Teenage Sexting v. Child Pornography: Where to Draw the Line?

After reading Katrina Freund’s blog post concerning teen sexting and child pornography, my interest was piqued. I had no idea the Republicans were taking such a strong stance against sexting, going so far as to categorize it with child pornography. I agree with Katrina, in that it is ridiculous to confuse “raging hormones” with a serious mental or emotional instability that comes with the pretense that it’s okay to exploit young children in ways that is humiliating, dangerous, and permanently scarring. A compromise is definitely in order, and Katrina mentioned one that I support wholeheartedly.

To base the severity of the punishment on the age difference between the parties involved is a good point. That way, teenagers aren’t forced to succumb to adult punishment, and adults aren’t let off the hook easily. It is a flexible idea, one that can be molded to fit each substantial case that is brought to court.

However, I was curious as to what exactly Katrina had in mind for those that are underage; surely serving jail time is a little extreme, and community service isn’t exactly proper punishment for sexting. I feel that teenage sexting should be taken care of by the parents or guardians, not the courts. If anything, the parents or guardians should be held responsible for not being aware of what their children are getting themselves into; pictures sent over anything technological can be shot through cyberspace for the world to see. If it gets to that point, it should be considered a crime. Anything under that should be left up to the parents.

Finally! Another Point for the Rainbow People!

Although I already wrote a little about the gays and lesbians in the military, I decided to take a different angle. I wanted to discuss the new same-sex marriage policy that was recently adopted in New York. I am so happy another state has finally decided to allow same-sex marriage! In spite of being only one state in six, New York has given hope to homosexual couples across the country.

Regardless of the thousands of people who were expressing their joy and support for the newly married couples, there were also thousands more who were continuing to protest against it. No matter what progress the gay and lesbian communities make, there will always be many to show their dissatisfaction. In my point of view, who are we to judge anyone in our society? To not allow gay and lesbian couples, or even individuals, the same rights as those who are heterosexual in their orientation is discriminatory. Those who try to abolish homosexuals are stripping them of their rights to freedom of speech and the right to be considered equal with others in society. What we are doing to the homosexual community is no less wrong than what our ancestors did to the African Americans, or the Native Americans, what we still continue to do to our fellow countrymen and women: we deny them the right to have equal opportunity to pursue their American Dream.

The legalization of same-sex marriage in New York will hopefully encourage more states to do the same. Although there will still be homophobics who will take it upon themselves to judge those that are different from themselves, this new policy, along with the adaptation of the military in allowing openly gay and lesbian individuals in the forces, is another step toward eliminating descrimination and segregation in our society entirely.

To all those who are faced with the humiliation of being labeled "different," or "inferior," I encourage you to not lose faith in your fellow citizens. There is hope for us yet.

Response to Nuclear Energy

After reading my fellow classmate, Alec Hubble’s, blog post about nuclear energy, I got to thinking. First of all, I didn’t even know that the government had passed the law concerning alcohol’s requirement to be radioactive. I understand where he’s coming from; all this fear and tension concerning radioactivity and nuclear energy is quite bogus. We seem to jump to conclusions that all things nuclear are bad, harmful, uncontrollable, etc. However, Alec makes good points concerning past nuclear accidents. He explains all the factual evidence concerning the events, most pointing to “operator error,” or faulty equipment, not the reactions themselves.

Nuclear power is a substantial source of energy we us today; according to Alec Hubble’s article, about 20%. Also, if the waste is contained, it is not harmful to the environment: it leaves no carbon footprint like coal or natural gas. We are making leaps and bounds toward innovating and improving how we extract and use nuclear energy, trying to be as efficient as possible.

One thing I am worried about, though. All the radioactive waste that is made from nuclear reactions has to go somewhere. Although we haven’t reached our maximum capacity for waste containment, it is a real possibility. It would be cruel of us to make it the problem for future generations, on top of everything else we are forcing on them. We should come up with a way to better dispose of our radioactive wastes today instead of pushing it off as a problem for the future. There are catalysts available to speed up the breakdown process, and there are also elements that break down faster than others. Nuclear research is a necessity in our world today; hydroelectricity is another alternative to our fallbacks of coal, oil, and gas. The research industry will be in need of employers and funds soon, if not already. I believe the energy crisis should be a high priority of our government, and it isn’t getting the attention it needs.

Military's Acceptance of Gays and Lesbians have Reached Lukewarm

The United States Military has had a strong policy towards gays and lesbians: put blatantly, "We don't want your fruitiness corrupting our forces." After many long, arduous years of fighting and revolutionizing our country, the military has loosened up a little on this view.

The key word: "little." It is still not possible for openly gay and lesbian individuals to receive the benefits straight people do in the military. Heterosexual couples get housing benefits, amazing medical coverage, and other benefits. The "don't ask, don't tell" policy which excluded openly homosexual people from entering the military is still relatively prominent, in spite of our hoping to be rid of it come fall.

It seems everyone around the country is hopping on the bandwagon all decked out in rainbows. It's about time, too. I have been waiting for this moment in American history ever since I was old enough to understand the difference between race, ethnicity, and, relevant to this case, sexual orientation. New York just recently legalized same-sex marriage, and there is a good possibility of other states following suit. With the political support for openly gay and lesbian couples on the rise, the resentment against them will, hopefully sooner rather than later, become taboo.

Homosexual couples are just like heterosexual couples; they have the same fundamental dynamics that are necessary to make the relationship last, as well as to grow healthily. Regardless of whether or not it’s “right”, who are we to judge a person, or even a group, based on anything other than what is in their soul and spirit? Our society, as far as it has come, still has a long way to go before it truly understands the meaning of total acceptance. Hopefully these new political outlooks on same-sex marriages will lead to a more unified, and less judgmental, society.

The President's Battle

President Barack Obama has definitely made some controversial decisions during his term in office. No one can deny this, or his ability to stick it out to the end, in spite of all the critics nursing their sore backsides and even more damaged dignities, sitting there and throwing childish retorts with no way to back them up.

The President wants to save this country just as much as everyone else; we need to realize that he is an American just as much as the rest of the population is. Why else would we have chosen him to represent our country? It is, however, in everyone’s best interest to bite our tongues and swallow our retorts; in doing this we can give ourselves a chance to calm down and realize the only way to pull our country out of this mess is to work together, die-hard Republicans and Democrats alike, and everyone in between.

In his blog, “The ‘Obama’s Brilliant Strategy’ Theory”, Marty Kaplan makes a few good points while critiquing President Obama’s future campaign strategies. He states, in summary, that we just don’t know what plan will be the best thing for our country. We don’t have the ability to see into the future. Surely we must be forgetting this time and time again. What we can do, however, as I’ve figured out after reading Kaplan’s post, is to stop pointing fingers. Instead of looking at the Republican ideas in disgust, Democrats need to maybe ponder over them, if nothing else. Compromise, as Kaplan states, “[does not] take just one to tango.” The beauty of the party system that we have in this day and age is that it allows the public to help our government out in deciding the best compromise. It seems that Americans have either forgotten how to do this, or are too hard-headed to realize we are down to our last resorts.

Another point Kaplan makes is that both Democrats and Republicans are guilty of “playing the system.” However, being a left-sider, Marty Kaplan doesn’t come right out and say that the Democrats are doing something wrong as well. It was implied, though, and I agree. Both parties seem to have forgotten along the way of what it means to be in charge of a country, and instead are only caring about their own pockets. In turn, this viewpoint has rubbed off onto the entire country; now we are nothing more than a huge group of greedy pigs. It is time to own up to it, America. Say it with me. “I am a greedy pig.” The first step to fixing a problem is to own up to it. Now that that is out of the way, maybe you will be willing to listen to a solution.

The first thing I can come up with is to practice moderation. Now, this doesn’t mean the rich have to stop being rich and the poor have to suffer and fight tooth and nail for a decent living. What I mean by moderation is instead of a rich person blowing their money on things that don’t matter, like a fifth car, (which is just going to eat more gas anyway), maybe that person could show a sense of community and invest in a new park-building project. Helping out other people is what being an American is about. Let’s embrace it.

The Republicans, I believe, have not kept in mind that there is more to life than being rich. Time and time again they have gone to the extreme of making money, and thousands of people are suffering for it. They don’t give enough to even out the playing field; at the same time, however, the Democrats sometimes give too much. This comes back to moderation, and helping those who can’t help themselves. There are always going to be those that take more than they deserve; but it is our civic duty to make sure that those who need to be taken care of will get the help they need.

Coming back to Marty Kaplan’s blog, he has a point. Sure, he may be a little too harsh, but he understands that we, that is to say, the public, have been played over and over again by our government. I believe, however, that left to his own devices, President Obama can do some good things for our country.

A Side of Not-Guilty, Please

Casey Anthony is one twisted sister. We all know this. Even to be accused of murdering your child will get you a lifelong sentence to shame and “social censure”; imagine if you were to actually be guilty of it. I understand there was not enough forensic evidence to earn her a one-way ticket into a nice, lonely prison cell, but would it really be worse than being out and having to face the public scorn for the rest of your life? Karma is not a nice lady, and she loves her grudges.

Chaney Mason and Jose Baez are surely no better. Granted, they were just doing the job the Anthony family paid them for: keep Casey out of prison. But Baez, for one, is no Mr. Nice Guy. As described in the article, Baez was known as a “deadbeat dad” who owed thousands in child support, as well as in student loans. He was still relatively wet behind the ears when dealing with the Anthony case; he was granted admission into the bar as early as 2005. Mason was depicted as a hypocritical, pompous airhead who was quite unqualified for handling this case with the serious intensity it needed.

I can relate wholeheartedly with Frank Bruni’s ironic criticism involving the entire trial and all who were affected; even the jurors were subject to his cynicism. Bruni has realized the outrageous audacity that has surrounded this case. He comprehends the other consequences Casey Anthony must face, and that a life sentence in prison is not the worst that could happen to her. At least in prison, she’s safe. Who knows how long she will be alive?

This case is a good example of how justice isn’t always pure; “not-guilty doesn’t mean innocent.” There just wasn’t enough specific evidence to convince the jury that Anthony was responsible, regardless of all the “pretty-sure’s” and “maybe’s” that could be used to work the case against Casey Anthony’s favor. As Bruni stated, the jury were just following protocol of evidence before emotion. He added a twist to even the most innocent statements, adding a dark light to every angle of opinion. He really lets you determine for yourself just where you stand. Personally, I agree with every word Frank Bruni said: Casey Anthony will get what she deserves one way or another, and so will the rest of those who were involved. Watch out, Karma is lurking.

Romney Still Nursing Bad Sentiments?

Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, once again pinned the blame on President Obama for "worsening the recession." Romney criticized the President's techniques for banking regulations, as well as the healthcare and stimulus programs. However, not too long before these fresh attacks on President Obama, Mr. Romney seemed to curb his constant attacks on the economic policies, saying he "never blamed Mr. Obama for making the recession worse...but...that he made the recovery slower."
It seems like Mr. Romney is having a hard time swallowing the new policies as set up by Obama. He has set up his own health care plan in Massachusetts, which ironically was a model the White House used for its own. When asked if he would stop states from following his lead in "enacting a mandate...requiring all citizens to buy health insurance," Mr. Romney stated that he would not.
As you can see, this is just one of the many sides the nation has taken on President Obama's policies regarding healing our country after the recession. However, one thing none of us can deny about our economic state today: we are definitely improving. Slowly, yes, and maybe not as much as expected, but it's not like we're going backwards. I don't believe that the President "made things worse"; at least, it wasn't all his fault, or even mostly his fault. The blame, if any, should fall on all Americans, for surely we are all guilty of favoring our own pockets instead of that of the nation as a whole.