Unequal Representation

http://daniellegovt.blogspot.com


Hi Danielle,
 So I completely agree with your statement about the inequality between women and men. Unfortunately, it still very much lingers to this day. Women still only make 80% of what men do with a full-time job. Even when both partners earn wages, women do twice as much housework and childcare. It is also proven that a man is more likely to get a job over women even with them having the same qualifications because it is believed that men will perform a better job at completing tasks. I really liked how you specifically talked about the opportunities that the government has over this specific topic. It's like we know that this is an overall all problem but we should start trying to make a difference with the people that we have making decisions for us as a country. They are seen as an "Elite group of people" but are they really on our sides? Unfortunately, I believe that a lot of this is rooted in beliefs about gender differences in abilities or skills and also stereotyping and favoritism for one group but if we try to make small changes a little bit at a time can make big changes for women in the future.  I liked how you supported what you believed by giving the example of the last election and how you ended your statement by clarifying what your argument was. Hopefully, some changes with this problem can soon be soon!

                                                              Free Contraceptives!

We live in a society where women have better access to resources we didn't have before. We have more say and choices with what we choose to do. President Trump wants to pass laws to defund programs like Planned Parenthood and raise the cost of contraceptives making it harder for some women to purchase. After Obama care was passed the department of health and human resources came to a conclusion that there were 8 different preventative services that were needed for a women's overall health. Access to every FDA-approved method of birth control that can be prescribed by a health-care provider, including emergency contraception. 

 If this is something that gets taken away we might just end up spending twice the amount of money on unplanned pregnancies which are still very common. Just alone in 2011, 45% of the pregnancies that happened that year were said to be unintended. 42 percent of unintended pregnancies ended in abortion and 58 percent ended in birth. In 2010, 51 percent of the nearly 4 million births in the United States were paid for by government health insurance like Medicaid. Overall, the government spent $21 billion on unintended pregnancies that year! 

 Contraceptives are not only good for preventing pregnancies but can help women lower their risk of ovarian and endometrial cancers which as we all know any type of cancer is very expensive to treat. 

 Since Trump has stepped into office his followers about this particular topic including women have agreed with him that it's been costing us a lot of money but to myself, the numbers and statistic tell it all. We as a country need to take a step back and really acknowledge how much more money we spend on other things that have brought us no good. I rather pay the lower cost now then deal with a much bigger problem later. 

                                       Abortion for all Down Syndrome fetuses?

This is an editorial post from The Washington Post talking about what the rights should be not only for women but also for down syndrome fetuses in the womb. Ruth Marcus the writer of this article was straight to the point with what her opinion was. I do agree with her to a certain extent. I believe I women should have the right to choose what she wants to do when terminating a pregnancy only if it is known that the baby is coming into this world with disabilities. Ruth's whole disagreement here is the fact that a couple of states are out to pass a law stating that Doctors will no longer be able to provide people carrying a down syndrome child an abortion. She did have good statistics of why bringing a child into this world with down syndrome would be a challenge. She was also good at wanting to understand the other side of things like going through the pregnancy and having a child with down syndrome. Of course, she was a little harsh at being very direct on what she believed. Ruth did provide us a very elaborate well-written article on trying to convince us why this isn't a subject matter that should even be thought about. It should just be done! Of course, I believe that this is a very sticky topic that can go multiple directions this is why it has been very controversial for this long.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/i-wouldve-aborted-a-fetus-with-down-syndrome-women-need-that-right/2018/03/09/3aaac364-23d6-11e8-94da-ebf9d112159c_story.html?utm_term=.c6d8a3e6e07b

 

                           Want to change gun control laws? Young adults are needed!

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/opinion-la/la-ol-florida-massacre-gun-laws-vote-20180220-story.html

This is an article that was posted in the Los Angeles Time by Scott Martelle discussing his opinion on how young adults can change gun laws. The massacre event that happened at Florida's Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School last week is what opened this concern up for discussion. He discussed the plan that the survivors want to take to get the attention from political activism over gun control laws.

His argument was that there is an issue with the control that we have with guns and that it needs to be addressed. He pointed out the 2012 slaughter at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut which sparked outrage and demands for action.  Eventually, Connecticut was able to make some changes to the gun laws that they believe have helped with the crime rate within that state.  Martelle includes a couple of good examples to support his belief. I think the audience that he is trying to impact is the younger generation. He wants them to know that a difference can be made if everyone gets out there and votes. He then followed that argument by giving us the census data on how low young voters percentage really is and how much more votes we can accumulate to actually make a difference and potentially overturn an election.

 I can agree with all the arguments he has but I didn't feel like he was really impactful with the evidence he provided and the way he carried out the specific topic. Me as a young voter and also on the same page about the issues on gun control I wasn't convinced that I could make a difference. I felt like he did a better job of agreeing with the problem of gun control than making an argument on how we can make a difference.

A teen for governor of Kansas!

 

So here is something relevant to what we have been discussing the last couple of classes about our younger generation not knowing much about our politics. Kansas has 6 teenagers under the age of 18 trying to run for governor. No experience and very little political knowledge. They would be running against veteran politicians which no one is taking seriously. Then again there is no age restriction for running. This has caught the attention of many people including lawmakers that are asking for clearer election guidelines. The teens are just asking for people to hear them out, that they come with good ideas and are serious about the running. One even suggested that the running might attract the younger voters to explore politics more and "strengthen the youth vote". That's what we want right?

New York Times Febuary 08, 2018

  https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/08/us/kansas-governor-race-teenagers.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fus&action=click&contentCollection=us&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=4&pgtype=sectionfront

Hello