Religion and Same-Sex Marriage

Currently gay americans are being treated as second class citezens being deprived of many of the rights and benefits taken for granted by heterosexual Americans.

1. Almost every arguement against same-sex marriage is founded in religion and therefore against our 1st ammendment rights. The 1st Ammendment of the US Constitution states that "Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion..."

2. Religious and conservative organizations are spreading lies, causing confusion regarding gay marriage.

3. Opponents disagree with equating gay rights with the fight for racial equality. They say that homosexuality is not an inborn trait, but a chosen behavior that does not deserve special protection under the law. If this were true than why would isolated cultures that vary greatly from our own be consistant in the presence of homosexuals before the contact of western civilization. Homosexuality is not learned and therefore deserves the same protections that racial groups have earned.

What is the problem with Hawaii State Public School System?

It is undeniable that there are issues with the Hawaii State Public Education System. funding for our public schools is not being allocated fairly and even if it was it isn't enough for a functioning system. The stability of each individual school depends on the results of testing each year. I think this is a rediculous and ineffective way to distribute funds. Not to mention the pressure it creates for the students and their teachers. The structure of our public school system in Hawaii is the only one without districts. It is an archaic system put forth by King Kamehameha over 150 years ago. It is time to find the holes in the system and do something about it. Our children deserve the best education and our future and theirs will be greatly effected by what we do today.

1. The history of Hawaii's education system had a very different intention in mind than many of those on the mainland and elsewhere. The main function was to train immigrents to be industrial workers here in Hawaii. Not to advance their level of intelligence to a level of high and profound thought.

2. The Hawaii Public School System is the oldest running public school system West of the Mississippi, having been created in 1840. "Although much has changed in Hawaii since Kamehameha III first decreed that Hawaii would have public schools, the centralized system has remained the same. To this day, Hawaii is the only state to have a completely centralized public school system." (Kenny White, June 27, 2006). In my mind, I have to think that there is an obvious disadvantage to retaining the fundamentals of a system used over 150 years ago. We need to catch up with the times.

3. The future of Hawaii State Public School system is at stake of deteriorating if something is not done to drastically address the issues faced by inappropriate government funding and allocation between individual schools.

In closing, this is a well known issue, I plan to uncover the reasons, and hope to gain a better understanding of the problems and propose a solution based on facts, and opportunities with a new president in the White House.

U.S. Illegal Immigration

The amounts of illegal immigrants in the United States are increasing every day, something needs to change, and illegal immigration is not only against the law but also is hurting our economy.

1) Illegal immigrants are taking our jobs when some families can barely put food on thier tables.
2) Borders are not strict enough there are many places where fences end which makes it very easy to cross the border.
3) Every year illegal immigrants cost tax payers billions of dollars.

The Dangers of Social Networking Sites

Socializing on the Internet has become commonplace. Many of the sites ask you to post profiles and photo's and exchange messages. This can create a variety of problems. For one, if you don't know the person, you never really know if what your being told or shown is truthful. If you are a teenager girl you risk attracting sexual predators, terrible rumors being spread beyond your community, and cyberbulling. If you are a lonely heart and vulnerable to sweet talkers you may be taken by a con person for money or much more. Something in your Private life can be revealed to the wrong person. At the very least you could be sucked away into hours of voyeurism and chatting to much about non consequential bullshit. You may think that only your friends can see your pictures or what you are messaging, but in actuality you are much more vulnerable then you may know. We have been hearing for years now about the tragic mishaps that are born from the social networking world. It is imperative that we educate our children and ourselves to use the Internet wisely and take precautions in bringing people we meet online into our lives.