School Shootings

Monday, students returned for classes at Sparks Middle School in Sparks, Nevada , where last week a student shot 2 students and killed a teacher before fatally shooting himself. Gun control advocates are using this as yet another sign that gun laws need to change in the US. I somewhat agree. Something has to change. Recently, there have been many shootings in schools, theaters, and even our nation's capital. It has gotten to the point where we as a country just treat them as yet another shooting. Some of these shootings could have been prevented had there been some sort of background check or other minor law. However, in the case of Sparks Middle School, I don't think that any law could have prevented the shooting. The student took a gun, which his parents legally possessed, from his house unbeknownst to his parents, brought it to school, and shot 3 people, all without any obvious motive. No law could have stopped this kid. There was nothing suspicious or odd about him before the shooting. Restricting the sale or ownership of guns would have done nothing, because his family legally owned the gun. One could see this as the parents' fault because they did not do enough to keep the gun away from the student. However, in their defense, there was probably no way they could have seen this coming. So, while I agree that either the states or the federal government needs to come up with something, like a background check requirement, I disagree with gun control advocates who are using this shooting as a reason for new laws.

Not So Mysterious Roma Children

     This week in Greece, a girl named Maria was removed from a Roma family, because there was suspicion that the child was only being used to collect insurance money. The child was blonde, while her "parents" were both Roma, and DNA has proved that the child is in fact not their daughter.      
      Later, in Ireland, 2 children were removed by the authorities from their respective families, because they were blonde haired and blue eyed while their families, who are immigrants, were definitely of Roma descent. Both families protested that the cases of their children and of Maria were not related whatsoever, and claimed that the children were in fact theirs. Today, DNA has proven them correct, and Irish authorities will return the kids to their families.
     This disturbs me greatly. While I understand that protecting children should be an utmost priority, there should be undeniable proof that the children are in danger and are not actually biologically part of the family. The Irish police should have checked, I don't know, DNA FIRST TO DETERMINE THE CHILDREN'S PARENTS BEFORE TAKING THEM AWAY. A representative of one of the families says that their child and her siblings are having nightmares about this experience, and that the parents have not been able to sleep since the child was taken. There is sometimes a time and a place to act first and ask questions later, but that time is not when the situation concerns removing children from their families who are in no eminent danger. The least the police could have done was to monitor the family to make sure they did not run away while checking the DNA. If the children seemed to be in danger or had been reported missing, then yes I would agree with the police. However, as neither of the above was true before the case, I cannot back the police on this.
     The thing that disturbs me the most about these cases is that they sound like they could easily happen here in the US, with other immigrant families who do not have the right paperwork because they just moved here. As long as the children do not seem to be in any danger, police should wait and collect an airtight argument for removal before actually removing the kids.

Washington Redskins Name Change

Recently, the NFL team Washington Redskins has come under fire for their controversial name, which is seen as derogatory or offensive by many people. Owner Dan Snyder has dug his heels in and  announced that he would never change the name. While I respect his right to name his team whatever he wants, I do think that that the pro- name change people have a point. The name has been compared  to other racial insults, and is considered offensive by many Native Americans. I personally do not have a problem with the name, but I know a few people who do, and if so many other people have a reasonable problem with it, I think that Snyder should consider changing the name. I view this issue like this: I don't have a problem with people using swear words in public, but I do think that sports teams at least should not be named after them.
Also, the NFL owners are holding a meeting soon to discuss this issue and to decide whether a name change is warranted or not, which is a step in the right direction. I hope that Synder seriously considers changing his team's name.

Congress and the Federal Shutdown

Recently, I learned that during a shutdown of the federal government, Congress, the ones who caused the shutdown in the first place, would still be paid, while thousands of federal employees would be furloughed until the end of the shutdown. This is completely unfair, and honestly makes no sense. Congress is getting paid the same salary, which is a ridiculous amount to begin with, while every other federal worker is either working without pay or is on a forced, unpaid vacation. The shutdown is the result of congress members not doing their jobs correctly. In our world, if business leaders refuse to come up with a way to work together, they get fired or at the very least lose some of their money. In Congress's case, however, they get to make everyone else stop what their doing and wait on a compromise.
Another problem I have with Congress, besides it not doing its job, is that they are making innocent people who had no part in this shutdown suffer. For example, one of the programs that was hit the hardest by the shutdown was the food stamp WIC, or Women, Infants, Children program, which provides additional assistance to pregnant women, new mothers, and children. The WIC part of the food stamp program will not receive any additional funding, so the families that are part of this program will have to somehow manage without additional assistance until the shutdown is over. Also, the annual Naval Academy-Air Force Academy football game may not be played, and the rest of the service academies' athletics may not be able to participate in any more intercollegiate competition until the shutdown ends, because upperclassmen are considered military personnel and are subject to the restrictions associated with the shutdown. Both of these are examples of innocent people, not involved at all in the shutdown, being punished for Congress's incompetence.
While I know that the shutdown is not the end of the world, and that different factions of Congress are more responsible for the shutdown than others, I do have a problem with Congress disconnecting itself from the shutdown so that the members are hardly affected by it. Congress caused this shutdown, and they should at least feel some of the consequences of their actions. If the Canadian parliament gets to the point where they cause a federal shutdown, parliament is dissolved, and a general election is held to replace or reelect the members. I feel that this is a good idea for the American Congress: it did not do its job, and therefore it should have to answer for its incompetence immediately.