Flat Tax or What Tax?

                There are many different views and opinions on what kind of taxes the government should impose on the people. Some people like the way we are now, some want change. I personally believe in the idea of a fair tax. Where there is just a higher sales tax and everyone has to pay it. I do not think that a flat tax would be very fair. For example; in the article it talked about how if someone made fifty thousand dollars, and another person made three-hundred thousand dollars a year, they would both have to pay seventeen percent of what they made. I do not think that that is very fair for the people that made less.

                I do not know if this is already an idea, but, I think that the federal government should initiate a tax plan that automatically taxes people who make over a certain amount of money a year. I think that people like celebrities and sports athletes should have to pay a certain amount of money a year. This would benefit the lower class, because they would not have to pay as much taxes. The rich would cover for the poor if that makes sense. I really think that this plan should be in effect because; there are way too many poor people in the country that have to pay taxes, which we end up paying for anyways. I think that the people that have millions of dollars just sitting around should be required to pay to cover this. Especially the non-working, rich people.

                Yes, there would probably be many faults in this plan, and it would get torn apart by any political official. But, some of the politicians would be considered in that “tenth percentile” that would have to pay higher taxes. There will never be a good form for taxes. There will always be flaws, opinions, and different options to taxation.

Holocaust

                During World War Two, anything that anyone could imagine happened. This speaks true for torture methods, killing tactics, and absurd medical experiments. The vicious and ruthless acts that were played out by the Japanese and Germans were awful and inhumane. However, I think that the acts committed by the Japanese were worse than the Germans.

                Even though the Japanese didn’t kill as many people as the Germans did, they still dissected people, killing them slowly and torturing them. Germans killed mass amounts of people, but they didn’t kill all of them slowly and ruthlessly like the Japanese scientist Dr. Shiro Ishii. Dr. Ishii was the main conspirator in the dissecting of POW’s. The German scientist Dr. Josef Mengele did some horrifying acts as well, but not to the same extent that Dr. Ishii did.

                When people think of torture during World War Two, they think of the German Concentration Camps, not the Japanese and the Rape of Nanking. After reading these articles, the Rape of Nanking was a very violent event that took place. The Japanese just randomly killed people for the joy of it, they raped women and children, and made them do a lot more indecent acts before they would kill them. I believe that the Japanese were more vicious than the Germans, but the Germans were still awful.

                When looking back on what the Japanese and Germans did, it really is a dark spot on human history. The worst part about it is that the Japanese got pardoned for their malicious acts. They got pardoned so the United States could receive their medical research. I believe they should have at least had to go on trial as the Germans did. I really don’t think that they deserve to live after the amount of torture that they put people through.

Nixon and an Infamous Legacy

                Richard Nixon was the 37^th President of the United States of America. Nixon became President in a very crucial time of American history. The United States was in the middle of the Vietnam War. Politics were raging, the people protesting, and Nixon scheming.

                Lyndon B. Johnson, the President before Nixon, had gotten the U.S deeply involved in the Vietnam War. The North Vietnamese and the Viet Kong were proving to be well disciplined, skilled, and worthy opponents. The U.S had stuck out the years in Vietnam; however troop morale and citizen tensions were not in favor. Nixon succeeded into a Presidency that involved the general public protesting, advances made by the enemy combatants, and political tensions were growing between the political parties.

                I think that Nixon did some really great things related to foreign affairs. His angles in the Vietnam War were a little far-fetched and didn’t work very well, but I think he did rather okay for being handed a war. Some things that Nixon did very well were opening relations with other countries. With Nixon pulling the U.S out of Vietnam, some tension was relieved on not only the U.S, but the entire world. Countries were fonder of the U.S, knowing that they were done with Vietnam. Nixon also helped the U.S gain new relations with an old arch nemesis, the U.S.S.R. The Cold War enemy had been in a standoff with the U.S for years; Nixon became friends with the U.S.S.R. and opened up relations with them. Another country that Nixon really connected with was China. China had been a shut-out nation that kept to itself for a very long time. Nixon was bold enough to even visit China, just to make good relations with them. Nixon also staked international claims in South America, and the Middle East. The Middle East is very important because we get most of our oil from that region of the world. We may not have been able to do this if Nixon would not have been gifted in the area of Foreign Affairs.

                Nixon did some great things as President of the United States. However, Nixon also had is bleaker moments of presidency. Nixon took quite a bit of flak from his decision to make a military move on Cambodia. He also got many other bad vibes from the American public on his political decisions. Nixon made one big mistake; it was big enough to cost him his career. Nixon was involved in a plot to eaves drop on the democrats in the Watergate Building. The people that were planting the “bug” got busted, and the scandal flew wide open. Nixon received most of the fire, but denied it all until after he had resigned from office.

                I believe that what Nixon did is wrong, however, I do not believe that people should label Nixon for the one mistake he made. When was the last time you saw a flawless politician? Never! So, when people think of Richard Nixon and his presidency, fifty percent of what they think about should be good things. Not one hundred percent bad things such as Watergate. Nixon was a great president, he got work done, did great with foreign policy, and made some mistakes. In my mind, he was just another regular human being.

1.  Look at the interactive map.  How many cases of measles were in S.D. as of January, 2015?     13

2.  How many cases were in California?             How about Ohio?
77                                                                            382
3.  What about the world in 2014?                       How about 2015 so far?
122,061                                                                   495
How many states currently allow for religious exemptions from vaccinations.
48
4.  Read the story of Tammy Hill and measles.  Write 4 sentences explaining your thoughts.
I think that if anyone that goes into a hospital with measles should not be allowed out until they are cured. Tammy did not do anything to deserve this. I don’t know if it is because the quarantine procedures were not done right, but they need to be. They need to be done right so people like Tammy do not have to suffer through life like that.


5.  What are the two legal exemptions to the measles vaccine for students in South Dakota?

      a. Certification from a doctor that the immunization would affect the child’s health.
      b. A document showing that the child belongs to a religious doctrine that is against immunization.

6.  Is measles an airborne virus?

Yes

7.  List the "7 vaccine myths debunked by Doctors article."
1. Its ok to delay vaccines and let your kid’s immune system mature.

2. Foreigners are bringing measles into the U.S.

3. More people die from the vaccine than from measles.

4. Existence of the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program proves vaccines are harmful.

5. People who are vaccinated have can spread measles.

6. Vaccination is a political debate.

7. Vaccines cause autism.
8.  Read South Dakota's current law on vaccinations.  In a minimum of 200 words do you support the law as is?  If not, how would you change/amend the current law.  What would it say?  As a parent will you vaccinate your children accordingly?

            I really think that the law South Dakota has set up is a good law. I agree with vaccines because they help keep us away from nasty diseases that are life-threatening. When I get married and have kids, then send them to school, I would like to know that they are not going to get a serious illness and spread it to me at home. I believe that every state should require people to vaccinate as well, because then we would not be dealing with the problems that we are now. A lot of people disagree with immunization because they think it causes autism and stuff like that. I am not a scientist, so I do not know that much about the human body, but I do not see how a shot can change someone’s genetics. So in the big picture, I believe that everyone should get vaccinated. It could make a safer environment for everybody as a whole. I think that the people that do not get vaccinated should have to live somewhere with other un-immunized people. Wait, maybe that is a little extreme, but I think that everyone should get vaccinated.

In the Senate

Date: 2/9/15       SB: 169

            Senator CJ Steiner, Tate Jensen, and Brent Ogren introduced the following bill, which was referred to the committee on February 13^th, 2015.

Section 1 –

 To establish stricter regulations on out-of-state hunting and fishing licenses when game populations are decreased in number and struggling to rise to normal standards.

 

1. Be it enacted by the Senate and
2. House of Representatives of the
3. United States of America in
4. Congress assembled, that

 

Section 2 –

            If certain game/fish populations including; deer, pheasants, turkey, and all species of fish are diminishing the out-of-state residents will be unable to buy hunting, fishing, and fur-bearer licenses. When any of the populations of these species drops to seventy-five percent, then tags/licenses will be cut to out-of-state residents. The bag limits for residents of the state will reduced to one deer per person, two pheasants per day, one turkey per season, and the limits on all fish will be reduced by fifty percent. When it comes to waterfowl, (ducks, geese, ext.), It only counts the local population. The Game Fish and Parks Department will decide when the local populations have moved on and the migratory populations are on their journey south. Once the populations are back to their normal standards, all regulations will be lifted and out-of-state hunters will be granted the privilege to hunt in South Dakota for pursued game and fish.

 

Section 3 –

            The Bill will be enforced by the South Dakota Game Fish and Parks association. They will be in charge monitoring the population of animals, and they decide when tags/limits should be restricted. The South Dakota Game Fish and Parks will also monitor the populations, and decide when the populations are back to a healthy level.

 

Section 4 –

            The penalties for violating the concerns of this bill apply for out-of-state residents, and also in-state residents. Penalties for in-state-residents that violate the bill will be the same as they are now, with possession limit fines, and over bagging fines. Penalties for out-of-state residents will be, the convicted persons will lose all rights to hunt in South Dakota for ten years, and also be fined the same amount that a resident of South Dakota would have been.

Government Trip

                I thought that the trip to Pierre was a pretty great experience. I had been in the capitol building before, but never up stairs and in the committee places. I thought that the most interesting part of the trip was sitting in on the committee. It was pretty neat to get a first-hand experience of what a bill has to go through. It was also very interesting that ordinary people could go up to the stand and talk about their feelings on a particular bill. Another very cool part of the trip was sitting in on the House session. I learned a lot such as; they stand and clap for just about everything, they take roll call very, very fast, and they yell like a bunch of kids when they say yay or nay. I wish I would have been sitting in a different spot however, because I didn’t get to see every one that was talking. Another very interesting part of our trip was talking to our local representative and senators. It was really cool to see their views on bills, and what they were doing in legislature. Maybe one of the most exciting things we did was feed the geese and ducks crackers. That was really fun, and really made me wish it was fall. Overall, the trip was a success.

Thoughts on Capitalism

                Has Capitalism out used its usefulness? I believe that Capitalism is good when it works, but it has become out dated and faded in our country. Capitalism is a good system when the wealth is evenly spread out throughout the social classes. Once all the wealth becomes stationary in the “one percentile”, capitalism falls down the tube.

                Capitalism started during the 1600’s when times were rough for the lower class. As the merchants and lower class started their own businesses and become wealthy, they started to become powerful in government. The thing about it is that the feudalism governments of the time supported this new concept! This is how capitalism got started!

                People in politics today argue the Barack Obama is turning our capitalistic government into a socialistic government. Socialism in my opinion is just barely a step above communism. It is taking a step toward more government control in everything that a person does. In a capitalistic government, there is only a slight presence of government control. With the new technology and policies of our day and age we are straying very far away from that “slight presence of government control”.

                I like in the quote by Martin Luther King Jr. how he says, “And yet I am not opposed to capitalism that I have failed to see its relative merits”. This shows that a very educated man even thinks that a capitalistic government can have a large downfall to it. Martin Luther King Jr. pretty much says, yeah it is a government, but it isn’t a well put together government. Capitalism gets the job done, but only for a little while.

                I believe that the United States should be declared “capitalism”, but we should maybe try to adopt some of the policies that socialistic countries do. Reading about some of the countries that have a socialistic government is very interesting. Some of the countries that have a well-ran socialistic government; have the highest literacy rates in the world. Finland has a literacy rate of 100%. A lot of these countries also have great health care and education systems.  Another interesting fact is that in Denmark, small businesses thrive. The government helps out these small businesses greatly because they know how important they are for the economy.

                I believe that a government that could have a happy medium between capitalism and socialism would be a good step. However, all governments have their weaknesses and time is one of them. Over time every great government will fail in one way or another. So is there really any good form of government?

Democracy: Destined For Downfall

                Democracy has been around for centuries. Democracy is a great system of government to have. It is good, but it is also bad. Democracy tends to fail quite a bit. We can’t have a democracy when all of our leaders are greedy and corrupt. If we had a “true” democracy, the people would really have a say in what happens. Our government is technically a republic with only a select few higher up people.

                What I think John Adams was getting at was this; do not be surprised if the government system fails in the future. Being an intellectual person, John Adams probably studied the world and how the people in the world responded to different situations in their political government. He knew about all the other governments in the world that tried democracy but went corrupt and turned to a monarch, communistic, or some other type of government. This could eventually happen to the United States. Everyone always talks about how great our government policy is set up, and all the power that we have as a nation. What is power worth when you are in debt and have a government that can’t get anything accomplished?

                I like how John Adams says, “…It is more bloody than aristocracy or monarchy…It soon wastes and murders itself”. I was thinking about this part of his quote when it hit me. Our government is very bloody. All the different politics bash each other and say bad things about the other political parties just so they can get nothing accomplished. All the different people in politics HATE the people of the other party. Why can’t politics be friends to one another and positively criticize each other? They would get so much more accomplished and maybe our government wouldn’t be a political bloodbath. In the second part of the quote where it says, “it murders itself”, is so true that it is terrifying. A democratic government can bring itself to pieces so easily. If it only takes one suggestion  by a political party to cause an explosion of anger and idiotic stress, what would it take to bring the entire system down?

                Egypt, Greece, China, and Rome are all examples of ancient world powers. These countries succeeded greatly in the ancient world. If our government is striving for the same success that these empires had, I believe that we need to make changes, or at least get along in our government systems. Is any government system without flaw? Probably not, but with flaw there is room for improvement. Hopefully our nation can improve instead of crumble.

Bicameral Government

                After the Colonies won the Revolutionary War against the British, they needed to set up a government. When setting up this government, they based it off of what they knew. What they knew was what the British had. They chose to also have a bicameral legislature, just like the British had. This is the historical part of it. The practical reason for the choosing of this bicameral legislature is that something had to be done about the Virginia and New Jersey Plans. They were compromised together, creating the government we have now. As for the theoretical part of it, the founding fathers thought that one house would keep the other house in check. What I mean by this is, that one house wouldn’t let the other get out of whack and go nuts. This is the history of our bicameral government that runs our great country. I believe that this system works "sometimes". Key word, "sometimes". I think that it is a great idea and it can run a government very well, but sometimes it can be ineffective. What I mean by this is that when people get too stubborn, nothing gets accomplished. This sometimes happens in government. Take the Keystone Pipeline for example, it is a stalemate. There are good and bad things that come along with a Bicameral Government. I think that our founding fathers did a good thing by establishing one in our country.