other countries which could benefit our country in the future.

Comment on Editorial #1

The original editorial posted by my fellow classmate was nothing short of a thorough and well developed argument. In this editorial, the author discussed many issues that have come to surface with our Republican Presidential nominee. Donald Trump, as stated in my editorial, is a man who has stirred up a lot of controversy over several issues. In this editorial, these issues are discussed in a thorough manner, using sources to back up the argument. A great point made by the author was Trump's impulsiveness which is has been obviously seen in the duration of his campaign. A great point was made in comparing Trump's finances to the finances of this nation. This nation is in major debt, and if Trump can not seem to handle his own expenses, what makes one think that he could be in charge of the entire nation's finances? The second point made by the author that is crucial in why Trump should not be president is that he is a racist. At this time and age,there is no reason for a president to be racist. It is insulting to a large portion of people making up the American population. Overall, I really enjoyed this editorial and recommend it to be read by everyone because it really highlights the issues with Donald Trump as a presidential candidate.

Trump or Clinton? Pick Your Poison. (An Original Editorial)

As many of you readers know, our nation is facing a huge decision in the duration of this year of who will be selected to be the next President of the United States. If any of you readers out there have some type of social media, you have probably seen the political jokes, pictures, and videos such as the one video with a man with an arrow in each leg screaming at one leg then the other, mimicking the feeling of the fact that we will have to vote for either Donald Trump or Hilary Clinton. There is a need for a significant third party candidate to set up and provide an alternative to our nation's future.

The problem that our country is facing is that we have backed ourselves into a corner with the presented candidates. I will admit that I am no expert on politics or pretty much anything to do with government, however I am not completely blind to what is going on in this presidential election. I never participated in any kind of election nor am I even registered, but after what has been going on, I wish I would have. However, now that I do want to participate in the election, I don't even want to vote. The two options are Trump and Clinton, and I am not okay with either of them being the president. 

Let's start with Donald Trump. Trump is a man who has stirred up a lot of controversy and has definitely set himself apart from other candidates. That being said, that is not exactly a good thing. He is very racist against minorities such as Mexicans and Muslims. It can be found in many of his speeches, beliefs and Presidential To-Do Lists such as the fact that he wants to build a wall dividing Mexico and the United States. On top of that he wants Mexico to pay for it. He is very biased against the Muslim community. After the Orlando shooting, he used it to play his advantage and to use the spotlight on himself, instead of being on the victims of the shooting and their families. At many of his own campaign rallies there is a lot of violence and hate, which he encourages. ISIS leaders call him wise and think well of him, which is not exactly a good thing. Overall, his character makes him a poor choice to be our president. We should not have someone that will discriminate and promote hate, but rather one that sets an example of excellence. 

Clinton on the other hand is just overall shady. The problem that I see with Clinton is just that she is not very trustworthy which plays into the character of her as well. The FBI is investigating her for suspicious leakage of sensitive information. She goes back and forth on what her stance is and then will deny the change. Examples of this can be easily found just by searching through Google. This is not a sign of a stable leader nor a truthful one, which both are necessary. 

The United States is in a fragile state with the tragedy of Orlando and other affairs. There is a need for a leader to step up and be honest, sincere, and wants to put the best interest of the people before them. With candidates like Trump and Clinton, we will not have that. The people will be forced to choose the lesser evil of the two. It seems like a lose-lose either way. Because of this we need to have someone else that will be an alternative. There are so many that want a way out of choosing between Clinton and Trump, the third party would have a significant chance in winning. There is a need for a candidate that will look out for the people's well being and not themselves.

Two-Faced Trump (Criticism #2)

There is a lot of controversy going on these days about Donald Trump. Some see  him as the answer to all their prayers but others think he is all wrong for our nation. Sadly due to unfortunate events in Orlando with the shooter at a gay club has sparked up a lot of the LGBT movement and it's message of equality. In a recent blog post by Media Matters, they discuss Trump and his flip flopping stance on gay rights. The author argues the difference and  frequent changes in Trump's stance, comparing the past and the present. Presently, Trump is using the current situation in Orlando as a platform for him being a LGBT advocate. However, in the past he has made several public declarations of his stance's on gay rights that are not all that in favor for it. I think this post is directed to the general public, but definitely has a special message to LGBT members and even possible anti-Trump supporters. Nina Radtke is the author of this post and unlike my previous criticism, there is no established credibility. However, I feel like the author establishes a lot of her credibility by the research that she provides and the sources that she brings to light. She is not just ranting on and on about how Trump is flip flopping, she shows dates and sources for every part. I agree that he is being two-faced about the movement, however I get the feeling that he is the type of person to try and take advantage of the current national crisis to use to help his campaign.

The Rise of Fascism in the United States (Criticism #1)

Fedja Buric, an assistant professor of history at Bellarmine University, believes that there is a rising of fascism in the United States and Europe. Fascism have three basic elements that nearly all fascist governments show and are authoritarianism, nationalism and xenophobia. The author is arguing that Donald Trump is "repeatedly threatened our democratic institutions and seized the imagination of a significant portion of the Republican electorate." He also is saying that he believed that Donald Trump is very authoritarian and inspires others through this persona, not because of his policies. He used this with his very nationalistic views and minimizing views of foreign groups to give rise to fascism. I find this article to be right is some sense. There can be a lot of relation drawn between the characteristics of Trump and the characteristics of famous fascist leaders such as Hitler. There is a lot of  hate for certain foreign groups and promoting violence. I have seen several of Trump's political rallies. When a fight breaks out, Trump laughs and jokes about it in a way that promotes that it is okay when it is not. It happens on multiple occasions, while other campaigns don't have the same thing. I agree with the author in the sense that yes there are some similarities between Trump and fascist characteristics. However, I do not know if it is to the point of full blown fascism. 

In this article, I feel as though the author is targeting a general audience, however in a way he is appealing to the people who are anti-Trump by what his platform and argument is. I get the sense that he is credible in the sense that he is connecting dots, analyzing and making arguments. He is also a professor in history and therefore would have a lot of knowledge of the previous fascist leaders around the world which would help him identify the similarities. However, the one place where I see his credibility lacking is in the resources used for his information. How do we know all of it is true? Where does the information and facts come from? s He uses a lot of intense and dramatized language in the way he is wording his article such as "The unimaginable has become imaginable," when speaking of Trump's actions. Overall, I believe this is a well put together argument and definitely could be possible because Donald Trump does have some of the characteristics described of a fascist leader. 

A Tragic Injustice

On the night of January 17th, 2015, Stanford student and athlete, Brock Turner, was found sexually assaulting an unconscious women behind a dumpster. He was found by two men who yelled at him, and then chased him down after he tried to run from the scene. The New York Times discusses the court deliberations and outcomes. In court, when the victim was prosecuting Turner, Judge Persky sentenced Turner to 6 months in prison which is quite lenient given the maximum sentence for this charge is 14 years. This story is heartbreaking because of the message of the lack of justice put forth from the government. It is not only wounding of the victim but of all women of the country who have or will become victim to this terrible crime. I first heard of this story by watching a Buzz Feed Video and other articles shown on social media. It was heartbreaking to listen to this story and it was even more heartbreaking to read the letter that the victim wrote to Judge Persky detailing the events that had happened and the aftermath. I encourage you to read not only the article detailing the events, but the 13 page letter written by the victim because it shows that our government system did not do it's job in receiving justice for the victim. I will say that the letter will not sit well with most people, but I believe that it is not suppose to. It is something I think people should read to better grasp the consequences of Turner's actions that night and how 20 minutes really can change someone's whole entire life.