America's school system

I agree with opinions expressed on America's public educational system, by my colleague's blog, Lets Dissect. We are living in a time of economic globalization. In a way this is a double edged sword because it allows economies to thrive on an international level, but many people are being left behind. With the growing phenomenon of outsourcing there has never been more competition for American's losing their jobs to people in other countries. I think that corporate firms are turning their back on America by shipping jobs to other countries and it is wrong. Regardless I believe we must give the children in our public school systems a fighting chance. We need to take from other countries school systems which are highly evolved from ours. Despite the fact that America is the most developed country in the world it has one of the worst public educational systems. The children of the future must compete in a globalized world where having a four year college education isn't enough anymore. In my opinion we live in the greatest country on earth, and hopefully our next president will see past the greed of corporate firms, and work to give average Americans the public education they deserve and need to survive in a global world. To do this we must compete on a higher level with other nations, and put this mentality into our children. Because the private sector could care less that your job just got send to some guy in India and you can no longer feed your family;they don't pay that guy in New Delhi squat.

Army and Marine Corps Felony Waivers

While looking through the New York Times today, I was surprised to read that there has been a considerable increase in waivers for military recruitment of convicted felons. According to the statistics, the number of issued waivers for the Army jumped from 249 in 2006, to 511 in 2007, while the number for Marines rose from 208 to 350. Their crimes committed include armed robbery, arson, burglary, and possession of narcotics. In retrospect these numbers only represent less than one percent of the 115,000 recruited this year; however, this increase raises a certain level of concern. I understand the fact that the Army is having a difficult time finding capable men and women for recruitment. It has suffered eminence causalities in a war that is incredibly un-favored by the American public. However, if this trend continues to increase it could become a big problem. Our nation has always prided itself on its military and the above average men and women who are a part of it. If we continue to increase the amount of recruits with felonies it could have a very negative effect on the already diminishing reputation of our military. While I think that some of these people probably made one bad mistake when they were young, on the other hand some could be career criminals, and whose knows what underlying intentions they have for joining the military? This raises an interesting question. How would you feel fighting next to a guy who robbed a liquor store or lit a church on fire? I know I would feel a little uncomfortable. Although this is not a major issue, I think it needs to be closely watched and has the potential to add to the continuous list of military screw ups.

I strongly agree with the opinions expressed, by the governmental confusion blog, on illegal immigration in the United States. Anybody who has grown up, or lived in Texas has experienced the impact of illegal Mexican immigration. Seeing a truck full of illegals working construction on the highway, or working in a Chinese restaurant, with a majority of Mexican cooks and chiefs in the kitchen, is nothing out of the ordinary for a Texan. Most will not argue that there is an essential economic need for the labor these immigrants supply;however, with the exponential increase in this immigration, our country faces serious issues. Many have argued that America is the "great melting pot," and we Americans should be more "tolerant" to other cultures, yet I believe that our nation is no exception to the unwritten rules of cultural assimilation. One should be at least inclined to learn our official language of English.
I believe that our government needs to create laws to help immigrants assimilate. For instance, Australia requires all of their immigrants to learn fluent English before they are granted residency. I also agree with my colleague's opinions on the millions of taxpayers dollars being used on a variety of social services for illegals, that are reserved for our citizens. Despite my concurring views with my colleague, I have grown up around the Hispanic culture my entire life, and I am also half Puerto Rican. I understand and see most of these immigrants simply want a better life for their families, and give there blood, sweat, and tears to achieve it. I have an incredible respect for these people, and their incredible cultures, but i believe our country must keep its citizens a first priority. Our country must continue to inforce it's strict immigration policies and keep its privileges for its citizens.