Graduation is Finally Here

When I was young, people asked me what I want to be when I grew up and I said,” I don't know. What I do know is that I want to go to college and graduate”. It has been four years since I entered Sonoma State as a freshmen. It has been a long, journey thus far. I have met some of the most amazing people that I've ever known. I am proud to say that I know more than I do when I started college. It feels really strange and exciting that I will be graduating on Saturday, May 28^th. I have had deal with State budget issues which resulted in problems with getting classes which was not fun at all. I have had semesters where I have had to take more than fifteen units. My college experience would not be the same without the Communications department. My knowledge has expanded as a Communications student. I met some of the best people in the entire world in the communications departments. For the first time, I actually have professors that care for me like friends. They want to see me excel and they want me to keep in touch with them. I took the STAR at Sonoma State and learned how to write for a newspaper. I want to thank the communications professors for making my experience wonderful. As I look back on my experiences and challenges, I wouldn't change any of it for the world. I am happy with who I am and where my future is headed.

Even though, I am already done with finals, I feel a sense of nervousness about graduation for some reason. Part of me, by be, I know it will be a happy yet emotional day for me. I have gone through four years of college and have excelled. I am moving on to bigger things but, have learned so much. I have made some really good friends and will keep in touch. It is nice to have an answer when family and friends ask me what I am doing after college. I will say, I am moving to LA and going to graduate school. Attending my communications classes was one of my favorite parts of Sonoma State and I will continue my love for communications. As I am writing this I am feeling sad and happy. I have made a huge accomplishment that I am proud of and I am becoming a adult.

Birth Certificate Confirms President Barack Obama is a US Citzen

Since the presidential primaries in 2008, people have been questing whether Barack Obama is a US citizen. Several commentators and the American people, have said that if he was an citizen then why should he have a problem showing his birth certificate. As an American citizen myself, I would not want the entire world to see my birth certificate either. On April 28, 2011, President Barack Obama, had a press conference and released his birth certificate. His birth certificate assured the American people that he is an US citizen and was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. Glenn Beck responded to Obama releasing his birth certificate on his radio show by saying, “ This is the best issue for the president. They love this”. It seems to me he is completely mocking the president. President Obama stated in his press conference that, “ I felt that we needed to invest in education and infrastructure and making sure that we had a strong safety net for our seniors even as we were closing the deficit, during that entire week the dominant news story wasn't about these huge, monumental choices that we're going to have to make as a nation. It was about my birth certificate. And that was true on most of the news outlets that were represented here”. He also discussed how it had became a distraction and he felt the need to release his birth certificate. As a someone who follows the news, this is disgusting to me. We are having budget problems, economy problems and soldiers are dying in Iraq but we are worrying if the president is a citizen or not. Don't you think the White House does heavy duty background checks to see what this person is getting into and their past history? The White House is not going to allow an president with a criminal history to become president.  With so much, going on in the world we need to start worrying about real issues going on in the world, and not birth certificates.

Allowing HIV-infected People To Donate Their Organs

The United States has a major need for kidney, liver and other transplants. In 1984, the National Organ transplant act included the ban of HIV infected organs. Dr. Dorry L. Segev, an associate professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine believes that we should lift that band. Several John Hopkins doctors argue that should not disqualify the organs because the patient is already infected. Segev says, “If this legal ban was lifted, we could potentially provide organ transplants to every single HIV-infected candidate on the waiting list”. University of Medicine recently had a study that showed that five hundred donors were disqualified.

This act was made during the AIDS epidemic. Instead of AIDS being a death sentence, today it is a treatable disease. I think it is better to take a chance and potentially save several lives. According to Los Angeles Times, about twenty people die every single day waiting for a transplant. There is not enough research done on people who have had transplants from HIV people. Four people in South Africa had transplants from HIV people and are healthy. Several things in our society are changing, it is time we take the ban off and save more lives.

Hard Working Can Be Bad For Your Health

Ever hear the saying, “Hard work won't kill you”? According to an MSNBC article, people who work regular eleven hour days are increasing their risk in developing heart disease. There was a long term study that found people who worked eleven hour days more likely to have an increase of heart disease by 67% compared to a six to seven hour work day. Stephen Holgate, chair of population and systems medicine board at Britain's Medical Research Council, said “ This study might make us think twice about the old age 'hard work won't kill you”. This statement is extremely interesting to me because I remember since I was young, I was always told hard work is not going to harm you. I tend to be a studious and sometimes over prepare, but I always make sure I have time for relaxing so that I don't get stressed. This study was published in the Annals of Internal Medicine Journal. This article is quite eye opening to me because heart attacks and strokes are the number one cause of death in the United States. About 17.1 million lives are lost every year because of cardiovascular diseases. Everyone should remember, if you are going to push yourself to work hard, first make sure to take care off yourself, eat healthy foods and go to the doctor regularly.

Republican Representative Thinks We Should Shoot Illegal Immigrants Like Animals

Vigil Peck, a republican representative, thinks we should shoot illegal immigrants from helicopters. He said “It looks to me if shooting these immigrants feral hogs works maybe we have found a solution to out illegal immigration problem”. This comment is ridiculous and disgusting to me. I understand that they're illegal immigrants that shouldn't be here, but they are human beings. We should not treat them like animals. Killing off all the illegal immigrants that come to the United States is not acceptable and does not fix the problem in any way. For someone to even think of an idea like that, there is something majorly wrong with Peck. When the Lawrence Journal World questioned him about his comments, Peck said he was just joking and speaking like a person from Southeast Kansas. This comment of his caused a lot of controversy and several democrats made it clear that they did not agree with his ideas.

Peck was forced to give an apology by Republican governor, Sam Brownback of Kansas. He refused to give any interviews regarding his apology. He released a statement that said “My statements yesterday were regrettable. Please accept my apology”. To me, this is even more disgusting. He makes a horrible comment like he did and then he gives a short apology. If Peck really felt bad for what he did, then he would of done interviews and reassured the American people that he was wrong and didn't mean it. The House Leadership released a statement saying that Peck's remarks were inappropriate. Many democratic senators feel that his comment sends a message to the Hispanic community, that they are not welcome in Kansas. Democratic Representative Louis Ruiz said, “ It sends the message of fear and hatred. Be on guard and look out what's coming down with immigration bills, you're not welcome here”. This is not a good time to make such a derogatory comment, as the state legislation is considering several bills that target illegal immigrants.

Two Republican Senators Support of Planned Parenthood

The Senate has still not voted whether they are going to continue funding Planned Parenthood. Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska has come out in support of Planned Parenthood. This is the first republican to support Planned Parenthood. She states in a letter to Senate Appropriations Committee, “I believe Planned Parenthood provides vital services to those in need and disagree with their funding cuts in the bill”. Having a Republican in support of Planned Parenthood is a huge milestone and gives more hope to the American people that this horrible bill will hopefully be rejected.

After Senator Murkowski came out against this bill and in support of Planned Parenthood, Republican Senator Susan Collins came out against the bill as well. It is extremely important that two Republican Senators have come out in support of Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood has helped low income people stay safe and protected. Planned Parenthood has never forced anything upon anybody, they just let people know what the options are and how to stay safe. Collins spokesman Kevin Kelley said, “The program has successfully reduced the number of unplanned pregnancies, therefore helping to reduce health care costs.” It is extremely important that people actually find out what Planned Parenthood does, instead of generalizing. They are helping the American people stay healthy by giving people pills and condoms. They also offer low income women cervical scans and for men, they offer Prostate exams. Planned Parenthood is trying to help American citizens make educated and informed decisions even if they do not have the money.

Obama Refuses To Stand Behind Defense Of Marriage Act

President Barack Obama was the first president to include Lesbians, gays and transgenders in his presidential acceptance speech. It seemed for political reasons during the presidential debates, Obama expressed that he was for civil unions, but not for gay marriage. On Friday, Barack appointed a new social secretary, Jeremy Bernard, who is openly gay. According to the Washington Post, Bernard has been involved in several gay rights organizations and was a California Finances Consultant for the Obama Campaign.

Two days after Obama appointed Bernard, he said that the administration would no longer defend the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). DOMA was passed in 2004 and is a law that bans same-sex marriage. According to Union Leader website, Obama and Attorney General, Eric holder, said that they believe that DOMA "amounts to illegal discrimination". It is great that Barack is coming forward in support of gay marriage. After Obama said this, there has been a lot of controversy. These two changes in the administration have angered many conservatives. In an interview with Newsmax website, Newt Gingrich said that he believes Obama's decision to stop enforcing DOMA could be an impeachable offense.

He feels that Republicans should call for articles of impeachment. He went as far as saying, “Imagine that Governor Palin had become president. Imagine that she had announced that Roe v. Wade in her view was unconstitutional, and therefore the United States government would no longer protect anyone’s right to have an abortion because she personally had decided it should be changed. The news media would have gone crazy. The New York Times would have demanded her impeachment.” Gingrich is taking it way too far. Impeachment is a formal process in which an official is accused of an unlawful activity and can lead to removal of office. Obama has done nothing illegal. It is not common for an administration to not defend a law but it is allowed and it happens occasionally. Barack is standing up for what he believes in and always tries to have the American people's best interest at heart.