McAdory High School Football Banner

Last week, like every week, cheerleaders at McAdory made a banner for the football team to run through before their playoff game. However, this week, what they wrote was very controversial, and has been called extremely racist by many people. The sign read, "Hey Indians, get ready to leave in a Trail of Tears". Many people have said that cheerleaders being punished for the sign, which was never approved by any faculty member because the cheer coach was on maternity leave, is just political correctness gone too far. On the other hand, many other people and groups are crying foul, because, to them, the sign mocks the Trail of Tears that Native Americans went through, which, for those who do not know much about it, was very similar to what the Nazis did to Jews during the Holocaust. I tend to side with the critics of the banner, because it is making fun of a very horrible time for Native Americans, and was very tasteless. However, I can see the validity of some of the points made by the other side, that the cheerleaders meant no harm and that to them, it was just a joke.
In response to this controversy, all McAdory history classes will have a unit covering what actually happened on the Trail of Tears, and how it affected Native Americans. McAdory, as well as the Jefferson County school board, have released a statement apologizing for the banner. What do you think about the reaction to the banner? Is the sign truly racist, or is the reaction just an example of political correctness gone too far?

Immigration

Today, Speaker of the House John Boehner said that he will not allow formal compromise talks to take place between the House and the Senate about the Senate-passed immigration bill, which would create a path to citizenship for over 10 million illegal immigrants, while at the same time tighten border security. While I understand the House Republicans' desire to create their own, streamlined, bill, I wish that they would at least talk once with the Senate to see if they could come up with a compromise. Illegal immigration is a huge issue in this country, and I do not understand how the same House that voted and re-voted more than 30 times on Obamacare is not willing to schedule any more votes on immigration.
Also, I heard a pro-path-to-citizenship argument that has probably been around for a while, but I heard for the first time last week that I wish Congresspersons would hear: Superman, one of the greatest American superheroes, is technically an illegal alien, with heavy emphasis on alien. Would you rather deport Superman for being here illegally, or would you try to find a way for him to stay here? This current House has made clear that, given the Superman scenario, they would rather deport Superman than vote again on the issue of illegal immigration.

The Evil Obamacare

A lot of things that politicians have been saying about the Affordable Care Act are really ticking me off. While I am certainly not a huge fan of the ACA, I still think that many politicians are somewhat overreacting to it, with 2 things that are especially getting on my nerves.
1. While in Virginia last week, Ron Paul said that nullification is the only thing left to do to stop this apparently extremely evil bill. You know, nullification, the thing that partly led to the civil war, and has been defeated time and time again because of the Supremacy Claue. While I understand Ron Paul's desire to increase state power in matters regarding Obamacare, I still cannot believe that he suggested nullification as a legitimate answer. Here's the article: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/11/ken-cuccinelli-ron-paul-urges-nullification-virginia-governor-2013-election-99358.html#ixzz2jk9QygjO
2. Many Congressmen (Ted Cruz, Michelle Bachmann, etc.) have called the ACA the worst and vilest law to ever exist in the US. Again, I understand that they really hate Obamacare. While they may not like Obamacare, it is definitely not the worst law in the history of the us. They are forgetting and/or ignoring slavery, the forced relocation of American Indians, internment camps, and a long list of other laws which were far worse than trying to create universal healthcare.
So, while i may agree partly with some of what these politicians are trying to say about the ACA, I cannot support this ignorance and, at times, stupidity.