Sonia Sotomayor sworn in...

Today Sonia Sotomayor was sworn in as the 3rd supreme court justice that was a woman in 220 years. The hispanic community especially has a sense of pride in this because she is the first hispanic woman to become a supreme court justice to this day.

Attack of the Internet!

Yesterday Twitter, Facebook, blogger, Livejournal, and (?, am I forgetting anything?) I think that is it, were attacked from a user known to us as "Cyxymu". He disabled twitter and facebook, livejournal, and blogger were mostly unaffected. The user is thought to be from a disputed state between Russia and Georgia.

Hmm...? Sounds interesting enough. But the question is, Why would this user want to try to disable Twitter, Facebook, blogger, and Livejournal? Is it a terrorist attack? Doesn't sound like one to me, if it was this person (or persons) would be trying to disable more direct news sites such as Cnn and Yahoo!, but why?

-jww

Marijuana: An evil drug or a cure to America's debt?

Marijuana, a controversial topic today. Should it be legal or not?

I think it should be, and here is why.

The United States has a huge debt, right now it is just getting bigger. The taxation of marijuana would be a great source of income for the government.

The US-Mexico border drug war. I think this is something that the news ignores, I was going to go to Mexico this summer on the border, but we decided not to go because the TSA (Travel Security Administration) places the border as dangerous as some parts of Iraq, Iran, and Sudan. The legalization of marijuana would improve this situation since much of the war is over this drug alone. It would probably even improve US-Mexican relations.

People are already getting hold of it anyway. I know of people that have it or no where to get it. Anyone who wants to get it hard enough can most likely get a hold of it right now. Why spend billions of tax dollars putting people in jail for using it when they could just tax it?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying for people to go out and smoke it. I am just saying that if the government was to put restrictions on it (have to be 21 years old, can't smoke it in public, etc.) it would not make people more likely to smoke it. Tobacco is a deadly drug as well and while it does not give people as much as a "high" it does cause major health problems such as lung cancer eventually.

D

The Obama Administration

President Barrack Obama: A man that unites and divides.

Politics unite and divide people. This is especially true when talking about opinions on Barrack Obama. Obama is a pretty liberal guy, some of his policies even divide members of his own party. He is demanding that we have a massive healthcare overhaul and completely change the system. The Cash-for-Clunkers program is somewhat controversial and many people disapprove of his policies.

I have really liked Obama from the start, I think of him as a sign of hope in a country that seems increasingly disorganized and all over the place. Maybe part of the reason I really like him is the fact that President Bush was a disaster, and I think most of us can agree on that. I think of him as a new start for a new United States.

Lately, I have been questioning some of his policies. How are we going to pay for a stimulus package? Why is his top priority healthcare when the economy is struggling? How are we going to pay for any of this without raising taxes "at all" on the middle class? It just doesn't make sense, I mean, the money isn't going to come out of nowhere, it doesn't just appear before us. Our country already has a massive debt and it doesn't all seem to go together.

Overall I think he is doing a good job, but I am really starting to worry. If you would have asked me a month ago my opinion on Obama I would be a lot less worried. Anyway, does anyone have opinions about Obama... if you do, please comment.


-jww

Update to Journalist's Release

I decided to update this because it has been in the news a lot in the past 2 days. Some believe that former President Clinton's visit to North Korea was a bad move. In the United States most of us view the visit as a positive thing and shows that the people here care about others. On the other hand, some might view Clinton's visit as saying that if a group or government was to capture an American, they have a shot at getting access to a high-powered politician. The North Korean government is portraying the visit as a diplomatic visit and claiming that Clinton had a message from Obama. They claim that they had a 3 hour talk. The White House denies these claims and states that it was purely a humanitarian trip.

Personally, I would not say that what the N. Korean govt. is saying is true. Although, I would like to believe it was, I don't think that the president was closely involved in this one, but who knows, maybe it was, we will just have to wait and see. What are your opinions, was it a humanitarian mission or a diplomatic trip?

Journalists released, get to come home.

Today Laura Lee and Euna Lee were released from North Korea after supposedly crossing the border illegally from China. Yesterday former Pres. Clinton went to North Korea to talk about their release, he met with N. Korean communist leader Kim Jong Ill II. The journalists were taken from the jail that they were at without any knowledge of being released and were greeted by Bill Clinton.

I believe that this is an improvement of US-North Korean relations and a crucial step towards talk with Pyongyang about stopping their current nuclear program. Who knows? maybe in a few weeks their will be talk. What do you think??

-jww

Global Gas Crisis

The world is extremely dependent on fossil fuel. All types, from coal to gasoline and from natural gas to oil. The world couldn't go on as it does now without fossil fuels. Even if our homes and businesses were powered by renewable energy sources, our cars cannot go on with renewable energies such as wind, solar, geothermal, and nuclear (yes, im including nuclear).

A very small percentage of cars are fully electric, although there are an increasing number of hybrids on the road today. Gas prices are currently low amidst of the economic crisis, but they are sure to go up in the short future if the economy bounces back. If the demand and usage stays high for the next decade to come, we are going to see a real problem, I am talking 9 dollars a gallon. Im just sure you would like to pay that every time you had to fill up.

Healthcare Reform

So, anyone who has been paying attention to the news lately has inevitably heard about healthcare "reform". Government supported healthcare is something that most of the world's developed countries have. I am not very scared of this as many conservatives are, I just think that we will have to work through it and do what we think is right for America's uninsured and many low income people.

-jww

And the Michael Jackson Legacy Goes On

Oh my god, if I have to listen to more Michael Jackson news I think im going to puke. First he is in the news for his death (which was unfortunate, don't get me wrong) but the media kills it all, I saw him on the news in remote Costa Rica, I wasn't able to escape it there. Then it is all a big debate on where to bury him (is he even buried yet???). Now there is that extra money he had put away and his mom wanting to be on the board of people that decide what to do with the money. Woo! if I only had a dollar for everytime I have heard something about him in the last month.

-jww

Hello

Hey, to anyone who has been checking in on this blog (if any). I know it is not a very popular blog at the moment, I am very busy and do not really have time to update it, but if you have any suggestions on what to write about on here then feel free to post them.


Thanks

-jww