Angela Baldwin
Staff Reporter
President Barack Obama’s Inauguration was a historical moment in history that I was glad to have witnessed. I’ll admit I was curious to see what he was going to do as president. I’ll admit that I did not vote for him- all the same it was a historical moment.
Unfortunately, I have not been pleased with what he has done so far. First of all, the Guantanamo Bay situation. I am all for ending the torture methods being used; I’m just concerned about closing it down. I think it is rash to say that the prison will be closed in a year and yet not know what to do with the prisoners first, but that’s just me. I know that they will have trials, but if the prison is closed, where will they be in the meantime? If they are convicted, then where will they go?
We need to place them somewhere that is not on American soil which Guantanamo Bay fits. If we place these suspected terrorists in a regular prison in America, we would possibly endanger Americans in close proximity. I do not believe we need to give up our basic safety to make sure suspected terrorists are comfortable! In addition, I fear that some of these suspects are acquitted. According to CNN.com, “18 former detainees are confirmed to have participated in attacks, and 43 are suspected to have been involved in attacks.” Though not a huge number, it shows some of them are dangerous.
The next issue I have a problem with is the bill that has taxpayers funding international abortions. Now, I’m not preaching pro-life to anyone, but I don’t feel it is right to force people who are pro-life, like me, to pay for something they are morally against. If anything, the president should have charities where people can volunteer to support abortions. Lastly, I find it odd that the president is so concerned about America giving suspected terrorists’ rights but is willing to have the same America fund the murder of millions of innocent, unborn babies overseas.
One issue that is on everyone’s minds is the economy and the stimulus bill. I dislike how the president is trying to rush the bill through. A bill of this magnitude should take a few weeks to ponder. I’m concerned about where the money is coming from, we are in so much debt already, can we afford this? It is a decent plan though, since they cut out all the unnecessary add-on programs. I trust in Americans -and not the government with its programs-to spend the money in the way they feel they need to.
There are still programs, like rebuilding schools, which money is funding. These programs can wait until we get out of this crisis. I’m not going to be concerned with school if I can’t afford shelter. I am glad that the bill, while still expensive has been cut to 790 billion instead of the original over 800 billion. (According to CNN.com)
I agree with the president on a few things. He is trying to find Al Qaeda by increasing troops in Afghanistan. He also is reducing troops in Iraq. I’m happy, I believed we should have left Iraq alone and gone to Afghanistan from the start. No matter what happens though, I will always support our troops. I hope that the president keeps up his work here, for I actually agree with this.