Comment on Francisco Cordova's Blog

The article “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Finally Repealed,” written on July 25, 2011, by Francisco Cordova caught my attention because; this is one of the most controversial topics that continue to make the national news in one form or another. Cordova writes that after almost two decades the do not ask do not tell  policy  has been repealed; this is an enormous step in the movement for equality for our American soldiers. Our government has ignored this inequality long enough. I also am pleased that President Obama repealed this law. Cordova makes a valid point about the unfairness of the policy DADT forcing those who want to serve in the military to lie about their sexual preference. It is not the person’s sexual preference fighting on the front line; it is the American soldier with dignity, integrity, courage, and pride, and the desire to fight for our country. We need to recognize our soldier’s for their characteristics of selflessness, not for their gender identity.

President Obama had campaigned on a promise to seek an end to the DADT policy, and Cordova writes it is good to see the President come through on the promise. With the enactment of the DADT repeal, a person wishing to serve their country will not have to lie or  be dishonest about who they are, and all of the American soldiers can also receive the respect and honor they deserve. I agree with Cordova that, “hopefully this will open many more doors in the time to come.”

Our Veterans, The Brave, The Proud, and The Homeless

With our focus zoomed in on the financial, and debt crisis our country is in, not much attention is paid to other issues that also affect our country. One of those issues is our country’s homeless population, the Veteran homeless population in particular. While it is of utmost importance that our country not go into default over our debt, affordable healthcare, and housing for the soldiers that have put their lives on the front lines, and fought for our freedom is important.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs estimates more than 100,000 veterans sleep outside in the streets, under bridges, or in a temporary shelter on any given night. The number of the homeless veterans in the United States is rapidly increasing at a much faster rate than it did seven or eight years ago. The urgency of the problem is growing as more veterans return from the service in Iraq and Afghanistan, because those with disabilities, including post-traumatic stress disorder, and traumatic brain injury are more likely to become homeless. A high percentage of veterans returning from the current conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq have these characteristics, and a study performed at the Naval Postgraduate Institute and Stanford University suggests the rate will be higher than previously expected, at about 35% of those returning. According to the U S Department of Housing and Urban Development, Veterans make up 9.7% of the United States population, 5.2% of the poverty population, and 11.1% of the homeless population.

The basic needs of homeless veterans do not differ from those of other homeless people, basic needs that include things such as food, clothing, and shelter. However, the needs of our Veterans are more than just the “basics needs.” It is challenging to recover from the mental and physical damage that occurs to them while they are serving our country. We need programs with the ability, and determination to understand the nature and constraints of homeless veterans. In June of 2010, President Obama set a goal of ending chronic homelessness of veterans by 2015; however,  if we hope to meet President Obama's goal of ending this national tragedy within five years, serious efforts will need to be made to address the underlying causes of homelessness. Many advocates for ending homelessness applaud President Obama’s goals, and say the plan is a major breakthrough because there has never been a comprehensive federal effort to end homelessness; however, they questioned the lack of details about how some of the proposals would be paid for. In order to achieve these goals, the funding has to be there, and that means the administration has to really be firm and advocate. If we do not take an all-inclusive approach to issues such as inadequate wages, lack of affordable housing, and lack of accessible, affordable health care, the tragedy of homelessness among both veterans and nonveterans will continue to plague American communities.

Comments on Zeniah Morgan's Blog

The blog article “The Removal” written by Zeniah Morgan on July 18, 2011, revealed interesting information, regarding some of the practices that are going on within some of our governmental agencies. Morgan informs us about The Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE), targeting small businesses to do I-9 audits. According to Morgan’s article, ICE has zeroed in on the small businesses for the past three year requesting from the employers to produce employment documentation on all of their employees. ICE is looking for illegal immigrants working in the United States that do not have employment eligibility documentation. The ICE agency was created in 2003, and its primary mission is to promote homeland security and public safety. 

In September of 2009, the CEO, of a fourth generation family owned business was audited. The company was found to have 25% of their employees were working in the U.S illegally. The illegal employees were terminated, and the CEO felt it was one of the worst days in his life, because some of the employees had been working for him over ten years. Morgan suggests that the ICE agency should give the small business owners a few months’ notice, so the employer can make sure the documentation required is in order. What happened to this company is unfortunate for everyone involved, but in reality, the owner of this business had six years notice to have his employees get the proper documentation in order.

The truth of the matter is, the majority of these employees do work long hard hours, usually out in the hot brutal sun, and most people do not want to do that kind of work. It is also doubtful that many people are out there competing for the type of jobs some of the illegal immigrants are willing to take.  As difficult as it may be for all us to understand the reasoning, and justification of what the ICE agency does, it is their job to perform these I-9 audits. When employers and employees, choose not to comply with our governmental regulations, it is a gamble that everyone involved is willing to take.

Clean Needles, Save Lives

For more than two decades, advocates for harm reduction programs, battled with lawmakers to lift the ban on funding for needle exchange programs. On July 24, 2009, the U. S. House of Representatives passed a $730.5 billion bill (HR 3293) to fund health, education, and labor programs in fiscal 2010. The lawmakers that were against lifting the ban, filed an amendment that sought to keep the ban in place; however, they did not prevail when the amendment was rejected by a vote of 211-218.

 In the late 1980’s at the very height of the AIDS epidemic, lawmakers voted to withhold funding for needle exchange programs. However, this did not hold back harm reduction advocates, and research programs, that were determined to provide these services. For many years,  programs that founded the needle exchange,  have been supplying clean needles to addicts, and getting addicts into drug treatment; as a result, they  have shown , that the rate of intravenous drug use related infections has decreased. Despite studies that show clean needles slow down the rate of intravenous drug use related infections, ideologues in Congress continued to believe that supplying clean needles to addicts promote drug use.

 During the time of Clinton’s administration, there was mixed support for needle exchange programs, and lifting the ban on the funding looked promising, but once again, the lawmakers against funding the needle exchange program triumphed, and kept the ban in place. The possibilities of lifting the ban appeared grim for the following decade .With his election into presidency, Obama, and his administration have brought forth many positive changes in our country. When President Obama signed the appropriations bill, that lifted the ban on funding needle exchange programs, it sent a clear message, that he is serious about his administration's new approach to drug addiction. For many harm reduction advocates, the end to this lengthy struggle is a historic achievement. However, the repeal on the 21-year-old ban on federal funding for needle exchange programs comes in too late for many Americans who have lost loved ones to AIDS, AIDS related diseases, and it is much too late for the Americans who have lost their lives.

Sacrifices, Sacrifices, and more Sacrifices

The title of the article “Government needs to sacrifice and lay off more workers” is what caught my attention. I am a State of Texas employee, and recently witnessed the sacrifices our state and local government has made in order to meet our budget. For instance, the 4 billion dollars cut from our education funding.

Marie Diamond is the author of the blog commentary I chose. She is a reporter/blogger for ThinkProgress.org. She is from Temple, TX. She holds a B.A. in political science from Yale. She has previously worked at West Wing Writers, which is a speechwriting, and communications firm.

Marie opposes the statement Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX) made to CNBC. Rep. Brady complained the Government is not sacrificing jobs; instead, the federal government is hiring federal workers while everyone else is pinching pennies, and the people in the private sector are letting their employees go. Brady questioned the government, by asking, “When is the government going to sacrifice in order to help us get our financial house in order?”(CNBC).

Marie disputes that Brady’s suggestion and comments about the government are disturbing, out-of-touch, and not true. According to the dismal jobs report the unemployment rate has crept up 9.2 percent (thehill.com/blogs). The unemployment rate increasing is an indication that people remain unemployed, and more are becoming unemployed, including government workers. Marie quotes Matthew Yglesias who is a Fellow at the Center for American Progress Action Fund, and he holds a BA in Philosophy from Harvard University. Matt Yglesias’ documented that “over 500,000 government employees have lost their jobs since January 2009, despite the growth in our population” (thinkprogress.org). She also refers to David Leonhardt, whom is an economics columnist for The New York Times and he wrote that [if state and local governments had continued to hire at their previous pace, they would have added half a million jobs to the economy]. “In other words, government austerity over the past two years “‘has cost the economy about one million jobs’” (economix.blogs.nytimes.com).

I think the author intended to reach the working middleclass. In addition, I believe she is also trying to capture the attention of the population that serves the public, whether it is at the national or state and local level. I believe her main argument is that government workers have shouldered their fair share of economic pain, and that Rep Brady (R-TX) is incorrect in suggesting that federal government has not made sacrifices. I agree with the author, that government workers have felt the pain in one way or another. The unfortunate ones who have lost their jobs are the ones feeling the most pain. However, those of us who are fortunate enough to be employed today, live with the day-to-day worry that we will be the next one to lose our job, and be referred to as “that employee, the one who got the pink slip today.”

No Deals for our Economy

The article “ObamaTakes Centrist Banner in Impasse over Deficit,” written by Jackie Calmes, published July 11, in The New York Times. The author contends that President Obama has not made any progress in his attempts to avoid a default on our nation’s debt. However, Obama is not willing to sign off on a short-term solution. The president has a great incentive to do almost anything to prevent a collapse in our nation. “He said that he was willing to take the heat from his own party to move beyond entrenched ideological positions and that Republicans should do the same” (The New York Times). Obama has brought to the table three options, one of them Obama opposes himself; however, none of these offers seems to suit the GOP. He has also called on the Democrats to compromise, but the Democrats are concerned of the impact some of these negotiations would make on some of the entitlement programs, such as Social Security. Obama has also asked for tax increase for incomes higher than $250, 000 including him, but Republicans are holding their stance, opposing the idea to raise the taxes, suggesting that Obama is performing.

In my opinion, I believe the author is saying that Obama is bending over backwards to come to an agreement on a solution, and that both parties will have to bring something to the table. I certainly agree with the author because both parties will have to give in a little so that they all can move toward a solution, and get to go home as well. The benefits and consequences of balancing the budget land on the shoulders of the elected lawmakers, and Obama. They are the officers that the citizens of the United States elected to run our country.

The next statement is strictly my opinion, whatever cuts in our budget need to happen, should not be on the backs of our elderly and our children. I feel that if there is a will there is a way; however there seems to be no will or want to on the Republicans part.