When the troops donate

I believe that if you haven’t served in the war, you really don’t know what is happening over seas. We each have our own opinion about what should happen with the war. The troops are the only ones who know how the war is progressing. Recently, the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics did an analysis of campaign contributions made by troops who were overseas when they made there contributions. The analysis shows that the troops gave 6 times more to Barack Obama over John McCain. Even Ron Paul, who is anti-war, received four times more money then John McCain. As we all know, Obama wants to make a plan to withdraw most of the troops, and McCain does not want to withdraw the troops. I think it says a lot that the troops are giving money to a candidate who wants to pull the troops out and to another candidate who is totally anti-war. The troops know what is best for this country, and it seems like they think Barack Obama is right for this country. Obama 08!

Reading

Now that I am starting my junior year at MTSU, I understand why the school system made me read books when I was younger. Reading books is the best way to learn new words and to have fun while you do it. My mom forced me to read one of the Harry Potters book when I was younger. Since then, I have read all those book and I am now reading other books on my own. I hope that more parents are like mine, and make your kids read books, it will help them out in the long run. I am going to try to read atleast three books a semester, starting with Barack Obama's "The Audacity of Hope." So I hope that more young people will pick up a book, it could change your life

The Death Penalty

Here are some statistics about the death penalty:

Executions cost more then life sentences. It costs 2 million per person on death row vs. $500,000 per person that is sentenced to life.

The innocent could be executed. Since 1976, when the death penalty was reinstated, 82 inmates have been freed from death row. That is 1 person to be found innocent for every 7 executed.

The government says that killing someone is wrong, but the government is doing the exact same thing they say not to do. So the government is basically saying, “Do what I say, not as I do.”

So if you want the government to spend less money, you should be against the death penalty. It will save money, have fewer appeals, and save innocent lives.

Autism is real

I was shocked when I heard that syndicated talk show host Michael Savage said 99 percent of autism cases is a brat that hasn’t been told to cut the act out. I can’t believe that a man of his stature believes that autism is a fraud. Autism is very real, so real that 1 out of 150 people children are diagnosed with autism. Autism is a complex neurobiological disorder that typically lasts throughout a person's lifetime. It is part of a group of disorders known as autism spectrum disorders (autismspeaks.org). Last summer I worked with two autistic kids for four weeks. I can guarantee you that they were not brats who needed to cut the act out. These children had a real disorder, and needed help. On September 13, 2008, there will be a fundraising event at the Nashville Speedway. Walk Now for Autism is a family walk and fair to raise awareness about autism. Also, Walk Now for Autism is an event to raise money for the ongoing research on autism. I ask all of you to look up this event and walk to raise money. I will be there that day, and hope to see many or you there.

Thank you myspace

Everytime I get on the computer, I always check all the regular news sites. A few days ago I saw that there was an amber alert and read what was going on. Later on that day, I logged onto myspace, and the same amber alert was right there on myspace. Myspace uses the information that is on your profile to send out amber alerts that are in your area. I think this is a great idea and I hope that other social networking sites will follow Myspace and add the amber alert. With the way more and more young people are using these sites, we could locate and save many more missing children.

We are not whiners

For the first time in years, the Iraq war isn’t the most important issue in this election. The most important issue for the voters is the economy. With the price of gas and other food rising, the voters want to see something different this next presidential election. Phil Gramm, a top adviser to Sen. John McCain, said that the American people who believe the economy is the most important issue are whiners. Mr. Gramm thinks that we are in a “mental recession” and we are a “nation of whiners.” If we are in a “mental recession”, why is the dollar the lowest we have seen in years? Why are prices of eggs up 45% in the past year? Phil Gramm has insulted the 44 percent of Americans who think that the economy is the most important issue in this election. I do not think we are a nation of whiners, but an intelligent nation who knows when something is going wrong in our country. I hope that the next president will have the answers to these economic problems.

Patriotism

If I do not wear a flag pin, does that make me unpatriotic?
If I sit and enjoy the star spangled banner without my hand on my chest, does that make me unpatriotic?
How can someone who is running for president of The United States of America be unpatriotic? How can someone give up so much of his life to be president, and not care about this country? When people say that Barack Obama is unpatriotic, I loose respect for those people because they actually believe those ludicrous statements. A flag pin does not show how patriotic you are to your country. Standing up for what you believe is right for this country, is patriotic. So I ask you, have you been patriotic lately? I show my patriotism every Sunday here in The Tennessean.