Torturing Methods

Torture of suspected terrorists has been a big topic recently in the news. A senate committee released a report after investigating the torturing situation. There has been a great deal of time and money put into torturing the suspected terrorists. Many people argue that the line is being crossed in torturing these people.

                Terrorists have been killed and tortured in some of the worst ways imaginable in the “Salt Pit”, which is similar to a dungeon. Many prisoners have been left in cold, dark areas and handcuffed to bars for days at a time. Punishments in the Salt Pit included unsanitary food, cold showers and ice buckets, sleep deprivation, nudity, and rough takedowns. I believe that all of these torturing methods are not the correct actions in punishing terrorists.

                Two military psychologists also received $80 million to come up with new torture tactics. Giving these two men 80 million dollars was not something that should’ve been done. Neither of the men had experience as professional interrogators. Regardless of that, the money that was given to them to create new torture tactics was such a big amount that it was unreal and completely unnecessary. The two men should not have been paid to do something that is so harmful to other people even if they are terrorists.

                I believe that the actions they are taking in torturing the suspects are very unnecessary. Terrorists should not be set free or walk away without punishment; however, we can use other ways to punish terrorists. Hanging prisoners by their hands, dragging them across the floor, letting them freeze to death, or even being forced to stand on broken legs is taking it much too far.

                All of this torturing is being done just to gain information on Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups. So far the torturing methods have not done much in gaining this information. Even if torturing does help us receive needed information about terrorists, I think that we could still use better methods, (that don’t involve torturing terrorists and using so much violence), to gain the information we need.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/12/09/the-most-gruesome-moments-in-the-cia-torture-report.html

New Amendment

We recently studied the 27 amendments of the United States Constitution. Of these amendments, the most recent amendment was ratified in 1992. Many new amendments are proposed to the Constitution every year, however very rarely is a new amendment passed. So if I could create a new amendment or amend one already written in the Constitution what would it be? I would propose a new amendment concerning health care in the United States.

                Today health care in the United States is very expensive and cannot be afforded by many United States citizens. I believe that health care should be provided for all United States citizens at little to no cost. Use Canada as an example. They have a free health care system which has benefited their people greatly. The life expectancy of Canadians is nearly three years longer than it is for Americans. 100 percent of Canadians have public health care insurance, whereas only 45 percent of Americans have this insurance. I think that if the US adopted this health care system it would be beneficial for all United States citizens.

                In the Constitution, the amendment would state: Free health care shall be provided to every United States citizen; all persons and races shall receive equal health care treatment as long as they are a citizen of the United States, and none of these people should be turned down treatment of any matter; the right to health care treatment is granted to any United States citizen and shall not be provoked.

                I believe that a free health insurance system would benefit our country immensely. People should not be turned down medical treatment because they can’t afford it. Many Americans have to work until they are nearly 70 years old because they cannot afford to retire and still pay for health insurance. I feel that this isn’t right. People who have worked their entire life should be able to quit working at the age of 55 and not have to worry about paying for health insurance. Delaying health care only hurts us because when an uninsured person can’t pay, it falls upon those who are insured to pay for the costs.

                I think that we should propose a new amendment to provide US citizens with free health care insurance. A new amendment that guaranteed free health care to our country’s citizens would be very beneficial in many ways. With free health care, every US citizen would be able to receive treatment and not have to worry about huge costs that follow.

                We recently watched the documentary Bowling for Columbine. The film portrayed gun laws, gun rights, and gun violence in the United States as well as other countries around the world. I believe that our nation’s gun laws are typically very necessary. However, we need to increase safety against weapons in public settings such as schools.

                The second amendment of the constitution gives us the right to bear arms. The gun rights we have as US citizens is a huge freedom, and should not be taken away from us. Nearly anyone can go out and buy a gun for self-defense if they feel the need to, and I think this is okay. However, many people argue that we have too many freedoms dealing with guns, but I don’t agree with this. If used for the right reasons, guns can be helpful in many ways whether it’s for hunting and providing food, shooting guns as a hobby, or self-defense. I don’t think that there is a good enough reason to provoke the gun rights of Americans.

The United States leads all other countries across the world every year in killings by guns. Why is this? As Americans we do have a bloody history, but so does Japan, Germany, and Britain. Suggested reasons that so many people are killed by guns in the US are said to be because we don’t have enough restrictions against guns, and because so many people in the US have guns. The media tries to scare people in the United States with both of these subjects, however, in many other countries it is not like this. The media often blows up situations and blames killings of people on the gun itself, instead of the person shooting the gun. Guns are not the reason that people are shot and killed, the people running the guns are the reason.

Obama has passed many executive orders concerning gun control. He has tried banning military-grade weapons from being reimported as well as requiring background checks on all gun sales. I think that some of the laws Obama is passing to ensure gun control are positive and could help, however, some of the laws he is trying to pass aren’t necessary. I believe that laws need to be passed to protect the safety of the public and especially schools. School shootings have occurred more often in recent years, and I think that Obama needs to pass new executive laws to ensure safety in schools. Simple things such as security cameras or school uniforms could prevent a school shooting.

Guns and gun rights is an ongoing argument right now in the United States. In the future, I think that more laws will be passed to better protect the people of our country. However, I don’t think we should go overboard with too many laws and try to take away guns. Guns are a huge part of our country and its history, and this should not be taken away from us.

               

This link shows 10 facts about guns in the United States:

http://www.upworthy.com/10-terrifying-facts-about-guns-in-the-us

Violence and Abuse in the NFL

We recently watched a short clip on the recent cases in the NFL concerning domestic and physical abuse. Many cases have been brought up very recently, although a few of them took place a few months ago. Many people argue that the NFL isn’t making the right decisions about the players’ punishments. Legally, this is a huge topic about what should happen to the players.

A few famous players have recently been charged for domestic and physical violence. Whether it was child abuse or violence against a spouse, I believe there should be a zero-tolerance policy against them both. I think that players that commit these crimes should be suspended from the league indefinitely until they are proven not guilty. However, with the most recent case concerning Jonathon Dwyer, the charge was just made recently, even though the abusing took place in July. I don’t know if this is necessarily right that something that occurred that long ago is just now being brought up. I think that the media needs to not get as involved with some of these problems.

Multiple players that were recently charged claimed that they were whipped and abused as young children, and claimed that it was okay when they were growing up. However, society has changed a lot since 20 years ago, and there are many more laws against abuse. There is a fine line between disciplining a child or spouse, and abusing one. I think that the NFL should continue taking the actions they have been by not allowing the players to participate until the charges are removed.

Physical and domestic violence is a huge problem and topic right now in the NFL. With media blowing it up as well, many people have different opinions on what should happen to the players that have been charged. I think that the NFL needs to continue to put big punishments on these cases in order to get a point across that there is no tolerance on this subject.

Lincoln's Executive Powers

We recently watched the film “Lincoln” in class. After watching the movie, it raises the question of whether or not Abraham Lincoln abused his powers or not. I believe that Abraham Lincoln did use his powers more than he was allowed to; however, he used them for a good reason in ending slavery.

                Lincoln is said to be among the best presidents of the United States. He led our country through many difficulties and tough situations in his time as president. However, many people feel he abused his powers as president to do so. I would agree that at certain times he did abuse his powers and go against what the Constitution allowed, but he was doing it for a good reason. By passing the 13^th amendment, Lincoln also put an end to the war that had been going on for years. Many felt Lincoln was only trying to pass slavery so he could win the war. However, I believe he was trying to end slavery for positive purposes (such as ending the war), and allowing all people to be equal and free.

                Our current president, Barack Obama has also done the same thing with his powers. For example, Obama has tried to take away our gun rights, which is in the Constitution. He also could have sent troops into Syria at one point when they used chemical weapons. However, he let congress decide. A later agreement was then made that Syria would stop using chemical weapons. I personally believe Obama abused his powers in both situations, and could’ve gone about each situation differently.

                Both Lincoln and Obama have abused their powers to a certain extent by going against the Constitution. Both men tried to pass new laws that went against the Constitution at the time it occurred. However, I believe that when Lincoln did abuse his powers, he did it for a better reason than Obama. History should still remember Lincoln as a great man that played a huge part of getting rid of slavery, even though he abused his powers to do so.

                I believe that this film partially showed how Lincoln abused his powers. He went against the Constitution to try to pass a new law. Obama did the same thing with gun proposals. However, I believe that Lincoln should still receive full credit for what he did in ending slavery.