8-Day Blog Post: Obama creating world's largest protected area off Hawaii coast

Recently on CNN, Obama has announced that there will be an expansion of a monument in Hawaii. The monument will protect marine life, the landscape of Hawaii, and studied by research groups regarding climate change. The monument presents a debate regarding if the government should become more involved in the preserving of the wild and marine life in the ocean and off of the coast of Hawaii, and whether we should be financing more groups in the search for a solution to climate change. As it is now, by 2050, lots of land could be presumably under water, including the Bahamas, the glaciers could melt in Iceland and the earth will be extremely hotter. The government needs to take control of our worldwide climate control problem and support our marine life before it's all gone in 2050.

8-Day Blog Post: The EpiPen Scandal

CNBC has exposed Maylan Pharmaceuticals with the EpiPen for lying, price gouging, and conspiring with officials so they reap benefits without paying taxes. Over the past ten years the price of the patented EpiPen has skyrocketed to over $600, while the government only pays $50 a unit for the military. The controversy revealed could be stopped and regulated if the government paid closer attention and put in place better royalty rate measures so companies can't make as large of a profit over medical appliances. I used to have an EpiPen and it certainly did not cost $600.

8 Day Blog Post: Transgender Bathroom Debate Rages On

On CNN, the headline of the intriguing article reads, "Transgender Bathroom Debate Rages On" detailing the difficult arguement of whether bathrooms should be gender neutral or transgender friendly. Most recently, Obama said he would cut educational spending if they refuse to integrate transgender bathrooms into their facilities, but some states have refused. Alabama, Mississippi, and many other states have backlashed by suing the federal government over the Civil Rights Act of 1964. To me, there should be no controversy over this, people, whatever gender, should use whatever bathroom they are comfortable with, especially if our president has fought already to implement the no gender bathrooms. As debate rages on, people begin to wonder why this matters, as I am already, your rights are guarenteed by the Constitution to protect you, so people shouldn't be discriminated against merely because of how they feel.

8-Day Blog Post: This Boy is a Reminder of the Horrors of War

On CNN, I watched a video of a young boy, presumably four or five, being pulled out of the rubble of his collapsed home in Aleppo, Syria. The boy has facial bleeding and is covered in dust and dirt from his childhood home. The media has used the image of the small child almost everywhere to convey that the outbreak of riots and fighting in Syria needs to end. Over 4,000 children have died in the country so far, so it's time for America to step up and take charge of the failing country. American government needs to be more involved in international affairs, however others believe that the government needs to withdraw more from international affairs. The controversy about this topic is overpowered by the gruesome images of women and children dying and the government should automatically go help and rescue it's country from failure.

8-Day Blog Post: Caster Semenya

I recently read a controversial article about Caster Semenya on CNN, claiming that she had elevated testosterone levels and resembled a man, even though she competed in the women's track events in the Rio Olympics in 2016 and in Berlin in 2012. Semenya's testosterone levels, which may seem meaningless, sparked arguments among officials debating whether she should be able to compete because of the levels. To me, it shouldn't matter what the testosterone level of a woman is, as long as she identifies as a woman. The idea that a possible Olympian could be stripped of their titles merely because of their gender and natural configuration is still being debated over by not only the Olympic officials, but also by our government.  Caster Semenya should be able to decide which gender she is and not be discriminated either way.

8-Day Blog: The Most Livable Cities

CNN declares Melbourne, Australia as the most livable city. In, "World's Most Livable City in 2016 is..." by Barry Neild, poverty and instability has fallen among cities like Paris, Athens, and Moscow. The government in these cities have changed over the years which makes me question how much the government should be involved with in international and foreign affairs and/or if we should be more prepared to help other cities and countries in need. Of course this would mean we would lose more money, but we could improve international relations and therefore make more allies. The most livable cities include Hamburg, Germany, and Melbourne, Australia, but with help from the American government cities like Athens and Caracas could make the list of most livable cities in the future.

8-Day Blog Post: Trump Statue: NYC

Most recently on CNN, life-sized naked statues of Donald Trump have been flooding New York parks, San Fransisco streets, and borders of Mexico. It is said in "NYC Parks Dept. issues cheeky response to naked Trump statue," by Theodore Schleifer, that anti-Trump groups have been assembling the illegal statues in protest all over the country. Words like, "Rape Trump" have been scrawled across the naked statuettes, raising the question of how far is too far? Trump hasn't made a statement yet, but it makes me wonder if art, especially political satire, should be regulated by the government or if there should be a subset of rules regarding the free speech amendment in the art world.