The Mile High City May Be Higher Than We Think!

I will be traveling to Denver, Colorado in a few months for business.  I’ve been before and have always enjoyed my time there, but this will be the first time I’ve been since they legalized marijuana.  Colorado’s law legalizing the drug for recreational use became effective January 1^st of this year.  Colorado residents can purchase up to 1 ounce and out-of-state visitors can buy .25 ounce during their stay.  Colorado expects to take in $184 million in tax revenue in just the first 18 months.

I’ve blogged before about the economic benefits of legalizing marijuana, even if only for medicinal uses.  If you’re interested in reading my thoughts and your fellow students’ comments, you can click here: http://historicalandpoliticalissues.blogspot.com/2009/10/can-marijuana-save-te-economy.html

However, despite the fact that legalizing marijuana may provide much needed revenue, opponents say legalizing pot will only add to social woes; increasing crime, drug addiction, mental health disorders, and driving up insurance rates.  So my question to you this week is "Should the United States legalize marijuana, medicinally or otherwise?" Answers are due by Sunday, March 2^nd, 2014.  P.S.  And for those you who are bound to ask – the answer is “No – I won’t be smoking while I’m there! I’m too afraid of employment drug tests! J”

Standing on Shaky Ground

This past weekend, Michael Dunn, a white, 47 year old was convicted on several counts of attempted murder for fatally shooting Jordan Davis, a 17 year old black male.  The jury failed to reach a verdict on the 1st degree murder charge, resulting in a mistrial for the charge.  Dunn is currently awaiting sentencing on the other charges and could face 60 years in prison.

Dunn was at a convenience store when he encountered Davis and his friends, who were sitting in a parked car, playing loud music.  The music was defined by the defense attorney in the case as "thug music".  Dunn and Davis got into a verbal argument about the music, before Dunn pulled a 9mm handgun out and shot multiple times at the car full of teenagers.  Dunn said he felt like his life was in danger, that he thought he saw a shotgun in the car, and acted in self-defense, according to Florida's controversial Stand Your Ground law.

This isn't the first time the Stand Your Ground law has resulted in the death of a young, black male.  You may remember the Trayvon Martin case last year, in which George Zimmerman fatally shot Martin after an altercation.  You can read my thoughts and your fellow student comments on the Martin case here:  http://historicalandpoliticalissues.blogspot.com/2012/04/justice-for-trayvon.html
When Zimmerman was later acquitted of all charges, I blogged about the case again, which you can read here: http://historicalandpoliticalissues.blogspot.com/2013/07/justice-for-trayvon-part-2.html

Florida's Stand Your Ground law, which is becoming popular in states all around the country, allows individuals to use deadly force to defend themselves, without any requirement to evade or retreat from a dangerous situation.  Supporters say it gives power to the victims and allows people to protect themselves.  Opponents say the law goes to far in allowing deadly force, even if an individual only thinks they are in a dangerous situation, which may not actually be the case.

So my question to you this week is, "What do you think of the Stand Your Ground law?  Do you think Michael Dunn should be convicted of 1st degree murder in the killing of Jordan Davis?"  Answers are due no later than Sunday, February 23rd, 2014

Gainful Employment and You

A few years ago, I wrote a blog post on the staggering cost of college and student loan debt students take on.  You can read my thoughts and your fellow students’ comments here: http://historicalandpoliticalissues.blogspot.com/2012/04/i-owe-my-soul-to-university.html   

So when one of your classmates brought up the email she received from the Art Institute of Indianapolis President, Michael Morphew on new student loan rules being proposed by the Department of Education, I thought it was worth a new post.

The “gainful employment” rule which many of you have already heard about could significantly impact you.  According to the Department of Education, “far too many students are taking on unstainable debt for degrees that fail to help them get jobs”.  The new regulations would stop financial aid for programs unless they can demonstrate they lead to gainful employment for their students. To determine if a program would lead to gainful employment, schools must meet one of the following three metrics:

·         35% of former students are re-paying their loans

·         The estimated annual loan payment of a typical graduate doesn’t exceed 30% of their discretionary income

·         The estimated annual loan payment for a typical graduate doesn’t exceed 12% of their total earnings

According to Michael Morphew, these new regulations could mean, “students who count on this aid to attend the college of their choice, may be denied the opportunity to get the education they choose”.

This is a big issue, that affects many of you.  So, my question to you this week is, “What do you think about the ‘gainful employment’ rule?  Do you think it helps or hurts America’s students?”  Answers are due no later than Sunday, February 16^th, 2014.  To contact your Senator or Representative, please go here: http://www.contactingthecongress.org/   Regardless of which side of the fence you sit on, I urge you to let your voices be heard.  Don’t let someone else make the choice for you!

 

A Little Bit of Sunshine!

Like everyone else, I'm pretty tired of the snow.  Between the shoveling, the long commutes and the freezing temperatures - I'm just over it!  Which made it all the more worse this weekend, when Puxatawny Phil saw his shadow and predicted six more weeks of winter.  I'm not sure I can make it six more weeks.


As much as I am sick of the snow, there's one place where I won't mind seeing it - Sochi, Russia. That's right - the Winter Olympics begin this week! For those who know me, you know that I am a HUGE fan of the Olympics. I love the artistry of the opening ceremonies. I get all caught up in the emotional stories of the athletes who have struggled so hard and overcome so many obstacles just to make their Olympic dreams come true. I watch sports I've never even heard of before (like curling) and I always, always cheer for the underdog.

So to bring us a little bit of sunshine this week, I thought I'd go easy on you.  My question this week is, "What is your favorite Olympic sport, and why?"  It's funny because I'm way to uncoordinated to play sports, but I love watching them on television.  My favorite Olympic sports are gymnastics and swimming, but since these are the Winter Olympics, I'm going to go with snowboarding. Their tricks look amazing!  Answers are due no later than Sunday, February 9th, 204.

It Won't Stop

By now, you all have heard about Cody Mark Cousins, who walked into the Electrical Engineering Building at Purdue last week and allegedly shot and stabbed Andrew Bolt, a teaching assistant.  I know it’s selfish of me, but when I first heard the news, I immediately thought of my sister.  My sister went to Purdue.  She had many classes in that same building.  She’s a high school teacher now, and would no doubt put her life on the line to protect her students.  I could not even begin to imagine how our family would recover if she was ever taken from us in such a violent manner.  My heart hurts just thinking about it.

Whenever I blog about an issue that relates to a previous post, I always post the link so you can read my thoughts and your fellow students’ comments.  It was with a heavy heart today that I realized just how many times I have posted about senseless gun violence on this blog: Fort Hood, Virginia Tech, Aurora Colorado, Tucson Arizona, and of course, Newtown Connecticut.  If you’re interested in reading any of these posts, you can use the search word “shooting” in the search bar located at the top of the page.

Each time we have a mass shooting such as this (and there have just been far too many in my opinion), our nation’s political dialogue becomes more focused on our country’s gun laws. Some have felt that we need stricter gun laws to prevent tragedies such as this from happening. According to Senator Dianne Feinstein, “weapons of war don’t belong on our streets”. Colorado Governor, John Hickenlooper, expressed skepticism that tougher gun laws would’ve prevented the Aurora, Colorado tragedy stating, “If there were no assault weapons available – this guy’s going to find something right?” Senator Ron Johnson agrees, “I don’t think society can keep sick, demented, individuals from obtaining any type of weapon to kill people. Somebody who purposely wants to harm another individual is going to find a method to do so”.

I’ll be frank – I’m torn on this issue. I don’t come from a family that owns guns. I don’t think I would want one in my home. That being said, I strongly support the U.S. Constitution and the people’s right to bear arms. I just think there should be better background checks, waiting periods, etc. I think the real problem here is a lack of mental healthcare in this country – which might be a whole other blog. I know I don’t have all the answers, but it’s clear to me that something must be done to stop, (or at least try and stop) this senseless violence.

 So my question to you this week is, “How do you feel about our country’s gun laws? What should the government’s responsibility be, if anything, in preventing crimes like this in the future?” Answers are due no later than Sunday, February 1^st, 2014. My thoughts and prayers go out to anyone affected by senseless violence, especially the community of West Lafayette and Purdue University.

P.S.  The State of the Union is on Tuesday evening!  It's a time for the President to update Congress, the Courts and the American people on well, the state of our union!  Try to catch it if you can!
 

Not For Sale

In 2010, President Obama issues a Presidential Proclamation, declaring January to be National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month.  The United Nations defines human trafficking as follows: “Trafficking in persons’ shall mean the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs.”

It may seem like human trafficking is something that happens in foreign countries, like the movie Taken.  While it can and likely does happen everywhere, popular trafficking destinations are Italy, Turkey, Japan, and the United States. That’s right – the United States. Human trafficking is roughly a $32 billion industry, earning more than Google, Starbucks, and Nike combined.  The U.S. State Department estimates of the number of slaves in the world today is 20.9 million.  It’s no wonder why it is believed to be so profitable and prevalent; while a drug can be sold once and then consumed, a person can be sold and abused many times over.  Consider the following:

·       Globally, the average cost of a slave is $90. 

·       According to some estimates, approximately 80% of trafficking involves sexual exploitation, and 19% involves labor exploitation.

·       According to the U.S. State Department, 600,000 to 800,000 people are trafficked across international borders every year. More than 70 percent are female and half are children.

·       The average age a teen enters the sex trade in the U.S. is 12 to 14-year-old. Many victims are runaway girls who were sexually abused as children.

·       California harbors 3 of the FBI’s 13 highest child sex trafficking areas on the nation: Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego.

·       Between 14,500 and 17,500 people are trafficked into the U.S. each year.

I feel like we don’t hear nearly enough about this issue.  Hundreds of young girls were trafficked into Indianapolis the year we hosted the Super Bowl.  Without a doubt, it happens each year, in each new Super Bowl city.  Yet the news focus remains primarily on the game, the halftime performer and of course, the commercials.  So my question to you this week is, “What did you know about this issue?  Why do you think it’s not a higher priority on the news and what do you think can be done to help and raise awareness?”  Answers are due no later than Sunday, January 26^th, 2014.

 

 

 

Choose Your Own Adventure!

I hope you all enjoyed our extra long break, and survived our big winter storm.  It's always hard coming back to school after break. Don't get me wrong, I love teaching and being surrounded by all the crazy, creative evergy that is all of you. That being said, it's still hard to get back into the grind. So for our first blog post, I'll go easy on you.

This week we started our study of the Constitution and the freedoms that make us uniquely American. You can order your own free copy of the United States Constitution from: http://www.constitutionfacts.com/index.cfm?section=bookstore&page=freeCopy.cfm

Normally, our first blog post has something to do with the freedoms you value most and whether or not you are proud to call yourself an American. This quarter, I would like to start with something different. A good portion of this class will be spent discussing current events and political issues that affect our everyday lives. For this post, I would like you to tell me at least one issue that you are interested in studying. To help you out, you can look over the blog posts that we've had in the past several years to get an idea of the type of things we've covered. Many of the topics are pretty controversial and I do my best to not censor the information available to you.

So my question to you this week is, "What is one issue that you are interested in studying in this class?" Answers are due no later than Sunday, January 19th, 2014. I'm looking forward to a great quarter!