Honestly, I do not support abortion... However, when it comes to the issues facing the nation as a whole, one should not limit their vision to a single issue, such as abortion. Of all the current issues facing our world, including world hunger, war, global warming, etc... I never even once gave abortion a second thought when deciding who to vote for in the coming election.
I am a catholic, and I have been one all my life. I do not believe that abortion should be practiced by anyone. Many of my fellow catholics do not believe in this either. However, I have seen many of my fellow catholics turn away from supporting obama because of his pro-choice stance. To my fellow catholics, I say to you:
Do not limit your choice of president to a single issue.
When you think about it, what really causes a woman to look toward abortion: lack of resources to bring up a child, lack of a responsible partner to bring up a child, lack of tolerance from family to accept and support a child born out of wedlock.
If factors such as these were not present... if a man would say "yes, i will take care of you and our child"... if a woman had the resources to bring up the child herself... if a woman's family would accept her and her new baby and not shun them into isolation and dishonement...
It is one thing to make abortion illegal... and this will likely make an effect on the population as a whole. However, despite the legality, if a woman is under pressures such as those that i have mentioned before, she may feel that there is no alternative but to abort... To summarize, it is irresponsibility and desperation that lead a woman to choose abortion, not the legality of abortion.
If you really want to stop abortion, it has to stop from the CAUSE... One has to stop the sources or factors that make a woman choose to end the life of her child. If you really want to stop abortion, you must choose a candidate that promotes the social values that will promote responsibility, and education about the alternatives.
One cannot judge these values in a presidential candidate by the simple words "i'm pro-choice" or "I'm pro-life". It is much more complex than this.
It is my belief that any man who has had the privaledge of having a family with children would never actually be in favor of abortion. Both Barack Obama and John McCain have a family with children. Though Barack Obama says he is 'pro-choice', his wife did not choose abortion.
Just because one legally 'can', does not imply that one 'should'. Unfortunately, too many people wrongfully equate 'legality' with 'morality'. Legality tells you what is "allowed", while "morality" tells you what is "right". As we have seen time after time, throughout history, that which is "legal" isn't always 'right'.
But if you look at barack obama as a whole, with his message not only of change, but also of 'responsibility', you can see that he is not "for abortion", but rather for "responsibility". He promotes people taking responsiblity for themselves, which I extend to the issues of procreation.
Do not judge by words, but rather by actions.
A candidate who promotes economic policies that will benefit our middle and lower classes will fill people with hope, not desperation. A candidate who encourages individual responsibility is one that will not promote fear.
When you really look at the two candidates, which one will promote an atmosphere of courage and hope?
I leave that to your conscience.
Before I begin with my proposal for reforming public education, let me review the hallmarks of the current education system with a comprehensive review of No Child Left Behind.
The four pillars of NCLB are:
Accountability - to hold schools and ALL of its employees directly accountable for the success/failure of the students in that school
Proven Education Methods - to use THE SAME education methods that have ALREADY (a priori) been determined to work (by supposed scientific research) FOR ALL schools (regardless of any other school-specific factors).
Freedom for States - allows each state to determine for itself how to allocate funds intended for edcuational improvement
Freedom for Parents - allows parents whose children are attending a low-performing public school to transfer their children to a better-performing school.
Now let me outline the catastrophic flaws with each of these pillars:
Accountability:
This pillar was obviously created by those who have never once worked as a professional teacher, but have quite extensive experience in business and management. Any of us, professional teachers, can point out the obsurdity in this. The fundamental philosophy behind this pillar is that teachers (and administrators) are directly responsible for the performance of ALL of their students. While it is true that teachers have an impact on the sucess of students, it is absolutely ignorant to believe that it is the ONLY factor affecting student performance. Any educator, with any varying degree of experience, always hopes that all of his students pass with flying colors, but knows that realistically this cannot be expected... Even the best of teachers, with all of his pedagogy and years of experience, cannot force upon a student his/her education, much less his/her performance. Other important, and often ignored, factors include student motivation, socioeconomic status, family influence, school environment, etc... An entire host of influences, both intrinsic and extrinsic, play an important role in a student's overall performance, and even more so on a single standardized test.
Proven Education Methods:
What exactly are these "scientifically proven" methods of education which benefit all educational institutions, without regard to specific circumstances? Read this website: http://www.ed.gov/about/reports/strat/plan2007-12/2007-plan.pdf. It gives the detailed strategies mention in this pillar of NCLB. From what I have read, the main proven strategy that they speak of is to collect data from schools to determine the best way to help their school.
What kind of data do they speak of? students standardized test scores.
That's it... No other real research is gathered about the students, nor the circumstances leading up to their performance scores. The only educational research that is done is linking student performance to teacher effectiveness. Moreover, once determined that a school is in need of improvement, according to the law, the school is supposed to figure out how to solve the problem themselves. To which, the majority of the burden is placed directly upon the educators themselves. No increased funding to improve the school's performance. No further research to determine the cause of these flawed performances. And with their only motivation being the threat of every employee being fired from their job a that school...
More Freedom for States:
It's great that NCLB attempts to provide *SOME* additional funding for education... And it is excellent that each state be given the freedom to determine the fate of that education funding. However, what is the best course of utility for that funding? Each state government is supposed to know EXACTLY how to allocate the funds to its fullest potential. However, without proper research into how to improve each individual school, the funds are lost to a haphazardly random and uncomplementary set of programs which may or may not even help every school. There are two main problems with this: 1. Not every school needs the same TYPE of improvement. 2. Without proper research, it is impossible to determine how the funds can best be spent in each individual school.
More Freedom for Parents:
At first, this last pillar of NCLB seems to be good... if a school is failing overall, a parent can elect to send his/her child to a better performing school... thus guaranteeing the students academic success... So, what is the problem with this?
Many, many, MANY problems.... First of all, logistics. By this I mean that if one school is performing well, while all those surrounding it are not, then it would be possible that all the parents of the students in the low-performing schools would want to send their children to the one well-performing school. That one school, overrun by requests for enrollment, can only house a limited number of students... Thus, enrollment into a well-performing school will be limited, in some way... In other words, a weed-out process will accept only a select few to enter the well-performing school, and the rest must be forced back into their old, low-performing school. This leads to the next problem: elitist education. Under this system, it is likely that no everyone will be allowed to send their child to a better school. Some, under their economic restraints, cannot afford to send their children to a better school, even if accepted.
An outline to reform public education:
Here's my proposal, which Barack Obama seems to coincide with quite a lot:
1. Keep testing student's academic performance, but do NOT hold teachers personably accountable for their performance, under threat of firing.
2. If a school's overall performance is low, DO RESEARCH FIRST! Investigate the reasons for the low performances BEFORE investing any money into any programs which may/may not work.
3. Freedom for Schools, not just States. By this, I mean, allow individual schools a certain budget which must be used to implement programs which, by the aforementioned research, are determined to best suit the schools needs.
4. Accountability for students and PARENTS! If a student fails a test, it is a reflection of his/her efforts to learn. Many parents try to relegate their responsibilities as motivators of education to the teachers, and are often the first to blame teachers for their children's failures in school. To change this, a massive public awareness program must be implemented. This program must remind parents that children are a reflection of their parents. Their failure in education is a failure on the part of parents for not guiding them appropriately.
I'm glad to hear that barack obama wishes to increase funding to failing schools... but he has to be aware of HOW these funds should be used... Do not make the same mistake that NCLB Act makes of assuming that "ONE SIZE FITS ALL". The best education is the one that is personally adjusted to meet the needs of the students.
Let barack know about this, so that he can further improve his proposals to reform education.
Spread the word! Obama 08
Pablito Delgado
Lecturer
Department of Mathematical Sciences
University of Texas - El Paso
Another thing that really gets me is McCain trying to claim that he is the superior candidate based upon Obama's relative inexperience.
But it is not experience that is really the issue here...
This election is not about who has the longest list on their resume. It is about the value judgments that the candidates make. It doesn't matter how many things you've done in your life, if they have all been bad choices, then this does not make you a better suited person to become a leader.
What this country, among a multitude of other things, really neads is GOOD JUDGMENT. Someone who knows what the right thing to do is.
McCain's solution to the gas crisis: drill for more oil.
This is obviously not the right solution because more oil will only bring us to more global warming, more oil spills, and more profits for the oil companies. Regardless of how high gas prices are, the problem is that we depend on oil, PERIOD! We need to make ourselves COMPLETELY independent of oil... obviously mccain does not share this view. Obama, on the other hand, refuses to drill for more oil because he knows that this will not solve our world's greatest problem: Global Warming.
McCain voted for the war in iraq.
As we all know, this was not the correct decision. Obsma was one of the very few people who did NOT vote for the war, but instead against it. Again, it was a value judgment that brought him to the correct conclusion even when it was not popular at the time. For all of McCain's professed 'experience', he could not see the obvious flaw in the justification for the war. This only demonstrates McCain's failure in judgment, and exemplifies Obama's correct judgment
I could go on longer... it is late, and I need some sleep. However, the key issue in this race should not be EXPERIENCE, but rather JUDGMENT. Obama has the correct judgment. All those of us who recognize this have the morally imperative responsability to educate others about this fact.
Supposedly, McCain is trying to distance himself from Bush, saying that he will not follow the same policies as Bush... this video, in McCain's own words, suggests quite the opposite...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnb2IrsU1Cg
Although, unfortunately, as a scholar, I must verify the sources of the contents of this video before I can claim that it is 100% authentic and 0% taken out of context.
Give me a few days on it, and I will see what I can find.
But if it turns out to be true, then how can anyone trust him if they saw this video?
From the El Paso Times
Barack Obama to speak in Las Cruces area Monday Times staff report Article Launched: 05/22/2008 03:06:25 PM MDT Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., campaigns at a rally in Tampa, Fla., Wednesday, May 21, 2008. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson) Presidential candidate U.S. Sen. Barack Obama will host a public event in the Las Cruces area on Memorial Day, May 26, according to his press office. This will be Obama's first campaign stop in the area. Obama's wife, Michelle, campaigned on her husband's behalf in Las Cruces in early February before the New Mexico primary. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, the nation's only Hispanic governor, threw his support behind Sen. Barack Obama in March. More details of Barack Obama's appearance Monday will be announced as soon as they are available.
Over 100 students took a mid-day break from classes to help inaugurate the new UT Obama HQ at Dobie mall just on the outskirts of the University of Texas campus. Student leaders set up a barbecue outside and were helping to feed the volunteers who were signing up for phone banking and campus canvass shifts.
Hope – like barbecue-- comes in unlimited quantities here at Dobie HQ
Things are moving fast here at the University of Texas and the students are really fired up to have an Obama HQ so close to campus. The line to get involved wrapped around the office and there were student videographers and student reporters roaming around hoping to capture this excitement. It’s so inspiring and empowering to see an office filled and staffed by so many young people.
There is a great sound system set up here and the office is decorated with classic Obama pictures as well as some of the more unique art that was donated or painted by students in preparation for the office opening.
There are some really unique opportunities outside the campus and the student grassroots has gotten really creative with their outreach on behalf of Barack Obama. We have seen people wearing sandwich boards directing people to the early vote lookup tool on our website—which is the best way to help Barack because you can vote today at locations all across the state.
Several students have even started their own online organizing teams—reaching out to their friends on Facebook, MySpace (Visit the TX Obama page), and other social networks to get the word out about Barack and encourage their friends, family, and neighbors to vote early.
Join us at the New UT HQ in the Dobie Mall and help us energize and mobilize the UT campus.
From Jason HeavilinPresidentUniversity Democrats, UTEP(915) 238-0194
WE NEED MORE PEOPLE FOR OBAMA!!! Contact Jason Heavilin at JEHEAVILIN@MINERS.UTEP.EDU
Thank you for your interest. We are currently organizing all Obama supporters in UTEP. Hopefully we can get a big event for him, but we need as many people on board as possible. Please reply with your phone number and you will be contacted shortly with information on how we are going to mobilize the students for Obama. Please gather contact information of as many other supporters you may know even if they cannot volunteer. It is important to know all the supporters. Please collect contact information of all supporters you know. Get their names, phone numbers, fax numbers, e-mails, two way pagers (or one way), MySpace, Facebook, whatever you can do to build the support list! We have to move fast because Texas is the hotspot of the primaries.There is a meeting on Tuesday at the Table (300 Cincinnati) at 3:30 pm. There will be Obama campaign people there to discuss the El Paso plan of action. Be there to get the most up to date information on the El Paso efforts!
