Civics

Pro-Death Penalty

katieclark — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 00:08:58 +0000

At the beginning of the debate on the death penalty I was almost positive that my position would be against it, but through our first class activity I changed my mind. I believe that the death penalty serves a purpose in our country. The death penalty works, it helps to deter crime and murder. The criminals that are put into jail for capital punishments still have chances of being released or escaping somehow and these criminals will commit more crimes. An example of this is a sad report of a story on prodeathpenalty.com, “When Katy Davis observed three strangers outside her Austin, Texas, apartment, she walked away. Returning later, she was attacked and forced to open the door by Charles Rector, on parole for a previous murder. The men ransacked her apartment, abducted her and took her to a lake where she was beaten, gang-raped, shot in the head and repeatedly forced underwater until she drowned.” That shows that because this man was not sentenced to death for the murder he already committed, that he in turn murdered another person. He took another life, and affected another family. Another reason to support the death penalty is that it brings closure to the families of victims. Whether or not you think it is possible for a criminal to escape or be let out on parole from prison, the families affected by these murders will not rest unless they can have some closure, and the death penalty provides that for them. Even though the victim cannot be brought back to life, an execution brings closure to the families, and ensures that the murderer will create no more victims. For the most heinous crimes, to which the death penalty is applied, the offenders deserve the worst punishment. As stated by Deathpenaltycurriculum.com “Any lesser punishment would undermine the value society places on protecting lives.” In addition I believe that prison is in many cases an improvement for the offender, it is a step up, and they deserve nothing of the sort. Robert Macy, District Attorney of Oklahoma City, described his concept of the need for retribution in one case: “In 1991, a young mother was rendered helpless and made to watch as her baby was executed. The mother was then mutilated and killed. The killer should not lie in some prison with three meals a day, clean sheets, cable TV, family visits and endless appeals. For justice to prevail, some killers just need to die.” The guilty should be punished, and the death penalty serves that purpose well.

Websites used:

http://deathpenaltycurriculum.org/student/c/about/arguments/contents.htm

http://www.prodeathpenalty.com/

Yes to Healthcare Reform

katieclark — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 13:34:20 +0000

I believe that healthcare is a basic need that should be filled for every person in America. It is the responsibility of the United States government to help maintain the health of our country as a whole. The people of the U.S. shouldn’t have to worry about whether or not they can afford going to the doctor or going to the hospital. It seems ridiculous that someone should have to forgo receiving a lifesaving treatment so that they can eat for another month. President Obama comments on his health plan, “It will provide more security and stability to those who have health insurance. It will provide insurance to those who don’t. And it will lower the cost of health care for our families, our businesses, and our government.” I believe that what he is proposing is something our country needs. According to Health Care Problems.org the number of people who are underinsured has grown 60 percent to 25 million over the past four years. In addition from 2001 to 2005 the amount that people pay for health insurance increased by 30 percent while the income for the same period of time only increased 3 percent. The people of our country should be able to afford their healthcare.

Secure the Blessings of Liberty

katieclark — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 01:57:50 +0000

Amendment: The rights of all U.S. citizens to use and enjoy clean air, water, wildlife and other renewable resources shall not be denied by the United States. The United States government has a responsibility to protect the environment.

a. I believe that something needs to be done to stop the destruction of our environment, and that our government has a responsibility to ensure the preservation of it. The constitution never mentions that our federal government has any responsibility towards protecting the environment and resources that the citizens of our country live in and use. It must be passed so that we can preserve our earth for future generations to enjoy and utilize.

We destroy 56,000 square miles of trees per year through worldwide deforestation.
We are destroying the cures for AIDS, cancer and other fatal diseases by obliterating the Amazon Rain Forest.
Over one-third of our nation’s waters are unsafe for swimming and fishing due to industrial, agricultural and household pollution.

These statistics show how destructive our country is, something must be done about it.

b. “The right of citizens of the United States to use and enjoy air, water, wildlife, and other renewable resources determined by the Congress to be common property shall not be impaired, nor shall such use impair their availability for the use of future generations”. “Nowhere does the Constitution say that the federal government has a responsibility to protect the environment or the public health and safety. We have no explicit rights under the Constitution to a clean environment.”

This idea has been suggested by a man Walter Bresette; he was a Red Cliff Chippewa and had the hope and vision, that one day this amendment will get the support of the people. Walter died, and now his friends and supporters carry on the hope. The website explains the entire argument that our country should and needs to preserve the earth for seven generations in the future, our children’s, children’s children. It is called the Seventh Generation Amendment.

c. An opposing viewpoint would say that it is not the responsibility of the government to protect our environment, but the preamble to the constitution states that it will “secure the blessing of liberty to ourselves and our posterity” (our descendants). “What are the blessings of liberty? Don’t they include the freedom to breathe the air, to drink the water, and to enjoy the blessings of functioning ecosystems? Don’t we want to pass these blessings on to our posterity?” (Seventh Generation) We should have the right to a clean environment and the preamble states that the constitution should protect that right.

Sources:

http://www.protecttheearth.org/Seventh%20Generation.htm

Statistics/facts from: http://www.realsafety.org/ProtectingYourEnvironment.html

Hello world!

katieclark — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 18:14:11 +0000

Welcome to WordPress.com. This is your first post. Edit or delete it and start blogging!