The Olympics Bringing the World Together..or Not..

Just about every night for the last two weeks I have been enjoying the excitement of the Olympics. I'm watching sports I never really thought I would be into, such as diving or men's gymnastics. I feel really patriotic watching the games and rooting for my Country, the United States of America. We continually hear in the media that the Olympics is bringing the the world together, in unity. I believe that the Olympics is bringing a certain part of the world together. At the same time, everyday we hear of death and destruction going on. The fighting between Russia and Georgia has since "subsided" but there is still much turmoil in that region. Now it's more like guerrilla warfare breaking out, people are breaking into homes and killing families just because. The remnants are fresh, villages had been burned and houses broken; unburied bodies lay rotting; fresh graves were dug in gardens and basements. There is still much turmoil in the Middle East, and deaths are reported just about everyday. Sudan is still falling victim of genocide and the government isn't doing much to stop it because the country's President is basically orchestrating it.

It's fun to watch the Olympics and root for your country but we can't forget that the world is still happening. The Olympics lasts for two weeks and when it's over we probably wont hear much about Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt. I guess until then we should soak it up and enjoy it, when it's over the world has two years before we're brought together again. I'm not trying to be a downer but we need not forget what is really going on in the world today....

Going After Crime and Guns

The National Rifle Association and the Brady Campaign have finally agreed on one thing, supporting a law enforcement program in Richmond, Virginia that targets gun crimes. After the Supreme Court’s decision that struck down any restrictions on individual gun ownership caused officials to get a little worried. They were worried that there could be a rise in gun violence. But in fact they have seen a drop of 31% in gun crimes in the last ten years. Richmond is one of the easiest places to buy a gun, but the state severely punishes those who commit gun crimes. The project entitled “Project Exile” involves a series of local, state, and federal law enforcement partnerships. The focus is on the most violent part of the city by cracking down with harsh punishments for crimes involving guns. Richmond is the only city with “Project Exile” but officials are trying to push it to other cities, such as, San Francisco and Chicago. The NRA challenges most gun laws that will affect them but support the cause for “Project Exile.” NRA Executive Vice President, Wayne LaPierre says, “Leave the good people alone and lock up the bad people and dramatically cut crime.” He supports this project because the people that are being punished are drug dealers, gang members, and felons. It’s good to see action being taken on the street to combat such a huge problem. I know that we don’t live in a perfect world but we can do our best to make the best of it.

Sacramento's Gang Activity Heating Up

We have all heard of the mainstream gangs, Bloods and Crips, Nortenos and Surrenos, among others. But now there are sub sets of gangs, smaller gangs with their own name that fall under the umbrella of the mainstream gang. The Sacramento gang, Trigga Mob is a set from North Sacramento and has around 10 to 25 members. That may sound like a small gang but that gang represents only two streets and is part of the larger group, Del Paso Heights Bloods. Professor Hernandez, a familiar name to many of us, says, "It's been happening for the past few years. We start out with Crips and Bloods and Norteños and Sureños, and as the gangs have kept growing, you start getting a difference in personalities. They start splitting up, and they become different gang groups and they have different things going on." Trigga Mob has recently been in the news because two members are on trial for attempted murder of Timothy "Money" Hurst, who was shot 5 times for supposedly snitching.
Gang activity is occurring all over Sacramento and surrounding suburbs. It's not just happening in the low income and high crime areas, it's happening everywhere. There have been recent gang related shootings in neighborhoods where homes cost over $300,000. Lack of supervision is one of the main reasons for gang infiltration. I think that lack of supervision is a minimal contribution to gang activity. Young people join gangs to either fit in or for a sense of protection and comrade. Deterring gang activity is not an easy task since there are so many sub sets of gangs. It's too bad that the image portrayed of gangs is practically glamorized in the music, TV and movies.Gang violence is a reality that occurs on a daily basis.

El Chapo- Mexico's Most Wanted

El Chapo is at the top of Mexico's Most Wanted List, he is the leading drug smuggler. He is Mexico's most wanted but he does most of his business in the United States. He has smuggled billions of dollars of drugs into the United States and continues to do so. He is also a very dangerous man, his drug cartel has killed more than 2,000 people in the last year alone. What's even more scarier is that he was in prison and escaped in 2001 and has yet to captured. The Mexican government has sent out soldiers to find this man. He is seen in public every so often but people are too afraid to turn him in even though there a 5 million dollar reward.

It's really scary that a man with a mass amount of power leads the most violent and brutal criminal organization. The government can't even defeat him. The Mexican Government has even joined forces with the US Government in trying to stop him. It is mind boggling to me that one man can have so much power and use it in such a negative way. Drugs are a multi billion dollar industry that fuel the economy of the world. This is an on-going that ceases to never end. There can be all sorts of laws and restrictions put in place but the drug war will continue to be violent bloody battle. This battle is in everyone's backyard and community, it affects all people.

To Save the Children or Not?!?

San Francisco is facing a tough problem, what’s more important protecting children or drug dealers. The problem is the children are the drug dealers and the children are either undocumented immigrants or their parents are undocumented immigrants. The next question, who handles this problem the juvenile probation department or the department of immigration. The majority of the youth that are coming to San Francisco are from Central America trying to escape a home of poverty and violence. They flock to America in hopes of a better life upon arrival they live a life of drug dealing or prostitution. A lot of times the children are turned over to federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement but in fact they are protected under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court. By law the Probation Department is supposed to look at each juvenile and provide a specific plan that fits that individual’s best interest. It’s a sad situation because these children come for a better future but are thrown into a world of danger and end up either in foster care or returned to the country where their family is from.
What is the City to do with these children? What do you, save children who are trying to make a life for themselves by filthing the streets? According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the real crime needs to be recognized and addressed: poverty, violence, and exploitation.

Religion..Spiritual Salad Bar?

With my blog I am trying to be as diverse as possible in the topics that I cover (obviously). I certainly do not want to scare people when I bring up the "R" word, religion; so just relax. A recent poll taken by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, shows that Americans have a wide mixture of Faith and other religious beliefs. The study shows that many people believe in the Bible but do not necessarily believe what it teaches. Religion has become a spiritual salad bar where people are picking and choosing what to believe in and not standing firmly in their faith. Michael Lindsey, a professor at Rice University, summed it up best by saying, "The survey shows religion in America is, indeed, 3,000 miles wide and only three inches deep." People adhere to a certain religion but only get so in depth with it. The poll shows contradictions, for example, 70 percent of Americans believe in religion of some sort but 68 percent believe that their religion can be interpreted in more than one way. Either they don't know the teachings of their faith or they choose to ignore certain aspects of it.

Alot of times people believe that religion isn't a big deal and should be separated from public opinion. It's everywhere there though, whether you want to believe that or not. The 2008 Presidential Election is hot and heavy and the main factors are morals and religion. When people are voting they will think about the candidates religious stance, for example Mitt Romney, a Mormon, took a lot of heat for being Mormon. Someone may not know anything about the guy but just vote against him because of his religion. Don't think that religion doesn't play an important part in people's everyday thinking.

My main goal is to say that according to the poll America exercises religious beliefs but people need to stand strong in their Faith. Don't just get wet up to your ankles, dive in.

Think about the consquences, Judge Kozinski

I'm sure we have all heard about 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Chief Judge Alex Kozinski and his little but now big issue. He was presiding over a case against a porn movie distributor in Beverly Hills when it was brought to everyones attention that Judge Kozinski has inappropiate material on his personal website. His website had material that included vidoes and photos of beastiality and public sex. Who of course comes to his defense, his wife, Marcy Jane Tiffany who says, ''Alex is not into porn -- he is into funny.." Apparently if beauty is in the eye of the beholder so is funny. It's just very ironic that a judge presiding over a high profile case involving a porn distributor who is in court for soliciting "obscene material," would have something obscene on his own website. The material on Kozinski's website has now been blocked, I guess it's not so funny anymore. Now Judge Kozinski's conduct is being reviewed by an ethics investigation according to U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Roberts. I really don't understand what Judge Kozinski was thinking while he was presiding over this case; I guess that's why he declared a mistrial.

Just a little side note Circuit Court Judges are appointed for life and can only be fired by Congress. It will be interesting to see what happens with Kozinski. Well, whatever happens I guess he has something to fall back on...yikes.
To read more on this go to nytimes.com

Enjoy. Peace.