America the Wasteland

I hear what my classmate is saying in her article, "Drilling to our Doom", the Trump administration is reeking havoc on our countries future. Or is he? We, civilians, have choices that we are in control of. Just because he's making these propositions doesn't mean the majority is going to agree. More recently, there has been a growing trend of tiny houses, hybrid cars, and renewable energy. I'm doubtful that the natural parks, that Trump is threatening to take away, are even holding enough fossil fuel to supply our rapidly growing population. It would be a shame to ruin these preserved pieces of land, to find out that it's not enough, only to be left as a wasteland. Trump's actions may be irreversible, and we who care need to revolt and be as resourceful as we can.

Dirty Meat

Frankly, I love meat - but like J.S. Foer, author of Eating Animals said, "When we eat factory-farmed meat we live, literally, on tortured flesh. Increasingly, that tortured flesh is becoming our own." Not only is factory-farmed meat damaging our bodies, but as well as our hydrosphere, biosphere, and our atmosphere. Since the federal government assists factory farmers by subsidizing animal products with our tax dollars, these giant corporations make it their goal to maximize profit while minimizing their costs. The twisted truth inside factory farms is monitored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This government controlled department made factory-farms the standard way of our food system, and decides what goes in the grocery store and is served in schools. I think having someone who wouldn't benefit from deciding what America eats to be in control of our nutritional guidelines, such as National Institutes of Health, would be best for our country.

The distorted truth of how factory-farmed meats effects our personal health is dangerous. Due to added hormones, and the abundant amount of antibiotics used on factory farms, it creates the risk for humans to end up with a chronic disease, obesity, and drug-resistant bacteria. There around about 76 million cases of food-borne illnesses, which were created during factory-farming from contamination. While simple solutions are available, it would increase time and would take profit away from them. Our environmental health is also at risk, in hog factory farms there is almost no waste-treatment infrastructure, which means massive amounts of toxins are released into the environment. The aftermath buried into fields, allow the toxins to run off into waterways, which end up killing off populations of fish.

Issues such as- disposing livestock excrement, health risks, and euthanasia regulations, need to be dealt in our government and should be closely monitored. To summarize, best said on the National Review's website, "...the dairy industry spends more on advertising in one week than the blueberry, mango, watermelon, and mushroom industries spend all together in a year. At a time when we’re being encouraged to enjoy more fruits and vegetables, why does animal-based agriculture get such a disproportionate amount of support from the USDA and Congress?"

RE: Who's afraid of the locker room?

In my colleague's article, Who's afraid of the locker room?, Molly asks the reader in the final paragraph, "Who is protecting the underrepresented transexual community?" I agree with her line of thinking and the data that backs it up. Out of concern, I searched and found that in 2017, more than 130 anti-LGBTQ bills were introduced across the country according to the website for Human Rights Campaign. I'm disturbed to see the amount of bills being proposed - but it's somewhat reassuring that we do have advocacy groups out there intervening. What I've learned so far, in my short little life, is that change happens. It seems as though at times, we take one step forward, two steps back, but I'm confident and hopeful that our constitution will represent us all. I think it's just important that we all stick together and use our voice!

The Government is Poisoning Us

"KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN", a warning that needs to be added to the nutrition label of crops such as strawberries, apples, cherries, and oranges. Back in 2015, during the Obama administration, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommended banning the use of chlorpyrifos on crops. Chlorpyrifos is a chemical that was created during World War II, formerly as a nerve agent weapon. It stuck around and began being used as an insecticide. Recent studies by Centers for Children’s Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research found that young children exposed to chlorpyrifos are more likely to have a lower IQ, ADD, and nervous system development issues.
In 2000, chlorpyrifos was banned from household products, but removing it from our foods remains an unwon battle. On March 29th, Scott Pruitt, the new administrator of the EPA decided to reverse the recommendation that was made in 2015. Agricultural and chemical companies whined, and Pruitt gave in. Many argue that there isn't enough evidence to rule the chemical as unsafe, and banning it will hurt farmers profits. As the CDC has chlorpyrifos listed as a toxic substance, they and The Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion need to speak up and fight this issue. It's unfair and ironic for the government to come out with dietary guidelines, when the food itself is hurting our children. Families with lower income should be able to purchase fruits and vegetables that aren't coated in poison, at a more affordable price rather than organic produce. It's not right to allow anyone to consume chlorpyrifos, the EPA should ban the chemical and move forward in a more natural direction.

Wiretapping Conspiracy Theories

On March 4th, Donald Trump tweeted "Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my "wires tapped" in Trump Tower just before the victory." He made this statement without providing any evidence or support to back up the claim. In response, Asha Rangappa wrote for Washington Monthly, Debunking the Obama Wiretap Conspiracy Theories. As a former FBI counterintelligence agent, Asha claims that Obama wiretapping Trump is nearly impossible. She addresses the main theories that have been discussed, like allowing wiretapping without a court order, going around the law, and even getting permission to wiretap without any evidence. Asha breaks down each one of these, and in the end, it seems very clear that this didn't happen. However, if I did, it was most likely done with a legal warrant observing the Russians, that were in connection to President Trump or his facilities. I believe what Asha is saying has some credibility to it, as she was once an FBI agent. Seeing that it's almost been a week since Trump made this claim, and has been ignoring questions about the statement, I have a feeling that this is all going to fizzle out very soon without any sort of apology. I think it's important that Asha wrote this, putting some silly theories to bed, but never say never. However, if there was any wiretap in was most likely done for the safety of our country. If Trump fallaciously said this, then shame on him because it's just creating unnecessary drama, especially for Barak Obama.

The Growing Government

While Donald J. Trump claims that George F. Will is "one of the most overrated political pundits... [who] made many bad calls", I checked him out to be a reliable source. George is a Pulitzer Prize winner, he received his Ph.D. from Princeton and has been writing for The Washington Post since 1974. On February 24th, he published "Big government sneakily gets bigger"- questioning how federal spending has quintupled since 1960, while the federal civilian workforce has grown ever so slightly. He wrote this article from a conservative viewpoint, directed towards anyone who is against "big government". George wants the reader to be aware that spending is camouflaged, and not knowing what the people's tax dollars are actually being spent on. He used statistics to support his claims, from sources such as Brookings. George complained about a third of the government dividends going to nonprofits, like Planned Parenthood. As he stated, "Many Americans are rhetorically conservative but behaviorally liberal", he believes spending on federal agencies needs to be reduced, as it's wasteful.

For being an opinion writing, I had a difficult time understanding what George's opinion actually was. It was almost entirely numbers and facts, so I really had to annotate the text in order to find his main point. While I am able to understand that the government is indeed growing, I am left thinking, isn't that obvious? With the population and economy growing, I would hope to have more people running our government. What I don't want to see is money being cut from federal agencies, which protect our citizens and country. My main issue with this article is that with everything going on right now, this is what George writes about. The federal government has been on the rise since the 90s, and this is old news.

U.S. Military Leasing Space in Trump Tower

On Tuesday, February 7, 2017, The Washington Post published an article titled "Department of Defense looks to rent space in Trump Tower". While Donald Trump is now living in the White House, Melania Trump and their son, Barron, are currently residing in the Trump Tower. Department of Defense is seeking a limited amount of leased space, in the building, to provide protection and support for the president and his family. A leasing agent has appraised a floor in the Tower for around $1.5 million a year.

This article is worth a read, as it raises ethical concerns- a deal that could potentially benefit the president's business interests from taxpayers dollars. Protecting the president is certainly a top priority; however, providing convenience of his lush penthouse, at the cost of citizens is at question.

Why, hello.