Of all the controversies that the health care bill should awaken, abortions seems like it would be near the bottom of the list. Not so. Both sides have been loud in protest due to some clause about government subsidies not going to pay for abortions. I think it's interesting that even made it into the bill. According to the article, "polls show that abortion ranks low among priorities in the health care overhaul." This is an issue that no one can win. We're going to continue running in circles which is frustrating because there seem to be much bigger issues on our plate right now.

Confusion
Reignites debate

In an earlier post I discussed the opinions of several politicians on the troop increase to Afghanistan. Well it looks like Obama is finally going to make the announcement next week once Congress gets back from Thanksgiving break. People speculate that he will be sending 32,000 to 35,000. According to this Fox news article, "The war has worsened on his watch, and public support has dropped as U.S. combat deaths have climbed." I would like to point out that for statements like this it is necessary to put things into perspective. Under Bush's administration we deployed troops to Afghanistan then basically turned all our attention to Iraq. Of course there have been more US deaths because there are more troops fighting there! And of course the situation seems to have worsened because we didn't have ample enough troops there for the last eight years and not it's falling down on us. Sometimes it has to get worse before it gets better.

Mistake?
Public Opinion

Racism? Or Exaggeration?

Point of view is an interesting thing. So is lying. And the problem is we can't always weed out the liars. I guess three years ago there was an incident with an African American young lady at a WalMart in a highly racist Missouri town. The kind of town who still finds messages like "You have been paid a social visit by the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. The next visit will not be social." It's hard to imagine that those sort of backwoodsy racial problems still occur in such an advanced nation as the United States. It's ludicrous. And now a young woman with her whole future still ahead of her faces 15 years in prison perhaps due to these racial tensions. Her voice against about ten others does not seem very promising and may lead us to believe she has to be the guilty party. Yet why would this woman choose not to take a deal for two year probation in exchange for dropping the charges if she were lying? Goes to show, even with a just judicial system, it's hard to tell the innocent from the guilty.

Support

Now wait just a second!

Aliens

The issue of illegal immigration has been overshadowed by healthcare. However, Obama's administration inisists that a policy on illegal immigrants will be made by the 2010 deadline they set. We will be cracking down on illegal immigrants and the people who hire them. I believe that this will turn out to be something that looks better on paper. But we'll see.

Their views

Evil!!

Justice?

Eight years have past since the 9/11 attacks and only now are the men held in Guantanamo Bay prison who have alleged ties to the attack being put on trial. People seem to be celebrating the fact that these men will finally face justice. This is legitimate, however, it puts into question our justice system. These men have been imprisoned for eight years. This presents the major controversy surrounding Guantanamo Bay prison which Obama's administration has said it will close. Do we have the right to hold these men that long before going to trial? Another issue is at least one of the men was subject to waterboarding. I guess we are trying to redeem ourselves. Seems a little late. But better late than never I suppose.

More

I don't know

Afghanistan Troop Request

CNN
There must be some sort of format to blogging, but since I don't recall ever being informed about the format, I'm going to just ramble! The focus now days has turned from our troops in Iraq to Afghanistan. Now President Obama faces a tough decision, to send more troops or to not send more troops? It is a difficult question. Cheney is yelling go go go like the whole structure of Afghanistan, the United States, and possibly the world might shatter if we don't decide this instant. And decide to send more troops. However, Colin Powell, the former secretary of state tells President Obama to take his time. There are many factors that must be weighed out first. The recent election in Afghanistan was rough and the country has problems with corruption. Isn't it time we let Afghanis pull together and "do something about this" themselves? Not to say we should remove our troops. Now it is merely a question of whether it would be beneficial to increase the number of troops the United States sends to Afghanistan.

Others agree
International Community opinion?