Friday, December 14, 2012

              This class has been so beneficial to me. I learned so much it's hard to sum up into words,but something that comes to mind is the people of Iran. I will always remember the Iranian girl saying how the people of Iran had no issue with the american people, and that only our governments have issues with each other. It has reminded me of the good in this world, and restored my faith in humanity.
                It has also become beneficial with teaching me research tactics. I have learned to divide my work and conquer. Basically I have learned to multitask with my research and other classes. They have become very time consuming and I am grateful for my new ability to multitask. Also I have learned if you are gonna have surgery TELL YOUR PROFESSOR!!!!!!! It has become so much harder to do everything this quickly so that i can get credit and honestly i think that is one of the most valuable lessons i can have. If something goes wrong i need to stop being proud or find a way to keep contact with my obligations.
         I have actually learned that I am a part of the independent party. I never watched a political debate my life and this was my first one. Honestly don't see the hype both seemed biased and horrible choices, but hey I get to say that I watched a debate now thanks to this class. As a student well.... I lack a little motivation sometimes, but something to work on next semester with a new class and new topic.
          I think the only thing i didn't like about this class was that we didn't go into international law. We spent all this time going over how other countries were doing things wrong, but we still don't know what they were doing wrong, or what laws they broke.
         I think the main skill I will use in the future is to proofread i was talking about how brilliant i am and misspelled heart.  classic contradiction right there. i know i will always need it despite what i would prefer which is as long as you can understand what i mean, you wont care. Unfortunately that's not how the world works and this class is helping me be more cautious of that.
       I think my favorite topic to write out had to be to be the Super packs blog i was finally able to start showing more opinion in what i was writing and i know i had been dry for the first time i started to actually feel something about the topic and I was able to use that in my future writing. Plus i will admit the first time I got a 90 so it was also a push to attempt and do better. I started out this but, ended a more educated person and I hope to continue of this road and continue getting better.
          

           I do not think the US should use predator drones. We are just asking for a world of hurt. People have been so paranoid about the 911 attacks happening again, but if we had technology like this running through the sky, we could have some serious issues with security.
           People of the US could have many pro's to the idea of a drone. They could be used to get to people from far away and assassinate people that try and hurt us.
The people of CNN say this "The US military and CIA regard the drones as invaluable because of their long range and the way they can attack specific buildings even deep within Taliban-dominated areas (http://www.theatlanticwire.com/technology/2009/08/the-pros-and-cons-of-killer-drones/27322/)." They are not wrong. Drones have the ability to get to things we can't and they save human lives, by going into the battle for us. People don't even have to get in a plane to fight someone, they just send a drone to do it. CNN also said this "If reports prove true, it could be considered a victory in the controversial war-by-remote-control over Pakistan's tribal areas. Mehsud is Pakistan's most wanted man -- he has a $5 million bounty on his head -- and is blamed for a wave of suicide bombings, as well as orchestrating the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in late 2007."(http://www.theatlanticwire.com/technology/2009/08/the-pros-and-cons-of-killer-drones/27322/)." We could win any war and even the Taliban could be obliterated. "The US military and CIA regard the drones as invaluable because of their long range and the way they can attack specific buildings even deep within Taliban-dominated areas(http://www.theatlanticwire.com/technology/2009/08/the-pros-and-cons-of-killer-drones/27322/)."
          According to people who support these drones we would never have a security threat or war, but what we don't think of is that a machine can be hacked. Even the computer you are reading this blog has the possibility of being hacked for information. A predator drone would hold every bit of information on the mission it was assigned, and as soon as the people we are attempting to attack get there hands on it we are giving away a government secret and we have to start from scratch. The other issue is that we are killing off the Pakistani Taliban Government too quickly. DoD said it best ,“Right now our biggest problem is not the [extremist] networks in the FATA, but the fact that Pakistan may collapse if this political instability continues(http://www.dodbuzz.com/2009/05/11/drones-hardly-ever-kill-bad-guys/).” The U.S. should stop the bombing campaign against the Pakistani Taliban and instead return to a narrower target set aimed only at Al Qaeda operatives." We cant expect the people we are trying to help to be able to keep re electing new and better people if we kill their government so they cant keep up.Drones are giving us unnatural speed with murder and destruction. Also, we don't always hit people of the Taliban. sometimes we hit innocent civilians. “The Taliban don’t go to a military base to build bombs or do training,” Mr. Roggio said. “There are families and neighbors around. I believe the people conducting the strikes work hard to reduce civilian casualties. They could be 20 percent. They could be 5 percent. But I think the C.I.A.’s claim of zero civilian casualties in a year is absurd(http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/12/world/asia/12drones.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0).” We cant allow these things to get any deeper into warfare then they already are. they are a threat to national security and will cause us to have more terrorist attacks.


Sunday, December 2, 2012

Iran And Nuclear Power

               Iran, a nation that we see on the news as tyrannic, but is that really the case?  People have blamed the entire nation when in reality it is a few people that we have to hate. Many people have the issue of  hating  nation when in realty its only the  few men in government we have to hate.While the government of Iran has done some horrible things i believe they should have some access to nuclear power
              Iran has every right to pursue the advances of nuclear power.  Nuclear Power is not just used for weapons. "Nuclear Power can be used in both military and peaceful settings (http://www.ehow.com/about_5467201_uses-nuclear-power.html)." It would be cost efficient for a country that doesn't have unlimited supplies of money. "If carbon taxes are passed, nuclear power will be economically competitive (http://www.ehow.com/about_5467201_uses-nuclear-power.html)."  It would also help our environment if they were to have nuclear energy. People have been very worried about the ozone layer, especially politicians, and if Iran were to convert to nuclear energy it would help reduce the world's carbon emissions. "nuclear power does not release greenhouse gasses or contribute to acid rain like coal and oil power plants do. (http://www.ehow.com/about_5467201_uses-nuclear-power.html)." Politicians have made the ozone layer a huge political issue and converting Iran to nuclear power could give big strides to helping the ozone layer.
            Can Iran be trusted with nuclear power?While they should have the right to do what they want in their own country, I do not think they can be trusted with being given the access to much research into nuclear power. The rumor is that they want to develop a nuclear bomb. I think that every country should have the right to chose what their methods of weaponry are, however the idea of a nuclear bomb in the wrong hands can be disastrous. I think Iran can be trusted with nuclear power, but at this time not nuclear weaponry, and if there aspiration is to build a bomb and go to war, then I don't think it is the best idea.  We don't know that they would like a bomb. According to The Moscow Times in 2011, "We haven't seen one shred of evidence that Iran has been weaponizing, in terms of building nuclear weapons facilities and using enriched materials (http://www.themoscowtimes.com/opinion/article/why-iran-cant-be-trusted/448206.html)." In 2012, the world nuclear association had this to say, "A large Nuclear Power Plant has started up in Iran (http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf119_nucleariran.html),"   I think the Government of Iran can be trusted to an extent, but if things get out of hand the research will have to be destroyed and the knowledge contained.
              I think the west has the right to intervene at the moment. Iran has threatened our national security by telling us that they will send ships to the US East Coast if ever attacked by Israel " the threat came barely a week after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was welcomed to the podium of the United Nations General Assembly  in New York (http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/148369#.ULwiIINQU2d)." This is legal under international law, but still very intimidating (http://writ.news.findlaw.com/hamilton/20020909.html). We have every legal right after this to try and get involved in the Iranian government in order to protect ourselves (http://writ.news.findlaw.com/hamilton/20020909.html).

Sunday, November 11, 2012



        Two candidates. one job, one country. They will govern us for the next four years and either take us out of this economic decline or throw us further into it. The contenders are Barack Obama, who is our current president and is working towards getting us to move forward and continue on his path to economic stability. He is a democratic candidate and is working towards another term with the idea of heath care women's rights and minority rights. The Republican candidate is Mitt Romney, who is hoping to brig America back to a superpower. He wants to take everything that has failed us in the past. The downside to Romney is that he wants to take away abortion rights and remove minorities from our country.
           The loser ended up being Mitt Romney. He lost due to his strict policies. Everything he proposed would take a lot of time and change the way we have done things for years. People know this could fail and bring us further into an economic decline. He also was trying to support rebel countries in order to gain their alliance, but it goes against many people's morals and views as to how this country was started."Romney will also argue that the U.S. must support the rebels to develop influence and good relations with the Syria’s future leaders." (http://firstread.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/07/14279951-in-foreign-policy-speech-romney-will-encourage-military-spending-syria-intervention?lite)  There was also a video leaked that couldn't have helped Romney's chances of victory."Romney suggested that the only viable policy was to “kick the ball down the field and hope that ultimately, somehow, something will happen and resolve it" (http://www.rightweb.irc-online.org/profile/romney_mitt) Mitt Romney also had great ideas but had no way of knowing how to enforce them.
                The winner of the presidential debate was Barack Obama. President Obama had a set plan as to how he would return us to the superpower we once were and get us back into work. He was honest about the length of time it was going to take in order to get this country back on track.one of The things that got Obama reelected was his plan at reforming education."President Obama knows that a good teacher can change a student’s life—that’s why he’s supported the jobs of thousands of educators and is calling for incentives to keep the best ones in the classroom." (http://www.barackobama.com/education?source=primary-nav) He made a statement as to how he wanted to get companies from overseas to want to come to America so that he could grow the economy. "President Obama has a plan to bring jobs back to the U.S. by eliminating tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas, and creating incentives for businesses to bring jobs back to America." (http://www.barackobama.com/economy?source=primary-nav) President Obama wanted to also try and rid the world of nuclear weapons in order to ensure security."In 2010, President Obama announced an international effort to secure all vulnerable nuclear materials in four years, and has worked to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons in Iran and North Korea."(http://www.barackobama.com/national-security?source=primary-nav) These ensured him support from many concerned voters.

I believe that Obama can take us further into a reduction of joblessness.  since he has been president more jobs have been created and more people are back in work."The unemployment rate was 15.38 percent higher"(http://factcheck.org/2011/02/sorry-statistics/). If he can lower our jobless rate 15.38 percent how can we say he can't do more? He has authorized the removal of Osama Bin Laden and could do something similar to any other terrorist leaders."Sources tell ABC News that in March President Obama authorized the development of a plan for the U.S. to bomb Osama bin Laden’s Abbottabad compound with two B2 stealth bombers dropping a few dozen 2,000-pound JDAMs (Joint Direct Attack Munitions) on the compound." (http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/05/president-obama-had-authorized-bombing-of-compound-in-march-but-wanting-evidence-of-obls-death-cance/) There is no arguing that he has gone through a great deal as our president and can easily help to finish what he started.

Sunday, October 28, 2012

              A man who owns a gun can be a threat depending on his intentions with the gun. Some people believe that our forefathers were completely insane to allow anyone to own a gun, and every time someone is murdered at the hand of a gun the debate sparks back up. Were our forefathers right to give us the ability to bear arms?
              People say that we are wrong to bear arms. They say that guns are evil and should be taken off the market completely.

I am not a fan of guns. In fact, I hate them and I am scared of them. I have been known to hastily cross the street when I see someone with a gun on their hip.-Lihle Z Mtshali

 How can we let these deadly things corrupt us? They will cause humanity to kill each other,and we can't let them take away our children.
               First of all I think its ridiculous  A gun is a large amount of metal made to fire at a human's command. We cant say that we are made to do any thing by a gun. We may as well say that our cell phone is making us send a text. Humans do these things out of our free will. We make the choice as to weather or not it is fired, not the gun itself. Secondly gunpowder was made to treat skin infections in china in the early 13th century(http://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/inventions/who-invented-the-first-gun.htm) We are the ones that took something made for medicine and turned it into a deadly weapon. By killing someone you are making everyone in that family suffer. That man or woman may have little children. who are you to say that they cant grow up knowing their parent?People of Guncite.com said it perfectly when talking about the second amendment "Although the amendment emphasizes the need for a militia, membership in any militia, let alone a well-regulated one, was not intended to serve as a prerequisite for exercising the right to keep arms."  this basically means that people were are legally allowed to own these weapons but not in order to use them on each other.
              In order to take care of all of the problem we need stricter gun laws. The thing that we used as a weapon against an animal has become a weapon against ourselves.humans do make the choice, but we need to be a lot more strict about who we give a gun to. We are only hurting ourselves by not having these laws in place, because from revenge breeds revenge. the person who you hurt will have people that care about him or her that will want to come after you.

Monday, October 22, 2012

                     There are people divided due to rising oil prices, a world dependent on each other, and a world dependent on an environment that is betraying them. We cant say that people are wrong to be afraid but in fear comes strength and unity. The global warming crisis has been a topic of science, and we have turned it into a political matter. we cant survive without our environment, but the way we are gong about changing it is wrong. Sure government should be a part of it, but government cant be the only one doing something about this. the Democrats and Republicans are at odds about how to do something but right now the rest of us don't do enough. I believe that global warming is an issue caused by natural causes, its happened way too many times in the past, but why are we taking chances? We are fighting for our right to survive not a political matter. I could be wrong. I could have everything mixed up and everything is a cause of humans, but why take the chance?  The thing is global warming is the warming and cooling of the earth and right now people are trying to turn it into a governmental statement to try and figure out who to elect.
                    The people who oppose me are the Republican Party. My beliefs are that of the Democratic Party. I am trying to find common beliefs between the two parties at the moment. i truly believe its possible, but don't see much of a common idea in the Republican Party. The Republican Party just seems to be total opposite this electoral season. We cant just stick with the same ideas because they are running out. If we are totally dependent on fossil fuels what happens when they run out? Not only are we in detriment energy-wise, but we would have also destroyed the environment in the process.
                    In my opinion we need to find the common ground between the two. If we don't find a way to save our environment and find out that global warming is our fault then we wont be able to live at all. If we have no clean air to breathe because we have polluted it all then we cannot live. If we cut down all the trees to mine for natural resources and then run out not only do we have no energy but we also have no air to breathe because trees are making oxygen possible. We can say global warming isn't our fault but why let politicians make all the decisions to our survival?

Sunday, October 14, 2012

                      It was a day that will never be forgotten. On September 11th 2001, nearly 3000 people faced the cold grasp of death. The civilians around the towers that were attacked watched in horror as rubble was thrown into the air. They ran terrified to be hit by falling debris, but too afraid to look back. This isn't even a comparable depiction of what happened to the victims and witnesses to the September 11th attacks on America. I will never be able to understand the horror they went through but i will do my best to depict it.
                     After the attacks people lived in fear of another plane falling from the sky for years. We had apparent threats of planes filled with explosives and towns such as Tappahanock terrified the planes were coming their way. The fear led the American People to do whatever the government told us to. An example is the war in Iraq. We went over without any proof of these weapons of mass destruction. After the attacks everything was done in secret like the records from Bush's army service. They blacked out that Bush wasn't alone in his leave. The government didn't want people to know that the man who was working with Bin Laden also had a leave from the American Armed Forces.
                      There are people who say that our government would never lie to us, and since Bush was a part of our government he was an honest man. He couldn't do anything wrong, I mean, he was an American leading his own country. People blindly supported any decision he made.
                  September 11th will always be remembered. Our nation cant forget what happened to the twin towers and the world trade center. The people in those buildings reminded us that we are one nation. The government took advantage of our fear but it has made us stronger. It tore our economy apart but it made us rely on our families. It taught us to work harder and made us have empathy for our country.

Sunday, September 30, 2012

             " So they are trying to buy an election?" That's what i thought when i heard about superpacs. It allows corporations to throw loads of money into a specific candidate. they are trying to buy the election and be favored in return with some sorts of privilege such as governmental pardons or reduced taxes just as a few that pop into my head.
 There are people who support this known as conservatives. They believe this is giving them insight to how the people truly feel about the candidates. They believe that these people are just normal people who just happen to have a lot of money to spend, and that they should have the right to spend it however they want. While we all need need the ability to spend our hard earned money,in a conservative opinion, we cant help that they have more to spend and just happen to want to give it to the candidates.




          There are also people who appose these ideas known as liberals. They believe the election will be bought and favors will be guaranteed. Liberal people have an idea that these Super PACs will only give the rich a voice in our government ergo making an unfair democratic system. They believe that people should spend there money just to keep it out of our government. Liberals find Super PACs unfair and an attempt at buying your way out of everything. If you can buy the government then we have no ability to stop them from getting whatever they want.



   In my opinion i am a liberal person. I do believe that someone should be treated with the same ability to spend there money as i have but government cant be bought. Government belongs to many people. we should decide as a nation who our next president will be. Super PACs will take away from the influence that the rest of the nation has on our government.
           

Sunday, September 16, 2012

              I interviewed a friend and almost a family member Deborah Berry. Deborah has gone through so much in her life that she learned to make decisions. This is the same with her political views. She watches the news and her family life and sees that there are some flawed systems in government. One of these is in her belief that congress doesn't give the people an equal voice in government. The point of democracy is for the people to be heard not for a few men to make decisions for a country.
        She is independent. she believes that the best candidate for the job should be in charge. A party doesn't define a man nor does it define his intentions for our country. You can get an idea of that when he campaigns, but just because he campaigns well doesn't mean he has the countries best interests in mind. Politicians can be liars it is our job as citizens to weed out the lies from the truth.
         I had very similar experiences to my friend Deborah. I saw people get diagnosed with diagnosis's that made me question health care. I saw people say someone has a mental disease when there was nothing wrong with him. This happens a lot I understand but I can help but question the way health care professionals are trained. I want a leader that really has my country's best interest at heart otherwise we may as well give the power to a chimp.
          I learned that a government can be flawed but at the same time any person in our country has the right today what is and isn't flawed. Democracy is based on opinion and no one person can say something is or isn't flawed. People vote liberal or conservative in order to ensure that the values they like are brought to their country for the next four years.the voters interests are driven by what they believe. If someone believes a specific thing they are more likely to vote for someone who thinks the same way they do.my personal veiws haven't been changed because of this I know what I believe and stick to my beliefs.


1.  How did you vote in the last election?  Why?
2.  Do you consider yourself a liberal, conservative, or independent?
3.  What life experiences have shaped your political values?
4.  What key issues are most important to you, when it comes to US policy?
5.  Who will you likely vote for in the future?  Are you happy with your party? 
 6. what do you think about when someone has not voted but still complains about who is elected?
7. who would you vote for in this election?
8. why would you vote this way?
9.do you have any issues with our government?
10. what are they?
11. did you know anyone who's children went to war?

Monday, September 10, 2012

my name? the ask me this all the time. they don't care for the answer they care to watch my form walk down a hallway. they care to watch my body move in a way that they find orgasmic they don't realize my mind and that i know what they look at. society has an obsession with the human form rather then intellect and my situation is no difrent. i am William Bellis: proud strong loyal and smart.
i spent my days singing and as much as i love it they saw me for that as a child. they heard my voice hit a note that few men could hit and people would listen to me only as i sang another person's thoughts and feelings. i was a fat child and the only way for someone to realize i was there was to show them notes and feelings i was too young to understand. i sang of love and treachery, pain and heartache, all something an 11 year old boy couldn't understand. i worked myself to sweat and tears hoping i would make them see i was more then the boy who could hit a note and make them feel another mans feelings.
now i am a man one with a mind, a heart and a soal all ready to show more then they see. i can be the life of a party but i need more then that i need to show that there is a mind behind my form. a heart behind my muscular chest and a soal that wants the world to see it. i have shed the pounds that confound me to my youth, confound me to an appalling stature one that couldn't be taken seriously. but now i must show the world that a mind hides behind the beauty of a human form. i am William bellis strong independent, and more then you may see. look at my mind over my matter