Maybe it is time to just cut our losses and start to pull out of Iraq and Afghanistan. You have some very good points for your position but just like you said there hasn't been much improvement on finding Osama Bin Laden. The fight in Iraq is still continuing too, without much progress. I'm not saying that giving up and going home right now is the answer but we should be thinking about an end to this war. This article I read earlier made some very good arguments about the US pulling out of Iraq. One argument he makes is American Military forces in Iraq are harming US interests in the Arab world. He advises that pulling out now will save us a lot of grief later. Maybe it's time to look into some alternative options.

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/afx/2005/07/15/afx2140520.html

Ranting

I've personally never even really thought about politics or government too much before this class. There are just so many topics and issues, it's hard to pick one thing I really care about. I also hate having to take sides on issues, because personally I think most of the time both parties have really good points, I'm a very undeceive person. One thing I've always relied on and cared about were crimes and punishment. I firmly believe the punishment should fit the crime, simple as that. I'm not educated very well on the legal system, how it works, and it's loopholes, so all my assumptions and opinions are based on past experiences, news articles I've read, and testaments from well-trusted friends. Over the years I can say, for the most part, I'm worried/disgusted with how our legal systems handle people who commit crime. I really began questioning our legal system a few years ago, after an incident that really hurt me emotionally. A few years ago, one of my good friends car broke down on the highway around midnight, as he was tending to his car on the side of the road a drunk driver hit him and ended his life. He just turned 18. The drunk driver served one year in jail, and had 10 years of probation. Another friend of mine was caught spray painting graffiti and was sentenced to two years in prison, with another 5 years probation after that, not including a hefty fine. That isn't right in my opinion. Someone who spray paints a wall should not have to do more time in jail then someone who took another persons life. I understand graffiti can be a problem, but having to serve time in prison for a non-violent crime? That seems a little unjust. And not to mention child rapist being able to make parole after a few years in prison, most sex-crime offender have a past in doing those types of crimes but yet they still keep being released into the public to wreck more peoples lives. Drug laws seem to be getting a little out of control too. Billions and billions of tax paying dollars spent on the "War on Drugs" and really nothing to show for it. A lot of the money is spent on keeping non-violent drug offenders in jail, why? I would think they should be sent to a rehabilitation center instead of being kept in prison full of violent criminals. I just think that our government really needs to start re-looking into how and who runs our legal system, and make punishments that fit that actually fit the crime, and keep dangerous people in prisons where they belong. I'm just ranting on what bothers me with our government, I know other people might think those punishments are perfectly just. Like I said it's just an opinion I've formed over the years.

Criminal Government

I just read a blog from Glen Greenwald called "The Criminal NSA Eavesdropping Program," and I have to say, it made me a little worried about our national government. Basically the blog is pointing out how our former and current President's (Bush and Obama) committed felonies and other misdemeanors. Not only did they both commit crimes, they're able to escape and under mind our legal and court systems. Overall, I think the article was well written, there were a number of sources cited and he looks like a serious blogger with a good reputation so he just might know what he's talking about. He presents a good argument, basically he doesn't believe that they should be able to get away with these types of crimes. Here's a little piece from his blog that sums up his argument way better than I could; "If we were a country that actually lived under The Rule of Law, this would be a huge story, one that would produce the same consequences for the lawbreakers as a bank robbery, embezzlement or major drug dealing. But since we're not such a country, it isn't and it doesn't." I can't say that I totally disagree with that, why should the elite in this country get away with whatever they want? The government is suppose to work with the people, not against them. There are tons of article he cites that, not including the federal judges that found that these President's are committing crimes right in front of our eyes. He seems to be generally concerned and wants to reach out to whomever else might be outraged by this. At first I thought this blog might lean a little more to the liberal side, but as I read I thought that this guy might just be generally disgusted with these crimes and how nothing is being done about it. According to the blog even three different federal judges found that both of these Presidents have committed crimes that should be punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a $10,000 fine for each crime committed. This article is definitely worth reading, our government should not be able to do anything they want and get away with it. No one is above the law.