In Response

In the blog E Pluribus Unum the author makes a good argument about the excessive involvement the government has in the American education system. The mandatory standardized testing that the government implements not only makes teaching more difficult but also makes poor students. When the teachers have to spend much of their time preparing their students to take a test they are not able to actually teach the students anything but instead they merely teach them how to take a test. The students themselves don’t even learn anything except on how to take a test, and only excel at using the process of elimination. I do believe the government should have some involvement and that there should be a curriculum but they should do away with standardized testing and give teachers a chance to actually teach.

Finally someone noticed

Recently the House of Representatives passed the "Risk-based security screening for members of the armed forces act". This act (if passed by the Senate and President Obama) makes security checks at the airport for military members in uniform faster and less invasive. These less thorough security checks only apply to military members in uniform and on official orders, also anyone traveling with them. The reason why I chose this article is because it always frustrated me when I had to fly because I had been treated like a terrorist and almost strip searched when in fact I am one of the people fighting for this country. Finally someone took notice and decided that military members shouldn't be searched as harshly because we are one the same side as these TSA power tripping officials. I also agree with the fact that they put in the act that it has to be a military member on official business, meaning that in order to receive these benefits you have to actually have orders going somewhere (which could be deployment or orders for leave, which is basically the only time you get to go home and see your family). This means that not just any military member can take advantage of this if they are in uniform (mainly the army because they are the only ones allowed to wear their utility uniform (camouflage) in public.

Drinking Age

In the blog Discussing Politics the author makes a good argument about the drinking age being 21. I completely agree with the author ‘s argument that the drinking age should be lowered to 18. Once you turn 18 you are able to join the military, have a gun put in your hand and told to go kill another man but god forbid if you have a beer. I understand that one of the reasons for the drinking age being 21 is to reduce drinking fatalities, but that can be avoided if we make the driving test harder. Most people nowadays couldn’t even pass a driving exam right now so why not make it harder and that could get rid of some of the problems with drinking fatalities if the drinking age were lowered to 21. The author also made a good argument about the drinking habits of minors and they would be safer if they were in a public place near an emergency official. I just believe that if you are treated as an adult at the age of 18 and expected to act like one, then you should be able to have a drink.

Rules of War

In September two U.S born men who became terrorists in Al Qaeda were killed by unmanned drones in Yemen. This attack sparked debate on whether or not this action even legal since both men were U.S citizens and in the Constitution all citizens are supposed to get a fair trial. According to the Los Angeles Times the two men who were killed by the unmanned drones were American born Anwar Awlaki and Samir Khan. Human rights activists see this as a violation of our Constitutional rights but fail to understand that in war the rules are different and they should be. President Obama stated that "Awlaki was the leader of external operations for Al Qaeda in the Arabian Penninsula and in that role he took the lead in planning and directing efforts to murder innocent Americans." The legality of this action, according to Georgia law professor Diane Marie Amann, is based on whether or not the U.S's involvment in the Middle East is a police action, which would make it illegal, or an armed conflict which would permit the killing. I strongly believe that we are in a state of armed conflict and my belief of this stems from the fact that I have been to the Middle East myself and have fought in this armed conflict and lost many friends due to it. For people to say that this action of killing known terrorists is inhumane dont know the bitter taste of of war. The two men that were killed have been linked to the Christmas Day bomber and also the massacre at Fort Hood, this shows me that these men are treating this as a war and if we want to come out successful we have to treat this in the same manner. Killing these two men is completely legal according to a 1942 Supreme Court decision Ex Parte Quirin where American born Nazi's who were killed in war and that action was completely sanctioned. In Ex Parte Quirin, the men accused were found to be "enemy beligerents" and that their punishment under the laws of war was legal. I truly believe that if we intend on reducing American casualties we have to fight fire with fire because the people that hate us aren't kind and they do not have restraint when it comes to killing Americans. As i have seen first hand our enemy is a dedicated and smart enemy that we underestimate far to much and if we intend on having even a shred of hope for winning this war we are going to have to start being a little more aggresive in our tactics.

Troops To Africa

In this blog the author is focusing on Rush Limbaugh's argument about the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda. Rush Limbaugh seems to almost be supporting the LRA strictly on the fact that they are Christians and completely ignoring the fact that they are a radical group that are kidnapping people and torturing them and also going into villages at night and committing masss atrocities. I can't believe that Rush Limbaugh was turning this subject into an argument about religion when that is not the big issue.
I wish the author would have gone into more detail in the article and actually given an opinion, but instead the author just simply stated fact. I think this could have potentially been a good blog but the author didn't dive deep enough into the subject and it leaves the reader wanting more.

Troops to Uganda

The War Isn't Over Yet

In the article This War can Still Be Won, Army special forces officer Major Fernando Lujan makes a great argument that the war in Afghanistan can be won. Major Lujan spent 14 months in Afghanistan and lived with Afghan soldiers and got first hand experience on what was really going on in the war. In the article Major Lujan talks to Afghan soldiers who tell him how the Taliban ruled the land in Helmand and Kandahar provinces until 2010 when U.S. and ally troops started to take it back. I fully agree and know it to be fact because from April 2010 to November 2010 I was in Helmand province Afghanistan with 3rd Battalion 1st Marines. When we first arrived in Helmand province there were no Afghan soldiers, it was just Marines, and the Taliban controlled the entire area as far as you could see. The people were unkind and wouldn't even give us a second glance, and we were under constant attack. After many months of patrolling, meeting with local elders, building schools and even escorting the kids to school everyday the fighting became less and less frequent and more Afghan soldiers appeared. In around September of 2010 the Afghan soldiers made their presence in our area of operations in Helmand province and we were training them to take over.
                 At the end of the article Major Lujan makes the argument that we should "be smarter about the way we use our tapering resources to empower those Afghans willing to lead and serve." This I also agree with. Rather than just have a mass exodus of troops we should be willing to train and educate the Afghan people so that when we do leave they have a fighting chance of making their country into a civilized place.

Marine wins Medal of Honor

This article is a must read for anyone that considers themselves a true American. Far too many people in our society can name the latest pop star or movie actress, but who knows the real American heroes that sacrifice their lives for our freedom? In this article former Marine Dakota Meyer risked his life in order to save his fellow Marines and Afghan Army comrades. Not only did he run into gun fire, but he did it five times in order to save his friends. Dakota Meyer is a true American hero and everyone should know his name and his story, he and his fellow Marines put their lives on the line for this country and not enough people show them the credit or respect that they deserve.

Marine Wins Medal of Honor

You can watch the video at

Medal of Honor Recipient