Department of Education Stands Up to Bullies

For many kids, bullying is a serious problem in our schools. Unfortunately there are some who still don't take bullying seriously, even some school officials. It seems as though many cases of bullying are just swept under the rug until someone gets seriously injured or even worse, commits suicide. Sure enough, after someone gets hurt, everyone becomes "concerned". In many cases, school officials stated they didn't even know it was going on, despite numerous complaints from both parents and students. The Department of Education has decided to step in and even threatened that schools who fail to enforce anti-bullying policies could lose federal funding. These policies came after the recent suicides of five gay teenagers, but some wonder whether these policies are the right way to handle the situation, and many even think the Department of Education is "bullying" the schools into submission.

Education Secretary Arne Duncan is urging schools to enforce federal civil rights laws that prohibit harassment of students based on race, national origin, religion, and gender. The Department of Education will also use court rulings on gender discrimination to include gay and lesbian students to these protected groups. Both schools and colleges must enforce anti-bullying policies or face the possible loss of federal aid, and the possibility of the Department of Justice being brought in to investigate.

In my opinion, I think the DoE is doing the right thing. In too many cases bullying is overlooked by school officials despite both students and their parents coming forth. Bullying can make school a miserable experience and I firmly believe that every student should have the right to feel safe at school, regardless of their gender, sexual orientation, religion etc... Some might even consider what the DoE is doing as bullying too, and while that may be true, sometimes when nothing else works you have to fight fire with fire, and that's exactly what the DoE is doing. High school can be hard enough as it is and you shouldn't have to also worry about being picked on because you look or dress a different way. Perhaps a better "solution" that doesn't involve the federal government would be stronger school policies regarding bullying. It seems that in most cases, the only punishment for bullying received is a slap on the wrist. The old saying "sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me" isn't always true. You can choose what clothes you wear and how you act/talk, but you can't help your sexual orientation. While any harassment can be hurtful, harassment regarding someones sexual preferences can be the most devastating. Apparently schools have had their chance and failed, so I am glad the federal government has stepped up to the plate.

The Wars on Drugs and Terror: mirror images

In Glenn Greenwald's editorial entitled The Wars on Drugs and Terror: mirror images, he talks about Proposition 19; a bill that will be voted on in November, which for the most part would legalize marijuana in California. He also compares the "War on Drugs" to the "War on Terror" stating "...the War on Drugs is a mirror image of the War on Terror:  sustained with the same deceitful propaganda, driven by many of the same motives, prosecuted with similar templates, and destructive in many of the same ways.". His argument is that the War on Drugs, like the War on Terror, is nothing short of a failure and he states that "Both wars ensure an unlimited stream of massive amounts of money into the private war-making industries which fuel them." He also says, "Both wars rely upon cartoon depictions of Scary Villains (The Drug Kingpin, Mexican Cartels, the Terrorist Mastermind) to keep the population in a state of heightened fear and thus blind them to rational discourse.  But both wars are not only complete failures in eradicating those villains, but they both do more to empower those very villains than any other single cause -- the War on Drugs by ensuring that cartels’ profits from the illegal drug trade remain sky-high, and the War on Terror by ensuring more and more support and recruits for anti-American extremists."

I would have to say that I just about completely agree with everything he has to say in this article. For years now I have thought the War on Drugs was not only a waste of tax payer's money, but a waste of prison space too. I mean, our prisons are so full of non-violent drug offenders it's ridiculous. People locked up along side of rapists and murders for a simple possession charge... I think Proposition 19 is a step in the right direction. He also provides a bit of research to help back his claims. He mentions a comprehensive report he wrote for the Cato Institute discussing his research he did in Portugal in 2008 on "...documenting how decriminalization has single-handedly enabled that country to manage, control and even reduce the problems associated with drug usage far more effectively than other nations (i.e., other EU states and the U.S.) which continue to criminalize drugs.".

With November 2 right around the corner, I would imagine his intended audience would be potential voters. With a background as a lawyer and a civil rights litigator I would imagine he might be slightly more informed on the damages this "War" has caused this country when compared to the average Joe who may be more apt to believe the propaganda that has been associated with it.

I think marijuana should be legalized, or at least decriminalized more than it already is. I've done my fair share of research on the "harmful" effects of marijuana, in fact I even wrote an English paper on it. But without getting into all of that, that's where I stand. I also believe, like Greenwald, that even the harder drugs should be decriminalized. While I don't think heroin or meth should be completely legalized, I believe we should have less harsher punishments, at least when caught with small amounts for personal use. It's sad to see people's lives completely ruined just for being caught with a couple grams of coke, it's truly sickening. I am actually a pre-pharmacy student aiming for a Doctor of Pharmacy and I have spent years researching the effects of various drugs on the human brain and body (mainly recreational drugs, but hey can you blame me, they are the most interesting), and over the years I have found almost everything they taught us in D.A.R.E to be either completely false, or half truths. I suffered from a mild-ish opiate addiction several years ago, so i can somewhat understand where the government is coming from and why they feel it is their duty to "protect" us, but I also believe that people should be able to make their own choices so long as they don't hurt other people.