Author Archives: Kevin

About Kevin

I am a Black man in this big world of segregation. life is all about the people you meet and I can't wait to meet you all.

5 reasons busted

Hawkins, John. ” 5 Reasons Marijuana Should Remain Illegal” Town Hall. Town Hall, Jan 21, 2014. Web Aug 11, 2015

 

http://townhall.com/columnists/johnhawkins/2014/01/21/5-reasons-marijuana-should-remain-illegal-n1782086/page/full

 

John Hawkins is a journalist for the website Town Hall, which has been around for 20 years. In this article Hawkins tries to argue that marijuana should remain illegal. He believes that marijuana is extremely addictive and that the legalization of marijuana in Amsterdam didn’t work out so well. He also argues that marijuana is terrible for your mental and physical health and that the drug decimates many peoples lives. Hawkins then even goes on to throw a jab at Obama by saying “Even the ones that get somewhere in life, like Barack Obama, usually turn out to be mediocrities.” Although John is trying to make an argument it all collapses on it self when he tries to explain it.

I do not agree with Hawkins first reason that marijuana is extremely addictive because the use of marijuana is not addictive. Many people believe it is enjoyable because of the euphoria it gives you and when something is enjoyable you want to do it as much as you can within reason of course. Its like sex, sex is enjoyable and people try to get it when they can but that doesn’t make sex addictive. Hawkins has to understand that the people who say that marijuana is addictive have no self control what so ever which will allow them to get addicted to anything.

As the article goes on the author states another reason why it should be illegal by saying that marijuana didn’t work out so well in Amsterdam. I disagree with the author because what happened in Amsterdam is not what is happening in Colorado and Washington state. He argues that the first school is banning the use of marijuana in school. Kids should not even be smoking pot unless it is for a medical condition. The U.S made laws saying that you can not buy marijuana unless you are of 18 years of age. This mean that it will now be harder for underage kids to get marijuana if it is legalized since it will end the black market sell of it and have an age requirement to buy it.

I disagree with Hawkins next claim that marijuana is bad for both our mental health and our physical health. Although marijuana can be seen to cause problems we have other legal substances that cause worse problems to the user health. In example alcohol, can be the main cause of deaths from alcohol poisoning to drunk driving to depressing people enough to commit suicide. To have this substance legal is the real problem to today’s society. We tried to stop it before with the prohibition act but yet we still have it till this day.

Hawkins last claim that marijuana decimates peoples lives is just an opinion. That is why I disagree with that claim because he believes that marijuana can stop you from getting into college and finishing high school. Right away I can say that that’s not true because of the many friends I had are going to college. One of my friends being the Valedictorian that is being accepted to the University of Texas, also other friends who got into Texas A&M. Which means marijuana has no effect on a persons attempt to make it anywhere in life.

Overall, Hawkins ends up making an argument that would be ineffective to his intended audience. He is just a journalist with an opinion that I’m sure many before me have shot down time and time again.

 

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Obama’s View

Nakumura, David “Obama on same-sex marriage ruling: ‘We have made our union a little more perfect.”Washington post. 26 June 2015. web. 4 August, 2015

Article link

During this summer there was a huge supreme court ruling that let same sex marriages be legal. With the legalization of same sex marriages there have been many sparked up controversies about the topic. For instance, their are people who don’t believe in gay rights that work in the government and in the marriage court that are still denying same sex couples their marriage license. This sparks an outrage in the LGBT community because for many years they have been fighting for equal rights and after the ruling they are still not being treated equal. Although there are some that are still fighting it, we must hope that they take Obama’s word that America should be proud that we are making our union a little more perfect.

The article starts with a video of Obama and his speech on the ruling of same sex marriage. He starts the speech with telling listeners “Our nation was founded on a bed rock principle, we are all created equal, and that we should bridge the meaning of those founding words with the realities Through out the article the audience can see Obama is for the rights of same sex couples and that it was time for a change. What the audience will also notice is how Obama’s viewpoint from earlier times changed from his viewpoints today. The author says “as a candidate for the White House in 2008. He said that his views as a Christian were that marriage was defined as between a man and a woman.” This shows that at one point Obama did not believe in same sex marriage. As time goes by Obama’s view changed or evolved in the support for gay marriage.

Nakumura I believe is a credible source because he captures Obama’s view on the controversy very well. He goes on saying that Obama said  “he cast the ruling as a historic moment in American history that capped decades of progress for the gay and lesbian community, sometimes driven by “anonymous heroes” who endured taunts and bullying.” The audience he was trying to relate to were the same sex couples that have been through various obstacles through out the legalization of same sex marriage. Some evidence that relates this is that he says it is progress for the gay and lesbian community. Nakumura then explains that Obama said “Sometimes there are days like this when that slow and steady effort is rewarded with justice that arrives like a thunderbolt,” Obama said. Although the progress might have seemed slow to gay rights advocates, he added, the nation’s shift on same-sex marriage has been “so quick.” The audience he is trying to reach is the advocates or supporters of same sex marriage.

Yet there is also an audience that the author talks about when he recites Obama saying “He noted that many Americans still oppose it out of deeply-held religious beliefs and that the nation should be mindful to respect different viewpoints. But he added that the ruling “also gives us hope that on many issues with which we grapple, real change is possible. A shift of hearts and minds is possible.” The author knows that there will be more than just the intended audience, so he tries to relate with them by letting them know that we understand why they don’t believe in same sex marriage. I believe Nakumura does a great job of trying to appeal to both sides of the audience while still addressing the news to the readers.

With the legalization of same sex marriage now we as readers can believe that even though there are different viewpoints we should be able to understand that people have been fighting for these rights for a very long time. Now that the law has passed we should see it as a mile stone for American history, not only that but it also explains and helps readers get the bigger picture of equal rights for all.

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On The Road Again

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The All Knowing Obama

Chokshi Niraj,”Obama on marijuana legalization: ‘My suspicion is that you’re gonna see other states start looking at this’”GovBeat.Washingtonpost.com. January 22, 2015 July 30, 2015

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2015/01/22/obama-on-marijuana-legalization-my-suspicion-is-that-youre-gonna-see-other-states-start-looking-at-this/

On January 22, 2015, Three youtube stars got the chance of a life time to interview our president Barack Obama. The interview mainly revolved around marijuana and the policies that talk about the legalization of it. One of the three interviewers is Hank Green, a popular youtube star that has around 2.5 million subscribers. The other two youtube stars are Bethany Mota and Glozell Green, Glozell has around 3.8 million subscribers while Bethany has over a whopping 9.1 million subscribers. these youtube stars have a lot of popularity which means that a lot of people will be listening to what is being said in this interview.

The interview starts off with President Obama answering Hank Green’s question saying “What you’re seeing now is Colorado, Washington through state referenda, they’re experimenting with legal marijuana.” The legalization of marijuana in Colorado and Washington state are very much the guinea pig in this situation, other states want to find out what marijuana can bring to the table when it is legalized. The experiment right now is actually going very well with both Colorado and Washington state having a boost in their economy with the sales of marijuana. With the experiment going so well Obama could only predict “My suspicion is that you’re gonna see other states start looking at this.” Other states will start taking a look into the legalization of weed for the benefits they have happened to produce.

The author of this post then goes on to what else Obama has to say about  many different issues that were related to federal application of drug policy.  Chokshi then says about Obama “He said that he will continue to have his administration review treatment of nonviolent drug offenders, and said drug policy with regard to marijuana should be treated more as a public health issue than a criminal one. He also voiced concern with the racially unequal application of marijuana laws and noted bipartisan support on the issue.” Now that Obama is trying to do something about the countless number of inmates that are in prison for such a small non-violent crime of possession, prisons will be less over encumbered with the amount of prisoners. Which will save millions in tax payers money that could help the economy in other ways. Obama wants to decriminalize marijuana or at least change the law to where it won’t be seen as a criminal problem but more as a public health problem.

With the use of marijuana becoming more wide spread we as a country need to make changes for it, not only are we wasting our tax payer’s dollars we are also wasting peoples valuable time being in jail for this non-violent crime. Now that they have been in prison it puts a long lasting effect on them not just mentally but also financially, having a criminal record prevents them from taking out loans. This article has really broaden my view on marijuana and I believe that it can broaden my classmates view on the legalization of weed.

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My Personal Communities

Through out my life growing up I was already put into my two major communities, being African American and Mexican shaped the way of my life. Most people would think I’m just a double minority or that I’m a mutt but I think highly of myself and show that I can do something with my life even coming from what they think is a so called disadvantage.

My first major community is my African American community. I find this one to be my first because its the first one people notice by the color of my skin. While growing up in Cedar Hill the majority race in the city was African American so  some of the friends I have are African American. Now don’t get me wrong I have multiple friends of different races and had great times with each and everyone of them. That being said it kind of also affected how I was looked upon at school by the black kids because, they believe that we should only be friends with other blacks making me basically a blacker sheep in a group of black sheep. Even though I was looked at differently I didn’t let it stop me from being who I was, a half black half Mexican nice to meet guy.

My second major community is my Mexican side. This is one of the communities its harder for me to get into when I come to a new place because people don’t notice it or accept it until they really get to know me. What they first see is my dark skin so they always think I’m black but I’m also Mexican and I take pride in it. I love the heritage of my people and what they do just for a chance at the american dream. Others will look at Mexicans and think of them as lazy but we are some of the most hardest working people because we do it for our families.

These being my two communities it has shown me that I shouldn’t be afraid of the culture backgrounds that I came from, it shows me that I should take pride in them. These communities prove that with hard work and dedication I can make it into a school like UT and show my family and friends that we are getting stronger and stronger no matter if we’re the minority or not. I want to take this pride and use it for good by joining organizations that allow me to express my freedom and individuality. For the Latino Culture there is the Lambda Theta Phi fraternity that want to promote a strong brotherhood. The second club I found was the African American Male Research Initiative Club their goal is to increase the number of black males that go to graduate school. I think my fellow classmates can enjoy these groups as well as join them if they want.

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RS 2: Gold Rush or Gold Kush?

Healy, Jack, and Kirk Johnson. “Next gold rush: legal marijuana feeds entrepreneurs’ dreams.” nytimes.com, 19 July 2014 Web. 19 July 2015

Jack H, Is a news reporter for the New York Times, and has reported on a variety of topics. The other author in this article is Kirk Johnson. Kirk J, is the New York Times Seattle Bureau Chief, just like his partner in this article Kirk also has reported on multiple world wide topics. Just as the headline says, there is a boom in the marijuana legalization industry which is becoming a widely known investment opportunity.

With these writers working for the New York Times they have a more biased opinion towards the benefit of marijuana to the economy, because of their more business orientated view.To open the topic the authors talk about how marijuana is sweeping the nations “entrepreneurs and workers, investors and hucksters from across the country.” Leaving their secure jobs they have in their home towns to venture out in the states of Colorado and Washington to have a chance to get in to marijuana fast growing industry. Proving the fact that marijuana is the new gold rush of the 21 first century. Meaning there will be many opportunities for state and the nations economy to flourish.

They then state that ” Marijuana now legal for medical use in 23 states and Washington, D.C., and full legalization heading to the ballot in Alaska and Oregon, the size of the noncriminal marijuana industry is expected to grow to about $2.6 billion this year from about $1.5 billion last year.” So not only is pot helping in the economy aspect but also in the medical field . Most doctors tend to not believe in the use of weed because of their political stand point mostly from a conservative out look. Yet they can not look away from the facts. The use of medicinal marijuana does improve the well being of patients and have better effects than most prescribed drug medicines. With more and more states legalizing the medical use of marijuana we can only expect for the other states to follow suit.

The authors then say that ” The deck was stacked in the favor of richer corporate players. With banks still so leery of lending in the industry… financing choices for smaller entrepreneurs like him are few.” So also appealing to the smaller view point of first time business owners they show that they are getting over run by the big companies taking money from the smaller communities. which could be a bad thing for the economy as well having only the one percent gaining from marijuana and not all of us. Yes, bringing money to the economy, but is it to the right part?

This article and its information is very beneficial to my viewpoint because it provides a different aspect to the use of marijuana and its help to the economy. Showing that there are some benefits of the legalization of marijuana. Hopefully, this will show some insight to my peers and let them see the other side to legalization other than getting high and having fun. This article could also help in my peers arguments and debates over the drug.

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