Bush denies Children Health Care Plan

President George Bush continues to say he will veto the Children's Health Bill which could save 10 million children's lives. Democrats and even Republicans are bargaining and trying to get him to agree to sign the bill, but he will not change his mind. He claims it will increase our national debt, which it obviously will, but what he does not realize is the national debt continues to grow more and more each day from the war. In addition, he just signed a bill which adds 50 billion to the budget for the war next year making it 200 billion dollar budget. If he is so concerned with the debt and taxes of the American people maybe he should be taking the money out of places like the war rather than a beneficial Children's Health. Even some of his aids and close friends disagree with his position, but they state that they do not see him changing his mind at anytime. People are continuing to fight for this social cause and have proclaimed that they will not give up, even if it means getting 2/3's of Congress to go against Bush's veto. However, that requires a lot more votes and work to get the law passed. People claim he cares about children and there well being, but this shows no sign of that. We can clearly see where Bush's priorities lie within the American public. Supporters of Bush feel as though this bill gives illegal immigrants the chance to get medical aid, but there are so many other children out there that we must be considering as well. Plus, in society there are many children who were born here, but their parents are illegal. However, they are technically considered American citizens. We claim we want to educate them so these American citizens can grow up and positively effect our economy, but shouldn't their health also be taken into consideration. The bill would expand the State Children’s Health Insurance Program to cover nearly four million uninsured children, in addition to the 6.6 million already enrolled. It would provide $60 billion over the next five years, $35 billion more than the current spending and $30 billion more than the president proposed. Democrats are now looking to the children for support to try and get Bush to compromise. They are hosting radio shows and public speakings where children speak out about the importance of this Health Care Bill. As of now, Bush looks unwilling to come to a compromise and it seems as though a battle will be endured by the supporters of the bill against Bush in order to pass what will help our children. Bush must come to terms and put aside his selfishness and lack of integrity to ensure the children of American society basic needs which we all deserve.

Are We Back in the 60's?

Living in a democratic country which emphasizes the quote "of, for, and by the people" it is hard to believe racism is still apart of society. In Jena Louisiana preference by race still continues on strongly. If you do not know about the case Jena 6 I will give you some background information. Last fall a new black student to Jena High School sat under a tree seen to be for white students only. The next day three white students hung nooses on a tree to emphasize their superiority and their strength over this black student. This act was obviously more than a joke but the school viewed it as a minor prank and they were only suspended for three days...Black students got together and formed a silent protest where the local D.A. came out and waved his pen in the air while saying, "With a stroke of this pen, I can make your life disappear." Is this not a threat? On November 30Th Jena High School was burnt down and the opposite race both assumed it was their counterparts. At a party the next night black teenagers tried to enter and were brutally beat up. A day later one white boy and one black boy, Robert Bailey, began to verbally fight and the white teen ran to his car and pulled out a pistol. Bailey fought the white student for the gun and was charged for theft of a firearm, second-degree robbery, and disturbing the peace. However, the white student who pulled the weapon was not charged at all. The following Monday Justin Barker was loudly bragging about Baileys charge and injuries. Then, he went outside and was beat up by six black students, but suffered only superficial wounds. Later that night he went to a party! The six black students were arrested and eventually charged for attempted second-degree murder. The white students were not charged for anything. Micheal Bell, then 16, was tried as an adult and received 22 years in prison. However, after protesting he is now being tried for a minor. Why should these young men suffer for the rest of their lives while the white students can stay out and continue to support their racism? The protests going on right now for Micheal Bell must continue because these kind of acts go back to before the Civil Rights Movement. Everyone should be given the same amount of opportunities and not have to suffer due to the color of their skin. Jena Louisiana is a place where some major changes need to occur. If this case remains in favor of the white supremacists, yes these teenagers are committing hate crimes and should be called by the proper label, whites almost have permission to demonstrate their hatred. Living in California where there is a wide diversity of people we tend to forget how wrong and unjust many people still out there are. We feel the Civil Rights Movement ended segregation and began equality for all races, but that was just the beginning. These people have been trained to feel superior to African Americans and so many others out there also continue to have the same views. As a person who feels we should all be given equal rights and the color of your skin is just a color I find it hard to imagine such events still take place. We feel this is of our past, but in reality it's our present and will be in our future unless we start to express our feelings on such issues. Who are we to judge people by what they look like? We all can work together and help each other if we recognize our differences as qualities which make us unique and find the similarities which can tie us together. The Jena 6 case is a prominent example of racism and hatred in the United States today and we must continue to voice our opinions and help the African American students be liberated for crimes they did not even commit.

Out of Iraq Now

On 9/11, after the World Trade Center was attacked, the "unseen enemy" now had a face and a name. Soon after the shock passed and the grief subsided, the White House sold the fragile American public a bogus war based on misconceptions. Using unsubstantiated charges of weapons of mass destruction, George W. Bush led the United States into Iraq. The real agenda of the Bush administration was to stabilize an unstable government rich in oil. With Sadaam Hussein removed from power, the giant corporations which controlled the oil business had its interests protected. To date, close to 4,000 American soldiers have been killed and the infamous Osama Bin Laden is still at large. After being in this war for four years, the American people are now starting to question whether America has been involved in this war under false premises.
A great deal of our money is going to the cost of this war while social programs, disaster relief, and domestic programs are by and large ignored. As of this writing, the US government has spent $451,288,000,000, that's billion, to remain in Iraq and we will continue to spend more and more each day.
General Petraeus has said that since the "surge" had begun overall violence in Iraq has lowered. In a half hearted attempt to please an increasingly frustrated American public, George W. Bush has offered to bring 5700 of the troops home by Christmas. However, this is too little too late. We have disrupted the lives and government of the people of Iraq and while we believe that democracy is the best form of government we are not in a position to enforce it.
The war is hurting many more than it is helping and a stronger effort must be made to get all of our troops out of Iraq. George W. Bush has lied to the American public and intentionally entered into this war for his own interests and those of his political allies. The Presidential campaign coming up is the most new and important campaign in many years. I believe this is because people are finally realizing the urgency of this major problem. This war is wrong and unjust, this war is killing our young American boys and girls, this war is taking our money, this war is a huge and costly mistake. We must leave Iraq now.