A question about political issues for the Americans here

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Enriana
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A question about political issues for the Americans here

Post by Enriana »

Okay, so I'm in this Political Science class, and I have to write a total of three papers about different topics.

I get to choose the topics, as long as they're related to politics (obviously). After talking to my teacher about them, I decided to ask a few friends on IM what political issues affected them the most.

That lead me to wanting to make a post about it here.

So, what political issues affect you the most? Abortion? Gay rights? Other things? What are they? Why?

This is your chance to ramble ad nauseum about what gets you all fired up! Feel free to PM me if you're not comfortable posting.

Debate would give me more ideas for my papers, but remember, we're all friends here! about what gets you all fired up! Feel free to PM me if you're not comfortable posting.

Debate would give me more ideas for my papers, but remember, we're all friends here! :)
Huggles
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Post by Huggles »

Hurricane Katrina non-relief. Education, no really. Mostly it being ridiculously expensive compared to everywhere else in the world, keeping crappy teachers on the payroll just because they're in a union, teaching to tests and lowering standards so everybody feels good and the broken system can sustain itself for another year. The stupid war in Iraq. Immigration reform and blaming Mexicans for stealing all the super fun jobs like migratory farm work, gardening and home care, and other manual labor intensive jobs from Amercians. If they really want to be silly enough to blame people for stealing jobs, they should be more worried about outsourcing of white collar jobs to people in India and eventually China. But, I don't blame anyone for trying to make a buck and get themselves out of a bad situation. Um...I suppose keeping abortion legal, legalizing gay marriage, and generally not being painfully stupid also concern me.

I'd elaborate, but I'm tired and lazy. Call me later.
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Post by Officer 1BDI »

Huggles wrote:Education, no really. Mostly it being ridiculously expensive compared to everywhere else in the world, keeping crappy teachers on the payroll just because they're in a union, teaching to tests and lowering standards so everybody feels good and the broken system can sustain itself for another year.
THIS. I've been out of the public K-12 school system for a few years, and I still loathe my experience with it. I still have a sibling suffering through it. Our district in particular, fortunately, did not seem as determined to focus the entire ruddy cirriculum on the standardized tests as so many others, but when you have your high school school principal come into class to tell you that if you do well on the test, your parents' property values will increase, something is not right.

Don't even get me started about the teachers.

I have other issues, but I'll think of them when I'm a bit more coherent and not running on half the amount of sleep I usually get.
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Twofold Black
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Post by Twofold Black »

Available evidence suggests that Huggles can speak for me on all political issues.
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Jessi
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Post by Jessi »

Huggles speaks the truth for me too, although I admit my own personal thoughts on education are rather weak because I haven't been in a K-12 school for quite some time now, and I don't plan on having children. I will say something though, that my mom mentioned to me - part of the reason they stay in the town they have (it's very, very small. I did K-8 in the same school and my 8th grade class had 20 graduating students) is because the school is so good. Good schools really bring a better neighborhood, and the lack of attention paid to education in this country is rather absurd.

I will say this, however - for obvious reasons, gay marriage is a huge thing for me, and how backwards this country is with anything involving gay rights makes me sick. I'm pretty liberal - in fact, I daresay I'm one of those crazy raging liberals - so if you get me going, I'll rant politically for hours, and I don't want to torture you XD
Enriana
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Post by Enriana »

Ooo, the education one is a big one that hadn't occurred to me yet, but it's definitely important. I'll have to think about a way to turn that one into a paper.

Is there any specific law or bill that's recently been passed, or court case that's recently gone on, that's related to that issue? It's best if I have something recent, or semi-recent, for research and reference.

Jessi - rant away, I'm reallyreally interested in gay rights, and have been reading hrc.org avidly. My paper is either going to be about the hate crime bill trying to be passed, or gay marriage and how the powers of the federal & state governments are used there. Oo, that'd be a good one.

So, yeah. Thoughts, thoughts, thoughts! I really can't get too much information, or too many opinions/views.
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Post by Phibby »

Enriana wrote:Is there any specific law or bill that's recently been passed, or court case that's recently gone on, that's related to that issue? It's best if I have something recent, or semi-recent, for research and reference.
Not sure it's what you're looking for, but you could easily write a paper on No Child Left Behind. The effects it has had on our education system, how it encourages or discourages (lolol, yeah right) the ideas of teaching to the test or passing on failing students to keep up school stats, etc. Have you seen this story? You might also be interested in this.

I'm usually pretty mellow when it comes to political issues; I might follow them online or pay attention when I hear particular stories in the news, but I'll rarely start debates or jump in on already-started ones (offline and online depending on where the debate's going down). That said, abortion, gay rights, and to a lesser extent, evolution vs. creationism and education, are issues that I generally will speak out on.

Have you heard about this recently-submitted Ohio bill that would require women seeking abortion to get permission from the unborn child's father? There's no way the thing's going to pass (please?), and it's obvious it's just there for that group of legislators to get the "idea" out there (read: jack off to the prospect of controlling women). But the fact that it's even been proposed makes me sick.
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Post by Wingsrising »

I don't know that they affect me personally at the moment, but there are two issues that have come to mind that have affected people near me.

One is the absurd state of health insurance in this country. My mother just had surgery for cancer this summer, and even though she has good insurance, and even though her insurance covers the hospital that would have been the BEST place in town for this sort of cancer... she still couldn't go there because the health insurance has some rule that people with certain primary care physicans can only go to certain hospitals. This is just stupid. More to the point, my mom will never be able to get health insurance again. She's on dad's health insurance, so that's fine, but if something happens and he lose his job then they'd have to navigate the complicated and expensive COBRA system to ensure continuing coverage. This is stupid. The US needs universal health insurance and it needed it years ago.

Another is the absurd state of family leave. My roommate from college had a baby in March and was debating whether or not she wanted to go back to work after Corwin was born. She ended up not going back and one of the big factors was simply that the maternity leave was just not enough: she wasn't ready to let her baby go to day care that young. (Not to mention, she still wasn't getting anything resembling the amount of sleep required for proper functioning at work.) In the US, you are entitled to 12 weeks total (before and after delivery) UNPAID leave, and you are generally required to use up all of your vacation and sick time during that time (although of course, you are paid for that portion of the time). This only applies to comapnies of more than 50 people, of course. People who work for smaller companies are SOL. (In conrast, in the UK I belive one is now entitled to 9 months PAID leave, and somehow the world has continued turning there).
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Huggles
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Post by Huggles »

Oh, Ohio is especially stupid. I believe our local system of levying to raise funds for education was deemed illegal by either the state or federal supreme court. Basically, unlike any other state in the nation, the school system proposes levies( some sort of legal legislation) every year to pay for things like books, food, teacher's salaries. A certain number or percentage of residents must vote on whether or not each individual levy passes. If they don's programs and classes are cut almost immediately. Most people don't even bother voting, either out of apathy or simple ignorance of when and where and what they're voting on. I also believe we don't receive funding from taxes tabacco or the lottery like they do where I grew up in Illinois, because they're immoral. Basically even highschools now appeal to big corporate sponsors for money. There was a this uproar back when I was still in high school over sports players having to wash cars and take up odd jobs to keep the atheletic programs, up and running. Football is big here, and I guess people didn't care about the book learning stuff up until then, but went batshit when they heard we might not have football.

I can't really give you any specific laws or regulation links though. Oh, and going to the local community college here costs about as much or more as going to The Ohio State University, which was one of the most expensive schools in the nation last I checked. Northwest Ohio also has(had) one of the lowest high school graduation rates in the state, and I think the country.

Oh, and though I will spare myself and you my rants on my experience during that time, the "security" features that wanted to implement after the Columbine shootings were beyond ridiculous. They'd be laughable if it weren't so painful. Bullying seems to be big again, but they things they're coming up to deal with it lack a crucial amount of common sense. Basically, they're forcing people who look like they're being bullied into further isolation because each and every one of them is a potential killer. It may sound appealing to have the faculty, staff, and the rest of the school afraid of you, but it's a hell of a lot less fun in real life.

Oh oh, and school food. It's awful. Not in a comedic way, but in so gross and unhealthy that everyone chooses to either not eat, bring junk food, or I shit you not, order pizza from Pizza Hut or Dominoes and have it delivered to the school. Highschoolers have a fair amount of choice and knowledge about what they want to eat, but the younger kids end up with crap and lots of places have done away with free breakfast programs.
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Post by Officer 1BDI »

I'm also for equal rights for gay and lesbian couples, but I think others here could outline the reasons much more eloquently than I ever could. Needless to say that I think the restrictions are stupid and the reasons behind them absolutely absurd.

Abortion is something that I don't think I could ever turn to unless I was in the direst of dire medical scenarios, but I support the right of every woman to make that choice for themselves.

I can't remember how I exactly ran across this blog (I think someone on Subeta posted it in the abortion debate thread), but this entry was absolutely terrifying. The author is discussing a partial birth abortion ban that she argues could potentially put mothers across the country in jeopardy. Before I read that blog, I never thought I'd support the procedure, but she explains a few exceptions where the babies involved are so far gone, if not already dead, that it's one of the best options. But the biggest point of her argument, I think, is that the people making these laws really have no idea what the hell they're talking about, which is what makes the banning of abortions such a scary issue for me.

You probably aren't allowed to source a blog, but she has some links scattered throughout the entry that you might find useful if you decide to go with that issue.

ETA: Oh jeeze, health insurance. I can't believe I forgot about that. It's not a huge factor in my life right now, because I'm covered ATM, but I'm afraid that once I'm out of school it's going to be near-impossible to find afforable and reasonable health coverage.

My parents have it, but even my mom is looking at certain jobs that would give them more coverage because the plan they have right now just doesn't cover enough (my dad's job doesn't offer health insurance, so they're privately insured). I can't even imagine what our lives would be like without it. :(
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Post by Fjorab_Teke »

Gay marriage, although it doesn't affect me directly, DOES affect the rights of several friends of mine. I see no reason why we should allow the supposed separation of church and state to be ignored for this one.

One that affects me more closely is how we deal with foreign matters since my husband is in the Army, and of course what people around the world think of us is a MAJOR concern in general. This war has pissed me off to no end. I only hope that SOME good can come of it.

We should be striving for better healthcare. Until my husband joined the Army, we had none (unless whatever measly job he had at the time offered something meager). I've got problems finding retainable work myself because too many environments make me ill. And very few really offer any substantial healthcare.

I would love to see more regulation AND awareness about the various ways people get into debt...loans and credit cards are the biggest. I'm still choking under the pressure of paying off a MASSIVE student loan. There was all this suggested promise of a better career and thus more money from going to college, so student loans were "no big deal." Yeah, RIGHT.

And we should be making more efforts to gradually become more environmentally aware and sound in lifestyles. Parks are important for wildlife, trees, waterways, and our own "roots" and mental health. Very few of us would like to see the whole nation go up in concrete jungles regardless of health implications. We should be striving to make factories and cars less-pollutant and seek more efficient, less costly, and less damaging sources of renewable energy and to encourage the use of such resources.

And also keep your religion out of my girly bits, PLEASE. I want better contraceptive options and if the need arises the OPTION to have an abortion in professional and sterilized accomodations.

I'm a Christian, though a rather unorthodox one. I believe wholeheartedly that separation of church and state MEANS just that and should actually be so. If people don't agree with it, then THEY don't have to do it themselves. But don't take others' rights away because of your beliefs unless it really and truly IS going to do someone else more harm than good.
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Post by Sagrei »

Huggles can speak for me too, but there are a few points I'd like to elaborate my position on. These are in no particular order, other than the order in which they popped into my head.

1. Natural disaster relief. I'm on the Gulf Coast and if there's one thing Katrina taught me, it's that when The Big One hits, it's every man for themselves and the helpless be damned. I had nightmares, watching that stuff on the news. Still do -- and the "Vera" picture makes me cry whenever I see it. That could've been here, all too easily, and I'm well aware of it. I've got my get the hell outta Dodge plan.. planned.... more or less, and although it won't be pretty or luxurious, I won't be dead either. I've loaded up the car enough times for a mandatory evac, that's no problem. It's the people who can't get out that make me ache.

2. Health care. I really want to know how, exactly, it is justifiable for my country to blow several trillion dollars destroying two countries halfway across the world -- while here, richest nation on the planet (or so we tell ourselves), people are daily choosing between things like medication or food. I know this because I'm one of them. When it comes down to it, ramen five nights a week is worlds better than incapacitating panic attacks, but it shouldn't have to be one or the other.

3. With that, this bloody war. I haven't profanity enough for how I feel about it. Nor shock. Nor sadness. Nor shame, because as an American I do feel responsible for the corpses on the television news. The joke there is, we're so busy exporting democracy across the world we haven't any left at home. Ha. Sigh.

4. The increasing closeness of church and state, which encompasses this creationism business as well as the current trend towards state-sanctioned homophobia. I want my gay friends to get married, and I want their kids to learn about science in school. There's a world of difference between fact and belief -- one can be proven, the other can't -- and mixing them is just bad all around. Also included in this: keep your God out of my pants. What happens in there, as regards sex, contraception, etc., is nobody's business but mine.

5. I'd like to rant further, but after the first four I think I need to go look at pictures of puppies for a quick pick-me-up, so here's a few more things that bug. Having to show state ID to buy allergy medicine. The RIAA and MPAA desecrating copyright protection so that they can line their pockets. Underpaid, understaffed, and overworked: air traffic controllers, 911 dispatchers, teachers, paramedics, and cops. Education "standards." No Child Left Behind, what a joke. Sallie Mae and Amscot, the two federally-sanctioned loan sharks. The racism and sexism that, to this day, is still so pervasive you can smell it.

Yeah. Time for puppies. Cute Overload, here I come.
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Post by Fjorab_Teke »

You know what...to make this a bit brighter for our future laws regarding homosexuality...

I think the homophobes are MOSTLY the elderly and conservatives who haven't had a lot of exposure to "outside" beliefs. I've seem more and more young people (age 30 and under) who are really open to homosexuals' rights. It might be a while yet, but I think in about 20 years this issue will be overturned. It'll be much much later than it should have been, but I think they're among the next "not hurting ANYBODY" minorities to get somewhat fair legal rights. :-)
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Post by Officer 1BDI »

Sagrei wrote:5. I'd like to rant further, but after the first four I think I need to go look at pictures of puppies for a quick pick-me-up, so here's a few more things that bug. *snip* Underpaid, understaffed, and overworked: air traffic controllers, 911 dispatchers, teachers, paramedics, and cops.
Sagrei reminded me: about a month ago, my mum and I were driving down the freeway when we see this guy zoom past us two lanes over, cut in front of a minivan with no warning (said minivan swerved to avoid being hit by him and almost caused a huge pileup), and kept on going at 100 mph, swerving madly between lanes. My mum immediately grabbed her cell phone and dialed 911 so she could tell the cops this guy was going to kill someone before he actually, y'know, killed someone.

Two or three minutes later, my mum hung up. She never reached a dispatcher, never even got a hold of a live person; their phone had been ringing the entire time. And all I could think was, "Well, jeeze, it's a good thing this wasn't a fire or a heart attack or no one actually needed any help right this second!" :|

Every man for himself indeed....
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Sagrei
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Post by Sagrei »

Officer 1BDI wrote:Two or three minutes later, my mum hung up. She never reached a dispatcher, never even got a hold of a live person; their phone had been ringing the entire time. And all I could think was, "Well, jeeze, it's a good thing this wasn't a fire or a heart attack or no one actually needed any help right this second!" :|

Every man for himself indeed....
Seriously, that's not on. I've got a couple of friends who do 911 dispatch -- one in law enforcement, one in fire/rescue. If that happened at either of their places of employ, heads would roll like the French Revolution. Call, write, email, or smoke signal your mayor or county commissioners or city/county administrators. Whoever it is in charge of emergency services. CC it to their bosses and their underlings. Tell them when it happened, where it happened, and don't shut up about it until they tell you how they plan to fix it. If they ignore you, take it to a local newspaper or television station and let THEM deal with it. They'd jump on the chance.

These services are all funded by taxpayer dollars, and they bloody well should be serving their bosses, by which I mean every last one of us.
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