Anchor Babies

According to a Google definition an anchor baby is a child born to a noncitizen mother in a country which has birthright citizenship. Under the 14 amendment “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside” (Nissean, Julia(2010,August 27-29). Birth right citizenship Anchor babies and the 14^th amendment. Counter Punch) But not everyone agrees that these children and illegal members of their family should be able to live in the U.S so freely. Today this is still a problem faced in the U.S. Anchor babies and their family just wants to pursue e a better life. Americans whom are against anchor babies feel as though they are taking up all the limited opportunities in the U.S. Steve King recently introduced a bill that could stop “anchor babies” he says  “The current practice of extending U.S. citizenship to hundreds of thousands of ‘anchor babies’ must end because it creates a magnet for illegal immigration into our country. (2013,January 04,) Steve King introduces bill to stop “anchor babies”. Huff Post. Retrieved from www.huffingtonpost.com.  For now anchor babies have nothing to worry about due to the dream act. “Supporters of the DREAM Act believe it is vital not only to the people who would benefit from it, but also the United States as a whole. It would give an opportunity to undocumented immigrant students who have been living in the U.S. since they were young, a chance to contribute back to the country that has given so much to them and a chance to utilize their hard earned education and talents.” (Abaddon (2010) Basic information about the DREAM act legislation. Retrieved from http://dreamact.info/students)

3D Printing and the 2nd Amendment

3D printing is a subject that has been up for much debate in the recent months. Since the release of 3D printing design software, various groups and individuals with experience in various fields have been designing and publishing blue prints for everything from fully functioning wrenches to roofing nails and even toys and iPhone cases. However, one group has gone even further and has accidentally brought one of the most debated amendments of the Constitution of the United States, The Second Amendment, into the forefront of the debate. The group Defense Distributed has been attempting to develop the first functioning 3D printed firearm for the past couple of years. The end result has been multiple functioning AR-15 lower receivers, which is the housing of the vital mechanisms for the weapon, and a handgun known as “The Liberator”, the first 3D printed single-shot handgun that is completely functioning.

             Since the release of these blueprints, various gun control advocates from many government and corporate roles have been attempting to shut down Defense Distributed. The resulting legal war that has been raging for a little over a year can be boiled down to this; The U.S. Government wants the removal of these files from the internet and Defense Distributed, as well as various supporting groups, wants to ensure their stay and availability on the internet. The actions taken include bills passed in New York state and proposed bills by numerous others on the control side of the debate to regulate the blueprints, while Defense Distributed and the supporting parties have relocated the files numerous times to numerous places to avoid permanent deletion. The bottom line is, this battle is on-going with no end in the immediate future and clearly is going to be an event that defines this generation and maybe even the next.    

 

 

Bibliograhy:

“3D Printing: From Dental Braces to Astronauts’ Seats.” The Economist. N.p., 7 Sept. 2013. Web. 11 Sept. 2013.

Kerr, Dara. “3D-printed Guns May Face Regulations, Bans in New York.” CNET News. CBS Interactive, 13 June 2013. Web. 16 Sept. 2013.

Satell, Greg. “What We Should Do About 3D Printed Guns.” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 21 May 2013. Web. 16 Sept. 2013.

“About | Defense Distributed.” About | Defense Distributed. Defense Distributed, Neon Roots, n.d. Web. 16 Sept. 2013.

 

Conflict in Syria

Syrian Civil War

 The conflict in Syria is a popular topic in current events world news. The conflict in Syria revolves around two main parties. It is important to understand that Syria is an Islamic country for the majority; however there are different branches throughout the area. On one end of the spectrum there are the Syrian civilians that is often referred to as the “rebels”.  These “rebels” are the Sunnis who serve as the majority religion in Syria. At the other end of the spectrum you have Assad’s regime or the Syrian government. Assad’s party is Alawites, which is a minority branch of Islamic religion.  These two parties are essentially fighting over political control in Syria. They are also fighting because of Assad’s mistreatment and unfairness to the Syrian civilians. Assad’s regime is looking to remain supreme power in Syria. Besides the fact that they are hated, because they are also the minority they fear that if they do lose this fight they will be targeted by locals and lose their special privileges under the protection of the government. The rebels are challenging the government for a democracy instead of dictatorship. They want to get Assad out of power in order to replace him with a person who will hold true to a democratic rule of law. This conflict has triggered protests, most often leading to violent breakouts. These protest led to what we know as the Syrian civil war, which has caught the attention of the entire world. Leaders around the world are considering their position and what they can do considering this conflict.

References: Weirsema, A. (2013, August). Everything you need to know about the Syrian civil war. ABC News. Retrieved September, 2013, from http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/syrian-civil-war/story?id=20112311

Fisher, M. (2013, August). World views: 9 questions about Syria you were too embarrassed to ask. The Washington post. Retrieved September, 2013, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/08/29/9-questions-about-syria-you-were-too-embarrassed-to-ask/