Bog Stage Eight

 I absolutely agree with what my classmate said in the blog entry Drilling to Our Doom. The National Park Services and such natural reserves have done the country and the world a big favor by limiting the urbanization and destruction of nature. With President Trump working diligently toward developing American economy, and anti-terrorism, he has forgotten some of the world's other troubles. One of the largest issues we have come to recognize and President Trump’s ignoring is global warming or rather, climate change.

I voice out the same question my friend has pointed out in the blog, “If the Republican party is so family oriented then why don’t they stop for a second to think about what kind of world their children and grandchildren will be living in?” Our newest president is putting in every effort, from removing restrictions on fossil fuel productions to threatening to pull out of the Paris Agreement, to nullify all that has been done till now to stop or at least slow down our planet’s destruction. And while he may not be even a bit concerned, we who recognize and believe in planet Earth’s vulnerability are. President Trump’s plans and actions are taking us backwards to the era where the United States’ air was filled with sooty and extremely harmful chemicals.

The climate change nonbelievers who lead our country at the moment really are drilling a path that will lead us straight to our doom. We must protest their actions, and we must do so right now.  

Blog stage two

The Senate confirmed Tom Price, Republican of Georgia, as the secretary of Health and Human Services early Friday.

Mr. Price, after a long debate that focused on his ethics, investments, and his views on health policy won by a vote of 52 to 47 which now lets him lead Trump’s efforts in shutting down the Affordable Care Act.

Mr. Price “knows more about health care policy that just about anyone, well prepared,” said the majority leader, Senator Mitch McConell also the Republican of Kentucky.

Senator Michael B. Enzi, Republican of Wyoming, said that Mr. Price was “one of the well-prepared, individuals that President Trump could have chosen.”

On the other hand, Democrats are displeased and concerned about Mr. Price’s desire to control the growth of Medicaid and Medicare by making major changes to the programs. These programs now insure more than 100 million Americans.

They stated that Mr. Price, the 62-year-old orthopedic surgeon from the suburbs of Atlanta, had shown poor judgment by actively trading shares of medical and pharmaceutical companies in the process of forming health policy in Congress.

While Mr. Price has claimed his actions to be “ethical, above board, legal, and transparent”, he recently amended his financial disclosure statement to report a higher value for his investment in a small Australian biotechnology company. Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, the senior Democrat on the Finance Committee, said that Mr. Price traded in health care stocks and pushed policies that helped his portfolio.

Mr. Price, as a Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, will be responsible for an annual Budget of more than $1 trillion. Th Republicans find him suitable for this position because of his plans to repel the Affordable Care Act. The Democrats, however, oppose his efforts to replace the Act.

Mr. Price’s idea to fix the amount of federal money each state gets to provide health care to low-income people on Medicaid would be a radical change to the open-ended entitlement Medicaid has been ever since it was first created in 1965.

The Article, "Tom Price Is Confirmed as Health Secretary", gives us knowledge on the recent changes in American health policy. Everyone should know what's happening to our country's health care system because every individual's life depends on it.

Blog stage seven

Politics is not something I take much of an interest in. But it is important to have some interest about the nation you live in. So, it seems that one of the most interesting topics flying around right now is health care under President Trump vs Affordable Care Act that we lovingly call Obamacare.  With a new healthcare system being built to replace the affordable care act, what is the plan? Many are concerned about the new policy changing affordability, discrimination (financially and depending on their health), different benefits and such.

Thousands of Americans have benefited from the Affordable Care Act. Thousands have had a chance to live. Thousands have been shown equality in the vast confusing mazes of health insurance. Now thousands will suffer from the repealing of the Act. With the Affordable care act keeping insurers in line (so to speak) who knows what would happen when it is replaced. A guess is that many of the essential benefits, including maternity benefits, substance abuse treatment and mental health, hundreds of thousands of people would be left without access to such benefits. Though President Trump insists that the new proposal also helps cover people with pre-existing conditions, no one can really be sure. There is also the problem of affordability. I personally think replacing the Affordable care act is not necessary. If you do want something new, make some changes; amend the act. It is already helping millions live a “happy” life. So, I say let them live it.

Stage six

Yes, Austin. We all watched the video together, and I quite remember the line myself. In the blog "America is not the greatest country in the world anymore...", Austin points out the innate "heroism" we have that has us starting revolutions against all that we find evil in the world. Some examples he points out are human trafficking, gender inequality, saving the planet, slavery, etc. And yes, the list goes on forever.
I agree with his point of view. We civilized humans like to pick out the wrongs in our society and cure them. We reform our ways, bring justice, and eradicate diseases all so that we can be at peace. This age of humanity has brought forth amazing technology, enhancements in medical care, equality among all races and genders and so on. But the achievements of this age only glimpses of what is possible. This is merely a transition period. Though the world is drastically changing, we are still attached to an era of destruction, war, genocide, sexism, and racism. It might be a bit of a bummer or might be enough to send one into a fit of crippling depression but we should take pride of what we have accomplished, and build onto it.

The government is one of the most influencing systems in the world, along with money and religion. But so are the people. We can quite literally change worlds and move crowds. And like Austin says in the entry, we are putting that power in the wrong place. It is being used to harm our own cause, fighting against each other instead of fighting together against the enemy. 

Climate change: If Not Now, then When?

On Tuesday, March 29, 2017, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that, per officials, acts to lower the effort the American government is putting towards stopping climate change. President Trump says that his campaign is working towards increasing the American economy by getting more jobs in the country. This might help bring economic equality to the nation and feed the family of many, maybe even increase the value of the US dollar. But even for President Trump, putting the fate of the world's coastal cities, drying rivers, drought-ridden zones across the world for the benefit of one country is a little too much. 

“It is an issue that deserves attention”, a White House official stated on President Trump’s policy “But I think the President has been very clear that he is not going to pursue climate change policies that put the US economy at risk. It is very simple.”

The policy is expected to bring jobs in mines and factories back to the States, but many are asking, at what cost? The crisis of climate change and global warming was kicked off by the Industrial era, which in turn was kicked off by the discovery of fuel deposits below the surface of earth. So, this policy might actually accelerate climate change.

Something else to be aware of is that the United States of America is technically a part of the world, the Earth, the blue and green marble we all call home. Sadly, protection of our life-giving home is not a reflex everybody has, so it is up to environmentalists and politicians alike to save the Earth.

Hopefully and most likely, the order will be stuck in court for years, until humanity has better understood that our planet is worth more than it individual nations.