In Betsy Carbajal Rivera's blog post "Voter Turnout," I loved what she had to say. Voting rates in our country are very disappointing and frankly quite embarrassing. This is a problem that should really be solved. Rivera's idea of rewarding the people that do vote really could work! People tend to respond to rewards rather than criticism about not voting at all. This has not shown to be effective. Rivera's blog post is something the government ought to consider! Maybe the states should even show some sort of reward to the young college students who vote! The youth in our community has an awful lot to say about current political issues, so maybe they need the motivation to make their voice heard!

One issue our national government struggle with is staying out of our business. I believe that the government is getting way too close to the state and local governments. In particular, I believe that the government needs to stay out of marriage. At first this belief does not make any sense but stay with me here. Since the legalization of gay marriages, religions have been attacked by the government and social groups for not engaging with same sex weddings. I live by a “If what you are doing does not affect me, I do not care” type of mindset. This is what all of my political views are based on. Therefore, same sex marriages are not something I oppose. However, I do have a problem with religious affiliation being attacked for standing up for what they believe in. I very much care about everyone’s right to have their freedom of beliefs and speech. Therefore, the government should stay out of legal marriages in general. I would like to keep the federal government as far away from the people as possible. In this day and age, the government is becoming too powerful and these officials are becoming too involved in the everyday lives of US citizens. The government is here to simply lay down laws and enforce them. Not controlling every aspect of our personal decisions. Our founding fathers intended to keep the federal government far away from us, and with as close as it is getting, it is becoming harder to say we live in the land of the free.

In Rosaura's blog post "ICE Raid, I really appreciate her passion on her view of illegal immigration. She establishes some good points and tells some unfortunate truths. I love her finishing statement, “It is important for our Government to change the way they deal with illegal immigration both in our country and at the borders.” There’s a lot of truth to this statement and I agree. Made me rethink some of my own ideas.

One of the problems I believe our national government struggles with the most is the sensitive subject of abortion. Many issues arise with this argument and currently I do not believe the government is taking the appropriate steps to find common ground between the two sides. The majority, being pro-choice, should consider that they might be making a horrible mistake.

First, I believe it’s important to determine when life starts. The two sides either believe life starts at conception, to life starts when the baby takes the first breath. My question is, how can we make an ethical decision as a country if we cannot come to a middle ground on this question. If we can’t answer that question, and we continue to pass bills for third trimester abortions, then how do we know it’s not murder?

The government can help to solve this issue by actually examining the development of a fetus rather than jumping to conclusions just because the fetus is not outside the womb. Personally, I feel like bills about long term abortions are being passed too quickly. It feels as though we are not even considering that a fetus could actually feel pain or if they are a living organism. America does not want to be a country known for violence. Maybe being uneducated about abortions is what will bring us there.

Pro-life activist and abortion survivor Gianna Jessen expressed, “If abortion is about women’s rights, then what were mine?” The national government should examine closely what they are actually doing to the lives of these “potential” citizens, because maybe they already are citizens.

On March 15^th 2019, National Review’s editors published an article “Gavin Newsom’s Death-Penalty Overreach.” Writing this article, the author intends to inform their audience of the “arrogance” of Gavin Newsom’s decision to not sign off of the death row of 737 people. The author speaks on how Newsom is forcing this decision by not referencing the legislative or judicial branch of California. By doing this Newsome is not obeying his oath he swore when he was inaugurated to, “see that the law is faithfully executed.” While the death penalty still goes as legal in California, Newsom is only looking at his own opinion rather than the country’s laws. The author concludes that Newsom should not have been elected as governor if he is not obeying the law or the citizens opinions. I agree with the author that Newsom had been arrogant in his decision to not sign the death row. I value the safety of our citizens who do follow the law. With that being said, I do not wish to keep serial killers alive, this risks the lives of our people if they do escape prison. In addition, it is expensive to keep inmates in prison for life. Therefore, I believe the death penalty is the best option. As for Gavin Newsom, I believe that his power is being abused. He must obey the oath he swore while being inaugurated. This is common sense for the government. The power of the executive branch in California is being violated and that’s a crime of itself.  

On February 28th 2019, Fox News published an article by Tammy Bruce "Democrats' treatment of the 'Born Alive' bill is a wake-up call." Bruce explains the democratic party's reaction President Trump's State of the Union address from earlier this month over abortion in the United State. Her opinion is rather conservative as she describes the Democratic party’s disappointment to his statement “a culture that cherishes innocent life” as ghoulish. Obviously, Bruce is Pro-Life and values the lives of the unborn. With this in mind, her intended audience is her fellow Pro-Life community because she writes as if it were gossip. Meaning, that the Democratic Party might not read the article. Her argument is that Democrats have become insane by thinking abortions are a sane option to allow.

Personally, I have to agree. I believe stopping a heartbeat of a living fetus is simply murder and it should not be legal in the United States. However, I do not agree that they are ghoulish due to their belief. I believe that Pro-Choice Democrats are unaware of the tragic process of abortion and the long-term effects it can have on the mother.

Bruce’s overall article tells her audience about the bills that are hoped to be put in place to end abortions and the Pro-Choice Democrat’s attitude and reactions towards them. Bruce writes this article to try to find common ground with the Pro-Choice community it hopes that abortion can be outlawed or at least limited and to reveal the truth that abortion is killing an innocent life.

On February fourteenth, Fox News Published an article about the border wall that Trump has promised since the beginning of his election. I think this article is worth the read because as citizens of the US, we need to know where and when our money is being spent and most importantly what it is being spent on. In my personal opinion, I believe that the border wall is a good idea because it will help us to protect our country from potential terrorists such as ISIS. Therefore, this article gave me a good outlook on what the latest news on the border wall. Even if you are against the border wall, I highly suggest reading this article because it will inform you of what actions are about to take place in our country. It is important to be informed in order to be constructive and contributing citizens.

Hello, excited to hear your thoughts!